SATURDAY 06 AUGUST 2016

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b07m4d86)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b07mmbk9)
The Age of Bowie, Shape-shifter

Paul Morley was thirteen when he first heard the music of David Bowie, played late at night by DJ John Peel. Before long, Bowie was taking the 1970s by storm and changing the face of pop music with his Ziggy Stardust tour, and Morley was a dedicated schoolboy fan. Many years later, Morley would be an artistic advisor for the V&A's acclaimed Bowie exhibition, 'David Bowie is', which was still attracting huge visitor numbers around the world when Bowie died at the beginning of this year.

Now, Morley has published his personal account of the life, musical influence and cultural impact of his teenage hero, exploring Bowie's constant reinvention of himself and his music over a period of five extraordinarily innovative decades.

Episode 5/5: Shape-shifter
As he embraces new technology and takes on roles beyond the simply musical, Bowie steps back from the limelight until he emerges at the end of his life to stun the musical world with his final album.

Written and read by Paul Morley
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies.

SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07m4d88)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07m4d8b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07m4d8d)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b07m4d8g)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07m7zcj)
A short reflection and prayer with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.

SAT 05:45 iPM (b07mvbtt)
The programme that starts with its listeners.

SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b07m4d8j)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SAT 06:04 Weather (b07m4d8l)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 06:07 Open Country (b07m7qj1)
Orkney Wildlife in Crisis

The Orkney Isles are one of the best places for wildlife in the country. Species such as seals and puffins which are hard to find in other parts of the UK can often be spotted in Orkney with ease. Helen Mark visits to discover for herself the incredibly rich beaches, cliff tops and moorland on the islands. Despite the display of rare species on offer Helen finds that even here marine life is increasingly threatened by an array of problems and once thriving populations are now in decline. She talks to Martin Gray, the Orkney beachcomber who has dedicated his life to cleaning up the shores of his home. She learns how to capture the flight of the Arctic Skua on paper with artist Tim Wooton. Helen visits the 'sea bird city' at Marwick Head and discovers how their decline, as well as that of the harbour seal, is being tracked using mobile technology. Can conservationists learn enough about the feeding habits of the most threatened species to halt the decline? The nature lovers of Orkney continue to hope they can.

SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b07m4d8n)
Farming Today This Week: Rewilding Debate

Charlotte Smith hosts a debate about 'Rewilding' in Britain - the reintroduction of animal species, and flora and fauna, to a landscape. Could new forests, beavers, lynx and even wolves help to bring a balance back to our countryside?
In the debate, recorded at the Countryfile Live event at Blenheim Palace, Charlotte hears views from a panel of experts: George Monbiot, writer and environmental commentator; Mike Clarke, Chief Executive of the RSPB; John Davies, Deputy President of NFU Cymru; and Richard Cooke of Scottish Land and Estates.
Should we remove livestock from hillsides and reforest them to prevent flooding further downstream? Could wolves be safely introduced? What role can beavers play in managing the landscape? And how should we compensate farmers for managing their land with nature in mind?
Produced in Bristol by Sally Challoner.

SAT 06:57 Weather (b07m4d8q)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 07:00 Today (b07mvmls)
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b07m4d8s)
Martin Fry

Martin Fry is a singer/songwriter who came to prominence in the early 1980s as lead singer of the band ABC. Their debut album, the Lexicon of Love, was a UK number one. Thirty four years on, he has released a sequel to reflect how his perspective on life and love has changed; and he explains why he now chooses to perform with an orchestra. The conductor Paul MacAlindin recalls how a newspaper advert: 'Iraqi teen seeks Maestro' led to him becoming the musical director of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq.
Saturday Live listener Leslye Stansfield describes being reunited with her long lost bicycle and why its value is so sentimental. JP Devlin visits Matthew Sweet to take a look around his home and discover what it reveals about him.
Jason Kingsley OBE, is a games developer and Royal Armouries Trustee, but in his spare time he is a practising knight. He discusses his passion for riding warhorses and jousting in a reproduction 15th century Milanese harness.
And Billy Ocean shares his Inheritance Tracks - No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke.

The Lexicon of Love II is out now. ABC will be performing an autumn tour with the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley.
Upbeat - The Story of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq will be Book of The Week on Radio 4 from 15 August.
Here you are: The Best of Billy Ocean is out now, and he has a Spring Tour in 2017.

SAT 10:30 Punt PI (b07mvbtw)
Series 9, The Reclusive Skeleton of Fingringhoe

Steve Punt continues his investigations as Radio 4's very own private detective.

In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, the reclusive actress Ada Constance Kent disappeared from the village of Fingringhoe in rural Essex. Despite her cottage being searched on several occasions in the intervening years, her skeleton was only discovered in the bedroom in 1949. Was it her... where had she been in the intervening years... and was she really the person everyone thought she was?

Steve Punt interogates the witnesses and asses the evidence.

Producer: Paul Kobrak.

SAT 11:00 The Forum (b07mz2k3)
Living at the Edge: Life in Extreme Environments

Bridget Kendall and her guests explore extreme living and what it tells us, from human exploration to deep sea fish and synthetic biology. NASA scientist Lynn Rothschild is a pioneer in the field of astrobiology, interested in probing the limits of life on earth, to better understand where we might find life signs elsewhere in the universe. Oliver Crimmen is the Fish Curator at the Natural History Museum in London. He's an expert on how some sea creatures can survive both freezing and hot water - and several miles beneath the surface of our oceans. And explorer Rosie Stancer takes her own body to the edge - with solo trips to both the South Pole and the Arctic North, and a new expedition planned across China's largest desert.

(Image credit: Science Photo Library).

SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b07m4d8v)
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.

SAT 12:00 News Summary (b07m4d8x)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 12:04 Your Money and Your Life (b07mvbty)
Thirty-Somethings

In a four-part series, Louise Cooper considers the financial and emotional dimensions to the most important decisions we make in our lives.

"Settling down" is no longer a twenty-something phenomenon, more and more people establish their career, buy and make their own home, have children, and get married in their thirties. But the foundations of life seem less solid than they were a generation ago - short-term contracts have replaced the job for life, many couples choose to cohabit rather than marry and relationship breakdown is a feature of this decade.

In this episode, Louise explores how 30-somethings are handling their lives and their loves in this new, less certain, world.

Presenter:Louise Cooper
Producer: Ruth Alexander
Editor:Andrew Smith

With thanks to Gingerbread, the charity for single parents.

SAT 12:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b07mzt4s)
Series 9, Godley, Wainwright, Taylor

This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his new curator Noel Fielding welcome the comedian, actor, writer pub landlady and 2006 runner up for the 'Scotswoman of the Year' award Janey Godley; a scientist whose controversial research supports the theory that alien bacteria are constantly bombarding the Earth from outer space, Dr Milton Wainwright; and the author and award-winning man behind mask Number Eight in the iconic heavy metal band Slipknot Corey Taylor, whose list of books includes: You're Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look at the Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left.

This week, the Museum's Guest Committee speculate on Dogs From The 1970s; a little CD tray that collects germs from the stratosphere; and the phenomenon of deep fried food.

The show was researched by Mike Turner and Anne Miller of QI.

The producers were Richard Turner and James Harkin.

It was a BBC Studios Production.

SAT 12:57 Weather (b07m4d8z)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 13:00 News (b07m4d91)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b07m7z18)
Ritula Shah presents political debate from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House in London. The panel includes the Farming Minister George Eustice MP, Labour's Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor MP, writer and television presenter Alain de Botton and the economist and Brexit campaigner Ruth Lea.

SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b07m4d93)
Any Answers after the Saturday broadcast of Any Questions? Lines open at 1230
Call 03700 100 444. Email any.answers@bbc.co.uk. Tweet #BBCAQ. Follow us @bbcanyquestions.

SAT 14:30 Drama (b07mvmlz)
The Clintons, Heck, Don't Vote for Him

by Jonathan Myerson

Three entertaining new dramas imagine key moments in the Clintons' personal and political lives together, closely based on the published accounts and opinions of those who've witnessed their enduring partnership.

1991, and the barely-known Governor of Arkansas is beginning to get some traction in the Democratic Presidential Primaries. Bill Clinton, son of a travelling salesman, wants the nomination to take on incumbent President George H W Bush, popular victor of the First Gulf War.

Then the story of Gennifer Flowers surfaces: she claims she had a twelve-year affair with Bill. It is dragging down his campaign.

But ever since they met at Yale, Bill's talented wife Hillary has been his most fervent supporter, and on her advice, they come out fighting. In a special interview broadcast straight after the Super Bowl, picking up its audience of one hundred million, she puts both their careers on the line.

'Heck, Don't Vote For Him' explores the beginnings of a complex and fascinating relationship which has helped shape both Clintons' careers.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

SAT 15:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b07457jx)
Rock Pools

What looks a sponge, smells like a volcano and is found in rock pools? Well, the answer can be found in this series of three programmes in which Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the coast of Northumberland and with the help of recordings by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, they offer a practical and entertaining guide to the wildlife which you're most likely to see and hear in different coastal habitats beginning with probably everyone's favourite childhood haunt, the rock pool. These are home to shore crabs and hermit crabs, as well as sea anemones, breadcrumb sponges and sea squirts. We learn how sea squirts which appear to be little more than bags of fluid clinging to the rocks might be our evolutionary ancestors, we hear how a school teacher invented glass shells to study the reproduction and subsequently house-moving antics of hermit crabs, and discover how when it comes to building, it's the breadcrumb sponges which have mastered the art with some clever self- assembly scaffolding tricks! Producer Sarah Blunt.

SAT 15:30 Marc Riley's Musical Time Machine (b07m5gwt)
Series 2, Malcolm McLaren and John Lydon

The BBC's archive is justifiably and inarguably world-famous, but most of this attention and praise is showered on the musical riches it contains - all those life-changing Peel performances, seminal sessions from Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and so on. But there's another archive that's just as diverse and rich and rewarding - the BBC's spoken work archive.

As long as there have been pop stars, the BBC has spoken to them. Here, Marc Riley and his trusty Time Machine will steer you back through the years to visit the great and the good, the famous and the infamous. In each episode, Marc travels to two different points in time and revisits two interviews that have something in common - a person or place, a shared influence or ideology, a discovery or a misunderstanding.

In this second episode of the series, we'll hear from two icons of the punk movement - Malcolm McLaren and John Lydon - who endured something of a combative, combustible relationship. It's always evident when Lydon's asked about his time in The Sex Pistols, as Radio 1's Roger Scott does in this 1989 interview. Meanwhile, in the company of David "The Kid" Jensen, Lydon's nemesis Malcolm McLaren is more than happy to spew highbrow hyperbole about how rock 'n' roll's roots lay in "darkest Africa" and it's a pagan and anti-Christian music, where you're better "learning to think with your hips, rather than with your head". He also admits that his original intention and hopes for the fledgling Pistols was to create a band to compete with The Bay City Rollers - which Lydon confirms in his chat with Roger Scott.

Both McLaren and Lydon prove to be a fascinating, frank and funny listen.

A Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b07m4d95)
Rio 2016, Naked GB rugby team photo shoot, Why haute couture matters

As the Olympics gets under way in Rio, we look at why Brazil is considered to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Plus we analyse the language of sport - why are men usually men and women, girls or ladies? The Great Britain's Women's Rugby team take part in a naked photo shoot, we ask; Is this empowering or demeaning? Prostitution or sex work? A former campaigner for decriminalisation in New Zealand decides it was not such a good idea.
Plus, comedian Sofie Hagen winner of Best Newcomer at last years Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival talks about being a stand up who's an introvert and why she thinks it's okay to be a Guilty Feminist. We discuss the significance of the House of Dior hiring their first female creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.
And Coronation Street's Cherylee Houston speaks about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome a rare condition affecting the human body's connective tissue, alongside .
Ruth Baker who volunteers for the Ehlers-Danlos support UK and also suffers from EDS.

Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Beverley Purcell.

SAT 17:00 PM (b07m4d97)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.

