The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Lanna Joffrey reads Stephanie Land’s hard-hitting account of living on minimum wages in present-day America.
Struggling to support her daughter as a single parent, Stephanie takes the only job she can find, as a cleaner. In this moving memoir, she tells the story of the clients she works for.
“I became fascinated by the things hidden in the dark corners of the houses I cleaned. The snooping was like uncovering clues, finding evidence of the secret lives of people who seemed like they had it all.”
In this final episode, the secret life of the “the Cigarette Lady” is revealed when Stephanie looks into her freezer. And in an attempt to capture the best moments of her life with her young daughter Mia, she begins to write a blog which awakens her ambition to become a writer. Finally, she finds a way to escape this relentless work on a minimum wage, winning a scholarship to the University of Montana.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
We all have things of greater or lesser importance we need to remember in our daily lives, whether that’s the work we need to do or the dry cleaning we need to collect. Some matters only need to be committed to our short term memory and once we’ve remembered them we can quickly forget them but others require us to fix them in our long term memory.
As tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day, throughout this week, I’d like us to explore the theme of memory and the things we should remember.
The Holocaust is a stain on the soul of humanity and to remember the millions of people murdered is an imperative to ensure that such genocide cannot and will not ever happen again.
We know that the victims of the Holocaust were dehumanised in the eyes of their persecutors and so we must remember them as human beings just like us - men, women and children. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, family. Each with their own unique hopes and dreams but who were all cruelly denied a future.
Our remembrance of them is a sacred duty, a collective memorial of individuals and a personal commitment never to forget.
Let’s pray that we remember the lessons of the Holocaust because we owe it to its victims.
Let’s remember that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." - words proclaimed 70 years ago by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Ian Marchant visits a remote boggy wilderness in Sutherland, on the north coast of Scotland, to see the spot where the UK's first spaceport is to be located.
The A'Mhoine Peninsula has been chosen as the potential site of the spaceport, which would launch small satellites into space at the rate of three a month. The UK Space Agency has given Highlands and Islands Enterprise £2.5m towards the development of the facility, which they are working on with a consortium including the US aerospace company Lockheed Martin. Their aim is to have the spaceport ready for launching in the early 2020s.
Many local people are enthusiastic about the plans, which could bring high quality jobs to an area which has been de-populating at an alarming rate. Others are angry about the plans to build on a wilderness which is unique in the world and has been virtually unchanged since the last Ice Age.
Ian meets people on both sides of the debate. What makes this landscape so special and why, given its unique status, is it the perfect location for a spaceport?
Jay Rayner hosts culinary programme from Colchester. Tim Anderson, Annie Gray, Sophie Wright and Jordan Bourke are on the panel.
Correspondents around the world tell their stories and examine news developments in their region
Administrators have been appointed to the Dream Lodge Group leaving people, some of whom invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in the luxury holiday park lodge business, at risk of losing most if not all of their money. In return for their cash they were promised an 8% return on their investment plus a guaranteed buy back of their capital. In a statement to Money Box administrators Deloitte said "The best outcome for everyone would still be a sale of the business and we will formally report our progress on that and any other matters in our creditors report in mid-March. We appreciate this will be a difficult time for many people affected by the administration of the business.” What are the signs that an investment opportunity is too good to be true? Guest: Farhaz Khan, Secretary of the Financial Services Lawyers Association.
The European Health Insurance Card, or EHIC, gives people from the UK the right to access state provided emergency care while temporarily staying in another European Economic Area country or Switzerland for free or for a reduced cost. Tamara Hervey, Professor of EU Law at the University of Sheffield explains what happens to the EHIC post-Brexit.
The cash machine network Link will pay a 'super premium' to ATM operators in certain remote areas from April. It hopes the subsidy of up to £
per withdrawal will keep machines free to use. Guest John Howells, CEO of Link.
If you’ve signed up with a credit rating agency to get alerts whenever your file is accessed, what can you do if you discover a company you've never heard of has searched your details? Guest Lisa Hardstaff, Head of Customer Experience at Equifax.
Miles Jupp looks back at the news this week with guests Hugo Rifkind, Neil Delamere, Jen Brister and Nish Kumar.
This week: What is Plan B? Why have the Yeoman of the Guard got Beef? And who will play the dog who made friends with another dog and a goat?
Jonathan Dimbleby presents topical debate from The Exchange in Twickenham with a panel including the computer scientist and academic Professor Sue Black, Shadow Treasury Minister Anneliese Dodds MP, hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and the Justice Secretary David Gauke MP.
Maxine Peake and Diane Morgan met auditioning at drama school, where they fell in love with Beryl Bainbridge's darkly comic novel The Bottle Factory Outing. They’ve wanted to play Freda and Brenda, the hapless yet hilarious central characters, ever since.. And so here they are, performing it at the BBC Radio Theatre, where they start by introducing it to the audience and talking about their love for the book and what makes it so good. With Sue Johnston as the narrator of the book, and Jonathan Keeble as all the male characters. Abridged by Abigail Youngman.
When it comes to travel is the expectation greater than the realisation? Lynne Truss has been a writer for over 25 years and without making it a conscious ambition she has travelled to a huge number of destinations. But if you ask her if she likes travelling, she will say "Absolutely not, I hate it. I find its utterly stressful." This has made her curious as to why we travel. In an age when we have access to the world at the click of a button on the internet or the TV, why do we still want to physically go somewhere else? What do we hope to get out of the experience? Is the hassle of delayed flights, airless rooms, endless queues, the heat, the mosquitoes and the tummy upsets all really worth it? In this, the first of three programmes about the travel experience broadcast in November , Lynne meets global traveller and writer Geoff Dyer. Producer Sarah Blunt.
Rapper, mother, director, refugee and activist - Maya Arulpragasam is one of Britain's most successful and provocative working-class artists - M.I.A.
Ten years on from the release of M.I.A’s single Paper Planes - a global hit blending agitprop pop, satire and punk - comedy writer Jack Rooke profiles his idol’s artistry, from her activism to the controversies, while telling his own story of teenage grief, super fandom and how Maya's work inspired him and many others to turn adversity into hope.
In 2008, the global financial crash took hold and Hilary Clinton lost the Democrats' presidential candidacy vote to Barack Hussein Obama. Meanwhile, M.I.A. saw in the autumn of 2008 with a monumental transition from respected hip-hop, electronic artist to massive global pop-star. Jay-Z and Kanye West sampled Paper Planes, it featured in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and sales peaked on Sunday 28th September 2008, going top 20 in the UK and racing up the Billboard top 10. It was the same day Obama celebrated the success of his first presidential TV debate.
He shares a story of adversity and hope, in which a grief-stricken teenage boy finds the spirit of punk and outspokenness in the work of a Sri Lankan-British rapper.
Fulfilling his dream to make a documentary about this fascinating, outspoken and often controversial artist, he’s on a mission to interview the notoriously elusive M.I.A. But will he manage it?
With contributions from journalist and broadcaster Kieran Yates, director Steve Loveridge and producer Steve Mackay
Ade Adepitan, Natalie Ibu, Kieran Hodgson, Jonathan Bailey, Eddi Reader, Ché Lingo, Arthur Smith, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Arthur Smith are joined by Natalie Ibu, Ade Adepitan, Jonathan Bailey and Kieran Hodgson for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Eddi Reader and Ché Lingo.
As the Brexit crisis continues, Becky Milligan looks at the life of Nick Boles MP, one of the architects behind a new amendment calling for a no deal Brexit , which has cross party support and will be debated in the commons next week.
We hear from friends and family who describe a man who has faced death twice, loves a good dance and sticks firmly to what he believes in.
When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, Kafka's Last Trial, Bonnard, Destroyer
Designer Wayne Hemingway examines 100 years of British advertising on film and television, with special behind-the-scenes access to the one of the world’s largest advertising collection at the British Film Institute.
Wayne follows advertisers’ first hesitant steps into both the big and small screen. It was a time when America was the global player. Beginning with films as early as 1900, he discovers how Britain carefully set itself apart from global advertising trends, crafting a model perfectly fine-tuned for our nation – the subtle, soft sell.
But it is this unique subtlety that took Britain to its most controversial moments in advertising – when entire series were banned for being duplicitous. Wayne draws parallels to modern day Britain, comparing how advertisers always try to break the rules in new mediums.
The BFI collection also contains many of the cinematic, directorial debuts from the mad men who went to Hollywood. Wayne investigates their timeless ads that created the Golden Era of advertising, and how each of them drew on tropes of British identity and archetypes of British society to sell to us.
Most theories on advertising suggest that it doesn’t actually input ideas into society – rather that it reflects them back. Yet this archive points to the moments when advertisers fuelled certain movements and fortified idealistic notions, re-defining and re-directing our sense of self and what it means to be British.
Show me a boy who never wanted to be a rock star and I'll show you a liar. Following on from the events of 'That'll be the Day', it's the early sixties and Jim Maclaine is now an aspiring pop musician. He seeks out his old mate Mike, because every pop star needs a road manager. Based on the seventies film of the same name.
Why is a sudden, but not unexpected, death of someone very old or very ill, referred to a coroner to investigate? What happens then? These investigations are rarely talked about but are surprisingly common.
Joan Bakewell explores the issues with her panel, including His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft QC, in his first broadcast as Chief Coroner of England and Wales.
He reveals what the coroner process involves, from the first investigations to when a post-mortem or an inquest become necessary.
Having heard from listeners who felt implicated after the sudden arrival of the police, and whose bereavement was affected by the process that followed, Joan asks how people can best navigate the system when the death of a relative is referred to a coroner.
If the components were the square root of minus 1, the works of Mozart, MDMA and retinol, why might you need instructions to help you assemble them?
The teams from Wales and Scotland talk their way through this and plenty of other convoluted puzzles as they both make their second appearance in the current series. Tom Sutcliffe is on hand to give guidance where required, although the more hints he has to drop the more points he'll be docking from their scores. Defending RBQ champions Myfanwy Alexander and David Edwards play for Wales, against Val McDermid and Alan McCredie of Scotland.
As always there'll be a healthy sample of questions drawn from the many hundreds sent in by listeners in recent months.
Writer Henry Eliot explores Geoffrey Chaucer’s surreal Dream Vision poems and their contemporary relevance.
Chaucer, the father of English literature, is best known for his long narrative poem The Canterbury Tales, but his witty and imaginative dream visions are also wild, funny and surprisingly relevant today. Henry Eliot considers three of these medieval poems - The Parliament of Fowls, The Book of the Duchess and The House of Fame - and how they changed the course of English poetry.
They all begin with a narrator falling asleep, before quickly slipping into surreal and fantastical dream worlds, where talking birds debate the nature of true love, eagles fly into space and men grieve in forests. There are desert wildernesses, ice mountains, glass temples, wicker houses and emerald palaces.
Chaucer depicts the cacophonous worlds of rumour, debate, gossip and hearsay, invoking uncanny parallels with today’s world of social media frenzies, celebrity culture, post-truth and fake news. But he also explores the complex and messy nature of psychology, experience and what it means to be human.
SUNDAY 27 JANUARY 2019
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m00026m6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m00025fw)
Big House
After investigating an arson at a local manor house, an insurance company employee discovers a series of fires erupting much closer to home.
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 by the Irish writer Louise Hegarty. Read by Cathy Belton (Red Rock, The Woman in White).
Winner of the Sunday Business Post Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize, Louise Hegarty’s work has been featured in the anthology ‘wordlegs presents: 30 Under 30’ and the Banshee literary journal. This is her first story for BBC Radio.
Writer, Louise Hegarty
Reader, Cathy Belton
Producer, Michael Shannon
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00026m8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00026mb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00026md)
The latest shipping forecast
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m00026mg)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m00026jb)
Winchester Cathedral
Bells on Sunday comes from Winchester Cathedral. The bells are the only diatonic ring of fourteen in the world, comprising the original 1936 set of twelve augmented by two trebles in 1993. The eight largest bells still hang in the old 1734 wooden frame, which moves around as the bells are being rung making excellent ringing very difficult to achieve. We hear them ringing a plain course of Erin Sextuples.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m00026hn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (m00026gc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (m00027hl)
In the Name of the Mother
Journalist Remona Aly has long been intrigued by many aspects of motherhood. While not a mother herself, she relates to the lived experiences of women she knows and, in this programme, considers the symbolic, mythological and religious incarnations of mothers throughout history.
She details the more relatable elements of the Virgin Mary’s motherly experiences described in the Quran, such as her vulnerability when giving birth to Jesus alone, and the pain of labour which makes her wish for death. Remona also considers how places as well as people bear children and reminisces about her links to her own motherland, India.
Remona examines the sorrow and conflict that can come with motherhood. She describes the impact of not having children herself and the loss of a newborn, and revisits the Ancient Greek stories of Medea and Pandora, who bring death and destruction.
The wonders of motherhood are also explored, highlighted by neurological research which documents the re-wiring of women's brains during pregnancy, and the strong bonds between mothers and infants in the animal kingdom.
Throughout, Remona contemplates the notion of God in the maternal paradigm and concludes that the power of motherhood moves between beliefs, from the divine down to a human level. Free from years of patriarchal influence, Remona argues that it is time to reclaim the mother's position in society, and ponder prayers that begin 'In the name of the Mother...’.
