In his eagerly awaited new book, Robert Macfarlane discovers various worlds beneath our feet.
This time he heads to the ice mass of the Knud Rasmussen glacier - "An hour short of dusk on the evening of our arrival, the fog bank disperses to reveal the calving face of the glacier..." But what is meant by 'calving', exactly?
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Latifa Akay, director of education at Maslaha
Good morning! Ramadan is upon us. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the holy month of fasting for Muslims across the world. These days many people are familiar with the practice of fasting – whether as part of a mindfulness retreat, a health detox or part of religious tradition or practice.
Fasting during Ramadan involves not eating or drinking during the daylight hours for thirty days, and no – ‘not even water!’ Look out for the ‘not even water?’ memes that will inevitably start circulating on social media. This is indeed a question that most Muslims will be asked once daily at least.
Over the years I’ve approached Ramadan with a mixture of feelings. From a childhood sense of wild excitement at the prospect of getting up in the night to eat (very exciting you’ll agree), to feelings of anxiety in anticipation of the spiritual and physical grappling of the month, to a sense of relief for the opportunity to connect or reconnect spiritually and be able to step back from the relentless fast-paced grind of life.
Fasting feels like an opportunity – a time to slow down, to feel grounded and to reflect on how we engage with the world around us. You become infinitely grateful for the simple things that are easy to take for granted - that coveted morning coffee or those unthinking glasses of water throughout the day.
Don’t get me wrong – there will be difficult days and moments. But often you can look back on those moments and realise you have strength you never realised you had. Often I feel like fasting brings me to the brink of physical and mental limits – and then multiplies that horizon again and again – as if to say, you thought that was your limit? More is possible.
Today, may we all find the opportunities that come with our limits being tested – and may we find the patience and strength to find learning in this. Ameen.
In the second installment of our double episode on the Moon we ask what life would be like if we had more than one Moon.
From the tides to the seasons, the Moon shapes our world in ways that often go unnoticed. And, as we'll find out, it played a vital role in the creation of life itself. This week we celebrate the many ways the Moon and the Earth are linked.
If one Moon is so great, why not have two? We discover why multiple moons could spell disaster for our planet, from giant volcanoes to cataclysmic collisions.
Featuring astronomer Brendan Owens from the Royal Observatory Greenwich and physicist Neil Comins, author of 'What if the Earth had two Moons?'.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Ian Marchant visits the Sussex Weald, once the epicentre of the international arms trade, owing to its ironstone reserves and subsequent iron-making expertise. It's a personal story too: 'Marchant' is one of the Sussex names associated with metal-working migrants from Belgium in the late 15th century.
Hammer and furnace ponds and former forges are now dotted about the landscape, rich habitat for wildlife, according to naturalist Richard Jones. A walk on the Weald is a treasure hunt for history-of-iron enthusiasts (of whom there are an unusual number in Sussex). They frequently come across previously undiscovered remains, some dating back to medieval times.
Ian takes a walk at Newbridge with Jeremy Hodgkinson and Roger Prus, who can interpret the bumps in the woodland that most people would pass without noticing. They might be old furnace sites or even remains of buildings used by iron workers.
He meets Emma O'Connor to explore the Anne of Cleves House collection of iron artefacts in Lewes. These range from items with military uses to all kinds of domestic and industrial products, most of which are beautifully preserved and attest to our ancestors' habits of recycling, repairing and preserving the things they owned.
Ian visits Glynde Forge, where blacksmith Ricky Delaney demonstrates the living craft of working with metal in Sussex. Will Ian discover that forging metal is in his blood?
At Chew Magna Reservoir, a team from Bristol Zoo are tackling an infestation of invasive, non-native crayfish. Signal crayfish were brought to the UK from the USA to be farmed for food, but they escaped into the wild and are having a big impact in our waterways. They are voracious predators and even kill fish, but they also carry a disease which kills native crayfish.
Charlotte Smith joins the team as they trap and kill signal crayfish, and also learns about how anglers can help prevent their spread.
But crayfish aren't the only invasive species - we also hear about the pondweed clogging up our rivers, the ladybirds out-competing native ladybirds, and a tiny orange sea creature which could put Scotland's shellfish industry at risk.
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Gok Wan talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about his latest show Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire, DJ’ing, cooking and his lifelong passion for fashion. Listener Hilary Wynter talks about her experience playing doubles with the Empress of Japan, the wife of the Emperor who has just abdicated. As it's the 4th May - Star Wars Day - we have Star Wars superfan Michael Absalom. Singer-songwriter Nick Lowe shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Fatback Louisiana USA, by Tennessee Ernie Ford AND Harlan County by Jim Ford. Pet Detective Colin Butcher – has just written a book about his working relationship with his rescue dog Molly – the UK (and Europe’s) only cat detection dog.
Jay Rayner and his culinary panel are in Grantham. Dr Annie Gray, Sophie Wright, Tim Anderson and Shelina Permalloo answer the questions from the audience.
This week, the panellists discuss devilling eggs, give suggestions for cooking on a rotisserie and consider whether it's possible to recreate a bouillabaisse reminiscent of the south of France at home.
They also sample local Grantham gingerbread and whetstones courtesy of Alastair Hawkens of Hawkens Gingerbread, and speak to Pev Manners from Belvoir Fruit Farms about their elderflower cordial.
Sam Coates of The Times looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
Local Election results -what impact will they have on a Brexit deal? Climate change is it an emergency and are we moving towards a consensus in parliament on the way forward? plus the sacking of Gavin Williamson what problems does it cause for Teresa May.
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world.
The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
Cabinet Leaks, Corbyn commits to staying non-committal, and Camden Council bans Ice Cream Vans. It must be a Bank Holiday News Quiz.
The lovely Miles Jupp is joined for a ramble through the week's news with comedians Angela Barnes, Kerry Godliman and Kemah Bob, and Theresa May's former PR advisor Katie Perrior.
Ritula Shah presents topical debate from St Peter's Church Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, with the Co Leader of the Green Party for England and Wales Jonathan Bartley, Shadow Attorney General Baroness Chakrabarti, the Editor of the Spectator magazine Fraser Nelson and the Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party Helen Whately.
Martin Jarvis directs his eighth James Bond for radio. It's 007’s most exotic adventure - New York, Florida, Jamaica - with a stellar international cast, recorded on location in America. Dramatised by Archie Scottney and with Toby Stephens as Bond.
Bond tracks down monstrous Mr Big in Harlem. Big is importing priceless gold coins to finance Russian spy operations and captures Bond. Beautiful, mysterious Solitaire is also a prisoner.
Bond escapes. Solitaire follows. They pursue the source of the gold, first to Florida where Solitaire is captured by Mr Big's minions.
007 continues on to Jamaica. But can he survive the barracudas? Will he rescue Solitaire, recover the treasure and bring Mr Big to justice? Well, there’s a fair chance. He is James Bond!
Tee-Hee…..Michael A. Shepperd
Whisperer/Blabber….. Lovensky Jean-Baptiste
The Danish comedian and podcaster Sofie Hagen talks about what she sees as endemic fatphobia in our society.
We discuss Margaret Thatcher’s legacy for women in politics with the Conservative MP for Saffron Walden Kemi Badenoch and with Ayesha Hazarika the former special adviser to Harriet Harman.
The author Esther Wojcicki gives us tips and advice on how to raise successful people.
We discuss the debilitating skin condition Rosacea with Dr Emma Wedgeworth and the beauty blogger Lex Gillies.
In her latest novel, A Thousand Ships, Natalie Haynes tells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective.
And we discuss the film 8th Grade about being a young teenager in the age of social media with the film critic Rhianna Dhillon and University student Steph Campbell.
Most countries in the world have signed up to the idea that no child should work at all under a certain age – but is this the best approach? This week Nicolle, a 17 year old from Peru, has been part of a delegation of child labourers visiting the UN to ask them to rethink their ban on child labour. She’s been working since she was 8 years old, and says not only did her family need the money she earned, but working brought her status and respect. Some charities and experts working with child labourers agree that there are safe forms of child work. They say non-hazardous work can allow children to help their families, gain life skills, and even pay for the school uniforms and equipment they need to stay in education. But the UN and other former child labourers disagree, saying an outright ban is the only way to protect children from exploitation. We ask whether it’s time to rethink the ban on child labour.
Benjamin Smith – Senior Officer for Child Labour, International Labour Organization
Kavita Ratna - Director of Advocacy and Fundraising, Concerned for Working Children
This edition of The Inquiry was first broadcast in October 2018 on the BBC World Service.
Michael Sheen, Sudha Bhuchar, Alex Horne, Marty Wilde, SK Shlomo, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Michael Sheen, Sudha Bhuchar and Alex Horne for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Marty Wilde and SK Shlomo.
Andy Evans has been at the forefront of the campaign to secure justice for himself and thousands of others - many who have not survived - affected by what’s been called the worst scandal in NHS history. Next week he’ll give evidence at the Infected Blood Inquiry. He's waited a long time. The group he co-founded, Tainted Blood, takes as its motto words from the philosopher Voltaire: “to the living we owe respect, to the dead we owe only the truth”.
Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen star in Long Shot playing an American presidential hopeful and a lovable doofus. Take a wild guess who plays which part?
Howard Brenton's new play Jude -at The Hampstead Theatre - is a re-imagining of Thomas Hardy's Jude The Obscure with a Syrian cleaner who possesses a prodigious skill set in the classics and ancient languages - as the title character
Writing: Making Your Mark is the newest exhibition at The British Library. It charts 5,000 years of human innovation from hieroglyphs to emojis
Sandra Newman's novel The Heavens can be seen as five works in one - a time travel story, historical fiction, political allegory, social realism and a love story. How satisfyingly do the component parts combine into a coherent whole?
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tom Shakespeare, Helen Lewis and Katie Puckrik.
Tom Shakespeare - Phyllida Barlow at the Royal Academy and The Porpoise by Mark Haddon and The Bodmer Library in Geneva
Helen Lewis - Ritblatt Treasures at The British Library and Patrick Melrose on NowTV
It's time to travel down the rabbit hole of truth as American satirist Joe Queenan explores a murky world of fake news, prejudice and alternative facts.
"Recent politics have shown that the truth is no fun," he explains. "It's like a vegetable your mother makes you eat. Yes it may be nourishing, but it tastes terrible."
With archive contributions from Donald Trump, Doris Lessing, Jeremy Corbyn, Peter Mandelson and Theresa May; plus new interviews with Mark Borkowski, Edith Hall and Julian Baggini, author of a Short History of Truth.
This is Joe Queenan's follow up to previous editions on Blame, Shame, Irony and Anger.
As clouds of war gather over Europe, Alec Graham, a mild-mannered arms expert, is in Istanbul, having just completed consultation work with the Turkish government. And now somebody wants him dead. Shots are fired at Graham as he steps into his hotel room, so, terrified, he escapes in secret on a boat bound for Genoa, from where he will take a train back to England. As he journeys home, he enters a dangerous world and struggles to distinguish friend from foe.
Part of the Eric Ambler season on BBC Radio 4, which also includes a two-part adaptation of Epitaph for a Spy, and a biographical drama about Eric Ambler and Hollywood director John Huston's collaboration on war film The Battle of San Pietro.
Eric Ambler's pre-war novels remain the base upon which his reputation rests. Fresh and exciting, they laid out the ground for writers such as Le Carré and Deighton. During the years before WWII, Ambler created the image of the modern spy. He was hailed by Graham Greene as ''our greatest thriller writer''.
These are novels of education. The protagonist typically thinks of himself as a skilled reader of personality and motive - and then gets everything wrong. Ambler thrusts his hapless heroes - teachers, engineers and writers - into a world of political intrigue. Set mostly in Europe, the novels paint haunting panoramas of intrigue and villainy. Credible heroes, realistic settings and vivid evocations of the nervous, politically-charged years that led to World War II, evoke the queasy atmosphere and conspiratorial politics of 1930s Europe.
Alec Graham . . . Daniel Rigby
Berlinsky . . . Simon Scardifield
Jose . . . Simon Scardifield
Dr Haller . . . Matthew Marsh
Josette . . . Olivia Ross
Mr Kuvetli . . . Atilla Akinci
Colonel Haki . . . Raad Rawi
Mme Mathis . . . Carolyn Pickles
Mathis . . . Sam Dale
Steward . . . Ronny Jhutti
Director . . . Sasha Yevtushenko
Dramatist . . . Nick Perry
Anne McElvoy returns with the series that invites figures from opposing sides of a political issue to listen to each other - and to come to an understanding of the beliefs, aims and experiences that inform their position.
In the first episode, historian Dr Zareer Masani and the Guardian columnist and former chair of the National Trust Sir Simon Jenkins discuss the principles underlying the question of whether objects of cultural or artistic significance should be returned to the places from whence they came?
Russell Davies asks the questions in the sixth of this year's heats. Who were the architects of Paris's Pompidou Centre? Which superhero was played by Chadwick Boseman in 2018? Which 20th century Prime Minister had the shortest tenure in office?
Today's contest comes from MediaCityUK in Salford, and the winner today will take another of the automatic places in the semi-finals in the summer.
