SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2020

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m000h2v4)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 The Passion in Plants (m000h25g)
The Resurrection - Pearlwort, Touch-me-not and the Alleluia Flower

diminutive wood sorrel flowers at Easter and so is called the Alleluia Flower.

In the final episode of the Passion in Plants, the urban naturalist Bob Gilbert and his friend, the Franciscan friar Brother Sam, celebrate the culmination of the Easter story, seeking out the plants associated with the Resurrection.

As Christ rises from the tomb it is the pearlwort, according to Gaelic legend, that is there to cushion his first footfall. Bob and Sam find this diminutive plant in the cracks between paving stones in an East London street.

One of the most beautiful stories of the Resurrection is that of Mary Magdalene meeting the risen Christ and mistaking him for the gardener. As she reaches out to towards him he tells her not to touch him. This Biblical story is told again in the name of the 'touch-me-not' balsam. Rare and late flowering, Bob and Brother Sam have to resort to the herbarium at Kew Gardens to see a specimen.

In the culmination of the story, they do, however, manage to find in the woods at Hilfield friary, the beautiful wood sorrel. Flowering at Easter, it is known as the 'Alleluia plant'.

Peresenter: Bob Gilbert
Producer: Julian May


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000h278)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000h27b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000h27d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000h27j)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley

Good morning.

Usually on a Saturday morning I take part in a parkrun at Fountains Abbey, which is near to where I live. My aim is usually to get around the course without stopping, and the welcome tea and cheese scone afterwards in a café is an incentive in helping me on my way. There’s something quite profound by a common purpose in gathering. I always come away feeling buoyed up; ready to face the day ahead.

These days, we don’t gather. Exercise is a solitary activity with a cheery wave exchanged at a careful distance. I make a point however of checking in online with friends from our weekly run. We share stories of our week, and words of encouragement. It’s not the same as face-to-face, but for now it has to be so. Today in the Christian tradition is known as ‘Holy Saturday’. Tomorrow is Easter Day, a day of immense joy– although this year it won’t be celebrated by gathering. Jesus is risen, we will proclaim.

This year, Holy Saturday feels longer than a day. The time in-between feels heavy going, like my legs do when I’m running up a hill (or ‘a little incline’ as I’m frequently told by other runners). I recall the advice a fellow-runner gave me once. He came alongside me as we started up the hill and said ‘small steps now’. I found it worked, and I was grateful for his words. Small steps. I look towards the dawn the hope of Easter joy will be a light to help me take one more step into a new day.

God who set the sun in the sky to provide light and warmth, help me to look to this day with hope and gratitude for small steps along the way.

Amen.


SAT 05:45 The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? (m000gskt)
Caffeine Hair Products

Can caffeine hair products prevent our hair from getting thinner as we get older and, even better, reverse the process? Or does this ingredient just end up going down the plughole?

Joining him in the studio is Ian Carmichael, Senior Director in Styling at Trevor Sorbie, the Hair Salon, who styles many high profile heads including Her Majesty the Queen’s.

Dermatologist Dr Paul Farrant, from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, is on hand to put two products through the evidence mill, separating the facts from the fads to reveal whether caffeine hair products really are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.

Presenter: Greg Foot
Producer: Beth Eastwood


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m000h7bg)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m000h0vd)
Small Fish - Big Project

How a little known fish, rare and remarkable, is driving a huge project on the River Severn.

Weirs may look dramatic and sound wonderful but, for fish, they are nothing more than a barrier, preventing progress upstream. That's why you'll see anglers, both human and heron, hanging around weirs for an easy-ish catch. One fish in particular, previously found in healthy numbers on the Severn, has suffered. It's the Twaite Shad, sleek and fast, but not fond of leaping. However, a project called Unlocking the Severn is well underway to install gigantic fish-passes at four weirs. These will allow the Twaite Shad to swim through and reach their spawning grounds in significant numbers for the first time since the Victorians installed weirs to improve navigation during the industrial revolution.