Presenter: Remona Aly
Producer: Sera Baker
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m00026gh)
Turning Ireland Green
Intensive agriculture has transformed much of the Irish landscape in an incredibly short space of time. Hedges have been ripped up, herd sizes have increased and wildlife has suffered a steep decline. Ella McSweeney meets Donal Sheehan, a Cork dairy farmer determined to reverse the trend and repair the damage.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
SUN 06:57 Weather (m00026gk)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m00026gm)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m00026gp)
Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme, with Edward Stourton.
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m00026gr)
Smart Works Charity
Fashion designer Betty Jackson makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Smart Works Charity.
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 ‘Smart Works Charity’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Smart Works Charity’.
Registered Charity Number: 1080609.
SUN 07:57 Weather (m00026gt)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m00026gw)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m00028qv)
Holocaust Memorial Day
A service of remembrance and reflection marking Holocaust Memorial Day from St Martin in the Fields.
The service is led by the Revd Katherine Hedderly and the preacher is the Revd Dr Sam Wells.
Reading: Genesis (chapter 12: 1-3)
Music:
Introit – Kyrie (James Whitbourn)
The God of Abraham Praise (Leoni)
Theme from Schinder’s List (John Williams)
Adonai ro’i lo echsar (Psalm 23) (Gerald Cohen)
Prayers in Time of Distress (Philip Moore)
By Gracious Powers (William Bradley Roberts)
Within Our Darkest Night (Taizé)
Sim Shalom (Grant us Peace) (Sarit Aloni)
Great is Thy faithfulness (Faithfulness)
St Martin’s Voices:
Directed by Andrew Earis
Organist: Ben Giddens
Producer: Dan Tierney.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m00025gg)
The trouble with referendums
Val McDermid argues that referendums have had a devastating effect on our political system.
"I am by nature an optimist", she writes. "But I'm really struggling here. We've broken our democracy. I don't know how to fix it and I'm afraid nobody else does either".
She says the bottom line is that our political system isn't designed for the polarization that referendums inevitably bring.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m00026h0)
Trudie Goodwin on the Carib Grackle
Trudie Goodwin is probably best known for her television roles as Sergeant June Ackland in The Bill and latterly in Emmerdale. But during all that time Trudie has possessed a lifelong interest in birds and bird watching. It was while on holiday in the Caribbean that Trudie first heard the call of the male carib grackle, a tropical blackbird. And she fell in love with this noisy, curious and intelligent bird so much she'd have loved to bring one home with her after the holiday.
You can hear more from Trudie in her Tweet of the Week omnibus available on the Radio 4 website
Producer : Andrew Dawes
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m00026h2)
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 (m00026h4)
Elizabeth makes a shocking confession and Brian faces an ultimatum
Writer ….. Amanda Whittington
Director ….. Gwenda Hughes
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Ben Archer ….. Ben Norris
Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Pat Archer…. Pat Gallimore
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer…. Will Troughton
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Alice Carter ….. Hollie Chapman
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Ed Grundy ….. Barry Farrimond
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Adam Macy ….. Andrew Wincott
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Johnny Philips…. Tom Gibbons
Peggy Woolley…. June Spencer
Lee…. Ryan Early
Tim…. Carl Prekopp
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m00026h6)
Wendy Cope, poet
Wendy Cope is one of England’s most popular and widely-read contemporary poets.
Wendy was born in Erith, Kent. Her father was 29 years older than her mother and she was sent to boarding school at the age of seven. Although English was her favourite subject at school, in a bid to defy her English teacher’s expectations, she read history at Oxford. Following graduation she became a primary school teacher.
After the death of her father in 1971, Wendy entered psychoanalysis in 1973 and turned to writing poetry. Having attended evening classes in creative writing, one of her poems was published in a collection which brought her to the attention of Faber and Faber. Her first volume of poetry, Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis, was published in 1986, and became an instant success, and she gave up teaching to become a full time writer.
She has since published four volumes of a poetry: Serious Concerns (1992), If I Don’t Know (2001), Family Values (2011) and Anecdotal Evidence (2018) as well as two volumes for children, Twiddling Your Thumbs (1988) and The River Girl (1991). In 2011, Wendy sold her entire personal archive to the British Library, which consisted of 15 boxes of manuscript, including several unpublished early works.
Wendy lives in Ely and is married to fellow poet, Lachlan Mackinnon.
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Cathy Drysdale
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m00026h8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m00024pp)
Series 21
Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Richard Osman, Holly Walsh, Susan Calman and David O'Doherty are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as nuts, birds, urine and traditions.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m00026hb)
What does a no deal Brexit mean for our food?
With just over 60 before we're set to leave the EU Dan Saladino gathers thoughts along the food supply chain about the prospects of a no deal Brexit, from industry to home preppers.
The likes of the British Retail Consortium which represents the major supermarkets, and the Food and Drink Federation, which speaks on behalf of the biggest processors and producers in the UK have both voiced concerns that a "no deal" and more disruptive Brexit could mean significant delays importing food into the UK. For this reasons stockpiling has been taking place.
However, as farmers Guy Watson explains, we are entering the so called hungry gap, which means we are supplying very little of our own fruit and veg. Businesses such as his, the Riverford box scheme, will be depending on bringing in fresh produce from Italy and Spain around the time of our expected departure from the EU. He believes more than four days of disruption could wipe out his profits, and two weeks of delays bringing produce over will bankrupt the business.
Meanwhile other members of the farming community believe we should stay focused on the idea that there will be food benefits from Brexit, whilst others are convinced trading on World Trade Organisation terms will provide us with more options for imports.
Dan travels to hear a range of different views as Westminster continues to debate what happens next.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m00026hd)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m00026hg)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.
SUN 13:30 The Art of Now (m0000nmn)
Women Who Walk
Have you seen the women who walk?
Actor and comedian Doon Mackichan goes for a wander with just a few of the women using walking as part of their art. What does this apparently simple activity mean for the work they create, for the places they traverse, and for the way we think about cities and bodies, space and power?
From the Romantic Poets to contemporary Psychogeography, art and writing focused on walking has been seen as the preserve of a relatively exclusive and almost entirely male group. But what stories and ideas, experiences and people does this tradition exclude? Doon seeks out some alternative explanations of what it means to move through the world and reflects on the significance and power of an activity as varied as the people who practice it.
In Tolworth, Kingston Upon Thames, Doon meets artist and poet Lucy Furlong and naturalist Alison Fure as they follow in the footsteps of local walker and nature writing icon Richard Jeffries. At Tooting Bec Lido, artist Amy Sharrocks introduces Doon to the pleasures of falling and the significance of urban water. In Manchester, Doon joins Dr Morag Rose and the Loiterers Resistance Movement for one of their monthly drifts across a changing city. And in Paris, Afghan performance artist Kubra Khademi recalls a walk that changed her life.
Also featuring Professor Dee Heddon, Dean of the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities and the James Arnott Chair in Drama at University of Glasgow, co-founder with Misha Myers of The Walking Library.
Presenter: Doon Mackichan
Producer: Michael Umney
The programme is devised by Dr Jo Norcup and produced in association with Geography Workshop.
A Resonance production for BBC Radio 4
Image: SWIM, Amy Sharrocks (2007) photo by Ruth Corney
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m00025ft)
Correspondence Edition: Barbican
Peter Gibbs hosts a correspondence edition of the show from The Barbican Centre, London. Answering the questions from the GQT inbox are Matthew Pottage, Anne Swithinbank and Pippa Greenwood.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant producer: Hester Cant
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b0b5s5t4)
Omnibus - Lifeboatmen
Fi Glover introduces conversations between members of the RNLI team at Spurn Point 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 (b08zyxhh)
Love Henry James - Roderick Hudson
Episode 2
Love Henry James: Roderick Hudson
adapted by Lavinia Murray
Rowland Mallet - a wealthy Bostonian bachelor is patron to a young sculptor, Roderick Hudson. He's taken him from the US to Rome to study and develop his art.
Although engaged to Mary, in the US, Roderick has fallen head over heels for beautiful socialite Christina Light, and it's causing mayhem.
Roderick does all he can to steer him back to Mary, though he's in love with Mary himself. Obsession, love & desire intermingle as old and new worlds collide.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris
Written in 1875 this was one of Henry James's early novels, his second.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m00026hj)
Chloe Aridjis, Adam Foulds and Leo Benedictus on fictional stalkers, Gay's the Word Bookshop at 40
Chloe Aridjis won acclaim for her novels Book of Clouds and Asunder. She joins Mariella to discuss her third novel Sea Monsters, a coming of age story set in 1980's Mexico.
Novelists Adam Foulds and Leo Benedictus both publish books this month that imagine the motivations behind stalkers. They reflect on why the line between ardent love and dangerous obsession has proved so interesting to writers.
In our monthly Editor's Tip, Sophie Missing, editor at Daunt Books Publishing, recommends Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley, an expertly observed novel about the tangled webs at the centre of our most intimate relationships.
Jim McSweeney, co-manager of London's Gay's the Word bookshop, describes how the shop was established 40 years ago this month, and why it's so much more than just a shop.
We remember Diana Athill, one of the great literary editors of the 20th century, who died this week aged 101.
SUN 16:30 Body of Work (m00026hl)
Andrew McMillan takes us inside the world of the gym and explores the preoccupations which often shape our relationships to our bodies.
Through interviews, and newly commissioned poetry, Andrew McMillan, a poet who - according to the Sunday Times - “scrutinises the violent idealism of masculinity in monologues that are both tender and steely”, interrogates the intersections of poetry and gym culture.
Andrew McMillan was born in South Yorkshire in 1988; his debut collection physical was the first ever poetry collection to win The Guardian First Book Award. The collection also won the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, a Somerset Maugham Award (2016), an Eric Gregory Award (2016) and a Northern Writers' award (2014). It was shortlisted the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Costa Poetry Award, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2016, the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Roehampton Poetry Prize and the Polari First Book Prize. His second collection, playtime, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2018. He is senior lecturer at the Manchester Writing School at MMU and lives in Manchester.
Producer: Mair Bosworth
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m000256v)
Finding Freedom - The Fight Against Modern Slavery
Modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK are more prevalent than ever before.
Police estimate tens of thousands of victims are hidden in towns and cities across the country; many kidnapped then subjected to forced labour or sexual exploitation, often under the threat of violence.
But what happens to victims after they escape or have been rescued?
File on 4 investigates the government system designed to identify and support victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Victims say they haven’t been properly looked after by the authorities, have been left in limbo - some waiting years for decisions on their status.
File on 4 investigates allegations that a failure to adequately protect victims means some face being drawn back into exploitation by the very gangs from whom they escaped in the first place.
With the Prime Minister describing modern slavery as "the great human-rights issue of our time" is enough being done to tackle the root causes and protect those unable to protect themselves?
Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Alys Harte
Development Producer: Oliver Newlan
Editor: Gail Champion
SUN 17:40 Profile (m00026hn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m00026hq)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m00026hs)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00026hv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m00026hx)
Zubeida Malik
This week Romanians make a life in Britain, Millennials juggle several jobs and Prince gigs through the night. Carla Bruni covers a Rolling Stones song and we learn how the ancient Romans deep fried food. James Burke links medieval arab physics to My Fair Lady and we rediscover a writer and his love of swimming.
Presenter: Zubeida Malik
Producer: Stephen Garner
Production Support: Helen Surtees
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m00026hz)
Roy finds himself the centre of attention and Brian refuses to back down
SUN 19:15 Clare in the Community (b082hg9n)
Series 11
Fight Them on the Beaches
Clare is in charge of a day at the seaside for some elderly residents of the estate. They turn out to be a bit more feisty than the Sparrowhawk team were expecting, which makes it tricky for Clare to impress her new student, Cilla. Back at home, Brian is coaching Nali for a musical audition.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
We join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life. In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2016.
SUN 19:45 Blackwater (m00026j1)
Episode 4
A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town.
Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?
Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?
Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t were she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.
Aston Kelly ….. Paul
Sean Kearns ….. Phil
Claire McGowan ..... Writer
Celia De Wolff ..... Producer
SUN 20:00 More or Less (m00025g0)
Domestic Violence, Jobs, Easter Snowfall
A Home Office analysis has calculated that domestic violence cost more than £66bn in England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2017. But how has this been worked out, and does it all add up? And is this a useful way to capture the harms of violence in the home? Tim Harford and the BBC’s head of statistics, Robert Cuffe, examine the numbers.
An impressive 41 pupils from a state school in East London have secured offers to study at Oxford or Cambridge, it was reported this week. Tim Harford considers what this achievement tells us about the education system as a whole (This item appears only in the longer edition, broadcast on Sunday).
It was reported this week that the number of people in work in the UK has reached a record high of
32.54 million. But is it true that the numbers include people who just work one hour a week and, if so, are they making the jobs situation look better than it really is? Tim Harford talks to Jonathan Athow, the deputy national statistician and director general of economic statistics at the Office of National Statistics.
A listener writes to ask whether January is the riskiest month for suicides. Tim Harford discusses what the data can tell us with Nav Kapur, professor of psychiatry and population health at the University of Manchester. Samaritans is available 24 hours a day for anyone struggling to cope and provide a safe place to talk. Phone: 116 123 or visit the Samaritans website: samaritans.org
And which is likeliest – a white Christmas or a white Easter? More or Less addresses a question first raised on BBC Radio 4’s The Unbelievable Truth.
