The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch: Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.
A new study published today in the British Journal of Nutrition investigates the nutritional differences between organic and conventionally-produced food. It concludes that there are differences, particularly when it comes to the percentage of beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids in milk. But does that mean it's necessarily more better for you? Caz Graham talks to two academics about what the research means.
Rangers on Dartmoor are warning that the moor is being damaged by 4x4 drivers "off-roading". They say that, after weeks of rain, the wet ground is vulnerable to erosion, and warn that several protected sites in the area have suffered severe damage.
As part of the BBC's "In the Mind" season, Nancy Nicolson explores "care farming" in the Highlands, and finds out how it helps vulnerable people - including those with mental health problems.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the Mistle Thrush. Loud rattling calls, like someone scraping a comb across wood, tell you that Mistle Thrushes are about. From midsummer to early autumn, bands of Mistle Thrushes roam the countryside, where they feed on open pastures, among stubble or on moorland. These birds are very fond of the white sticky berries of mistletoe and spread the seeds into cracks of tree bark when they wipe their bills or defecate.
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Naomi Climer is one of the most senior British women engineers working in the communications industry, and after decades working on major projects she's left the world of business to become the first female president of Institution of Engineering and Technology (the IET). As part of her presidency, Naomi has launched a campaign called - Engineer a better World - to make us realise that engineering is an exciting and creative activity.. and, in particular, to attract and retain more women in the profession.
Naomi Climer's most recent role was running Sony's Media Cloud Services. She was based in California where, she says, engineers are treated like rock stars. She talks to Jim al-Khalili about how British engineers can gain higher status than they do today.
Actress and impressionist, Jan Ravens talks to one of her favourite subjects, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet. They discuss how much her public image reflects her private self and how much consideration she gives to clothes and jewellery when appearing on television .
In the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin spent almost two decades in London - at exactly the same time as Mozart, Casanova and Handel. This is an enthralling biography - not only of the man, but of the city when it was a hub of Enlightenment activity.
For the great majority of his long life, Benjamin Franklin was a loyal British royalist. In 1757, having made his fortune in Philadelphia and established his fame as a renowned experimental scientist, he crossed the Atlantic to live as a gentleman in the heaving metropolis of London.
From his house in Craven Street, he mixed with both the brilliant and the powerful - in London coffee house clubs, at the Royal Society, and on his summer travels around the British Isles and continental Europe. He counted David Hume, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Edmund Burke and Erasmus Darwin among his friends - and, as an American colonial representative, he had access to successive Prime Ministers and even the King.
The early 1760s saw Britain's elevation to global superpower status with victory in the Seven Years War and the succession of the young, active George III. This brought a sharp new edge to political competition in London and redefined the relationship between Britain and its colonies. They would profoundly affect Franklin himself, eventually placing him in opposition with his ambitious son William.
Though Franklin sought to prevent the America's break with Great Britain, his own actions would finally help cause that very event.
After spending over 30 years in America, Franklin returns to London - not as a humble printer, but as a leading politician.
Cartoonist Jacky Fleming; Mother of Columbine killer; Fall in number of childminders
Iconic cartoonist Jacky Fleming talks about female genius and her first book in 10 years The Trouble with Women.
Sue Klebold, the mother of one of the Columbine killers talks to Jane about living with the pain caused by her son. In 1999, two teenagers armed with bombs and guns walked into their school and began shooting. Twelve children and one teacher died at Colorado's Columbine High while another 24 were injured in what was then 'the worst school shooting in history'. Sue Klebold's son Dylan carried out the carefully planned attack along with Eric Harris before they shot themselves. Speaking in a rare interview, she describes her love for her son and attempts to find a reason for the tragedy.
The number of childminders in England has dropped by 10,000 in the past five years, putting pressure on childcare places and raising costs for working parents. Why are so many deciding to leave the work?
Flouting the dress code: being yourself or just plain rude? Hilary Alexander and Lucy Mangan discuss.
Director ..... Mary Peate.
We already know that unhappy experiences in childhood are more likely to lead to mental health issues in later life.
What's becoming clear, however, is that chronic stress and anxiety during this time can trigger dramatic changes in the body which contribute to our risk of developing diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke. Chronic stress in childhood is also associated with a shortened life span.
Health-harming behaviours which contribute to disease risk, like smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use, are more common among those who have endured traumatic experiences in childhood.
But scientists are now revealing that these stressful childhood experiences have a direct impact on our physical health, through their impact on the developing brain and the immune system.
The question now is how to use this knowledge to improve the nation's health. Should health professionals routinely ask patients about traumatic events in their childhoods? And if so, who should broach the subject, where and when?
Geoff Watts visits a GP practice which is about to trial this novel idea, and looks at the growing body of evidence revealing how adverse childhood experiences contribute to poor health and shorter lives.
The forgotten women of the Beat Generation supported, loved, endured, and were creatively overshadowed by their famous male counterparts. More than just muses, they were often authors in their own right. Laura Barton travels to New York to meet some of these women, writers such as Joyce Johnson, who already had a book deal when she met Jack Kerouac as a young woman, but has seen her long career overshadowed by her brief time as Keraouc's girlfriend. Hettie Jones risked everything to defy 1950's convention and her Jewish parents to marry the black poet LeRoi Jones, who later became Amiri Baraka.
Then there are writers such as Anne Waldman, from a later generation to Hettie and Joyce, who learnt from the Beat Generation and aims to keep the tradition alive today.
While in many cases the work of the women of the Beats was not be as innovative as their male counterparts, Laura argues that we should celebrate the writing of the women who fought to forge their own paths, for whom merely telling their story was a struggle.
Drs Rutherford and Fry set out to discover what makes traffic jam. Adam ventures on to the M25 in search of a tailback, and Hannah looks at projects around the world that have attempted to solve the scourge of the traffic jam.
Featuring Neal Harwood from the Transport Research Laboratory and BBC technology reporter, Jane Wakefield. And Masdar City man.
If you have any scientific cases for the team to investigate please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
This year marks the centenary of the birth of Roald Dahl - the first writer many children read for pleasure.
Studies suggest reading for pleasure is as important for a child's educational achievement as family income and background. So how can you persuade children that a good story is as fun as a good game?
On Call You & Yours we would like to find out how to inspire children to read. Tell us which books first got you excited about reading, and which ones you will be passing on to your children? Please email youandyours@bbc.co.uk
The programme also hears from well known children's authors, and the Children's Laureate, Chris Riddell, who tells us how he thinks children can be encouraged to read for fun.
David Cameron is in Brussels to drum up support among MEPs for his EU reform demands, but the President of the European Parliament says there are still sticking points. Can David Cameron get a deal by the summit?
The French energy company EDF says four of the UK's nuclear power plants are to stay open beyond their scheduled closure date. Will that be enough to keep the lights on? We'll discuss.
Five months into his leadership, how is Jeremy Corbyn being seen by labour members in his north London heartland?
A possible breakthrough in cancer treatment, but how soon could patients benefit?
Also in the programme, how the poet William Blake has influenced bands from to Radiohead to U2.
Psychotherapist Susie Orbach explores the private relationship between therapist and patient. Each day we are given privileged access to Susie's consulting room, where she meets a variety of clients.
All of the clients are played by actors, but these are not scripted scenes. Each client profile has been carefully constructed by therapist Susie, director Ian Rickson (former artistic director at the Royal Court, and director of the highly acclaimed 'Jerusalem') and radio producer Kevin Dawson. The client profiles have been given to the actors who have learnt about their characters lives, backgrounds, and individual reason for seeking therapy. The scenes have then been improvised and recorded on hidden microphones at Susie's surgery.
Today, Susie meets Harriet, who is in her 40s. Since failed IVF, she has separated from her partner and is working in the office at a junior school.
Elsewhere in the series, we meet Helen, a high achieving corporate lawyer who is struggling to identify what is wrong - but knows that something is. Then there's John. He's older - in his 60s. A retired railway trade unionist, his wife and children are gone, but his therapy is helping him to turn his life around. We also hear Jo's first meeting with Susie. She is a new patient. An out of work actress. Then there's Louise and Richard - a couple expecting their first baby in a few days.
We hear the therapist at work, eavesdropping on the most intimate of exchanges. To help us with our understanding of the process, Susie Orbach commentates on what is happening in the room, shining a light on the journey both she and her patient have embarked upon.
A dark comedy about a disastrous school trip to France. A group of pupils are stranded outside Paris on their journey to the finals of the Young European Ethical Enterprise Awards. Newly qualified teacher Lee and more experienced colleagues Val and Lesley struggle to cope when one of their students goes missing and then try to minimise the fallout from the incident back home where headmistress Eve is determined to find out what really happened.
Helen Castor takes the chair for the programme which showcases new historical research and the people doing it.
Today, Tom Holland is on the Dorset/Wiltshire border where a farmer has dug up a Bronze Age body. Remarkably, as Dr Tom Booth from the University of Sheffield explains, this is far from unique. Indeed, just when the Pharaohs were building the pyramids to house them forever, Bronze Age Britons were busy mummifying their dead too.
With Bridge of Spies and now Deutschland '83, Helen Castor finds out why the Cold War has become such a hot topic with historians as well as TV viewers.
And Dan Snow takes us back to the year when the British Museum opened its doors for the first time, Wedgwood started production, Kew Gardens was founded and Britain swept almost everyone away on battlefields and seas across the globe. Is 1759 the most important date in history?
Tom Heap tells the story of coal from Industrial Revolution to its apparent demise.
As the world begins to fall out of love with coal, is it too early to write its obituary?
Coal drove the Industrial Revolution in this country. It could be argued that it helped to put the 'Great' into Great Britain.
Now, at least in Britain, we're turning our back on the sooty black stuff. The last deep pit, Kellingley Colliery, closed in December 2015 and all of the coal-fired power stations in the UK are set to close in the next decade. Coal is on its knees.
But what about the rest of the world? China and the US have had an enormous appetite for coal and while both will continue to mine and burn the stuff for the coming decades, it is possible that we may have already reached 'peak coal' - the point at which coal demand will plateau, before declining.
Coal will continue to lift developing countries through the various economic growth. It is expected that areas of South Asia will continue to depend on coal to generate power but even in those places they are hoping to implement new, cleaner ways of burning coal. The fuel could be facing a 'long sunset'.
Carbon Capture and Storage has often been hailed as a potential cure-all for Carbon Dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, so could it step in now to save coal before it is confined to the annals of history?
It may be too early to say. However in Canada there is one commercially operating plant. Many experts believe that we need CCS if we are going to seriously tackle our global CO2 emissions because, at least in the short term, coal will remain on his dusty throne for the coming decades.
Michael Rosen & Laura Wright hear about Mouthpiece, a project in which composer Jennifer Bell has been given access to interview people from the Speaker to the barista about their working lives in the Houses of Parliament. She's then created songs from their words to show the human side of life there, and to reflect on the ways in which Parliament voices the country.
There is a tradition of using verbatim speech in music, and Michael compares Jennifer's work to the Radio Ballads of Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker, in particular Singing The Fishing.
More information about Jennifer Bell's work can be found on her website, www.jenniferbellcompany.com.