Because of Covid19, the sound-quality of this programme will be a little different: all the interviewees recorded themselves, on their phone voice-recorders, in their own homes... many thanks to each of them for persevering!

See the 'related links' box below for more info on the entire Unlocking the Severn project.

Producer/Presenter: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m000h7bj)
11/04/20 - Farming Today This Week

This week the NFU has held crisis talks with DEFRA asking for urgent support for the dairy industry through the coronavirus lockdown. As restaurants and cafes close, the knock on in the milk market has left some farmers pouring thousands of litres down the drain.

Easter Weekend should be one of the busiest times for garden centres...but since they were forced to close, the plant nurseries which usually stock them have been left with millions of pounds of unwanted plants.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Caz Grahram brings you lots of stories of how rural communities and businesses are finding innovative ways to cope in the face of COVID-19.

Presented by Caz Graham
Produced by Heather Simons


SAT 06:57 Weather (m000h7bl)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m000h7bn)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m000h7bq)
Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world.


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000h7bs)
Series 27

Home Economics: Episode Two

Jay Rayner is back for the latest series of The Kitchen Cabinet, but with a twist.

Owing to the current restrictions, the team are broadcasting to you remotely, bringing the usual recipe suggestions, culinary quirks and kitchen banter from their own homes.

Joining Jay this week for a Home Economics lesson are Dr Annie Gray, Jordan Bourke, Andi Oliver and Rachel McCormack. Answering questions sent in by email and social media, the team discusses interesting new ways to cook with Jerusalem artichokes, how to use up a bag of dried figs, and what takes them closest to food heaven.

Producer: Laurence Bassett
Assistant Producer: Jemima Rathbone

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Briefing Room (m000h0w0)
The Inequalities of Lockdown

What effect is the lockdown having across the country and population? David Aaronovitch examines which jobs have been lost, whose health is more at risk and whose education is most likely to suffer. Is the lockdown likely to increase inequality? And if it does, how might a government reverse that trend once normal life is resumed?

Contributors: Professor Angus Deaton from Princeton University, Professor Simon Burgess from Bristol University, Xiaowei Xu from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Swinney from the Centre for Cities and Miatta Fahnbulleh from the New Economics Foundation.

Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Darin Graham and Rosamund Jones.
Editor: Jasper Corbett


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m000h7bv)
New Orleans - From Katrina to Corona

Fifteen years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is facing another lethal storm. The city on Louisiana’s coast has become one of the worst-hit areas in the US. Some have blamed the high death toll on the decision to allow the annual Mardi Gras parade to go ahead. But musician and actor Harry Shearer, famous, among other things for voicing characters in The Simpsons, says don’t victim blame and don't reproach the revellers.

South Africa's president has extended the lockdown until the end of the month as the country braces for a surge in infections. But enforcing social distancing in the poorest, most crowded South African townships remains a struggle says Andrew Harding.

This weekend the World Health Organization is set to officially declare the end of the Ebola epidemic that has killed thousands in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Peter Yeung was one of the few journalists to visit health workers in the epidemic’s former epicentre of Beni amidst the global lockdown. But with the coronavirus on the way, there is no cause for celebration.

In Jerusalem, Yolande Knell has been talking to local religious leaders about how to mark Easter, Passover and Ramadan when prayers at holy sites are forbidden.

Every ten years the small Bavarian village of Oberammergau puts on a passion play – a huge pageant about the life and death of Christ. The tradition dates back to the seventeenth century when people believed that the plays would protect them from the plague. But this year’s performance has been postponed and it’s a huge blow to tourists and locals alike says Jenny Hill.


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m000h7bx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m000h7bz)
Coping with ‘income shock’

Millions of people are still facing huge financial pressure despite government measures to help them deal with the fallout from coronavirus.

Some estimates show that up to half of the 5m people who are self employed won’t be helped by the support package that the government has announced. Many thousands more, who are employees, are not eligible for the job retention furlough arrangements.