John Hegley joins Roger McGough with his selection of poems from his own and others' work. They're joined by writer and comedian Arthur Smith to help them read a compilation of favourite poems chosen by listeners and by John himself to reflect his love of words and rhythm. The programme contains very strong language
SUNDAY 05 MAY 2019
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0004sg9)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m0004mcm)
The Ice Child
Birth, growth and magic in an original short work by Kirsty Logan, read by Nicola Ferguson.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0004sgn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0004sh1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0004shd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0004shs)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0004sj5)
St Nicholas, Durweston in Dorset
Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St. Nicholas, Durweston in Dorset. The present ring of six bells were hung in 1911. The tenor weighs ten hundredweight. We hear them ringing some call changes.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m0004sdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (m0004syq)
The latest national and international news headlines.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b078wl22)
The Twilight Zone
The film The Revenant was filmed only at twilight, to capture the natural light ‘when God speaks’, in the words of its star Leonardo DiCaprio. This is just the latest example of a fascination with that shift from daytime to night that has absorbed poets, writers, artists and those with faith and of none.
Journalist Malcolm Doney explores - with poetry, prose and music - how we respond to this twilight zone, both in our surroundings and within ourselves.
Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0004sys)
Shumei Natural Agriculture
Verity Sharp visits a farm in Wiltshire which follows the principles of the Japanese spiritual movement, Shumei. Shinya Imahashi, the farm manager, describes how so-called Natural Agriculture is a way of farming based on a deep respect and regard for nature. He doesn't use any fertilisers, manure or pesticides on the farm, and plants the same crops year after year, instead of rotation planting. Shinya believes that the soil regenerates itself, and that Natural Agriculture restores human beings’ inherent connection with the earth.
Producer: Beatrice Fenton
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0004syv)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0004syx)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0004syz)
Edward Stourton presents the religious news and current affairs programme.
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0004sh0)
Street Child
Foreign correspondent Colin Freeman makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Street Child.
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 ‘Street Child’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Street Child’.
Registered Charity Number: 1128536
Photo credit: Chris Parkes
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0004sz1)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0004sz3)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0004sz5)
Do You Love Me?
In the light of the cross and resurrection Christians are invited to look at what drives and defines them. What matters most? Where do loyalties lie? It’s the stark question posed by Jesus to the disciple Peter: ‘Do you love me?’ and explored by the Rev. Roy Jenkins in a live service from Tabernacl Baptist Church, Cardiff. Led by the Rev. Denzil John, the service includes music by the Cantemus Chamber Choir: If Ye Love Me (Tallis); Ubi Caritas (Mealor); The Strife is o’er (Vulpius); This Joyful Eastertide (arr Wood); Love Divine (Blaenwern). Reading: John 21: 15-19. Music Director Huw Williams. Organist Peter King. Producer Karen Walker.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0004mfj)
What Would Darwin Do?
Rebecca Stott imagines a conversation with Darwin about our current environmental concerns.
"Would he be encouraging his kids to skip school to go on the Youth Strike for Climate?" she wonders. "What would his kids make of Greta Thunberg? Or the IPCC report".
She reckons he wouldn't be going on marches... but would probably be writing papers for "Nature".
She concludes that "Darwin, being a cheerful man, might say that if we manage to wipe out every species including ourselves, new life will start out again in a few billion years or so"!
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b041ybhz)
Woodland Dawn Chorus
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents a dawn chorus recorded in Rutland Water. The outpouring of song is so dense that it is almost impossible to single out individual species but includes blackbirds, song thrushes, robins and newly-arrived migrants like garden warblers.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0004sz7)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0004sz9)
Writer ….. Sarah McDonald Hughes
Director ….. Julie Beckett and Dave Payne
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe
Kenton Archer …. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ..... Buffy Davis
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Clarrie Grundy ….. Heather Bell
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Mia Grundy ….. Molly Pipe
Ed Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter ….. Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter ….. Katie Redford
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell …… Carole Boyd
Russ Jones …… Andonis James Antony
Tim Oatey ..... Carl Prekopp
Leonard Berry ….. Paul Copley
Bailiff ..... Franchi Webb
SUN 11:15 The Reunion (m0004sbb)
Pioneering Women Newsreaders
Sue MacGregor brings together a group of pioneering female newsreaders who helped to redress the gender balance in the television newsrooms of the 1970s and 80s.
From the earliest days of broadcasting, women played an important role on air and in production. However, when it came to women being used as the voice of authority reading the news, the process of acceptance was slow.
In 1973, a BBC internal report entitled Limitations to the Recruitment and Advancement of Women revealed a long list of prejudiced attitudes to women. One of the many objections raised was the nature of the female voice. “To a large number of listeners and viewers", it said, "a female voice is considered to lack authority in news reading and reporting.”
And it wasn’t just a women’s voice that hindered their progress. The feelings of the Editor of Radio News, according to the report, was that “he believes that women are simply not able to do hard news stories as they ‘see themselves as experts of women’s features.’”
Having a woman reading the news was part of the whole new challenging dimension that commercial television was bringing to broadcasting. But it wasn’t until 1975 that the BBC dared to put Angela Rippon at the helm of its flagship 9 O’ Clock News. Articles in the tabloid press discussed her lips and legs, and turned the appointment of Anna Ford as an ITN newsreader in 1978 into a non-existent rivalry.
Joining Sue MacGregor and Angela Rippon to look back on the struggle to overcome stereotypes and sexism in the newsroom in the years that followed are former ITN newscaster Julia Somerville, BBC newsreader Jan Leeming, and Sue Lawley, who presented the evening news programme Nationwide throughout much of the 1970s.
Producer: Emily Williams
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0004szc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m0004n7k)
Series 22
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.
Sindhu Vee, Susan Calman, Graeme Garden and Tony Hawks are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as kings, snakes, make up and hats.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0004sfd)
Feeding the High Street: Are food shops the answer?
At a time when shops are closing across the country, we visit three food retail businesses that are bucking the trend. Levenshulme Market in Greater Manchester, A Small Good Thing in Bolton and Squash in Liverpool are all making a positive impact in their communities Sheila Dillon meets entrepreneur John Timpson to find out what this could tell us about the future of our high streets.
Presenter: Sheila Dillon
Producer: Siobhan Maguire
SUN 12:57 Weather (m0004szg)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0004szj)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.
SUN 13:30 The Press, the Police, the Politicians and Their Public (m0004szl)
Simon Jack pursues the unfinished examination of press ethics launched by the Leveson inquiry.
When the high court judge Sir Brian Leveson was asked to conduct an inquiry into the culture and ethics of the British press in 2011 in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World, it was meant to be divided into two parts. The first part revealed uncomfortable truths about some established journalistic practices. The second part was due to be held after related criminal court cases had been completed. These procedures finished in 2016, but in 2018 the government decided after all not to proceed with part two of the Leveson Inquiry. In the meantime some newspapers have been paying out millions of pounds in damages to victims of phone hacking to settle civil cases out of court.
So do we still need that fuller inspection of the relations between the press, the politicians and the police? And if the second part of the inquiry had gone ahead, what more might have been disclosed to the public? The BBC’s Business Editor Simon Jack investigates.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0004mcg)
Essex
Kathy Clugston visits Essex for her GQT debut. Joining her to answer questions from local gardeners are Christine Walkden, Matthew Wilson and Matt Biggs.
This week, the panellists answer questions on a non-flowering rhododendron, tackling rampant ivy, and perennial flowers for the dry conditions of Essex.
They also discuss plants for creating a tranquil garden and the best time to prune a Firehorn, and work out whether a questioner’s Staghorn sumac is alive or dead.
Away form the questions, Matt Biggs heads to Shutheath Wood to talk to Mark Iley of the Essex Wildlife Trust about the threat to our bluebells and what we can do to ensure their survival.
Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (m0004szn)
Sunday Omnibus - Working in the Arts, Working with Dogs and Young Dads and Mental Health
Fi Glover presents the omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen - with three conversations between friends who share a fascination with dogs; two young fathers who talk frankly about the fragility of their own and each other’s mental health; and friends on how working in the arts helped them to discover what their strengths are.
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: Mohini Patel
SUN 15:00 Ambler (m0004szq)
Journey into Fear (Part 2)
By Eric Ambler
Adapted by Nick Perry
It is 1940 and Alec Graham, a mild-mannered engineer and arms expert, is on the run. Having finished consultation work with the Turkish government, shots were fired at him in his hotel room. Now he's left Istanbul in secret, on a boat bound for Genoa. Of his fellow passengers, Graham is unsure of who is friend or foe. Then, after docking in Athens, a new passenger has come aboard - a man that Graham suspects has been hired to kill him.
Alec Graham . . . Daniel Rigby
Dr Haller . . . Matthew Marsh
Jose . . . Simon Scardifield
Josette . . . Olivia Ross
Mr Kuvetli . . . Atilla Akinci
Banat . . . Simon Scardifield
Mme Mathis . . . Carolyn Pickles
Mathis . . . Sam Dale
Balescu . . . Ronny Jhutti
Captain . . . Christopher Harper
Producer . . . Sasha Yevtushenko
Dramatist . . . Nick Perry
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m0004shf)
Louise Doughty - Apple Tree Yard
Louise Doughty talks about her novel Apple Tree Yard, which went on to be a popular BBC television drama. It is the story of Yvonne, a high-flying married scientist, whose personal life is, by turns, erotic and troubled and, eventually, disastrous.
Completely out of character, Yvonne has consensual sex with a stranger in the Palace of Westminster. So begins an affair with a man called Mark which in the end leads them both to the dock of the Old Bailey. Much of the book is told through Yvonne’s unsent emails to Mark. Through them we come to understand Yvonne - the conflicts between her professional and private life, the pressures on her and her family and the horror of an act of violence that becomes the hinge of the story.
James Naughtie presents, and a group of readers ask the questions.
Presenter: James Naughtie
Interviewed guest : Louise Doughty
Presenter: Dymphna Flynn
June's Bookclub choice : All That Man Is by David Szalay (2016)
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m0004szs)
Jean Sprackland
Jean Sprackland joins Roger in the studio discussing her poetry choices including work by Louis MacNeice, Kit Wright and Emily Dickinson. Producer Sally Heaven.
SUN 17:00 We Do Do God (m0004lb2)
Woolf Institute director Ed Kessler examines the rise of fundamentalists in the three main Abrahamic religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
He talks to faith leaders and adherents among some of the more strictly observant - the Jewish Haredi, the Muslim Salafis and the Christian Pentacostalists. He tries to get a sense of what the term 'fundamentalist' means in the context of these religious movements - to many, it conjures up frightening images of violence but, in its true sense, fundamentalism is really only a return to the early tenets and practices of these religions.
A Spools Our production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:40 Profile (m0004sdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0004szv)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0004szx)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0004szz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0004t01)
Anna Foster
The best of BBC Radio this week with Anna Foster.
This week’s programme offers an intoxicating musical blend. From Afghan power-pop to the haunting notes of the Notre Dame organ by way of African-influenced salsa – it’s a real carnival for the senses. We stir the heart too, with the poetry of Audre Lorde, the search for love in Spain’s near-empty villages, and the mesmerising story of a man who spent nearly three decades on death row for a crime he didn’t commit.
Produced by Stephen Garner
Production support: Vanessa Ford
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0004sdk)
Will's got some apologising to do and the pressure's on for Harrison to find the bunting thief.
SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (m0004t03)
Ruby Wax: Frazzled - 2
Ruby Wax returns to talk about mental health in her inimitable style, using comedy and insight to make us laugh and also think about what it means to be human.
It follows her well-received show for Radio 4 last year.
"Excellent" - The Guardian.
"Appealing and wise" - The Times
"Articulate and entertaining" - i
There is so much to say about mental health and, with a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and years of struggles with mental health, Ruby has the knowledge, the experience and the comic gifts to say it in an articulate, funny and entertaining way, engaging the audience both in the room and at home.
She wants to make us laugh at her and at ourselves, share her thoughts about where we are now, how we can make ourselves think and feel a bit better and how we can all be a bit less isolated.
Written and performed by Ruby Wax
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Strictly Stories (m0004t05)
Foxtrot
A single dad is baffled to learn that his ear-studded, activist daughter wants to go to the Pink Lemon Dance Studio to learn the foxtrot.
Written by Bethan Roberts and read by Paul Bazely.
The music is More by Nat King Cole.
Directed by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:00 More or Less (m0004md0)
Nurses, flatmates and cats
Nurse suicide rates
There were some worrying figures in the news this week about the number of nurses in England and Wales who died by suicide over the last seven years. We try to work out what the numbers are really telling us.
Are 27 million birds killed a year by cats?
Newspapers reported this week that 27 million birds are killed by cats each year. We find out how this number - which might not really be "news" - was calculated.
How rare are house shares?
A listener got in touch to say she was surprised to read that only 3% of people aged 18 to 34 live in a house share with other people. She feels it must be too low – but is she living in a London house-sharing bubble? We find out.
Proving that x% of y = y% of x
Why is it that 4% of 75 is the same as 75% of 4? Professor Jennifer Rogers from the University of Oxford joins Tim in the studio to explore a mind-blowing maths ‘trick’.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0004mct)
Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Terry Rawlings, Neus Català, Heather Harper CBE, Peter Mayhew
Pictured: Peter Mayhew
Matthew Bannister on
Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who served with the Irish Guards during the war, liberated his own country and then presided over its prosperity.
Terry Rawlings, the film editor who worked on Alien, Chariots of Fire and the Bond film Goldeneye.
Neus Català, the Spanish communist who fought Franco, joined the French resistance and survived a Nazi death camp.
Heather Harper, the operatic soprano who was called up at the last minute to perform in the premiere of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem.
Peter Mayhew, the actor best known for playing Chewbacca in the original Star Wars films.