Producer: Ruth Alexander
(image: a young woman suffering from domestic violence stands alone in the bay window of her home. Credit: In Pictures Ltd./Corbis/Getty Images)
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m00025fy)
Hugh McIlvanney, Jennie Buckman, John Beavis, David Pritchard
Pictured: Hugh McIlvanney
Matthew Bannister on
Hugh McIlvanney, the respected sports writer known for his love of language and combative approach to life.
Jennie Buckman, the theatre practitioner who trained a generation of famous actors and founded a company to give voice to the disadvantaged.
John Beavis, the surgeon who was forced to retire from the NHS through ill health but then spent the next 25 years training medical professionals in war zones around the world.
And David Pritchard, the TV producer who created mould-breaking food programmes featuring Keith Floyd and Rick Stein.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Roddy Forsyth
Interviewed guest: Sir Michael Parkinson
Interviewed guest: Tess Woodcraft
Interviewed guest: Adrian Lester
Interviewed guest: Colin Green
Interviewed guest: Tom Jaine
Archive clips from: Life Behind the News, Radio Scotland 18/01/2009; The Final Curtain, Radio Wales 28/08/2004; Today, Radio 4 14/09/1993; Giants Vlog, Tips for Actors, 23/10/2017; Jennie Buckman’s Beginnings Workshop, 18/06/2012; Westway, BBC World Service 03/04/2000; Piece of Silk by Jennie Buckman, The Hope Theatre, Giants Theatre Co 08/07/2016; Midweek, Radio 4 19/05/2010; Midweek, Radio 4 27/05/2009; Floyd’s American Pie: San Francisco, BBC Two 14/11/1989; The Food Programme, Radio 4 01/06/2015; Rick Stein’s Taste of the Sea, BBC Two 1995.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m00026j4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m00026gr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (m00025d6)
Colombia's Coffee Revolutions
Can the fashion for high-end coffee save Colombia’s struggling farmers? It’s not been easy growing coffee in recent decades in Colombia, where rural life has been dominated by the conflict between guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers. Now, two years on from the historic peace deal here, how is business benefiting? And with global market prices not even covering growers’ costs, could the trend for coffee with a story come to growers’ rescue?
Presenter: Simon Maybin
Producer: Karenina Velandia
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m00026j6)
Preview of the week's politics with politicians, pundits and experts.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m00025cn)
Vice
With Francine Stock
In a special edition called Moving Image, Francine Stock talks to writer/director Adam McKay about the cinematic influences on his political drama Vice, which received eight Oscar nominations this week. He reveals what former Vice President of the USA Dick Cheney thought of Christian Bale's portrayal of him, complete with fat suit.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (m00027hl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 28 JANUARY 2019
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m00026j8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m000254f)
The changing middle classes
The global middle classes: How is the middle class expanding, changing or shrinking in different contexts? Laurie Taylor looks at the rise of the Chinese middle class, as well as the evolution of the African American middle class. He's joined by Bart Landry, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland and Ying Miao, Lecturer in Politics at Aston University.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m00026jb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00026jd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00026jg)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00026jj)
The latest shipping forecast
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m00026jl)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00026jn)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue
Good Morning
It’s been long known that most people’s earliest memories only go back to about age 3 and it was Freud who coined the term “childhood amnesia” to describe this loss of memory from the infant years.
And yet, Jewish tradition calls on us to remember the Revelation at Sinai - an event that took place over 3000 years ago.
This imperative is recorded in Deuteronomy: “Be careful and guard yourself so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen, so that they will not leave your hearts all the days of your life.”
But how can anyone be expected to remember something that took place so long ago and at which they weren’t even present?
The key to this is to be found in the very next verse that says: “Teach them to your children and your children’s children.”
The best way to ensure something isn’t forgotten is to impart our knowledge of it to young, fresh minds.
This isn’t about information, today, for facts everyone relies on their favourite search engine, but this is about something much more important, it’s about identity - who we are, our heritage - the ideals and values that we live our life by.
If they’re truly important to us then we must teach them to our children so the next generation has a clear understanding of their origins.
Societies change, fashions change but values are eternal.
So let’s pray that we remember what our parents taught us.
Let’s remember to hold on to those memories.
And let’s teach those ideals and values to our children.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m00026jq)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
MON 05:56 Weather (m00026js)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dww4v)
Bar-tailed Godwit
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games presents the Bar-tailed Godwit. Bar-tailed godwits are waders which occur around the globe and are now known to make the longest non-stop journey of any migratory bird.
MON 06:00 Today (m00026wq)
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m00026ws)
The health of science
There is nothing new for chemistry to discover, says Bernie Bulkin. In Solving Chemistry: A Scientist's Journey, the former Head of Science at BP argues that an unprecedented event has happened: a branch of science has made all the major discoveries it is likely to make. He tells Tom Sutcliffe what this means for chemistry - and for science more broadly.
Medicine is in the midst of 'a biomedical revolution' says Professor Sir Robert Lechler. His own field of kidney transplants has been transformed by our new understanding of the immune system. He has helped to curate Spare Parts, an exhibition at the Science Gallery that poses the question: how many transplants could we have before we were no longer ourselves?
Elizabeth Pisani has watched interest in different diseases rise and fall. As an epidemiologist she charts the impact that press attention and public grants have on medical research, with some becoming fashionable while in others treatments lag behind. And she warns that scientists too often fail to take account of the human context when delivering medicines.
Astrophysicist Jo Dunkley assesses our understanding of the universe in a concise new guide. But the universe is 85% dark matter - and we still know very little about this. She draws attention to the brilliant female scientists who contributed to breakthroughs in physics, but whose contributions have been forgotten along the way.
Picture: Big Heart Data by Gareth McKee, part of Spare Parts at the Science Gallery
Producer: Hannah Sander
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (m00026wv)
Silence
Episode 1
“We live in the age of noise. Silence is almost extinct.”
Philosopher and adventurer Erling Kagge, the first person to reach the ‘three poles’ of North, South and the summit of Everest, explores the power of silence. In this insightful analysis he asks why we need it, how we lost it and where we might go to find it again.
Read by Cal MacAninch
Abridged and produced by Eilidh McCreadie
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00026wy)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
MON 10:45 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (b06pbxjr)
Series 2
Lorna's Holiday
by Jenny Eclair
Lorna ..... Lesley Sharp
As Lorna recuperates in a five star hotel in Dubrovnik she acidly observes the two families staying in the villa next door, but what she sees threatens her own future as well as theirs.
Producer, Sally Avens
MON 11:00 The Untold (m00026x0)
Don't Take My Masala
Shaish Alam's restaurant was once the top rated take away and curry restaurant in Wales. He'd won loads of awards, and appeared on national telly, demonstrating his home grown approach to cooking curry. In September 2017, everything changed, when he was found to be employing four staff who did not have the right to work in in the UK. It wasn't the first time - but with unpaid fines amounting to more than £70,000, this time the authorities came down much harder.
Now, he says he can't get more staff to help in the kitchen and he would have to pay a salary of £30,000 to bring anyone over - which he says he can't afford. He comes up with another solution. He decides to slash his menu to make it possible for him to do the cooking himself. His team are up in arms - they think you can't say no to customers, and they say curry menus must be extensive because that's what British people want. Shaish says they've been catering to the public's every demand for too long, and things must change. But how will this Welsh town respond to the prospect of having their favourite curries taken away?
MON 11:30 Prepper (m00026x2)
Series 1
Bugging Out
Comedy with Sue Johnston and Pearl Mackie.
Trump. ISIS. The Courgette Crisis. Signs of civilisation’s fragility are all around. No wonder the Doomsday Clock just nudged closer to midnight. In this fearscape, more and more ordinary people are wondering how they’d cope if everything we take for granted (law and order, access to healthcare, iceberg lettuces in Sainsburys) was taken away.
Preppers - a large and rapidly growing global community - have taken this thought one step further. They’re actively skilling-up, laying down supplies and readying themselves for the end of the world, in whatever form it comes. Indeed, a prepping shop just opened in Newquay. And if people in Cornwall are prepping, it’s time to worry.
Imagine if Woman’s Hour made a podcast about preparing for the end times. Prepper follows neurotic, debt-ridden Rachel and hard-as-nails ‘Churchill in Spanx’ Sylvia, working class Mancunians who prep and podcast, sharing knowledge with their community, and showing off just how Armageddon-ready they are.
Told through their podcasts from Sylvia’s garage and featuring ‘apoco-tips’, ‘end of days drills’ and interviews with preppers from around the world, Prepper comically explores how two mismatched women live with the possibility of the end of days, and how they bond over their determination to survive. And fend off zombies.
Cast:
Sylvia ..... Sue Johnston
Rachel ..... Pearl Mackie
Calhoun ..... Simon Holland Roberts
Written by Caroline Moran and James J. Moran
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:00 News Summary (m00026x6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04yb2x4)
What Makes Us Human?
A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices.
Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking What makes us human?
Helping him answer it are philosopher Barry Smith, classicist Catharine Edwards, historian Simon Schaffer and theologian Giles Fraser.
For the rest of the week Barry, Catharine, Simon and Giles will take us further into the history of ideas about being human with programmes of their own. Between them they will examine the evolution of language, the Stoic philosopher Seneca, the classification of all living species, the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the film Bladerunner.
MON 12:15 You and Yours (m00026x8)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
MON 12:57 Weather (m00026xb)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (m00026xd)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
MON 13:45 Full Circle (m00026xg)
Joe and Jus
La Ronde, written by dramatist Arthur Schnitzler is a play about sexual morality between social groups, explored through a prism of infidelity, lust and desire. Considered a very controversial work it was censored and banned as soon as it was printed in 1900. Although provocative the dramatic structure of the play is simple. It’s a succession of 10 sexual encounters exclusively focused on the before and the after; the act itself is never described. Each successive scene takes one character from the previous one and introduces another.
In the style of the play La Ronde, Julien Manuguerra, who produces a podcast about breakups and more largely, our common and very humane vulnerability in the face of love, explores how intimacy and morality are evolving today. The series draws a picture of what modern love is – or rather, what modern love can be. The original La Ronde was considered a social commentary master piece on how sexual contact transgresses boundaries of class, our radio version of the play will explore how sex can transgress any boundaries. But it's not a play, there won’t be any actors or actresses. Our characters are real, and they’re all linked to one another; always by sex, sometimes by love, sometimes by something in between. They’ll tell us about their inner emotional experiences of desire and connection and hopefully, this time too, our Round of Dance will go Full circle.
Joe and Jus have created a unique and modern way to be together; it involves giving each other the freedom to have sex with other people; its what's commonly called an open relationship. But Julien discovers that love without boundaries comes with insecurities.
Presented by Julien Manuguerra
Produced by Kate Bissell
MON 14:00 The Archers (m00026hz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Dangerous Visions (m00026xk)
A Border Fantasy
Radio 4 drama
MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz (m00026xm)
Programme 5, 2019
(5/12)
The Midlands take on the North of England in this week's cryptic contest. Both teams won their first match of the season and they'll both be aiming to build on those victories today. Stephen Maddock and Elizabeth-Jane Burnett represent the Midlands, with Adele Geras and Stuart Maconie playing for the North. They'll need their mental filing systems to be easily accessible, as they face puzzles such as:
Who might have made carvings of the man who covered Tulane, Gillian and her blasphemous teddy bear, and a philatelist?
Tom Sutcliffe provides gentle nudges, raised eyebrows and heavy hints where required - but the heavier the hints, the fewer points he'll be awarding.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m00026hb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 The Sympathy of Things (m0001188)
Part 2
Turner Prize-winning architectural collective Assemble explore the designed and manufactured world. In this second episode of a two-part series, they argue that the advent of digital technologies will upend the way we relate to the material world, but not in the way we think.
Computers have so radically dematerialised our access to information, that it's easy to forget the amount of material infrastructure they rely on. From data centres and transatlantic cables to uranium mines, digital technologies have scored deep and lasting marks right across the surface of the earth.
But if we find it hard to remember the physical impact of existing digital technologies, we haven’t even started to think about how digital production will change the ways that we design, make and occupy the rest of the material world. Together with friends, accomplices and collaborators, Assemble argue that the technologies we grow up with structure how we think. They visit designers and manufacturers who are starting to exploit and explore the social, economic and material changes these new technologies will bring.
Together, these two programmes make an argument for observing our material world better, and for understanding the way that we make objects, and that objects, in turn, make us.
Producers: Sean Glynn and David Waters
AN SPG production for BBC Radio 4
MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m00026xq)
Series 19
Are Humans Still Evolving?
Are humans still evolving?
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian and author David Baddiel, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics Aoife McLysaght, and geneticist and broadcaster Adam Rutherford to ask whether human beings are still evolving? Has the invention of modern medicine, and technology meant that survival of the fittest is a thing of the past or are humans evolving new adaptations that will help us cope and survive better in our ever changing world (better thumbs for texting anyone?). If evolution happens over 1000's of years, could we even tell if we were evolving as a species, or have humans reached peak human?
