SATURDAY 13 JULY 2019

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0006n2k)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 The Fens: Discovering England's Ancient Depths (m0006n2m)
Episode 5

The Fens are a distinctive, complex, man-made and little understood landscape. Francis Pryor has lived in, excavated, farmed, walked and loved the Fens country for more than forty years - its levels and drains, its soaring churches, its magnificent medieval buildings. Interweaving personal experience and passion, the graft and grime of the dig, and lyrical evocations of place, he offers a unique portrait of a neglected but remarkable area of England.

Dr Pryor counterpoints the history of the Fen landscape and its transformation with the story of his own exploration of it as an archaeologist. He recounts his thrilling Bronze Age discoveries in the early 1970s at Fengate and then, a decade later, at Flag Fen near Peterborough - and what those remarkable finds tell us about our ancient ancestors and the way they lived and farmed the land.

We learn how the waterlogged landscape can be a treasure trove for archaeologists and how archaeology has the power to challenge some common misconceptions. Dr Pryor also turns his attention to the future of this low lying area of Eastern England and the challenges we face in preserving it.

Francis Pryor is one of Britain’s most distinguished living archaeologists, specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages. He has now retired from full-time field archaeology but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working sheep farmer.

Reader: Sam Dale
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Alexa Moore

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0006n2p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0006n2r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0006n2t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0006n2w)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0006n2y)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Major Anne Read

Good morning

I live in the beautiful compact city of Saint Albans, uniquely named after the man believed to be Britain’s first Christian Martyr.
Alban became a Christian sometime in the 3rd century having heard the gospel proclaimed by a travelling priest, Amphibalus. When soldiers came to arrest the priest Alban swapped? clothes with him and Amphibalus escaped. Alban was arrested and executed.

St Albans Cathedral has recently opened a new Welcome Centre to encourage people to visit the oldest place of continuous Christian worship in England.
Inside the Cathedral set in a glorious colourful row alongside Alban and Amphibalus are statues of modern saints like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero and Elizabeth Romanova.

I’m glad they’re there together because in scripture saints are only ever described in a community. Saint is another word for 'Holy One' and the only single person ever described that way is Jesus. Yet Paul frequently writes to 'the saints' intimating that all followers of Christ are called to be saints too, that is to live like Christ, the Holy One of God.

So it isnt necessary to be commemorated by a statue, stained glass window or cathedral to be a saint. At the root a saint is simply someone living like Christ, in their world and time: living like Christ in their schools and offices, on their farms and factories and with their families, in their communities where it’s hard and where the need may seem overwhelming.They roll up their sleeves, are willing to get dirty and speak out for justice for those who have no voice to be heard.

We need saints! saints alive – living people! God, through your Holy Spirit and for your Kingdoms sake make us holy, make us like Christ we pray.

Amen


SAT 05:45 Four Thought (m0006lrc)
Identity Through Reading

Author Zoë Strachan charts her journey of self-discovery through reading. She describes how fiction helped her to find her identity as a gay woman and explains why she believes that access to books is vital for human flourishing. "While I was reading Swallows and Amazons, booksellers were being arrested for making available the kind of texts that changed my life. When we start banning books or censoring them from school libraries, we deny people the chance to read themselves into being."
Recorded in front of a live audience at the Kelburn Garden Party festival in the grounds of Kelburn Castle near Glasgow.
Presenter: Olly Mann
Producer: Sheila Cook


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0006s6g)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m0006l9t)
Ulva - An Island for the People

Ulva is an island just off the coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. It was once home to up to 800 people but after the 'clearances' of the 19th Century it gradually declined to just 5 inhabitants today. Helen Mark visits Ulva one year after a community and government buyout was completed to find out about the plans to rebuild the abandoned houses and make this place a thriving community once more.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0006s6j)
Farming Today This Week

This programme explores the issue of public access to the countryside. How do you balance the rights of walkers, horseriders and cyclists with the needs of farmers? Charlotte Smith visits a sheep farm near Wantage in Oxfordshire, which is very close to the Ridgeway national trail. She talks to the farm manager about the impact of having a major walking route on the doorstep, attracting thousands of visitors every year. She learns about how environmental schemes have paid subsidies in the past to improve footpath access, and asks whether the proposed new system of 'public money for public goods' post-Brexit could improve access further. We also meet the officer in charge of the Ridgeway trail and the director of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - who explain how the area is managed, and tell Charlotte about the impact all those tyres, hooves and pairs of walking boots have on the land.