Actress Samantha Bond and editor of The New Statesman Jason Cowley join Harriett Gilbert for some passionate conversation about favourite books.
Samantha Bond, star of 'Home Fires', 'Downton Abbey' and a one-time Miss Moneypenny, is also a voracious reader. Her choice is Donna Tartt's first novel, the best-selling 'A Secret History', a murder-mystery with a Vermont campus setting and an intriguing cast of characters.
Jason Cowley is credited with revitalising The New Statesman as its editor. He recommends 'The Secret Agent' by Joseph Conrad, a novel about a terrorist bomb-plot devised by a shady Soho shopkeeper who doubles as a spy for the Russians. The story was inspired by the death of a French anarchist who accidentally blew himself up while attempting to plant a bomb in Greenwich Park in 1894, and has, in its turn, inspired many adaptations since its publication in 1907.
Harriett's choice is 'The Dead Lake' by Hamid Ismailov, a haunting fairytale, with hints of Gunther Grass' 'The Tin Drum', about the impact of repeated atomic testing in Soviet-era Kazakhstan on the local people of the Steppes.
David Cameron tries to drum up support for his EU plans. New cancer treatment welcomed.
Ed Reardon leads us through the ups and down of his week, complete with his trusty companion, Elgar, and the curmudgeonly attitude to life that he's mastered over years of failure.
Ed finally finds himself homeless. However, all is not lost as an unexpected bonus of the recent financial apocalypse is that there are many premises in need of temporary caretakers. So it is that Ed finds himself residing in a furniture warehouse in Berkhamsted, complete with 'dream kitchen' fake fruit and a massage chair. He also somehow finds himself an author with a two book cookbook deal and a three figure advance.
With Stephanie Cole and Celia Imrie.
Tom hopes that Helen will get more involved with the shop when she has recovered. Pat's certain that Ursula will be a great help to Rob and Helen, but Tom feels that Rob is organising things before talking to others (Pat could have helped at home). Pat sticks up for Rob and Tom's intrigued to meet Ursula, given that she's Rob's mother.
Roy and Kirsty discuss Valentine's Day - Roy suggests an 'anti Valentine's' card. Kirsty and Roy have each received an anonymous card, wondering who they can be from. Kirsty's still worried about Helen, and suspicious of Rob, who always 'appears' to be doing the right thing for Helen. But Roy doesn't seem to be worried.
Pat meets Ursula and Helen reassures Pat that she won't be side-lined. Kirsty tries to phone Helen but Ursula answers and agrees to pass on a message. Friendly Ursula knows how concerned Kirsty has been and suggests she comes round to see Helen - with Ursula there to help, Helen will be freer to see her friends. "You did say you were Rob's mother?" asks an astounded Kirsty.
Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie discusses the band's new album Chaosmosis and why they have returned to 'immediate' pop songwriting.
Cellist Steven Isserlis tells John Wilson about his new recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto, and his fear of performing the complete Bach Cello Suites from memory.
Amalia Ulman, the social media-based artist, discusses her work in Performing for the Camera, a new exhibition at Tate Modern in London, which examines the relationship between photography and performance, from the invention of photography in the 19th century to the selfie culture of today.
Are international conflicts creating tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the UK?
Shabnam Mahmood reports from both Sunni and Shia communities and reveals how divisive messages from the Middle East are fuelling intolerance here.
Organisations which monitor hate crimes say sectarian violence, while low level, is increasing.
One Shia man tells the programme: "It is now becoming quite dangerous. It is an attack on me as a Shia that really scares me."
Mahmood reports from one of an increasing number of unity events being staged across the country to foster good relations. A Sunni imam tells her: "These are dangerous times and the religious leadership need to be seen to be doing things to bring communities together."
So can such work prevent tensions escalating in the face of the sectarian propaganda that's increasingly available online and on satellite television channels?
Amit Patel took his guide dog to the UK's largest Hindu temple for Diwali, but ran into problems. He explains why to Peter White. And the RNIB comes into the studio to talk about the consultation on Personal Independence Payments.
The UK's first licensed e-cig, owned by a tobacco company, is now classed as a medicine paving the way for it to be prescribed on the NHS to help people quit. Robert West, Professor of Psychology at University College London and one of the world's leading experts on smoking cessation, and GP Margaret McCartney debate the issues.
Asherman's Syndrome, a little known complication of surgery that is often missed but can cause infertility. Obstetrician Virginia Beckett explains how Asherman's Syndrome occurs and how it is treated.
Rugby is growing in popularity, particularly among children, with 1.2 million of them now playing at schools and clubs in England alone. But at what cost? Rugby is rough and injuries are more common than most parents think.
After her son and other young people were hurt repeatedly on the rugby field, Allyson Pollock, Professor of Public Health Research and Policy at Queen Mary, University of London, explored the incidence of injuries. From her research she is now recommending an end to the contact element of rugby in young people. Rugby Football Union's community medical director Dr Mike England responds.
Duke's controversial remarks; Syria allows aid to besieged areas; Poland holocaust row
(Photo shows Duke of Cambridge speaking at Foreign Office; credit - Getty Images).
Rhashan Stone reads the new novel by Meg Rosoff, author of the bestselling "How I Live Now".
Set in New York, the novel follows graphic designer Jonathan Trefoil as he navigates big city life as a fully-fledged adult. Aided by canine companions Dante the collie and Sissy the spaniel - who've been left in his charge by his brother James - Jonathan wishes there was a book he could read ("How To Be A Person") that would help him cope with his new responsibilities.
Increasingly worn down by his mind-numbing job in a marketing company, the one bright spot on Jonathan's horizon is the imminent arrival of his girlfriend Julie. But what will she make of the tiny apartment he's found? And how will she get on with the dogs?
Rajini Vaidyanathan continues her examination of the debate about race in the United States. In this second episode she looks at segregation.
The famous 'Brown versus the Board of Education' legal case and the civil rights movement were supposed to have brought Americans together, but in Kansas City Rajini sees for herself the much more complicated legacy of desegregation. On the one hand, splintering solidarity in the black community; on the other, a city where white and black Americans still live quite separate lives.
Demographers suggest America is becoming less segregated, but in Atlanta, one of the big southern cities supposedly driving the desegregation, she finds the reality doesn't quite match the statistics. Catching up with a family featured throughout the series, she finds estate agents steering black families away from white neighbourhoods. She discusses that with Julian Castro, the US Housing Secretary, and hears about his new rules to get communities integrating.
In Connecticut she visits a community which has spent 20 years trying to integrate its schools, without requiring it of anyone.
WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0707vp0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b070dksg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0707vp2)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0707vp4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0707vp6)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0707vp8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b070ss12)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch: Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b070fdhq)
Flood update, Mental health awareness, Academic Archers conference
In December, floods left dairy farmer David Martin's milking parlour knee-deep in water. Two and half months on, Caz Graham goes to meet him, and finds out what his biggest concerns are now that the floodwaters have subsided.
Farming Today continues its week-long look at mental health. We hear from a campaigner who wants agricultural colleges to include education about mental health as part of their courses.
And the academic side of the Archers! We find out about a conference taking place in London today, at which a range of academic disciplines will turn their spotlight on the everyday story of country folk - from a paper on 'Lynda Snell as Archetypal Class Warrior' to one which investigates the similarities between Rob Titchner and Shakespeare's Othello.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Emma Campbell.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk4j)
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Brett Westwood presents the Great Spotted woodpecker. In spring Great Spotted Woodpeckers drum loudly with their bills against tree bark to advertise their territories. Unlike many of our woodland birds, which are declining, Great Spotted Woodpeckers have increased rapidly over the last few decades - up to 250% since the 1970's.
WED 06:00 Today (b070fdhs)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 The Pope's Letters (b072jknz)
Saint John Paul was one of the most famous faces of the 20th Century - during the years of his globetrotting pontificate he was probably seen by more people than anyone in history. Now, the discovery of hundreds of letters charting a deep friendship with a Anna-Teresa Tymiencka, a married woman for 32 years, has revealed a new side of his life.
Edward Stourton presents extracts from the letters which convey John Paul's sense that she was a "gift" in his life and how important her companionship became to his role in the church.
This programme is only available within the UK.
Producer Phil Pegum
Editor Christine Morgan.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b070fdhx)
Benjamin Franklin in London
Episode 3
In the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin spent almost two decades in London - at exactly the same time as Mozart, Casanova and Handel. This is an enthralling biography - not only of the man, but of the city when it was a hub of Enlightenment activity.
For the great majority of his long life, Benjamin Franklin was a loyal British royalist. In 1757, having made his fortune in Philadelphia and established his fame as a renowned experimental scientist, he crossed the Atlantic to live as a gentleman in the heaving metropolis of London.
From his house in Craven Street, he mixed with both the brilliant and the powerful - in London coffee house clubs, at the Royal Society, and on his summer travels around the British Isles and continental Europe. He counted David Hume, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Edmund Burke and Erasmus Darwin among his friends - and, as an American colonial representative, he had access to successive Prime Ministers and even the King.
The early 1760s saw Britain's elevation to global superpower status with victory in the Seven Years War and the succession of the young, active George III. This brought a sharp new edge to political competition in London and redefined the relationship between Britain and its colonies. They would profoundly affect Franklin himself, eventually placing him in opposition with his ambitious son William.
Though Franklin sought to prevent the America's break with Great Britain, his own actions would finally help cause that very event.
Episode 3:
Franklin's achievements in the field of physics, and specifically that of electricity, have won him an international reputation.
Written by George Goodwin
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Read by Nickolas Grace
Produced by David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b070fdhz)
Sex Education in Schools
Branwen Jeffreys the BBC's Education Editor on why the government's rejected MPs' calls to make sex education in schools compulsory.
Kate Bornstein the American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist. She identifies herself as gender non-conforming having been born male - but undergoing gender surgery in the 1980's. She's talks to Jane about her new series of performances where she explores the notion of "not-man, not-woman identity in a world that demands we be one or the other".
We hear from Ruth Ehrlich a young woman who decided to report a sexual assault on a London bus after seeing an advertising campaign urging women to come forward. Laura Bates Founder of the Every Day Sexism Project looks at what's being done around the country by police forces to catch those responsible.
KM Peyton, author of Flambards, had her first book published at the age of 15 and has had a book published every year since. She's now 86. She talks about her latest novel Wild Lily set during the 1920s and her life as a writer over the last 70 years.
Presenter Jane Garvey
Producer Beverley Purcell.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b070fdj1)
Halfway Here
Episode 8
by Lucy Catherine.
Luke is desperate to communicate with his comatose twin sister somehow.
Director ..... Mary Peate.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b070fdj3)
Louise and Ivor - Negative Attitude
Fi Glover with a conversation between a retired photographer and his daughter, about the preservation of his archive of half a million negatives into the digital age. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 11:00 Verdun - The Sacred Wound (b070fdj5)
The Battle
Verdun is the sacred wound of France. No other battle of the Great War would so define the trauma of loss, the bitterness of occupation and the Republic's desire to repulse the ancient enemy. It began in a rain of steel and ended with both sides exhausted but crucially France undefeated. It was the last battle the nation would fight alone and would, in the decades to come, help shape modern Europe. David Reynolds explores both the many meanings the battle generated in 1916 and the memory of loss that came to shape France & Germany in the post war years.
