SATURDAY 25 MARCH 2017

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b08j99qg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b08jdx6p)
Fathers and Sons, Episode 5

As a boy growing up on the south coast of England, Howard Cunnell's sense of self was dominated by his father's absence. Now, years later, he is a father, and his daughter is becoming his son.

Starting with his own childhood in the Sussex beachlands, Howard tells the story of the years of self-destruction that defined his young adulthood and the escape he found in reading and the natural world. Still, he felt compelled to destroy the relationships that mattered to him.

Saved by love and responsibility, Cunnell charts his journey from anger to compassion, as his daughter Jay realises he is a boy, and a son.

Most of all, this is a story about love - its necessity and fragility, and its unequalled capacity to enable us to be who we are.

Deeply thoughtful, searingly honest and exquisitely lyrical, Fathers and Sons is an exploration of fatherhood, masculinity, authenticity and family.

Written by Howard Cunnell
Read by James Lailey
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b08j99qj)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b08j99qn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b08j99qq)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b08j99qs)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b08jf9xl)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Prebendary Edward Mason, Rector of Bath Abbey.

SAT 05:45 iPM (b08jf9xt)
To Russia with love

Learning Russian with Bridget Kendall and the Russian Ambassador to the UK.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair. Produced by Emma Close.

SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b08j99qv)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SAT 06:04 Weather (b08j99qx)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b08jclmm)
Series 35, Isaac's Tea Trail, Allendale

Clare Balding returns to her favourite county, Northumberland, to walk part of Isaac's Tea Trail, a thirty-six mile (58km) circular route, starting from Allendale. This long distance path, launched in 2002, was inspired by the tale of Isaac Holden, an itinerant tea seller and philanthropist who in Victorian times was a familiar figure on the rough tracks over Allendale Common and Alston Moor.
Clare is accompanied on her walk by Roger Morris who devised and maintains the route, Andy Lees ,from The north Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and retired journalist Anne Leuchars, who blogs about the route and has walked it all . She explains why the area is her adopted home and the very special role Isaac played in the local community.
The walk starts at Keenley Wesleyan Methodist Church and ends at Holden Hearse house.
Grid Ref : NY803567 End ref at NY782523
Producer Lucy Lunt.

SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b08j99qz)
Farming post-Brexit

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Chris Ledgard.

SAT 06:57 Weather (b08j99r1)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 07:00 Today (b08k11xv)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b08j99r3)
Jodie Prenger

The actress Jodie Prenger joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. Best known for winning the role of Nancy in the West End production of Oliver! She is now receiving rave reviews for her performance as Shirley Valentine in the 30th anniversary UK tour.

JP Devlin meets Jess Turtle, who recalls how her own family history and upbringing in Cardiff has inspired the Museum of Homelessness.

"The First Woman of Black British Comedy", Angie Le Mar, describes how she toured doing stand up while raising her children, rebelled against her strict religious upbringing, and explains how a chocolate Labrador helped her overcome depression.

Dr. Scott Miller is an Australian vet who has worked with animals since the age of seven. Passionate about wildlife and animal conservation, he has dealt with everything from fitting a gold tooth on a sloth bear in India to performing emergency CPR on a chipmunk.

Social architect Zac Monro, explains why he campaigned to bring a giant red steel lightening flash to the streets of Brixton to commemorate David Bowie; and how he has led a "not so secret" double life as a twice-crowned air guitar champion of the world!

And Ian Hislop shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses: A Swingin' Safari performed by Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra and Life Could Not Better Be, by Danny Kaye.

SAT 10:30 While My Guitar Gently Bleeps (b07dlx8y)
A plumber eating a mushroom, and a spiny mammal jumping on a golden ring - you'd be forgiven for thinking these actions would make pretty indistinct or ambiguous sounds. But comedian, writer and musician Isy Suttie discovers why - thanks to Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog - they're some of the most evocative sounds of the 1980s and 90s. Along with these sounds, the plinky plonky music of early video games buried itself inside a generation of ears growing up among Commodores, Ataris, Segas and Nintendos. Loosely referred to as "chiptune", many musicians and producers now use the jagged, electronic textures in their songs, going to great lengths to deliberately limit their audio palette for the sake of authenticity; some even rip apart old computers and consoles to build instruments faithful to the original sounds. Its ubiquity in film and TV scores is another testament to its efficiency in evoking that era.

Isy traces the evolution of chiptune from early electronic music, looking at how composers like Hirokazu Tanaka and Koji Kondo created the catchy and unmistakeable themes of Tetris and Super Mario Brothers. She meets current chiptune artists, including the band whose instruments are joysticks and game controllers, and uses their advice to write her own digital classic. But can she convince the organisers of a die-hard gaming event to use it as their theme tune, and survive silicon scrutiny?
Produced by Benn Cordrey.

SAT 11:00 Week in Westminster (b08k11xx)
George Parker of the Financial Times looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The editor is Marie Jessel.

SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b08j99r5)
Saying It Straight

Tall stories, strange names, ancient giants and linguistic confusion. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories. Colin Freeman, in the Pakistani city of Quetta, wonders if it is still a Taliban stronghold. Chris Haslam, in Zambia, is shocked by some of the strange names given to children. Tim Ecott is among giants on Mexico's Baja Peninsula - both in the ocean and on land. Sodaba Haidare visits a special restaurant in the Afghan capital Kabul which is empowering women victims of domestic abuse. And Joanna Robertson reaches for the NervenTee in Italy's South Tyrol region - but which language should she use? More tea please!

SAT 12:00 News Summary (b08j99r7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 12:04 Money Box (b08k11xz)
The reality of financial exclusion

Millions of people in the UK are left out when it comes to accessing basic financial services like bank accounts and loans. It means many low income households find themselves turning to, and relying on, higher cost alternatives. The House of Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion has been investigating possible ways of tackling the issue. Its Chair Baroness Tyler of Enfield outlines the report findings and recommendations and we also hear from Damon Gibbons, Director of the Centre for Responsible Credit.

The author of the government's first independent review into the future of the state pension speaks to Money Box. John Cridland also explains why he decided not to go ahead with a variable state pension age recommendation which might have made it possible for some people to retire earlier.

The Lifetime ISA aimed at helping people to build up a first home deposit or save towards their retirement is due to launch on April 6. How does it work, what are the risks and why will savers struggle to find one when it goes live? Tom Selby, Senior Analyst at AJ Bell discusses.

SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b08jf2ln)
Series 50, 24/03/2017

Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and guests present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.

SAT 12:57 Weather (b08j99rc)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 13:00 News (b08j99rf)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b08jf76l)
Dominic Grieve MP, Caroline Lucas MP, Shabana Mahmood MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Warwickshire with the chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee Dominic Grieve MP, the co leader of the Green Party for England and Wales Caroline Lucas MP, and the MP for Birmingham Ladywood Shabana Mahmood.

SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b08j99rh)
Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?

SAT 14:30 Drama (b08k12z8)
House of Ghosts: A Case for Inspector Morse

An original drama written by Alma Cullen around the characters of Morse and Lewis created by Colin Dexter. The focus is on the time in Morse's career when his mind was developing its incisive edge and his personal life was at its most complex.

The year is 1987, and Morse is at the theatre, where the young actress playing Ophelia dies on stage during a performance of Hamlet. A Suspicious Death inquiry begins.

When a suspect is murdered, Morse becomes convinced that the two deaths do, somehow, connect with what happened at an Oxford student production of Hamlet which he was a part of in 1962.

The writer Alma Cullen wrote four screenplays for the popular Inspector Morse TV series, and was a member of the team of writers who helped to create four series which won all the major TV drama awards. She has also written several other TV crime series and one-off screenplays, twelve radio plays and four stage plays.

Neil Pearson plays Morse. He first starred in the award winning popular tv series Drop The Dead Donkey and Between The Lines, and continues to take leading roles in television and in the theatre while also running a successful business as a dealer in rare and unusual books.

Lee Ingleby, as Morse, is perhaps best known for his roles as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus in the BBC drama Inspector George Gently and Stan Shunpike in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b08j99rk)
Jenny Seagrove in Another Mother's Son and how to wear gingham

Jenny Seagrove discuss her latest role in 'Another Mother's Son' telling the true story of Louisa Gould a shopkeeper in Jersey who harbours a Russian POW during World War 2 when the Channel Islands were occupied by German forces.

We'll hear from Thea on how she survived a period of homelessness when she was just 19 with the help of a youth centre in London 'New Horizen' funded by Comic Relief.

Why has gingham become a must wear for summer 2017? Jennifer Daley a lecturer of Fashion History at the New York University in London explains how the print originated and the model Daisy Lowe gives us her view on how to wear it.

We discuss why so many British marriages are breaking down due to allegations of wives's drinking problems. Laura Guillon an Associate Solicitor a Hall Brown Family Law says women's drinking is cited in a third of all divorce cases she's seeing and Dr Sarah Jarvis the GP and Clinical Director of patient.co.uk explains how women's relationship with alcohol has changed over the years.