Interviewed guest: Patricia Treble
Interviewed guest: Major General Sir Robert Corbett, KCVO, CB
Interviewed guest: Ridley Scott
Interviewed guest: Michael Eaude
Interviewed guest: Eduardo Bennaroch
Reader: Helen Clapp
Producer: Neil George
Archive clips from: Passing Out Parade: HRH Prince Jean of Luxembourg, BBC Sound Archive, 29/07/1943; Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, Brandywine Productions/Twentieth Century-Fox Productions 1979; Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, The Ladd Company/Shaw Brothers/Warner Bros./Blade Runner Partnership, 1982; Heather Harper: A Musical Portrait, BBC Two 30/08/1984; Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, directed by George Lucas, Lucasfilm/Twentieth Century Fox 1977.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0004s9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0004sh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (m0004mh1)
Getting Hired
The face-to-face interview can be life-changing.
But it comes with risks attached, of bias on the part of the interviewer, or nerves on the part of the candidate.
Lesley Curwen looks at the fast-changing process of getting hired in companies, big and small.
Large companies are increasingly using recruitment tools including artificial intelligence to weed out the weakest candidates, in order to find the right candidate for the right job. But there is resistance in some quarters from some small employers who believe in the old ways of sifting through CVs by hand to produce a short-list.
So can the traditional face-to-face interview survive longterm?
Producer Smita Patel
Editor Penny Murphy
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0004t08)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m0004mfn)
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
With Antonia Quirke.
Writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz talks about Colette, the true story of the author who had to use her husband's name to publish her novels. And she reveals the difference between writing for the screen and for the stage, and why she really doesn't like handing in a movie script not knowing how it will turn out.
Berlin in the 1920s was one of the most socially progressive pockets of the 20th century, and the movies were just as out there. NB presenter Caitlin Benedict uncovers the secrets of gender and sexuality in Weimar cinema with Pamela Hutchinson and Morgan M Page.
Neil Brand recounts the tale of the original score for Apocalypse Now, composed by David Shire, who was, at the time, Francis Ford Coppola's brother-in-law.
SUN 23:30 Journey of a Lifetime (m0004t0b)
2011: Jane Labous
Each year, the Royal Geographical Society in association with BBC Radio 4 organises a competition to choose the top dream travel assignment. The 2011 winner is Jane Labous, whose destination of choice was the west African nation of Mali. Her goal: to meet the men and women who face hardship every day as they eke out a living digging and diving for sand and gravel from the bed of the River Niger.
Tradition in Mali has meant that houses are made from mud, which bakes hard in the searing African sun. But today the available solidity of concrete means that mud homes are less desirable and there is an ever-growing demand for sand to help fashion the concrete structures sprouting all over the capital Bamako.
Jane travels to the little town of Koulikoro 50 km north of the capital to talk to the sand-diggers who spend back-breaking hours in 40-degree heat dredging tons of sand and gravel from the riverbed to satisfy the relentless hunger for aggregates of Bamako's builders.
But at what cost? The fishermen are outraged by the way the river waters are disturbed and their livelihood threatened; as for the sand-diggers themselves, the natural perils of the Niger - crocodiles, hippopotamus, not to mention the river-genies who must be appeased - are now compounded by the dangerous deep trenches in the riverbed that make diving ever more dangerous. Now the locals have taken out an order to ban the diggers from the shallow waters close to Koulikoro's centre where the town's children love to play.
But with bandits threatening the north of the country, the other big question on Jane's mind today is whether she'll make it to the regional capital of Djenné safely for the traditional annual renewal of mud-coating on the city's grand mosque....
Producer: Simon Elmes
MONDAY 06 MAY 2019
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0004t0d)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m0004mfw)
The Politics of Memorials
The Politics of Memorials: Remembering Emmet Till – in 1955, a young African-American was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 at the age of 14, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. Driving through the Mississippi Delta today and you’ll find a landscape dotted with memorials to major figures and moments from the civil rights movement, none more tragic than this murder.The ways in which his death is remembered have been fraught from the beginning, revealing the political controversies which lurk behind the placid facades of historical markers. Dave Tell, Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, analyses the various ways that this landmark event in the civil rights movement has been commemorated. Also, Margaret O’Callaghan, Reader in History, Queen’s University Belfast, discusses commemoration in the context of Irish history. How has the marking of the Easter Rising shifted over time? What roles are played by memorials in any society? And what forces dictate what gets remembered and what is forgotten?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0004sj5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0004t0g)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0004t0j)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0004t0l)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0004t0n)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0004t0q)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Latifa Akay, director of education at Maslaha
Good morning. The start of a new week and the first week of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims across the world.
A big part of fasting in Ramadan is a sense of community and kinship. In cities across the UK mosques and community groups will open their doors to Muslims and non-Muslims to share food and space. The breaking fast meal every night at sunset is often a joyful communal occasion, replete with overwhelming selections of culinary delights.
Growing up in Belfast, my mum would make my sisters and I ‘Ramadan baskets’ every night, a box of eclectic sweets, chocolate and disappointingly on occasion – dried fruit. Think an edible only Christmas stocking – but in a box. A small gesture but ‘Ramadan baskets’ added to a sense of excitement and togetherness that made the month feel like a special time despite growing up in a small diaspora community.
For many people however, the promise of community at big religious occasions is what can make these times difficult or lonely. For some this will be a reminder of lost or estranged loved ones, a fear of judgement or of a wider disconnect from particular communities. For others, in the case of Ramadan, it may be that they don’t fast and feel isolation in this, or that they can’t fast – for people who struggle with eating disorders, poor mental or physical health. It is always valuable to reflect on how our behaviours in particular spaces – can contribute to people feeling unwelcome or unsafe. Only then can we begin to work towards creating environments that are truly inclusive.
Whether it is at a big occasion or simply business as usual, may we all be guided to reflect on how to make our community spaces inviting and open to everyone, particularly for those most marginalised in our communities. Ameen
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0004t0s)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:56 Weather (m0004t0v)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b041yd42)
Heather Moorland Dawn Chorus
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough celebrates International Dawn Chorus Day with the second of four recordings marking this event. In this programme, we hear the dawn chorus from the heather moors of Allendale in Northumberland. Songs featured are that of the curlew, skylark, golden plover and redshank.
MON 06:00 Today (m0004s91)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0004s95)
Icons of English literature
Chaucer is renowned as the father of English literature. But in a new biography Marion Turner argues he is a far more cosmopolitan writer and thinker than we might assume. She tells Andrew Marr how the 14th-century author of The Canterbury Tales moved from the commercial wharves of London to the chapels of Florence, and from a spell as a prisoner of war in France to the role of diplomat in Milan.
The academic Emma Smith challenges audiences to look with fresh eyes at the plays of Shakespeare. In a series of essays she reveals how his plays have as much to say about PTSD, intersectionality and #MeToo as they do about Ovid, marriage and the divine right of kings.
When Charles Dickens started his writing career, his ambition was global: to speak to ‘every nation upon earth’. And he succeeded. His stories reached Russia, China, Australia, even Antarctica, and he was mobbed in the street when he visited America. Juliet John, co-curator of the exhibition Global Dickens, examines how Dickens’s work could travel so far, when the settings of his novels were much closer to home.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (m0004s99)
The Corner Shop: Shopkeepers, the Sharmas and Modern Britain
Episode 1
An insightful look at modern Britain through the prism of the corner shop.
From the general stores of the first half of the 20th century to the reinvigorated corner shops run by immigrants from India, East Africa and Eastern Europe, their influence has shaped the way we shop, the way we eat, and the way we understand ourselves.
Babita Sharma grew up as a ‘corner-shop kid’; gaining a unique insight into a very British institution from behind the counter. She is a journalist and presenter on BBC World News.
Read by the author
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0004s9h)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004s9p)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Episode 1
A dramatisation of Katrina Bivald's popular novel - a warm, funny and moving story of love and friendship which was originally published in Swedish.
The heroine Sara, who is in her late twenties, leaves her native Sweden to visit her much older pen pal Amy in a remote part of Iowa, a town aptly called Broken Wheel.
But, when she arrives, all is not as she had foreseen.
Knowing nobody there, the townspeople who are initially wary of her, take her into their hearts. The joint passion between Sara and Amy was books, and she soon decides that Broken Wheel needs a bookstore. With some help from the locals, she sets one up and it proves quite a hit.
But how long can she stay there on a tourist visa? And what if she were to be persuaded to fall in love with one of the residents, making it possible to marry and stay on indefinitely? And which of the rather curious collection of suitors would be the most likely?
Unexpectedly, she finds herself falling in love - not just with one of the men in question, but with the whole town itself.
Cast:
SARA...................Anna Koval
TOM.....................Richard Goulding
CAROLINE..........Lorelei King
JEN.......................Laurel Lefkow
AMY.....................Adjoa Andoh
GEORGE...............William Hope
ANDY....................Martin T. Sherman
GRACE .................Kate Harper
Author: Katarina Bivald
Translator: Alice Menzies
Dramatist: Jeremy Raison
Director: Cherry Cookson
A Wireless Theatre production for BBC Radio 4
MON 11:00 The Untold (m0004s9z)
Leaving the Party
Grace Dent follows the fortunes of two candidates - one ex-Labour, one ex-Conservative - who've quit the big parties to stand as independents in the local elections.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m0004sb7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0004sbh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 Machines Like Me (m0004sbq)
Episode 6
Ian McEwan's new novel reimagines life and times in the 1980s, and is abridged in ten episodes by Penny Leicester.
Adam the synthetic human belonging to Charlie, has prompted his master to further investigate the Gorringe rape case, and even Miranda has opened up about it now. Also, a surprise request for Charlie to visit a man of profound influence. His name is Sir Alan Turing.
Reader Anton Lesser
Producer Duncan Minshull
MON 12:18 You and Yours (m0004sc1)
Game of Thrones Pups
In Game of Thrones the direwolves seem the perfect pets, padding alongside the Starks and even proving handy in the odd battle. But according to The Dogs Trust the growing sales of wolf-type dogs fuelled by the hit HBO show are a problem - as owners realise these adorable pups grow into extremely powerful, energetic dogs which are difficult to train.
And we return to the 2013 horsemeat scandal. Following the recent sentencing of Jacques Poujol, the former director of the meat processing company Spanghero, Professor Chris Elliott who carried out an investigation into the contamination tells us about current weak points in our food delivery chain - and why sentences have to be tougher.
We talk to the energy ombudsman about an increase in the number of complaints about switching - and the "affordable" Tesla Model 3 is on sale. At £38,990 Steve Fowler from Auto Express Magazine considers whether it can transform the market.
Presented by Melanie Abbott
Produced by Kev Core
MON 12:57 Weather (m0004scc)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0004scn)
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 Encounters with Victoria (m0004sd0)
1: Kinky Lord M
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces, begins a new 10 part exploration of Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
1: Accession Day & Kinky Lord M - 1837
Charming, saturnine, worldly-wise and interested in sadistic sexual practices, Lord Melbourne appears in Queen Victoria's journal at
9am on the day she becomes Queen. He will guide her through the day's ceremonies and controversies, fending off on her behalf her disliked mother and former guardian, John Conroy. Lord M., as she called him, was soon half in love with his 18-year-old mistress, but this could be politically dangerous to the young Queen who was too stubborn and headstrong to listen to what her mother, wiser and more loving that she’s given credit for, had to say. With historian Philip Ziegler.
Reader: Sarah Ovens, Michael Bertenshaw, Kenny Blythe & Sabine Scherek.
Producer: Mark Burman
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0004sdk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b083pchd)
Road to Oxford
David is the first of his family to go to university. The young student goes up to Oxford full of hope and with his parents bursting with pride, but finds that it's not all plain sailing. Matters come to a crisis during the chaotic festivities of May Day.
The latest in the long line of Road plays created by writer Douglas Livingstone and director Jane Morgan. The plays in this long running, occasional series are based on extensive original recordings of festivals from all round the world.
Road to Oxford is set at the celebration of the dawn on May 1st, when the choristers sing from the top of Magdalen tower and the students shiver in their evening clothes at the base - after a night of partying. The production team went to Oxford to record the overnight festivities and shivered with the rest of them, town and gown, but managed to avoid the temptation of a warming nip of alcohol - a temptation which quite a few other people succumbed to.
A number of the actors are making their radio debuts and are graduates of the Oxford School of Drama or from The University of Oxford itself. Students advised on the setting for the recordings and storylines have been suggested by a number of Oxford graduates, who contributed their thoughts on their time in the city of dreaming spires.
Cast:
Bernard ….John McAndrew
David….Michael Gilbert
Shirley…Annabel Smith
Mary…Jane Whittenshaw
Julian…Jordan Metcalfe
Christopher…Charlie Bateman
The Porter…Christopher Benjamin
The Senior Tutor…Frank Stirling
The Guide…Ella Road
The Policeman…Christopher Royle
Written by Douglas Livingstone
Directed by Jane Morgan
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m0004sdz)
Heat 7, 2019
(7/17)
Russell Davies asks the questions in the latest heat of the 2019 tournament, from the Radio Theatre in London.
As usual the competitors will be asked on a wide and completely unpredictable range of topics, from pre-conquest British history to Japanese theatre, from Grand Slam tennis tournaments to the location of the ancient city of Nineveh. Today's winner goes through to the semi-finals in the summer.