On February 21st 1916, this quiet part of the front, with its seemingly impregnable array of fortresses, was subjected to an almost unendurable bombardment. Industrial slaughter on an unprecedented scale. A million shells fall that day on an unprepared and increasingly panicked French army. Yet as the Germans advanced through torn up terrain there was still life and it was firing back.
What had been planned as an overwhelming breakthrough to crush French resolve & bring about a war of movement would escalate into 10 months of mutual artillery slaughter with soldiers scraping and burrowing into the earth to simply hold the line. It was a battle that made the name of Philippe Petain, ensured the majority of French forces marked by service there & ruined the reputations of its supreme commanders Erich von Falkenhayn, whose masterplan Verdun had been and Marshall Joffre, accused in Parliament of military failings & for presiding over terrible losses.
In the first of two programmes, historian David Reynolds travels to Verdun and its mournful battlefields to better understand what it meant for two nations to wage industrial warfare over a patch of land no bigger than the distance from Leeds to Bradford.
Producer: Mark Burman.
WED 11:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b06bnq1g)
Series 1
We Try Harder
Change is afoot at Hardacre's, London's worst advertising agency. New accounts chief Amanda Brook is well underway with her plans to turn the agency around, insisting they take any work they can get. Creative team Joe and Teddy thus find themselves reduced to working on posters for industrial adhesives, cast iron stoves, and jewellery for dogs.
Horrified at seeing his name associated with such a low calibre of clients, creative director and advertising legend Rupert Hardacre resolves to bring in a better class of account. He enlists Amanda's help to chase down McCutcheon's Whisky, a client he worked with many years earlier.
While Hardacre and Amanda head off, Joe and Teddy are left at the office determined to prove that they can design a poster, hire a plumber, and interview a client entirely unsupervised. Their jobs may just depend on it.
Rupert Hardacre - Nigel Havers
Amanda Brook - Josie Lawrence
Joe - Matthew Baynton
Teddy - Rasmus Hardiker
Director Alan Nixon
Producer Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b0707vpb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b070ffbh)
Series 1
The Aural Voyeur
Drs Rutherford and Fry tackle a vexing case sent in by Daniel Sarano from New Jersey, who asks why people shout on their mobile phones in public.
Our science sleuths find the answer by delving into the inner workings of telephony with a tale of engineering rivalry, Victorian etiquette and early otolaryngology.
Featuring acoustic technologist Nick Zakarov and historian Greg Jenner, author of 'A Million Years in a Day: A Curious History of Daily Life.'
If you have any scientific cases for the team to investigate please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Presenters: Hannah Fry & Adam Rutherford
Producer: Michelle Martin.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b070ffbk)
Charity call centres, Pay-day loans, Gardening
Last year was a bad one for charities - in today's programme we explore how charities might learn from the criticism and find new ways to protect their donors.
Telephone fundraising used to be very lucrative way of raising money for charities. But undercover investigations into call centres found that some were pressurising elderly and vulnerable people. We speak to a former employee of GoGen, a company that has now closed down, to find out what the call handlers were expected to do.
We examine why charities targeted one group of donors, so called "Dorothy Donors". These are older women, who like to donate to charity. Did charities take advantage of their good nature?
Also, we speak to the boss of pay day lender, The Money Shop on how he's trying to improve the reputation of his industry.
The growth in Garden Centres offering more than just plants - we speak to the retailers with coffee shops and dog groomers next to the roses.
And the listener who discovered her Facebook profile had been cloned, and a fake profile was sending messages to her friends.
Producer: Lydia Thomas
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
WED 12:57 Weather (b0707vpl)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b070ffbm)
David Cameron has been making final efforts to win support for his proposed reforms of the European Union. Among the visitors to Downing Street was Boris Johnson. How important is it for the Prime Minister to win the backing of the Mayor of London?
UN convoys in Syria are attempting to deliver desperately-needed aid to thousands of people trapped by the fighting. We hear from people besieged in Aleppo and an aid worker.
What price privacy? Apple says it will fight a court order to help the FBI access data on a phone, which belonged to a man who carried out a mass shooting.
WED 13:45 In Therapy (b070nvxf)
Series 1
Jo
Psychotherapist Susie Orbach explores the private relationship between therapist and patient. Each day we are given privileged access to Susie's consulting room, where she meets a variety of clients.
All of the clients are played by actors, but these are not scripted scenes. Each client profile has been carefully constructed by therapist Susie, director Ian Rickson (former artistic director at the Royal Court, and director of the highly acclaimed 'Jerusalem') and radio producer Kevin Dawson. The client profiles have been given to the actors who have learnt about their characters lives, backgrounds, and individual reason for seeking therapy. The scenes have then been improvised and recorded on hidden microphones at Susie's surgery.
Today, Susie has her first meeting with Jo, a new patient and an out of work actress.
Elsewhere in the series, we meet Helen, a high achieving corporate lawyer who is struggling to identify what is wrong - but knows that something is. John is older - in his 60s, and a retired railway trade unionist. His wide and children are gone, but his therapy is helping him to turn his life around. Then there's Louise and Richard - a couple expecting their first baby in a few days.
We hear the therapist at work, eavesdropping on the most intimate of exchanges. To help us with our understanding of the process, Susie Orbach commentates on what is happening in the room, shining a light on the journey both she and her patient have embarked upon.
Presenter: Susie Orbach
Producer: Kevin Dawson
Director: Ian Rickson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b070dq89)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b03szts2)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The Modern Husband Course
A new two-part dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's latest No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency book, 'The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon'. Mma Remotswe and Mma Makutsi return to Radio 4 for a tenth series based on the popular novels set in Bostwana, dramatised by the author.
Episode 1 : The Modern Husband Course
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni embarks on a quest for self-improvement, with a little encouragement from Mma Ramotswe. Mma Makutsi settles into her new house while hiding a secret from her best friend.
Mma Ramotswe.................................CLAIRE BENEDICT
Mma Makutsi......................................NADINE MARSHALL
Mr J L B Matekoni...............................BEN ONWUKWE
Mma Sheba/Aunt Radiphuti................ADJOA ANDOH
Phuti Radiphuti ..................................JUDE AKUWUDIKE
Charlie / Liso......................................MAYNARD EZIASHI
Mma Soleti..........................................ELEANOR CROOKS
Mma Keitumetse.................................ANNA BENGO
Student...............................................STEVE TOUSSAINT
Mma Molapo................................... ....JANICE ACQUAH
Directed by Eilidh McCreadie
WED 15:00 Money Box (b070fft3)
Money Box Live: Is the Isa on its last legs?
Louise Cooper and guests debate: is the tax free ISA on its last legs?
Interest paid on Cash Isas from major High Street banks has been falling steadily. While some current or savings accounts actually have better returns on your money, than if you'd left your cash in a tax free ISA wrapper. Why are rates on Cash Isas from major banks so poor?
There's at least some good news for savers but ironically it won't help the ISA. When the Personal Savings Allowance comes into force in April, most of us will no longer be taxed on the interest we earn on our savings in banks or building society accounts. So we may choose not to put our savings in an ISA but chase better returns elsewhere.
Yet there are developments which could give the ailing ISA's profile a boost. Help to Buy Isas, launched by the Government last December to aid first time buyers, are very popular. More than a quarter of a million people have signed up for one since the launch. And for those people who want to take on a bit more risk for possibly better returns, there's the expected start of Peer to Peer ISAS, this April.
So what is the future for the ISA?
Join Louise Cooper and guests. E mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk. Or ring 03 700 100 444 on Wednesday from
1pm.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b070dq8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b070fft5)
Museums and nationalism, Imagining utopias
Museums and the 'nation': What can we learn about nationalism by looking at a country's cultural institutions? Laurie Taylor talks to Peggy Levitt, Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College, and author of a study which explores how museums today represent diversity and make sense of immigration and globalisation. She interviewed a range of museum directors, curators, and policymakers and heard the inside stories of the famous paintings and objects which define collections across the globe; from Europe to the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. They're joined by Julian Spalding, the art critic and writer.
Also, imagining utopias. Professor Craig Calhoun, director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, considers the role of impossible dreams in shaping our reality.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b070fft7)
Independent moves online, Editor-in-chief of Huffington Post UK, Genre-led divisions at the BBC
After thirty years, the Independent and the Independent on Sunday are to end their print editions next month - although they'll continue online. In addition, sister paper i has been sold to Johnston Press for £24 million. The Independent was selling more than 400,000 copies a day at its peak in the late 1980s, but its current paid circulation is around 56,000. Steve Hewlett talks to two key decision makers involved in the change; Amol Rajan, Editor of The Independent and Steve Auckland, Group CEO of ESI Media, which owns all three titles.
Today, we also hear from the Editor in Chief of the Huffington Post UK. The British incarnation of the online platform founded in the US in 2005 is now just one of legion 'digital native' content organisations, credited with playing a part in the demise of news in print. Today, Huffington Post UK will be guest edited by the Duchess of Cambridge. To discuss how this and other innovations might also raise the profile of the Huffington Post UK, Steve Hewlett is joined by Editor in Chief Stephen Hull.
BBC 3 has this week become an online-only platform. It follows reports that BBC 3 might merge with Radio 1 to form a new 'BBC Youth' brand, and that the BBC Director General Tony Hall may soon announce plans for a corporation-wide restructuring into genre-led divisions, such as BBC Inform & BBC Entertain, rather than channels. Steve is joined by Lorraine Heggessey, former Controller of BBC 1 and Tim Suter, media consultant & founding partner in Ofcom, to discuss the pros and cons of reshaping BBC content in this way.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b070fft9)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0707vq3)
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, says David Cameron's EU demands are justified.
WED 18:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05r3z49)
Series 2
Episode 4
Adventuring comedian Tim FitzHigham and his old nemesis Alex Horne recreate a 19th century bet; can Tim ride a horse from London to Dover and back before Alex makes 1 million dots on a piece of paper?"
WED 19:00 The Archers (b070fftd)
Pip invites a delighted Rex to her birthday drinks tonight at The Bull. She thanks Rex for his advice about Matthew, and reveals she was on the point of giving up until she spoke to Rex. Pip asks about a Valentine's card she received - the writing looks like Toby's. Rex says quickly that it wasn't from him. Pip insists she is not the kind of girl that men pine over. Toby insists to a miffed Rex that he was just trying to play cupid for Rex, who tells Toby to drop it. Back to business, Rex and Toby discuss the specifications of the egg-mobile with Bert. He accepts their challenge to build it.
The Grundys go ahead with introducing cattle to the land at Grange Farm without Oliver's consent. Bert questions their actions but Joe isn't concerned.
Ruth and Pip are working hard. David, meanwhile, checks through the paperwork for the sale of the herd tomorrow. Pip's planning a relatively quiet night, mindful of all the changes at Brookfield. Pip and Ruth share a heartfelt moment, and together they milk the 'original' cows one final time. They're looking forward to the future, and Pip says part of what has kept her positive is having Matthew beside her. "That's love for you," says Ruth, and Pip realises that she really does love Matthew.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b070fn1w)
Freeheld review, Anna Hope, Jack Garratt, Unexpected Eisenstein
Stella Duffy reviews Julianne Moore and Ellen Page in Freeheld, based on the true story of lesbian police detective's struggle to have her pension transferred to her domestic partner after she is diagnosed with cancer.