Producer: Emma Campbell


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0006s6l)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (m0006s6n)
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0006s6q)
Graeme Swann, Michael Sheen

Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the former England cricketer and legendary spin bowler Graeme Swann. He discusses his sporting career, waltzing on Strictly and his upcoming tour with Henry Blofeld - Dancing Down the Wicket.
Libby Liburd explains how her shows Muvahood and Fighter were inspired by her own personal life experience as a single mother and a female boxer.
Christine Gould leads 50 volunteers at the Buxton Well Dressing Festival. She describes how these intricate mosaics of natural materials are painstakingly put together.
Sarah Jane Douglas is an artist, and proud Munroist number 5864. She took up walking in the mountains after her mother’s death and scattered her ashes in the Himalayas.
Guy Oliver reveals how a secret took him from a career with the Royal Navy to life as an interior designer – with projects from luxury hotels in Mayfair to adobe houses in Kabul.
And the actor Michael Sheen chooses his Inheritance Tracks: O Superman by Laurie Anderson and A Design for Life by The Manic Street Preachers.

Producer: Louise Corley
Editor: Eleanor Garland


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0006s6s)
Series 25

Black Country Living Museum

Jay Rayner and his panel are at the Black Country Living Museum. Dr Annie Gray, Paula McIntyre, Tim Hayward and Andi Oliver answer the culinary questions from the audience.

The panellists discuss how to make a quick and easy sorbet, describe what they have made with ingredients found in the back of their cupboards, and debate the best crisp sandwiches.

They are joined by Clare Weston, researcher at the Black Country Living Museum Clare Weston, and Philip Rolls from Black Country Snacks.

Producer: Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra

Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0006s6v)
Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0006s6x)
The battle against the gangs of El Salvador

The President of El Salvador is calling on young men to leave the country’s criminal gangs, or perish with them. He said the gangs have terrorised the country for decades, and would be dismantled. Orla Guerin has been to the capital, San Salvador, to see how the gangs menace the city.
Greece has a new Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the centre-right party New Democracy, defeating the socialist Alexis Tsipras. Mark Lowen was based in Athens at the height of the financial crisis, which led to Greece experiencing one of the worst peace-time depressions of the last hundred years. He returned to watch the old conservative party being brought back to power.
Five years ago, Russian-backed forces seized control of the Crimean peninsula. Ash Bhardwaj gained permission to enter Crimea, to find out what’s changed in five year’s of Russian rule.
A hundred years ago, the passing of the Addison Act spurred a huge expansion in council housing across the UK. Austria too has been remembering when it began building social housing around 100 years ago. In Vienna today more than half of its population live in subsidised apartment blocks. Some of these are of vast scale, such as Karl Marx Hof, more than half a mile long. Caroline Davies has been finding out what lessons policy makers can learn from the Viennese approach to housing.
The end of the Cricket World Cup is drawing near, and the final match, between England and New Zealand, will be watched by fans from all over the world. But what would they make of how the game is played in the Trobiand Islands, located off the coast of Papua New Guinea? The people there have a passion for cricket that borders on the extreme, as Mark Stratton has discovered.

Presenter: Kate Adie
Producer: Neil Koenig


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0006s6z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0006s71)
Fighting bank fraud branch by branch

Money Box's Drew Miller Hyndman has been to Portsmouth where this week TSB Bank held the latest in a series of in-branch sessions aimed at educating people on how to avoid becoming victims of financial fraud. Guest: Ashley Hart, Head of Fraud for TSB.

Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson have both set out their tax plans should they become Prime Minister. Carl Emmerson, Deputy Director of the Institute For Fiscal Studies compares, contrasts and costs the policies.

Gaps in the money management skills of children who are in, or young people who have left, care in England is the focus of a new report. It follows an inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People. Ralph who went into care when he was 14 shares his perspective on the issue. Guest: Sam Turner, Voice and Influencing Manager at Become, a charity for children in care and young care leavers.