Taking part are:
Mark Hollings, a pub quiz compiler from Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire
Nina Metson, a business partner in internal communications, from Colchester
Paul Millgate, a retired banker from Petts Wood in Kent
David Smith, an IT consultant from Chiswick in London.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m0004sfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Besieged (m0000m7n)
The heartbreaking stories of Syrians living and dying in besieged cities during the civil war. Over the last seven years as many as a million people in Syria lived under siege, 400,000 of them in Eastern Ghouta alone. Some were trapped for more than four years of bombardment, sniping and near starvation. The walls that stopped them fleeing also prevented many of their stories reaching the outside world.
Over the course of the war, Mike Thomson has been using internet links and social media to hear from those in these isolated and often forgotten places, Many told Mike their stories as bombs shook the walls around them. The result is a picture of everyday life in some of the most dangerous and devastated places on earth. Yet amid the grim accounts are inspiring examples of resilience, courage and hope.
Producer: Bob Howard
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m0004sfs)
Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world.x
MON 17:00 PM (m0004sg5)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0004sgj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m0004sgx)
Series 22
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.
Lou Sanders, Frankie Boyle, Henning Wehn and Lucy Porter are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as time, driving, The Spice Girls and Scotland.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m0004sh8)
Jazzer's determined to get even and Shula and Alistair start plotting.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0004shn)
Architect Sir David Adjaye in Venice
Among the designs of the leading British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye OBE are the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, which opened in 2016 in a ceremony led by the then US President Barack Obama, and the planned UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre next to the Palace of Westminster in London.
David Adjaye is in Venice ahead of the opening of his Ghana Pavilion for this year's Biennale, and in a rare interview the architect discusses the role of architecture and the importance of anthropology and ethnography in his designs.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer Jerome Weatherald
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004s9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 My Name Is... (m0004sgm)
My Name Is Josh Walker
Josh Walker was a volunteer with the YPG or People's Protection Units in northern Syria. He wants to know why the media fail to explain the complexities of war.
With Lindsey Hilsum of Channel 4 news, MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, and artist George Butler who specialises in war reportage.
The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m0004mcp)
Empty Spain and the Caravans of Love
How does a lonely, Spanish shepherd find love when single women have left for the city? Antonio Cerrada lives north of Madrid, in the heart of what’s been nicknamed the, ‘Lapland of Spain’ because its population density is so low. With only a handful of families left in his village, and people continuing to leave for the cities, Antonio struggled to find a partner. Then Maria Carvajal arrived. She came in a bus full of single women – a ‘caravana’ - to attend an organised party with men like Antonio.
The Caravans of Women - or Caravans of Love as they are known - began as a response to Spain’s epic story of rural depopulation. More than half the country is at risk, and in nearly 600 municipalities there isn’t one resident under the age of 10. But as Linda Pressly finds out, there are many initiatives now to reverse the decline of the Spanish countryside, including a movement of young people – the ‘neo-rurales’ – who have begun to occupy abandoned villages.
Presenter and producer: Linda Pressly
Producer in Spain: Esperanza Escribano
(Image: Antonio Cerrada, a shepherd who found love. Credit: BBC, Esperanza Escribano)
MON 21:00 The Great Science Publishing Scandal (m0004l7k)
Matthew Cobb, Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester, explores the hidden world of prestige, profits and piracy that lurks behind scientific journals.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of articles on the findings on research are published, forming the official record of science. This has been going on since the 17th century, but recently a kind of war has broken out over the cost of journals to the universities and research institutions where scientists work, and to anyone else who wants to access the research, such as policy makers, patient support groups and the general public.
Traditionally journals charge their readers a subscription, but since the start of the 21st century there's been a move to what's called open access, where the authors pay to get their articles published but anyone can read them, without charge. In Europe Plan S has called for all research funded by the public purse to be open access, by 2020. If and when this is implemented it could have downsides on learned societies who depend on income from journal subscriptions to support young researchers and on scientists in the less developed world.
Some universities, and even countries, have recently refused to pay the subscriptions charged by some of the big science publishers. This has lead to some scientists using a service run by a Russian hacker, which has effectively stolen the whole of the scientific literature and gives it away, free, on the internet.
Matthew Cobb looks back at how the scientific publishing industry got to its current state and asks how it could change. He argues that scientists themselves need to break their addiction to wanting their articles to appear in a few well known journals, and instead concentrate on the quality of their research.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m0004s95)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0004sjb)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 Machines Like Me (m0004sbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
MON 23:00 When Greeks Flew Kites (m0004sjn)
Fake History
This month, Sarah Dunant explores the history of fake history.
In March this year, the Christchurch attacker invoked a twisted interpretation of medieval history and the crusades to justify his terrorist attack on a mosque. In this programme, Dr Levi Roach contextualises the Battle of Tours, the historical event invoked by the Christchurch attacker, and explains how groups on the extremes, especially in the digital realm, are able to misuse and misrepresent history for their ideological ends.
Fake history and contested narratives are nothing new. Since history has been recorded, the past has been massaged, misread, selectively interpreted or simply invented, in order to justify ideology, politics, or cultural identity.
Egyptologist Richard Parkinson dissects the dangers of well-intentionally reading LGBT history in the ancient world, and argues that our political beliefs prime us to see what we want to see.
Professor Margaret MacMillan charts how the rise of nationalism in the 19th century spurred on the creative reinterpretation of past events to give young and fragile countries an identity to rally around.
Professor Audrey Truschke unpicks a piece of 17th century Indian history that has, for centuries, been used by all sides to justify their political views, and which has only become more contested, toxic, and dangerous in the modern world - catching the historian themselves in the middle of it.
Reader: Peter Marinker
Presenter: Sarah Dunant
Producers: Natalie Steed and Nathan Gower
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:30 Journey of a Lifetime (b04gr5hh)
2014: Peter Geoghegan. Wrestling with the Future
The winner of 2014's BBC/Royal Geographical Society award for a dream travel project is Irishman Peter Geoghegan. His ambition: to learn the physically exhausting skills of traditional Mongolian wrestling, on the ground in the depths of the Mongolian countryside. But with the nation's economy undergoing a phenomenal boom, this mineral-rich nation, now an industrial powerhouse, must face uncomfortable choices between tradition and change.
Mongolia's wrestlers are world famous; they eat prodigiously and grapple fearlessly for hours in the searing sun. To be a wrestler is not just part of manhood's rituals, it's an integral part of being a Mongolian, indissolubly linked to the people's old traditional life as nomadic herders: a Mongolian nomad must possess the strength to bodily lift his beasts. Each year the national Naadam or games brings together the country's greatest wrestling champions, in exhausting contests of bodily strength and guile. But today, as Peter Geoghegan discovers when he joins a band of three dozen men at one of their training camps, they now arrive in sleek new four-by-fours and often work in western-style jobs in the traffic-choked capital, Ulan Bator.
As the falcons wheel over the steppe, Peter nurses his many bruises and ponders the future of a nation at a critical crossroads between a cherished past and a lucrative future...
Producer: Simon Elmes
TUESDAY 07 MAY 2019
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0004sjz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (m0004s99)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0004sk9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0004skm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0004skz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0004slb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0004slq)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Latifa Akay, director of education at Maslaha
Good morning. A few weeks ago I was having a discussion about ‘ego’ with some friends, and I was reminded of a quote that resonated with me in my teenage years, “Too many spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
We could talk about the many manifestations of ‘the ego’ and how it affects our intentions, actions and decisions all day.
In the Quran the ego is not described as good or bad, but it is said that left unregulated it can be a barrier to spiritual connection. Similar to other sentiments in the Abrahamic tradition, the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “None of you has achieved faith until you love for your sister or brother what you love for yourself.” Ask yourself – how often do you truly want for other people what you want for yourself? That promotion at work, a new house, praise from someone you really admire. Managing our egos is undoubtedly something that takes work.
At the same time, for those who believe we are creations of the divine there is value in nurturing selfhood and self-love – particularly for those who are marginalised and oppressed. If you don’t celebrate yourself, who is going to?
Take the boxer Muhammad Ali. The same Muhammad Ali who said ‘I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was,’ was also the Muhammad Ali who always positioned himself as a creation working for God. In his words: “I have one bodyguard. He has no eyes though He sees. He has no ears though He hears. When He wishes to create a thing, He just orders it to be and it comes into existence. He’s my bodyguard. He’s your bodyguard. He’s the Supreme, the Wise.”
Oh creator today and every day, help us to nurture ourselves while being mindful of you, and of ourselves, as your creations. Ameen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0004sm6)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b042300k)
Wetland Dawn Chorus
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough celebrates International Day Chorus Day with the third of four recordings marking this event. In this programme, we hear a dawn chorus from the marshes of North Warren in Suffolk. On clear moonlit nights the chorus can be an almost continuous chatter and includes reed and sedge warblers, reed bunting and even a bittern, with its booming, foghorn-like call.
TUE 06:00 Today (m0004sc2)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Long View (m0004scd)
Julian Assange and Robert Ferguson
Jonathan Freedland considers the career of Julian Assange and looks back at the life of Robert Ferguson, a seventeenth century pamphleteer and fugitive. Harnessing the power of new media to challenge the authority of English Kings, Ferguson was accused of conspiracy and forced to seek refuge in the Netherlands. Back in England he faced prison and notoriety as a plotter and possible double agent. Joining Jonathan to take the long view of journalists on the run are Justin Champion, Professor of History at Royal Holloway College, University of London, the journalist James Ball, lawyer Michael O'Kane, Senior Partner at Peters and Peters and Dr Karin von Hippel, Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute.
TUE 09:30 The Genius of Accidents (b0bc6hf4)
Series 1
The Coelacanth
The coelacanth is a fish that, until 1938, was only known from the fossil record until a young South African curator named Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer found one - only just deceased - on the deck of a fishing boat. Presenter Adam Hart speaks with ichthyologists and curators who knew Marjorie, putting together the story of how a curious mind, determination and a bit of luck saved this 'living fossil' for science.
Producer: Rory Galloway.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (m0004scr)
The Corner Shop: Shopkeepers, the Sharmas and Modern Britain
Episode 2
An affectionate look at modern Britain through the prism of the corner shop.
While sharing her own memories of growing up in a British institution, Babita Sharma considers the experiences of earlier corner-shop kid Margaret Thatcher.
Babita Sharma grew up as a ‘corner-shop kid’; gaining a unique insight into a very British institution from behind the counter. She is a journalist and presenter on BBC World News.
Read by the author
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0004sd4)
Woman's Hour in Ireland
This time last year there was a referendum in Ireland about abortion. The country voted to change its strict laws and make it legal up to 12 weeks. So Jane and the crew are taking the whole show to Dublin to talk about how the country's changed for women over the last 12 months.
As well as examining how abortion provision is actually working, we’ll discuss divorce because in a couple of weeks they’ll be another referendum on that too. We'll also talk about the correct way to memorialise Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes and Industrial Schools. Plus, there's a clause in the Irish Constitution about a woman's place in the home but many women argue it's outdated and patriarchal, so we'll tackle that subject too.
There’s so much to talk about. It’ll be a lively, freewheeling discussion with our panellists Dr Rhona Mahony who is Executive Director of Women's Health in Ireland East; Susan Lohan who's a member of the Collaborative Forum on Mother and Baby Homes, and the author and essayist Sinéad Gleeson. And there's live music from singer and songwriter Ailbhe Reddy.
We're live from the beautiful meeting room in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sdh)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Episode 2
A dramatisation of Katrina Bivald's popular novel - a warm, funny and moving story of love and friendship which was originally published in Swedish.
The heroine Sara, who is in her late twenties, leaves her native Sweden to visit her much older pen pal Amy in a remote part of Iowa, a town aptly called Broken Wheel.
But, when she arrives, she discovers that Amy has sadly died.
Knowing nobody there, the townspeople who are initially wary of her, take her into their hearts. The joint passion between Sara and Amy was books, and she soon decides that Broken Wheel needs a bookstore. With some help from the locals, she sets one up and it proves quite a hit.
But how long can she stay there on a tourist visa? And what if she were to be persuaded to fall in love with one of the residents, making it possible to marry and stay on indefinitely? And which of the rather curious collection of suitors would be the most likely?
Unexpectedly, she finds herself falling in love - not just with one of the men in question, but with the whole town itself.
Cast:
SARA...................Anna Koval
TOM.....................Richard Goulding
CAROLINE..........Lorelei King
JEN.......................Laurel Lefkow
AMY.....................Adjoa Andoh
GEORGE...............William Hope
ANDY....................Martin T. Sherman
GRACE .................Kate Harper
Author: Katarina Bivald
Translator: Alice Menzies
Dramatist: Jeremy Raison
Director: Cherry Cookson
A Wireless Theatre production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:00 Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life? (m0004sdw)
Arthur is eleven, likes dinosaurs and plays the cello. Arthur's dad Babak is 40, an artist and a former musician. His most successful artistic endeavour was when he collected twigs and sold them on eBay for £62.
As his self-deprecating social media posts suggest, Babak Ganjei doesn't have the best outlook on life. He makes prints that state, "I'm in the bush and I really love you" and, "I regret the divorce." One exhibition is optimistically titled "Everything is really bad and it’s only going to get worse and this is the most perfect time".
Arthur thinks his Dad should go for more runs, worry less and get a cat. Arthur also thinks it’s time his Dad learned how to ride a bike.
In 2019, the importance of self-care is everywhere. Self-help books, wellness conferences and therapist offices - telling people how to help themselves is a significant business. For three weeks, Arthur’s 11-year-old mind imaginatively tries to fix his Dad’s life.
