Bill Gates takes an optimistic view of how the innovative power of technology, policies and people can get us to zero greenhouse emissions and avert a climate catastrophe.
Bill Gates is a technologist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and in his new book he brings these three strands together to propose an urgent, comprehensive and accessible plan to get the planet to net-zero emissions, before the worst effects of climate change are upon us.
He sets out the climate science simply and explores initiatives like wind power, which are already contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but he goes on to argue that on their own, these existing methods aren't enough to eradicate the 51 billion tons emitted across the globe annually. So he then turns to the innovations which promise to get us all the way to zero emissions, from new processes for making steel and cement, to developing the science fundamental to creating plant and cell-based meats. Lastly, he sets out a roadmap for governments and policymakers to adopt, to ensure that in every continent and country our precious planet remains inhabitable. Although he makes it plain that it’s going be a hard journey, his ideas are authoritative, expansive and inspiring.
Yesterday was my birthday. A few months ago, when it mistakenly looked like we might be returning to normal life post-pandemic, I thought I would be one of the lucky few people who would not have to experience a lockdown birthday.
I am a big fan of my special day. I love planning celebrations with friends and loved ones. My favourite birthdays have included hiring bars in central London, a lovely 24 hours in Paris with a friend, afternoon tea, lavish brunches and belting out tunes on karaoke machines surrounded by friends. Last year, my birthday included me cooking a curry feast and serving it all up in my dining room packed with friends. It feels strange now to think we were crowded round my dining table, elbow to elbow. So close to each other.
This year was, of course, vastly different. Like the rest of life, the things that we had taken for granted have become the stuff of dreams. What I would give to be able to sit in a crowded room with friends again. Instead, what I did yesterday was rested. I spent much of the day in bed reading a book, doing my best to savour the quietness. Lockdown life for each of us is of course different. Some of us have had to become used to silence, to being alone. Some of us who live in crowded households long for a moment’s peace. As a mum of a toddler, a few hours of me-time was the perfect birthday gift for me this year. The Lenten period is a time for us to carve out space, to take time to refocus, to find peace.
God of peace, we pray that in lockdown life – whether surrounded by loved ones or craving company – we might find moments of peace to reconnect with you.
As a wildlife sound recordist, Chris Watson has been lucky enough to travel around the world listening to bird song, and is convinced that the very best dawn chorus in the world is here in Britain. From late March until mid-June, between
, there is a tremendous outpouring of song in woodlands between latitudes 50 to 55 degrees north. Resident birds are joined by migrant birds from Africa and Eastern Europe whose voices coalesce into an international chorus which fills our woodlands well before sunrise. Chris decided to try and capture a dawn chorus in a landscape he knew well as he would have to set up microphones in the dark, so he chose Suffolk. It was early May when he set out one evening down the old railway path which links Aldeburgh with Thorpeness. He arranged his microphones by a likely looking area of birch and alder trees, although the first sounds he heard were not birds but the bells of Aldeburgh parish church nearly two miles to the south. The bells faded under the sounds rooks, jackdaws and pheasants returning to their roost. There then followed the sounds of the night; owls, deer and foxes. At
Chris heard the first bird song, when a nightingale began to sing. This was a beautiful solo voice in the darkness. Soon other birds joined the Nightingale; Robin, Song thrush, Blackbird and Wren, until at
the chorus had developed to the extent that it was difficult to pick out any individual. With the first rays of daylight, the chorus began to subside and the pattern of song was changed by the late arrivals. As Chris returned back along the footpath, he was accompanied by the cries of curlew rising off the marshes and heading inland – a perfect end to a wonderful dawn chorus. Producer Sarah Blunt.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
The Oscar winning producer of The King’s Speech, Gareth Ellis-Unwin, takes Clare on one of his regular rambles from Pangbourne in Berkshire to Goring on Thames in South Oxfordshire. Gareth had an unusual route into film-making and now works with the charity, ScreenSkills, which is trying to make it easier for people of all backgrounds to join the industry. Walking - Gareth says - is vital for the creative process, and he has a lot bubbling under: including a project about the extraordinary Georgian explorer, Lady Hester Stanhope.
We started in Pangbourne at Grid Ref: SU636767 and walked along the Thames Path to Goring on Thames. Our final landmark was Goring Lock, Grid Ref: SU596808
Salvage Hunter Drew Pritchard, actor and writer Andi Osho, and listener Hannah Mornement.
Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and self-confessed 'proud radio nerd', rummages through the BBC's treasure house of archives, using current stories and listener suggestions as a springboard into the vaults of audio, video, documents and photographs.
This week, following a request from a listener, Greg strikes archive gold with the BBC's information campaign Decimal Five, complete with handy - and incredibly catchy - jingles to remind us how to convert old coins into new values.
As William Blatty's best-selling novel The Exorcist turns 50, Greg dusts off some very British hauntings, involving a carpenter, a choc ice and a ghost named Albert – and hears about a phantom furniture removal man.
Greg takes inspiration from Netflix film The Dig, starring Ralph Fiennes as archaeologist Basil Brown who excavated a Saxon burial ship at Sutton Hoo in one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries of all time. He does some digging of his own, unearthing interviews with the real Basil Brown and other members of the Sutton Hoo team, plus he gets to practise his Suffolk accent.
And with Nina Simone becoming one of the most popular choices on Desert Island Discs in the past two years, we hear from the legend herself.
The prime minister is due to announce on Monday his plan for lifting the current lockdown in England. He says he wants progress to be cautious but irreversible. And he, like many, is saying that decisions on how and when to lift lockdown need to be driven by data not dates. So what are the risks, for example, in sending primary age children back to school? Of opening pubs? Of opening non-essential shops? To what extent would any of this be possible without the rollout of the vaccination programme? And why is vaccination alone not a magic bullet? With Professor Azra Ghani of Imperial College, London; Professor Stephen Reicher of St. Andrews University; and Dr. Mike Tildesley of Warwick University.
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
The impact long delays have when customers have to repeatedly call their bank's fraud line. Money Box hears about wait times of hours and hours. Paul Lewis explores why consumers are being asked to pay additional costs on online goods they have bought from overseas and why students are fighting not to pay for rooms they can't use during lockdown. He also interviews the head of The Business Banking Resolution Service, which began operating this week.
A satirical review of the week's news with Andy Zaltzman and guests Andrew Maxwell, Ayesha Hazarika, Scott Bennett and Kiri Pritchard-McLean
It's the last in the current series and there are pressing issues on the agenda from climate change to the story of an incorrectly measured man.
Written by Andy Zaltzman with additional material from Alice Fraser, Simon Alcock and Runi Talwar.
Katharine Birbalsingh, Michelle Donelan MP, John Nicolson MP, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP
Anita Anand presents political discussion and debate with the headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh, the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan MP, the SNP's Culture Spokesperson at Westminster John Nicolson MP and the Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds MP.
Five years ago BBC journalist Sabet Choudhury donated a kidney to his mother. She’d been given just three years to live and the transplant transformed her life. Sabet, who is of Bangladeshi origin, says it wasn’t a difficult decision to make once he realised she could be waiting for years, because of a shortage of Asian donors in the UK. In this, the second of three programmes, Sabet talks to Faruk Choudhury. He is no relation, but he was Lord Mayor of Bristol in 2013 and he set out to increase the number of blood and organ donations from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the city. This was happening at the same time that Sabet was coming to terms with his mum’s failing health and his decision to donate, so he followed the Lord Mayor’s project closely and sees it as part of his own donation story.
The Beautiful and Damned. Part 1
F Scott Fitzgerald's novel which charts the Jazz Age via a glamorous but doomed marriage.
Anthony Patch, presumptive heir to a vast fortune, marries renowned beauty, Gloria Gilbert.
True socialites, the couple spend their time partying, drinking and dreaming of the millions they will have to spend when Anthony finally inherits.
Anthony Patch ..... Joel MacCormack
Gloria Gilbert ..... Jessica Hardwick
Fred Passmore ..... Rhashan Stone
Maury Noble ..... David Sturzaker
Joseph Bloeckman ..... Tom Mothersdale
Muriel Kane ..... Melody Grove
Adam Patch/Bounds ..... Ben Onwukwe
Why the latest lockdown has left so many women feeling at breaking point as they try to juggle home schooling and working from home simultaneously. Annie tells us her story and we hear from Leann Cross the Director of Homestart Greenwich and Sam Smethers the former Chief Exec of the Fawcett Society,.
Model and TV personality, Zara McDermott talks about revenge porn. Intimate images of her were shared without her consent when she was 14 and again when she was 21. Sharing explicit or intimate images without consent has been illegal since 2015, when Baroness Morgan was in office as Minister for Women and Equalities. Baroness Morgan joins the discussion to talk about the change to the law, which has been failing women and girls.
