SATURDAY 20 JULY 2019

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0006v0m)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 The Remarkable Life of the Skin (m0006tys)
Social and Spiritual Skin

Perched on the exterior of our delicate, intricate bodies, the skin is our largest and fastest-growing organ, weighing nine kilograms and covering two square metres. We see it, touch it and live in it every day. It’s a habitat for a mesmerisingly complex world of micro-organisms. Its physical functions are vital to our health and indeed our survival, and it’s crucial to our sense of identity. Yet how much do we really know about it?

Through the lenses of science, sociology and history, Dr Monty Lyman leads us on a journey through the comedy, tragedy and exquisite humanity of our most underrated and overlooked organ. By delving into something that seems so familiar, he reveals how the skin is far stranger and much more complex than we’ve ever imagined.

In today's final episode, from 18th century Tahiti to 21st century Birmingham (the most inkedcity in the UK), Dr Lyman travels the world to examine the human obsession with body markings. He explains the social and religious importance of tattooing and reveals that the earliest tattoos may have had a medicinal purpose.

Written by Dr Monty Lyman
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Read by Gunnar Cauthery
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0006v0p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0006v0r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0006v0t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0006v0w)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0006v0y)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Canon Angela Tilby

Good morning.

One of my favourite film moments comes from the cartoon epic Kung Fu Panda when the wise master Oogway says to the would-be champion Po, "You are too concerned with what was and what will be. Yesterday is history, tomorrow, a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called “present”’. I recognise Po’s tendency to live more in yesterday and tomorrow than today. Of course memory of things past is precious, and so is hope for future things, but the only moment we can really live in is the present moment. Master Oogway is right. The present is a gift.

All spiritual traditions teach the importance of the present moment, what the spiritual writer Eckhart Tolle calls ‘the power of now’. Jesus spoke of not being anxious, of living from trust and not fear. To be as spontaneous and carefree as the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. To do that means receiving ourselves as a gift, as though we were newly created, morning by morning.

We can make space for this awareness by a spiritual practice, saying a prayer, centring ourselves, even the deep breathing that calls us back into our bodies which are still miraculous even when they ache or play up. If we can make this space we experience time not as a whip driving us on, but as a chance to contribute to the goodness of the world and its promise. The night has passed and the day lies open before us.

Let us pray with one heart and mind. As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you.


SAT 05:45 Four Thought (m0006tkv)
Facing Death Creatively

R.M. Sanchez-Camus describes how art can be used as a language with which to communicate the fear of death and dying. Drawing on his experience as a Social Practice Artist working in a hospice, he reveals how art-making can create a space where individuals can mentally remove themselves from the state of dying, and produce a lasting testament to their lives. He believes death anxieties over global extinction can similarly be approached through making art. 'It’s urgent to break the taboo of speaking about death. If we can hold this conversation within the community we can begin to support each other as citizens.'
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 (m0006zkf)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m0006sdm)
Family Monsters Garden in Swaffham and Chelsea

Helen Mark visits the Escape Project in Swaffham, Norfolk, to find out why a group of volunteers are helping create a garden full of monsters for the Chelsea Flower Show.

These monsters represent the kinds of problems facing every family, and a garden is the perfect place to talk about them together. The Family Monsters Garden, designed by Alistair Bayford, has been inspired by 'Escape', a community allotment which welcomes people to spend time outdoors to benefit their wellbeing and especially their mental health. Escape is funded by the charity Family Action which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The 'family monsters' theme is designed to start a national conversation about some of the family problems we may all face, but rarely talk about.

At Escape you can plant seeds, do a bit of weeding, harvest vegetables and fruit, and make friends over Susan's homemade soup or pizza baked in the handmade, dragon-covered clay pizza oven. Although if the mason bees are still nesting in the clay, you'll have to wait another week or so. It's a wildlife haven and a soothingly busy, green place to be.