Produced by Katie Callin and Barney Rowntree
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:30 The Art of Now (m0004sf7)
Afghan Stars: Fighting back with music
Sahar Zand travels to Kabul for the finals of Afghan Star, a TV talent show that has led the way in a resurgence of music in Afghanistan following the years of the Taliban regime, when music was banned. In the first of two programmes, she hears from a singer who has been targeted by the extremists, meets one of the Taliban’s senior figures to explore the reasons behind the cultural conflict, and follows the votes as the TV audience choose between the two young finalists.
Afghan Star is much like any other TV talent show – except that its context is a war zone. The studios are guarded by bomb-proof gates and snipers, and the participants arrive by armoured vehicle. It is watched by millions throughout the country – and is keeping music alive in Afghanistan despite constant threats. The programme also sees its role as promoting the country’s own traditional music, as a symbol of Afghan cultural identity. With current peace talks that could result in the Taliban again taking control, Afghan Star is on the front line of the continuing struggle in Afghanistan.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0004sfm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 Machines Like Me (m0004sg0)
Episode 7
Ian McEwan's new novel reimagines life and times in the 1980s, and is abridged in ten episodes by Penny Leicester.
Nationwide discontent and anxiety... Charlie, Miranda, and the synthetic human called Adam, make an eventful trip to Salisbury. First to see Maxfield Blacke, Miranda's father. Then on to the house where Peter Gorringe is living, and this might be dangerous.
Reader Anton Lesser
Producer Duncan Minshull
TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m0004sgf)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
TUE 12:57 Weather (m0004sgr)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m0004sh4)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
TUE 13:45 Encounters with Victoria (m0004shj)
2: Poor Lady Flora
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces explores Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters
2: Poor Lady Flora - 1839
The new Queen's greatest weakness was her close political association with the powerful Whigs. One of the ways their Tory enemies capitalised on this was through Lady Flora Hastings. A young, unmarried, lady-in-waiting at Buckingham Palace, Lady Flora was observed in the spring of 1839 to have a swelling in the stomach. Victoria, suspecting that she was 'privately married' (i.e. pregnant) insisted that Lady Flora be brutally examined by her own doctor. The Tories stoked rumours that the young Queen's court, ruled over by the cynical Lord Melbourne, had become a scandalous, debauched place. And when Lady Flora died of what turned out to be liver disease, Victoria was roundly criticised as heartless. With this story of wombs and misunderstandings, the gloss had come off the young Queen's crown.
With the historians Kathryn Hughes & Philip Ziegler
Readers: Michael Bertenshaw, Susan Jameson, Sarah Ovens, Sabine Scherek
Producer: Mark Burman
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0004sh8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (m0004shy)
My Cambodian Twin
Pippa Haywood and Paul Ritter star in a drama about playwright and travel writer Anne Caulfield’s determination to finish her book on Cambodia, despite lung cancer, and her unlikely friendship with a Khmer dancer, Sophea - her 'Cambodian twin'. By Martin McNamara and Annie Caulfield.
Directed by Emma Harding
Annie.....Pippa Haywood
Martin.....Paul Ritter
Sophea.....Uma Jackson
Dr Tom.....Christopher Harper
Guru.....Chike Chan
All other parts played by Kenny Blythe and Sarah Ovens
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0004s8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (m0004sj9)
The State of Nature
A detailed snapshot of Earth's natural life is published this week. How sick is the planet and what can we do to reverse the damage? Tom Heap hosts a debate. on the vital findings of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Tom is joined by Sir Robert Watson, Chair of the IBPES, by the writer and broadcaster Gaia Vince and by Erica McAlister, insect specialist at the Natural History Museum.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m0004sjm)
The Language of Comics
Can a series of images be 'read' like a series of words? What makes something a language? We have written, spoken and signed languages, but could the sequences of images we see in comics also qualify? Michael Rosen explores the visual language of comics and graphic novels, with comics theorist and cognitive researcher Neil Cohn, author of The Visual Language of Comics.
Producer: Mair Bosworth
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m0004sjy)
Series 48
Caroline Criado-Perez nominates Jane Austen
In 2013, Caroline Criado-Perez successfully campaigned for a woman to be featured on a banknote. The Bank of England chose Jane Austen. Caroline joins Matthew Parris and Dr Paula Byrne, author of three books about the novelist, to challenge some of the myths which surround the life of one of history's most famous writers.
Matthew discovers how Jane Austen's teenage writings shocked and entertained her family and learns about her grit and determination to be published. He finds out whether there was ever a Mr Darcy in the author's real life and hears why Caroline thinks Austen might just be the Georgians' answer to Fleabag.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
TUE 17:00 PM (m0004sk8)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0004skl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Ed Reardon's Week (m0004sky)
Series 13
The Ed Talk
Comedy series written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds.
Ed Reardon, author, pipe smoker, consummate fare-dodger and master of the abusive email, attempts to survive in a world where the media seems to be run by idiots and lying charlatans.
In episode two, Ed bumps into Geoff Daytona - a rich successful entrepreneur and motivational speaker Ed was at school with. Geoff commissions Ed with writing his self-help book – The Geoff Daytona Method. Surely this latest enterprise will pay the big bucks - keeping Ed in Cab Sav and Elgar in pilchards?
Ed Reardon ...... Christopher Douglas
Olive ...... Stephanie Cole
Pearl ...... Brigit Forsyth
Geoff Daytona ...... Colin McFarlane
Ping ...... Barunka O'Shaughnessy
Stan ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Elgar..... Colin the cat
With Sarah Ovens.
Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds
Producer Simon Nicholls
A BBC Studios Production
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0004skf)
Tom tells the truth and Kenton makes a faux pas.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0004sl8)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 MPs’ Expenses: The Legacy of a Scandal (m0004sls)
Radio 4 documentary
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0004sm8)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (m0004slk)
Remember that dress? In All in the mind recorded in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival at Sage Gateshead, Claudia Hammond delves into the psychology and neuroscience of our visual experience. How do we know we all see the same colours? And why do adults look away from other people’s faces when they’re trying to concentrate? We hear from the visual neuroscientist trying to work out exactly what we all see when we look at colours and from the psychologist training the police and teachers that it’s ok if people look away when they talk to you. It doesn’t mean they’re lying. It could mean they’re concentrating.
TUE 21:30 The Long View (m0004scd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0004smn)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 Machines Like Me (m0004sg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
TUE 23:00 Fred at The Stand (m0004sn0)
Series 2
Daliso Chaponda, Elaine Malcolmson, Alfie Brown and Mark Nelson
Fred MacAulay is back at The Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow doing what he does best - making people laugh.
In this final episode of the series, Fred introduces Daliso Chapon who is still adjusting to his post-TV fame. Who knew he'd end up being a role model? Not him.
Elaine Malcolmson joins Fred to reminisce about her childhood without rose-tinted glasses, while Alfie Brown turns heads and is at the centre of sorting out world peace.
Returning to close the show is one of Fred MacAulay's favourite stand-up comedians, a solid pair of hands no matter how filthy they are - Mark Nelson.
Fred At The Stand is the closest thing your ears are going to get to an actual night in a comedy club.
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0004snb)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
WEDNESDAY 08 MAY 2019
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0004snq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (m0004scr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0004sp7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0004spk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0004spx)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0004sq7)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0004sqh)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Latifa Akay, director of education at Maslaha
Good morning.
Charity takes many forms and is encouraged in beautiful ways in cultures and religious traditions across the world. From the concept of ‘dana’ in Buddhism – the act of giving and sharing without expecting anything in return – the Sikh principle of ‘Seva’ meaning ‘service to humanity’ or the Christian teaching to ‘love thy neighbour.’
In Islam we are told that God will reward those who give discretely in such a way that “their left hand would not know what their right hand gives in charity.” While the value of acts of kindness and generosity are referenced throughout the Quran, Muslims are also obliged to pay Zakat, a fixed payment of 2.5% of one’s wealth each year to benefit those less well off. The aim of giving in this way is to build civil cohesion and a social and civic consciousness motivated by a common good. Personally, I really like the fact that the principle of Zakat in theory is motivated by a sense of restoring a balance.
Such giving should therefore never be a ‘patting on the back’ exercise or a gesture motivated by pity or for show, but instead, an act grounded in an understanding that we live in a drastically unequal world.
Perhaps we would better overcome global inequalities if charitable giving was seen as an act of solidarity, or more over of compensation, in a world order that so unfairly sees an elite minority flourish at the expense of a majority.
In the words of the poet Rumi, “Inside the great mystery that is, we don’t really own anything. What is this competition we feel then, before we go, one at a time, through the same gate?”
May our intentions in giving always be pure, and may we find ways to give that will reach those in need most effectively. Ameen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0004sqr)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b042326r)
Urban Dawn Chorus
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough introduces the final recording marking International Dawn Chorus day. The urban dawn chorus was recorded by Chris Watson in Whitechapel, London as part of a project to enable the children of the Royal London Children's Hospital to hear the wildlife sounds on their doorstep. Birds featured include the robin, blackbird, great tit and house sparrow.
WED 06:00 Today (m0004scw)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 New Ways of Seeing (m0004sdb)
Cybernetic Forests
How is technology changing the way we see? The artist James Bridle reimagines John Berger’s Ways of Seeing for the digital age, focusing on machines and the environment.
“We can only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice” – John Berger.
In 1972, Berger’s seminal TV series and book changed perceptions of art and set out to reveal the language of images.
Of course, that was before the internet, smartphones, and social media took hold.
How do we see the world around us now? And, who are the artists urging us to look more closely?
James Bridle writes about the development of technology on our lives. His work has been exhibited at the V&A, the Barbican, in galleries worldwide, and online. In this series of four programmes, he updates Berger’s Ways of Seeing, inviting contemporary artists to explore how the technology we use every day has transformed the ways in which we see and are seen.
In the final episode, Cybernetic Forests, James asks what it would it mean for a forest to own itself, for a glacier to take photographs, or for wind turbines to generate funding for scientific research. Artists taking radical steps to address issues like climate change and corporate control explain how they’re rethinking and rebuilding some of the digital tools we use every day.
Contributors include Susan Schuppli, Taeyoon Choi, Kei Kreutler, Julian Oliver, Paul Seidler and Max Hampshire.
Producer: Steve Urquhart
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4
Photo: Taeyoon Choi
WED 09:30 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m0004sdq)
Series 13
Jurassic Squawk
"Is there is any way of knowing what noises, if any, dinosaurs would have made?" asks Freddie Quinn, aged 8 from Cambridge in New Zealand.
From Jurassic Park to Walking with Dinosaurs, the roars of gigantic dinosaurs like T.Rex are designed to evoke fear and terror.
But did dinosaurs actually roar? And how do paleontologists investigate what noises these extinct animals may have produced? Hannah and Adam talk to dinosaur experts Steve Brusatte and Julia Clarke to find out.
Plus Jurassic World sound designer Al Nelson reveals the strange sounds they used as dinosaur noises in their Hollywood blockbusters.
Send your questions for next series in to curiouscases@bbc.co.uk.
Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
Producer: Michelle Martin
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (m0004sf3)
The Corner Shop: Shopkeepers, the Sharmas and Modern Britain
Episode 3
An affectionate look at modern Britain through the prism of the corner shop.
As the far right gains popularity, the Sharmas take the plunge into retail in a move that will shape the course of the family's life for decades.
Babita Sharma grew up as a ‘corner-shop kid’; gaining a unique insight into a very British institution from behind the counter. She is a journalist and presenter on BBC World News.
Read by the author
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0004sfg)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (m0004sfx)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Episode 3
A dramatisation of Katrina Bivald's popular novel - a warm, funny and moving story of love and friendship which was originally published in Swedish.
The heroine Sara, who is in her late twenties, leaves her native Sweden to visit her much older pen pal Amy in a remote part of Iowa, a town aptly called Broken Wheel.
But, when she arrives, she discovers that Amy has sadly died.
Knowing nobody there, the townspeople who are initially wary of her, take her into their hearts. The joint passion between Sara and Amy was books, and she soon decides that Broken Wheel needs a bookstore. With some help from the locals, she sets one up and it proves quite a hit.
But how long can she stay there on a tourist visa? And what if she were to be persuaded to fall in love with one of the residents, making it possible to marry and stay on indefinitely? And which of the rather curious collection of suitors would be the most likely?
Unexpectedly, she finds herself falling in love - not just with one of the men in question, but with the whole town itself.
Cast:
SARA...................Anna Koval
TOM.....................Richard Goulding
CAROLINE..........Lorelei King
JEN.......................Laurel Lefkow
AMY.....................Adjoa Andoh
GEORGE...............William Hope
ANDY....................Martin T. Sherman
GRACE .................Kate Harper
Author: Katarina Bivald
Translator: Alice Menzies
Dramatist: Jeremy Raison
Director: Cherry Cookson
A Wireless Theatre production for BBC Radio 4
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (m0004sg8)
Vanessa and Niamh - Finding the Right Ingredients for the Future
Mother and daughter talk through classic some modern parenting conundrums. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
WED 11:00 My Name Is... (m0004sgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 Just William - Live! (m0004sgz)
William and the Musician
Award-winning Martin Jarvis performs the second of two Richmal Crompton comic classics, live on-stage. It's Just William as stand-up!
William’s imagination runs away with him when he tells an impoverished Punch and Judy man that he owns The Hall and is giving a garden party there. The little man believes him.