Producer: Alexandra Feachem
MON 17:00 PM (m00026xs)
PM at
5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00026xv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m00026xx)
Series 21
Episode 6
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Henning Wehn, Lou Sanders, Zoe Lyons and Lloyd Langford are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as the Houses of Parliament, wolves, trains and punishments.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m00026xz)
Lexi is guilt ridden and Helen looks to the future
MON 19:15 Front Row (m00026y1)
Germaine Greer
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b099xhml)
How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me
Episode 1
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Kieran Hodgson returns as Pliny the Younger, with Nigel Barrett as his trusty slave, Venta, who was captured during the Roman conquest of Britain. Based on real events in first century Rome.
The Emperor Domitian rules Rome with a rod of iron, and is dangerously unstable and paranoid. There are spies everywhere. Venta, Pliny, his mother Marcella, and Doris the Greek cook will have to have all their wits about them if they are to prevail.
As a teenager Pliny witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius from his home across the bay. Many years later, following a request from his uncle Tacitus who is an historian, he takes time off from being a lawyer to travel to Pompeii and Herculaneum where he hopes to find out what happened to his uncle, Pliny the Elder, who died in the eruption. But upon returning to his villa outside Rome, he finds a letter from the Emperor which throws the whole household into a panic.
By Hattie Naylor.
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
MON 20:00 Uncle Sam and the Ayatollah (m00026y3)
Forty years on from the Iranian revolution, the BBC’s former Tehran correspondent Jim Muir investigates secret contacts between the Americans and Ayatollah Khomeini in Paris.
On 1 February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini staged a triumphant return to Iran after 14 years away. He flew home from France, where he had spent the last few months of his exile, arriving in Tehran to a tumultuous welcome from wildly cheering crowds estimated at several million. The Islamic revolution had arrived, to stay.
Just two weeks earlier, after months of violent protests against his government, the Shah of Iran had finally given up and had fled the country. The Iranian army, with its US-trained officers still largely loyal to the Shah but its rank and file divided in their loyalties, hesitated to oppose Khomeini and his mass of fervent followers. Conventional wisdom has it that the US was scrabbling desperately to save the Shah, and that his overthrow set the two countries irrevocably on a collision course - the Great Satan versus the Axis of Evil.
But it wasn't quite that simple. Recently declassified diplomatic documents show that, in the dramatic few weeks before the Ayatollah's return, his entourage in France was engaged in an intensive flurry of secret contacts with the Americans even as the Shah was leaving Tehran. Khomeini wanted, above all, assurances that the US would not use its undoubted influence with the Iranian army to stand against him. For their part, the Americans wanted to know how they and their interests would fare under an Islamic republic.
Jim Muir, introduces us to key players on both sides. Through interviews with former officials from the State department and the White House, members of the Ayatollah’s circle, and diplomatic cables, we see how the Americans reassured the Ayatollah that they would not necessarily oppose a change of government in Iran. In return, the US received assurances from the Iranian revolutionaries that an Islamic Republic would keep the oil flowing, and would keep Soviet influence out.
It would be open to friendly relations provided the Americans refrained from interfering, and conversely, it would refrain from trying to export its revolution in the region. The Americans were clearly hoping to broker an understanding between the Iranian army and the revolutionaries.
But it was not to be.
Ayatollah Khomeini was allowed to return - there had been fears his plane might even be shot down. But, within days, the army commander had been killed and four top generals executed. The Islamic revolution swept all before it, and moderate, nationalist or leftist elements were forced out.
There were hopes raised by secret talks in France that the US might somehow stay on friendly terms with the Islamic Republic, but they faded as events took an increasingly radical turn. President Carter's reluctant decision to take in the cancer-stricken Shah for weeks of medical treatment prompted radical revolutionaries to take over the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979, triggering a hostage crisis that lasted 444 days - and creating a breach that has continued to this day.
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4
MON 20:30 Analysis (m00026y5)
The War for Normal
We live in a world where everyone is trying to manipulate everyone else, where social media has opened up the floodgates for a mayhem of influence. And the one thing all the new propagandists have in common is the idea that to really get to someone you have to not just spin or nudge or persuade them, but transform the way they think about the world, the language and concepts they have to make sense of things.
Peter Pomerantsev, author of an acclaimed book on the media in Putin's Russia, examines where this strategy began, how it is being exploited, the people caught in the middle, and the researchers trying to combat it. Because it is no longer just at the ‘fringes’ where this is happening – it is now a part of mainstream political life.
Producer: Ant Adeane
MON 21:00 The Romanian Wave (m000255y)
Romanians are the second largest foreign nationality in the UK. Nigel Farage once said he "would not like to live next door to Romanians." But now they work in the NHS, teach in our universities, pick fruit on our farms and wash our cars. Yet sensational headlines have described them as "criminal gangs" and "begging Roma."
Tessa Dunlop, a Romania-phile historian, uncovers a misunderstood, multi-layered immigrant community and asks why so many now call Britain home.
The UK has a surprising historic link with Romania. 100 years ago, the British-born monarch, Queen Marie of Romania emerged as a big winner from the post WWI settlement, with her country doubling in size. As Romania celebrates this centenary back home, 30% of its workforce now live overseas, with nearly half a million in the UK. Arguably, their arrival in the UK was an important factor in the Brexit result.
Tessa meets medical staff who treated her in hospital, fruit pickers, academics and those working below the minimum wage, to understand more about this community what keeps them here and what stops them from going home.
Presenter: Tessa Dunlop
Producer: Simona Rata
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m00026ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m00026y8)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (m00026yb)
Rabbit at Rest
Episode 1
John Updike’s fourth novel about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom.
It's the end of the 1980s and Harry has acquired a Florida condo, a second grandchild, and a troubled, overworked heart - not to mention a troubled underworking son. As Reagan’s debt-ridden, AIDS-panicked America yields to that of the first George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age - looking for reasons to live and opportunities to make peace with a remorselessly accumulating past.
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991, the second "Rabbit" novel to garner that award.
Reader: Toby Jones
Abridger: Eileen Horne
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (m000256g)
Demystifying the language of the courtroom
Family law barrister and chair of The Transparency Project Lucy Reed talks to Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright about the language of the courtroom and how to make family justice clearer.
Producer Sally Heaven
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m00026yf)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
TUESDAY 29 JANUARY 2019
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m00026yh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (m00026wv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00026yk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00026ym)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00026yp)
The latest shipping forecast
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m00026yr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00026yt)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue
Good morning
It was John F. Kennedy who said: “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
A feature of the human condition is that we’re much quicker to forget the good that other people have done for us than we are to forgive those who’ve wronged us.
We seem to possess selective memory as we unconsciously choose to remember what we want to and forget the rest.
But is this the healthiest way to live our lives?
You see everybody makes mistakes, to paraphrase King Solomon, no-one is totally righteous only doing good and never sinning, and if we want other people to forgive us, then we also have to be prepared to forgive them.
Of course, just as we’re entitled to physically protect ourselves against those who seek to harm us, so too we have every right to avoid those who threaten our emotional wellbeing -never forgetting the names of those who’ve hurt us in the past.
But bearing a grudge or taking revenge has the potential to cause us greater psychological damage than it will inflict on our intended target.
And so here’s a little exercise that may help us to maintain the correct perspective.
Whenever someone upsets you, try to recall a moment when they made you happy.
Whenever someone hinders you, try to recall a moment when they helped you.
And if you can’t think of anything positive to counterbalance what one person did to you then think of how someone else has.
And so let’s pray that we’re be quicker to forget when someone has wronged us.
Let’s be quicker to forgive someone who’s upset us.
And let’s be quicker to remember the good others have done for us.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m00026yw)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkt7v)
Firecrest
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Firecrest. Firecrests are very small birds, a mere nine centimetres long and are often confused with their much commoner cousins, goldcrests. Both have the brilliant orange or yellow crown feathers, but the firecrest embellishes these with black eyestripes, dazzling white eyebrows and golden patches on the sides of its neck ... a jewel of a bird.
TUE 06:00 Today (m00027md)
News and current affairs programme, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Long View (m00027mg)
Elon Musk's Hyperloop and Brunel's Atmospheric Traction Rail
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of pioneering invention and the trials and tribulations thereof in the form of Elon Musk's Hyperloop and Isambard Brunel's Atmospheric Rail system.
Both men were driven and capable of challenging accepted engineering norms but in their two rail systems they struggled to make a break through. Elon Musk believes that his Hyperloop system can shoot passengers at breakneck speed through a vacuum tube, cutting journey times and revolutionising rail travel. Ever the coy publicist he refers to his Hyperloop as the "fifth mode of transport" after road, rail, sea and air.
Brunel was convinced that steam wasn't the only way of providing cheap, efficient mass transport. Using a sealed tube in the centre of the rails to deliver vacuum propulsion, his system ran on a 20-mile section of track between Exeter and Newton Abbot and was a match for the speeds available to the best steam trains of the day.
But both systems have proved more than challenging and in Brunel's case the challenges became insurmountable and the inventor's appetite for new adventures saw it fall quickly into disuse. How will Elon Musk's plans mature?
Historian Colin Divall is on hand to help tell the parallel stories of these two men and their transport dreams.
Producer: Tom Alban
TUE 09:30 One to One (b03w03fy)
City Women and Motherhood
Andrea Catherwood decided to give up her career as a foreign correspondent after she had her first child as leaving him for weeks or months at a time to report from the frontline was something she felt she wasn't able to do. Instead she moved into presenting the news.
Last month Nigel Farage said controversially that if women in the City were prepared to sacrifice family life they could do just as well as men.
But there are now a number of senior City women who do combine their careers with motherhood. Charlotte Crosswell is Chief Executive Officer of the trading derivatives platform of NASDAQ in London and a mother of one, so how does she make it work ?
This programme was first broadcast in 2014 and Charlotte Crosswell is now the current CEO of Innovative Finance.
The producer is Perminder Khatkar.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (m00027mj)
Silence
Episode 2
“We live in the age of noise. Silence is almost extinct.”
Philosopher and adventurer Erling Kagge, the first person to reach the ‘three poles’ of North, South and the summit of Everest, explores the power of silence. Struck by a vague angst about his constant need for distraction and reluctance to hold still for a single moment, the explorer asks how we lost silence and where we might go to find it again.
Read by Cal MacAninch
Abridged and produced by Eilidh McCreadie
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00027ml)
Your experience of feeding your baby.
We unveil the findings of a poll we commissioned alongside BBC Radio Sheffield looking at the factors affecting how you feed your baby.
Presenter Jenni Murray
Producer Beverley Purcell
TUE 10:45 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (b06pxm4k)
Series 2
Christine Paints
by Jenny Eclair
Christine ..... Rosie Cavaliero
When Christine and Tony move to the country so Tony can write. Christine takes up watercolours and soon finds inspiration can be found in the most unexpected places and with surprising consequences.
Producer, Sally Avens
TUE 11:00 Pausing Puberty (m00027mp)
Britt Wray investigates the drugs used to delay puberty in children questioning their gender.
A growing number of children in Britain are being seen by the NHS Gender Identity Development Service. Referrals have increased from just over 200 in 2011/12 to nearly 2000 in 2016/17.
The question of why so many children are struggling with gender identity, and how society should react, arouses strong emotions and heated debate but, in this programme, scientist Britt Wray leaves those questions aside and examines what is known about one of the medical options used to treat gender dysphoria in children - hormone blockers.
Hormone blockers are drugs that act on the pituitary gland, preventing the production of oestrogen and testosterone - effectively putting puberty on hold. They are the only medical intervention that is supported by the NHS for use in children under 16 and allow pause for thought before hormones cause permanent and irreversible bodily changes.
The blocker is a physically reversible intervention - if the young person stops taking it, their body will continue to develop as it was previously. However, puberty is a vital time of physical, emotional, and psychological growth and little is known about the full effects of interrupting that. And there are questions about the impact of taking the drugs over a prolonged period.
Scientist Britt Wray talks to parents and doctors about the difficulties of weighing up the risks of taking – or not taking – hormone blockers in the face of so little scientific data. And how they navigate the responsibility of making these decisions with a child who is still below the legal age of informed consent.
Producer: Emma Barnaby
Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:30 The Art of Now (m0000m89)
Nick Danziger's Shutter Stories
Award winning photographer Nick Danziger revisits Armenia to see if a pilot project started by the Red Cross can help thousands of isolated elderly people.
Over the centuries, the former Soviet Republic of Armenia has often been at the centre of many geo-political upheavals - and earlier this year, after weeks of peaceful protests against political corruption and cronyism, it’s clear that upheaval still exists today. But as Armenia goes through yet another political transition, it’s the elderly who are left struggling to cope.
Nick Danziger is a passionate advocate for human rights and development, documenting the lives of those who are not being reached by development projects and where basic services and essential infrastructure doesn’t exist or doesn’t work. Armenia is one such place and somewhere Nick has been to many times.
He returns to Armenia to catch up with a pilot project he first became involved with over a year ago. The project was started by the Red Cross in order to try and help the thousands of isolated elderly people who are struggling to survive – coping in temperatures of -30 in the winter and unable to afford food and medicine on their tiny pensions. Often they are living in buildings without heating or running water - the result of a devastating earthquake over 30 years ago - and, because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the buildings have been left in a state of disrepair.
With young people leaving the country to find work abroad, many elderly people lack the support of children or close family members and are struggling to survive. Is this project managing to make a difference to their lives?