Sometimes a volunteer (like Gavin) gets so hooked on gardening they take up their own allotment. Volunteer Sarah has found she's become a bit of a celebrity because of the Chelsea buzz, and William is hoping the limelight will turn into extra funding to support the project, which has been a lifeline and a source of joy for him. Team leaders Karen and Katy know that long after memories of the Flower Show have faded, they'll still be planting lettuce and purslane, with their green-fingered extended family. Helen visits before and after the show to find out about its longer-term impact.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0006zkh)
Farming Today This Week: Cereals

Charlotte Smith visits Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire to discover how a statistician in the 1920s, Sir Ronald Fisher, transformed the experiments that were conducted on cereals through his understanding of data analysis. Charlotte finds out about Fisher and his legacy from Andrew Mead, a statistician at Rothamsted himself. She also meets Ian Shield, an agronomist, who walks her through the fields of wheat that in some instances are set-up in a way that's a direct influence from Fisher's work. Charlotte also asks Ian about the experiments into genetic modification at Rothamsted, and how concerns around climate change now feed into their experiments.

Producer: Toby Field


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0006zkk)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (m0006zkm)
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0006zkp)
Ainsley Harriott

Ainsley Harriott found fame as a chef on Ready Steady Cook, which he went on to present for ten years. He has since presented cookery programmes both here and in America and has sold over two million recipe books worldwide. In his latest book, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen, he explores the way that the different historical and cultural influences on the Caribbean islands have created a diverse and varied cuisine. He joins Richard and Aasmah.

They are also joined by Petra Velzeboar who was born into The Children of God group. Petra cut ties with The Children of God when she became pregnant by a non-member at 23. Once Petra was outside, she initially struggled with alcoholism and serious mental health problems but she now has received a Masters degree, runs a successful business as a therapist and hosts a podcast in which she speaks with people who have overcome mental health issues.

And Ella Dove was 25 when she went for a jog with her sister on a quiet Sunday morning. She fell badly and assumed that she had broken her leg but was shocked to discover she had fractured her knee so badly that she would need to have her leg amputated. After months recovering from the operation in a wheelchair at her parents’ house, Ella finally was able to move back to her flat in London and resume her job as a journalist at women’s magazines. She is now publishing her first novel, Five Steps to Happy, about a young woman struggling to come to terms with a serious injury.

Producer: Laura Northedge
Editor: Richard Hooper


SAT 10:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m0006zkr)
The Infinite Moonkey Cage

A special hour long episode of the hugely popular science/comedy show, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo moon landings. Recorded at Cocoa Beach, Florida just down the road from Cape Canaveral, Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by some of the key players involved in landing the first people on the moon, on this day, 1969. Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart, Apollo flight director Gerry Griffin and Apollo children Jan and Andy Aldrin give their perspectives on arguably one of the greatest scientific and engineering achievements of all time. Keep listening for a very special guest appearance by Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes.

Presenters: Brian Cox and Robin Ince
Producer Alexandra Feachem


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0006zkt)
Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0006zkw)
A world of brandished kippers

Jacob Zuma, the former South African president, has been in the spotlight all week – live on television responding to questions at a judicial inquiry investigating corruption at the highest level. Andrew Harding reflects on truth in the age of brandished kippers.
The town of Kirkenes in northern Norway is a stone’s throw from the border with Russia. It’s now become the focus for a major spy scandal, as Sarah Rainsford has been finding out.
Martin Patience was recently part of a BBC team that received a rare invitation to visit Iran, at a time when relations with Britain are strained. He says he was warmly received, although filming at a pop concert provided a moment of uncertainty.
There’s been a long-running conflict in California over access to the beaches. On one side, the surfers, who need to be able to get to the ocean; on the other the tech millionaires, who’ve been putting up fences to keep people out. Sally Howard says the very soul of the Golden State is at stake.
And Petroc Trelawny has been aboard the QE2 for a trip down memory lane. No longer plying the high seas, she’s moored in Dubai as a floating hotel; bri-nylon and formica among the glass and steel.


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0006zky)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0006zl0)
The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.


SAT 12:30 Lobby Land (m0006v00)
Series 2

Episode One - Vis-à-Vis

Topical sitcom following life in Westminster through the eyes of Sam Peakes, a young political editor at a clickbait website, as she tries to make sense of the madness engulfing British politics. Starring Yasmine Akram, Charlie Higson, Cariad Lloyd, Dan Tetsell and Daniel Lawrence Taylor.