Harry Dunn was just 19 when he was was killed on his motorbike in Northamptonshire in 2019 when an American woman was driving on the wrong side of the road. His mum Charlotte Charles tells us about the latest ruling in the campaign to get Harry justice.
Why are so many girls and women suffering from vulva anxiety? Alix Fox, a sex journalist, broadcaster and educator, and Dr Naomi Crouch, the Chair of the British Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology discuss.
A new TV campaign is urging people from BAME backgrounds to take the Covid-19 vaccine, We hear from Mehreen Baig who's backing the campaign and Dr Binita Kane a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Manchester University Foundation Trust.
And the Classics scholar Mary Beard on how the term ‘witch’ has been used as an insult which she believes is an attempt to discredit her and older women generally.
What are the business opportunities in turning our old housing stock green? The UK has some of the least energy-efficient housing in Europe – most of it built before environmentally efficient design was regulated. It’s estimated around a quarter of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the energy we use for heating, lighting or running appliances in our homes, public buildings or workplaces – and energy used in our homes is the most significant source.
How soon can heat pumps, solar panels and better insulation around the house help the UK Government achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2050? And will this ramping up of energy efficiency measures really lead to a green jobs revolution?
Phil Hurley, Managing Director of Nibe, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of renewable energy products
and Barry Hughes, homeowner at Springfield Meadows - an estate of carbon zero houses.
Hugh Bonneville, Michael Cashman, Omari Douglas, Sian Clifford, Tongue Fu, Mosa Wild, Tom Allen, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Tom Allen are joined by Hugh Bonneville, Michael Cashman, Sian Clifford and Omari Douglas for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Tongue Fu and Mosa Wild.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's journey to head the World Trade Organisation has been particularly note-worthy. She is the first woman and the first african in hold that position. A trained economist, she was at The World Bank during the financial crisis and, as Nigeria’s finance minister, she faced down corruption.
But it's not just her career that sets her apart. As a child she lived through the Biafran war. Years later she faced another crisis, the kidnapping of her elderly mother.
But friends say she isn’t always serious, in fact she is known for loving a laugh and a boogie.
Becky Milligan hears about her fascinating life and career from close family, friends and colleagues.
Gyles Brandreth reads the diaries of this boarding school days at Bedales in the 1960s, and talks about his love of theatre and of wearing socks and sandals.
Comedian Phill Jupitus searches for the answers to questions posed by songs. A 1981 hit by The Clash provokes a discussion about decision making with expert Joseph Bikart.
Joseph has a written a book entitled The Art of Decision Making: How we Move from Indecision to Smart Choices. From his years of research and practice in decision making, he offers Phill advice - from philosopher Aristotle to business tycoon Warren Buffet - about how to become better at making decisions.
Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes meets her younger self in the archives in conversation with John Wilson.
Kelly Holmes's double Gold medal win in the 800m and 1500m races at the 2004 Athens Olympics was the crowning point in her athletics career. But the journey to get there had been fraught with difficulty, with injuries and other setbacks along the way. She began racing while at school, but abandoned it to join the Army where she drove lorries and eventually became a PT instructor. But she was drawn back into running and she became an Olympic, Commonwealth and European champion with seven gold, eight silver and four bronze medals to her name.
John Wilson takes Kelly back through the archives to relive key moments from her life and career. We hear extracts ranging from her putting soldiers through their paces, to the diaries she kept as she trained for her first Olympics in Atlanta , the moment of her double Gold win and her involvement with bringing the Olympics to London in 2012. And we hear what was going on behind those recorded moments, as Kelly battled injury and self-harm to finally achieve her dreams.
A judge is accused of rape. He says it is a malicious accusation because he ended the relationship. Frank is minded to believe him as he is very plausible. But then he discovers there is a personal connection. And that changes everything.
From clowns to tight-rope walkers, fire-eaters to elephant trainers, the modern circus has been around for centuries. But why does it still appeal in the modern age? Mike Williams explores the origins of the circus and asks why, in a world of screens, video streaming and TV-on-demand, the circus continues to delight adults and children around the globe. Mike visits the Moscow State Circus, hears from a clown with Cirque Du Soleil and talks to a lion trainer with the biggest animal act in the world. There's thrills, spills, fun and fear.