July 31st is the deadline to renew tax credits. If you already claim them what do you have to do and if you don’t – could you? Guest Victoria Todd Head of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group team.

Reporter: Drew Miller Hyndman
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Emma Rippon


SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m0006n1y)
Series 19

Episode 6

This series of Dead Ringers features Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis Macleod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey,

The producer and creator is Bill Dare
A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0006s73)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m0006s75)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0006n24)
Jake Berry MP, Tim Farron MP, Dan Jarvis MP, Alex Phillips MEP

Ritula Shah presents topical debate from Keighley Shared Church in Yorkshire with a panel including the Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry MP, Dan Jarvis MP and Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, former leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron and the Brexit Party MEP Alex Phillips.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0006s77)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (m0006s79)
The First Man on the Moon and How They Done It

The National Theatre of Brent present a unique dramatised radio re-enactment of the fifty year centenary of the Historic First Walking on the Moon. As it was done by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Phil Collins.

It seems only yesterday when the moon was just a mysterious light in the unknown depths of the night sky that man could only guess at the purpose of and no one knew anything about whatsoever.

Then, all of a sudden in 1969, something remarkable occurred.

The famous Space Race began literally out of the blue and the famously infamous president President Nixon, on the run avoiding investigation for dodgy dealing, ordered the US space race to begin with the famous words, "Let the Space Race begin!" - or words to that effect.

And, as if that weren’t enough, besides this historic and – we believe first ever – reconstruction of a historic astronomic event ever done on radio as it almost certainly probably happened, we will also delve controversially into the often stormy on-board relationships of the space men themselves and also - even more controversially perhaps - glimpse into their often stormy domestic lives too, in particular what it meant and how it felt to be Mrs Armstrong and Mrs Aldrin.

Did they support their space men husbands or were they, in fact, deeply divided and bitter about it having to stay at home basically and do the laundry and dusting?

These fascinating and hitherto un-probed events - and many more - will be revealed in this pioneering, historic, spectacular, authentic, yet unashamedly controversial BBC radio drama.

Cast:
Desmond Olivier Dingle – Patrick Barlow
Raymond Box – John Ramm

Written by the National Theatre of Brent – Patrick Barlow, John Ramm and Martin Duncan.

Director: Martin Duncan
Producer: Liz Anstee

A CPL production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 15:15 One to One (m0006m3h)
Emma Freud meets Rukmini Callimachi

Broadcaster, journalist and producer Emma Freud had a dream to work in hard news. She talks to Rukmini Callimachi from the New York Times and presenter of the podcast 'Caliphrate' about her investigations into Islamic State. She asks Rukmini how fear doesn't stop her; why she seeks to understand those who join IS; and whether there is anything that would make her stop.
Producer: Sara Coneky


SAT 15:30 The Dying of the Ice (m0006mqv)
Olafur Eliasson

An audio elegy and a lament for the disappearing sea ice of the north pole. The sound of ice melting, thawing and shifting across a year is the essence of this tone poem, woven with song, poetry, art and music about the ice.

This first of three programmes features Andrew McGibbon in conversation with Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson who transported Greenland-bred ancient ice blocks to the country's old colonial capital Copenhagen, in a project titled Ice Watch. The blocks were arranged to resemble an ominous clock showing the amount of ice that disappears every hundredth of a second due to conditions of global warming. 

His Weather project became one of Tate Modern’s most successful installations – with over two million people visiting the exhibition, watching themselves reflected on a ceiling mirror while being bathed in artificial sunlight and doused in a sweetened atmosphere of humidified water and sugar.

The programme examines Olafur’s relationship with ice, growing up in Iceland and how Ice Watch - a piece that fused art, reality and environmentalism - brought worldwide attention to the rapid loss of the Greenland Ice Shelf.

In July 2019, a major survey of Olafur’s work is mounted at Tate Modern, including around 40 works spanning three decades.

The Dying of the Ice features the sounds of melting and retreating ice in the Arctic and the under-ice creatures living in that boundary as an active, low volume soundtrack audible throughout the programme.