Novelist Anna Hope discusses her new book, The Ballroom, a love story set in an asylum in Yorkshire in 1911 and set against a backdrop of changing attitudes towards poverty and mental illness.
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Jack Garratt on his début album, Phase.
Film historian Ian Christie shows Samira around his new exhibition of previously unseen drawings by pioneering Soviet film maker Sergei Eisenstein.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Jack Soper.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b070fdj1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b070fn1y)
Banning Boycotts
How far should you be allowed to express your moral and political beliefs through boycotts? There have been high profile boycott campaigns on everything from companies involved in the arms trade, fossil fuels, and tobacco products to economic and academic boycotts of Israel. Now the government is planning a law to make it illegal for local councils, public bodies and even some university student unions to carry out boycotts. Under the plan all publicly funded institutions will lose the freedom to refuse to buy goods and services as part of a political campaign. It's said that any public bodies that continue to pursue boycotts will face "severe penalties." The government believes cracking down on town-hall boycotts is justified because they undermine good community relations, poison and polarise debate and fuel anti-Semitism. Beyond the narrow principle of what tax payers money should be spent on, what is wrong with a group of citizens organising to express their moral, philosophical or political objection to a company or country through their economic, intellectual or cultural power? Such boycotts have in the past been very effective. If every pound we spend can on some level be seen as an expression of our individual moral codes, why should we not have a say on where money is spent on our behalf? Are boycotts misguided empty political gestures more designed to make us feel self-righteous? And even if they are is outlawing them justified? Banning the boycott - the Moral Maze. Chaired by Michael Buerk with Melanie Phillips, Matthew Taylor, Claire Fox and Jill Kirby.
WED 20:45 Lent Talks (b070fn20)
The Wilderness
The Christian season of Lent is traditionally a time for self-examination and reflection on the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion. Throughout Lent six writers will reflect on these events through a variety of locations as they explore the theme of "Lent in the Landscape". This week Emma Loveridge, who used to run excursions to the Sinai Desert, takes us to her own private wilderness which she has created in Devon to reflect on Jesus' forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. Producer: Phil Pegum.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b070dkt9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b070fdhv)
Rob Askins, Dr Dean Burnett, Mark Lockyer, Ellie Crossley
Due to scheduling changes this episode will be broadcast on Radio 4 at
21:30. The full length programme is available online from February 17 2016.
Libby Purves meets playwright Rob Askins; actor Mark Lockyer, neuroscientist and stand-up comedian Dean Burnett and cattle warden Ellie Crossley.
Rob Askins is a writer and playwright. His play, Hand To God, is a semi-autobiographical story about his teenage years growing up in a small Texas town and attending a church puppet school. Hand To God, is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and is at the Vaudeville Theatre, London.
In 1995 Mark Lockyer was forced to abandon an acting career after suffering a breakdown. In his one-man show, Living with the Lights On, he tells of his experience living with an undiagnosed bi-polar disorder and his journey through the medical and criminal justice systems to his eventual recovery. Living with the Lights On is touring the UK, starting in Exeter and finishing at London's Young Vic.
Dr Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience and a stand-up comedian. He teaches psychiatry at Cardiff University and is the author of the science blog, Brain Flapping. His book The Idiot Brain - a Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head is Really Up To, examines how and why the brain sabotages our behaviour. The Idiot Brain - a Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head is Really Up To, is published by Guardian Faber.
Ellie Crossley is warden of the Chillingham Wild Cattle, a rare breed of animals based in Northumberland where they have grazed for over 800 years. The herd numbers around 100 beasts, and have remained genetically isolated for hundreds of years. She is the first female to hold the post of warden.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b070fn22)
Ankara car bomb kills 28 people
Turkey's former Europe minister says it's an attack on Turkey's unity. Ahead of a key EU summit which opens tomorrow, we have the latest on the attempt to get a deal to persuade Britain to stay in the EU; and should Apple help the FBI to unlock the phone of the San Bernardino killer?
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b070fn24)
Jonathan Unleashed
Episode 3
The new novel by bestselling author Meg Rosoff, read by Rhashan Stone.
Jonathan Trefoil has arrived in New York fresh from college and ready for his life to begin. He's found himself an apartment and he's temporarily in charge of his brother's dogs (Dante, a Border Collie, and Sissy, a Spaniel) while his brother is working in Dubai. His best friend Max has landed him a job at Comrade, a marketing company run by one of their school friends. He has a smart girlfriend, Julie, who has just joined him. Life is good... isn't it?
Greeley, Comrade's new Office Manager, brings a brighter, healthier vibe to Jonathan's working life - even encouraging him to bring the dogs into work. But just as Jonathan begins to feel that he's getting on top of his new life, Julie floors him with a commercially sensible proposition.
Written by Meg Rosoff.
Read by Rhashan Stone.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
WED 23:00 The Future of Radio (b070fn4c)
Series 2
Friends Electric
These programmes reveal the secret work of the Institute of Radiophonic Evolution in South Mimms - drawing on conference calls, voice notes and life-logs, to tell a compelling and strange story of the technological lengths to which the researchers will go to push forward the boundaries of the emerging digital technologies.
Each week a jiffy bag of sound files arrives at BBC Radio 4. We listen to the contents to discover what backroom boffins Luke Mourne and Professor Trish Baldock (ably assisted by Shelley – on work experience) have been up to.
In this episode, jealousy of a fellow inventor drives Luke to take Artificial Intelligence to the next level.
Luke..................William Beck
Trish..................Emma Kilbey
Shelley...............Lizzy Watts
Felix....................David Brett
Leary..................Eddie Eyre
Pontius...............Chris Stanton
with Chris Stanton and Jessica Carroll
Written by Jerome Vincent & Stephen Dinsdale
Producer David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2016.
WED 23:15 Nurse (b03y15jr)
Series 1
Episode 5
A brand new series starring Paul Whitehouse and Esther Coles, with Rosie Cavaliero, Simon Day, Cecilia Noble and Marcia Warren.
The series follows Elizabeth, a Community Psychiatric Nurse in her forties, into the homes of her patients (or Service Users in today's jargon). It recounts their humorous, sad and often bewildering daily interactions with the nurse, whose job is to assess their progress, dispense their medication and offer comfort and support.
Compassionate and caring, Elizabeth is aware that she cannot cure her patients, only help them manage their various conditions. She visits the following characters throughout the series:
Lorrie and Maurice: Lorrie, in her fifties, is of Caribbean descent and has schizophrenia. Lorrie's life is made tolerable by her unshakeable faith in Jesus, and Maurice, who has a crush on her and wants to do all he can to help. So much so that he ends up getting on everyone's nerves.
Billy: Billy feels safer in jail than outside, a state of affairs the nurse is trying to rectify. She is hampered by the ubiquitous presence of Billy's mate, Tony.
Graham: in his forties, is morbidly obese due to an eating disorder. Matters aren't helped by his mum 'treating' him to sugary and fatty snacks at all times.
Ray: is bipolar and a rock and roll survivor from the Sixties. It is not clear how much of his 'fame' is simply a product of his imagination.
Phyllis: in her seventies, has Alzheimer's. She is sweet, charming and exasperating. Her son Gary does his best but if he has to hear 'I danced for the Queen Mum once' one more time he will explode.
Herbert is an old school gentleman in his late Seventies. Herbert corresponds with many great literary figures unconcerned that they are, for the most part, dead.
Nurse is written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings, who have collaborated many time in the past, including on The Fast Show, Down the Line and Happiness.
Written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with additional material from Esther Coles
Producers: Paul Whitehouse and Tilusha Ghelani
A Down the Line production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 America in Black and White (b0718434)
The Future of Black America
Rajini Vaidyanathan concludes her series looking at race in America by examining how black Americans are represented, and asking what it means to be black in America today.
Travelling widely across the country she hears from families in Atlanta, activists in Missouri and academics in New York City. She speaks to the artist Kehinde Wiley about his subversive attempts to literally paint power differently and to the poet Tracy K. Smith about the vital role stories can play in encouraging empathy, and she hears from the civil rights icon John Lewis why he is using comic books to tell his story.
Rajini discusses what is taught in schools, what is shown on TV, and how the reality of being black in America means new black migrants to the United States are increasingly retaining their immigrant identity to avoid being considered 'African American'. She discusses the next generation of leadership, who can authentically lead the Black Lives Matter movement, and attends a remarkable convention in Baltimore encouraging Americans to have 'courageous conversations about race.'
Producer: Giles Edwards.
THURSDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2016
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0707vsy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b070fdhx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0707vt0)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0707vt4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0707vtd)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0707vtj)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b070v8qf)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch: Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b070h6wp)
HS2 update, Coastal erosion in Sussex, 'Tractor Selfie' campaign
The latest on how the contested HS2 rail link route is affecting farms and villages in the West Midlands. BBC Correspondent Peter Plisner reports, speaking to a farmer near Stafford whose farm house and barns are facing demolition.
Winter storms along the Sussex coast are leading to increased erosion of the dramatic chalk cliffs at Cuckmere Haven near Eastbourne. They're falling into the sea at a rate of 30-40 cms every year, which has led to the gradual demolition of a row of cottages which are being undermined by the sea. Chrissie Reidie reports.
And the campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues in farming which is attracting support from hundreds of farmers in the UK and around the world. The 'Tractor Selfie' campaign was set up last summer in memory of a farmer who took his own life. Alex Paske explains why she's set up this social media campaign in which farmers post up selfies of themselves with tractors in the background.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Mark Smalley.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378tjf)
Oystercatcher
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Michaela Strachen presents the oystercatcher. These black and white waders used to be called sea-pies because of their pied plumage, which contrasts sharply with their pink legs and long red bill. Oystercatchers don't often eat oysters. Instead they use their powerful bill to break into mussels on rocks or probe for cockles in the mud of estuaries.
THU 06:00 Today (b070h6ws)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b070h6ww)
Robert Hooke
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Robert Hooke (1635-1703) who worked for Robert Boyle and was curator of experiments at the Royal Society. The engraving of a flea, above, is taken from his Micrographia which caused a sensation when published in 1665. Sometimes remembered for his disputes with Newton, he studied the planets with telescopes and snowflakes with microscopes. He was an early proposer of a theory of evolution, discovered light diffraction with a wave theory to explain it and felt he was rarely given due credit for his discoveries.
With
David Wootton
Anniversary Professor of History at the University of York
Patricia Fara
President Elect of the British Society for the History of Science
And
Rob Iliffe
Professor of History of Science at Oxford University
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b070h6wz)
Benjamin Franklin in London
Episode 4
In the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin spent almost two decades in London - at exactly the same time as Mozart, Casanova and Handel. This is an enthralling biography - not only of the man, but of the city when it was a hub of Enlightenment activity.