SAT 17:30 iPM (b07mvbtt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]

SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b07m4d99)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 17:57 Weather (b07m4d9c)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07m4d9f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b07mvd5v)
Sara Cox, Nikki Bedi, Dreda Say Mitchell, Darren Hayman, Alfie Moore, Beverley Knight, Slow Club

Sara Cox presents an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

SAT 19:00 Profile (b07mvd5x)
Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.

SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b07m4d9h)
Harry Potter, The Carer, Baz Luhrmann's The Get Down, Clive James, The Knives

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is London's biggest theatre event of 2016 and probably the decade. J K Rowling revisits her famed creations 19 years after the books ended.
Brian Cox plays a revered aging actor at the end of his career and possibly his life in The Carer; a British comedy about fame, mortality, love and incontinence
Film director Baz Luhrmann's has a Netflix TV series The Get Down which dramatises the origins of hip hop
Clive James' latest book is about the phenomenon of the Box Set. Called Play All, it examines the joys and problems of binge-watching
The Knives by Richard T Kelly is a novel set in the corridors of power; following a Home Secretary dealing with matters of domestic terror and family discord
Sarah Crompton's guests are Bidisha, Rosie Goldsmith and Benedict Nightingale. The Producer is Oliver Jones.

SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b07mvd5z)
Tolkien: The Lost Recordings

Joss Ackland narrates a search through BBC archives for unheard gems from JRR Tolkien, as Oxford Academic Dr Stuart Lee discovers the unbroadcast offcuts from an interview given by the author.

Tolkien gave the interview for a BBC film in 1968, but only a tiny part of it was used in the broadcast programme. It was one of only a handful of recorded interviews he gave, and was also to be his last.

Dr Lee's search for the unbroadcast rushes takes him to the depths of the BBC film archives, and back to the making of the original film Tolkien in Oxford.

For the director Leslie Megahey, only 23 at the time, this was his first film, and the one that launched a prestigious career. The programme reunites him with three others - researcher Patrick O'Sullivan, Tolkien fan Michael Hebbert, and critic Valentine Cunningham who describes how he was brought in to be the voice of dissent challenging the burgeoning Tolkien cult spreading from America.

What emerges is a picture of a playful academic, whose fiction was little respected by adults at the time and looked down on as a lesser form of literature. But he is robustly defended by Professor Tom Shippey and remembered fondly by his colleague Dr Roger Highfield.

Stuart Lee presents the results of his search through the archives to Dr Dimitra Fimi who considers any new words from Tolkien's mouth as 'gold'. While, for Dr Lee, the real dragon's hoard is the privilege of hearing Tolkien in relaxed mode reflecting on his life as never before.

Producers: Anna Scott-Brown and Adam Fowler
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 21:00 Drama (b0536936)
Reading Europe - Spain: Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me, Episode 1

When the woman with whom he was about to begin an affair suddenly dies in his arms, Victor considers walking away - but is unable to resist delving into the woman's dark secrets.

Marta has just met Victor when she invites him to dinner at her Madrid apartment while her husband is away on business. When her two-year-old son finally falls asleep, Marta and Victor retreat to the bedroom. Undressing, she feels suddenly ill dies, inexplicably, in his arms.

What should Victor do? Remove the compromising tape from the phone machine? Leave food for the child, for breakfast? These are just his first steps, but he soon takes matters further - unable to bear the shadows and the unknowing, Victor plunges into dark waters.

Writer Javier Marías, Europe's master of secrets and of what lies reveal and truth may conceal, is on sure ground in this profound, brilliantly imagined and hugely intricate novel.

From the novel by Javier Marías
Translated by Margaret Jull Costa
Dramatised for radio by Michael Butt

Produced by Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b07m4d9k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.

SAT 22:15 Inside the Ethics Committee (b07m7n0g)
Series 12, Permanent Vegetative State: Withdrawing Nutrition and Hydration

A young man, Ben, is critically injured in a road traffic accident and is left in a coma.

The family are desperate to save him but, despite the efforts of his medical team, he doesn't recover.

He emerges from a coma into a vegetative state. He fluctuates between periods of sleep and wakefulness but is completely unaware of his surroundings.

After a year, the vegetative state he is in is deemed to be permanent.

Unable to articulate his wishes himself, Ben's family consider what is in his best interests. They believe he would find his day-to-day existence intolerable.

He can breathe for himself so the only treatment keeping him alive is the nutrition and hydration that he receives through a feeding tube into his stomach.

With no prospect of recovery, is it ethical to withdraw the nutrition and hydration that is keeping him alive?

Producer: Beth Eastwood

Photo Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images.

SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (b07m5dyy)
Series 30, Heat 7, 2016

(7/13)
Paul Gambaccini is joined by amateur music lovers from London and the New Forest for the seventh heat in the 30th anniversary series of Counterpoint. Their knowledge of a wide variety music will be put to the test, as always. They'll also have to be lucky in the crucial individual round, where the topics on which they have to answer specialist questions come as a complete surprise.

The winner will go through to the semi-finals, and will compete for a place in the 2016 Final which comes from the BBC Proms in September.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

SAT 23:30 How to Write a Poem (b07m4q7z)
Keats and Clare

The poet Glyn Maxwell finds himself in a strange village. He has been invited there to teach a poetry masterclass at a literature festival with some impressive names on the line-up. Could that really be John Keats reading in the back room of the pub? Is that John Clare wandering the lanes? Is Emily Dickinson really doing a Q&A in the village hall? And isn't that Lord Byron propping up the bar?

With Glyn are three new poets - Holly Corfield Carr, Victoria Adukwei Bulley and Dominic Fisher - who share their own poems-in-progress. The students put their questions on writing directly to the greats and Glyn shares his own advice on writing better poetry - from facing the blank page and developing ideas, to the intricacies of rhyme, metre, form and line break.

All words spoken by Keats, Clare, Dickinson and Byron are taken verbatim from their poems, letters and diaries.

Written and presented by Glyn Maxwell
Produced by Mair Bosworth & Chris Ledgard

CAST
Barmaid - Sally Phillips
John Keats - Tom Stuart
John Clare - Tom Meeten
Student Poets - Holly Corfield Carr, Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Dominic Fisher.

SUNDAY 07 AUGUST 2016

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b07mvxnf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SUN 00:30 Dangerous Visions (b047d0wn)
The Keepers

Matt Haig's vision in which a man wonders from his cage in a zoo what it means to be human. In a letter to his daughter he describes the events leading up to the moment humankind's supremacy came to an end.

Read by Barnaby Kay
Produced by Gemma Jenkins

Bestselling author of The Humans, A Boy Called Christmas and How To Stay Alive.

SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxnh)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07mvxnk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxnm)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b07mvxnp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b07mw2s3)
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Solovosky

On this week's Bells on Sunday, we hear a carillon from the most northern monastery in the world, the monastery of the Transfiguration on the Solovki Islands in the Arctic Ocean. During the Soviet period, the monastery was suppressed and turned into a gulag. The bells have been restored since the collapse of communism in the 1990s.

SUN 05:45 Profile (b07mvd5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b07mvxnr)
The latest national and international news.

SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b07mw2s5)
Counterpoint

Composer David Owen Norris explains the musical concept of counterpoint and plays examples to Mark Tully, who also looks at the metaphorical use of it in religion and literature.

With the help of Johann Sebastian Bach, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Gilbert and Sullivan, and some bawdy Lay Clerks from Canterbury Cathedral, David Owen Norris takes Mark on an interweaving tour of contrapuntal history and development from the earliest experiments in Plainsong to his own latest composition.

But the last word is left to Gerard Manley Hopkins and the remarkable rhythmic counterpoint of his poem The Windhover, with its depiction of a Flacon's flight:

".....in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy!"

Producer: Adam Fowler
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b07mw2s7)
Edible Flowers in Devon

Edible flowers are an increasingly common sight on up-market restaurant plates. One grower, Jan Billington set up Maddocks Organic Farm in Devon with a mission, to provide British organic edible flowers to both the public and commercial clients. She wants to turn edible flowers from an afterthought on a salad garnish to a vital ingredient that's attractive to chefs, cake makers and even drinks producers. Sarah Swadling travels to meet Jan in Devon and find out for herself why celebrities and the public alike now make a bee-line to this remote five acre wildflower wonderland.

Producer: Andrew Dawes.

SUN 06:57 Weather (b07mvxnt)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b07mvxnw)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 07:10 Sunday (b07mvxny)
Women deacons, Faith and comedy, Friends Ambulance Unit at the Somme

Religious and ethical news.

SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b07mw2s9)
MERU

Simone McIntyre, a mother helped by the charity MERU, presents The Radio 4 Appeal on their behalf.
Registered Charity No 269804
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'MERU'
- Cheques should be made payable to 'MERU'.

SUN 07:57 Weather (b07mvxp0)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b07mvxp2)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b07mw2sc)
Power to Change

"Sitting in front of the fire, I cried out to God. Not the headmaster God I was trying to impress, the real God of the Bible - Jesus. As I read from Revelation chapter 5 I was overwhelmed by the description of Jesus: He was both a lion and a lamb. Both fierce and strong - able to handle my intense needs - and meek and broken - One who was sacrificed for me. His body was scarred so mine needn't be. He didn't want apologies, resolutions or assurances that I would do better. He wanted me." Author and blogger Emma Scrivener who appears on this week's programme from the Keswick Convention.
Preacher: Derek Burnside; leader: Mel Lacey; Music director: Colin Webster with soloist Yvonne Lyon. Producer: Philip Billson.

SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b07m7z2s)
A reflection on a topical issue.

SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b020tq6h)
Great Skua

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Great Skua. Great skuas are often known as bonxies - their local name in Shetland where most of the UK's population breeds. Almost two thirds of the world's great skuas nest here or on Orkney.

SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b07mvxp4)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.

SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b07mvxp6)
Emma is put in a difficult position, and Lynda is taken by surprise.

SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b07mw360)
Michael Heath

Kirsty Young's castaway is the cartoonist Michael Heath.

He's been working for newspapers and magazines for sixty years and sold his first drawing to the Melody Maker in the 1950s. For the past twenty five years he's been the cartoon editor of The Spectator magazine.

Born in London in 1935, his early schooling was interrupted by the Second World War and by the age of twelve he was still unable to read and write. Both his parents drew professionally and after one unhappy year at art college, Michael left to pursue a freelance career as a cartoonist.

During his prolific career, Michael has created many cartoon strips including 'Great Bores of Today' which ran for nearly thirty years in Private Eye and 'The Regulars' which was centred on his Soho drinking crowd who included the writer Jeffrey Barnard and the artists Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

SUN 12:00 News Summary (b07mvxp8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07m5dz2)
Series 65, Episode 6

Back for a second week at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea, regulars Barry Cryer and Sandi Toksvig are joined on the panel by Miles Jupp and Richard Osman with Jack Dee in the chair. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell.

Producer - Jon Naismith.

It is a BBC Studios production.

SUN 12:32 Food Programme (b07mw362)
The Surprising Strawberry

2016's strawberry solstice fell as the UK's strawberry pickers embarked on a bigger crop than ever before. Strawberries have become a supermarket staple - no longer a seasonal treat. But as our appetite for the berries has increased, production it seems, is becoming more complicated.

Californian strawberry farmers, who produce one of the biggest crops in the world, are facing some of the most challenging times in recent history. Back in post-Brexit Britain, fruit farmers are looking for assurance that they'll still attract pickers from the continent.

Yet the strawberry is interwoven into our culture like no other fruit, and when good, can be the flavour, scent and colour of summer. Chef Jeremy Lee, author Jane McMorland Hunter, farmer Marion Regan, professor Julie Guthman and winemakers Ron and Judith Gillies help Sheila Dillon unravel the surprising story of the strawberry.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced by Clare Salisbury.

SUN 12:57 Weather (b07mvxpb)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b07mvxpd)
Global news and analysis.

SUN 13:30 Fantasy Festival (b07mw3nl)
Gillian Clarke

Poet Gillian Clarke joins presenter Verity Sharp to create and curate the festival of her wildest dreams.

It's a chance for her to set the festival's agenda - chose the guests, pick the acts, dictate the weather, the food and the ambience. A festival where anyone - dead or alive - can be summoned to perform and nothing is unimaginable.