Written and Presented by Andrew McGibbon
Producers: Louise Morris and Nick Romero

A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0006s7c)
Cash Carraway, Parental leave policies, Girl code

Cash Carraway tells us about her life as a working class woman and mother living in poverty today.

We discuss the importance of parental leave policy transparency and why only 23 FTSE 100 companies make their maternity and parental leave policies available to the public with Jo Swinson the Liberal Democrat MP, Mairead Niger the chief Human Resources Officer for one of the 23, Diageo and Deborah Hargreaves the founder of the think tank, the High Pay Centre.

The novelist and writer Sohaila Abdulali who was gang raped as a seventeen year old in Mumbai talks about the continued assumptions around rape and consent.

The teacher and author Emma Kell offers advice around the move from Primary to secondary school and we hear from listeners Jane, Tony and Velda.

We discuss girl code, what it is, how it’s broken and whether it has a place outside the tv show Love Island with freelance writer Moya Lothian-McLean and Lifestyle editor at the Metro Ellen Scott.

And the Lebanese songwriter Tania Saleh and Palastinian poet Farah Chamma share their experiences as women artists in the Arab world.

Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Karen Dalziel


SAT 17:00 PM (m0006s7f)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (m0006lbb)
The investment industry - luck or judgement?

You trust financial professionals to grow your long term savings and pension pot. But how do you know if they are investing it wisely? The UK investment industry is awash with complicated terms and conditions, and unclear and sometimes high charges, which can eat into your monetary returns. The woes of star fund manager Neil Woodford, who has temporarily frozen one of his funds to its investors after poor performance, highlights just how complicated an industry it is. Is some clarity starting to emerge? Evan Davis and expert guests look under the bonnet of the UK investment industry.

Guests:

James Anderson, partner at Baillie Gifford, who jointly manage the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust
Bella Caridade Ferreira, chief executive and founder of Fundscape
Sean Hagerty, managing director of Vanguard Europe

Producer: Lesley McAlpine


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0006s7j)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0006s7l)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0006s7n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0006s7q)
Kevin Bishop, Mo Gilligan, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Charlotte Philby, DJ Yoda, Nilüfer Yanya, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Kevin Bishop, Mo Gilligan, Jasmine Lee-Jones, and Charlotte Philby. With music from DJ Yoda and Nilüfer Yanya.

Producer: Sukey Firth


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0006s7s)
Ursula von der Leyen

German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen is likely to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission in November. Mark Coles tells her story so far.

Producer Smita Patel


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (m0006s7v)
The Manchester International Festival: Tree, David Lynch at Home, Parliament of Ghosts, David Nicholls. Only You and much more

The Manchester International Festival is a biannual event, enveloping the city in a wide range of arts events across the genres. We'll be casting our critical net as wide as possible
Film director David Lynch has curated a series of events at the venue Home, including an exhibition of his artwork and a series of concerts
There's been controversy around the Idris ELba/ Kwame Kei Armah play Tree, but will our panel think it's any good?
An exhibition by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama; Parliament of Ghosts at The Whitworth Gallery reclaims and repurposes everyday artefacts
David Nicholls' new novel Sweet Sorrow is a tale of adolescent/early adult yearnings framed by a Shakespeare production
British indie film Only You follows a largely-carefree couple who get together and decide to have a baby but it's not as easy as they'd hoped
And (of course) much much more from MIF

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Crompton, Katie Popperwell and Chris Thorpe. The producer is Oliver Jones


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0006s7x)
Voice in the Machine

Talking technology has surrounded us for more than half a century. From the earliest incarnation of the Speaking Clock to the artificially intelligent personal assistants in our homes, we've slowly become accustomed to sharing our lives with machines that help us with our everyday chores.

Who better to guide us through the history of the Voice in the Machine than two of the nations most familiar voices?
  
Jon Briggs was the original voice of Siri in the UK - a fact he only discovered while watching a feature on the TV. Emma Hignett's distinctive voice can be heard on London’s buses and trains, helping people to navigate the capital. Spending the day in a smart home, these voice-over artists ask the robo-vacuum to clean the floor, request songs and jokes from personal assistant Alexa, and hop channels with a talking television.