Unsurprisingly the benefits system has seen an unprecedented number of new applications for Universal credit. We’re hearing of a back log of many weeks as the Department for Work and Pensions tries to work through more than a million new cases.

So if you are one of the millions of people affected by a huge and sudden loss in income, what can you do to survive?

Paul Lewis and guests discuss their top tips for surviving financial shock.

Joining Paul are:

- Nick Hill - money expert, Money And Pensions Service
- Laura Peters - from Mental Health and Money Advice
- Anna Stevenson - welfare benefit expert at charity Turn2us

Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Emma Rippon


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (m000h26q)
Series 56

Episode 6

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis get to grips with the continuing COVID-19 lock-down and disruption with sketches and guests.

In the last of the current series, Zoe Lyons gets things done, Scott Bennett speaks to us from his shed, and Jess Robinson invokes her blitz spirit.

Also featuring George Fouracres and Gemma Arrowsmith.

Song written and arranged by Jess Robinson and Alex Silverman.

Written by the cast, with additional material from Catherine Brinkworth, Gareth Gwynn, Alex Kealy and Simon Alcock.

Production Co-Ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Producer: Adnan Ahmed

A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m000h7c1)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m000h7c3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m000h26x)
Ed Argar MP, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Professor Margaret MacMillan, Dr John Sentamu

Chris Mason presents political debate from Broadcasting House in London with Health Minister Ed Argar MP, Shadow Mental Health Minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Historian Margaret MacMillan and Dr John Sentamu the Archbishop of York.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 13:54 The Listening Project (m000h1lr)
Mari and Melita – I love lockdown

Mother and daughter discuss the positive and the funny sides to living in lockdown. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m000h7c5)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 15:00 Drama (b0b3bb2c)
A Tale of Two Cities: Aleppo and London

2011/2012

Charles Dickens' iconic story of love, revolution and redemption, updated and set in contemporary Aleppo and London.

Dickens' original novel is a powerful portrayal of personal sacrifice set against the turbulent backdrop of political change. As resonant today as it was then, the redemption of flawed humanity is at the heart of award winning writer Ayeesha Menon's bold reworking of A Tale of Two Cities.

The story of a chance resemblance between a feckless lawyer and a troubled exile, both in love with the same woman, is updated to modern-day London and war-torn Syria. However, in this modern version, the driving forces are two women - British Syrian journalist Lina Mahmoud and her nemesis, Taghreed Daffar.

It's a classic tale reimagined as a provocative and moving drama for today.

Episode 1: 2011/2012
It's the Arab Spring and peaceful protests in Syria lead to a release of political prisoners. When Dr Mahmoud is freed after 30 years, he is sheltered by Taghreed and Emad Daffar, and brought to the UK by his old friend Jarvis Lorry and the daughter he has never met, foreign correspondent Lina. Back in London, Jarvis persuades his nephew Sid Carton, a flawed but brilliant advocate, to represent Syrian émigré doctor Shwan Dahkurdi against terrorism charges. When Lina and Shwan meet, they are immediately attracted. But Dr Mahmoud's release has set in train a series of events that none of them can escape.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, adapted for radio by Ayeesha Menon
Development concept written by Silas Parry
Sound design by Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast Assistant: Jan Shepherd

Produced by Gill Parry
Directed by Polly Thomas

Producer for Goldhawk Productions: Emma Hearn
Executive Producer: John Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m000h7c7)
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week


SAT 17:00 PM (m000h7c9)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 The Inquiry (m000hcfp)
Why is it taking so long to develop a Covid-19 vaccine?