Gillian outlines her dream festival which she's entitled "Voice in a Space". It takes place in a cave in Wales and celebrates great poetry as well as ideas around building and ambiguity. Seamus Heaney, Shakespeare and Leonard Cohen are on the bill, alongside Welsh soprano Elin Manahan Thomas and architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Monty Funk production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b07m7z0y)
Potting Shed Edition

The panel answer horticultural questions from listeners at this year's Summer Garden Party Potting Shed sessions from Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.

Regular panellists Bob Flowerdew, Matthew Wilson, Anne Swithinbank, Bunny Guinness and Matt Biggs offer one-to-one advice to visitors at the Garden Party. Beechgrove's Jim McColl also joins in to discuss peas and ailing Acers.

Christine Walkden suggests Topical Tips.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b07mw4f1)
Sunday Omnibus - Not All Families Are the Same

Fi Glover with conversations between mothers and their offspring about the challenges of university life for a single mum with a toddler, and of looking after a disabled sibling. All in the Omnibus of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.

SUN 15:00 Drama (b07mw4f3)
Reading Europe - Italy: My Brilliant Friend, Episode 2

From one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is the first in a quartet of books entitled The Neapolitan Novels. They are a forensic exploration of friendship between Lila and the story's narrator, Lena. This is no normal friendship, it's a friendship that loves, hurts, supports and destroys - and yet it is one that lasts a lifetime.

It begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets two girls, Elena and Lila, learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone - or anything - else as their friendship, beautifully and meticulously rendered, becomes a not always perfect shelter from hardship.

It is the story of a nation, of a neighbourhood, a city and a country undergoing momentous change.

This first book centres on their childhood and adolescence.

From the book by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein.
Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b07mw4f5)
Evie Wyld - After the Fire, a Still Small Voice

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to award-winning novelist Evie Wyld about her acclaimed debut novel, After the Fire, A Still Small Voice.

Set in the Australian outback but reaching back into European history, this is a story of three generations of men in a single family and how war dominates each of their lives, going back in history.

Evie Wyld's own family is half Australian and she drew on conversations with her uncle who was conscripted to fight against Vietnam, to portray Australia's involvement in that war, and the difficulties experienced by the veterans once they returned home.

September's Bookclub choice : Underworld by Don DeLillo (1997)

Presenter: James Naughtie
Interviewed guest: Evie Wyld
Producer: Dymphna Flynn.

SUN 16:30 How to Write a Poem (b07mw4f7)
Dickinson and Byron

The poet Glyn Maxwell finds himself in a strange village. He has been invited there to teach a poetry masterclass at a literature festival with some impressive names on the line-up. Could that really be John Keats reading in the back room of the pub? Is that John Clare wandering the lanes? Is Emily Dickinson really doing a Q&A in the village hall? And isn't that Lord Byron propping up the bar?

With Glyn are three new poets - Holly Corfield Carr, Victoria Adukwei Bulley and Dominic Fisher - who share their poems-in-progress. The students put their questions on writing directly to the greats and Glyn shares his own advice on writing better poetry - from facing the blank page and developing ideas, to the intricacies of rhyme, meter, form and line break.

All words spoken by Keats, Clare, Dickinson and Byron are taken verbatim from their poems, letters and diaries.

Written and presented by Glyn Maxwell
Produced by Mair Bosworth & Chris Ledgard

CAST
Barmaid - Sally Phillips
Emily Dickinson - Amy Rose
Lord Byron - Adam Harley
Student Poets - Holly Corfield Carr, Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Dominic Fisher.

SUN 17:00 Malawi's Big Charity Secret (b07m5t51)
Simon Cox investigates the secretive world of one of Malawi's biggest charities - DAPP (Development Aid from People to People). For decades governments including the US, UK and other European nations have donated many millions of dollars to DAPP for projects ranging from sanitation to teaching. But DAPP has a big secret - it is under the control of a Danish cult-like organisation called the Teachers Group. It was set up in the 1970s and ran alternative schools in Denmark before expanding to Africa. Its members have to contribute up to a third of their salaries to 'a common economy', have to be available 24/7 under a principle called 'common time' and many complain of being 'brainwashed' by the organisation. Senior leaders of the Teachers Group are wanted by Interpol on fraud charges and are thought to be holed up in a $25m complex in Mexico. Danish investigators concluded the group has been engaged in a complex financial fraud with over 100 charities, companies and offshore shells in 50 countries used in funding the lifestyle of the leaders. Simon travels to Malawi to reveal DAPP's secrets, hearing from insiders about how it works and the toll it has taken on them and their families. He has also obtained access to a cache of documents revealing the links between the Teachers Group and DAPP and presents some of this evidence to UNICEF and DFiD.

This BBC investigation is in partnership with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).

Anna Meisel producing.

SUN 17:40 Profile (b07mvd5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxpg)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 17:57 Weather (b07mvxpj)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07mvxpl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b07mvxpn)
Gerry Northam

Gerry Northam selects his highlights from BBC radio this week and discovers that some of the committee that first selected Michael Heseltine for a safe Tory seat thought he published a pornographic magazine; that the great Gracie Fields was pilloried as a traitor during the Second World War and forced to flee the country. Also
there's a direct link between Jelly Roll Morton and the Treorchy Male Voice Choir; Garry Richardson can play the vibraphone and Sandi Toksvig is very funny .. although he knew that already.

Production team: Kevin Mousley & Rachel Gill.

SUN 19:00 The Archers (b07mw5f4)
Harrison doubts himself, and Rob is feeling generous.

SUN 19:15 Sketchorama (b06172dj)
Series 4, Episode 1

Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit in a new series of BBC Radio 4's sketch act showcase. Each week the show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves offering a truly distinctive show for Radio 4.

Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 19:45 Reading Europe: Italian Snapshots (b07mz1ly)
Journey in Red Shoes

Three snapshots of Italian life written in the past 15 years. The first story - Journey in Red Shoes by Simona Vinci - has a dark and troubling undercurrent as a single mother and her three daughters travel back to her family in Bologna. The youngest girl has been crying without cease for days and her two half sisters are struggling to deal with it. So too is their mother who cannot fathom why her four year old is so full of inarticulate despair.

Simona Vinci was born in 1970 in Milan. She studied and now lives in Bologna and, early in her career, was part of a group of young writers who published the online magazine, Incubatoio 16. She is one of the authors most commonly associated with the Giovani Cannibali (Young Cannibals) movement.

"Simona Vinci's collection of short stories - In Every Sense Like Love - translated by Minna Proctor, recalls early Ian McEwan" (Rachel Cusk , Daily Telegraph).

Written by Simona Vinci
Translated by Minna Proctor
Read by Carly Bawden and Lia Williams
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 20:00 More or Less (b07m7z12)
Plastic Bags

Plastic bags
The Government says that since the introduction of the 5p fee for single use plastic bags their use has plummeted. We take a look at the numbers.

Olympic Medals at Rio 2016
The Olympic Games are with us again. So how can we use statistics to predict how many medals each nation will win? We speak to Dr Julia Bredtmann, an economist at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research.

Income inequality
Politicians and commentators often claim that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. But what do the numbers actually tell us about income inequality in the UK? Tim Harford interviews Jonathan Cribb of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the co- author of a comprehensive analysis of Living Standards, Income Inequality and Poverty in the UK.

Desk of Good News - Maternal mortality rates
The number of women dying in childbirth is falling around the world. In 1990, maternal mortality rates were 385 deaths per 100,000 live births
Today there are 216 deaths per 100,000 live births. This means the death rate is down by nearly half.

The Coastline Paradox
Why is it so difficult to measure coastlines? The further you zoom into the detail of a coastline, the longer it becomes. This is referred to as 'The Coastline Paradox'. We speak to Mairi Walker, a mathematician at the University of Edinburgh, and Danny Hyam, from The Ordnance Survey - the UK government agency responsible for mapping our coastlines.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Charlotte McDonald.

SUN 20:30 Last Word (b07mwrch)
Luc Hoffmann, Sylvia Peters, Joe Powell, William Smethurst, Sandy Pearlman

Matthew Bannister on

Luc Hoffmann, the Swiss conservationist who co-founded the World Wildlife Fund and fought to save endangered species and wetlands.

Sylvia Peters, one of the best known faces on BBC television in the 1950s.

The film stuntman Joe Powell who took part in many death defying exploits.

The editor of the Archers William Smethurst who introduced the characters of Eddie Grundy and Nigel Pargetter.

And Sandy Pearlman, rock manager and producer who created the Blue Oyster Cult and changed the sound of the Clash.

Producer: Paul Waters.

SUN 21:00 Your Money and Your Life (b07mvbty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]

SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b07mw2s9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]

SUN 21:30 In Business (b07m7rmm)
Chattanooga - the High Speed City

Chattanooga has been re-inventing itself for decades. In the late 1960s Walter Cronkite referred to the city as "the dirtiest in America". Since then heavy industry has declined and, to take its place, civic leaders have been on a mission to bring high-tech innovation and enterprise to Chattanooga. In 2010 the city became the first in America to enjoy gig speed internet following an investment of a couple of hundred million dollars from its publically-owned electricity company, EPB. What economic and psychological benefits has super-fast internet brought to this mid-sized city in Tennessee? Has the investment in speed paid off?
Presenter Peter Day
Producer Rosamund Jones.

SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b07mvxpq)
Carole Walker and guests, including MPs David Lammy and Gavin Barwell, look ahead to the week in politics and discuss the 2011 riots.

SUN 23:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07mdbw8)
Series 3, Two Weddings and a Prison Break

True stories told live in the USA: Meg Bowles introduces stories about marriages, secrets and taking your chances.

The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.

The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.

Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.

SUN 23:50 A Point of View (b07m7z2s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:48 today]

MONDAY 08 AUGUST 2016

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b07mvxrp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

MON 00:15 Self's Search for Meaning (b07dknm1)
Science

Where does the modern Briton look to find meaning? Many take their lead from key figures in Science, in Philosophy or in Faith, whose beliefs seem compelling - resounding in song, fashioned in stone and beamed into packed presentation halls... But away from the noise, what's actually at the core of the ideas being conveyed? Are they as forceful, distilled to their essence, and can they really imbue our lives with purpose?
In a three part series, Will Self asks some of Britain's key opinion makers to share, in simple terms, their conclusions about the nature - and meaning - of our existence. In the absence of certainty, what is it exactly that strengthens their convictions, and how do these inform their everyday actions? How do we live well, in service to a higher purpose - and can we find meaning without one?
With contributors including Dr. Rowan Williams, Alain de Botton and Baroness Susan Greenfield, Self explores three fields of human comprehension, before probing their foundations in open, lively and searching discussion.
Episode breakdown:
1. Leaders of Science - 06/06 tx date
2. Leaders of Thought - 13/06
3. Leaders of Faith - 20/06.

MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b07mw2s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]

MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxrr)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07mvxrt)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxrw)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 05:30 News Briefing (b07mvxry)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07p5tyy)
A short reflection and prayer with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.

MON 05:45 Farming Today (b07mvxs0)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by David Gregory-Kumar.

MON 05:56 Weather (b07mvxs2)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.

MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkfhy)
Common Pheasant

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Common Pheasant. The crowing of pheasants is a sound inseparable from most of the UK countryside yet these flamboyant birds were introduced into the UK. The pheasant's coppery plumage and red face-wattles, coupled with a tail that's as long again as its body, make the cock pheasant a strikingly beautiful bird.

MON 06:00 Today (b07mvxs4)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

MON 09:00 Playing the Skyline (b07mwtv1)
Series 2, Newcastle and Gateshead

In 'Playing the Skyline' Tim Marlow joins two musicians as they look at how the land meets the air, and imagine it as music. They give their responses, then begin playing the skyline, before creating new pieces. Later, Tim hears how they are getting on and, finally, the musicians, Tim and Radio 4's listeners hear their finished works.

On old nautical charts as well as the bird's eye view there is often a coastal profile - the outline of the land seen from the point of view of a sailor approaching it. Radio producer Julian May was struck by the musicality of these, the undulations of hills are melodic, the spacing of landmarks - trees, spires - rhythmic. Musicians could, he thought, take the line dividing the earth from the air, place it on a stave - literally or imaginatively - and play the skyline.