We’d probably all be able to give the government a score out of ten for its handling of the pandemic – but how many of us have even thought of subjecting ourselves to the same level of scrutiny? From illegal raves, house parties and large family weddings to the everyday decisions not to wear a mask or socially distance, how much should the public take a share of the responsibility for the spread of the virus? The author and commentator Matthew Syed claims that personal responsibility is “in retreat”. Citing a new drug to tackle obesity by hijacking the brain’s appetite-regulating system – while evidently good news – he cautions against the pernicious effects of easy fixes on human character and our sense of self. When a homeless person dies on the streets, many will view that tragedy as a “failure of the system”, and it would be unpopular to suggest the cause lies, even in small part, with the individual. Yet, individual autonomy is today’s sacred creed and it’s argued that with rights come responsibilities. Others believe there is a flaw in that logic because, as the pandemic has shown, we don’t all have the same resources or enjoy the freedom to pursue our lives as we would choose; that we are all products of our social background and no choice is made in a vacuum. What has our response to the pandemic revealed about the value we place in personal responsibility compared to other countries and cultures? Have we made too much or too little of the idea? And what does this tell us about how we should be tackling all kinds of social issues? Does an emphasis on free will, choice and responsibility help us to understand them better, or can it obscure what’s really going on? With Prof Sally Bloomfield, Dr Alexander Brown, Dr Deepti Gurdasani and Prof Sir Michael Marmot.
Paul Gambaccini welcomes another three of this season's heat winners to compete for a place in the Final of the musical general knowledge tournament. All of the competitors, and Paul himself, are joining in from home in a contest recorded under Covid lockdown conditions.
The questions range across pop music of the 80s, Mozart operas, theme music from classic 70s crime movies and the musical accompaniment to Stephen Fry's Greek myths. As always, the semi-finalists will have to pick a theme on which to answer a set of individual questions, with no prior warning of the categories they're given to choose from.
In the second episode of this three part series, Michael Symmons Roberts considers how poets and artists are reacting to the various ways science and technology are already transforming our bodies and will continue to do so in future - in sometimes extraordinary ways.
Keisha Thompson discusses her new work about gene-hacking, while Jill Magid describes the reactions of her parents to her decision to transform her ashes into a diamond in the name of art.
Michael also considers how other bodily transformations have become so much a part of our modern lives - in the form of Marvel movies and body-building, for example, or tattooing, as discussed by Andrew McMillan and Helen Mort respectively.
Rachel Mann describes the difficulties of articulating the physical elements of her transition as a trans woman in her poems, while Jorie Graham urges caution in accepting the metamorphic possibilities offered by technology simply because they are available.
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2021
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000shgy)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Disability: A New History (b02147h7)
Brave Poor Things
Disabled children are everywhere in popular fiction - Tiny Tim, What Katy Did, The Secret Garden. But what about the real children of the 19th century? What were their lives like, and where can we hear their voices?
In this 9th programme in the series, Peter White searches for documents which reveal the reality of children's lives.
He discovers new research into the history of the Brave Poor Things, a charity which set out to 'save' disabled children across the country through organised games, outings, and a Guild song:
'A trouble's a ton, A trouble's an ounce
A trouble is what you make it.
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts
But only how did you take it.'
The literature of the Brave Poor Things includes quotes from children - like this girl:
'O! I am so glad to be a cripple!' said a happy-faced girl one day when away in the country. 'Glad?' questioned someone. What DO you mean? And she answered, 'I can't help being glad. It is so beautiful to belong to the Guild, and I couldn't unless I had lost my leg.'
That's from fund-raising propaganda - but it's not a real girl's voice. Using images of pathetic children to raise money for charity has had a powerful legacy.
Just occasionally, there is a real child's voice. Peter discovers a letter from a little girl in a Swansea Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and it is almost unbearably moving:
'I do feel homesick. When are you coming to see me? Do you know how long I have to stop here? The children are all dumb here, I am the only girl that can speak.'
With historians Julie Anderson, Joanna Bourke and Mike Mantin.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Academic adviser: David Turner of Swansea University
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m000sbfn)
The Landlord Formerly Known as Prince
An original short work for radio which reflects this week's news. The Landlord Formerly Known as Prince by Sophie Duker
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000shh0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000shh2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000shh4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000shh6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000sgwr)
The church of St Gregory, Bedale in North Yorkshire.
Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St Gregory, Bedale in North Yorkshire. The building dates to the latter part of the 12th century and has a medieval wall painting of a left-handed St George fighting a dragon, and a tower which was built with a portcullis for defence. The tower houses a ring of eight bells. The tenor bell weighs twenty hundredweight and is in the note of E flat. It was cast by Thomas Stafford in the mid-14th century and is believed to have been transferred from Jervaux Abbey upon the dissolution of the monasteries. We hear them ringing Yorkshire Surprise Major.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m000sgw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News (m000sgts)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b03xcvt9)
Wilderness Years
For Moses and his people, the wilderness meant a time of wandering before reaching the Promised Land. The temptation of Christ took place away from civilisation. It's somewhere beyond the boundaries. A place and time of exile, isolation and self-denial.
In modern life, being cast out of life's mainstream can mean a painful loss of influence, power or fame, especially for public figures like politicians or celebrities. Famously, Churchill is said to have endured a decade in the political wilderness during the 1930s, before coming back to lead the country through the war.
Samira Ahmed reflects on what happens when people are thrust into the 'wilderness' for a period of time. It can be disconcerting, but it can also be empowering, spiritually renewing, a springboard for transformation. She talks to Jay Lakhani of the Hindu Society about traditional ideas of entering into a wilderness state for spiritual enrichment and discovery.
Finding oneself out of favour, forced into a personal wilderness can be a time of great challenge and self-evaluation. We hear from a redundancy coach about the unsettling yet familiar experience of job loss.
Featuring music by Louis Armstrong, Samuel Sebastian Wesley and Sufjan Stevens and with the words of Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Graves.
Produced by Caroline Hughes
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000sgtv)
Foot and Mouth - 20 years on
Twenty years ago this week, the first case of Foot and Mouth was diagnosed in what was to become the country's worst ever outbreak of the disease. Millions of animals were slaughtered before the epidemic could be brought under control, with pyres of burning carcasses dominating the news coverage. It caused a major crisis in British agriculture and had a lasting effect on rural communities. Anna Hill reported on the outbreak at the time. In this programme she looks back at what happened in 2001, finds out about the impact the disease had, and asks whether lessons have now been learnt.
Produced and presented by Anna Hill.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m000sgtx)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000sgtz)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000sgv1)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000sgv3)
Feedback
Sheila Dillon, who presents Radio 4's The Food Programme, makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Feedback.
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 ‘Feedback’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Feedback’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1155064
SUN 07:57 Weather (m000sgv5)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000sgv7)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000sgv9)
Lent 1 - Jesus and the Father: United
Marking the first Sunday in Lent, with Father Dermot Preston SJ of St Aloysius’ RC Church in Glasgow, and spirituality guide, Mary O’Duffin.
During Lent, Radio 4 Worship programmes take inspiration from Jesuit spirituality – an ancient form of prayer and bible contemplation pioneered in the 16th Century by St Ignatius of Loyola and used widely today.
Fr Dermot explores the theme of Jesus’ Temptations, reflecting on the challenges to our own instincts and choices, and the ‘discernment of spirits’ in Ignatian spirituality.
Readings: John 12 / Matthew 4: 1-11
A link to accompanying online materials from the Ignatian Spirituality Centre can be found on the Sunday Worship web page.
Producer: Mo McCullough
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000sbg5)
A Sense of an Opening
As a psychotherapist, Susie Orbach spends her working days helping people find words to express their emotional dilemmas.
But the seesaw of the pandemic presents particular challenges.
"We are not simply able," she writes, "to breathe into a difficult situation, roll up our psychological sleeves or dig ourselves in without the emotional cost of feeling constrained, nervous, watchful, touchy."
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b09lyhms)
Kathy Hinde on the Barnacle Goose
Migrating Barnacle geese inspire audio-visual artist Kathy Hinde to create an installation in Scotland to celebrate their winter residence.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Eljay Rogers.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000sgvc)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000sgvf)
Contemporary drama in a rural setting
SUN 10:54 Tweet of the Day (m000sgvh)
Tweet Take 5 : Water Rail
The water rail is a familiar sound throughout Britain's wetlands, It's high pitched squeal, which some say resembles a startled pig, travels through reed-beds alerting the listener to its presence. But these are shy and reclusive birds and rarely seen, as outlined in these three stories of water rail encounter with Chris Packham, Dave Leech of the British Trust for Ornithology and Springwatch remote cameraman Nigel Bean.