While travelling on a bus and hearing her own voice guiding fellow passengers, Emma shares her own recording tips and tricks. A visit to the local supermarket leads to an encounter with perhaps the most irritating machine voice of all time, with repeated warnings of an "unexpected item in bagging area". As these recognisable voices dig deeper into our history with talking tech, Jon gets a little nostalgic with his own fondness for Knight Rider's talking car, KITT. 

Rifling through the archives, Jon and Emma reminisce about their memories of talkative gadgets from fact, fiction and music. In the context of the early archival recordings of talking technology, the voices of today's OK Google, Alexa, Siri and others have come a long way. But why are our assistants almost all female? And are they really listening to us all the time? 

Join these two well known voices as they grapple with these questions and their personal connection to the silicon speech that narrates our lives.

A BlokMedia production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Drama (m0006l6j)
Reading Europe: Fear

Episode 2

by Dirk Kurbjuweit

Having accused his neighbours of abusing their children, Dieter Tiberius is shot dead. But where does the guilt lie? And who, ultimately, can be trusted?

Randolph ..... John Light
Rebecca ..... Natasha Little
Dieter Tiberius ..... Joseph Kloska.
Bruno ..... Paul Hickey,
Hermann ..... Sean Baker,
Saif ..... Chris Pavlo,
Sergeant Leidinger ..... David Hounslow,
Muller ..... Catherine Cusack,
The Lawyer ..... Susan Jameson.
Other parts were played by Helen Clapp, Shaun Mason, and Jonny Holden

Dramatised by Adrian Penketh from the translation by Imogen Taylor

Directed by Marc Beeby


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (m0006s7z)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (m0006lsp)
The Morality of Fashion

Some of the stars of this year’s Glastonbury festival have joined the chorus of campaigners denouncing ‘throwaway fashion’. They’ve given some of their own clothing to Oxfam and are encouraging their fans to buy their outfits second-hand (or ‘pre-cherished’). These days you can buy a dress for a fiver and wear it once before chucking it away. Is that proof that capitalism has gone too far? Critics of the industry cite the appalling conditions and rates of pay in the third-world factories churning out garments that will end up as non-biodegradable landfill quicker than you can say “sustainability”. There are those, on the other hand, who prefer not to be lectured by celebs famous for their multiple costume changes and who point out that the minimum wage doesn’t run to a wardrobe of high-quality clobber. Beyond the social and environmental implications of fast fashion, what about the moral value of clothes themselves? We humans have covered our nakedness ever since Adam and Eve embarrassed themselves in the Garden of Eden. Fashion lovers say that our clothes matter because they are expressions of an aesthetic sensibility, intrinsic to both self-esteem and dignity. Others believe the fuss about this season’s ‘look’ is a cynical manipulation of insecurity and a celebration of vanity and superficiality. The morality of fashion: fashionably moral.

Producer: Dan Tierney


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m0006lnc)
Semi-final 4, 2019

(16/17)
With one remaining place in the 2019 Final up for grabs, the last four of this year's semi-finalists take to the stage. Will they remember which was the first ghost to visit Scrooge in Dickens' A Christmas Carol? What Frederick Sanger was the first British person ever to do? Or what middle name the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave their first child?

Russell Davies has all the questions and all the answers - and he'll also be teasing the Brains with a couple of questions suggested by a listener, aiming to win a prize by outwitting them.

The semi-finalists today are:
Gareth Aubrey, a planning environmental law solicitor from South Wales
Steve Goddard, a lecturer in French from Oxford
Gary Grant, a GP from Lytham St Anne's
Alice Walker, a former IT consultant from Stockport

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Wild Geese (m0006l6n)
A few years ago, a man committed a crime and spent time in prison. In this programme, a group of his friends explore the role a poem played in their collective story. The poem is Wild Geese by the recently deceased American poet Mary Oliver.

Thanks to the On Being Project, the programme includes archive audio of Mary Oliver talking about her poem.

Contributors: Mike Chase, Marie-Claire, Angie Wootten, Chris Oates and Rosie Boulton.

Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer production for BBC Radio 4