In the first of this new series Kathryn Tickell and Hannabiell Sanders turn the skyline of Newcastle into music. At the old Baltic flour mill by the Tyne they look upstream, where the great curves of the Sage Concert Hall and the bridges meet, to be end-stopped by the square solidity of the castle, from which the city gets its name.

Kathryn Tickell is steeped in the traditional music of Northumberland. She plays the region's indigenous instrument, the Northumbrian Smallpipes. So her music, she says, "always speaks in the accent of the Northeast."

Hannabiell Sanders' accent is very different. Her father is Jamaican and she was born in the American South. How would she describe her music? "Psychedelic Afro-funk jazz fusion!"

Hannabiell's bass trombone (called Tyler) can glide smoothly over the curves of Newscastle's skyline, something tricky for Kathryn, on the pipes it is impossible to slide from one note to another.

Producer: Julian May.

MON 09:30 Our Man in Greeneland (b07mwqf7)
The Heart of the Matter and Journey Without Maps

To complement BBC Radio 4's season of Graham Greene dramas, former BBC West Africa correspondent, Mark Doyle, explores Graham Greene's relationship with West Africa - in particular his 1935 expedition to Liberia, and his time working for British Intelligence in Sierra Leone during the Second World War.

Greene's experiences inspired a travelogue, Journey Without Maps, and the novel The Heart of the Matter.

Readings by James Lailey
Produced by Emma Harding.

MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b07mwqf9)
Flaneuse - Women Who Walk the Cities, Episode 1

In her new book, abridged for radio by Penny Leicester, the author Lauren Elkin strolls great cities, thinking about distinguished women who did the same..

She loves the word FLANEUR and then the female version - FLANEUSE. But historically who were these types, and is there a flaneuse today? She also recalls her youthful struggles to walk the New York suburbs.

Reader Julianna Jennings

Producer Duncan Minshull.

MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07mvxs6)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mwqfc)
Graham Greene - Monsignor Quixote, Episode 1

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Graham Greene's comic 'entertainment', set in rural Spain a few years after the death of Franco.
Father Quixote makes a friend of an Italian bishop, with unexpected consequences.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

MON 11:00 The Untold (b07mwqff)
The Roma Memorial

Sherrie Smith, a florist and Romany Gypsy from Hertford, wants to take the first ever UK Gypsy and Traveller group to an annual Holocaust memorial event at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She sees it as vital for getting up to half a million Roma deaths more widely acknowledged, and - by extension - improving the lives of modern day Gypsies and Travellers. But the cost of flights has tripled and Sherrie's meagre budget means it might no longer be possible. Can she raise the extra funds to get the trip back on track? Grace Dent follows her story.

Producer Dave Howard.

MON 11:30 Way Out East (b07mwqfh)
Cludopoly

New comedy by Guy Meredith about a group of expats sharing a flat in Hong Kong. Into the lives of unsuccessful architect James (Tony Gardner) and failed-everything Malcolm (John Gordon Sinclair) comes Zoe (Katherine Kingsley) on a one-way ticket from England to start a new life.

After an unpromising start, she moves in with James and Malcolm, convinced that she can get these two undomesticated alpha males to change their ways and become more organised at home and work. She also becomes part of the scene at the Shakes, the local expat pub run by Wanda (Samantha Bond) and visited by James's boss Mr Ampersand (Nicky Henson) who gives her a job as his PA.

The flatmates share many adventures including a very disorganised pub quiz, a series of domestic mishaps, attempts to fix the result of the Hong Kong Derby and a local marathon, and the annual Hong Kong New Year celebrations.

Katherine Kingsley was Olivier nominated for her role in Piaf and Singin' in the Rain, John Gordon Sinclair has performed in several musicals and is remembered for the title role in Gregory's Girl, Tony Gardner is currently one of the stars of the award-winning Last Tango in Halifax, and Samantha Bond has starred in many award-winning television and theatre productions including Downton Abbey. Guy Meredith has written several very successful dramas and comedies for radio, including the long-running series Daunt and Dervish.

Series Music Composer: David Chilton
Writer: Guy Meredith
Producer: Cherry Cookson

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 12:00 News Summary (b07mvxs8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 12:04 Home Front (b07kcckt)
8 August 1916 - Sylvia Graham

On this day in 1916, the Daily Mirror reported 22 deaths from heatstroke on a hospital ship, and the Graham household is concerned for Gabriel's mind.

Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole

NOTES
This season of Home Front is set back in Folkestone, during the Battle of the Somme, and just after the death of Lord Kitchener in circumstances that provoked a number of conspiracy theories, and the execution of Sir Roger Casement for his role in the Easter Rising. 'Spyfever' was understandably at a pitch, and Folkestone was an important base for the newly formed Secret Service bureau. Both the Secret Intelligence Service and the War Office had bases in the town, recruiting and organising overseas intelligence gathering. Genuine players at the time include Captain Mansfield Cumming, codename C (Brian Protheroe), and Major Cecil Cameron, codename CF (Justin Salinger).

The film, 'The Battle of the Somme' was released on 10 August, and became Britain's biggest selling film until Star Wars. Around 20 million people - almost half the population, saw the film during the summer of 1916.

Season 8 of Home Front is story-led by Katie Hims (MARTIN BECK, KING DAVID) and written by Sarah Daniels (THE CAZALETS, EATING FOR ENGLAND), Shaun McKenna (THE FORSYTES, THE COMPLETE SMILEY), Mike Walker (THE STUARTS, THE ROMANOVS) and Sebastian Baczkiewicz (PILGRIM, MR RAINBOW).

SECRET SHAKESPEARE
A phrase is hidden in every episode in 2016. If you spot one, tweet it using #BBCHomeFront.

MON 12:15 You and Yours (b07mvxsb)
Paracetamol use, Alcohol and air travel, Seaside resort fightback

Andrea Catherwood looks at a change to the safe dosage of paracetamol for youngsters. We hear from the woman who campaigned for it.
The efforts to keep airline passengers sober.
Can the state run the railways better then a private operator?
And the fight to regain visitors by some of the UK's most famous seaside resorts.

MON 12:57 Weather (b07mvxsd)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 13:00 World at One (b07mvxsg)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

MON 13:45 The Ideas That Make Us (b07mwqfk)
Series 4, Character

Bettany Hughes considers changing ideas about character at an ancient Greek palace, on a stage, at a political think-tank, and in a prison kitchen.

This surprising and invigorating history of the most influential ideas in the story of civilisation, has been described as 'a double espresso shot of philosophy, history, science and the arts'. Award--winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes begins each programme with the first, extant evidence of a single word-idea in Ancient Greek culture and travels both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history, and how they've shaped us.

In this programme Bettany explores character with experts from the humanities and sciences, people who see these big philosophical ideas playing out in their own lives including archaeologist Michael Cosmopoulos, writer and historian Hannah Dawson, and classicist Paul Cartledge. Bettany travels to a new archaeological excavation Greece to see where these ideas were born and then explores the street markets, churches, offices and homes where they continue to morph and influence our daily lives.

Other ideas in this series are harmony, narcissism, technology and hubris. Ideas examined previously include idea, desire, agony, fame, justice, wisdom, comedy, liberty, peace and hospitality, virtue, psyche, charisma, irony and nemesis.

Series Producer: Dixi Stewart.

MON 14:00 The Archers (b07mw5f4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]

MON 14:15 Drama (b07mwqfm)
Music to See By

Music To See By
by Jeremy Raison

1776 Vienna: physician, Franz Anton Mesmer, offers to treat blind musical prodigy, Maria Theresia von Paradis, with a revolutionary technique using his glass harmonica. Although the method had never been publicly proven, Mesmer has all the arrogance of the male in a patriarchal society. Mesmer is 42, Maria 17. Maria wants no further treatment for her blindness. She has been subjected by her dominating parents to a lifetime of opportunist practitioners. Her father is an Imperial Secretary to the Empress Maria Theresa and a force to be reckoned with. Her mother is equally determined her daughter shall take her place in society through marriage; she cannot marry unless cured. Maria's blindness has been diagnosed as amaurosis, a psychosomatic condition of hysterical origin.

Despite Maria's initial protests, Franz visits on several occasions. Franz's approach and manner is different from other practitioners and Maria is intrigued by the glass harmonica. She begins to trust Franz and eventually there is progress. At first glimmers of light and then slowly her sight improves. But will it return completely? As her vision clears Maria is not altogether comfortable with the world she sees and there are other unexpected consequences.

The play was inspired by the writer's own battle with blindness.

Pianist - David Mcguiness
Glass Harmonica - Alasdair Malloy

Producer/director: David Ian Neville.

MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b07mwqfp)
Series 30, Heat 8, 2016

(8/13)
Which vocal ensemble was founded by the English bass singer Matthew Best when he was just sixteen? And which performers have sung the opening line in the four different versions of the Band Aid song 'Do They Know It's Christmas'? These are just two of the diverse questions Paul Gambaccini puts to the competitors in the eighth heat of 'Counterpoint'.

As always, the three contenders will have to choose a special musical topic on which they'll get their own individual questions - but with no warning of the categories, they'll be thrown in at the deep end.

The winner goes through to the semi-finals and stands a chance of competing in the 30th anniversary Counterpoint Final at the BBC Proms.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

MON 15:30 Food Programme (b07mw362)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]

MON 16:00 The Headline Ballads (b07mwqfr)
The Story of the Monkeys and the Fishes

A series in which poets and storytellers respond to stories underneath the world news headlines

In part 2 of The Headline Ballads the Sierra Leonean storyteller, Usifu Jalloh, is inspired by the people rebuilding their communities after Ebola. His Headline Ballad - The Story of the Monkeys and the Fishes - is told with his drum and a traditional thumb piano. It runs through the programme and is interwoven with personal testimonies from those who experienced the crisis in Sierra Leone at first hand. We hear from Ebola survivors, from the leader of a burial team, from a nurse who kept a hospital running virtually single handedly, from a woman who took in Ebola orphans, and also from the children caught up in the crisis and now coping with its aftermath.

Producer: Penny Boreham.

MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b07mwqft)
Series 14, The Universe: What Remains to Be Discovered?

Brian Cox and Robin Ince take to the stage at the Blue Dot Festival, at the home of Radio Astronomy, Jodrell Bank. They are joined on stage by Ben Miller, Charlotte Church, Dr Paul Abel and Professor Tim O'Brien to explore the big questions that are still to be answered about our Universe.

MON 17:00 PM (b07mvxsl)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07mvxsn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b07mwqfw)
Series 76, Episode 1

Nicholas Parsons and guests return for the 76th series of the panel show where participants must try to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition. No repetition? That's no small order after nearly 50 years.

Episode one features Paul Merton, Katherine Ryan, Gyles Brandreth and Josie Lawrence.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.

Produced by Matt Stronge.

It was a BBC Studios production.

MON 19:00 The Archers (b07mwqfy)
Shula shows off a birthday present, and Jill has a question for Pip.

MON 19:15 Front Row (b07mvxsq)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mwqfc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

MON 20:00 Frightened of Each Other's Shadows (b07mwtv3)
It's part of contemporary life we experience but are ashamed to discuss.

But Nihal Arthanayake wants to talk it: about the things that are left unsaid. The empty chair next to a person from an ethnic minority on a packed bus or train. That anxious glance, or downright hostile gaze.

Nihal hears from people from around Britain about how the threat of terrorist attacks is making us all frightened of each other's shadows; charting the emotional landscape of Britain at a time of heightened anxiety and distrust.

Olaoluwa Opebiyi was removed from a plane by armed police after a fellow passenger reported him to cabin crew for acting suspiciously.

Karan Chadda shaved off his hipster beard when people started avoiding him.

Tomiwa Folounso tells us that she feels guilty for being wary of young Asian men, when she too has experienced prejudice in the past.

How do manage these fears?

Some of the people we spoke with in this programme have asked to remain anonymous, but we'll hear from Steve Reicher, a Professor of Social Psychology at St Andrews University and Les Back, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. We join writer Iain Sinclair as he takes Nihal on a walk through history around the City of London.