Cast:
Sam Peakes: Yasmine Akram
Tom Shriver MP: Charlie Higson
Mia Phillips: Cariad Lloyd
Gideon Burnside: Dan Tetsell
Nathan Edmonds: Daniel Lawrence Taylor

Written by Jon Harvey, Sarah Dempster and Christopher Davies
With additional material by Laura Major

Production Co-Ordinator: Tam Shilham
Script Editor: Dan Tetsell
Executive Producer: Lucy Armitage
Editor: Jerry Peal
Producer: Jon Harvey

A Naked production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0006zl2)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m0006zl4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0006v07)
Iain Dale, Nusrat Ghani MP, Jess Phillips MP, Pete Wishart MP

Shaun Ley presents political debate from the Melton Theatre in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire with a panel including the LBC presenter and political commentator Iain Dale, Junior Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani, the Labour MP Jess Phillips and the SNP MP Pete Wishart.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0006zl6)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (m0006zl8)
Black Water: An American Story

by Joyce Carol Oates, adapted by Sarah Wooley

A gripping drama with its origins in American political history adapted from the Pulitzer-nominated novel.

Young political writer, Kelly, is staying with friends on an island off the coast of Maine for a Fourth of July party. She is surprised and delighted when a famous US Senator arrives and, over the course of an afternoon of drinking, talking and tennis, she captivates him. The two leave in the evening to catch the last ferry, to have dinner and spend the night together. But something goes terribly wrong.

July 18th 2019 marks 50 years since the Chappaquiddick incident.

Kelly ..... Lydia Wilson
The Senator ..... Elliot Cowan
Narrator/Mother ..... Laurel Lefkow
Buffy ..... Kelly Burke
Ray ..... Chris Pavlo
Felicia/Operator ..... Emma Lau
Stacey/Woman at Party ..... Hannah Wood

Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane


SAT 15:30 The Dying of the Ice (m0006smz)
Frozen Music

Andrew McGibbon explores the sounds and music of the ice, meeting the composers, musicians and indigenous artists in the Arctic region who use the ice to make music. He discovers the natural and haunting sounds made by the movements of deep frozen ice, ice melting and icebergs calving and colliding.

Terje Isungset is a drummer and ice music composer from Norway who makes his own instruments each winter and performs at festivals across the Arctic region. His beautiful sounds mingle with voices and even a string section providing a fitting and atmospheric backdrop to his environment.

Faithfully capturing the sounds of ice and making them sound art is the work of Jana Winderen who uses a range of sophisticated hydrophones across the melting and freezing seasons. Andreas Bick creates collages of ice sounds recorded all across the Arctic, from iceberg calving to resonanting ice sheets on a lake.

Arild Sundfjord is an Oceanographer who explains why Arctic sea ice matters.

This is the third of three programmes and, as with the rest of The Dying of the Ice series, features the sounds of melting and retreating ice in the Arctic along with the sounds of creatures living under the ice 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 (m0006zlb)
Why black women in the UK are five times more likely to die in childbirth, Netball World Cup pivoteers, Imposter syndrome

Black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth compared to white women. We hear the personal experiences of two women Candice Brathwaite who got sepsis after her caesarean section and Remi Sade who felt she was pushed towards a more medically managed birth. We also hear from Daghni Rajasingam a consultant obstetrician who speaks for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Clinical psychologist Jessamy Hibberd discusses the ‘imposter syndrome’ and Claire Poole who runs two businesses tells us how she sometimes feels as if she’s not good enough at work.

As the Netball World Cup draws to a close this weekend we talk about how the game has changed over the years with the BBC presenter Hazel Irvine and the former England player Sara Bayman.

The owner of Zara has announced that all the cotton, linen and polyester it uses will be organic, sustainable or recylcled by 2025. Tamsin Lejeune the CEO & Founder of Common Objective and Ethical Fashion Forum tells us how significant this move is and what sustainable means in the context of a high volume fashion business.