Producer: Angela Hind
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m00027mr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04yftl3)
Simon Schaffer on humans, apes and Carl Linnaeus
Simon Schaffer is interested in the human species in general and one member of it in particular. Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist and zoologist who set out the basic structure of how we name and understand life on earth. In doing so he broached the thorny question of where humans should sit among the species of the earth. A hundred years before Darwin he correctly placed us among the apes. Simon examines that relationship to see the things that mark our similarities and our differences. Simon comes face to face with 'Jock', an adult Gorilla at Bristol Zoo and talks to Prof. Robert Foley about human evolution. He also sees how Linnaeus' ideas were used to support racial science. After all if humans were more like apes perhaps some humans were more like apes than others.
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (m00027mt)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
TUE 12:57 Weather (m00027mw)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (m00027my)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 Full Circle (m00027n0)
Joe, Jus and Jordan
La Ronde, written by dramatist Arthur Schnitzler is a play about sexual morality between social groups, explored through a prism of infidelity, lust and desire. Considered a very controversial work it was censored and banned as soon as it was printed in 1900. Although provocative the dramatic structure of the play is simple. It’s a succession of 10 sexual encounters exclusively focused on the before and the after; the act itself is never described. Each successive scene takes one character from the previous one and introduces another.
In the style of the play La Ronde, Julien Manuguerra, who produces a podcast about breakups and more largely, our common and very humane vulnerability in the face of love, explores how intimacy and morality are evolving today. The series draws a picture of what modern love is – or rather, what modern love can be. The original La Ronde was considered a social commentary master piece on how sexual contact transgresses boundaries of class, our radio version of the play will explore how sex can transgress any boundaries. But it's not a play, there won’t be any actors or actresses. Our characters are real, and they’re all linked to one another; always by sex, sometimes by love, sometimes by something in between. They’ll tell us about their inner emotional experiences of desire and connection and hopefully, this time too, our Round of Dance will go Full circle.
In this episode we stay with Joe from our previous episode and instead of moving on to his next one to one encounter we move on to his next two to one encounter. Joe's partner Jus is still in the scene but we introduce Jordan.
Presented by Julien Manuguerra
Produced by Kate Bissell
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m00026xz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (m00027n2)
Chopsticks
Chopsticks
Joanne and Pauline were teenage bridesmaids when they first fell in love. Twenty years later, they're Joel and Blaise. In discovering their sexual and gender identities, can the couple still find their love for each other?
JOEL .... Jason Barker
BLAISE .... Tigger Blaize
LINDA .... Christine Cox
Written by Jason Barker and Ellie Kendrick
Directed by Charlotte Riches
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m00026l2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 Making History (m00027n4)
Popular history series where the past connects with the present.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m00027n6)
Solving crime with forensic linguistics
Dr John Olsson talks to Michael Rosen about how he uses forensic linguistics, specifically authorship analysis, to solve crimes including murder, false witness and hate mail. What he does is work out who actually wrote a text, email or letter..
Producer Beth O'Dea
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m00027n8)
Scarlett Curtis and Catherine Bohart
Writer and activist Scarlett Curtis and comedian Catherine Bohart talk about the books they love with Harriett Gilbert. These are The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, Milkman by Anna Burns and Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.
Producer Beth O'Dea
TUE 17:00 PM (m00027nb)
PM at
5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00027nd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Love in Recovery (m00027ng)
Series 3
Making Plans
Third series of the award-nominated comedy drama set in Alcoholics Anonymous. Written by Pete Jackson and inspired by his own road to recovery. Stars Rebecca Front, John Hannah, Sue Johnston, Paul Kaye and Johnny Vegas.
Love in Recovery follows the lives of five very different recovering alcoholics. Johnny Vegas is Andy, the sweet but simple self-appointed group leader. Sue Johnston plays straight talking Julie, who's been known to have the odd relapse here and there - and everywhere. Rebecca Front is the snobby and spiky Fiona, an ex-banker who had it all and then lost the lot. John Hannah is Simon, a snide journalist who’s not an alcoholic – he got caught drink driving, his boss made him attend the meeting, but he fell in love with Fiona and stayed. And, despite her best efforts, she fell in love with him too. Paul Kaye is Danno, a down and out two-bit chancer with a shady past but a lot of heart, who’s desperate to turn his life around.
As we follow their weekly meetings, we hear them moan, argue, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and, most importantly, tell their stories.
In episode five, talk turns to weddings. What’s it like to go to a wedding as a recovering alcoholic? As usual, the answers are far from simple and the experiences of the group couldn’t be more different.
Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as most people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.
Love in Recovery doesn’t seek to represent an AA meeting exactly as it might happen in real life, but to capture the funny stories, the sad stories, the stories of small victories and of huge milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and most importantly, the many highs and lows in the journey of recovery.
Cast:
Fiona….. Rebecca Front
Simon….. John Hannah
Julie….. Sue Johnston
Danno….. Paul Kaye
Andy..... Johnny Vegas
Written and created by Pete Jackson
Producer/Director: Ben Worsfield
A King Bert production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m00027nj)
Jolene takes the initiative and Kirsty feels unsettled by recent events
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m00027nl)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b099yclq)
How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me
Episode 2
Pliny has been commanded by Emperor Domitian to hold a banquet for General Agricola who has recently returned from a successful conquest of Britain. The feast will take place at Pliny's villa outside Rome. But all is not what it seems. The Emperor is a jealous man and Pliny becomes suspicious when he sends one of his personal slaves to oversee the menu. By Hattie Naylor
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m00027nn)
Inside the World of the Class A Student
Tom Wright investigates the normalisation of drug taking amongst Britain’s students. A recent graduate, he says Class A drugs like MDMA are bought and sold with impunity by students across the country. The student bubble, like a music festival, has become an almost decriminalised space - where the chances of getting caught are perceived to be almost non-existent. Drug dealers brazenly target student areas, handing out business cards with a la carte menus of Class A and B drugs.
Unlike music festivals, where on-site drug testing is rapidly becoming the norm, universities do little to engage with harm reduction. Those that do risk widespread criticism for ‘normalising’ drug taking. Meanwhile Universities proclaim "zero tolerance" drugs policies and the police say they have neither the resources or the inclination to punish casual drug use.
Tom Wright investigates whether universities are doing enough to help their students and asks, could campus drug testing help keep our students safe?
Presenter: Tom Wright
Producer: Anna Meisel
Editor: Andrew Smith
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m00027nq)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m00027ns)
Dr Mark Porter goes on a weekly quest to demystify the health issues that perplex us.
TUE 21:30 The Long View (m00027mg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m00027nv)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (m00027nx)
Rabbit at Rest
Episode 2
John Updike’s fourth novel about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom.
It's the end of the 1980s and Harry has acquired a Florida condo, a second grandchild, and a troubled, overworked heart - not to mention a troubled underworking son. As Reagan’s debt-ridden, AIDS-panicked America yields to that of the first George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age - looking for reasons to live and opportunities to make peace with a remorselessly accumulating past.
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991, the second "Rabbit" novel to garner that award.
Reader: Toby Jones
Abridger: Eileen Horne
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m00026xq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Monday]
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m00027nz)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
WEDNESDAY 30 JANUARY 2019
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m00027p1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (m00027mj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00027p3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00027p5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00027p7)
The latest shipping forecast
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m00027p9)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00027pc)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue
Good Morning
In the 19th century lived a saintly rabbi. Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan - widely known, as was common, by the name of his seminal work the Chofetz Chaim - its subject matter the Biblical laws of gossip and slander (known in Hebrew as Lashon Hara, literally meaning "Evil tongue").
Now this may seem an abstruse concept for us, fed as we are, a constant gluttony of chatter about other people’s lives on social media, reality shows and newspaper gossip columns. But the Chofetz Chaim reminds us that speaking disparagingly about other people, even if it’s true, damages three people simultaneously - the person being spoken about - that’s obvious as it’s their reputation being besmirched. The Japanese have a term that describes very well what happens when a person's reputation is damaged: The person is said to have "lost face," as if they no longer exist.
But gossip also negatively affects the person who’s listening to it and the person saying it - the former because they become desensitised to the feelings of another and the latter since they’re opinion of another has diminished unfairly.
The title of the work is taken from the Book of Psalms, that poses the question: “Who is the man heChafetz Chaim - who desires life, who loves days to see good?
And it answers: “Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully. Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.
If we truly loved life rather than speaking unfavourably about other people we’d always look for the good in them. And so let’s pray that we remember that just as our world was created with words we have the ability to destroy someone’s world with our words. Let’s always remember to choose our words carefully
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m00027pf)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04dvrcj)
Australian Magpie
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents the Australian magpie. These large pibald birds with pickaxe bills reminded early settlers of the more familiar European magpie, but in fact they are not crows at all. Australian magpies have melodious voices which can range over four octaves in a chorus of squeaks, yodels and whistles. Pairs or larger groups of magpies take part in a behaviour known as carolling, a harmony of rich fluting calls which marks their territories and helps to cement relationships between the birds.
WED 06:00 Today (m0002811)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Only Artists (m0002813)
Series 7
Richard Long meets Nitin Sawhney
The sculptor and land artist Richard Long meets the musician, composer and producer Nitin Sawhney.
Richard Long is one of Britain's best known land artists: using natural materials such as soil, rocks, water and vegetation in works sited in rural landscapes. He lives and works in Bristol, the city of his birth and has been shortlisted four times for the Turner Prize.
Nitin Sawhney is a musician, instrumentalist, composer and producer with over 20 studio albums to his name. He writes music for film, videogames, dance and theatre and received the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017.
Producer: Clare Walker
WED 09:30 Hacking Happiness (b0b9zfwx)
Beyond Happiness
Are we pursuing happiness, or is the happiness industry pursuing us? And if our model of hedonism isn't working, how do we hack our happiness back? Leo Johnson goes on a year-long journey to pick up life lessons of happiness from modern day practitioners of radically different philosophies.
It's a journey that takes us from Yorkshire's anti-fracking grannies to the slow footballing Vietnamese monks of Plum Village, from self-cutting poets to the Chief Happiness Officers Convention in Paris, from London's asexual community to multi-orgasmic Swedish academics, and from World Champion Muay Thai women kick-boxers to Elvis-loving dementia sufferers.
What emerges is a set of starkly competing visions of the good life - ancient philosophies still duking it out to get punched in as the destination in our psychic Sat Navs.
What we meet is a set of individuals who have questioned the default comforts of the IKEA catalogue, defined the shape of the self, and chosen lives that give us a glimpse of how each of us can reclaim peace, reclaim purpose, reclaim pain, and reclaim pleasure - the real pleasure that hedonism promised.
Episode 4: Beyond Happiness
What if happiness isn't about the self at all?
This final programme in the series features environmentalist Eddie Thornton and members of the Kirby Misperton anti-fracking community in Yorkshire, the Breathing Space group for those with dementia and their carers at Hoot Creative Arts in Huddersfield and author, neuroscientist and pleasure supremo, Professor Morten Kringelbach, Fellow of The Queens College, Oxford and founder of the Hedonia Research Group.
A Reel Soul Movies production for BBC Radio 4
Photo: Breathing Space group at Hoot Creative Arts. Copyright Hoot Creative Arts.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (m000284k)
Silence
Episode 3
“We live in the age of noise. Silence is almost extinct.”
Philosopher and adventurer Erling Kagge, the first person to reach the ‘three poles’ of North, South and the summit of Everest, explores the power of silence. The city that never sleeps might seem an unlikely place to seek quiet but there are peaceful pockets to be found – both above and below ground.
Read by Cal MacAninch
Abridged and produced by Eilidh McCreadie
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0002818)
Your experience of feeding your baby
Your experience of feeding your baby. Listeners to Woman's Hour and BBC Radio Sheffield share their experience of breast, bottle or mixed feeding.
Call us on 03700 100 444 Lines open from 0800 on Wednesday morning..
Presenters Jane Garvey and Paulette Edwards
Producer Beverley Purcell
WED 10:41 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (b06qkq9l)
Series 2
Beverley in Shoes
by Jenny Eclair
Beverley ..... Samantha Spiro
Beverley might have once travelled the world but now she prefers watching programmes about baking. Beverley wants security and safety, but why?
Producer, Sally Avens
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (m000281b)
In It together
A couple explore the impact his being 19 years older than her makes on their lives. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
WED 11:00 Uncle Sam and the Ayatollah (m00026y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 Rob Newman (b0bh5hp2)
Rob Newman's Total Eclipse of Descartes
The Inheritance
CORRECTION: In this episode, a quote attributed to the Radio 4 programme Inside Science was in fact broadcast in the 2014 Radio 4 series Intelligence: Born Smart, Born Equal, Born Different.
SYNOPSIS: One of Britain's finest comedians Rob Newman sets his sights on the world of philosophy, unpicking 3000 years of good and bad ideas to discover how we got into this mess. In a world gone mad can philosophy provide the answer?
In episode one, Rob turns the spotlight onto the philosophy of education.
Written and performed by Rob Newman
Edited by John Whitehall
Produced by Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000284m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04ykbjy)
Catharine Edwards on Seneca and facing death.
Catharine Edwards wants to introduce you to the Roman Philosopher Seneca. But he's dying. Towards the end of his life Seneca became interested in the idea that only human beings had foreknowledge of their own death. Animals didn't know and Gods didn't die. This singular piece of knowledge gives human life its meaning as well as its burden. Seneca argued that to liberate yourself from the fear of death was a vital part of life. But did his own famous death live up to his beliefs?