The bestselling Icelandic novelist Yrsa Sigurdardottir tells us about her new crime novel The Legacy based around The Children's House, a centre to support traumatised young people.

How as a parent can you help your teenager to revise for his or her exams? We hear from Megan and Max who took their GCSE's last summer, from their mums Louise and Lynsey and from the educational psychologist Dr Antonia Cobbald.

And what does sexy mean? Does our interpretation change with age? When do we feel sexy? The writer and performer Vanessa Kisuule and the Editor of The Amorist Rowan Pelling discuss.



Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor:Jane Thurlow.

SAT 17:00 PM (b08j99rm)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.

SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b08jclmt)
Migrant Entrepreneurs

Migrant entrepreneurs create one in seven businesses in the UK. This week Evan Davis talks to three entrepreneurs who all arrived from overseas with very little and then went on to create a successful business.

GUESTS

Tony Kitous, Founder, Comptoir Libanais

Razan Alsous, Yorkshire Dama Cheese

Surinder Arora, Founder and Chairman, Arora Group.

SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b08j99rp)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 17:57 Weather (b08j99rr)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b08j99rt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b08j99rw)
David Haig, Nicky Campbell, Lashana Lynch, Geoff Norcott, George McCrae, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by David Haig, Nicky Campbell, Lashana Lynch and Geoff Norcott for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from George McCrae.

Producer: Sukey Firth.

SAT 19:00 Profile (b08k15lf)
Catherine Corless

Catherine Corless has made headlines around the world for exposing the horrifying story of a mass grave of almost 800 infants at a former institution for unmarried mothers run by nuns. Corless has been described as "Ireland's Erin Brockovich"; an ordinary woman and amateur historian who, in her dogged pursuit of the truth, took on the Catholic Church, the Irish government and members of her own community - and won. The case has shaken Ireland and provoked very difficult questions about how women and children were treated at Catholic institutions in the past.

Presenter: Becky Milligan
Producer: Ben Crighton.

SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b08j99ry)
RSC's Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, The Eyes of my Mother, David Vann, BBC's Decline and Fall

The RSC is staging Shakepeare's Roman plays, beginning with Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra - how have they made them chime for today's audiences?
The debut film from American director Nicolas Pesce The Eyes of my Mother is a black and white gothic tale of murder, home-invasion incest, necrophilia, abduction, imprisonment, involuntary surgery..I could go on, but I think you've probably got the idea by now. Is it any good?
David Vann's new novel is Bright Air Black, a poetic prose retelling of the Medea story.
BBC TV had adapted Evelyn Waugh's Decline & Fall as a 3 part series starring Jack Whitehall - do our reviewers think a good job has been done with a classic novel?

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Christopher Frayling, Kathryn Hughes and Alice Jones. The producer is Oliver Jones.

SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b08k15lh)
Seventy Years in the Planning

Will Self walks the London green belt in search of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act which optimistically tried to end the post-war British conflict between field and city. He retraces a countryside ramble he took with his father, the journalist, town planner and political scientist Peter Self - a leading exponent of the principles enshrined in the '47 Act. Will argues that the public consensus to build a New Jerusalem has been squandered in the past seventy years, leading to the present day housing crisis. He goes back to first principles and argues that the offer made in 1947 by the Minister of Town and Country Planning, Lewis Silkin to build a better Britain is as relevant today as it was then. Will says that if it was an opportunity missed, then the fault doesn't lie exclusively with the planning system, rather with our lack of desire to make the planning system work.

Producer: Andrew Carter.

SAT 21:00 Drama (b08j9r66)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Episode 1

Adapted from the Jules Verne novel by Moya O'Shea
The first of the extraordinary tales from the golden age of adventure. Three intrepid explorers venture into the heart of a dormant Icelandic volcano where there is shock and peril at every turn beneath the earth's layers.

In the first drama from To The Ends of the Earth: extraordinary tales from the golden age of adventure, renowned professor, Otto Lidenbrock, discovers a mysterious, runic cryptogram in a rare manuscript he has bought. It is his nephew, Axel, who accidentally cracks the message which is by a sixteenth century alchemist who claims to have found a pathway to the centre of the earth! "Descend, bold traveller into the crater of the Jokul of Snæfell, which the shadow of Scartaris touches before the kalends of July and you will attain the centre of the earth."

Lidenbrock decides he must see for himself if such a journey is possible and with the reluctant Axel in tow, and the help of their guide, Hans, the three venture into the heart of a dormant, Icelandic volcano on a dangerous expedition beneath the earth's layers.

It's the ultimate adventure story in the best Victorian tradition with plenty of action, science, knowledge, discovery and surprise. The three attempting this tremendous feat are - the somewhat cowardly, dewy-eyed romantic, Axel; the highly strung and oh, so eccentric, Otto Lidenbrock and the calm, phlegmatic Danish speaking, Icelandic guide, Hans.

SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b08j99s0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.

SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b08jbfbz)
Nationalism

This week the Prime Minister is touring the devolved nations of the UK as she prepares to trigger the Brexit process. Her message to the people of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is clear: we are better as one nation - the United Kingdom. Brexit has whipped up a complex and (some would say) toxic mixture of politics and patriotism. While Theresa May and others champion the national credentials of the UK, she's having to shout down the voices in the devolved nations that say their economic, cultural and democratic interests would be best served by independence. At the same time, nationalist political parties across Europe are growing in strength, with electoral challenges in France and Germany on the horizon. Is nationalism a moral force for good, because there's no better vehicle for the exercise of freedom and self-determination? Does it encourage a sense of belonging, community and culture? Or is it the worst kind of identity politics - exclusionary, divisive and populist, with sinister currents of "us" and "them"? Are we entering an age when trans-national ideas of the "Brotherhood of Man" are being replaced by loyalties closer to home? At the heart of the debate on nationalism there is an acute moral tension - between solidarity with oppressed national groups on the one hand and revulsion from the crimes perpetrated in the name of nationalism on the other. How and where should we draw the line? The morality of nationalism. Witnesses are Sophie Gaston, Simon Winder, Prof David Conway and Hardeep Singh Kohli.

SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b08j9z53)
Heat 9, 2017

(9/17)
The Fields Medal is awarded for achievement in what field of endeavour? And if something is described as 'amygdaloid', what shape is it? These and many other questions await the competitors in the ninth heat of this year's tournament, which comes from Salford. Today's winner will take another of the automatic places in the semi-finals, with the possibility open for a runner-up to go through too if they score enough points.

A Brain of Britain listener also stands to win a prize if the four competitors, between them, can't answer the questions he or she has devised for the interval.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b08j9r6b)
Spring

Daffodils, lambs, snow melt, green shoots and lengthening days... Roger McGough explores the BBC archives to find the most evocative spring poems read by some of our best actors. With poems by Alice Oswald, Laurie Lee, Robin Robertson, Philip Larkin, Kathryn Simmonds and Edward Thomas.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

SUNDAY 26 MARCH 2017

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b08k19fj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SUN 00:30 Opening Lines (b04g1bsm)
Series 16, Audiophile

Another chance to hear Ian Green's story in the series which gives emerging short story writers their radio debut.

Bryan Dick reads this off-kilter love story about a young man who falls for the girl next-door when he hears her singing through the adjoining wall of their two flats.

Produced by Gemma Jenkins

Previously Ian Green's fiction has been performed and recorded at Liar's League London and published in Open Pen magazine. A piece originally performed at Liar's League was also performed at the inaugural Lit Crawl London in 2013.

SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b08k19fq)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 02:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b08k461b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b08k19fv)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b08k19g3)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b08k1fg6)
St Chad's, Shrewsbury

This week's Bells on Sunday comes from St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury. There are 12 bells which were recast in 1914 and we hear them ringing Erin Cinques.

SUN 05:45 Lent Talks (b08jbfc1)
Ben Judah - Destiny and the Migrant

Ben Judah, the journalist and author of "This is London" talks about his family's journey over the centuries from the Jewish Quarter of Baghdad, to India and finally London.
Producer: Phil Pegum.

SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b08k19g9)
The latest national and international news.

SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b08k19gl)
Walls

Michael Symmons Roberts asks whether walls are a liability or asset. "They come with such metaphorical power," he says as he reflects on their role in music and poetry.

Walls tend to be seen as divisive and things only get better when they have been knocked down - the destruction of the Berlin Wall symbolised the end of the Cold War and inspired a generation. But Michael contends that walls and partitions are not all bad. They make good neighbours according to Robert Frost, they can be beautiful when decorated and people have even been known to marry them.

According to Michael Roberts, separated by our walls, we are mysterious to each other, infuriating, frightening, enticing. Poets and filmmakers and novelists make great dramatic use of them to explore how we can be proximate and separate at the same time, and the tensions and mysteries that can create.

Through the music of David Bowie and Bach, the poetry of Stevie Smith and Laura Kasischke, Michael finds many contrasts in our attitude to walls and concludes that their role is paradoxical. As Simone Weil explains, "The world is the closed door. It is a barrier. And at the same time it is the way through...Every separation is a link."