Nihal also speaks with Robin Goodwin from Warwick University who has been measuring people's responses to terrorist attacks, from 9/11 right up until the November attacks in Paris in 2015. Is terrorism changing the way we relate to each other?

Producer: Caitlin Smith.

MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b07m7pl0)
Going Hungry in Venezuela

Oil-rich Venezuela is struggling to feed its own people as a result of a spiralling economic and political crisis which has brought the country to its knees. Vladimir Hernandez returns to his home country where thousands queue for many hours in order to buy even the most basic of food stuffs. Malnutrition and starvation, unthinkable only a few years ago, are becoming a reality for some communities and particularly the poor.

MON 21:00 Natural Histories (b07m5gwr)
Leech

Brett Westwood is sucked into the weird and wonderful world of the leech. It's been portrayed both as monstrous and as a medical marvel, but which is nearer the truth? Christopher Frayling doesn't think we can ever get over the fact that it's a reviled bloodsucker, just like the most famous bloodsucker of them all, Dracula - and he reveals a hidden link between the two. Bethany Sawyer and her company provide leeches for the NHS to help in reconstructive surgery, and Brett visits their leech farm for an uncomfortably close encounter. Emma Sherlock is an enthusiast for all things wormy and for the amazing abilities of the humble leech, but hearing how they used to be gathered and used could surely send a shudder down any spine..
Taking part:
Bethany Sawyer, General Manager of Biopharm
Sir Christopher Frayling, Professor Emeritus of Cultural History, Royal College of Art
Emma Sherlock, Curator of Free Living Worms at the Natural History Museum
Dr Robert Kirk, Lecturer in Medical History and Humanities at the University of Manchester
Geoffrey Whitehead, Reader
Producer Beth O'Dea.

MON 21:30 Playing the Skyline (b07mwtv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

MON 21:58 Weather (b07mvxss)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b07mvxsv)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07mwv6m)
Reading Europe - Italy: The Parrots, You wrote a book. It came out well. But that was a lucky chance.

In 'Reading Europe', Radio 4 continues its journey across Europe exploring the best in contemporary literature with this hugely successful Italian satire on the murky world of literary prizes.
Three men are preparing to do battle. Their goal is a prestigious literary prize. And each man will do anything to win it. For the hip young goateed Beginner it means fame. For The Master, a dehorned old bull, it means money. And for The Writer - successful, vain but lacking in kudos - it is a matter of life and death. As the rivals lie, cheat and plot their way to victory, the day of the Prize Ceremony takes on an even darker significance.
Today: The Beginner finds he has a lot to lose

The author: Filippo Bologna won the prestigious Strega Prize in 2009 for his debut novel, How I Lost the War, and understands all too well the world of Italian literary prize-giving.
The translator: Howard Curtis has translated more than a hundred books from Italian, French and Spanish, mostly works of contemporary fiction.
The Beginner's section is read by Sam Rix
The Writer's section is read by Anthony Head
The Master's section is read by Oliver Ford Davies
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Simon Richardson.

MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b079pr8y)
Snuck and Sung: Irregular Verbs

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explore irregular verbs with Dr Marcelle Cole, and a contribution from Steven Pinker.
What are they, where did they come from, and why do they exist in English? Are there any new ones being produced, and how are they used in real life?
Producer Beth O'Dea.

MON 23:30 Digital Human (b079nfz6)
Series 9, Changeling

Why does a parent's awe over their child's ability with technology turn so quickly to fear? Aleks Krotoski explores the anxieties at the heart of modern parenting and tech.

TUESDAY 09 AUGUST 2016

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b07mvxw3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b07mwqf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]

TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxw5)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07mvxw7)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxw9)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b07mvxwc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07p6jt1)
A short reflection and prayer with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.

TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b07mvxwf)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Emily Hughes.

TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k5c26)
Ptarmigan

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

David Attenborough presents the ptarmigan. Few birds are tough enough to brave winter on the highest of Scottish mountains but Ptarmigan are well adapted to extreme conditions. They're the only British bird that turns white in winter and Ptarmigan have feathers that cover their toes, feet and nostrils to minimise heat loss.

TUE 06:00 Today (b07pjq1r)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

TUE 09:00 Reflections with Peter Hennessy (b07mxgx6)
Series 4, Vince Cable

In this series, Peter Hennessy, the historian of modern Britain, asks senior politicians to reflect on their life and times. Each week, he invites his guest to explore their early, formative influences, their experiences of events and their impressions of people they've known.

In this programme, Peter Hennessy's guest is Sir Vince Cable, the former Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman, who became Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Coalition Government was formed in 2010. He talks movingly of his early years, and although his own views have remained consistently on the centre-left of British politics, he emerges as something of a political nomad, having belonged to the Labour Party and the SDP before joining the Liberal Democrats. After finally being elected to Parliament in his fifties, he first captured public attention with his warnings about the financial crash in 2008 and won widespread respect as a sage voice in the ensuing economic storm.

Although Vince Cable would have preferred to serve in a centre-left government, he worked with Conservative ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and tried to make a success of the coalition by focussing on the practical work of government. However, his department was responsible for higher education and he was involved in the controversial decision to abandon his party's 'pledge' to phase out university tuition fees.

Vince Cable won a place in people's hearts by demonstrating his skill as a ballroom dancer on 'Strictly Come Dancing'. He retains his passion for ballroom dancing and is also trying his hand as a writer.

Producer: Rob Shepherd.

TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b07mxgx8)
Flaneuse - Women Who Walk the Cities, Episode 2

In her new book Lauren Elkin strolls great cities, thinking about distinguished women who did the same.

She describes her own walks through London's Bloomsbury, which takes her back to when Virginia Woolf covered the same route, in her life and in her novels.

Reader Julianna Jennings

Producer Duncan Minshull.

TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07mvxwh)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mxgxb)
Graham Greene - Monsignor Quixote, Episode 2

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Graham Greene's comic reworking of Cervantes' classic novel.
Father Quixote receives some unwelcome - and very surprising - news from his bishop

Directed by Marc Beeby.

TUE 11:00 Natural Histories (b07mxgxd)
Rose

Brett Westwood looks into the heart of a rose. Its power lies in its infinite mutability - the rose symbolises everything from sex to socialism, romance to religious belief. It's not English, and it inspired the first punk single, as well as much of Persian poetry. David Austin Jr shows Brett around their rose garden, and cultural historian Jennifer Potter whizzes through roses from Sappho to Shakespeare.
Producer: Beth O'Dea

Contributors:
Narguess Farzad, Senior Fellow in Persian at SOAS, University of London
Jennifer Potter, author of The Rose: A True History
David Austin Jr, Managing Director, David Austin Roses

Readings
The Sick Rose by William Blake read by Lia Williams
Comical Roses in a Cubic Vase by George Szirtes, read by Iwan Rheon

Closing music:
Bright Blue Rose by Christy Moore.

TUE 11:30 Marc Riley's Musical Time Machine (b07mxgxg)
Series 2, Lemmy and Joe Strummer

The BBC's archive is justifiably and inarguably world-famous, but most of this attention and praise is showered on the musical riches it contains - all those life-changing Peel performances, seminal sessions from Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and so on. But there's another archive that's just as diverse and rich and rewarding - the BBC's spoken work archive.

As long as there have been pop stars, the BBC has spoken to them. Here, Marc Riley and his trusty Time Machine will steer you back through the years to visit the great and the good, the famous and the infamous. In each episode, Marc travels to two different points in time and revisits two interviews that have something in common - a person or place, a shared influence or ideology, a discovery or a misunderstanding.

In this episode, we hear from two musicians who, on the surface, appeared to have little in common - Lemmy of Motorhead was a long haired, unreconstructed rock 'n' roller; Joe Strummer of The Clash, despite being the son of a diplomat, was a polemical firebrand and a musical magpie.

But in truth, they both had a similar ethos. Both were fiercely passionate about music and proud of their musical integrity. Both felt connected with, and appealed to, disaffected working class teenagers of the late 1970s. Both lived in squats in West London at the start of their musical careers. And both found early appeal within the burgeoning punk scene.

The Lemmy interview comes from 1991 and he tells Tommy Vance about his reading habits, his love of history and why rock 'n' roll shouldn't aspire to be art. The Joe Strummer interview dates from ten years earlier and covers his political ideologies, The Clash's refusal to appear on Top Of The Pops and their sometimes shambolic business acumen.

A Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:00 News Summary (b07mvxwk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:04 Home Front (b07kccpt)
9 August 1916 - Edie Chadwick

On this day in 1916, the 'spycatcher' Peter Wright was born, and Edie, thus far economical with the truth, is forced to open her heart.

Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b07mvxwm)
Call You and Yours

Consumer phone-in.

TUE 12:57 Weather (b07mvxwp)
The latest weather forecast.

TUE 13:00 World at One (b07mvxwr)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

TUE 13:45 The Ideas That Make Us (b07mxgxj)
Series 4, Harmony

Bettany Hughes considers changing ideas about harmony at the Proms, in a garden, in mythology, and in an army church.

This surprising and invigorating history of the most influential ideas in the story of civilisation, has been described as 'a double espresso shot of philosophy, history, science and the arts'. Award--winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes begins each programme with the first, extant evidence of a single word-idea in Ancient Greek culture and travels both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history, and how they've shaped us.

In this programme Bettany explores harmony with experts from the humanities and sciences, people who see these big philosophical ideas playing out in their own lives including philosopher Angie Hobbs. Bettany reveals where these ideas were born and then explores the street markets, churches, offices and homes where they continue to morph and influence our daily lives.

Other ideas in this series are character, narcissism, technology and hubris. Ideas examined previously include idea, desire, agony, fame, justice, wisdom, comedy, liberty, peace and hospitality, virtue, psyche, charisma, irony and nemesis.

Series Producer: Dixi Stewart.

TUE 14:00 The Archers (b07mwqfy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]

TUE 14:15 Tracks (b07mxgxl)
The Nervus Vagus

The first in a major new nine-part conspiracy thriller, starring Romola Garai. Written by Matthew Broughton.

When Dr Helen Ash witnesses the brutal and disturbing crash of the plane that is carrying her father, the incident sets her on an investigation into a dark conspiracy. Florian Chauvin was flying to Wales to tell his daughter something important, but his plane fell out of the sky.

What was Florian coming to tell Helen? Who was he travelling with? And why did his plane crash?

Tracks: A story in nine parts about life, death and the human brain.

Directed in Wales by James Robinson.

TUE 15:00 Making History (b07mxgxn)
Tom Holland considers historical revelations with a resonance today. He's joined by two archaeologists - Professor Carenza Lewis from the University of Lincoln and David Miles, the former Director of Archaeology and Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage.

As combine harvesters tear into Britain's corn crops, David Miles takes us back to the birth of farming and the transformational period that was the Neolithic.

Iszi Lawrence changes into her running gear to recreate the Battle of Marathon - in Salford. Can historians and sports' scientists work together to solve a mystery surrounding this famous victory of the Greeks over the Persians which continues to puzzle historians?

Think British steel and its places such as Middlesborough, Sheffield and Port Talbot that come to mind. So why is Helen Castor in Clerkenwell? Professors Chris Evans and David Green give her a guided tour of one of Britain's earliest and most important centres of steel production.

And Professor Simon Schaffer at the University of Cambridge tells us why the Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted should really be on the People's Plinth.

Producer Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 15:30 Recycled Radio (b06fmsy6)
Series 4, Travel

Today Recycled Radio invites you on a wondrous journey. Famous travellers including Colin Thubron, Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux are all jostling for a seat, while presenter Gerald Scarfe attempts to steer the wheel. This is the archive hour at breakneck speed, chopped up, looped up and mashed up with breathtaking results.

So, do four males out of five really start life predisposed in favour of adventure? Why does Lucy Mangan want to stay at home? And is that John Prescott on the last ever edition of Excess Baggage?
Thought-provoking silly fun with an unusually starry cast - Sue MacGregor, Sir John Betjeman, Nicholas Parsons, Benedict Allen, Sarah Wheeler, Humphrey Lyttleton and Clive James.