David Trimble, a leading figure in Northern Irish politics and joint Nobel Peace Prize Winner who now sits in the house of Lords, surprised the House this week. He stood up during a debate about Northern Ireland to say his daughter had married her girlfriend, even though he had in the past opposed same sex marriage and voted against it. We hear from his daughter Vicky Trimble and her wife Rosalind Stephens with their reactions to his speech.

We hear from three volunteers from the Netball World Cup called Pivoteers. Caswell Palmer, Mandy and Hannah Cripps

Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Jane Thurlow


SAT 17:00 PM (m0006zld)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (m0006sf7)
Lessons of Theranos

What can we learn from how one medical start-up fooled Silicon Valley and the world? Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to start Theranos. She promised investors and the public a revolutionary blood diagnosis machine which would be less painful, accessible and affordable than ordinary lab tests. She managed to raise $9 billion in funding. Now the company is worth nothing. Holmes and her business partner may face up to 20 years in prison for fraud. How did she manage to deceive some of the world's cleverest minds - and is there something about start-up culture and the cult of the visionary leader which encourages charlatans? Evan Davis and guests discuss.

GUESTS
Rebecca Jarvis, chief business, economics and technology correspondent, ABC News
Margaret Heffernan, author and entrepreneur
Jos White, entrepreneur and partner, Notion Capital

Producer: Julie Ball


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0006zlh)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0006zlk)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0006zlm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0006zlp)
Eve Myles, Michael Dapaah, Doon Mackichan, Richard Strange, Aldous Harding, Lady Sanity, Arthur Smith, Nikki Bedi

Nikki Bedi and Arthur Smith are joined by Eve Myles, Michael Dapaah, Doon Mackichan and Richard Strange for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Aldous Harding and Lady Sanity.

Producer: Debbie Kilbride


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0006zlr)
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (m0006zlt)
Making Noise Quietly, Night of the Iguana, The Moon, Laura Cummings, I Am Nicola

Theatre director Dominic Dromgoole has made his feature film debut with Making Noise Quietly; a triptych of stories about the effects of war.
Tennessee Williams' play Night Of The Iguana is based on his 1948 novel and has just opened in a new production at London's Noel Coward Theatre, featuring Clive Own and Lia WIlliams
An exhibition looking at mankind's relationship with The Moon begins at The Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich
Laura Cummings' biography of her mother's peculiar upbringing; On Chapel Sands
A new ITV drama starring Vicki McClure; I Am Nicola

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Abigail Morris, Oliver Morton and Lynn Nead. The producer is Oliver Jones

Podcast extra recommendations:

Oliver: Herman Wouk – The Winds of War AND the Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival
Lynn: The Wonder of Wimbledon on TV
Abigail: a sonnet a day by Simon de Deney AND Call My Agent
Tom: Black Monday on Amazon Prime


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0006zlw)
James Burke: Our Man on the Moon

Fifty years ago, when the Apollo 11 mission landed the first human beings on the moon, James Burke was the voice of science for the BBC. Join him to relive the dramatic days in the studio, sharing the moment-by-moment drama to a live audience. You'll remember his excited voice counting down the seconds and desperately trying to avoid talking over any communication with the astronauts. Here is your chance to find out what went on behind the scenes as James revisits the final moments of the Apollo mission. He'll recreate the drama, struggling to make sense of flickering images from NASA and working with the limitations of 1960s technology. We'll hear what went wrong as well as what went right on the night! Illustrated with amazing archive material from both the BBC and NASA, this will be the story of the moon landings brought to you by the man who became a broadcasting legend. A night neither he nor we will never forget.


SAT 21:00 Renaissance Man: The Last Judgement of Giorgio Vasari (m0006t52)
Episode 1: Dome

“Giorgio Vasari? Who’s he?” The very thought would have been anathema to the great man, a legend in his own lifetime but an unsung hero today. Using his own words as inspiration this three-part classic serial tells a poignant story of pride, love and legacy combined with an epic journey through the art of the Renaissance - led by the man who invented the word. We begin in Florence, 1570. Giorgio Vasari is the top painter and architect of the day, as well as the official biographer of the pantheon of Renaissance artists. His vast book THE LIVES OF THE ARTISTS is already in its second edition and will stay in print well into the next millennium as the essential text for all students of art history. At the behest of his illustrious patron, the Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, Vasari is about to embark on his most ambitious project ever: painting the city’s cathedral dome. When he prays for assistance, God sends him a surprise response: a new assistant, Piero, who reminds him of his own young self.