Presenter: Michael Symmons Roberts
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 06:35 The Living World (b08k1fg8)
Otters

Chris Packham relives programmes from The Living World archives.

First published 90 years ago this year Henry Williamsons 'Tarka the Otter' followed the life and death struggles of a male otter and raised the awareness of this much loved mustelid in the public imagination. Suffering from years of decline by the 1960's the otter population was in steep decline, but by the time of this programme from 1993, the fortunes of the otter were beginning to improve. Joining Jessica Holm on the then newly opened Tarka Trail in Devon are local naturalist Trevor Beer who knew Henry Williamson, and otter biologist Paul Chanin. The programme follows in the footsteps of Williamson's book thereby allowing Jessica to uncover along the way signs of otter activity, though the chances of seeing this largely nocturnal animal were unlikely.

Producer Andrew Dawes.

SUN 06:57 Weather (b08k19gx)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b08k19h1)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 07:10 Sunday (b08k19h6)
Henry VIII's mass; Converts to Islam; Renovations to the Tomb of Jesus.

Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme.

SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b08k1fgf)
Comic Relief

David Tennant makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Comic Relief.

Registered Charity Number 326568
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That's the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope 'Red Nose Day 2017'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Red Nose Day 2017'.

SUN 07:57 Weather (b08k19h9)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b08k19hc)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b08k1fgh)
The Pearl of Great Value

'What we receive we treat as ours' is the theme for writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson, as she presents the fourth of Radio 4's special Lent series on Mothering Sunday. Reflecting on Jesus washing his disciples' feet, Anna explores this reversal of roles, drawing on personal experience to reveal how service to each other in all its shifting complexity challenges ideas of power.
A link to resources for individuals and small groups based on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book is available on the Sunday Worship web pages.
Producer: Mo McCullough.

SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b08jf76n)
The Power and Peril of Stories

Tom Shakespeare reflects on how all the political populists who now occupy our imaginations are master story tellers.

People need stories and these stories appeal to us, he says. But he argues that as well as persuasive stories, more than ever we need facts.

"The plural of anecdote is not data, as a professor used to tell me", he writes.

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zdbr0)
Willow Warbler

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

Kate Humble presents the willow warbler. The first willow warblers return from Africa in late March. Willow warblers were once the commonest and most widespread summer migrant to the UK but in the last two decades numbers in the south and east of England have dropped by two thirds. Fortunately in Scotland, Ireland and the west, numbers seem to be holding up.

SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b08k19hf)
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 (b08k19hj)
Alistair deals with an emergency, and Alice expresses her thanks.

SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b08k1h2f)
Arundhati Roy

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, Arundhati Roy. She won the Booker Prize for her first novel, The God Of Small Things, which has been translated into 40 languages and became the best-selling book ever by a non-expatriate Indian. After a gap of 20 years, her second novel will be published in June.

Brought up in Kerala, her Syrian Christian mother left her marriage when her children were young and set up a small school where Arundhati and her brother were educated. Raised to be independent, aged 16, Arundhati left home to study architecture in Delhi before being introduced to the film world by her second husband. Since the publication of The God of Small Things in 1997, she has continued to write non-fiction, using her influence her to focus on tackling injustice. She has campaigned against India's nuclear programme, dam-building, globalisation, religious intolerance and the inequality of Indian society.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

SUN 12:00 News Summary (b08k19hl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (b08j9zqh)
Series 77, Episode 5

Just A Minute is 50 years old this year! Nicholas Parsons has been hosting since day one, and continues to host with skill and panache! This week our panellists are Paul Merton, Shelia Hancock, Tom Allen and Gyles Brandreth, who will endeavour to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation.

Find out what Paul Merton's best chat up line is! How much does Sheila Hancock know about Queen Victoria? What isn't Gyles Brandreth's cup of tea and can Tom Allen get his first full minute?

Beverly Tagg blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.

Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.

SUN 12:32 Food Programme (b08k1h2h)
Chef Dan Barber: The Third Plate

Dan Saladino profiles the influential US chef and writer Dan Barber, author of 'The Third Plate - Field Notes on the Future of Food'. Originally with plans to become a novelist, Dan Barber opened his first restaurant, Blue Hill, in Greenwich Village in 2000 followed by Blue Hill at Stone Barns in 2004. He had early success as a 'farm to table' chef, but has since been on a journey, documented in his book but still ongoing, to reimagine the relationships between chef and farmer, landscape and deliciousness - and much more.

Citing flavour as a 'soothsayer', and a passionate advocate of the role of the chef in bringing about change in the wider world beyond the walls of the restaurant, he is currently in the UK with a project called 'WastED London' - an unusual temporary restaurant taking aim at the problem of food 'waste'.

Presenter: Dan Saladino
Producer: Rich Ward.

Photo: Richard Boll.

SUN 12:57 Weather (b08k19hn)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b08k19hq)
Global news and analysis.

SUN 13:30 From Our Home Correspondent (b08k1h2l)
Mishal Husain presents the monthly series that features dispatches from writers and reporters across the UK on all aspects of life in contemporary Britain.

SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b08jf2j9)
Kent

Eric Robson and his panel answer the horticultural questions from Kent. Joining him this week are Anne Swithinbank, Pippa Greenwood and Bob Flowerdew.

In the programme they tackle the necessity of crocks in pots, what to grow to engage young children with gardening, and how to decorate a large brick wall with climbers.

For the feature, Matthew Wilson investigates the positive impact of plants in the workplace.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett.

SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b08k1h2n)
Omnibus - Breaking Down Barriers

Fi Glover presents conversations about challenging deafness, stammering, and gender stereotypes in the construction industry in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

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

Producer: Marya Burgess.

SUN 15:00 Drama (b08jk8x6)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Episode 2

Adapted from the Jules Verne novel by Moya O'Shea
The first of the extraordinary tales from the golden age of adventure continues. Axel is in grave danger. Thirty leagues of rock lie above him. Should he go up or down?

SUN 16:00 Open Book (b08k1h30)
Balli Kaur Jaswal

Mariella Frostrup is joined by writer Alison MacLeod and publisher Ra Page to talk about short stories written in response to topical events. Alison includes stories inspired by the war in Iraq in 2003 and the death of Princess Diana amongst other news headlines in her latest collection, and Ra has brought together writers and historians for a new book of stories about protest.
Also on the programme novelist Balli Kaur Jaswal discusses her latest, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, set amongst the Sikh community in Southall, and Elan Mastai reflects on the flights of apparent fantasy in twentieth century science fiction novels, which are now our day-to-day reality.

SUN 16:30 Four Seasons (b08k1hff)
An anthology of poems for the new season

To mark the spring equinox and the new season, an anthology of old and new poems read by actors and poets for Radio 4's Four Seasons. Poems by Charlotte Mew, William Wordsworth, Louis MacNeice, Christopher Marlowe, Philip Larkin, Seamus Heaney and Edward Thomas are read by Juliet Stevenson, Noma Dumezweni, Ray Fearon, Simon Russell Beale, Sinead Cusack, Alex Jennings and Anton Lesser. Alice Oswald, Gillian Clarke and Patience Agbabi read their own work. Producer: Tim Dee.

SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b08jbc1s)
Councils in Crisis

There's a quiet revolution going on in our Town Halls. With funding slashed, Local Government is tasked with finding new ways to raise money and deliver services, or face failing to comply with its legal obligations. As councils in England are tasked with becoming more self sufficient, File on 4 examines the different approaches councils are taking in an effort to balance the books.

As some invest in commercial property others are spinning off traditional council departments into new companies with commercial divisions. The aim is to plough profits back into services.

But as the programme discovers these plans don't always work out. What happens when there is no profit? As the pressure on adult social care grows, some councils now face the twin struggles of meeting demand, with the need to turn a profit. Is this too much of a gamble in services which can mean the difference between life and death?

Allan Urry investigates the scale of the challenge as local authorities grapple with rising demand, falling income, and new ways of doing business.

Reporter: Allan Urry
Producer: Laura Harmes.

SUN 17:40 Profile (b08k15lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b08k19hs)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 17:57 Weather (b08k19hv)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b08k19hy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b08k19j0)
Peter Curran

In our topsy turvy world it pays to have a succulent collection of audio dreams, nightmares, inspirations, orations, histories and treats. John Lennon, pioneering women bricklayers, Little Richard, rip-roaring comedy, war crimes re-purposed, and an underground serenade from Jarvis Cocker. Don't say we didn't warn you...

SUN 19:00 The Archers (b08k1m8g)
There is a difference of opinion at Bridge Farm, while at Grange Farm the cracks start to show.

SUN 19:15 Boswell's Lives (b0547ntj)
Series 1, Boswell's Life of Pinter

by Jon Canter

Comedy as James Boswell Dr Johnson's celebrated biographer pursues other legends to immortalise. Today he attempts to write the biography of Pinter but finds himself the victim of a betrayal.