The producer is Miles Warde.

TUE 16:00 Everybody Hates Me (b07mxgz4)
What's it like to have a job that guarantees you'll spend your working life being loathed by the public? To work in a profession where your heart sinks when asked "what do you do?" What are the psychological costs of reading endless negative headlines about the role to which you've dedicated your life? What personal qualities are needed to put up with the constant jokes?

Writer James Walton meets people who might be tempted to avoid questions about their work.

From an estate agent who admits that in his younger days he was "a bit of an idiot" to a corporate downsizer who has to strike the balance between empathy and detachment, as she fires people on behalf of their bosses. From the former Daily Mail journalist who feels each slight on her profession ("journalists make it all up!") as an attack on her personal integrity, to the 18 year old trainee football referees who are adamant that they just shrug off abuse from spectators and players. But when the insults take on a racist tone, are they so easy to shut out?

James also speaks to stand-up comedian Nish Kumar about what it's like to harvest people's professions for laughs on stage. What does it feel like to go to a comedy gig and dread the moment when the comedian alights on you in the audience and asks "what's your job"? And how does Nish feel when someone in the front row says they're an estate agent and the whole audience turns on them?

Producer: Hannah Marshall.
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b07mxk48)
Series 39, Alex Salmond on Thomas Muir

Alex Salmond chooses Thomas Muir for Great Lives, whom he describes as the Father of Scottish Democracy.

"I have devoted myself to the cause of The People. It is a good cause - it shall ultimately prevail - it shall finally triumph." (Thomas Muir)

Born in 1765, Thomas Muir trained as a lawyer and spent much of his early years advocating political reform and greater representation. These views brought him to the attention of the authorities who tried and convicted him of "unconscious sedition". Sentenced to fourteen years transportation to Australia, he eventually escaped and embarked on an epic voyage back to Europe during which he was almost killed.

Alex Salmond argues that it was his treatment by the state that turned Muir from reformer to radical and then revolutionary, and he believes the democratic reform he sought has still not occurred. He says the word to describe Muir is "thrawn", a Scottish word meaning beyond stubborn, as he came up against unreasonable opposition time and time again and shifted his position each time.

Debating the issues is Muir expert Murray Armstrong, author of 'The Liberty Tree'. Matthew Parris presents.

Producer: Toby Field.

TUE 17:00 PM (b07mvxwt)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07mvxww)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 18:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pvk1j)
The New Neighbour

Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's comedy classic Hancock's Half Hour. The first modern sitcom, it made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Galton and Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives, and have not been heard since their original transmission nearly sixty years ago. Now, five of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre, featuring a stellar cast led by Kevin McNally as The Lad Himself.

Tonight's episode: The New Neighbour. Tony has a new neighbour, whose night-time routine is very, very suspicious.....

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Kevin McNally, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian and Susy Kane. The New Neighbour was last broadcast in March 1956.

Produced by Ed Morrish and Neil Pearson.

TUE 19:00 The Archers (b07mxk4b)
Eddie gets some bad news, and Emma overhears a phone call.

TUE 19:15 Front Row (b07mvxwy)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mxgxb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

TUE 20:00 Could the Birmingham Six Happen Again? (b07mxk4d)
The author Robert Harris, commenting on the release of the Birmingham Six in 1991, wrote that "whoever placed the bombs in Birmingham also placed a bomb under the British legal establishment". The overturning of the convictions caused shock and outrage and led to major reforms in police investigations, criminal prosecutions, and assessments of possible miscarriages of justice.

It's now over 40 years since the trial of the six innocent men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings. Their release 17 years later, amid much official breast-beating, led to the setting up of a Royal Commission and, in due course, to changes in criminal procedure with a view to ensuring that mistakes of this sort could never happen again. In particular it led to the creation of the Criminal Cases Review Commission which is empowered to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice and to refer doubtful cases back to the Court of Appeal. Around 400 convictions have been quashed as a result of references by the CCRC.

This programme examines what changed as a result of the Birmingham Six case and whether a similar miscarriage of justice could be repeated today. Presenter Chris Mullin investigated the case as a journalist before he became a Labour MP and helped to establish the innocence of the Six. Contributors include former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer, former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, and current Head of the National Police Chiefs Council, Sara Thornton.

Presenter: Chris Mullin is the author of 'Error of Judgement - the truth about the Birmingham Bombings.' He also helped make four World in Action documentaries on the case. He is a former chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee.

Producer: Jonathan Brunert.

TUE 20:40 In Touch (b07mvxx0)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.

TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b07mxk4g)
Dr Mark Porter presents a series on health issues.

TUE 21:30 Reflections with Peter Hennessy (b07mxgx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

TUE 21:58 Weather (b07mvxx2)
The latest weather forecast.

TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b07mvxx4)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07mxk4j)
Reading Europe - Italy: The Parrots, They Forgive Poets Everything

In 'Reading Europe', Radio 4 continues its journey across Europe exploring the best in contemporary literature with this hugely successful Italian satire on the murky world of literary prizes.
Three men are preparing to do battle. Their goal is a prestigious literary prize. And each man will do anything to win it. For the hip young goateed Beginner it means fame. For The Master, a dehorned old bull, it means money. And for The Writer - successful, vain but lacking in kudos - it is a matter of life and death. As the rivals lie, cheat and plot their way to victory, the day of the Prize Ceremony takes on an even darker significance.
Today: as the Beginner struggles with the fallout from his infidelity, the Writer is still contemplating just how far he will go to win the Prize....

Today: The Writer signs in blood

The author: Filippo Bologna won the prestigious Strega Prize in 2009 for his debut novel, How I Lost the War, and understands all too well the world of Italian literary prize-giving.
The translator: Howard Curtis has translated more than a hundred books from Italian, French and Spanish, mostly works of contemporary fiction.
The Beginner's section is read by Sam Rix
The Writer's section is read by Anthony Head
The Master's section is read by Oliver Ford Davies
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Simon Richardson.

TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b07mwqft)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Monday]

TUE 23:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b076bz3h)
Series 2, Aristophanes

Join Natalie Haynes and guests for half an hour of comedy and the Classics from the BBC Radio Theatre in London.

Natalie is a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome.

Tonight she stands up in the name of Greek playwright and inventor of 'old comedy', Aristophanes. Expect a chorus of frogs, rather too much information about padded costumes, and a sex strike. Oh, and a lot of gossip from two and half thousand years ago.

With special guests Rosie Wyles, Edith Hall and Fiona Laird.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

WEDNESDAY 10 AUGUST 2016

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b07mvxzk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b07mxgx8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]

WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxzn)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07mvxzq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07mvxzs)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 05:30 News Briefing (b07mvxzv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07pfh7v)
A short reflection and prayer with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.

WED 05:45 Farming Today (b07mvxzy)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Emily Hughes.

WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkc54)
Red-Legged Partridge

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Red-legged Partridge. The red-legged partridge, which are sometimes called French partridges, are native to Continental Europe and were successfully introduced to the UK as a game bird in the 18th century. Seen from a distance, crouching in an arable field, they look like large clods of earth, but up close they have beautiful plumage.

WED 06:00 Today (b07n3c43)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

WED 09:00 What's the Point of...? (b07mxt92)
Series 8, Golf

Golf. An Olympic sport or a test of character and way of life? Quentin Letts returns with a new series questioning the point of British obsessions and institutions.

Nearly four million of us play golf every year, one in every five hundred jobs is linked to the game and it's worth over 4 billion pounds to the economy. What is it about hitting a ball with a stick that is so compelling? Quentin Letts travels to St Andrews, the Home of Golf, for a meeting with the Games governing body, the R and A; enjoys a drink with pilgrims in the Dunvegan arms and a golf lesson. (He's quite good. )

Producer: Rosie Dawson.

WED 09:30 Prime Minsters' Props (b07mxt94)
Neville Chamberlain's Umbrella

Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader - from Winston Churchill's cigar and siren suit to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.

Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.

Neville Chamberlain always liked to carry a big black umbrella. It was intended to project an image of the quintessential Englishman, who was always smart, prepared and, in a manner of speaking, neatly furled. When Chamberlain arrived home after meeting Hitler at Munich in 1938, he was clutching Hitler's signed piece of paper in one hand and his brolly in the other. His umbrella now took on a new and potent symbolism as a "peace umbrella" and one that would keep the German bombs from raining down on British heads. He was sent hundreds of umbrellas by a grateful public and there was even a song composed at the time which contained the lyrics, "You look swell holding your umbrella / All the world loves a wonderful fella".

Yet as war broke out in Europe, Chamberlain's trademark brolly was quickly seized upon by his enemies as a laughable symbol of his gentlemanly ineffectiveness and it became a lightening-rod for critics of appeasement. Declassified MI5 records reveal how Hitler mocked him for it - and Chamberlain's once so celebrated umbrella morphed from useful trademark into an embarrassing symbol of political weakness and pusillanimity.

A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b07mxt96)
Flaneuse - Women Who Walk the Cities, Episode 3

In her new book Lauren Elkin strolls great cities, thinking about distinguished women who did the same.

She describes Paris, which is THE great walking city. Beneath today's concrete lies cobblestones, which gets her thinking about an earlier age and the remarkable George Sand, who in the 1800's promenaded around in gentleman's clothes.

Reader Julianna Jennings

Producer Duncan Minshull.

WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07mvy04)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b07mxt98)
Graham Greene - Monsignor Quixote, Episode 3

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Newly appointed a Monsignor, Father Quixote and his friend Sancho set off on their quest for purple socks - and their troubles begin.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b07mxt9b)
Colin and Rolf - The Benefits of National Service

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between friends who are now in their 80s, reflecting on their National Service in the RAF and how it affected their future careers. 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 Frightened of Each Other's Shadows (b07mwtv3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]

WED 11:30 Guilt Trip (b07mxt9d)
Episode 3

Comedy drama in which Felicity Montagu (Lynn in Alan Partridge and Mrs Mainwaring in the new Dad's Army film ) and her daughter (Olivia Nixon) play a mother and daughter doing a two week sponsored walk along The Thames Path to raise money for the dead father's charity. But the mother and father had been divorced for nine years and he had re-married, so relationships between them all have been strained. Things come to a head at any mention of the French Oak gable table Ros and her now dead ex bought together in Camden. This has somehow ended up in the step-mother's house, much to Ros's annoyance: "I mean she sits at it! It's my table and she sits at it." The series is co-written by Katherine Jakeways who also plays the step-mother.

It's day 10 of the walk and in this episode they spot a narrow boat that reminds Laura (Ros's daughter) of the Rosie and Jim boat she remembers from the children's TV show. But when the owner (Juliet Cowan) invites them aboard, it does not all go quite as they might have expected.

The producer was Jane Berthoud, it was a BBC Radio Comedy production.

WED 12:00 News Summary (b07mvy0n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:04 Home Front (b07kcd2q)
10 August 1916 - Gabriel Graham

On this day in 1916, a letter from Lloyd George exhorted the nation to watch the new film 'The Battle of the Somme', and in Folkestone, the Grahams face an impossible situation.

Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

WED 12:15 You and Yours (b07mvy0z)
Consumer affairs programme.

WED 12:57 Weather (b07mvy11)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 13:00 World at One (b07mvy1c)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

WED 13:45 The Ideas That Make Us (b07mxt9g)
Series 4, Narcissism

Bettany Hughes considers changing ideas about narcissism at a hairdresser's, on a therapist's couch, in mythology, and on our mobile phones.

This surprising and invigorating history of the most influential ideas in the story of civilisation, has been described as 'a double espresso shot of philosophy, history, science and the arts'. Award--winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes begins each programme with the first, extant evidence of a single word-idea in Ancient Greek culture and travels both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history, and how they've shaped us.

In this programme Bettany explores narcissism with experts from the humanities and sciences, people who see these big philosophical ideas playing out in their own lives including philosopher Angie Hobbs. Bettany reveals where these ideas were born and then explores the street markets, churches, offices and homes where they continue to morph and influence our daily lives.