WED 12:15 You and Yours (m000281h)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
WED 12:57 Weather (m000281k)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (m000281m)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 Full Circle (m000281p)
Fox and Sharon
La Ronde, written by dramatist Arthur Schnitzler is a play about sexual morality between social groups, explored through a prism of infidelity, lust and desire. Considered a very controversial work it was censored and banned as soon as it was printed in 1900. Although provocative the dramatic structure of the play is simple. It’s a succession of 10 sexual encounters exclusively focused on the before and the after; the act itself is never described. Each successive scene takes one character from the previous one and introduces another.
In the style of the play La Ronde, Julien Manuguerra, who produces a podcast about breakups and more largely, our common and very humane vulnerability in the face of love, explores how intimacy and morality are evolving today. The series draws a picture of what modern love is – or rather, what modern love can be. The original La Ronde was considered a social commentary master piece on how sexual contact transgresses boundaries of class, our radio version of the play will explore how sex can transgress any boundaries. But it's not a play, there won’t be any actors or actresses. Our characters are real, and they’re all linked to one another; always by sex, sometimes by love, sometimes by something in between. They’ll tell us about their inner emotional experiences of desire and connection and hopefully, this time too, our Round of Dance will go Full circle.
A search for identity is at the core of this third episode and how identity plays an important role within relationships.
Presented by Julien Manuguerra
Produced by Kate Bissell
WED 14:00 The Archers (m00027nj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b04wtzzh)
The Ferryhill Philosophers
A Good Thing for a Good Reason
A rather unlikely duo, they come from two very different worlds, albeit only seven miles apart - Joe Snowball, unemployed ex-miner in a village forgotten by the world, and the Hon. Hermione Pink, slightly disenchanted senior lecturer at the third oldest university in England, an ivory tower almost encircled by the River Wear.
Together, they wrestle with the collision between moral philosophy and the sundry dilemmas encountered by the not-always-good people of Ferryhill, deprived of jobs, opportunities and the kind of ethical guidance once offered by the Methodist Church and the National Union of Mineworkers.
Should a man bent on suicide be stopped - or allowed to do as he wishes? Should one always tell the truth even if it has bad consequences?
The philosophy is thought provoking, the unlikely partnership is intriguing, and the world of Ferryhill is a humorous, engaging and sometimes challenging place to visit.
Cast:
Joe................Alun Armstrong
Hermione......Deborah Findlay
Derek............Joe Caffrey
Gloria............Tracy Whitwell
Lucy...............Lauren Kellegher
Barry.............Jonathan Keeble
Written by Michael Chaplin
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4
WED 15:00 Money Box (m000281r)
Money Box Live - 30/01/2019
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (m00027ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (m000281t)
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000281w)
A topical programme about the fast-changing media world.
WED 17:00 PM (m000281y)
PM at
5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002820)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 ReincarNathan (m0002822)
Series 1
Snail
Nathan Blakely was a popstar, but he died and was reincarnated as a snail. Will he ever make it back to human again? It's Quantum Leap meets Planet Earth meets an idiot. Daniel Rigby, Diane Morgan and Josh Widdicombe star in this new comedy series about the afterlife.
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4
Diane Morgan - Jenny
Daniel Rigby - Nathan
Tom Craine - Tim from next door
Henry Paker - Denis and Waiter
Freya Parker - Susan, Conchita, Dying Snail
Josh Widdicombe - Bert
Writers: Tom Craine and Henry Paker
Producers: Harriet Jaine and Jonno Richards
Music Composed by: Phil Lepherd
WED 19:00 The Archers (m00027y7)
Johnny struggles with an emergency and Elizabeth takes a step forward
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0002826)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b099ylnl)
How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me
Episode 3
General Agricola has just returned from the successful conquest of Britain and Pliny has been commanded by the Emperor Domitian to throw the welcome party. But the Emperor is a jealous man and has sent his personal slave to oversee the preparation of dishes for the feast. When the conquering hero mysteriously falls ill and dies, someone has to pay a heavy price. By Hattie Naylor
A BBC /Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m0002828)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories
WED 20:45 The New Age of Capitalism (b0bjpplg)
South American Socialism
Over the last two decades South America has witnessed a series of large scale economic experiments where countries have introduced their own brand of left wing politics. Dubbed Socialism of the 21st Century its successes and failures are debated by Dr Asa Cusack from the LSE Latin America and Caribbean Centre and Professor Ricardo Hausmann of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. David Grossman tells ten stories which help explain the world of contemporary capitalism.
WED 21:00 The Invention of Free Speech (b090wwsf)
Series 1
Politics
Historian Professor Fara Dabhoiwala explores the origins of free speech by examining key flashpoints in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and hearing extracts from some of the most heated debates from the past 500 years.
The first English law against "false news" was passed in 1275 - and it defined it simply as anything that created "discord between the King and his people". For most of English history, it was illegal to say anything offensive about a superior, or even to discuss politics at all - on pain of imprisonment, flogging, or death. Nowadays, we take the opposite view - free speech is supposed be one of the foundations of our democratic system. And yet the law still prohibits ideas deemed to be extremist.
So how do we decide on the limits of free speech? Faced with ideas that seem politically toxic, what is the right response? How far should governments go?
Contributors include distinguished human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy QC; Professor Karen O'Brien, Professor of English Literature at Oxford University; and Justin Champion, Professor in the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway College, London.
Fara Dabhoiwala is the author of The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution, a history of changing sexual attitudes and behaviour. He is a Senior Research Scholar at Princeton University and a life fellow of All Souls and Exeter College, Oxford. His current projects include a history of free speech and a history of global English.
Presented by Fara Dabhoiwala
Dramatic readings by Emily Bevan, Ewan Bailey, Jonathan Keeble and Oliver Soden
Academic Research by Sally Holloway
Produced by Elizabeth Burke
Executive Producer Jo Coombs
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:30 Only Artists (m0002813)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000282c)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (m000282f)
Rabbit at Rest
Episode 3
John Updike’s fourth novel about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom.
It's the end of the 1980s and Harry has acquired a Florida condo, a second grandchild, and a troubled, overworked heart - not to mention a troubled underworking son. As Reagan’s debt-ridden, AIDS-panicked America yields to that of the first George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age - looking for reasons to live and opportunities to make peace with a remorselessly accumulating past.
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991, the second "Rabbit" novel to garner that award.
Reader: Toby Jones
Abridger: Eileen Horne
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:00 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (m000282h)
Series 5
Greta Doesn't Want to Wait for Godot
by Jenny Eclair
Greta ..... Amelia Bullmore
Produced by Sally Avens.
Greta is Queen Bee of the local Am Dram society so when some members breakaway to form a rival group she is not best pleased. But can their production of Waiting for Godot really rival her latest triumph, Calendar Girls?
WED 23:15 Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Sexuality (b07zztt0)
Is Everything a Spectrum?
Canadian stand-up Mae Martin presents her debut series for BBC Radio 4. Combining wickedly astute social observations with personal references to her own unique upbringing, Mae's taking a funny, personal look at how millennials are transforming the way that society thinks about sexuality and gender.
In this episode Mae's using a very classy title as an excuse for some cathartic storytelling, mostly about her biggest adolescent crush.
Written and performed by Mae Martin.
Script editor: Sarah Campbell
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios Production
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000282l)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
THURSDAY 31 JANUARY 2019
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000282q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (m000284k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000282v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000282z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002833)
The latest shipping forecast
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0002837)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000283c)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue
Good morning
I sometimes wonder why they make beds so comfortable and duvets so warm and cosy? Just imagine if they weren’t, how much easier it would be to get up in the morning especially on these cold, dark, winter days.
The very first teaching in the Code of Jewish Law is that we should strengthen ourselves like a lion in the morning to get out of bed. Now this is somewhat surprising because I vividly remember as I child going to safari parks and being very excited to see the lions - the kings of the jungle - only to be invariably disappointed as they didn’t do anything except to lay around sleeping . But if you’re there at feeding time, these previously soporose creatures burst into life and display tremendous alacrity in securing their meal just as they would turn on the speed to capture their prey in the wild.
Perhaps that’s the attitude we’re meant to channel in the morning, awaken our inner lion to start the day with energy and enthusiasm as if we’re on a mission of great importance
If that’s not possible every day, how about imagining that a lion is actually in our bed, then we’d definitely be quick to jump out of it.
Every morning when I get up I say a short prayer thanking G-d, in His great kindness, for having restored my soul to my body and having faith in me. Because when we appreciate that life is a gift and it’s entrusted to us so that we can achieve what we’re capable of then that’s a tremendous motivation for getting up in the morning
So Let’s pray we remember that we’re unique, just as no-one else looks the same as us, so too no-one else can fulfil our unique mission in life.
Let’s remember that we woke up this morning, we’ve been given another day of life and that must mean that we have something to achieve that only we can
And so let’s utilise every moment of this day constructively.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000283h)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwsb7)
Jackdaw
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games presents the jackdaw. Jackdaws are scavengers with a reputation for stealing shiny or glittering objects. Martin Hughes-Games tells the story of a tame jackdaw he had as a child, which became a very colourful member of the family, with her very own store of costume jewellery to play with.
THU 06:00 Today (m00027xh)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m00027xk)
Owain Glyndwr
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life of the Welsh nobleman, also known as Owen Glendower, who began a revolt against Henry IV in 1400 which was at first very successful. Glyndwr (c1359-c1415) adopted the title Prince of Wales and established a parliament and his own foreign policy, until he was defeated by the future Henry V. Owain Glyndwr escaped and led guerrilla attacks for several years but was never betrayed to the English, disappearing without trace.
With
Huw Pryce
Helen Fulton
Chris Given-Wilson
Producer: Simon Tillotson
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (m00027xm)
Silence
Episode 4
“We live in the age of noise. Silence is almost extinct.”
Adventurer Erling Kagge - the first person to reach the ‘three poles’ of North, South and the summit of Everest - explores the power of silence, considering how philosophers from Aristotle to Kant have thought about it.
Read by Cal MacAninch
Abridged and produced by Eilidh McCreadie
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00027xp)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
THU 10:45 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (b06r81vf)
Series 2
Points
by Jenny Eclair
When Gail takes her husband's car she embarks upon a journey that has a very surprising destination.
Gail ..... Sarah Hadland
Produced by Sally Avens
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m00027xr)
Correspondents around the world tell their stories and examine news developments in their region.
THU 11:30 The Art of Intimacy (m00027xt)
The Art of Intimacy (1/2)
Our age is confused about sexual consent; what should it look, sound and feel like? Novelist, and winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, Eimear McBride finds out how writers have depicted these intimate conversations, and asks whether we can learn something from them. What does a good 'yes' sound like, and where can we find an influential 'no'? As well as exploring the way Shakespeare, Sarah Hall, D.H.Lawrence, Sarah Waters, W.H.Auden, Samuel Richardson, and American Romance novelist Nora Roberts engage with 'consent', she also encounters a rich history of non-verbal communication (with the help of Dr Fern Riddell) and the elaborate language of hat-flirting - used by the Victorians to express their desire discreetly.
THU 12:00 News Summary (m00027xx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04ykk50)
Barry Smith on Noam Chomsky and Human Language
Barry Smith argues that language is our most important uniquely human attribute. It doesn't just help us communicate, it helps us to think. He makes the case for the distinctiveness of human language against the limited signalling systems of other animals. He looks at Noam Chomsky's idea of a universal grammar – that there is something in the human brain that gives us an innate ability to produce language from very early in our lives. And he talks to experts on other intelligent animals - Prof. Nicola Clayton and Prof. Robin Dunbar - to ask how human language and imagination compares with that of birds and primates.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (m00027xz)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
THU 12:57 Weather (m00027y1)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (m00027y3)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 Full Circle (m00027y5)
Fox and Joe
La Ronde, written by dramatist Arthur Schnitzler is a play about sexual morality between social groups, explored through a prism of infidelity, lust and desire. Considered a very controversial work it was censored and banned as soon as it was printed in 1900. Although provocative the dramatic structure of the play is simple. It’s a succession of 10 sexual encounters exclusively focused on the before and the after; the act itself is never described. Each successive scene takes one character from the previous one and introduces another.
In the style of the play La Ronde, Julien Manuguerra, who produces a podcast about breakups and more largely, our common and very humane vulnerability in the face of love, explores how intimacy and morality are evolving today. The series draws a picture of what modern love is – or rather, what modern love can be. The original La Ronde was considered a social commentary master piece on how sexual contact transgresses boundaries of class, our radio version of the play will explore how sex can transgress any boundaries. But it's not a play, there won’t be any actors or actresses. Our characters are real, and they’re all linked to one another; always by sex, sometimes by love, sometimes by something in between. They’ll tell us about their inner emotional experiences of desire and connection and hopefully, this time too, our Round of Dance will go Full circle.
In this episode we stay with Fox from the previous episode and reintroduce Joe from our first episode. Through a brief encounter between Fox and Joe we discover how sex can break through identity; when Fox's body is sexually desired, sex becomes a safe place for Fox to accept their identity.