Directed by Sally Avens

Jon Canter is an award winning comedy writer for both television and radio. He recently penned the radio series 'Believe It' starring Richard Wilson but his work goes back to Spitting Image. He is also the author of several books and has been called our greatest living comic novelist.

Miles Jupp is an actor and stand up. Miles Jupp is an actor and stand up. He is best known for hosting The News Quiz on Radio 4.

Harry Enfield is a Bafta award winning performer, writer and director. He starred with Paul Whitehouse in Harry and Paul's Story of the Two's last year winnng a British Comedy Award for best sketch show.

SUN 19:45 The Sofa (b08kkp02)
In a 1930s Dublin suburb, Mrs Bagot waits for the arrival of her new sofa. By Maeve Brennan from her collection of stories The Springs of Affection.

Maeve Brennan (January 6, 1917 - November 1, 1993) grew up in Dublin but moved to the United States in 1934 when her father was appointed to the Irish Legation in Washington. When her family returned to Ireland, she remained in the US and moved to New York where she wrote for Harper's Bazaar and The New Yorker. Her short stories were widely read in the US in the 1950s and 1960s, but she was almost unknown in Ireland even though many of her stories were set in Dublin.

Edward Albee greatly admired Brennan and compared her to Chekhov and Flaubert. Other admirers included her friend and colleague at the New Yorker, William Maxwell, and later Alice Munro and Edna O'Brien.

Her work tenderly reveals the weight of meaning in the small events of ordinary lives. In the words of the novelist Anne Enright, "As with Dubliners, the language moves through the stasis of her characters' lives with a beautiful and painful precision. Each one of Brennan's stories is a victory over sameness and the loss of meaning: she makes a bid for her sanity, one sentence at a time."

Read by Fiona Shaw
Abridged for radio by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 20:00 Feedback (b08jf2kf)
Westminster attack

Roger Bolton hears listeners' responses to BBC Radio's coverage of the Westminster attack.

Also, following a letter from more than 70 - mainly Conservative - MPs to the BBC which called the Corporation's coverage of Brexit pessimistic and skewed, BBC Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed discusses his role in uncertain economic times.

This week, a documentary took listeners inside a hospital in northern Israel for 24 hours. Tim Samuels' Sleepover: Inside the Israeli Hospital followed doctors at Ziv hospital treating patients who had crossed over the border from Syria. Many listeners said it shone a light on a little-known story, while a few others raised concerns about what they saw as a lack of political context in the programme. Roger speaks to Tim Samuels.

And Feedback reporter Rob Crossan is in Gateshead for an on-location recording of BBC Radio 3's long-running Jazz Record Requests programme from the Sage, as part of the network's Free Thinking Festival. Rob speaks to presenter Alyn Shipton about just how particular listeners are when it comes to specific versions of records and asks the audience whether it makes a difference to see as well as hear the programme.

Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Katherine Godfrey.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 20:30 Last Word (b08jf2jz)
Martin McGuinness, Chuck Berry, Sir Derek Walcott, Salome Karwah, Colin Dexter

Matthew Bannister on

Martin McGuinness, who went from being a violent IRA commander to a peace making politician.

Chuck Berry, hailed as the father of rock n roll by musicians from Keith Richards to John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.

The Nobel prize winning poet Sir Derek Walcott, who brought the Caribbean experience to the wider world.

Salome Karwah, who survived Ebola in her native Liberia, went back to help other sufferers and then died from complications after childbirth.

And Colin Dexter, creator of the immortal detective Inspector Morse.

Producer: Neil George.

SUN 21:00 Money Box (b08k11xz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]

SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b08k1fgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]

SUN 21:30 Analysis (b08jb0m8)
Detoxifying France's National Front

Has Front National leader Marine Le Pen really detoxified the party founded by her father 40 years ago? Is it a right-wing protest movement or a party seriously preparing for power? Anand Menon, professor of European politics at Kings College London, analyses the process the French call Dédiabolisation. Le Pen has banished the name of the party and even her own surname from election posters and leaflets. Her party is making inroads into socialist and communist fiefdoms in northern and eastern France. Combining nationalism with a message designed to reach out to the left, she speaks up loudly for the have-nots, people who live in the land she calls "the forgotten France." She targets trade unionists, teachers and gay voters. But widening the party's appeal leads to a tricky balancing act. Can Marine Le Pen manage the process of political exorcism without alienating die-hard supporters?
Producer: Lucy Ash.

SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b08k19j2)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.

SUN 23:00 TED Radio Hour (b08jlvpk)
Series 4, Giving It Away

Guy Raz explores why some people give away their time, money, food and ideas. Why did they and what happened when they did?

A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.

SUN 23:50 A Point of View (b08jf76n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:48 today]

MONDAY 27 MARCH 2017

MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b08k19lq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b08k19lt)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 05:30 News Briefing (b08k19lw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b08l3ck4)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Prebendary Edward Mason, Rector of Bath Abbey.

MON 05:45 Farming Today (b08k19lz)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.

MON 05:56 Weather (b08k19m1)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.

MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02tt1kv)
Yellowhammer

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

Steve Backshall presents the yellowhammer. The yellowhammer is a member of the bunting family and its name comes from "ammer" the German for bunting. It's one of the few British birds to have its song transcribed into words and seems to be saying ..a little bit of bread and no cheese".

MON 06:00 Today (b08k19m3)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

MON 09:00 Start the Week (b08k19m6)
Sayeeda Warsi: Muslims in Britain

On Start the Week Amol Rajan talks to Sayeeda Warsi about how far Britain's Muslim community is viewed as 'the enemy within'. As the child of Pakistani immigrants who became Britain's first Muslim Cabinet Minister, Baroness Warsi is in a unique position to explore questions of cultural difference, terrorism, and 'British values', and to explore how society can become more integrated. The economist Paul Collier has spent his career looking for solutions to seemingly intractable problems: in his latest book he focuses on the Syrian refugee crisis and argues for the establishment of special economic zones where displaced Syrians could work and benefit their host countries. The philosopher Roger Scruton develops his ideas of human nature by concentrating on our relations with others, bound together in a shared world.
Producer: Katy Hickman.

MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b08k1stv)
Be Like the Fox, Episode 1

A new interpretation on the importance of The Prince in Machiavelli's life and subsequent reputation.

His name has of course become a by-word for political machination, but this new biography by Erica Benner challenges the notions that Machiavelli was simply a satanic cynic.

She suggests that, in context, he emerges as his era's staunchest champion of liberty who refused to compromise his ideals to fit the corrupt times in which he lived. As often as he advocates extreme measures for dealing with the enemy, he actually balances this with respect for the law in sentences such as "victories are never secure without some respect, especially for justice" and "cities have never expanded either in dominion or in riches if they have not been in freedom."

So this book is an attempt to redress the balance.

Read by Toby Jones
Written by Erica Benner
Abridged by Polly Coles

Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b08k19m8)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b08k1stx)
Revelation, Episode 6

Gripping adaptation of C. J. Sansom's bestselling Tudor crime novel, the fourth in the series featuring lawyer detective Matthew Shardlake.

London, 1543. A serial killer is prowling the city, one who treats murder as a holy mission: preying upon radicals and creating gory tableaux inspired by a prophecy from the Book of Revelation. Archbishop Cranmer has asked Shardlake to conduct a secret investigation to catch the killer before word of the bloodshed reaches the King: one of the victims was close to Catherine Parr, Henry's current romantic obsession, and an ally of the reformers cause; Cranmer knows that such a taint will ruin any chance of her becoming Queen.

As the number of victims mounts, Shardlake and his trusty side-kick Barak are constantly wrong-footed - how does the killer know exactly what they plan to do next? Is there an informant amongst Cranmer's staff?

And Shardlake must also attend to another pressing case, that of a young man, Adam Kite, driven mad by the conviction that he is damned and that the Lord has forsaken him. Adam is being held in the Bedlam for his own safety - his wild rants about damnation verge on heresy - but Shardlake hopes his friend Guy the Apothecary can help to ease his suffering.

Dramatist ..... Colin MacDonald
Writer ..... C. J. Sansom
Producer and Director ..... Kirsteen Cameron.

MON 11:00 The Language of Others (b08k1stz)
Iain Martin examines the role of language differences in social divides.

Producer: Faizal Farook.

MON 11:30 Chain Reaction (b08k1sv1)
Series 12, Tim Vine Interviews Sir Ken Dodd

In this edtition, Tim Vine turns interviewer and invites his chosen guest Sir Ken Dodd into the Chain Reaction hot seat.

Chain Reaction is the talk show with a twist where one week's interviewee becomes the next week's interviewer. John Cleese was first in the hot seat back in 1991 and since then, a procession of big names from the world of comedy and entertainment including Jennifer Saunders, Jarvis Cocker and Eddie Izzard have helped continue the chain.

Tim Vine is best known for his frenetic stage shows, rammed full of rapid one liners, songs and props. He previously starred in BBC1s Not Going Out, ITV1s The Sketch Show and hosted the seminal Channel 5 quiz show Whittle.