In fact, the event is courtesy of local wannabe Mrs Bott and she has invited a celebrated musician, Zevrier, to perform. When the Punch and Judy man turns up on the day to entertain, can William prevent a creative catastrophe?
A packed house at The Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond rocks with laughter as Martin Jarvis plays William himself - and everybody else. He is joined by violinist Sophie Mather who plays Zevrier’s ‘frightfully modern’ music.
Violin music composed by Richard Sisson
Director: Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0004shc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Machines Like Me (m0004shq)
Episode 8
Ian McEwan's new novel reimagines life and times in the 1980s, and is abridged in ten episodes by Penny Leicester.
Charlie, Miranda and the synthetic human Adam are in Salibury to visit Miranda's father. A romantic interlude is enjoyed, before more revelations about the boy Mark, and after that a difficult visit to Peter Gorringe's house nearby.
Reader Anton Lesser
Producer Duncan Minshull
WED 12:18 You and Yours (m0004sj1)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
WED 12:57 Weather (m0004sjf)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m0004sjr)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
WED 13:45 Encounters with Victoria (m0004sk2)
3: A Wounded Welshman
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces, explores Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters
3: A Wounded Welshman - 9 December 1839.
Welshman Thomas Phillips, Mayor of Newport, was not the usual sort of person who got invited to dinner at Windsor Castle, a point that Victoria's courtiers made very clear. But in 1839, he was invited to the castle to receive a knighthood. A month earlier, he’d been wounded while helping to put down an armed rebellion of 10,000 Chartist sympathisers. Many of them coal miners, they’d marched on Newport, many furious about the recent rejection of the People's Charter calling for Universal Suffrage. This was the last large-scale armed uprising against the state in mainland Britain, and it became a massacre as hidden troops opened fire. Phillips, the Mayor, was wounded in the fracas and now became lionised for quelling the revolution. After receiving his knighthood at Windsor Castle, and after a good deal of muttering from her courtiers, he did indeed sit down to eat with the Queen. It was her way of dealing with the demands - to which she would lifelong be deaf - for widening the electoral roll. But the Chartists so spooked the Royals that they fled for the 'safety' of the Isle of Wight.
With historians Les James, Rhian E. Jones & curator Oliver Blackmore .
Readers: Sarah Ovens, Michael Bertenshaw & Kenny Blythe
Producer: Mark Burman
WED 14:00 The Archers (m0004skf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (m0004skv)
Off Grid
By Ben Lewis.
Quirky and dark psychological drama about a young woman who joins a zero impact
community in the remote Scottish Highlands where things become increasingly uncanny.
Credits:
Kirsten ….. Shauna Macdonald
Moira ….. Anita Vettesse
Ava ….. Tori Burgess
Oak ….. Benny Young
Sound Designer: Danny Krass
Director: Kirsty Williams
WED 15:00 Money Box (m0004sl5)
The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (m0004slk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (m0004sly)
New research on how society works.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m0004smd)
The programme about a revolution in media with Amol Rajan, the BBC's media editor.
WED 17:00 PM (m0004sms)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0004sn5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (m0004snh)
Series 5
John Maynard Keynes
Radio 4's premier comedy-economics hybrid is five series old and the time is right to take a step back, and perhaps two steps up, and tackle the big, competing theories of Macro Economics. These are little short of religions to their proponents, and the figures who devised them dominate the intellectual landscape in a way that mere politicians can only dream of. These are the Big Beards, the Glinting Eyes, the Bristling Moustaches and Eyebrows of "Worldly Philosophy" and their insights, calculations and hallucinations remain as contentious today as they were when first inked into place.
In this series Simon Evans, with the help of Undercover Economist, Tim Harford will advance through the modern industrial era using three great beacons as their guide - Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes - and reflect on how they continue to shape our world today.
For episode 3 we look at John Maynard Keynes, a figure whose analysis and suggested solutions for the West's economic woes are still argued over as heatedly in Westminster and Washington as if they had been published just last week. Keynes was an extraordinary figure, not only an economic visionary but that rarest of things, one who put his money where his mouth was, and to great effect - his canny investments kept the entire Bloomsbury group afloat and in crayons, though we needn't hold that against him.
Producer: Richard Morris
Presenters: Simon Evans and Tim Harford
Writers: Simon Evans, Tim Harford, Dan Evans and Robert Ledger
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0004sfy)
Mia's worries increase and it's all hands on deck at Brookfield.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0004snv)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Across the Red Line (m0004sp5)
Series 3
08/05/2019
Anne McElvoy returns with the series that invites figures from opposing sides of a political issue to listen to each other - and to come to an understanding of the beliefs, aims and experiences that inform their position.
Producer: Phil Tinline
WED 20:45 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m0004sdq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (m0004sj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 New Ways of Seeing (m0004sdb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0004spj)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 Machines Like Me (m0004shq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m0004spy)
Series 6
Jane Horrocks
In the dark and in a bunk bed, your tired mind can wander away from the hurly-burly of the day.
Jane Horrocks joins Patrick Marber and Peter Curran on the spare mattress. Fancying yourself, the perils of childhood bed-wetting, rebel smoking and the wrong leggings are discussed without shame.
Produced by Peter Curran
A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 The Lach Chronicles (b07fg6v8)
Series 3
Goodnight Tokyo
Lach was the King of Manhattan’s East Village and host of the longest running open mic night in New York. He now lives in Scotland and finds himself back at square one, playing in a dive bar on the wrong side of Edinburgh.
His night, held in various venues around New York, was called the Antihoot. Never quite fitting in and lost somewhere lonely between folk and punk music, Lach started the Antifolk movement. He played host to Suzanne Vega, Jeff Buckley and many others. He discovered and nurtured lots of talent including Beck, Regina Spektor and the Moldy Peaches- but nobody discovered him.
In this episode, Lach remembers a time he played a gig in Tokyo. Things didn’t go to plan.
Written and performed by Lach
Sound design: Al Lorraine and Sean Kerwin
Produced by Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0004sq8)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
THURSDAY 09 MAY 2019
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0004sqj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (m0004sf3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0004sqs)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0004sqz)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0004sr3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0004sr7)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0004srg)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Latifa Akay, director of education at Maslaha
Good morning. You don’t need me to tell you that being present and mindful is in vogue these days. In our world of constant stimulation, notifications and smart phone scrolling, we are presented with a range of ways to switch off from the hum of everyday life. Meditation, mindfulness packaged up in many forms, good sleep patterns, the adult coloring book, to name a few examples.
Everyone finds different ways to switch off. For me a bit of nature, bird song and time spent in the small hours – whether that is late at night, or early in the morning – is always welcome. But truly being able to quieten the mind and be present in the moment without flitting into worries, daydreams or projections is incredibly difficult. A lot of the time when we’re talking to people, we aren’t listening. Usually our minds are working at full speed – thinking about responses, judgments or maybe about something else entirely.
The idea of meditation is inherent in most religious traditions, including Islam, with the teaching that a quiet and focused mind can foster a greater connection with the divine.
For me fasting in Ramadan, rather than being a time of ‘running on empty’, is in fact very conducive to focus. With limited energy reserves it feels naturally easier to focus on tasks one by one – without the mind flitting off left, right and centre. At times it almost feels like you have been slowed down and suddenly find yourself watching the hustle and bustle and interactions of your surroundings with the renewed perspective of finding yourself positioned a few steps away from it all.
May we all find ways to step back from the rush and stresses of everyday life and have the clarity to make decisions that are good for us. Ameen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0004srl)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03srqz5)
Great Bustard
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the great bustard. Great bustards, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, were most common in Wiltshire and East Anglia but in the past they were hunted to extinction and the last known breeding birds in the UK were in 1832.
Today, great bustards are back on Salisbury Plain, thanks to the work of the Great Bustard Group. The Group aims to establish a self-sustaining population in the UK.
THU 06:00 Today (m0004s9n)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0004s9w)
Bergson and Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) and his ideas about human experience of time passing and how that differs from a scientific measurement of time, set out in his thesis on 'Time and Free Will' in 1889. He became famous in France and abroad for decades, rivalled only by Einstein and, in the years after the Dreyfus Affair, was the first ever Jewish member of the Académie Française. It's thought his work influenced Proust and Woolf, and the Cubists. He died in 1941 from a cold which, reputedly, he caught while queuing to register as a Jew, refusing the Vichy government's offer of exemption.
With
Keith Ansell-Pearson
Emily Thomas
And
Mark Sinclair
Producer: Simon Tillotson
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (m0004sb4)
The Corner Shop: Shopkeepers, the Sharmas and Modern Britain
Episode 4
An insightful look at modern Britain through the prism of the corner shop.
In the early 80s, as the Conservatives champion the Asian work ethic and the far right gains popularity, the Sharmas move to their second shop.
Babita Sharma grew up as a ‘corner-shop kid’; gaining a unique insight into a very British institution from behind the counter. She is a journalist and presenter on BBC World News.
Read by the author
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0004sbd)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sbp)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Episode 4
A dramatisation of Katrina Bivald's popular novel - a warm, funny and moving story of love and friendship which was originally published in Swedish.
The heroine Sara, who is in her late twenties, leaves her native Sweden to visit her much older pen pal Amy in a remote part of Iowa, a town aptly called Broken Wheel.
But, when she arrives, she discovers that Amy has sadly died.
Knowing nobody there, the townspeople who are initially wary of her, take her into their hearts. The joint passion between Sara and Amy was books, and she soon decides that Broken Wheel needs a bookstore. With some help from the locals, she sets one up and it proves quite a hit.
But how long can she stay there on a tourist visa? And what if she were to be persuaded to fall in love with one of the residents, making it possible to marry and stay on indefinitely? And which of the rather curious collection of suitors would be the most likely?
Unexpectedly, she finds herself falling in love - not just with one of the men in question, but with the whole town itself.
Cast:
SARA...................Anna Koval
TOM.....................Richard Goulding
CAROLINE..........Lorelei King
JEN.......................Laurel Lefkow
AMY.....................Adjoa Andoh
GEORGE...............William Hope
ANDY....................Martin T. Sherman
GRACE .................Kate Harper
Author: Katarina Bivald
Translator: Alice Menzies
Dramatist: Jeremy Raison
Director: Cherry Cookson
A Wireless Theatre production for BBC Radio 4
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m0004sby)
Abandoned in the Amazon
The dangers of flying in the great wilderness of the Brazilian rainforest. When a light aircraft carrying two families from a local Indian tribe disappeared over the Amazon in December, relatives scoured the rainforest for weeks until hunger and sickness forced them to give up. The Brazilian authorities ignored appeals for an official ground search – just as they’ve ignored appeals over many years to regulate local flights in the Amazon. Without air traffic control, pilots must fly clandestinely – making already-hazardous travel between the tiny landing strips even more dangerous. Now, Brazil has a new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has spoken out against the communal rights of indigenous people – and, as Tim Whewell reports, tribal leaders fear the failure to find the missing plane may be a sign of growing official indifference to their needs. Producer in Brazil, Jessica Cruz.
(Image: Before the tragedy - Jeziel Barbosa de Moura, pilot of the vanished plane, minutes before he took off on the doomed flight. Credit: Family archive)
THU 11:30 Concerts Inside (m0004sc8)
Ex-inmate Carl Cattermole explores the power of concerts that have taken place in jails.
Music lover Carl recently served an 18-month prison sentence. While inside, he found solace by listening to music through his headphones - but never had the experience of listening to music with others. He was aware that, over the years, several concerts have taken place inside prisons and so, on release, he set out to find out about these musical events – discovering how the communal experience of prison concerts can transform lives.
Ex-offender Erwin James talks about folk singer John Martyn’s performances at Long Lartin jail - and the effect that concert had on some the UK’s most hardened criminals.
Writer Ivan Hewett relays the story of Olivier Messiaen composing his Quartet for the End of Time during his incarceration in a prisoner of war camp in Silesia.
Music journalist John Ingham recalls the time in 1976 when he accompanied the Sex Pistols into Chelmsford Maximum Security Prison, where the band played a gig for 50 inmates on a hot sunny afternoon.
Finally, musician George Caird tells Carl about the time Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears went into Wormwood Scrubs on 11th July 1943 to perform for the prisoners there. The inmates included their great friend Michael Tippett, who was serving a three-month sentence for being a conscientious objector.
Presenter: Carl Cattermole
Producer Rosie Boulton
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0004scl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Machines Like Me (m0004scz)
Episode 9
Ian McEwan's new novel reimagines life and times in the 1980s, and is abridged in ten episodes by Penny Leicester.
The national mood is uncertain as Charlie and Miranda make plans to look after little Mark. These plans will be jeopardised by the actions of Adam the synthetic human, unless Charlie takes action. And he does take action. Forcefully.
Reader Anton Lesser
Producer Duncan Minshull
THU 12:18 You and Yours (m0004sdd)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
THU 12:57 Weather (m0004sdr)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0004sf4)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
THU 13:45 Encounters with Victoria (m0004sfj)
4: The Governess
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces explores Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.4: The Governess-3 September 1842
An important event is missing from Victoria's diary entry for 23 September 1842. It was actually only her mother's diary which tells us that this was the way that Victoria’s old governess, Louise Lehzen, slipped away from Windsor Castle without saying goodbye. Lehzen, who had been a second mother to Victoria, and who instilled her with her stiff - possibly inflexible - standards, had fallen out with the increasingly powerful Prince Albert, who’d taken over the running of the Royal Household. 'I could pardon wickedness in a Queen but not weakness’, Lehzen had told her princess, and now her former pupil now showed no weakness in dismissing her former governess without a word. A last sad glimpse of Lehzen comes from the years of her retirement to her native Germany, where she compiled a scrapbook of memories of the girl she loved. Lehzen even went to the station to wave as Victoria steamed past on a royal tour. The train did not stop.