Presented by Julien Manuguerra
Produced by Kate Bissell
THU 14:00 The Archers (m00027y7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (m00027y9)
Pieces
When the sisters were little, Ellie believed that Jess would save her if she was wearing her Superman cloak. Now that they are grown up life is not so simple. Ellie is a successful heart surgeon. Jess has a job and a husband and child. They don't always manage to keep in touch. When Ellie's own heart actually splinters, Jess is summoned as the person most likely to know how to mend her. She has to rummage in Ellie's life to find the pieces that will fill the holes left by love, grief and hiraeth. In the process Jess discovers some of Ellie's secrets and gains an understanding of all the ways in which they are indelibly connected to each other.
Sian Owen's modern fairy tale explores the healing power of love and magic.
Little Jessica ... Eva-Maria Thomas
Little Ellie ... Catrin Jordan
Jessica ... Carys Eleri
Ellie ... Sara Gregory
Archie ... Rhodri Meilir
Amy ... Claire Cage
Writer, Sian Owen
Director, Gilly Adams
A BBC Cymru Wales production
THU 15:00 Open Country (m00027yc)
The Pub at the End of Easdale
Easdale is a small, car-free island in the Firth of Lorn in Scotland. Once a centre of the British slate industry, Easdale Slate was exported around the world and the island was home to hundreds of quarry workers. After the quarries were flooded the island was nearly deserted by the 1960's but today over 60 islanders live there permanently and Easdale has become a thriving community again. Right at the heart of that community is the 'Puffer Bar and Restaurant' and its owner is looking for someone to take over. No cars, no street lights and no noise except the sound of the sea and the exceptional wildlife. It could be the perfect job. Helen Mark discovers what it takes to run the islands local and why Easdale is an island where everyone is welcome.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m00026gr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m00026hj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m00027yf)
Seamus McGarvey: 50 Shades of Grey to The Greatest Showman
With Antonia Quirke.
Award-winning cinematographer Seamus McGarvey takes us behind the scenes of The Greatest Showman, The Hours and 50 Shades Of Grey
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m00027yh)
Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.
THU 17:00 PM (m00027yk)
PM at
5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00027ym)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m00027yp)
Series 9
Carlisle
Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 with the ninth series of his award-winning show that travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.
In this episode Mark visits Carlisle on the Scottish border and discovers why the whole place stinks of biscuits. He also comes across a cursing stone.
Written and performed by Mark Steel
Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator, Hayley Sterling
Sound Manager, Jerry Peal
Producer, Carl Cooper
Picture Credit, Tom Stanier
THU 19:00 The Archers (m00027yr)
Jennifer faces opposition and Emma puts her foot in it
THU 19:15 Front Row (m00027yt)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09b0qjh)
How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me
Episode 5
Venta has been arrested, accused of murdering a famous war hero, and flung into prison. There he meets Calvin, fellow convict and dwarf, who reveals the terrible fate that awaits them both when Emperor Domitian reopens the Colosseum with a spectacular Games. By Hattie Naylor.
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m00027yw)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m00027yy)
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things promised to revolutionise the way we live and work but what has it delivered and what more is it capable of doing? Join Evan Davis and guests as they discuss The Internet of Things.
GUESTS
Kevin Ashton, Author who coined the phrase the Internet of Things
Caroline Gorski, Global Director of R2 Data Labs, Rolls Royce Plc
Paul Beastall, Head of Strategy, Cambridge Consultants
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m00027yh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m00027xk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m00027z1)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (m00027z3)
Rabbit at Rest
Episode 4
John Updike’s fourth novel about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom.
It's the end of the 1980s and Harry has acquired a Florida condo, a second grandchild, and a troubled, overworked heart - not to mention a troubled underworking son. As Reagan’s debt-ridden, AIDS-panicked America yields to that of the first George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age - looking for reasons to live and opportunities to make peace with a remorselessly accumulating past.
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991, the second "Rabbit" novel to garner that award.
Reader: Toby Jones
Abridger: Eileen Horne
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:00 Daphne Sounds Expensive (b07m7vzj)
Series 1
Murder
In this last episode of the series, the gang must solve a mysterious murder on the Yorkshire Moors.
Join critically-acclaimed sketch trio, Daphne, as they pull out all the stops in a dazzling array of peculiar characters, whacky scenarios, dodgy remarks, curious observations, minor altercations and major peacemaking - served on a bed of catchy little numbers with a live nine-piece band.
Written by and starring: Jason Forbes, Phil Wang & George Fouracres
Featuring Sir Willard White & David Elms
Original music composed by Jeff Carpenter
Orchestrator: Simon Nathan
Musical Director: Freddie Tapner
Piano: Jeff Carpenter
Drums: Ben Hartley
Bass: Rob Grist
Percussion: Ben Burton
Trumpet: Michael Maddocks
Tenor Sax: Greg Sterland
Trombone: Elliot Pooley
Violin: Hannah Bell
Cello: Nick Squires
The Production Coordinator was Hayley Sterling
It was produced by Matt Stronge
It was a BBC Studios production
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m00027z5)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
FRIDAY 01 FEBRUARY 2019
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m00027z7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (m00027xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00027z9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00027zc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00027zf)
The latest shipping forecast
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m00027zh)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00027zk)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue
Good morning
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy is the old proverb
Perhaps we could modernise it slightly by exchanging “dull” for “depressed”
As technology was advancing it promised to free us up to enjoy more leisure time - they said that computers and robots would do the menial work and make our lives easier
The reality has been somewhat different - we’re working longer hours, we’re expected to be constantly connected - did you know that the average person checks their phone 200 times a day and rates of depression and anxiety, especially amongst young people, has risen dramatically in the last 25 years
As an antidote to this, many are now choosing one day a week for a Digital Detox and disconnecting from electronic devices such as smartphones and computers as a way of reducing stress and focusing more on social interaction.
This idea has been part of Jewish tradition for centuries - we call it Shabbat - the Sabbath - a day of rest when we disconnect from the virtual world and reconnect with the real world, with family and friends, with our community and ultimately with G-d.
We can easily forget that we work for a living rather than live to work so taking some time to appreciate what’s truly important in life is needed more than ever
So let’s pray that we remember that no-one ever says “I wish I spent more time in the office”
Let’s remember that there’s more to life than YouTube and Facebook
Let’s remember it won’t be our smartphones or our computers that miss us when we’re gone.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m00027zm)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03z9k44)
Woodcock
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Kate Humble presents the woodcock. Woodcocks are waders, thickset, long-billed, and superbly camouflaged. On the woodland floor, where they hide by day, their rust, fawn and black plumage conceals them among the dead leaves of winter. Often the first sign that they're about is a blur of russet and a whirr of wings as a woodcock rises from almost under your feet and twists away between the tree-trunks.
FRI 06:00 Today (m00028bl)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m00026h6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (m00028md)
Silence
Episode 5
“We live in the age of noise. Silence is almost extinct.”
Philosopher and adventurer Erling Kagge - the first person to reach the ‘three poles’ of North, South and the summit of Everest - explores the power of silence, examining the important part it plays in music.
Read by Cal MacAninch
Abridged and produced by Eilidh McCreadie
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00028bq)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
FRI 10:45 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (b06rzbwt)
Series 2
A Slight Alteration
by Jenny Eclair
A dressmaker finds herself doing a dress alteration for a young woman who is on the verge of getting married. But the dress is fated never to be worn.
Read by Tessa Peake-Jones
Produced by Sally Avens
FRI 11:00 Seeing Unseen Children (m00028bs)
The stories of parents labelled abusers by society and the courts, as they learn to "see" their children and recognise how their own pasts influence their parenting.
Monica is a single mother whose first daughter was taken into care. She was accepted onto the pioneering Lighthouse Project in the final stages of her court case. The Lighthouse Project helps parents to see themselves as the beacon of light their children need. To do this, they need to learn how to "see" their children - their feelings and needs. In doing so, they often confront their own painful pasts.
Now pregnant with her second child, Monica still struggles with mental health and her anxieties about what a second child might mean so soon after her first daughter is returned to her.
Luke and his partner have two children on the Child Protection Register. Both parents suffered neglect as children and now describe themselves as big children catching up on their own childhoods. There are, Luke says, many good times - but there are also very difficult times and, during the course of recording for the programme, Luke's arm is broken by his partner during an argument.
Although toxic arguments are a feature of their relationship, both Luke and his partner believe this is a one-off and the situation will improve. Professionals working with them do not share their optimism.
The programme is given unique access to some of the one-to-one sessions between Luke and his main therapist, Gerry Byrne, who is also the lead practitioner on the Lighthouse Programme. It builds up relationships with Luke and Monica and tries to understand their stories and how the interventions by professionals are working for them.
Producer: Anna Scott-Brown
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 11:30 Agendum (b0bfydqz)
Series 1
Breakthrough
A current affairs parody and stupidly feasible visit to the 24-hour Hall Of Opinion Mirrors. Because there are two stories to every story.
A scientific breakthrough, a human rights scandal and Britain's favourite fruit come under the idiot microscope of a team of talking heads, hosted by hostioneer Alexandra Palisades in this new parody created by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.
With Carrie Quinlan as Alexandra Palisades and the voices of:
Justin Edwards
Melanie Hudson
Samson Kayo
Jess Robinson
Luke Sumner
Tony Way
and featuring Josh Berry
Written by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m00028mg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04ykktv)
Giles Fraser on Wittgenstein and Blade Runner
Giles Fraser thinks being human isn't a matter of biology or some unique attribute like language. It's not to do with what we are but about how we treat each other. Taking the work of the philosopher Wittgenstein he argues that to be human is to be considered worthy of certain kinds of respect and moral compassion. For Giles, human is a moral category and it is an instruction to treat each other well.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (m00028bx)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
FRI 12:57 Weather (m00028bz)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (m00028c1)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 Full Circle (m00028c3)
Fox and Owl
La Ronde, written by dramatist Arthur Schnitzler is a play about sexual morality between social groups, explored through a prism of infidelity, lust and desire. Considered a very controversial work it was censored and banned as soon as it was printed in 1900. Although provocative the dramatic structure of the play is simple. It’s a succession of 10 sexual encounters exclusively focused on the before and the after; the act itself is never described. Each successive scene takes one character from the previous one and introduces another.
In the style of the play La Ronde, Julien Manuguerra, who produces a podcast about breakups and more largely, our common and very humane vulnerability in the face of love, explores how intimacy and morality are evolving today. The series draws a picture of what modern love is – or rather, what modern love can be. The original La Ronde was considered a social commentary master piece on how sexual contact transgresses boundaries of class, our radio version of the play will explore how sex can transgress any boundaries. But it's not a play, there won’t be any actors or actresses. Our characters are real, and they’re all linked to one another; always by sex, sometimes by love, sometimes by something in between. They’ll tell us about their inner emotional experiences of desire and connection and hopefully, this time too, our Round of Dance will go Full circle.
In episode five we meet Fox again to see their own full circle. Our series also comes full circle, from the struggle to become the person they wanted to be, to their brief encounter with Joe from our first episode Fox finally finds real love...
Presented by Julien Manuguerra
Produced by Kate Bissell
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m00027yr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (m00028c5)
Suspicious Minds
By Tom Fowler
Mark and Fran take a package holiday back in time. Will cocktails on the Titanic save their relationship?
Couple Fran (Susannah Fielding) and Mark (Tom Mothersdale) are caught in trap. They can't go on. As a last throw of the dice, Mark forks out for a time-travelling holiday that sees them visit Ancient Rome, 19th century England and the Titanic. But will it be enough to save their relationship?
Tom Fowler is a graduate of the Playwrighting MA at Royal Holloway. In 2016 he was one of ten writers to be commissioned for the Royal Court’s ‘Open Court’ festival. As part of this, his play Roman Candle was performed in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. His subsequent work includes katzenmusik, a commission for the Royal Court Youth Theatre. Suspicious Minds began life as a stage play; a Pleasance co-production for the Edinburgh Fringe.
Fran . . . . . Susannah Fielding
Mark . . . . . Tom Mothersdale
Simon . . . . . Christopher Harper
Duchess . . . . . Lucy Doyle
Duke . . . . . Tony Turner
Ada . . . . . Carolyn Pickles
Greg . . . . . Ronny Jhutti
Director - Sasha Yevtushenko
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m00028c7)
South Lanarkshire
Eric Robson hosts from South Lanarkshire. Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden and Neil Porteus are on the panel, answering questions from the audience.
Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m00028c9)
Incident at the Zia Sun
In Santa Fe, a newly-single woman finds herself drawn to the young child of a neighbour, in Kristin Valdez Quade's new short story.
Reader: Laurel Lefkow
Author: Kirstin Valdez Quade is an American short story-writer, whose work has appeared in the New Yorker. Her short story collection, Night at the Fiestas, won numerous awards.