For the great majority of his long life, Benjamin Franklin was a loyal British royalist. In 1757, having made his fortune in Philadelphia and established his fame as a renowned experimental scientist, he crossed the Atlantic to live as a gentleman in the heaving metropolis of London.
From his house in Craven Street, he mixed with both the brilliant and the powerful - in London coffee house clubs, at the Royal Society, and on his summer travels around the British Isles and continental Europe. He counted David Hume, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Edmund Burke and Erasmus Darwin among his friends - and, as an American colonial representative, he had access to successive Prime Ministers and even the King.
The early 1760s saw Britain's elevation to global superpower status with victory in the Seven Years War and the succession of the young, active George III. This brought a sharp new edge to political competition in London and redefined the relationship between Britain and its colonies. They would profoundly affect Franklin himself, eventually placing him in opposition with his ambitious son William.
Though Franklin sought to prevent the America's break with Great Britain, his own actions would finally help cause that very event.
Episode 4:
Franklin's opponents in the Pennsylvania Assembly are preparing poisonous attacks to greet him on his return to America.
Written by George Goodwin
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Read by Nickolas Grace
Produced by David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b070hbsn)
Beth Ditto, Syrian hospital bombings, Fetishising motherhood, Sharon D Clarke, The Button Box
Earlier this week some 50 people were killed when four hospitals in Northern Syria were hit by missiles. Dr Rola Hallam, Medical Director of the NGO Hand in Hand for Syria explains why hospitals are being targeted and how aid agencies and NGO's are helping women and children caught in the conflict.
Beth Ditto, lead singer of the cult American band Gossip, outspoken feminist and LGBT activist speaks to Jenni on the day she launches her own plus-size fashion line.
Is the Motherhood Challenge on social media a celebration of motherhood or an unrealistic image of womanly perfection? To discuss, Jenni is joined by the journalist Flic Everitt, and by Jody Day, the founder of Gateway Women, a global support network for women who are childless by circumstance, and the author of Living The Life Unexpected: 12 Weeks To Your Plan B For A Meaningful And Fulfilling Future Without Children.
Actor and singer Sharon D Clarke recently opened at the National Theatre playing Ma Rainey, an African American singer often referred to as the Mother of the Blues. Sharon joins Jenni to talk about Ma, the importance of strong, female, black characters, training as a social worker and she sings Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Lynn Knight keeps a button collection that has been passed down through three generations of women in her family. She joins Jenni to talk about "The Button Box," her book which uses buttons to tell the story of women's lives from pre-First World War domesticity, to the delights of beading and glamour in the thirties, to short skirts and sexual liberation in the sixties.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Caroline Donne.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b070hbsq)
Halfway Here
Episode 9
by Lucy Catherine.
Nettie is still being kept on life support as her pregnancy continues.
Director ..... Mary Peate.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b0707vtn)
The Showdown Summit
Colouring in the space between the headlines. In this edition: behind the scenes at the EU as a meeting nears which could determine Britain's future in Europe; why many in the cities of Venezuela, mired in economic crisis, have a fond word for their former hardline socialist president Hugo Chavez; mass migrations's one of the biggest stories of our time but in Portugal they're concerned not about new arrivals, but about the number of people leaving; a visit to a jail in the US state of Oregon leaves our correspondent considering what it must be like to be locked up there and what it must be like to work there and clog dancing's not a subject tackled frequently on this programme but in Brittany, we find, it can be a good excuse for a bit of a knees-up!
THU 11:30 JD Salinger, Made in England (b070hbss)
JD Salinger is feted as the writer of one of greatest ever American novels. The Catcher in Rye established him as the most celebrated chronicler of urban New York and, in Holden Caulfield, he created the enduring embodiment of disaffected American youth.
Less well known is that Salinger spent three months in Tiverton, Devon, while preparing to be part of the D Day landings in 1944, and that during this short time he wrote a revealing autobiographical short-story and worked on the development of Holden Caulfield's character. Mark Hodkinson - a Salinger devotee who edited his best-selling biography - travels to Tiverton to retrace Salinger's steps and discover how Devon influenced Salinger's work.
The central character in the short-story, For Esme – with Love and Squalor, is, as Salinger was, a fledgling writer who becomes a US sergeant stationed in Devon. With the help of a local reading group, Mark visits the most likely church featured in the story and learns from people who remember the GIs being in town.
Mark is also accompanied by Dr Sarah Graham of the University of Leicester. They discuss how the story and Salinger's time in Devon informed his work, and life.
The programme also hears an exclusive interview with a 96 year old New Yorker who served with Salinger in Tiverton and remained friends with the reclusive writer for the rest of his life. "Salinger liked Devon," says the veteran soldier, "Any free time he had was taken up by writing on his portable typewriter."
THU 12:00 News Summary (b0707vtx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b070hbsv)
Series 1
The Squeamish Swoon
Science sleuths Hannah Fry and Adam Rutherford investigate the following question sent in by Philip Le Riche:
'Why do some people faint at the sight of blood, or a hypodermic needle, or even if they bash their funny bone? Does it serve any useful evolutionary purpose, or is just some kind of cerebral error condition?'
Adam is strapped onto a hospital tilt table in an attempt to make him blackout and Hannah receives an aromatic surprise.
Featuring consultant cardiologists Dr Nicholas Gall and Dr Adam Fitzpatrick and cardiac physiologist Shelley Dougherty.
If you have any scientific cases for the team to investigate please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Presenters: Hannah Fry & Adam Rutherford
Producer: Michelle Martin.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b070hbsx)
Payment errors, Energy prices, Train performance, Fat pets
The new promise to rescue money sent in error to the wrong bank accounts.
We're told that switching is the way to reduce your energy bills - but how can you get a good deal when you live somewhere served by just one supplier?
And the fat pets that go on a diet - do they lose weight? Do they keep it off? We revisit some we met over a year ago, including a dog so large it couldn't get up the stairs.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Jon Douglas.
THU 12:57 Weather (b0707vv3)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b070hbt0)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 In Therapy (b070cxy4)
Series 1
Helen
Psychotherapist Susie Orbach explores the private relationship between therapist and patient. Each day we are given privileged access to Susie's consulting room, where she meets a variety of clients.
All of the clients are played by actors, but these are not scripted scenes. Each client profile has been carefully constructed by therapist Susie, director Ian Rickson (former artistic director at the Royal Court, and director of the highly acclaimed 'Jerusalem') and radio producer Kevin Dawson. The client profiles have been given to the actors who have learnt about their characters lives, backgrounds, and individual reason for seeking therapy. The scenes have then been improvised and recorded on hidden microphones at Susie's surgery.
Today, Susie meets Helen, a high achieving corporate lawyer who is struggling to identify what is wrong - but knows that something is.
Elsewhere in the series, we meet John - in his 60s, and a retired railway trade unionist. His wife and children are gone, but his therapy is helping him to turn his life around. We also meet Louise and Richard - a couple expecting their first baby in a few days, and Jo, who is meeting Susie for the first time - she is an out of work actress.
We hear the therapist at work, eavesdropping on the most intimate of exchanges. To help us with our understanding of the process, Susie Orbach commentates on what is happening in the room, shining a light on the journey both she and her patient have embarked upon.
Presenter: Susie Orbach
Producer: Kevin Dawson
Director: Ian Rickson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b070fftd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b03szx7n)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
A new two-part dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's latest No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency book, 'The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon'. Mma Remotswe and Mma Makutsi return to Radio 4 for a tenth series based on the popular novels set in Bostwana, dramatised by the author.
Episode 2: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
Mma Ramotswe searches for answers as the campaign against Mma Soleti steps up a gear. Meanwhile the Agency welcomes a new arrival, and an old wrong is finally righted.
Mma Ramotswe.......................................CLAIRE BENEDICT
Mma Makutsi............................................NADINE MARSHALL
Mma Potokwani.......................................JANICE ACQUAH
Mma Soleti...............................................ELEANOR CROOKS
Charlie.....................................................MAYNARD EZIASHI
Daisy Manchwe........................................NOMA DUMEZWENI
Official.....................................................STEVE TOUSSAINT
House Mother..........................................ALIBE PARSONS
Directed by Eilidh McCreadie
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b070hktk)
Series 32
Walking with a Purpose: The Surrey Hills
Clare Balding joins Jenni Williams and her disabled three year old daughter, Eve, as they take their daily walk in the Surrey Hills. These walks are the highlight of their day as both enjoy being outside, admiring the views and watching the antics of their young and exuberant, golden retriever, Scout. Jenni talks candidly to Clare about how she and her husband, Steve have come to terms with Eve's condition and how they feel blessed to have such a happy and life affirming child.
Producer Lucy Lunt.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0709v36)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b070cgkh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b070hkyc)
John Lasseter
The Film Programme this week explores the work of American animator and film maker John Lasseter.
Presenter Francine Stock talks to John about his moving making techniques and films including Toy Story, Frozen and his latest release Zootropolis.
John also shares his experiences of working for both Pixar Animations and for Disney.
Presenter: Francine Stock
Producer: Anna Bailey
Editor: Jereome Weatherald.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b0707vvw)
Gravitational Waves, UK Spaceport, Big Brains and Extinction Risk, Conservation in Papua New Guinea
Gravitational waves were announced last week, in what may be the science discovery of the decade. The Ligo detector, the most sensitive instrument on the surface of the planet, detected the ripples given off by the collision of two black holes. Adam Rutherford puts a selection of listener questions to UCL cosmologist Dr Andrew Pontzen.
In March 2015, Campbeltown, Glasgow Prestwick, Stornoway, Newquay, Llanbedr and Leuchars were shortlisted by the government as possible sites for a "cosmodrome" or spaceport. With the UK space industry worth an estimated £40 billion by 2030, various stakeholders met for the UK spaceport conference at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London to discuss the progress of the project. What would the impact be for scientists, industry and the public?
Big brains have traditionally been considered an advantage. Animals with larger brains are better at using tools, working as a social group and assessing how to react to predators. But when Dr Eric Abelson cross referenced relative brain size against the mammals on the endangered list, he found something surprising. Many animals with the bigger brains are threatened within extinction. He talks to Adam about why that may be.
Tim Cockerill, ecologist and adventurer, returns from Papua New Guinea to discuss how one group of indigenous people have decided to work with scientists in order to conserve and study their local environment.
THU 17:00 PM (b070hkyf)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0707vvy)
Judges rule the law on joint enterprise has been misinterpreted for more than 30 years.
THU 18:30 Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On (b0717j1y)
Series 1
Cricket with Andy Zaltzman
Susan Calman is the least relaxed person she knows. She has no down time, no hobbies (unless you count dressing up your cats in silly outfits) and her idea of relaxation is to play Grand Theft Auto, an hour into which she is in a murderous rage with sky high blood pressure. Her wife had to threaten to divorce her to make her go on holiday last year. Her first for four years. But she's been told by the same long-suffering wife, that unless she finds a way to switch off, and soon, she's going to be unbearable.
So Susan is looking at her options to try and immerse herself in the pursuits that her friends find relaxing, to find her inner zen and outer tranquillity. Can she ditch the old Susan Calman and attempt to find the new Susan Calm?
This time, in a typically British leisure pursuit; Susan goes to a cricket match with Andy Zaltzman.