Readers: Sarah Ovens, Bea Behlen, Joseph Ayre
Producer: Mark Burman
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0004sfy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b08wp54s)
Keeping the Wolf Out
Waiting by the River
Philip Palmer's detective series continues as Bertalan and Franciska get sucked deeper into a battle of wits that could destroy them both.
Directed by Toby Swift
THU 15:00 Open Country (m0004sgb)
Stonehenge and its community
Helen Mark finds out how Stonehenge continues to influence and shape the next generation of makers and trades people in Amesbury and the villages around it. Helen meets a thatcher, the cob wall maker and a frame maker who are all in their own way keeping a traditional craft going. But their skills have also ended up inspiring artist Linda Brothwell who has captured their stories and their lives in her latest work. The makers have no idea what Linda has made and are going to have to wait to see the exhibits when Stonehenge hosts this very first contemporary art exhibition.
The producer is Perminder Khatkar.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0004sh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Bookclub (m0004shf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m0004sht)
Mads Mikkelsen
With Antonia Quirke.
Mads Mikkelsen reveals why his training as a ballet dancer and gymnast helped him to play a plane crash survivor in Arctic, which was shot in the frozen wastes of Iceland during the winter.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0004sj6)
Dr Adam Rutherford and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m0004sjj)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0004sjv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Meet David Sedaris (m0004sk5)
Series 7
Episode 6
The globetrotting, trash-picking, aisle-rolling storyteller is back with more words of wit and wisdom.
With his sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humour writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves him a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today. Three short stories this week - CNN, Boo Hooey and a selection of David's Million Dollar Ideas.
David Sedaris's first book, Barrel Fever (1994) which included The SantaLand Diaries, was a critical and commercial success, as were his follow-up efforts, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000). He became known for his bitingly funny recollections of his youth, family life and travels, making semi-celebrities out of his parents and siblings.
David has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. His latest international best-selling book is a collection of stories entitled Calypso. A feature film adaptation of his story C.O.G. was released after a premier at the Sundance Film Festival (2013). He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and has been a appearing on BBC Radio 4 since 1996.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m0004sgd)
Jazzer's up for a fight and Tom's forced to come clean.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0004skh)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0004skw)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 20:30 In Business (m0004sl6)
Beijing to Belarus - A new Silk Road to Europe
China and Belarus are building an economic trade zone so huge it will rival Barcelona or Dublin in footprint. It’s called Great Stone and it’s imagined as a futurist city - clean, green, and super modern - where pioneers of industry and technology will make their home. President Xi Jinping calls Great Stone a ‘Pearl’ of his New Silk Road - a turbo-charged version of ancient East-West trading routes.
Belarus is gradually opening up after years of post-Soviet caution. It’s keen to encourage international investment as its old Soviet era industries prove difficult to reform. Optimistic Belarusians point to their advantageous geography - the jigsaw piece between the European Union and Russia; their educated workforce and their impressive track record in high-tech innovation.
Presented and produced by Monica Whitlock
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m0004sj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m0004s9w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0004slw)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 Machines Like Me (m0004scz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
THU 23:00 Alone (b0b3fkqm)
Series 1
The Big Match
A sitcom, written by Moray Hunter and starring Angus Deayton, about five single, middle aged neighbours living in flats in a converted house in North London.
Mitch (Angus Deayton) is a widower and part-time therapist who is looking to put his life back together now that he is single and living - supposedly temporarily - with Will (Pearce Quigley), his younger, more volatile and unhappily divorced half-brother.
Elsewhere in the building are schoolteacher Ellie (Abigail Cruttenden) who is shy, nervous and desperately missing her ex-boyfriend, overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa (Kate Isitt), and socially inept IT nerd Morris (Bennett Arron).
In The Big Match, Mitch has plans to watch the Australian tennis final on his own - but no-one else quite got the memo and they all turn up to watch the match too. Unfortunately for Mitch, Will is trying to avoid working, Ellie is struggling with her Facebook reaction to a death, Morris is hungry and Louisa needs to find a hot date in a hurry.
Cast:
Mitch: Angus Deayton
Ellie: Abigail Cruttenden
Will: Pearce Quigley
Louisa: Kate Isitt
Morris: Bennett Arron
Tom (Chief Fire Officer): Saul Boyer
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0004smb)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRIDAY 10 MAY 2019
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0004smq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (m0004sb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0004sn3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0004sng)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0004snw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0004sp6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0004spg)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Latifa Akay, director of education at Maslaha
Good morning. When was the last time you surprised yourself? Maybe you ran the marathon a couple of weeks ago, or even half of it. Maybe you managed your anxiety to go to a social event that you thought you wouldn’t be able to attend or you’ve managed to pick yourself up after a difficult break up.
Ramadan is always a time I feel like I surprise myself. In not eating or drinking water through the daylight hours, there are moments when I think, this is absurd, how am I doing this? I’m a ‘I can’t function in the morning until I have my cup of coffee’ kind of person – and yet in this month, new limits are opened to me.
As human beings we have been granted extraordinary capacities that mean we can always surprise ourselves, we can learn to overcome or live with unthinkable sadness, loss and pain. This doesn’t take away from the fact that sometimes things feel unsolvable, unchangeable or simply too difficult.
In his song ‘Blinded By Your Grace’ grime artist Stormzy praises the kind of light and grace that can get us out of difficult places and create possibilities we could never have imagined.
It reminds me of a beautiful prayer that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was reported to say at sunrise: “Oh creator, illuminate my heart with light, and my eyes with light and my ears with light and let there be light on my right and light on my left. Let there be light in front of me and light behind me. Oh Allah, make me a light.”
At the same time we know that this light is metaphorical – and that it is not enough to share the promise of light without tangible practical support that can be accessed when people need it most.
May we be guided to find footholds out of our own difficulties, and may our eyes be open to the practical ways we can be there to support those around us who are struggling. Ameen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0004spw)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mzv7x)
Shoveler
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the story of the shoveler. Swimming in circles, their huge beaks trawling the surface, shovelers do the job of baleen whales on our lakes and ponds. In winter our shoveler population is boosted by Continental birds. They're rather shy though and you're not likely to see them taking bread on the park lake!
FRI 06:00 Today (m0004sb2)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 The Reunion (m0004sbb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (m0004sbl)
The Corner Shop: Shopkeepers, the Sharmas and Modern Britain
Episode 5
An insightful look at modern Britain through the prism of the corner shop.
In the early 90s the retail landscape has changed again and the Sharmas must decide the fate of the family business.
Babita Sharma grew up as a ‘corner-shop kid’; gaining a unique insight into a very British institution from behind the counter. She is a journalist and presenter on BBC World News.
Read by the author
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0004sbw)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sc3)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Episode 5
A dramatisation of Katrina Bivald's popular novel - a warm, funny and moving story of love and friendship which was originally published in Swedish.
The heroine Sara, who is in her late twenties, leaves her native Sweden to visit her much older pen pal Amy in a remote part of Iowa, a town aptly called Broken Wheel.
But, when she arrives, she discovers that Amy has sadly died.
Knowing nobody there, the townspeople who are initially wary of her, take her into their hearts. The joint passion between Sara and Amy was books, and she soon decides that Broken Wheel needs a bookstore. With some help from the locals, she sets one up and it proves quite a hit.
But how long can she stay there on a tourist visa? And what if she were to be persuaded to fall in love with one of the residents, making it possible to marry and stay on indefinitely? And which of the rather curious collection of suitors would be the most likely?
Unexpectedly, she finds herself falling in love - not just with one of the men in question, but with the whole town itself.
Cast:
SARA...................Anna Koval
TOM.....................Richard Goulding
CAROLINE..........Lorelei King
JEN.......................Laurel Lefkow
AMY.....................Adjoa Andoh
GEORGE...............William Hope
ANDY....................Martin T. Sherman
GRACE .................Kate Harper
Author: Katarina Bivald
Translator: Alice Menzies
Dramatist: Jeremy Raison
Director: Cherry Cookson
A Wireless Theatre production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 11:00 The Devolution Decades (m0004scj)
The Dream of Devolution?
The way in which we govern our country is constantly evolving, reflecting an ever changing political landscape and how we see ourselves represented within that.
In this major three part series - produced by teams from across Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales - James Naughtie considers the impact of devolution, exploring how it changed the face of British politics forever.
In the first episode, James Naughtie discovers that devolved power has not always been considered so desirable.
Throughout the series we take a look at the successes and failures of devolution and cast ahead to how Brexit will change the makeup of Britain once again.
James Naughtie speaks with leading politicians to build a comprehensive perspective of the devolution decades.
FRI 11:30 Hugo Rifkind's Search For Power (m0004scx)
Journalists
Who, in modern Britain, has power? That's the question Hugo Rifkind asks in this new series of stand-up journalism. Each week, Hugo looks at a group of people generally consider powerful, and examines what they actually can and can't do.
Hugo ought to know about power. Born into a political family, he attended Cambridge and has spent 18 years writing for The Times. During that period, he has met prime ministers, royalty, Eurocrats, lawyers, judges, celebrities, billionaires and, of course, other members of the media elite - including his fellow regular panellists on The News Quiz. Yet in all that time, none of these people have seemed truly to be ruling the world.
And if they aren't, who is?
This week, Hugo looks at the power of journalists. He speaks to campaigning polemicist Owen Jones, political reporter Sam Coates, and investigative journalist James Ball - and attempts to determine what level of influence they wield.
Presented by Hugo Rifkind
Written by Hugo Rifkind and James Kettle
Reader: Susan Rae
Produced by Ed Morrish
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0004sd8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Machines Like Me (m0004sdn)
Episode 10
Ian McEwan's new novel reimagines life and times in the 1980s, and is abridged in ten episodes by Penny Leicester.
Despite revelations concerning Miranda's case and Charlie's moments of anguish, love conquers all and they will marry. They also hope to care for young Mark. And Adam the synthetic human has been 'dealt with' too, and put to rest in a safe place.
Reader Anton Lesser
Producer Duncan Minshull
FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m0004sf0)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0004sfc)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0004sfr)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 Encounters with Victoria (m0004sg1)
5: American Idols
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces explores Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
5: American Idols - 1844 & 1887.
Victoria was a global celebrity, adept at exploiting her image. And she learned a few tricks from some of the extraordinarily popular entertainers who proved that her Majesty was often very amused indeed. In 1844, the diminutive American performer whose stage name was Tom Thumb made a side-splitting appearance at Buckingham Palace. In a parody of court etiquette, he said 'much obliged Mama' when he shook the Queen's hand, and fought her dog with a sword. Like Victoria herself, Tom Thumb’s manager, showman P.T. Barnum, knew the power of brand management. Having Tom Thumb to the palace made the queen look human, while Barnum got a lucrative Royal endorsement. By 1887, the biggest show in town was again American: Buffalo Bill's Wild West: a whooping, tootin', gun-firing maelstrom of action, and Victoria commanded a private performance. It was thrilling and dangerous, but also a celebration of the guns which would allow Western Europe to ‘conquer’ the unknown. Tom Thumb and Buffalo Bill gave the queen who’d become an empress both entertainment – and education.
With historian Helen Davies, V&A curator & writer Nicholas Rankin
Readers: Sarah Ovens, Kenny Blyth
Producer: Mark Burman
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0004sgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 First World Problems (b0b5x1zs)
The Price
What would happen if the UK broke apart?
In this everyday story of British folk, David and Ruth Fletcher face our next civil war.
4/5 The Price
Can the Fletcher family stay together, in the crowds of refugees being forced to walk out of Wales?
Martin Jameson's drama draws on detailed research from BBC correspondents to analysts, contingency planners, and those with first hand experience of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, to make the Fletchers' adventures a compelling account of what civil war could do to us all..
Starring Jeremy Swift and Maureen Beattie.
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.
Script Consultants:
Tamara Kovacevic - Senior BBC journalist with first hand experience of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s
Richard Vergette - Writer and teacher for advice on parenting a teenager with Down Syndrome
With thanks to:
Malcolm Barnard
Peter Barnes - BBC Senior Political Analyst
Louisa Brooke-Holland - Senior Research Analyst, International Affairs and Defence section, House of Commons Library
Rory Cellan-Jones - BBC Technology Correspondent
Gabrielle Garton Grimwood - Senior Research Analyst in Emergency Planning
Mike Livingstone - Former Strategic Director of Children's Services, Manchester City Council.
Jonathan Marcus - BBC Diplomatic Correspondent
Prof Bill McGuire - Professor Emeritus; Geophysical & Climate Hazards, UCL
Dr Gemma Sou - Lecturer in Disaster Studies, University of Manchester
Peter Wynne-Wilson - Course Director, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (for advice on Birmingham and its demographics)
Imogen Woolrich and the Octagon Bridges Theatre Group,
Harri Chambers - for Welsh translations,
and Steve Pearce, Eric Bradley & John Rudin for IT advice.