Written by Eileen Horne.

Created by Eileen Horne and Sarah Dunant

CAST:

VASARI .....Tom Conti
PIERO ..... Will Taylor
GRAND DUKE COSIMO DE’ MEDICI ..... David Troughton
TOMMASO ..... Tristan Beint
DUKE FRANCESCO DE’ MEDICI/CIMABUE ..... John Hollingworth
MICHELANGELO ..... Nicholas Murchie
YOUNG VASARI/DANTE ..... Joshua Akehurst
GIOTTO (teen) ..... Jay Mailer
GIOTTO (10) ..... Alexander Ryan
DANTE ..... Joshua Akehurst
PAPAL ENVOY ..... Jamie Newall

Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
Exec Producer: Sarah Dunant
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (m0006zly)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (m0006tm1)
Surveillance and Human Freedom

Big Brother is watching you. George Orwell’s chilling words are now a reality. In China’s Xinjiang province, Uyghur Muslims have been described by one official as laboratory mice in an experiment of “advanced, predictive, algorithmic surveillance”. The comments were made to an undercover film-maker, whose documentary, “Inside the Chinese Digital Gulag”, airs this week. The film depicts a society based on phone surveillance apps and a vast network of cameras tracking individuals and even reading their body language to determine their ‘threat level’. The Chinese authorities insist these are necessary security measures; human rights watchers say they are inhuman. Closer to home, civil liberties campaigners are unhappy that several UK police forces are trying out facial recognition cameras. What level of state surveillance is morally acceptable in a liberal democracy? While we’re busy pondering that question, let’s not ignore the fact that most of us accept being spied upon in our own homes by our smartphones and computers. Some of us believe it is a price worth paying for convenience and inter-connectedness. Others warn that information is power and power corrupts. The recent eruption of dystopian drama on our TV screens could point to a deeper unease about the current threats posed to human freedom. Are we giving away too much control to artificial intelligence? Are we sleep-walking into our own Orwellian nightmare? And do we care?

Producer: Dan Tierney


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m0006sgs)
The Final, 2019

(17/17)
The 2019 season of the annual general knowledge competition reaches its climax, as the four competitors who have come through heats and semi-finals unscathed line up to see which of them can become the 66th Brain of Britain champion.

As always, they'll face Russell Davies's questions on unpredictable topics, from Russian history to Formula One, from medicine to opera. A tight contest is assured between four formidable quiz players, who are:

Gareth Aubrey, a planning environmental law solicitor from South Wales
Frankie Fanko, a freelance translator from Leicestershire
Roger Look, a retired consultant clinical psychologist from Warwickshire
David Stainer, a tax advisor from Hertfordshire.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 The Dying of the Ice (m0006t55)
The Reindeer Poets

Andrew McGibbon explores the poetry, song and yoiking of the indigenous Sámi people who live across the Western European Arctic - a region including Russia's Kola Peninsula, Norway, Finland and Sweden. 

The relationship between the traditional epic yoik songs and contemporary poetry is explored, along with the multimedia approach that several contemporary Sámi poets and artists choose for their creative expression. The yoik is the distinctive form of cultural expression for the Sámi people and comparable to the traditional chanting of some First Nations in the Northern American continent.

The United Nations has designated 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, and the programme features Mikkal Morottaja, aka Amoc, a poet who raps in Inari Sámi - a language spoken by fewer than 300 people in the world. He raps about Father Christmas being overwhelmed with selfish Christmas demands. Anna Morottaja is a traditional Inari Sámi "livde" singer, who can sing northern bird imitations and stories of mischievous birds of prey, while Ánnámáret tells stories from her family background as a reindeer herder using the traditional yoik, through poetry and through music.

Sámi poetry takes tradition seriously, looking back to find the way forward, and giving a group of people in the Arctic north a voice.

This is the second of three programmes and, as with the rest of The Dying of the Ice series, features the sounds of melting and retreating ice in the Arctic along with the sounds of creatures living under the ice 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