Revered as one of Britain's funniest comedians, Ken Dodd has enjoyed a professional career spanning over 60 years during which he has received numerous awards and accolades. Ken Dodd was made Sir Ken in the 2017 New Year's Honours List; and is a comedian of legendary status who has been entertaining audiences for a lifetime of happiness and laughter.

Recorded at the Bluecoat in Liverpool, Tim talks to Ken about his long career, the length of his live shows, and performs a Liverpudlian version of Hamlet...

Producer: Adnan Ahmed
Production Co-Ordinator: Luke Mason

A BBC Studios Production

Photo Credit: Brian Roberts.

MON 12:00 News Summary (b08k19mc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 12:04 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (b08k1sv3)
Series 1, Barcode

How vast mega-stores emerged with the help of a design originally drawn in the sand in 1948 by Joseph Woodland as he sat on a Florida beach, observing the furrows left behind, an idea came to him which would - eventually - become the barcode. This now ubiquitous stamp, found on virtually every product, was designed to make it easier for retailers to automate the process of recording sales. But, as Tim Harford explains, its impact would prove to be far greater than that. The barcode changed the balance of power between large and small retailers.

MON 12:15 You and Yours (b08k19mg)
Bio resonance, movie auctions and the new £1 coin

Consumer affairs programme.

MON 12:57 Weather (b08k19mk)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 13:00 World at One (b08k19mn)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

MON 13:45 The Uncommon Senses (b08k1sv5)
Series 1, The Magic of Touch

A journey into the human multi-sensory world. In this episode, Barry Smith explores Touch - the sense that connects us with reality.

For thousands of years people thought we had 5 senses, now it's believed we have up to 33. In this new series, philosopher Barry Smith and sound artist Nick Ryan take us into the extraordinary world of sensory perception.

We trust touch to give us an accurate picture of the real world - feeling is believing. But touch is not one sense, it is many, rolled into one. Pain, temperature, a tap on the shoulder, a caress on the arm; all of these require separate detectors on our bodies, and are routed differently to the brain.

Philosopher Barry Smith guides us through our experience of touch, and though the strange condition of mirror-touch synesthesia explores the sensory roots of empathy.

Producer: Becca Bryers.

MON 14:00 The Archers (b08k1m8g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]

MON 14:15 Drama (b0540gzv)
My Name Is...

In 2006 newspaper reports that a young Scottish girl had been abducted by her father and taken to Pakistan created headlines around the world. The story seemed to represent a clash of religious and cultural values between East and West. But the problem was - the girl hadn't been abducted. In an effort to find the story behind the headlines the actress and playwright, Sudha Bhuchar, interviewed the three main family members involved. Her play is inspired by those real-life events.

Music composed by Arun Ghosh
Director: Philip Osment
Producer: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.

MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b08k1sv7)
Heat 10, 2017

(10/17)
The competitors joining Russell Davies today come from Rochester, Twickenham, Windsor and Brighton. How much do they know about drowned villages in the Lake District, Sicilian delicacies named after operas, or the numbers of protons in stable nuclei?

Russell Davies asks the questions, with another of the automatic places in the 2017 semi-finals at stake. And could a runner-up do well enough to qualify for the semi-finals too?

A Brain of Britain listener also stands to win a prize if the competitors, by pooling their knowledge, can't solve an ingenious pair of questions he or she has devised.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

MON 15:30 Food Programme (b08k1h2h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]

MON 16:00 The Agony and the Ecstasy (b08k1sv9)
The Agony and the Ecstasy

Coronation Street actress Cherylee Houston is a chronic pain sufferer who uses creativity as a distraction from her condition. As pain is a topic rarely discussed publically, Cherylee sets off on a journey to meet other pain sufferers in order to find out how pain impacts on their creative work. Does pain always have to be a bad thing or can it actually enable creative thought? With contributions from singer songwriter Emily Maguire, writer Jack Thorne, artistic director Elizabeth Newman, performance artist Martin O Brien and pain specialist Professor Anthony Jones.

Produced by Charlotte Riches.

MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b08k1svc)
Confession

The Seal of the Confessional is the absolute duty of Catholic priests not to disclose anything they learn from people who come to them for confession. But is there a moral imperative to do so if they discover a crime has been committed?

For some, confessing your sins to a priest is a theological cop out rather than taking genuine responsibility for your actions; to others it's about trying to become a better person in the eyes of God. How is confession viewed within different religions? Why is confession with a mediator so important for some religious people and not for others? Is confession a medieval relic or does it still have something to offer the modern world?

Ernie Rea discusses religious perspectives on confession with Catholic priest, Fr. Chris Hilton; Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain; Rory Singer, a former Buddhist Monk and Contemplative Psychotherapist; and Suzanne Hyde, Clinical Director at St Marylebone Centre for Healing and Counselling.

Producer: Dan Tierney
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.

MON 17:00 PM (b08k19mr)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b08k19mt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b08k1svf)
Series 77, Episode 6

Just A Minute is 50 years old this year! Nicholas Parsons has been hosting since day one, and continues to host with skill and panache! This week our panellists are Paul Merton, Jenny Eclair, Marcus Brigstocke and Just A Minute newbie, Al Murray. The panel will endeavour to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation.

What does Jenny think about a dog's dinner? Can Marcus talk about the tube for a full minute? Paul gives it to us straight and Al tells us his views on spam.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.

Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.

MON 19:00 The Archers (b08k1xc2)
Toby shares his advice, and Kirsty adjusts to new information.

MON 19:15 Front Row (b08k19mw)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b08k1stx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

MON 20:00 Salam to Queen and Country (b08k1xv4)
Zubeida Malik speaks to serving British Muslims about what it is like to be in the Army today.

In the last two campaigns, Muslims in the British army have faced criticism from some members of their own communities, who were opposed to what they saw as taking up arms against fellow Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi became the first, and now only, British Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan in 2006, there was an outpouring of sympathy from his local community, but there was criticism from some quarters too. His death highlighted the role of Britain's Muslim soldiers and soon afterwards a plot to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier was discovered in Birmingham.

Zubeida Malik meets serving British Muslims to hear their stories about joining up and their tours of duty. She asks what it was like to be in the army after 9/11 and during the so called War on Terror. And with under 600 Muslim personnel serving in the British Army, Zubeida asks the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, what is being done to overcome the problems with recruiting young British Muslims into the army today.

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b08jclmc)
Russia's Extreme Selfie Daredevils

Young Russians have gained a reputation on social media for taking the most extreme selfies, often involving death-defying stunts on top of skyscrapers, all for the sake of internet fame.

Lucy Ash travels from Moscow to Siberia to meet some of this trend's most high-profile figures. They explain how they are building themselves into living brands, and the ways they can make money out of their risky roof-top photographs. They reveal what initially motivated them to chance their lives in this way - and an indifference to the rising number of selfie-related deaths in Russia.

The government is less nonchalant though. and around 18 months ago it launched a 'safe selfie' campaign, to warn young people of the risks of taking photos in moving traffic, on top of radio towers, with loaded weapons or with wild animals.

But why has this phenomenon taken root in Russia? Crossing Continents reveals how a mixture of provincial malaise, a misdirected sense of masculinity, and lax law enforcement has allowed extreme selfie culture to flourish.

Contributors include:

Alexander Chernikov

Angela Nikolau

Kirill Vselensky

Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith
Researcher: Tatyana Movshevich.

MON 21:00 24 Hours of Sunset (b082j2yr)
Day

24 Hours of Sunset: DAY
Sunset Boulevard is one of those long, long American streets, 22 miles that tell the story of film, of Hollywood, of course, but Laura Barton thinks this street tells the story of America itself. Laura Barton loves Sunset Boulevard and walking through LA, a city utterly devoted to driving. At foot level, you see things you'd never see in a car.

In this 2 part series, Laura walks the length of Sunset Boulevard in 24 hours. Along the way, she uncovers the contemporary arts stories and the iconic artistic legacy of this street. She meets writers, artists and historians, as well as ordinary people who live and work along one of the most famous streets in the world.

The first episode takes Laura Barton from an inauspicious intersection in downtown LA, where Sunset Boulevard starts, to the edge of the Sunset Strip - through Echo Park and Silverlake, through the Hospital District and past the studios that were home to early Hollywood's glamour. She meets with poet (laureate, possibly, depending on when this goes out) Luis Rodriguez, photographer Autumn De Wilde, novelist Janet Fitch, and historian Jonathan Kuntz, revealing the famous and the hidden stories of Sunset's artistic life.

Sunset Blvd's cultural landmarks tell LA's story - the drought threatening a city by the sea, the mixed up sub-cultures and ethnic and racial communities that come together to make the city - this is why Laura thinks Sunset is a microcosm of today's American story.
In 24 Hours on Sunset, Laura finds how Sunset Boulevard and its artistic legacy have become a shorthand for what LA represents in our collective imagination.

Presented by Laura Barton
Produced by Nija Dalal-Small.