Cast:
Dave Fletcher ... Jeremy Swift
Ruth Fletcher ... Maureen Beattie
Maggie Pelling ... Elizabeth Counsell
Jonny Fletcher ... Sam Barnard
Tricia Ince ... Elinor Coleman
Chris ... Stephen Hogan
Gary ... John Lightbody
The Dinner Lady ... Lisa Palfrey
The Engineer ... Gruffudd Glyn
Adele ... Kerry Gooderson
Pete Angel ... Ryan Early
Border Guard ... Joseph Ayre
Writer ... Martin Jameson
Director ... Jonquil Panting
Producer ... Jonquil Panting.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0004sgw)
Newcastle
Kathy Clugston and the horticultural panel are in Newcastle. Matt Biggs, Pippa Greenwood and James Wong answer the audience's questions.
Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra
A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0004sh9)
Cenacle
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 by the Northern Irish writer Michael Nolan. As read by Thomas Finnegan.
Michael Nolan is from Belfast. His work has been published by The Stinging Fly and The Lifeboat. He is the fiction editor of The Tangerine, and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at Queen's University, Belfast.
Writer ..... Michael Nolan
Reader ..... Thomas Finnegan
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0004shp)
Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m0004sj2)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (m0004sjd)
Saranne and Neil - Judging a Book by the Cover
Mother and daughter’s boyfriend talk about how first impressions can often be so wrong. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
FRI 17:00 PM (m0004sjq)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0004sk1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0004skc)
Series 99
Episode 5
A satirical look back at what's been happening in the news this week. Miles Jupp is joined by Bugler Andy Zaltzman, stand up Desiree Burch and star of The Mash Report Rachel Parris.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0004skn)
Writer ….. Tim Stimpson
Director ….. Kim Greengrass
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe
David Archer …. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Kenton Archer …. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ….. Buffy Davis
Pat Archer …… Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer …… William Troughton
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Clarrie Grundy ….. Heather Bell
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Mia Grundy …… Molly Pipe
Ed Grundy …… Barry Farrimond
Shula Hebden Lloyd …… Judy Bennett
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Tracy Horrobin …… Susie Riddell
Jim Lloyd …… John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary …… Ryan Kelly
Elizabeth Pargetter …… Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter …… Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter …… Katie Redford
Russ Jones …... Andonis James Antony
Tim Oatey ….. Carl Prekopp
FRI 19:15 Front Row (m0004slm)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0004sc3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0004slz)
Matthew Parris, Liz Saville Roberts MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents topical debate from Jesus College Cambridge with a panel including Matthew Parris and Liz Saville Roberts MP.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0004smf)
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
FRI 21:00 Encounters with Victoria (m0004smt)
Omnibus (1/2)
Lucy Worsley explores Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0004snc)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 Machines Like Me (m0004sdn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m0004sjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0004snr)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (m0004sp4)
Jay and Baz - Life as BAME Policemen
Two former colleagues compare notes on their working lives as BAME policemen in the South Wales Police - which is celebrating 50 years as a Force. 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
10:45 MON (m0004s9p)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (m0004s9p)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (m0004sdh)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (m0004sdh)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (m0004sfx)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (m0004sfx)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (m0004sbp)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (m0004sbp)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (m0004sc3)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (m0004sc3)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (m0004mfj)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (m0004smf)
Across the Red Line
22:15 SAT (m0004mh2)
Across the Red Line
20:00 WED (m0004sp5)
All in the Mind
21:00 TUE (m0004slk)
All in the Mind
15:30 WED (m0004slk)
Alone
23:00 THU (b0b3fkqm)
Ambler
21:00 SAT (m0004l9n)
Ambler
15:00 SUN (m0004szq)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (m0004sb1)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (m0004mfb)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (m0004slz)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b08ylphn)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (m0004sj6)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (m0004sj6)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (m0004sj5)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (m0004sj5)
Besieged
16:00 MON (m0000m7n)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (m0004sfs)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (m0004mgg)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (m0004s99)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (m0004s99)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (m0004scr)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (m0004scr)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (m0004sf3)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (m0004sf3)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (m0004sb4)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (m0004sb4)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (m0004sbl)
Bookclub
16:00 SUN (m0004shf)
Bookclub
15:30 THU (m0004shf)
Brain of Britain
23:00 SAT (m0004lfv)
Brain of Britain
15:00 MON (m0004sdz)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (m0004sz7)
Bunk Bed
23:00 WED (m0004spy)
Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life?
11:00 TUE (m0004sdw)
Concerts Inside
11:30 THU (m0004sc8)
Costing the Earth
15:30 TUE (m0004sj9)
Costing the Earth
21:00 WED (m0004sj9)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (m0004mcp)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (m0004sby)
Drama
14:30 SAT (m0004sb9)
Drama
14:15 MON (b083pchd)
Drama
14:15 TUE (m0004shy)
Drama
14:15 WED (m0004skv)
Drama
14:15 THU (b08wp54s)
Ed Reardon's Week
18:30 TUE (m0004sky)
Encounters with Victoria
13:45 MON (m0004sd0)
Encounters with Victoria
13:45 TUE (m0004shj)
Encounters with Victoria
13:45 WED (m0004sk2)
Encounters with Victoria
13:45 THU (m0004sfj)
Encounters with Victoria
13:45 FRI (m0004sg1)
Encounters with Victoria
21:00 FRI (m0004smt)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (m0004s8p)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (m0004t0s)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (m0004sm6)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (m0004sqr)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (m0004srl)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (m0004spw)
First World Problems
14:15 FRI (b0b5x1zs)
Fred at The Stand
23:00 TUE (m0004sn0)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (m0004s96)
Front Row
19:15 MON (m0004shn)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (m0004sl8)
Front Row
19:15 WED (m0004snv)
Front Row
19:15 THU (m0004skh)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (m0004slm)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (m0004mcg)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (m0004sgw)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (m0004sjy)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (m0004sjy)
Hugo Rifkind's Search For Power
11:30 FRI (m0004scx)
In Business
21:30 SUN (m0004mh1)
In Business
20:30 THU (m0004sl6)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (m0004s9w)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (m0004s9w)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (m0004sm8)
Journey of a Lifetime
23:30 SUN (m0004t0b)
Journey of a Lifetime
23:30 MON (b04gr5hh)
Just William - Live!
11:30 WED (m0004sgz)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (m0004mct)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (m0004shp)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (m0004sb7)
Loose Ends
11:30 MON (m0004sb7)
MPs’ Expenses: The Legacy of a Scandal
20:00 TUE (m0004sls)
Machines Like Me
12:04 MON (m0004sbq)
Machines Like Me
22:45 MON (m0004sbq)
Machines Like Me
12:04 TUE (m0004sg0)
Machines Like Me
22:45 TUE (m0004sg0)
Machines Like Me
12:04 WED (m0004shq)
Machines Like Me
22:45 WED (m0004shq)
Machines Like Me
12:04 THU (m0004scz)
Machines Like Me
22:45 THU (m0004scz)
Machines Like Me
12:04 FRI (m0004sdn)
Machines Like Me
22:45 FRI (m0004sdn)
Meet David Sedaris
18:30 THU (m0004sk5)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (m0004mg9)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (m0004sg9)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (m0004t0d)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (m0004sjz)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (m0004snq)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (m0004sqj)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (m0004smq)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (m0004s9g)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (m0004s9g)
Money Box
15:00 WED (m0004sl5)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (m0004md0)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (m0004sj2)
My Name Is...
20:00 MON (m0004sgm)
My Name Is...
11:00 WED (m0004sgm)
New Ways of Seeing
09:00 WED (m0004sdb)
New Ways of Seeing
21:30 WED (m0004sdb)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (m0004mh6)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (m0004shs)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (m0004t0n)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (m0004slb)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (m0004sq7)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (m0004sr7)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (m0004sp6)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (m0004syq)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (m0004s9b)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (m0004szc)
News Summary
12:00 MON (m0004sbh)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (m0004sfm)
News Summary
12:00 WED (m0004shc)
News Summary
12:00 THU (m0004scl)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (m0004sd8)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (m0004s8m)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (m0004syx)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (m0004sz3)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (m0004sfw)
News
13:00 SAT (m0004s9t)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (m0004sys)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (m0004mfg)
Open Country
15:00 THU (m0004sgb)
PM
17:00 SAT (m0004sbs)
PM
17:00 MON (m0004sg5)
PM
17:00 TUE (m0004sk8)
PM
17:00 WED (m0004sms)
PM
17:00 THU (m0004sjj)
PM
17:00 FRI (m0004sjq)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (m0004t01)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (m0004l9x)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (m0004szs)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (m0004mhd)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (m0004t0q)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (m0004slq)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (m0004sqh)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (m0004srg)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (m0004spg)
Profile
19:00 SAT (m0004sdv)
Profile
05:45 SUN (m0004sdv)
Profile
17:40 SUN (m0004sdv)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (m0004sh0)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:25 SUN (m0004sh0)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (m0004sh0)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (m0004s8w)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (m0004sf9)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (m0004mgt)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (m0004sh1)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (m0004t0j)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (m0004skm)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (m0004spk)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (m0004sqz)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (m0004sng)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (m0004mgn)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (m0004mh0)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (m0004sch)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (m0004sgn)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (m0004shd)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (m0004szv)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (m0004t0g)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (m0004t0l)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (m0004sk9)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (m0004skz)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (m0004sp7)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (m0004spx)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (m0004sqs)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (m0004sr3)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (m0004sn3)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (m0004snw)
Short Works
00:30 SUN (m0004mcm)
Short Works
15:45 FRI (m0004sh9)
Simon Evans Goes to Market
18:30 WED (m0004snh)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (m0004sd7)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (m0004szz)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (m0004sgj)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (m0004skl)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (m0004sn5)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (m0004sjv)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (m0004sk1)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b078wl22)
Stand-Up Specials
19:15 SUN (m0004t03)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (m0004s95)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (m0004s95)
Strictly Stories
19:45 SUN (m0004t05)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (m0004sz5)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (m0004syz)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (m0004sz9)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (m0004sdk)
The Archers
14:00 MON (m0004sdk)
The Archers
19:00 MON (m0004sh8)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (m0004sh8)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (m0004skf)
The Archers
14:00 WED (m0004skf)
The Archers
19:00 WED (m0004sfy)
The Archers
14:00 THU (m0004sfy)
The Archers
19:00 THU (m0004sgd)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (m0004sgd)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (m0004skn)
The Art of Now
11:30 TUE (m0004sf7)
The Briefing Room
20:00 THU (m0004skw)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
05:45 SAT (m0004mcb)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
09:30 WED (m0004sdq)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
20:45 WED (m0004sdq)
The Devolution Decades
11:00 FRI (m0004scj)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (m0004mfn)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (m0004sht)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (m0004sfd)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (m0004sfd)
The Genius of Accidents
09:30 TUE (b0bc6hf4)
The Great Science Publishing Scandal
21:00 MON (m0004l7k)
The Inquiry
17:30 SAT (m0004sc5)
The Kitchen Cabinet
10:30 SAT (m0004s8y)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (m0004s8y)
The Lach Chronicles
23:15 WED (b07fg6v8)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (m0004szn)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (m0004sg8)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (m0004sjd)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (m0004sp4)
The Long View
09:00 TUE (m0004scd)
The Long View
21:30 TUE (m0004scd)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (m0004smd)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (m0004mds)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (m0004skc)
The Press, the Police, the Politicians and Their Public
13:30 SUN (m0004szl)
The Reunion
11:15 SUN (m0004sbb)
The Reunion
09:00 FRI (m0004sbb)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:04 SUN (m0004n7k)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (m0004sgx)
The Untold
11:00 MON (m0004s9z)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (m0004s92)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (m0004szj)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (m0004sjb)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (m0004smn)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (m0004spj)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (m0004slw)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (m0004snc)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (m0004mfw)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (m0004sly)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (m0004snb)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (m0004sq8)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (m0004smb)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (m0004snr)
Today
07:00 SAT (m0004s8t)
Today
06:00 MON (m0004s91)
Today
06:00 TUE (m0004sc2)
Today
06:00 WED (m0004scw)
Today
06:00 THU (m0004s9n)
Today
06:00 FRI (m0004sb2)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b041ybhz)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b041yd42)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b042300k)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b042326r)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b03srqz5)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b03mzv7x)
We Do Do God
17:00 SUN (m0004lb2)
Weather
06:57 SAT (m0004s8r)
Weather
12:57 SAT (m0004s9m)
Weather
17:57 SAT (m0004scv)
Weather
06:57 SUN (m0004syv)
Weather
07:57 SUN (m0004sz1)
Weather
12:57 SUN (m0004szg)
Weather
17:57 SUN (m0004szx)
Weather
05:56 MON (m0004t0v)
Weather
12:57 MON (m0004scc)
Weather
12:57 TUE (m0004sgr)
Weather
12:57 WED (m0004sjf)
Weather
12:57 THU (m0004sdr)
Weather
12:57 FRI (m0004sfc)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (m0004t08)
When Greeks Flew Kites
23:00 MON (m0004sjn)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (m0004sbj)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (m0004s9h)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (m0004sd4)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (m0004sfg)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (m0004sbd)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (m0004sbw)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (m0004sjm)
World at One
13:00 MON (m0004scn)
World at One
13:00 TUE (m0004sh4)
World at One
13:00 WED (m0004sjr)
World at One
13:00 THU (m0004sf4)
World at One
13:00 FRI (m0004sfr)
You and Yours
12:18 MON (m0004sc1)
You and Yours
12:18 TUE (m0004sgf)
You and Yours
12:18 WED (m0004sj1)
You and Yours
12:18 THU (m0004sdd)
You and Yours
12:18 FRI (m0004sf0)