Keep Calman Carry On is an audience stand up show in which Susan reports on how successful she's been - both at relaxing and at the pursuit itself - as well as playing in and discussing a handful of illustrative clips from her efforts. It's an attempt to find out how people find solace or sanctuary in these worlds and how Susan can negotiate her own place in them.
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b070hn0w)
At Brookfield they say goodbye to the herd. Pip worries that they might be distressed, but Ruth assures her they'll be looked after. Pip gets talking to Bert as he starts to gather materials for his egg-mobile.
Brian goes to the Borchester market to support David and Ruth as the cows are sold. Brian's astounded that Justin's trusting Lilian with an expense account as part of her new job - what on earth will Justin's wife Miranda make of it? Brian comments that Justin's using Lilian to get in with the Borchester crowd. He and Jenny also laugh about the idea of Lilian going teetotal. More seriously, Brian's not looking forward to Kate "descending" on Home Farm again.
David manages to fetch some good prices for the livestock. David and Ruth have a heart-to-heart in the now-emptied cow sheds. They may be missing their cows, but David says he is just glad they haven't lost one other.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b070hn0y)
David McCallum, Marjorie Owens as Norma, Ashvin Kumar
As he publishes his first novel at the age of 82, David McCallum looks back at his career, from starring in cult TV series The Man From Uncle and Sapphire and Steel to his current role in crime drama NCIS.
Samira Ahmed talks to the American soprano Marjorie Owens, as she makes her English National Opera debut in Norma by Bellini, one of the most challenging roles in opera.
Oscar nominated Indian director Ashvin Kumar on why he is casting his new film about the conflict in Kashmir in the UK.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b070hbsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b070hns3)
7-Day NHS
This drive for changing the way the NHS operates has been frequently used by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt as the reason why a change to junior doctor and consultant contracts is needed. But what does it actually mean? John Ware explores what a seven-day NHS would look like, what evidence there is that it's needed, and, crucially, whether we can afford it.
Reporter: John Ware
Producer: Hannah Barnes
Researcher: Kirsteen Knight.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b070hns6)
Data Privacy
When you enter personal details onto any website or smartphone app, what happens to it? Where does it get stored, who owns it and who has access to it? These questions are becoming more relevant to ask as we put more details about every facet of our lives onto the internet. With a new piece of legislation passed in the EU dealing with this precise issue, businesses need to be up to speed with their knowledge on effective privacy management
Evan Davis and guests discuss why personal data is so valuable to business, and how the individual can also benefit from sharing this information.
Guests:
Mike Gordon, CEO, Callcredit Information Group
Liz Brandt, CEO, Ctrl Shift
Eduardo Ustaran, Data Privacy expert and Partner, Hogan Lovells.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b0707vvw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b070h6ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b070hns9)
Brexit overshadows migration talks at EU summit
Will the Brexit issue overshadow talks on the migration crisis in the EU council? Also the Pope's thinly veiled rebuke to Donald Trump, Bosnia's application to join the EU, and the prize-winning 'Refugee Coat', which can be turned into a sleeping bag and tent.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b070hnsc)
Jonathan Unleashed
Episode 4
Bestselling author Meg Rosoff's new novel, set in New York, read by Rhashan Stone.
Jonathan Trefoil has arrived in New York ready for his life to begin. He's found an apartment and is temporarily in charge of his brother's dogs (Dante, a Border Collie, and Sissy, a Spaniel) while his brother is working in Dubai. His best friend Max has got him a job at Comrade, a marketing company run by one of their school friends. He has a smart girlfriend, Julie, who has just joined him in the city. Life is good... isn't it?
Julie's unexpected proposition, and his hasty acceptance, leaves Jonathan reeling. A visit to his parents doesn't quite go as planned and, back at work, as things unravel further, leading office manager Greeley to step in with some wise advice.
Written by Meg Rosoff.
Read by Rhashan Stone.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
THU 23:00 Talking to Strangers (b070hrqj)
Episode 3
Comic monologues in which a range of characters find themselves engaging in that most un-British of activities: talking to a stranger.
Each piece is a character study: funny, frank, absurd, moving... Characters include a sex councillor who loves to draw, a spy who loves to share, a woman who likes to help too much ('I'm a serial helpist...'), a frustrated falconer, and a cheater who has to call her cheatee the morning after. And in this show, the listener themselves 'plays' the silent stranger in the piece...
Written and performed by Sally Phillips and Lily Bevan.
With guest stars including Emma Thompson, Olivia Colman, Jessica Hynes, Steve Evets, Sinead Matthews and Joel Fry.
A BBC Comedy Production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.
THU 23:30 Minimal Impact (b05xdcb7)
Tailfins and Burgers
The story of the musical aesthetic and the ubiquitous technique of minimalism.
It's now fifty years since the west coast American composer Terry Riley wrote In C, a work that consisted of 53 short musical phrases repeated at will. For New Yorker Steve Reich, this offered a new kind of musical expression for a post-war society of 'tailfins, Chuck Berry and millions of burgers sold'. With origins as much in the art world and the pop music industry as in the experimental musical philosophy of John Cage, 'minimalism' slowly but incontrovertibly assumed a dominant position in the musical landscape.
In this American-inflected first episode, composers from three generations - Steve Reich himself, Julia Wolfe of Bang on a Can and Bryce Dessner, a composer and guitarist with The National - consider the impact of the minimalist aesthetic and the techniques it employed in the USA and abroad, revealing a 'victory for the art school over the music conservatoire'.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRIDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2016
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0707vyh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b070h6wz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0707vzg)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0707vzj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0707vzl)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0707vzn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b070v9y2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch: Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b070hscf)
15 years since foot-and-mouth, Dementia among farmers, Food provenance passport scheme
Caz Graham marks the fifteenth anniversary of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth by visiting Cumbria's mass livestock burial ground that's now a flourishing nature reserve. Nearly half of the farms infected were in the Lake District, and disposing of the piles of dead livestock became a real problem. Some were burnt but there were concerns that the vast plumes of smoke from infected animals may be a health hazard. Eventually a mass burial site was established on a former RAF airfield near Carlisle. Half a million animals were buried at Watchtree but now 15 years on, Caz finds out that it's now a nature reserve.
What happens to farms when the head of the family, often the head of the business, suffers from the effects of dementia? Reverend Canon Barbara Clutton, who's the 'Rural Life Officer' for the Coventry diocese, and a Trustee of the Farm Community Network explains that the impact of dementia can first become apparent with problems handling the farm paperwork.
With just under a million horses and many leisure riders in the UK blacksmiths are very much in demand. Owen Mort used to be a welder in a shipyard but he's retrained as a blacksmith. BBC Northern Ireland's Agriculture and Environment Correspondent, Conor Macauley, meets him.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Mark Smalley.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k6slx)
Robin
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the robin. Christmas cards became popular around 1860 and robins often featured, carrying letters in their beaks or lifting door-knockers and were often referred to as the 'little postmen'. Until 1861, postmen wore red coats and were nick-named redbreasts or Robins, so the association between a familiar winter bird and the person who brought Christmas greetings was irresistible.
FRI 06:00 Today (b070hsch)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0709v49)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b070hsck)
Benjamin Franklin in London
Episode 5
In the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin spent almost two decades in London - at exactly the same time as Mozart, Casanova and Handel. This is an enthralling biography - not only of the man, but of the city when it was a hub of Enlightenment activity.
For the great majority of his long life, Benjamin Franklin was a loyal British royalist. In 1757, having made his fortune in Philadelphia and established his fame as a renowned experimental scientist, he crossed the Atlantic to live as a gentleman in the heaving metropolis of London.
From his house in Craven Street, he mixed with both the brilliant and the powerful - in London coffee house clubs, at the Royal Society, and on his summer travels around the British Isles and continental Europe. He counted David Hume, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Edmund Burke and Erasmus Darwin among his friends - and, as an American colonial representative, he had access to successive Prime Ministers and even the King.
The early 1760s saw Britain's elevation to global superpower status with victory in the Seven Years War and the succession of the young, active George III. This brought a sharp new edge to political competition in London and redefined the relationship between Britain and its colonies. They would profoundly affect Franklin himself, eventually placing him in opposition with his ambitious son William.
Though Franklin sought to prevent the America's break with Great Britain, his own actions would finally help cause that very event.
Episode 5:
It is 1775, and Franklin is no longer of any political use in London. He becomes Ambassador to France in the days before the Revolution.
Written by George Goodwin
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Read by Nickolas Grace
Produced by David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b070hscm)
Legal aid, Christine Delphy, Dating with a learning disability, Erica Jong, Facial hair
The Court of Appeal has found that Government changes to the rules which allow victims of domestic abuse to obtain legal aid are legally flawed. Jenni speaks to Emma Scott, Director of Rights of Women.
Christine Delphy is a world leader in feminist thinking. She founded a journal with Simone de Beauvoir and co-founded the Mouvement de Libération des Femmes. Increasingly, she has argued that French attitudes towards the hijab and Muslim women are reprehensible. She talks to Andrea Catherwood about her career.
How do adults with a learning disability make friends and relationships in a safe environment? Woman's Hour hears from Marianne Radcliffe of the charity Fitzroy about their campaign Love4Life, Mandy and Jay a couple who met through Stars in the Sky, a dating and friendship service for adults with learning difficulties and Nicole Hamerton, one of its founders.
Radio 4's season Riot Girls, about women's writing from the second wave of feminism to the present day includes a dramatisation of Erica Jong's novel Fear of Flying, published in 1973. Jenni spoke to Jong in 1990 and asked her what she said to the critics who suggested she wrote pornography.
Women often feel self-conscious about facial hair but it's very common. Why is it something that we still don't talk openly about? Jenni talks to Laura Cofield, Phd student from Sussex University and Dr Sam Bunting, cosmetic dermatologist.
Presenter: Jenni Murray.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b070hscp)
Halfway Here
Episode 10
by Lucy Catherine.
Luke's dark night of the soul is over.
Director ..... Mary Peate.
FRI 11:00 Choose Life (b070hscr)
In February 1996, Trainspotting exploded onto the big screen. Twenty years on, the real-life recovering addicts who inspired the filmmakers and actors reveal their own stories.
"All the characters are so recognisable that you don't know whether to laugh or cry. You are asked to do both." Review of Trainspotting, The Guardian, February 1996.
Scotland has a massive drug problem. The number of substance-related deaths has more than doubled since 1996 - the year Irvine Welsh's novel about a group of heroin addicts became one of the UK's most successful films, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle.
Trainspotting won a string of awards for its uncompromising portrayal of drug abuse. Much of the action and emotion on screen was informed by a small group of real-life recovering addicts, who advised the filmmakers and actors.
Calton Athletic Recovery Group is credited at the end of the film for special technical advice, and thanked "for their inspiration and courage".
Now, members of the Glasgow-based charity reveal their own stories.
Davie, Willie, Peter, Colin and others from Calton Athletic Recovery Group talk candidly and intimately about their own experiences of drug addiction and recovery. They discuss the impact on loved ones, the need for honesty, and their own decisions to "Choose Life", in the famous opening words of the film.
They also talk about their involvement in the making of Trainspotting, including their cameo roles, and they consider how true to life it was - and still is.