Other ideas in this series are character, harmony, technology and hubris. Ideas examined previously include idea, desire, agony, fame, justice, wisdom, comedy, liberty, peace and hospitality, virtue, psyche, charisma, irony and nemesis.

Series Producer: Dixi Stewart.

WED 14:00 The Archers (b07mxk4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]

WED 14:15 Drama (b05mqrcv)
Recent Events at Collington House, Episode 2

A battle of beliefs in a return to Collington House, a secondary school in the Midlands with a large proportion of students from Muslim families.

Part 1 saw new head Roz Taylor's inclusive multi-faith approach at odds with the beliefs of Abdul Lateef Shah, one of the Muslim parent governors.

Part 2 returns to the school some months later where the school governors are becoming increasingly polarised.

This is a fictional drama that attempts to gets behind the news headlines, examines what is actually meant by "Islamisation" and considers how different faiths can co-exist in our schools on a day-to-day level.

Written by Matthew Solon

Researcher: Eva Krysiak
Sound: Steve Bond

Producer: Emma Hearn
Director: John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 15:00 Your Money and Your Life (b07mvbty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]

WED 15:30 Inside Health (b07mxk4g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]

WED 16:00 Self's Search for Meaning (b07ffkj3)
Philosophy

Will Self asks some of Britain's key opinion-makers to share, in simple terms, their conclusions about the nature - and meaning - of our existence.

WED 16:30 The Media Show (b07mvy1x)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.

WED 17:00 PM (b07mvy1z)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07mvy21)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 18:30 To Hull and Back (b07mxth9)
Series 2, This Must Be It

Lucy Beaumont stars as the daughter trying to escape her overbearing mother played by Maureen Lipman in the second series of this warm hearted sitcom set in Hull.

"It's like a cross between a Victoria Wood Sketch and a Mike Leigh film". Radio Times

Episode 1 - This Must Be It

It seems that Sophie will finally manage to escape the family home and the clutches of her overprotective mother. She pegs her hopes on an acting audition and reluctantly enlists the help of her mother, who takes her role a bit too seriously. Will this prove to be the break Sophie has been waiting for?

Writer ..... Lucy Beaumont
Producer ..... Carl Cooper
Production Co-ordinator ..... Sophie Richardson

This is a BBC Studios Production.

WED 19:00 The Archers (b07mxthc)
New information is brought to Anna's attention, and Richard gives his advice.

WED 19:15 Front Row (b07mvy23)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mxt98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]

WED 20:00 Party Futures (b07mxv5y)
Is now the point when the structure of the UK's party politics could fundamentally change?

The repercussions of the EU Referendum result are shaking British party politics. Labour faces a bitter internal crisis, with some talking about possible splits. The Conservatives wonder whether they have put to rest the perennial battles in their party over Europe. UKIP has the challenge of what to do under a new leader with the voters it has mobilised. The LibDems hope they have been given the opportunity to revive which they desperately seek.

All this is against the background of how Brexit will occur and at what pace, where Remain voters will now go for political leadership, whether there will be a second independence referendum in Scotland, and how political alienation will affect all conventional politics.

It is a time of turmoil, uncertainty and awe at the recent pace of events - but are these the conditions that will lead to a fundamental change in the configuration of the British party system? Will historians look back on this time as the pivot point when everything shifted in our party politics?

Isabel Hardman chairs this discussion about where the future of the UK's party politics is heading, which features Tim Montgomerie, Miranda Green, Prof. Tim Bale, James Morris and Dr Phil Burton-Cartledge.

Producer: Gary Connor.

WED 20:45 David Baddiel Tries to Understand (b07mxv60)
Series 2, Rugby

In the last episode of this series, David sets out to understand the rules of rugby union.

Producer: Giles Edwards.

WED 21:00 The Whale Menopause (b07mxv62)
Killer whales and humans are almost unique in the animal kingdom. The females of both species go through the menopause in their 40s or 50s, and then live for decades without producing any more offspring themselves. It's an extremely rare phenomenon. No other mammal does this, including other apes, monkeys and elephants, with the exception of another species of toothed whale. There are good grounds for thinking the menopause evolved for a reason, but why?

BBC science reporter Victoria Gill takes to the sea off the northwest coast of the USA with scientists who believe the killer whales in this part of the world can explain why the menopause evolved in both orca and our own species.

Victoria encounters 'Granny', the world's oldest known orca - a matriarch killer whale who is estimated to be somewhere between 80 and 105 years old. 'Granny' has not had a calf for at least 40 years and is still very much the leader of her family group.

Granny is more properly known as J2 - her individual designation in the longest running and most detailed study of a population of whales in the world. In 1976, the Center for Whale Research took up the task of identifying and counting every member of the resident population of killer whales which inhabit the Salish Sea region between the USA and Canada. The project arose from fears that too many of members of this population were being captured for the entertainment industry and taken to zoos and commercial 'dolphinariums'.

The survey's findings led to a ban on the removal and rendition of orca from the Salish but the Center's work has continued. There is now forty years of data on births, deaths, family ties and health status of all the individual whales among the Southern Residents,.

The data has become of huge interest to evolutionary biologists Darren Croft of the University of Exeter and Daniel Franks of the University of York who are analysing it to explore why killer whale females live for decades after they've stopped reproducing themselves. They've discovered that these older females are critical to the survival of other members of their families - particularly their adult sons.

A female killer whale's offspring of both sexes stay with her for her lifetimes. If a matriarch dies, her fully grown sons are eight times more likely to die in the following year. Her adult daughters are also at risk. Further study of the Center's data suggests that the whale matriarchs possess decades of knowledge and wisdom about their world on which her offspring and grand-offspring depend. This may well go part of the way in explaining why old females have evolved to stop reproducing themselves and focus on promoting their genetic legacy through her children's and grandchildren's success.

One of the potential evolutionary explanations for the menopause in our own species is the 'Grandmother hypothesis'. In the killer whales, you might call it a combination of the Grandmother and Italian Mother hypothesis. But according to Croft and Franks, even that doesn't completely solve the mystery of the menopause. So what might?

Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker

Image credit: Jane Cogan.

WED 21:30 What's the Point of...? (b07mxt92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

WED 21:58 Weather (b07mvy25)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b07mvy27)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07mxv64)
Reading Europe - Italy: The Parrots, When Fate Shows Its Hand

In 'Reading Europe', Radio 4 continues its journey across Europe exploring the best in contemporary literature with this hugely successful Italian satire on the murky world of literary prizes.
Three men are preparing to do battle. Their goal is a prestigious literary prize. And each man will do anything to win it. For the hip young goateed Beginner it means fame. For The Master, a dehorned old bull, it means money. And for The Writer - successful, vain but lacking in kudos - it is a matter of life and death. As the rivals lie, cheat and plot their way to victory, the day of the Prize Ceremony takes on an even darker significance.

Today: The Beginner makes a plea

The author: Filippo Bologna won the prestigious Strega Prize in 2009 for his debut novel, How I Lost the War, and understands all too well the world of Italian literary prize-giving.
The translator: Howard Curtis has translated more than a hundred books from Italian, French and Spanish, mostly works of contemporary fiction.
The Beginner's section is read by Sam Rix
The Writer's section is read by Anthony Head
The Master's section is read by Oliver Ford Davies
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Simon Richardson.

WED 23:00 Angela Barnes: You Can't Take It with You (b07mxv86)
Episode 1

Super-sharp everywoman Angela Barnes tackles life and love and, with the help of an audience, packs herself a fantasy coffin.

Remembering her larger-than-life father - a gregarious character, sex shop manager, naturist, and a big fan of caravans and pranks - Angela celebrates his 'carpe diem' approach to life, and his motto "You Can't Take It With You".

When her father died very suddenly in 2008, Angela and her family proved him wrong and stuffed his coffin with sentimental keepsakes for his final journey.

In this series, Angela does the very same thing and asks her loved ones to nominate objects that they would choose to send on with her as mementoes of their time together, which she keeps in a suitcase full of memories, acting as prompts for contemplative, heart-warming and captivating comedy.

Angela Barnes is a vivacious, critically acclaimed stand-up comic from Maidstone, Kent. After a career in health and social care, at aged 33 she decided to pursue a long held ambition and give comedy a go. Within a couple of years, Angela and her witty worldview had won the 2011 BBC New Comedy Award by a public vote, secured a weekly star slot in Channel 4's Stand Up For The Week and appeared on numerous radio and television shows including Loose Ends, The Now Show and writing credits on her beloved The News Quiz (BBC Radio 4), Russell Kane's Whistle Stop Tour (BBC Radio 2), Mock The Week (BBC 2) and Russell Howard's Good News (BBC 3).

An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 23:15 Domestic Science (b07mxv7c)
Episode 4

A heady combination of maths, science and comedy with Festival of The Spoken Nerd trio who are stand up Mathematician Matt Parker, Physicist Steve Mould and Physicist and musician Helen Arney. It's science that you can play alongwith at home as the team look at domestic phenomena that we relate to on a day to day basis.

In this episode we get up close with bike and car tyres and try to break a wine glass though the voice alone.

Producer... Julia McKenzie

A BBC Studios Production.

WED 23:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b07756bd)
Series 2, Ovid

Join Natalie Haynes and guests for half an hour of comedy and the Classics from the BBC Radio Theatre in London.

Natalie is a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome.

Tonight she stands up in the name of Roman poet, Ovid. Expect frottage at the races, Greek myths from a female perspective, and enough inspiration for painters, writers and sculptures to last a couple of millennia.
With special guests Llewelyn Morgan and Michael Squire.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

THURSDAY 11 AUGUST 2016

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b07mvy41)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b07mxt96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]

THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07mvy44)
The latest shipping forecast.

THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07mvy46)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07mvy48)
The latest shipping forecast.

THU 05:30 News Briefing (b07mvy4b)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07pkgq7)
A short reflection and prayer with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.

THU 05:45 Farming Today (b07mvy4d)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Felicity Evans and produced by Emily Hughes.

THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mzv8v)
Hen Harrier

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the story of the hen harrier. The sight of hen harriers floating in to their roost on a winter's afternoon is one that once seen, you'll never forget. Hen harriers are long-winged, graceful birds of prey which hunt by quartering rough ground such as marshes and moorland.

THU 06:00 Today (b07n373c)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

THU 09:00 Inside the Ethics Committee (b07mythf)
Series 12, Growth Restriction in Pregnancy

Today pregnancy brings a whole battery of tests and scans to check on the baby's development. But what happens when tests reveal that the fetus isn't growing?

There is very little that can be done to treat or prevent what's called fetal growth restriction. So doctors monitor the pregnancy closely in the hope that the fetus will be able to stay in the womb long enough to grow to size where it can survive outside.

Sometimes, it's not safe for the pregnancy to continue - either for the woman, if she becomes gravely ill, or for the fetus if it stops growing entirely.

But what happens when the baby is still so tiny that it's difficult to predict whether it will survive outside the womb or not? And if the baby does survive, he or she may go on to have development disabilities. Is it ethical to try to resuscitate it?

Survivors often spend months in intensive care, where they have to endure invasive painful procedures. When is it ethical to stop keeping them alive?

These dilemmas wouldn't arise for these growth-restricted babies if there was a way to treat or prevent the problem in the womb. But, as Professor Anna David explains, trialling untested medicines in pregnant women is seen as particularly ethically challenging.

It's a challenge that she has taken on. She's involved in two clinical trials in pregnant women to find out if the interventions improve fetal growth in the womb.

Producer: Beth Eastwood

Photo Credit: Yarinca / Getty Images.

THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b07mythk)
Flaneuse - Women Who Walk the Cities, Episode 4

Author Lauren Elkin strolls great cities, thinking about distinguished women who did the same..

She spent time in Venice, researching a novel. And here she recalls the artist Sophie Calle, who came to the city to 'follow' a man called 'Henri B'. All in the name of creativity of course..

Reader Julianna Jennings

Producer Duncan Minshull.

THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07mvy4g)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mythn)
Graham Greene - Monsignor Quixote, Episode 4

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Father Quixote and his friend Sancho arrive in Madrid to buy purple socks - and attract the unwelcome attention of the Guardia Civil.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b07mythq)
Poland's Amateur Defenders

Playing war-games in the woods has become an ever-more popular pastime in Poland as thousands of young people join paramilitary groups to defend their country against possible invasion. Others - so-called "preppers" - are building bunkers and storing food supplies so their families can survive any disaster. Now the government plans to recruit such enthusiasts into a state-run volunteer defence force - to counter a possible Russian threat. But are the authorities stoking fear - and creating an amateur force that's no use in 21st Century warfare? Tim Whewell reports from the forests of north-eastern Poland, close to the Russian border.

Producer: Estelle Doyle.

THU 11:30 David Hockney - Back in LA (b07h6hft)
In June 2013, art critic Martin Gayford received a message from David Hockney. It said that he was leaving Yorkshire to return to Los Angeles and he might be staying there for some time.

Hockney's relocation to LA came after a disastrous few months in the artist's personal life. In autumn 2012 he suffered a minor stroke and temporarily almost lost his speech. A tree that he often painted was felled in an act of vandalism that sent him into depression. In March, one of his assistants, Dominic Elliott died as a result of misadventure when he drank acid after taking a range of drugs. Hockney almost gave up painting.

The artist found inspiration in Los Angeles again, painting his assistant John-Pierre with his head in his hands. This image of deep despondency, which Hockney calls a self-portrait, was the catalyst for a new ambitious phase of work.

He began painting figures sat on the same chair against the same plain backdrop. The sitters' variety of figures, poses and clothes reinvigorated Hockney, as he recruited more and more characters for his "Human Comedy." The results would become a single series of portraits to be displayed at Hockney's second show at the Royal Academy in four years, '82 Portraits and One Still Life,' opening in July.

As the series began to take shape, in December 2013, Martin flew to California to sit. He'll re-visit the process of being painted by Britain's most famous artist and he'll interview Hockney about his life in Los Angeles, portraiture and this astonishing new chapter in his career.

Producer: Paul Smith
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4

David Hockney painting Martin Gayford, Los Angeles, 5 December 2013 (c) David Hockney
Photo Credit: Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima.

THU 12:00 News Summary (b07mvy4j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 12:04 Home Front (b07kcd3j)
11 August 1916 - Juliet Argent

On this day in 1916, Italy drives Germany back nine miles from Gorizia with 32,000 losses, and Juliet Argent faces losing her husband.

Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

THU 12:15 You and Yours (b07mvy4l)
Consumer affairs programme.

THU 12:57 Weather (b07mvy4n)
The latest weather forecast.

THU 13:00 World at One (b07mvy4q)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

THU 13:45 The Ideas That Make Us (b07mythy)
Series 4, Technology

Bettany Hughes considers changing ideas about technology at an archaeological dig, in mythology, at an electrical shop and in the future.

This surprising and invigorating history of the most influential ideas in the story of civilisation, has been described as 'a double espresso shot of philosophy, history, science and the arts'. Award--winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes begins each programme with the first, extant evidence of a single word-idea in Ancient Greek culture and travels both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history, and how they've shaped us.

In this programme Bettany explores technology with experts from the humanities and sciences, people who see these big philosophical ideas playing out in their own lives including philosopher Angie Hobbs, anthropologist Deborah Ruscillo, and historians Hannah Dawson and Yuval Harari. Bettany reveals where these ideas were born and then explores the street markets, churches, offices and homes where they continue to morph and influence our daily lives.

Other ideas in this series are character, harmony, narcissism and hubris. Ideas examined previously include idea, desire, agony, fame, justice, wisdom, comedy, liberty, peace and hospitality, virtue, psyche, charisma, irony and nemesis.

Series Producer: Dixi Stewart.

THU 14:00 The Archers (b07mxthc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]

THU 14:15 Afternoon Drama (b04dqngp)
The Man Inside the Radio Is My Dad

Charlie Brooks stars in Louise Monaghan's second radio play.

Is Mum telling Chloe the truth about the absence of her Dad or is she holding something back?

Chloe's classmates played by Year 3 children from Pickhurst Junior Academy School.

Directed by Tracey Neale

The Story:

Seven year old Chloe is missing her Dad. Chloe's Mum, Debra, tells her that her Dad's away on a trip and won't be home for a long time. Chloe knows she's lying and fears the worst, but when she tells her teacher and her classmates that her Dad's dead, Debra knows she has to tell Chloe the truth. Chloe's Dad, Steve, is in prison. Chloe has nightmares about her Dad in jail but when he sends her a CD of him reading stories, hearing his voice inside the radio makes her glad that he's still her Dad.

The play was inspired by the Storybook Dads reading scheme which is run in over 100 prisons across the UK. Storybook Dads enables children to keep in contact with parents in prison and helps offenders to maintain meaningful relationships with their families at home. The skills and training the scheme provides increases the chances of prisoners finding employment when they are released thereby reducing the risk of re-offending.

The Writer:
Louise Monaghan has written one play for radio: Alone In The Garden With You. She won the Papatango Award in 2012 for her play Pack, and was a finalist for the Bruntwood Prize in the same year.

THU 15:00 Open Country (b07mytj4)
The largest mechanical puppet ever made in the UK "The Man Engine" has been striding out across Cornwall to celebrate 10 years since Cornwall's mining landscapes were awarded the status of UNESCO world heritage sites.

Standing 10 metres high this 'Man Engine' will visit each of the 10 heritage areas across Cornwall and Helen Mark meets him and his creator Will Coleman in Liskeard and Minions on Bodmin moor. Helen speaks to some of the people who live here about what tin mining means to them today and to their sense of history. Former miner Mark Kaczmarek tell us about life in the mines today at Camborne School of Mines and we hear songs from Nick Hart from 'The Story of Cornwall' that make up the soundtrack to this incredible landscape and the industry which began here.

THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b07mw2s9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]

THU 15:30 Bookclub (b07mw4f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]

THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b07myxkm)
Ingrid Bergman and Don Paterson

With Antonia Quirke.

Award-winning poet Don Paterson continues his series about great speeches in cinema history with the ever quotable Casablanca.

THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b07mvy4t)
Adam Rutherford explores the science that is changing our world.

THU 17:00 PM (b07mvy4w)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07mvy4y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 18:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07myxkp)
Series 3, Episode 3

Simon Evans' comedy lecture on four of the big life stages that mark our journey through life and how economics is part of every one of those stages, whether we like it or not.

As always, he is joined by Financial Times columnist and presenter of Radio 4's 'More or Less', economist Tim Harford, and by financial guru and editor of Money Week, Merryn Somerset Webb.

This week Simon looks at Birth.

Also on stage are Andy and Sophie who are thinking about having children. From an economic point of view, should they at all? If they do, how many should they have? And when should they have them?

This week's special guest is Professor James Sefton who talks about the optimal birth rate for the country, economically-speaking.

Presenter: Simon Evans, with Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset Webb
Guests: Professor James Sefton, Sophie Richardson
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge, Andy Wolton and Guy Venables.
Producer: Claire Jones.

THU 19:00 The Archers (b07myxkr)
Rex and Toby both want the last word, and Rob makes a last-minute decision.

THU 19:15 Front Row (b07mvy50)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07mythn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b07myxkt)
Trump's Shock Troops: The 'Alt-Right'

Why has Donald Trump clinched the Republican Party nomination despite angering a long list of key groups of American voters? Part of his success can be explained by an element of his political base, the "alt-right". It's a mostly young, disparate movement which organises and congregates online, and its supporters have little in common with traditional Republicans. They are tribal and mostly sceptical about religion. They yearn for a strong leader and they loathe political correctness with a passion. Some are leading figures in the white supremacist movement, a development that frightens many mainstream Republicans who promised a more inclusive party after Mitt Romney's defeat four years ago. And in an interesting twist, some of the leading voices in the movement come from Britain.

In this episode, David Aaronovitch finds out more about the alt-right - who are they, what do they believe, and for the next four months what role will they play in the Trump campaign and American politics at large?
Guests:
Milo Yiannopoulos, technology editor, Breitbart News
Cathy Young, columnist, Newsday
Reporter: Mike Wendling.

THU 20:30 In Business (b07myxkw)
How Safe Are Your Secrets?

Companies don't often like to admit it, but we know the spies are out there, attempting to infiltrate almost every sector of industry, eager to winkle out the most valuable corporate secrets. And they sometimes succeed, passing on the information to rivals whether at home or abroad.
So what can be done to pursue the perpetrators and protect business from this growing threat?
In this episode of In Business Peter Day learns the lessons from businesses that have fallen victim to corporate espionage and he hears that most companies' Achilles' heels lie in the least expected places.

Producer Lucy Hooker.

THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b07mvy4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]

THU 21:30 Lives in a Landscape (b06pddh3)
Series 21, Goodbye to Boleyn

The Boleyn Ground, Upton Park. Home to West Ham since 1904. No one would call the stadium, or indeed the streets that closely bind it in the borough of Newham, beautiful but it has echoed to one of football's oldest anthems 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles' since the 1920's. Now that song and the stones & grass that have been an arena for legends like Hurst, Moore & Peters will not just fade and die but be demolished. Very soon the club will move from E13 to E20 & the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, no longer owners but tenants in a very different space. Match days around Green Street and the other roads that bind the stadium to the area will be like every other day. But for these last few months the pavements still reverberate to the returning tribes of Essex, their family ties strong in a place that has greatly changed since Bobby Moore and his other '66 immortals made West Ham a global name.

Amidst the throng on match day, Alan Dein weaves his way through the streets to chronicle lives enfolded by the stadium. On the corner of the ground stands Our Lady of Compassion, in fact it was the church that originally sold the ground to the club. Now their Saturday services are shaped by the footfall of match day. Directly opposite the stadium live two nuns with a new found affinity for the Claret & Blue. Standing on a step ladder, shouting to the arriving crowds a scary looking skinhead offers wise insight into the passing of time and place. Inside Queen's Market, flogging his apples and pears, Bradley is waiting until the clock hits 2.30 before he pulls on his replica shirt and dives out into the thickening crowds making their way towards the big match.

Producer: Mark Burman.

THU 21:58 Weather (b07mvy52)
The latest weather forecast.

THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b07mvy54)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07myxky)
Reading Europe - Italy: The Parrots, Into the Wolf's Lair

In 'Reading Europe', Radio 4 continues its journey across Europe exploring the best in contemporary literature with this hugely successful Italian satire on the murky world of literary prizes.
Three men are preparing to do battle. Their goal is a prestigious literary prize. And each man will do anything to win it. For the hip young goateed Beginner it means fame. For The Master, a dehorned old bull, it means money. And for The Writer - successful, vain but lacking in kudos - it is a matter of life and death. As the rivals lie, cheat and plot their way to victory, the day of the Prize Ceremony takes on an even darker significance.
Today: The Master's takes his last chance

The author: Filippo Bologna won the prestigious Strega Prize in 2009 for his debut novel, How I Lost the War, and understands all too well the world of Italian literary prize-giving.
The translator: Howard Curtis has translated more than a hundred books from Italian, French and Spanish, mostly works of contemporary fiction.
The Beginner's section is read by Sam Rix
The Writer's section is read by Anthony Head
The Master's section is read by Oliver Ford Davies
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Simon Richardson.

THU 23:00 Heresy (b01sdrh5)
Series 9, Episode 1

The first in a new series of the programme that dares to commit heresy.

Victoria Coren Mitchell and her guests have fun challenging knee-jerk public opinion, and exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom.

In the first programme of the series Victoria Coren Mitchell is joined by comedians Lee Mack and David Schneider, and writer-broadcaster Germaine Greer, to argue about foxes, maths and Andy Murray

Producers: Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy Knight
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 23:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b0785rmr)
Series 2, Plato

Join Natalie Haynes and guests for half an hour of comedy and the Classics from the BBC Radio Theatre in London.

Natalie is a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome.

Today she stands up in the name of one of the world's greatest thinkers, Plato, with the help of psychotherapist Philippa Perry and classicist Professor Edith Hall.

Plato wasn't perfect, even though he talks about perfection all the time. Turns out he was on the chunky side and had bad eyesight. On the other hand, he was very good at wrestling.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.