Producer: Justine Willett
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m00028cc)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m00028cf)
Series devoted to the world of numbers.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (m00028ch)
More than Mum
Friends talk about the gap between the expectation of motherhood and the reality of it. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
FRI 17:00 PM (m00028ck)
PM at
5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00028cm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m00028cp)
Series 98
Episode 6
Miles Jupp looks back at the news this week with Andy Hamilton, Ayesha Hazarika, Felicity Ward & Kerry Godliman.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m00028cr)
Writer ….. Adrian Flynn
Director ….. Peter Leslie Wild
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer.... Buffy Davis
Pat Archer…. Pat Gallimore
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Ian Craig.... Stephen Kennedy
Bert Fry..... Eric Allan
Joe Grundy.... Edward Kelsey
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Adam Macy ….. Andrew Wincott
Kirsty Miller.... Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lynda Snell..... Carole Boyd
Roy Tucker.... Ian Pepperell
Lexi Viktorova.... Ania Sowinski
Lee.... Ryan Early
Philip Moss.... Andy Hockley
FRI 19:15 Front Row (m00028ct)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09b19y2)
How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me
Episode 5
Venta the slave has been moved to the cells under the Colosseum, along with his new friend Calvin, a dwarf convicted of stealing a chicken. Doris the Greek cook comes to visit. She has gazed into the entrails of a small rodent and seen death - but whose death she can't be sure. Then, from the Imperial Box Emperor Domitian gives the signal for the Games to begin. Tigers enter the arena, pitted against Gladiators. Soon Venta and Calvin will have to meet their fate.
By Hattie Naylor
A BBC Cymru/Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m00028cw)
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Altwood School in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m00028cy)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Archive on 4 (b09y6wg3)
The Ultimate Trip: Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey
Cultural historian and writer Christopher Frayling explores the lasting influence of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke's 1968 science fiction masterpiece.
2001: A Space Odyssey was released into the world in April 1968. Puzzling, infuriating, inspiring and thrilling, it captivated audiences at the time and, fifty years on, continues to exert a powerful effect on our thinking about the present and the future.
This remarkable movie was the result of a synthesis of two very different visions. Based on his own short story The Sentinel, it was written by British author Arthur C Clarke - a futurist of uncanny ability. The director was Stanley Kubrick - an American working in the UK, whose previous works included the swords and sandals epic Spartacus and savage nuclear satire Dr Strangelove.
Marketed at the time as The Ultimate Trip, 2001 became an essential experience for younger audiences - many of whom went to see it multiple times, and sometimes in an enhanced state of consciousness. But alongside its wildly psychedelic visions, 2001 also presented an extraordinarily convincing and intricate vision of the future of space travel.
Christopher Frayling travels back in time to the creation of 2001, hearing how organisations like NASA and IBM were enlisted to help Kubrick craft his vision. And he speaks to scientists, critics and filmmakers to examine the film's enduring influence on science, design and popular culture.
Interviewees:
Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist
Piers Bizony, science journalist
Victoria Broackes, Senior Curator, V&A Museum
Catherine Constable, Professor of Film Studies, Warwick University
John Landis, film director
Christopher Nolan, film director
Georgina Orgill, Stanley Kubrick Archivist, University of the Arts London.
Producer: Jane Long
A Hidden Flack production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m00028d0)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (m00028d2)
Rabbit at Rest
Episode 5
John Updike’s fourth novel about Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom.
It's the end of the 1980s and Harry has acquired a Florida condo, a second grandchild, and a troubled, overworked heart - not to mention a troubled underworking son. As Reagan’s debt-ridden, AIDS-panicked America yields to that of the first George Bush, Rabbit explores the bleak terrain of late middle age - looking for reasons to live and opportunities to make peace with a remorselessly accumulating past.
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991, the second "Rabbit" novel to garner that award.
Reader: Toby Jones
Abridger: Eileen Horne
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:00 Woman's Hour (m00028d4)
Late Night Woman's Hour
Lauren and guests partake of a few nocturnal frank and funny conversations.
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m00028d6)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (m00028d8)
What we could have had
A couple on how life has changed since having a baby with a serious health condition. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b099xhml)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b099yclq)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b099ylnl)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b09b0qjh)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b09b19y2)
A Dream Vision for Our Times
23:30 SAT (m0002533)
A Good Read
16:30 TUE (m00027n8)
A History of Ideas
12:04 MON (b04yb2x4)
A History of Ideas
12:04 TUE (b04yftl3)
A History of Ideas
12:04 WED (b04ykbjy)
A History of Ideas
12:04 THU (b04ykk50)
A History of Ideas
12:04 FRI (b04ykktv)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (m00025gg)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (m00028cy)
Agendum
11:30 FRI (b0bfydqz)
Analysis
20:30 MON (m00026y5)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (m00026lg)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (m00025gd)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (m00028cw)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (m00026m2)
Archive on 4
21:00 FRI (b09y6wg3)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (m00027yh)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (m00027yh)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (m00026jb)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (m00026jb)
Blackwater
19:45 SUN (m00026j1)
Body of Work
16:30 SUN (m00026hl)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (m00026yb)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (m00027nx)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (m000282f)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (m00027z3)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (m00028d2)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (m00025f1)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (m00026wv)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (m00026wv)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (m00027mj)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (m00027mj)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (m000284k)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (m000284k)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (m00027xm)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (m00027xm)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (m00028md)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (m00026h2)
Clare in the Community
19:15 SUN (b082hg9n)
Dangerous Visions
14:15 MON (m00026xk)
Daphne Sounds Expensive
23:00 THU (b07m7vzj)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (m00026h6)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (m00026h6)
Drama
14:30 SAT (m00026lj)
Drama
21:00 SAT (b096fsmx)
Drama
15:00 SUN (b08zyxhh)
Drama
14:15 TUE (m00027n2)
Drama
14:15 WED (b04wtzzh)
Drama
14:15 THU (m00027y9)
Drama
14:15 FRI (m00028c5)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (m00026kt)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (m00026jq)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (m00026yw)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (m00027pf)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (m000283h)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (m00027zm)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (m000256v)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (m00027nn)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (m00026l6)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (m00027xr)
Front Row
19:15 MON (m00026y1)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (m00027nl)
Front Row
19:15 WED (m0002826)
Front Row
19:15 THU (m00027yt)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (m00028ct)
Full Circle
13:45 MON (m00026xg)
Full Circle
13:45 TUE (m00027n0)
Full Circle
13:45 WED (m000281p)
Full Circle
13:45 THU (m00027y5)
Full Circle
13:45 FRI (m00028c3)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (m00025ft)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (m00028c7)
Hacking Happiness
09:30 WED (b0b9zfwx)
In Business
21:30 SUN (m00025d6)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (m00027xk)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (m00027xk)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (m00027nq)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (m00027ns)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (m00027ns)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (m00025fy)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (m00028cc)
Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair
10:45 MON (b06pbxjr)
Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair
10:45 TUE (b06pxm4k)
Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair
10:41 WED (b06qkq9l)
Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair
23:00 WED (m000282h)
Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair
10:45 THU (b06r81vf)
Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair
10:45 FRI (b06rzbwt)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (m00026ly)
Love in Recovery
18:30 TUE (m00027ng)
Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Sexuality
23:15 WED (b07zztt0)
Making History
15:30 TUE (m00027n4)
Mamma M.I.A.: Influence of an Icon
15:30 SAT (m0000np5)
Mark Steel's in Town
18:30 THU (m00027yp)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (m00025gn)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (m00026m6)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (m00026j8)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (m00026yh)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (m00027p1)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (m000282q)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (m00027z7)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (m00026j4)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (m00026j4)
Money Box
15:00 WED (m000281r)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (m0002828)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (m00025g0)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (m00028cf)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (m00025gx)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (m00026mg)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (m00026jl)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (m00026yr)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (m00027p9)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (m0002837)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (m00027zh)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (m00026gc)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (m00026l8)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (m00026h8)
News Summary
12:00 MON (m00026x6)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (m00027mr)
News Summary
12:00 WED (m000284m)
News Summary
12:00 THU (m00027xx)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (m00028mg)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (m00026kr)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (m00026gm)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (m00026gw)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (m00026m4)
News
13:00 SAT (m00026ld)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (m00026gh)
One to One
15:15 SAT (m00013q7)
One to One
09:30 TUE (b03w03fy)
Only Artists
09:00 WED (m0002813)
Only Artists
21:30 WED (m0002813)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (m00026hj)
Open Book
15:30 THU (m00026hj)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (m00025cl)
Open Country
15:00 THU (m00027yc)
PM
17:00 SAT (m00026ln)
PM
17:00 MON (m00026xs)
PM
17:00 TUE (m00027nb)
PM
17:00 WED (m000281y)
PM
17:00 THU (m00027yk)
PM
17:00 FRI (m00028ck)
Pausing Puberty
11:00 TUE (m00027mp)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (m00026hx)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (m00025gz)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (m00026jn)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (m00026yt)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (m00027pc)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (m000283c)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (m00027zk)
Prepper
11:30 MON (m00026x2)
Profile
19:00 SAT (m00026hn)
Profile
05:45 SUN (m00026hn)
Profile
17:40 SUN (m00026hn)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (m00026gr)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:25 SUN (m00026gr)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (m00026gr)
ReincarNathan
18:30 WED (m0002822)
Rob Newman
11:30 WED (b0bh5hp2)
Round Britain Quiz
23:00 SAT (m00024pc)
Round Britain Quiz
15:00 MON (m00026xm)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (m00026l0)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (m00026m0)
Seeing Unseen Children
11:00 FRI (m00028bs)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (m00025gs)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (m00026mb)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (m00026jg)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (m00026ym)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (m00027p5)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (m000282z)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (m00027zc)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (m00025gq)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (m00025gv)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (m00026lr)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (m00026m8)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (m00026md)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (m00026hq)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (m00026jd)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (m00026jj)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (m00026yk)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (m00026yp)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (m00027p3)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (m00027p7)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (m000282v)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (m0002833)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (m00027z9)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (m00027zf)
Short Works
00:30 SUN (m00025fw)
Short Works
15:45 FRI (m00028c9)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (m00026lw)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (m00026hv)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (m00026xv)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (m00027nd)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (m0002820)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (m00027ym)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (m00028cm)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (m00027hl)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (m00027hl)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (m00026ws)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (m00026ws)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (m00028qv)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (m00026gp)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (m00026h4)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (m00026hz)
The Archers
14:00 MON (m00026hz)
The Archers
19:00 MON (m00026xz)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (m00026xz)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (m00027nj)
The Archers
14:00 WED (m00027nj)
The Archers
19:00 WED (m00027y7)
The Archers
14:00 THU (m00027y7)
The Archers
19:00 THU (m00027yr)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (m00027yr)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (m00028cr)
The Art of Intimacy
11:30 THU (m00027xt)
The Art of Now
13:30 SUN (m0000nmn)
The Art of Now
11:30 TUE (m0000m89)
The Bottom Line
20:30 THU (m00027yy)
The Briefing Room
20:00 THU (m00027yw)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (m00025cn)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (m00027yf)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (m00026hb)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (m00026hb)
The Infinite Monkey Cage
16:30 MON (m00026xq)
The Infinite Monkey Cage
23:00 TUE (m00026xq)
The Invention of Free Speech
21:00 WED (b090wwsf)
The Kitchen Cabinet
10:30 SAT (m00026l2)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (m00026l2)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b0b5s5t4)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (m000281b)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (m00028ch)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (m00028d8)
The Long View
09:00 TUE (m00027mg)
The Long View
21:30 TUE (m00027mg)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (m000281w)
The New Age of Capitalism
20:45 WED (b0bjpplg)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (m00025g6)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (m00028cp)
The Romanian Wave
21:00 MON (m000255y)
The Sympathy of Things
16:00 MON (m0001188)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:04 SUN (m00024pp)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (m00026xx)
The Untold
11:00 MON (m00026x0)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (m00026l4)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (m00026hg)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (m00026y8)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (m00027nv)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (m000282c)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (m00027z1)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (m00028d0)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (m000254f)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (m000281t)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (m00026yf)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (m00027nz)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (m000282l)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (m00027z5)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (m00028d6)
Today
07:00 SAT (m00026ky)
Today
06:00 MON (m00026wq)
Today
06:00 TUE (m00027md)
Today
06:00 WED (m0002811)
Today
06:00 THU (m00027xh)
Today
06:00 FRI (m00028bl)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (m00026h0)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b03dww4v)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b03bkt7v)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b04dvrcj)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b03dwsb7)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b03z9k44)
Uncle Sam and the Ayatollah
20:00 MON (m00026y3)
Uncle Sam and the Ayatollah
11:00 WED (m00026y3)
We Need to Talk About Death
22:15 SAT (m000254w)
Weather
06:57 SAT (m00026kw)
Weather
12:57 SAT (m00026lb)
Weather
17:57 SAT (m00026lt)
Weather
06:57 SUN (m00026gk)
Weather
07:57 SUN (m00026gt)
Weather
12:57 SUN (m00026hd)
Weather
17:57 SUN (m00026hs)
Weather
05:56 MON (m00026js)
Weather
12:57 MON (m00026xb)
Weather
12:57 TUE (m00027mw)
Weather
12:57 WED (m000281k)
Weather
12:57 THU (m00027y1)
Weather
12:57 FRI (m00028bz)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (m00026j6)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (m00026ll)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (m00026wy)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (m00027ml)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (m0002818)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (m00027xp)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (m00028bq)
Woman's Hour
23:00 FRI (m00028d4)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (m000256g)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (m00027n6)
World at One
13:00 MON (m00026xd)
World at One
13:00 TUE (m00027my)
World at One
13:00 WED (m000281m)
World at One
13:00 THU (m00027y3)
World at One
13:00 FRI (m00028c1)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (m00026x8)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (m00027mt)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (m000281h)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (m00027xz)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (m00028bx)
iPM
05:45 SAT (m00025h1)
iPM
17:30 SAT (m00025h1)