Produced by Steve Urquhart
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Dilemma (b03szh9f)
Series 3
Episode 1
Sue Perkins puts Kerry Godliman, John-Luke Roberts, Julia Hartley-Brewer and Clarke Carlisle through the moral and ethical wringer.
The panellists collectively attempt to resolve dilemmas based around dinosaur bones, injured guinea pigs, and unethical banks.
They also assert their moral correctness over giving directions and selling state secrets.
Devised by Danielle Ward.
Producer: Ed Morrish.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0707vzq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (b070hv9m)
Series 1
The Stellar Dustbin
An unusual case today for science sleuths Hannah Fry and Adam Rutherford sent by Elisabeth Hill:
'Can we shoot garbage into the sun?'
The duo embark on an astronomical thought experiment to see how much it would cost to throw Hannah's daily rubbish into our stellar dustbin. From space elevators to solar sails, they explore the various options that could be used to send litter to the Sun.
Featuring space scientist Lucie Green and astrophysicist Andrew Pontzen.
If you have any everyday mysteries for the team to investigate using the power of science, please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Presenters: Hannah Fry & Adam Rutherford
Producer: Michelle Martin.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b070hv9p)
The puppy trade, Efforts to improve how charities are run
Peter White talks to the former Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell about his aim to make charities better run and more successful. More problems for npower customers with their bills. And the Animal Welfare Minister responds to calls for reforms to the breeding and sale of puppies.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b0707vzv)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b070hv9r)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 In Therapy (b070v8bn)
Series 1
John
Psychotherapist Susie Orbach explores the private relationship between therapist and patient. Each day we are given privileged access to Susie's consulting room, where she meets a variety of clients.
All of the clients are played by actors, but these are not scripted scenes. Each client profile has been carefully constructed by therapist Susie, director Ian Rickson (former artistic director at the Royal Court, and director of the highly acclaimed 'Jerusalem') and radio producer Kevin Dawson. The client profiles have been given to the actors who have learnt about their characters lives, backgrounds, and individual reason for seeking therapy. The scenes have then been improvised and recorded on hidden microphones at Susie's surgery.
Today, Susie meets John, a retired railway trade unionist in his 60s. His wife and children are gone, but his therapy is helping him to turn his life around.
Elsewhere in the series, we meet Helen, a high achieving corporate lawyer who is struggling to identify what is wrong - but knows that something is. We also hear Susie's first meeting with Jo - a new patient and an out of work actress. Then there is Louise and Richard who are expecting their first child in a few days.
We hear the therapist at work, eavesdropping on the most intimate of exchanges. To help us with our understanding of the process, Susie Orbach commentates on what is happening in the room, shining a light on the journey both she and her patient have embarked upon.
Presenter: Susie Orbach
Producer: Kevin Dawson
Director: Ian Rickson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b070hn0w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Martyn Hesford - Tittle Tattle (b0415hb8)
Tittle Tattle by Martyn Hesford
It is 1964 and the 'Carry On' films are at the height of their popularity. Kenneth Williams is taking his mother Louie out for afternoon tea to celebrate her 60th birthday. He makes sure it is in a 'select' tea room - Derry and Toms. But who does he bump into? None other than fellow 'Carry On' actor Charles Hawtrey and his mother Alice. Charles is meeting a director about an upcoming film, but he is being very secretive as to who this mystery person is.
Director/Producer Gary Brown
Martyn Hesford is a hugely experienced scriptwriter and is best known for FANTABULOSA! (BBC 4) starring Michael Sheen which chronicles the life of Kenneth Williams. Martyn was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Single Drama for this film.
After starting his career as an actor, Martyn turned to screenwriting and penned a number of highly acclaimed BBC award winning single dramas such as A SMALL MOURNING, winner of Radio Times Drama Award, BRAZEN HUSSIES starring Julie Walters and A LITTLE BIT OF LIPPY starring Kenneth Cranham. As well as working on original pieces, Martyn has adapted several classic novels for TV. NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (ITV1), DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (Clerkenwell Films/Working Title/Universal Pictures) and THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP (ITV1).
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b070hxsb)
Tutbury Castle
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire. Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson and Bob Flowerdew answer this week's questions, including how excessive rain can affect your soil and which seeds are best to grow outdoors.
Also, the panellists dispense advice on how to make an effective hot bed and Matthew Wilson takes to the busy streets of Shoreditch to investigate the long-forgotten work of Thomas Fairchild.
Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Imagining Chekhov (b070hxsd)
Woman With A Little Pug by Alison MacLeod
A set of three stories, commissioned specially for Radio 4. Alison MacLeod explores the life and work of one of the finest short story writers of them all - Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.
In this playful reworking of Chekhov’s classic tale ‘The Lady With A Little Dog’, a philanderer encounters a woman in a Brighton hotel. But they can’t help thinking they’ve met each other somewhere before.
Alison MacLeod lives in Brighton. She was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award in 2011 and her stories Solo, A Capella and In Praise Of Radical Fish have featured in previous Radio 4 series. Her works include The Changeling and The Wave Theory of Angels. Her novel, Unexploded, was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and was broadcast as Book At Bedtime. Alison is Professor of Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester.
Reader: Peter Firth
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2016.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b070hxsg)
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Norman Hudis, Antonin Scalia, Harper Lee
Matthew Bannister on
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the United Nations Secretary General who had to deal with genocide in Rwanda and the war in the Balkans.
Edmonde Charles-Roux, the former resistance fighter who became editor of French Vogue magazine.
Norman Hudis, the screenwriter of many of the Carry On comedy films.
And Antonin Scalia, the conservative US Supreme Court Justice.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b070hxsj)
Junior doctors' strike, David Bowie's death
Feedback returns with the BBC Radio issues that matter most to you - from the coverage of Junior Doctors' debate and David Bowie's death, to a tough listen in The Archers and a documentary that invites you to see with your ears.
When David Bowie died, Radio 4's news programmes dedicated much of the day's coverage to the star. Many listeners felt the coverage was disproportionate. Jamie Angus, editor of the Today programme, speaks to presenter Roger Bolton to address complaints that the BBC let emotion override objectivity.
Jamie Angus also hears listeners' views on how his programme has been covering the Junior Doctors' contract debate. Listeners on both sides have concerns and question whether the BBC is picking the right people to represent the arguments and whether statements from the BMA and the government are being properly scrutinised.
Rob Titchener's relentless abuse of his wife Helen has been captivating many of the Ambridge faithful, but has also been forcing some to turn off their radios. Listeners debate whether the storyline is unmissable drama in the best tradition of the programme, or a subject that is just too painful to return to day in, day out.
And stop, stand still and listen. That's what listeners did when journalist Helena Merriman told them to during her documentary Batman and Ethan. The programme featured Ethan, a blind ten year old learning to explore the world through a technique called echolocation, which uses sound to create a picture of his environment. Roger Bolton speaks to Helena about recreating something that only blind people can understand, and asks if highlighting the unusual technique risks creating unrealistic expectations for many blind people.
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b070hxsl)
Ann and Daniel - Breaking the Sound Barrier
In a first for The Listening Project, Fi Glover introduces a conversation that uses signing. A mother and her son reflect on their experiences of the deaf and hearing worlds. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b070nx1d)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0707w0r)
EU leaders remain locked in talks amid signs Mr Cameron is struggling to win concessions
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b070hxsn)
Series 89
Episode 7
Series 89 of the satirical quiz. Miles Jupp is back in the chair, trying to keep order as an esteemed panel of guests take on the big (and not so big) news events of the week. This week's panel is Mark Steel, Danny Finkelstein, Holly Walsh and Vicki Pepperdine.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy Production.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b070hxsq)
Lilian shows Justin into his new rental accommodation, the Dower House. Lilian tells him he's free to make changes (within reason). They discuss business, in particular the sponsors for the Borsetshire Businesswoman of the Year. Justin flatters Lilian by saying that she must surely have been nominated in the past. They decide to go to the lunch together.
Jennifer laughs with Lilian about her being let loose with Justin's credit card. Jennifer's pleased that things are looking up for Lilian again. Also, Jennifer reports that Ian and Adam fell out on Valentine's Day because someone sent Adam an anonymous card.
Lynda corners Kirsty about her various projects, and tries to enlist her in the pageant play she is arranging: "England's Pleasant Land" by E.M. Forster. Lynda looks forward to the play, an examination of the countryside which she feels is prescient today. Kirsty goes to see Helen, and encourages her to get involved in the pageant - and village life - again. This leads them to talking about the "activism" of Kirsty's youth and Ursula says she can still see that "spark" in Kirsty. As Helen and Kirsty talk, it feels just like old times. Kirsty attributes Helen's good mood to Ursula's arrival... whilst Ursula is across the village, on the phone to Rob, telling him to put a stop to their friendship - the sooner the better.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b070nqx1)
Harper Lee remembered, The Night Manager, Simon Armitage, Zelda
Novelist Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, is remembered by Elaine Showalter and Christopher Bigsby.
John le Carré's novel The Night Manager has been adapted for television by Danish director Susanne Bier and writer David Farr. A spy thriller set in the shadowy world of the arms trade they describe how they changed the sex of the main character, and brought a Scandinavian flavour to this very British writer.
Poet Simon Armitage and director Paul Hunter discuss collaborating on I Am Thomas, a piece of music theatre about the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
Nintendo's Zelda franchise, one of the most successful video game series of all time, celebrates its 30th anniversary this Sunday. Naomi Alderman tells us what she admires most about the game.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b070hscp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b070hxss)
Damien Green MP, Dan Hannan MEP, John Mills, Emily Thornberry MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Wolfson College, Cambridge University with Conservative MP Damien Green, Conservative MEP Dan Hannan, the businessman and Deputy Chair of Vote Leave John Mills, and Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry MP.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b070hxsv)
Vanilla Happiness
Adam Gopnik says the secret of happiness lies in unexpected pleasures, like finding yoghourt is vanilla when you expect it to be plain.
"Are the intrinsic qualities of something more powerful than the context in which we perceive it, or are what we call intrinsic properties really only the effect of expectations and surprise?"
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Archive on 4 (b05v6d35)
The Choke
The journalist, author and Olympian Matthew Syed blew it big time at the Sydney 2000. A GB medal prospect in table tennis he was thrashed by an opponent he had beaten many times before- he choked. He's been keen to understand ever since why sometimes the brain robs an individual of the ability to do routine tasks - in his case to hit a ping pong ball on the table.
You don't have to be a world class sportsman to choke think of that job interview you fluffed or that wildly attractive person at a party that left you unable to do what you do everyday- speak coherently.
In The Choke Matthew will explore the neurological and psychological trajectory of a choke illustrated with some dramatic examples where the pressure told at the worst possible time- musicians, politicians, businessmen, actors and sportsmen all feature in this examination of when we fail to do what comes naturally to us.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b0707w14)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b070nqx7)
UK reaches EU deal in Brussels
Cabinet to meet Saturday; Gove expected to join "No" campaign; Harper Lee dies.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b070hxsx)
Jonathan Unleashed
Episode 5
Rhashan Stone reads the new novel by bestselling author Meg Rosoff.