The race is on for the world’s scientists to develop a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine. The Inquiry examines how quickly this can be done and what hurdles need to be overcome to roll out a vaccine in 12-18 months, rather than the many years it would normally take. Presented by Kavita Puri.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000h7cf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m000h7ch)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000h7ck)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m000h7cm)
Marcus Mumford, Ainsley Harriott, Spencer Jones, Glenn Tilbrook, Ady Suleiman, Athena Kugblenu, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Athena Kugblenu are joined by Marcus Mumford, Ainsley Harriott and Spencer Jones for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Glenn Tilbrook and Ady Suleiman.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m000h7cp)
Dominic Raab

On Profile this week, we look at the man who has effectively become Britain’s acting Prime Minister.

The 46-year-old Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, asked to deputise “where necessary” for Boris Johnson while he recovers from coronavirus.

A staunch Brexiteer and a karate black belt, he’s perhaps not the best-known member of the Cabinet.

So, who is he and – more importantly - is he up to the job?

A former lawyer, Raab has experience in international justice – but his hard-line on Brexit as well as past comments about feminism, welfare and Britain’s work ethic have angered his critics.

Mark Coles hears from political colleagues, Westminster journalists – even Dominic Raab’s boxing coach.

Producer Smita Patel
Editor Ravin Sampat
Researcher Bethan Head


SAT 19:15 The Reith Lectures (b03f9bg7)
Grayson Perry: Playing to the Gallery: 2013

Nice Rebellion, Welcome In!

In the third of four lectures, recorded in front of an audience at The Guildhall in Londonderry, the artist Grayson Perry asks if revolution is a defining idea in art, or has it met its end?

Perry says the world of art seems to be strongly associated with novelty. He argues that the mainstream media seems particularly drawn to the idea of there being an avant-garde: work is always described as being "cutting edge," artists are "radical," shows are "mould-breaking," ideas are "ground-breaking," "game-changing" or "revolutionary," We are forever being told that a new paradigm is being set.

Perry says we have reached the final state of art. Not an end game, as there will always be great new art, but that art has lost one of its central tenets: its ability to shock. We have seen it all before.

Grayson Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003 and is the first contemporary artist to deliver the Reith Lectures. He is best known for his ceramic works, print making, drawing, sculpture and tapestries as well as being a flamboyant cross-dresser.

The Reith Lectures are presented and chaired by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m000h7cr)
The Hubble Legacy

Astronaut and artist Nicole Stott celebrates the scientific and cultural legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope. 30 years after launch, it's a mission that's influenced art, music and science fiction.

Launched on 24 April 1990 and built to last 15 years, the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope was a disaster. Most serious among a catalogue of flaws was a fault with the primary mirror. Fortunately, the telescope had always been designed to be serviced in space and, after one of the most challenging and complex space walks in history, scientists downloaded the first new Hubble images. The results were astounding.

Every week, Hubble delivers 140 gigabytes of science data back to Earth, transforming our view and knowledge of the universe. But what NASA didn’t foresee when it launched the telescope was its cultural legacy. Images from Hubble have appeared on album covers, video games, in movies and on clothing and jewellery.

In science fiction films and TV shows released before Hubble, space was black with scattered stars. Now, movies are alive with swirling colours. Pictures from the space telescope can be found on t-shirts, leggings and on desktop screensavers in almost every office across the world. U2, Pearl Jam and the Royal Philharmonic have used Hubble images to inspire their music.

The programme includes new interviews with composer Eric Whitacre and one of the astronauts who launched Hubble, Kathy Sullivan. It also features archive interviews with astronauts and a wealth of newly remastered NASA archive.

Hubble has changed how we think of ourselves and our place in the universe. The telescope has given humanity a sense of the vastness of the cosmos but, nevertheless, connected us to it like never before.

A Boffin Media production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:00 Day Release (b09gfbc6)
House Arrest

Lenny Henry plays Frank Watt, a reformed double-murderer recently released from prison. Frank and Geoff start a small rehabilitation company called ITHACA for ex-offenders, but have they rehabilitated themselves?