MON 21:30 Start the Week (b08k19m6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

MON 21:58 Weather (b08k19my)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b08k19n1)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b08k1y9g)
Behind Her Eyes, Episode 6

Louise is a working mum, stuck in a rut. When she connects with a man on a rare night out, she hopes that things are about to change. But, very quickly, events take an unsettling turn.

Sarah Pinborough's electrifying psychological thriller with "a pull-the-rug-out ending" (Ian Rankin).

Episode Six:
Louise experiences David's anger first hand when he finds out about her friendship with Adele.

Sarah Pinborough is an award-winning YA and adult thriller, fantasy and horror novelist and screenwriter.

Writer: Sarah Pinborough
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Readers: Rosie Cavaliero & Tracy Wiles
Producer: Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 23:00 Wireless Nights (b08k1y9j)
Series 5, Megahertz

Jarvis Cocker navigates the ether as he continues his nocturnal exploration of the human condition.

On a night voyage across a sea of shortwave he meets those who broadcast, monitor and harvest electronic radio transmissions after dark.

Paddy Macaloon, founder of the band Prefab Sprout, took to trawling the megahertz when he was recovering from eye surgery and the world around him became dark. Tuning in at night he developed a ghostly romance with far off voices and abnormal sounds.

Artist Katie Paterson and 'Moonbouncer' Peter Blair send Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to the moon and back, to find sections of it swallowed up by craters.

Journalist Colin Freeman was captured by the Somali pirates he went to report on and held hostage in a cave. But when one of them loaned him a shortwave radio, the faint signal to the outside world gave him hope as he dreamed of freedom.

And "London Shortwave" hides out in a park after dark, with his ear to the speaker on his radio, slowly turning the dial to reach all four corners of the earth

Jarvis sails in and out of their stories - from the cosmic to the captive - as he wonders what else is out there, deep in the noise

Producer Neil McCarthy.

MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b08k1y9l)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.

TUESDAY 28 MARCH 2017

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b08k19qf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b08k1stv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]

TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b08k19qh)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b08k19qn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b08k19qs)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b08k19qw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b08l324n)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Prebendary Edward Mason, Rector of Bath Abbey.

TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b08k19qz)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.

TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02tvggm)
Corn Bunting

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

Steve Backshall begins July with the corn bunting. Corn buntings may be plain-looking birds which sing their scratchy songs from cornfields, but their private lives are a colourful affair and a single male bird may have up to 18 partners.

TUE 06:00 Today (b08k19r1)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

TUE 09:00 The Long View (b08k1w6g)
Brexit and an Elizabethan Age of Trade

As we prepare to leave the EU, Jonathan Freedland compares overseas trade in today's Elizabethan age with that of the sixteenth century. In 1570 Elizabeth I was the subject of a Papal Bull of Excommunication, Theresa May must write a letter to Europe to trigger Article 50. Both documents will have a profound impact on trade.

Elizabeth's response to her European troubles was to forge new trade links with the East, sending merchants to Turkey, Persia and North Africa. Today's trade ministers hope to emulate the achievements of their Tudor counterparts, but how important is trade with Europe to our prosperity and how easy will it be to do new trade deals on more distant shores ?

Taking the Long View of trade, Jonathan is joined by Professor Jerry Brotton of Queen Mary University of London, author of 'This Orient Isle:Elizabethan England and the Islamic World'. Discussing today's export markets are the economists George Magnus, Liam Halligan and Dr Monique Ebell and our actor is Anita Dobson.

TUE 09:30 Lent Talks (b08k1w8v)
Salley Vickers - Destiny and the Author

Salley Vickers, the author novels including "Miss Garnet's Angel", talks about the responsibility of having the destiny of her hands.
Producer: Phil Pegum.

TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b08l6n77)
Be Like the Fox, Episode 2

A new interpretation on the importance of The Prince in Machiavelli's life and subsequent reputation.

His name has of course become a by-word for political machination, but this new biography by Erica Benner challenges the notions that Machiavelli was simply a satanic cynic.

She suggests that, in context, he emerges as his era's staunchest champion of liberty who refused to compromise his ideals to fit the corrupt times in which he lived. As often as he advocates extreme measures for dealing with the enemy, he actually balances this with respect for the law in sentences such as "victories are never secure without some respect, especially for justice" and "cities have never expanded either in dominion or in riches if they have not been in freedom."

So this book is an attempt to redress the balance.

Read by Toby Jones
Written by Erica Benner
Abridged by Polly Coles

Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b08k19r4)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b08k1w90)
Revelation, Episode 7

Gripping adaptation of C. J. Sansom's bestselling Tudor crime novel, the fourth in the series featuring lawyer detective Matthew Shardlake.

London, 1543. A serial killer is prowling the city, one who treats murder as a holy mission: preying upon radicals and creating gory tableaux inspired by a prophecy from the Book of Revelation. Archbishop Cranmer has asked Shardlake to conduct a secret investigation to catch the killer before word of the bloodshed reaches the King.

But Shardlake and his trusty side-kick Barak are constantly wrong-footed - the killer seems to know exactly what they plan to do next. Could there be an informer within Cranmer's camp? And, with the killer's knowledge of medicinal potions, Shardlake is convinced that the killer must have a connection to the infirmary of the former Benedictine monastery at Westminster.

Dramatist ..... Colin MacDonald
Writer ..... C. J. Sansom
Producer and Director ..... Kirsteen Cameron.

TUE 11:00 Geriatric Guinea Pigs (b08k1wqn)
Geoff Watts is in his early seventies. He takes statins and has taken blood pressure pills in the past. Like other people his age, he's aware that he may well need to take other medications as he ages.

Yet the promise of personalised medicine, tailored to his needs, seems light years away. He's noticed that, as he ages, the decisions about what medicine he should take at what dose is not so much personal as drifting in an information void.

Any new medicine should be tested on people who are similar to those who'll end up taking it. But older people like Geoff, who disproportionately take medication, are woefully under-represented in the clinical trials that underpin their approval.

In the absence of adequate data from trials, older people who then take the medication are more akin to 'guinea pigs', drifting unwittingly in an uncontrolled trial in the real world.

Given the population is ageing, with those aged eighty and above the fastest growing group of all, this is disconcerting news.

The body changes as it ages, which can alter the degree to which a drug accumulates and the severity of the side effects it produces.

Geoff Watts asks why researchers have shied away from including older people in clinical trials. He reveals the challenges that trialling medications in older people can pose and asks what's being done to address these.

Producer: Beth Eastwood.

TUE 11:30 A Dancer Dies Twice (b075pm41)
"A dancer dies twice", the legendary choreographer Martha Graham said, "once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful."

This is a documentary about first deaths and last dances, about what happens when an instrument as finely tuned as a dancer's body begins to change.

From the music which prompts a twitch of muscle memory to the comedown which follows a burst of performance adrenaline, we hear stories of the last dances and what comes next from Gabriella Schmidt, Isabel Mortimer from Dancers' Career Development, and former principal ballerinas Natasha Oughtred and Wendy Whelan.

We eavesdrop on the training of young dancers at the Royal Ballet School as they shape muscle and bone into elegant lines, diving into the visceral excitement of pounding pointe shoes and powerful leaping bodies. And we visit Sage Dance Company and the Company of Elders as they work with dancers who move with grace and beauty in defiance of their changing bodies.

From the first anxious glance in the mirror to the last touch - how does the language of our bodies change as we age?

Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:00 News Summary (b08k19r6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:04 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (b08k1x2b)
Series 1, Banking

Tim Harford introduces inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world.

TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b08k19r8)
Call You and Yours

Consumer phone-in.

TUE 12:57 Weather (b08k19rd)
The latest weather forecast.

TUE 13:00 World at One (b08k19rg)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

TUE 13:45 The Uncommon Senses (b08k1x2d)
Series 1, The Eyes Have It

A journey into the human multi-sensory experience, with philosopher Barry Smith and sound artist Nick Ryan.

In this episode, we dissect the sense which dominates most of our experience, colours our perception of the world, and takes up around a third of the processing power of our brain: Vision.

For thousands of years people thought we had 5 senses, now it's believed we have up to 33. In this new series, philosopher Barry Smith and sound artist Nick Ryan take us into the extraordinary world of sensory perception.

Barry Smith asks why our sense of vision is so much more important than the others; or at least, why it often feels that way to us. He explores some visual illusions which demonstrate that seeing is not always believing, and asks whether what we see can influence something so fundamental as who we think we are.

Producer: Emily Knight.

TUE 14:00 The Archers (b08k1xc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]

TUE 14:15 Drama (b054tl7c)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, The Dish of Yesterday

A new two-part dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's latest No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency book, 'The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe'. Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi return to Radio 4 for an eleventh series based on the popular novels set in Botswana, dramatised by the author.

Episode 2 : The Dish of Yesterday

Mma Ramotswe decides to put her new intern on the case, while Mma Makutsi's distinctive approach to the restaurant business raises eyebrows.

Directed by Eilidh McCreadie.

TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (b08k1z5l)
Series 11, So It Goes

"We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is."