Moving to New York fresh from college, Jonathan Trefoil's new life as an adult with grown-up responsibilities is not going quite as planned. Although he knows it's a terrible idea, he has hastily accepted his girlfriend Julie's marriage proposal: she works for a wedding magazine and they've offered to pay for everything in return for live-streaming the ceremony and running a four-page spread in the next issue. Soon, the stress of his personal life spills over into his work and the only thing keeping him sane is the companionship of his brother's dogs, Dante and Sissy.
Written by Meg Rosoff.
Read by Rhashan Stone.
Abridged by David Jackson Young.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b070dnqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:27 Minimal Impact (b05xxhw6)
Jesus' Blood and Fluffy Clouds
The story of the musical aesthetic and the ubiquitous technique of minimalism.
Fifty years since the emergence of a challenging new 'art school' attitude to musical composition emerged in the United States - in the work of Terry Riley, Steve Reich and others - various techniques associated with 'minimalism' have been absorbed into every aspect of modern musical life, from the pop industry and dance scene, to film scores and religious music, as well as contemporary concert music.
In this second episode, British composers trace how the minimalist aesthetic has informed music as diverse as John Tavener's Song for Athene and The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds. Contributors include Gavin Bryars, composer of the iconic Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet, film and dance composer Jocelyn Pook, Indian percussion player and composer Talvin Singh, Alex Paterson of The Orb and the most minimal of English composers Laurence Crane.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b070hxwl)
Jane and Hannah - Deaf or Hearing
Fi Glover with a conversation in which a hearing mother and her pregnant deaf daughter wonder whether the new baby will be deaf or hearing, and reflect on their own experiences. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 MON (b070crdl)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b070crdl)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b070dksm)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b070dksm)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b070fdj1)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b070fdj1)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b070hbsq)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b070hbsq)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b070hscp)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b070hscp)
A Good Read
16:30 TUE (b070dnqt)
A Good Read
23:00 FRI (b070dnqt)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b06zvdlq)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b070hxsv)
America in Black and White
23:30 MON (b070d5sy)
America in Black and White
23:30 TUE (b07183xh)
America in Black and White
23:30 WED (b0718434)
Analysis
21:30 SUN (b06zqq9l)
Analysis
20:30 MON (b070d28w)
And the Academy Award Goes To...
10:30 SAT (b070601q)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b070601x)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b06zvdln)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b070hxss)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b0707r9z)
Archive on 4
21:00 FRI (b05v6d35)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b0707vvw)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b0707vvw)
Batman and Ethan
13:30 SUN (b0709v4m)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b0707y3l)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b0707y3l)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b070d5sw)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b070dr3m)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b070fn24)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b070hnsc)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b070hxsx)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b06zvb6f)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b070cnxx)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b070cnxx)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b070dksg)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b070dksg)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b070fdhx)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b070fdhx)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b070h6wz)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b070h6wz)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b070hsck)
Brain of Britain
23:00 SAT (b06zqp80)
Brain of Britain
15:00 MON (b070cxy8)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b0707vb5)
Choose Life
11:00 FRI (b070hscr)
Costing the Earth
15:30 TUE (b070dkt9)
Costing the Earth
21:00 WED (b070dkt9)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b0709v49)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b0709v49)
Dilemma
11:30 FRI (b03szh9f)
Drama
21:00 SAT (b06zqk2w)
Drama
14:15 MON (b070cxy6)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b070dkt2)
Drama
14:15 WED (b03szts2)
Drama
14:15 THU (b03szx7n)
Ed Reardon's Week
18:30 TUE (b05vcsdq)
Editing Life
21:00 MON (b06zr3zj)
Europe: Strangers on My Doorstep
20:00 MON (b070d28t)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b0705z0r)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b070cjsn)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b070dks1)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b070fdhq)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b070h6wp)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b070hscf)
Feedback
16:30 FRI (b070hxsj)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (b06zs22v)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (b070dq8f)
Four Thought
05:45 SUN (b06kdztz)
From Fact to Fiction
19:00 SAT (b0707r9v)
From Fact to Fiction
17:40 SUN (b0707r9v)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b06zj4j9)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (b0707vtn)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b070d28r)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b070dq8c)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b070fn1w)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b070hn0y)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b070nqx1)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b06zvbwn)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b070hxsb)
Gwyneth Hughes - Victory
15:00 SUN (b04d0l1g)
Ian Rankin - Rebus
14:30 SAT (b070601z)
Imagining Chekhov
15:45 FRI (b070hxsd)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b070h6ww)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b070h6ww)
In Therapy
13:45 MON (b070v9y4)
In Therapy
13:45 TUE (b070v8b7)
In Therapy
13:45 WED (b070nvxf)
In Therapy
13:45 THU (b070cxy4)
In Therapy
13:45 FRI (b070v8bn)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b0707vmn)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (b070dq8h)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (b070dq8h)
JD Salinger, Made in England
11:30 THU (b070hbss)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b06zvbwv)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b070hxsg)
Lent Talks
20:45 WED (b070fn20)
Linda Smith: A Modern Radio Star
11:30 MON (b070vbzw)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b0707r9s)
Making History
15:00 TUE (b070dkt5)
Martyn Hesford - Tittle Tattle
14:15 FRI (b0415hb8)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b06zj4hs)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b0707v90)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b0707vg3)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b0707vm4)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b0707vp0)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b0707vsy)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b0707vyh)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b070fdhv)
Minimal Impact
23:30 THU (b05xdcb7)
Minimal Impact
23:27 FRI (b05xxhw6)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b070601v)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b070601v)
Money Box
15:00 WED (b070fft3)
Moral Maze
22:15 SAT (b06ztttp)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (b070fn1y)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b06zvbwz)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b06zj4j1)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b0707v9n)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b0707vgc)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b0707vmd)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b0707vp8)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b0707vtj)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b0707vzn)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b0707v9q)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b06zj4jc)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b0707vbk)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b0707vgm)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b0707vmg)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b0707vpb)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b0707vtx)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b0707vzq)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b06zj4j3)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b0707v9v)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b0707v9z)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b06zj4jr)
News
13:00 SAT (b06zj4jh)
Nurse
23:15 WED (b03y15jr)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b0707y3q)
One to One
09:30 TUE (b070dksc)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b070cgkh)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b070cgkh)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b06zv3wz)
PM
17:00 SAT (b0707r9q)
PM
17:00 MON (b070cz5w)
PM
17:00 TUE (b070dnqw)
PM
17:00 WED (b070fft9)
PM
17:00 THU (b070hkyf)
PM
17:00 FRI (b070nx1d)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b070cgkm)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b06zqk30)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b070cgkk)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b06zvdt7)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b070v86y)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b070vbg0)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b070ss12)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b070v8qf)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b070v9y2)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (b0709v36)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b0709v36)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b0709v36)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (b070hktk)
Reluctant Persuaders
11:30 WED (b06bnq1g)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b0705z0w)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b0707r9x)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b06zj4hx)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b0707v9j)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b0707vg7)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b0707vm8)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b0707vp4)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b0707vt4)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b0707vzj)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b06zj4hv)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b06zj4hz)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b06zj4jk)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b0707v9d)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b0707v9l)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b0707vcl)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b0707vg5)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b0707vg9)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b0707vm6)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b0707vmb)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b0707vp2)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b0707vp6)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b0707vt0)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b0707vtd)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b0707vzg)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b0707vzl)
Shorts
19:45 SUN (b070cgkr)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b06zj4jp)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b0707vcz)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b0707vh4)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b0707vml)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b0707vq3)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b0707vvy)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b0707w0r)
So Wrong It's Right
19:15 SUN (b01jxrtw)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b0707y3n)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b0707y3n)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b070cnxv)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b070cnxv)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b0709v38)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b0709v34)
Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On
18:30 THU (b0717j1y)
Talking to Strangers
23:00 THU (b070hrqj)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b0709v47)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b070cgkp)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b070cgkp)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b070d1p4)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b070d1p4)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b070dq89)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b070dq89)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b070fftd)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b070fftd)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b070hn0w)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b070hn0w)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b070hxsq)
The Beat Women
11:30 TUE (b06084ks)
The Bottom Line
17:30 SAT (b06zv3xf)
The Bottom Line
20:30 THU (b070hns6)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
12:04 MON (b070cxxy)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
12:04 TUE (b070dkst)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
12:04 WED (b070ffbh)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
12:04 THU (b070hbsv)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
12:04 FRI (b070hv9m)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b06zv3x1)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b070hkyc)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b0709v4f)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b0709v4f)
The Future of Radio
23:00 WED (b070fn4c)
The Gospel Truth
16:00 MON (b06ycmd8)
The Infinite Monkey Cage
16:30 MON (b070cxyb)
The Infinite Monkey Cage
23:00 TUE (b070cxyb)
The Life Scientific
09:00 TUE (b070dks6)
The Life Scientific
21:30 TUE (b070dks6)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b0709v4p)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (b070fdj3)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b070hxsl)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b070hxwl)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b070fft7)
The Museum of Curiosity
12:04 SUN (b070cz5y)
The Museum of Curiosity
18:30 MON (b06zqq9d)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (b06zvdlg)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b070hxsn)
The Pope's Letters
09:00 WED (b072jknz)
The Report
20:00 THU (b070hns3)
The Stories
00:30 SUN (b0707y3j)
The Untold
11:00 MON (b06yr6px)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b070601s)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b0707vbw)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b070d28y)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b070dr3k)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b070fn22)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b070hns9)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b070nqx7)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b06zttbs)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b070fft5)
Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler
18:30 WED (b05r3z49)
Today
07:00 SAT (b0705z0t)
Today
06:00 MON (b070cnxs)
Today
06:00 TUE (b070dks3)
Today
06:00 WED (b070fdhs)
Today
06:00 THU (b070h6ws)
Today
06:00 FRI (b070hsch)
Tropicalia: Revolution in Sound
15:30 SAT (b06zr3zl)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b04dw7p8)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b03mhyzf)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b038qk3x)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b038qk4j)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b0378tjf)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b03k6slx)
Unhappy Child, Unhealthy Adult
11:00 TUE (b070dksr)
Verdun - The Sacred Wound
11:00 WED (b070fdj5)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b06zj4j5)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b06zj4j7)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b06zj4jf)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b06zj4jm)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b0707v9s)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b0707v9x)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b0707vbr)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b0707vcs)
Weather
05:56 MON (b0707vgf)
Weather
12:57 MON (b0707vgw)
Weather
21:58 MON (b0707vhj)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b0707vmj)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b0707vmq)
Weather
12:57 WED (b0707vpl)
Weather
12:57 THU (b0707vv3)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b0707vzv)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b0707w14)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b0707vdt)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b070cgkw)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b0707r9n)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b070cnxz)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b070dksj)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b070fdhz)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b070hbsn)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b070hscm)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b06zryhp)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b070dnqr)
World at One
13:00 MON (b070cxy2)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b070dkt0)
World at One
13:00 WED (b070ffbm)
World at One
13:00 THU (b070hbt0)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b070hv9r)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b070cxy0)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b070dksw)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b070ffbk)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b070hbsx)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b070hv9p)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b06zvdt9)