Frank Watt ..... Lenny Henry
Geoff Hoagland ..... Ralph Ineson
Shudi Misir ..... Deeivya Meir
Charla May ..... Karla Crome
Aidan Lavington ..... Rupert Holliday Evans
Michelle Lavington/Bar woman ..... Kath Weare
James Ansell ...... Clive Hayward
Gloria Barclay ..... Adjoa Andoh
Ex Con 1 ..... Gary Duncan
Ex-Con 2 ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Mike ..... Neil McCaul
Officer 1 ..... Isabella Inchbald
Officer 2 ..... Abbie Andrews

Directed by Mary Peate
Written by Peter Jukes


SAT 21:45 Rabbit Redux (b09gfy20)
Episode 1

John Updike's masterful Rabbit quintet established Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom as the quintessential American White middle class male. The first book Rabbit, Run was published in 1960 to critical acclaim. Rabbit Redux is the second in the series, published in 1971 and charting the end of the sixties - featuring, among other things, the first American moon landing and the Vietnam War.

Despite its very strong language, sex, and reflection of racist attitudes of the time, Time Magazine said of the book and its author, "Updike owns a rare verbal genius, a gifted intelligence and a sense of tragedy made bearable by wit. A masterpiece."

It's extraordinary how many of its themes reverberate down to the present day.

Abridged by Eileen Horne
Read by Toby Jones
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:00 News (m000h7cw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Fallout (m000h1ms)
The Global Economy

Mary Ann Sieghart and a panel of experts discuss the possible long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy.

There are many burning issues for our guests to tackle. How will people in the UK feel the economic impact of the virus in the future? Are we about to experience a financial crash to top 2008? How will the virus exacerbate global inequality? Will the virus kill off globalisation? What will global trade look like now that we've experienced the widespread disruption of supply chains? What will happen to the already fractious relationship between the West and China? Does the virus spell the end of the Euro and even the European Union itself? And in the midst of so much uncertainty and instability, what strategies should we adopt to future-proof the global economy against pandemics and other systemic shocks in the future?

All this and more will be dissected and discussed by economist and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, Editor-in-Chief of the Economist Zanny Minton Beddoes, former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King and Ian Goldin Professor of Globalisation and Development at Oxford.

Producer: Max O'Brien
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m000h2ct)
Heat 1, 2020

(1/17)
The 2020 season of the nation's longest running general knowledge quiz gets under way, with Russell Davies in the questionmaster's chair. The first four of the 48 competitors taking part this year begin their campaign to become the 67th BBC Brain of Britain.

Appearing today are:
John Adedoyin, a management consultant from London
Hugh Brady, a scientist, also from London
Andrew Codling, a former business analyst from Egham in Surrey
Ellie Mackin, a writer and translator from Nottingham.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Breaking Our Silence (m000h297)
In 2011, poet Salma El-Wardany was part of the Arab Spring uprising in Cairo. Thousands of Egyptians came together in Tahrir Square to fight for a new future. And poetry was everywhere - spray painted on walls, shared on social media, and written into songs that became anthems for the protesters.

"It was a revolution fuelled by poetry," says Salma.

In this programme, Salma celebrates the connection between poetry and revolution. She speaks to four of her favourite female poets - all women of colour from different corners of the world, whose work fuels revolution, both personal and political.

British-Indian poet Nikita Gill sees her own work written onto placards and hears it chanted in the street on marches. She believes that, from the French Revolution to the Indian freedom struggle, writers and poets are at the forefront of change.

Yrsa Daley-Ward, award-winning writer of Bone and The Terrible, writes about topics on which women have often been silent. Her work is confronting and challenging - there's danger in telling the truth, she says.

Tjawangwa Dema argues that what, to a Western audience, might seem like a simple love poem, can be truly revolutionary when written by a woman from Botswana. There is tremendous power in an African woman telling her own story.

And Lisa Luxx shares the power of poetry to unite people into a revolutionary community, as she does by organising feminist literary salons in Beirut.

Salma believes that these poetic revolutions, and her own, all have one thing in common - they involve women speaking out, and refusing to be silenced any longer.

Producer: Hannah Marshall
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4