Josie Long presents short documentaries and radio adventures in the spirit of Kurt Vonnegut, shortly before the tenth anniversary of his death - from peculiar travel suggestions to the kindness contained in a library. The writer Joe Dunthorne also engages Vonnegut in a dialogue, inspired by God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian.

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b08k2ctc)
Unfrozen North

What happens in the world's most northerly town when the permafrost de-frosts? Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough visits Svalbard to find out.

Longyearbyen, a three hour flight north of Oslo, is a mining town of just 2000 people, but a pretty high proportion of them are research scientists. They cluster in this relatively sheltered corner of the enormous Svalbard archipelago to study the geology and wildlife. As the Arctic rapidly warms nature is changing with it and there's nowhere better to study the impacts.

Can Arctic plant species survive a warmer, wetter climate? Can reindeer, fox and polar bear adapt to the new conditions? And how are the people enjoying the relatively balmy new climate? Nordic scholar, Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough meets the stoical residents and experiences the 24 hour darkness of the Arctic winter for herself.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b08k2ctf)
Legal magazine programme presented by Joshua Rozenberg.

TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b08k2cth)
Will Self and Rachel Johnson

Will Self and Rachel Johnson talk favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Rachel chooses What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, a collection of Raymond Carver short stories. Will champions My Father and Myself, in which JR Ackerley details his father's secret life, and Harriett goes for Doris Lessing's first novel, The Grass is Singing. Self asserts that Carver's short stories were really the work of his editor, and that Doris Lessing's novel, which begins with a murder, shouldn't have included a murder. Let battle commence... Producer Sally Heaven.

TUE 17:00 PM (b08k19rm)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b08k19rp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 18:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08k2ctk)
The Racehorse

The Missing Hancocks recreates those episodes of the classic Hancock's Half Hour that have been wiped or lost from the archive. Something else has gone missing in this episode from the second series - the lad 'imself, who had absconded to Rome. In 1955, he was replaced for the first three episodes by the Goon Show's Harry Secombe. In this recreation, he has been replaced by Andy Secombe - Harry's son. Not heard since then, this is a real piece of comedy history.

The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives. Now, after two highly successful series, another five of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.

Tonight's episode: The Racehorse. With Tony Hancock indisposed, Harry Secombe has 10 bob left so Bill decides to spend it on a racehorse. The fact that it only has three legs doesn't deter Sid from entering it in the Britannia Steeplechase.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Andy Secombe, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian and Susy Kane. The Racehorse was first broadcast on the 3rd May, 1955.

Produced by Ed Morrish & Neil Pearson.

Written by Ray Galton & Simpson

Music recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Levon Parikian.

A BBC Radio Comedy Production.

TUE 19:00 The Archers (b08k2ctm)
Usha rallies the troops, and Jill does a good deed.

TUE 19:15 Front Row (b08k19rr)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b08k1w90)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

TUE 20:00 The Origins of the American Dream (b08k2fmj)
The American Dream is back. President Donald Trump says so. Once again every American, regardless of background, race, gender or education, can, through sheer hard work, make it to the very top and become rich.
Did the idea of the America Dream, in which nothing is impossible as long as you work hard, evolve with the 'founding fathers' of the nation? Is it intrinsic to the country's identity?
Professor Sarah Churchwell argues that the American Dream is much younger than we realise, and it was born as a response to the 'Roaring Twenties' and the devastating stock market crash of 1929, and Depression that followed.
She uses history, literature and music to explore the original meaning of The American Dream - which was an appeal for much more modest dreams of a better life for all, not riches for some.

Producer; Shabnam Grewal
Editor: Penny Murphy.

TUE 20:40 In Touch (b08k19rt)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.

TUE 21:00 24 Hours of Sunset (b0833sfh)
Night

Sunset Boulevard is one of those long, long American streets, 22 miles that tell the story of film, of Hollywood, of course, but Laura Barton thinks this street tells the story of America itself. Laura Barton loves Sunset Boulevard and walking through LA, a city utterly devoted to driving. At foot level, you see things you'd never see in a car.

In this 2 part series, Laura walks the length of Sunset Boulevard in 24 hours. Along the way, she uncovers the contemporary arts stories and the iconic artistic legacy of this street. She meets artists and historians, as well as ordinary people who live and work along one of the most famous streets in the world.

The second episode takes Laura Barton from the glamourous, raucous Sunset Strip out to the coast, the edge of the Pacific Ocean - through the wealthy Beverly Hills neighbourhood and its manicured, lawns. She meets with professor of public policy Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, cultural historian David Ulin, soul band KING, former poet laureate Luis Rodriguez, and architect Alice Kimm, revealing the famous and the hidden stories of Sunset's artistic life.

Sunset Blvd's cultural landmarks tell LA's story - the drought threatening a city by the sea, the mixed up sub-cultures and ethnic and racial communities that come together to make the city - this is why Laura thinks Sunset is a microcosm of today's American story.

In 24 Hours on Sunset, Laura finds how Sunset Boulevard and its artistic legacy have become a shorthand for what LA represents in our collective imagination.

Presented by Laura Barton
Produced by Nija Dalal-Small.

TUE 21:30 The Long View (b08k1w6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b08k19rz)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b08k2h98)
Behind Her Eyes, Episode 7

Louise is a working mum, stuck in a rut. When she connects with a man on a rare night out, she hopes that things are about to change. But, very quickly, events take an unsettling turn.

Sarah Pinborough's electrifying psychological thriller with "a pull-the-rug-out ending" (Ian Rankin).

Episode Seven:
There's a file on Adele in David's office. Can Louise find it?

Sarah Pinborough is an award-winning YA and adult thriller, fantasy and horror novelist and screenwriter.

Writer: Sarah Pinborough
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Readers: Rosie Cavaliero & Tracy Wiles
Producer: Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 23:00 Bridget Christie Minds the Gap (b04xrwhh)
Series 2, Ethical Filing

Bridget Christie returns in another series of her multi-award winning series about modern feminism.

Bridget thought that she'd be able to put her feet up after her last Radio 4 series, she expected it to bomb. Sadly it was a huge success. But it's OK, because actually she's solved the feminist struggle all by herself. In the second episode, she's taken her activism to a whole new level. Well, sort of.

She's assisted in this by the series' token man, Fred MacAulay.

The series is written and performed by Bridget Christie and the producers are Alison Vernon-Smith and Alexandra Smith.

TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b08k2h9c)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster.

WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH 2017

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b08k19vd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b08l6n77)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]

WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b08k19vg)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b08k19vk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b08k19vm)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 05:30 News Briefing (b08k19vp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b08l5gsb)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Revd Prebendary Edward Mason, Rector of Bath Abbey.

WED 05:45 Farming Today (b08k19vr)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.

WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378xj7)
Northern Wheatear

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

Michaela Strachan presents the northern wheatear. With their black masks, white bellies, apricot chests and grey backs, male wheatears are colourful companions on a hill walk. The birds you see in autumn may have come from as far as Greenland or Arctic Canada. They pass through the British Isles and twice a year many of them travel over 11,000 kilometres between Africa and the Arctic. It's one of the longest regular journeys made by any perching bird.

WED 06:00 Today (b08k19vt)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

WED 09:00 Midweek (b08k19vx)
Lively and diverse conversation with Libby Purves and guests.

WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b08l6n9w)
Be Like the Fox, Episode 3

A new interpretation on the importance of The Prince in Machiavelli's life and subsequent reputation.

His name has of course become a by-word for political machination, but this new biography by Erica Benner challenges the notions that Machiavelli was simply a satanic cynic.

She suggests that, in context, he emerges as his era's staunchest champion of liberty who refused to compromise his ideals to fit the corrupt times in which he lived. As often as he advocates extreme measures for dealing with the enemy, he actually balances this with respect for the law in sentences such as "victories are never secure without some respect, especially for justice" and "cities have never expanded either in dominion or in riches if they have not been in freedom."

So this book is an attempt to redress the balance.

Read by Toby Jones
Written by Erica Benner
Abridged by Polly Coles

Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b08k19vz)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b08k2mzz)
Revelation, Episode 8

Atmospheric dramatisation of C. J. Sansom's bestselling Tudor crime novel, the fourth in the series featuring lawyer detective Matthew Shardlake.

London, 1543. A serial killer is prowling the city, one who treats murder as a holy mission: preying upon radicals and creating gory tableaux inspired by a prophecy from the Book of Revelation. Archbishop Cranmer has asked Shardlake to conduct a secret investigation to catch the killer before word of the bloodshed reaches the King.

But Shardlake and his trusty side-kick Barak are constantly wrong-footed - the killer seems to know exactly what they plan to do next. Could there be an informer within Cranmer's camp? With the killer's knowledge of medicinal potions, Shardlake is convinced that the killer must have a connection to the infirmary of the former Benedictine monastery at Westminster.

Dramatist ..... Colin MacDonald
Writer ..... C. J. Sansom
Producer and Director ..... Kirsteen Cameron.

WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b08k2n01)
Harry and Jane - A Pile of Boys

Henry died young, but his friends still remember him and have made his mum their honorary fairy godmother. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The charity founded in Henry's name: http://henrydancerdays.co.uk/

Producer: Marya Burgess.

WED 11:00 Salam to Queen and Country (b08k1xv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]

WED 11:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b062kx4n)
Series 2, Coffee

Comedian Simon Evans returns with a new series about the economics of some of the goods - or bads - we are addicted to.

If you crave your daily coffee, can't get by without a cigarette, feel that mid-afternoon slump without your sugar-fix, or can't face an evening without a glass of wine, you are definitely not alone. But have you ever thought about the economics that has made your addiction possible? Who does it profit? And would you want to make some canny investments that take advantage of our human weaknesses?

In this series, Simon Evans looks at the economics, history and health issues behind these oh-so-addictive commodities.

This week it's coffee. How much are we now drinking as a nation? And how much of the price of a cup of coffee is actually the coffee beans? Are we giving coffee growers the best deal when we buy Fairtrade coffee or should we be seeking out Direct trade coffee? And could this be the least harmful of all addictions? Perhaps even a positive addiction, with the coffee shop being, as Steven Johnson said (in his recent 'Where good ideas come from' TED talk), 'a place where ideas can have sex'?

Simon speaks to specialist coffee experts Onny Loisel and Michael Cleland. He is also joined by economics guru, More Or Less host Tim Harford and the Queen of investment know-how, Merryn Somerset-Webb, as he walks us around the economics of this very familiar commodity and pokes fun at our relationship with it.

Presented by Simon Evans, with Onny Loisel and Michael Cleland, Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset Webb.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Produced by Claire Jones.

WED 12:00 News Summary (b08k19w3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:04 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (b08k2n03)
Series 1, Light Bulb

Tim Harford introduces inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world.

WED 12:15 You and Yours (b08k19w5)
Consumer affairs programme.

WED 12:57 Weather (b08k19w7)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 13:00 World at One (b08k19w9)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

WED 13:45 The Uncommon Senses (b08k2n05)
Series 1, How to Stand Up

A journey into the human multi-sensory experience, with philosopher Barry Smith and sound artist Nick Ryan.

In this episode, we look at the intricacies involved in standing up.

For thousands of years people thought we had 5 senses, now it's believed we have up to 33. In this new series, philosopher Barry Smith and sound artist Nick Ryan take us into the extraordinary world of sensory perception.

Barry Smith explores how ballet dancers can whirl around like spinning tops, and why the classic 'drunk driver' test works. And we examine the strange workings of the 3 senses involved in the simple task of getting to our feet: vision, vestibular, and proprioception, and ask what happens when they go wrong.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

WED 14:00 The Archers (b08k2ctm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]

WED 14:15 Drama (b08k2n07)
The Interrogation, Beverley

by Roy Williams

Detective Inspector Max Matthews (Kenneth Cranham) and Detective Sergeant Sean Armitage (Alex Lanipekun) are back for a new series of contemporary crime dramas. Today the detective duo subject a woman who has reported her elderly father missing to their unique style of interrogation. Beverley's story.

Music ..... David Pickvance
Director ..... Mary Peate

The Interrogation, running Wednesday to Friday this week, comprises three hard-hitting contemporary crime stories that probe some of today's most complex moral issues.

Roy Williams is an award-winning English playwright who is considered one of the most astute and talented chroniclers of his time. Williams has many awards including the George Devine Award for Lift Off, the 2001 Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for his play Clubland, the 2002 BAFTA for Best Schools Drama for Offside and 2004 South Bank Show Arts Council Decibel Award. Sucker Punch, produced by The Royal Court Theatre, was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play and the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2011. Other stand-out theatre productions include FALLOUT (Royal Court Theatre) and SING YER HEART OUT FOR THE LADS (NT). Williams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.

Praise for Williams' writing in the first series of The Interrogation:

He writes about the stuff you'd rather not know, prefer not to think about, pretend to ignore. But it lives on with you in the mind. It won't let you go. By his words, the sharp, brittle, spot-on dialogue, he forces you to recognise the limitations of your experience, your understanding. It's not the story outline that matters, but the characterisation, the way the people speak, the language they use. Each of the characters is so clearly differentiated you know exactly what they look like without a detail being given to us. Through the conversation, the interaction, we gather in the back story, we get the gist. There are no easy answers. It's life, messy life, the life we'd rather not think about as we listen to the radio, doing the ironing, making marmalade, cocooned mostly from the nasty, brutish world dealt with by others on our behalf.
Kate Chisholm, The Spectator.

WED 15:00 Money Box (b08k2n7f)
Money Box Live

Financial phone-in.

WED 15:30 A Casual Clearance (b07wpf5n)
After her mother dies, Clare Jenkins explores the practical and emotional difficulties of clearing out her parents' home.

Mabel Jenkins died in May 2015, after two months in a care home and 25 years in a sheltered housing flat. Clare and her siblings had to decide which of their parents' possessions they should keep, and what to let go.

Guardian writer Deborah Orr and her brother had faced the same dilemma a couple of years earlier, when their mother died at the family home in Motherwell, near Glasgow. And Times columnist Robert Crampton has been going through the process this year, clearing out his parents' house in Hull.

What is important to keep at such a time? Is it the letters, diaries and photos, or the expensive, but disliked, heirlooms? Which objects seem pathetic, when removed of meaning? What emotions surface during the clearing-out process?

Treasured possessions often have stories to tell, secrets to give up. Clare and her sisters discovered this when rifling through their mother's black tin box. So did Deborah, when her brother opened the pillbox their mother always clutched tight to her. Children can often be surprised by evidence of their parents' younger selves, including their younger voices.

In this programme - which includes archive recordings of Jenkins family get-togethers - Clare and her sisters, together with Deborah and Robert, reflect on these questions and issues. They consider the symbolism of inconsequential treasures such as old tea sets, job references and children's hair clippings - mundane objects that attain the status of holy relics because of the meaning a parent attached to them.

A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b08k34n6)
Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.

WED 16:30 The Media Show (b08k19wf)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.

WED 17:00 PM (b08k19wh)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.

WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b08k19wk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 18:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04gwlw4)
Series 3, About Intelligence

EPISODE ONE: ABOUT INTELLIGENCE

In a mix of stand-up and re-enacted family life - Nathan Caton illustrates what can happen when you try to prove to your family how clever you are.

Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell

Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a series about young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's horror and disgust. They desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'

Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to prove himself.

The series is a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.

Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. At the end of the day she just wants the best for her son. However, she'd also love to brag and show her son off to her friends, but with Nathan only telling jokes for a living that's kind of hard to do.

Martin a.k.a. Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son getting a degree so the two of them could work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window. Martin is clumsy and hard-headed and leaves running the house to his wife (she wouldn't allow it to be any other way).

Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. She can't believe she left the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that years later her grandson could 'tell jokes!' How can her grandson go on stage and use foul language and filthy material... it's not the good Christian way!

So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he persevere and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference? Or will he finally leave home?!

Producer Katie Tyrrell.

WED 19:00 The Archers (b08k505d)
Lynda has to explain herself, and Harrison is in the doghouse.

WED 19:15 Front Row (b08k19wm)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b08k2mzz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]

WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b08k34n8)
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Anne McElvoy, Claire Fox, Giles Fraser and Matthew Taylor.

WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b08k2ctc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]

WED 21:30 Midweek (b08k19vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

WED 21:58 Weather (b08k19wr)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b08k19wt)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b08k34tx)
Behind Her Eyes, Episode 8

Louise is a working mum, stuck in a rut. When she connects with a man on a rare night out, she hopes that things are about to change. But, very quickly, events take an unsettling turn.

Sarah Pinborough's electrifying psychological thriller with "a pull-the-rug-out ending" (Ian Rankin).

Episode Eight:
Thanks to Adele, Louise can control her night terrors. But she learns that's only the beginning.

Sarah Pinborough is an award-winning YA and adult thriller, fantasy and horror novelist and screenwriter.

Writer: Sarah Pinborough
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Readers: Rosie Cavaliero & Tracy Wiles
Producer: Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 23:00 Spotlight Tonight with Nish Kumar (b08k34tz)
Series 1, 29/03/2017

We all like to think we know about the news and yet, whilst jokes about Boris Johnson's haircut are all well and good, do you still have that nagging suspicion there's important things going on beneath the headlines you'd like to know about? Well, help is at hand! Nish Kumar is here to cast his spotlight on the week's most talked about news items, taking an in-depth look at the biggest stories from the past seven days to scrutinise what's actually going on beneath the bluster.

Recorded on the day of transmission, Spotlight Tonight brings you the most reactive up to date in-depth look at the news.

Starring Nish Kumar & Sarah Campbell.

Written by Robin Morgan, Sarah Campbell, Max Davis, Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch, Nish Kumar, and Tom Neenan.

It was produced by Matt Stronge and was a BBC Studios Production.

WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b08k34v1)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.