Producer : Andrew Dawes
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs (m000sgvk)
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren is the first performer to win the Best Actress Academy Award for a role in a foreign language film. She won in 1962 for her performance in Vittorio De Sica’s film Two Women in which she played a mother trying to protect her 12-year-old daughter in war-torn Italy. In 1991, she picked up a second Oscar when the Academy presented her with an Honorary Award for her contribution to world cinema.
Born Sofia Villani Scicolone in a hospital ward for unmarried mothers, she was brought up by a single mother in Pozzuoli near Naples during the war years. After success in her first beauty pageant at the age of 15 and starring in photo romance stories for popular magazines, she first came to wider attention in 1953 when she played the title role in the Italian film Aida.
She played a pizza seller in De Sica’s The Gold of Naples which is regarded as her breakthrough performance and led to her working on Hollywood movies with a who’s who of co-stars including Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck and Paul Newman. Her most enduring on-screen partnership was with the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni.
In 1966 she married the film producer Carlo Ponti and went on to have two children. In her most recent film The Life Ahead, directed by her son Edoardo Ponti, she plays a holocaust survivor and ex-prostitute who cares for the children of local sex workers.
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
SUN 11:45 The Battles That Won Our Freedoms (m0001y9c)
5 Freedom of Association
In this episode, Phil Tinline asks Professor Jon Lawrence to explain how Victorian working men struggled to form unions with real power - and why they trusted judges more that governments. Bike courier Max Dewhurst, Vice President of the recently-formed Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, talks about their efforts to unionise the 'gig economy' - and reflects on how the foundational struggles of the mid-19th century compare with the situation today.
First broadcast in 2019.
Producer: Phil Tinline
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000sgvm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m000s81f)
Series 25
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.
Sarah Millican and Gary Delaney, Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris, and Lucy Porter and Justin Edwards are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as nudity, horses and Valentine's Day.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000sgsg)
Everything Stops For Tea.
The past 12 months have been tumultuous for us all. But imagine, for one second, how it would have been without a cup of tea?
In the first three months of lockdown, we spent an additional £24 million on tea and coffee according to research firm Kantar. And despite tea trends diverging from the traditional cuppa over the years, the UK and Ireland remain two of the top tea drinking nations per capita, in the world.
In this programme Jaega Wise looks at the connections we've built over tea, and why it plays such an important role in our lives. From the intricately performed traditional Japanese tea ceremony, courtesy of Camellia Flower Teahouse in Kyoto. To the significance, and potentially health giving ritual, of a brew between friends as uncovered by Newcastle University's Dr Edward Okello. And she focusses on a tea ritual of a very different kind - the art of tea tasting with Twinings Master blender Rishi Deb.
Presented by Jaega Wise.
Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m000sgvq)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000sgvs)
Edward Stourton looks at the week’s big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000sgvv)
The Nation in Conversation
This week Fi Glover presents three conversations between complete strangers: Carol and Emma talk about how they both became interested in becoming mental health advocates from their personal experience of turning to them for help in their own lives; Joanne and Dawinder discuss identity and race and the judgments we make based on appearance; and The Archers super-fans, Andy, who is in his late 50s, and Amber in her early 20s, wax lyrical about Radio 4's iconic soap opera.
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. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moments 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 this decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Mohini Patel
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000sbfl)
GQT at Home: Hibiscus and Houseplants
Kathy Clugston hosts this week's gardening panel show. Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson and Chris Beardshaw answer questions sent in by the virtual audience. They discuss their favourite trees, plants that thrive on neglect and how to accommodate a newly-enthusiastic gardener in your garden.
Away from the questions, Hafsah Hafeji tells us how to sow sustainably and on a budget, and gardener Juliet Sargeant gives a mulch masterclass.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Jemima Rathbone
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Disability: A New History (b02140ny)
A Disabled Identity
In the final part of his series, Peter White reveals the birth of a modern disabled identity in the 19th century - through the lives of some extraordinary independent blind women.
Peter says, 'I'm used to people describing me as disabled. Fair enough, I can't see. But I do wonder sometimes whether putting me into a disabled category really makes much sense. Some of my best friends use wheelchairs, but the truth is our needs could hardly be more different. I fall over them, they run over me! But over the last 40 years, disabled people have needed a collective identity to make change possible, to break down discrimination in jobs, transport, in people's attitudes generally.
People have tended to think that this sense of collective identity in Britain began after the First World War, when so many men returned with very visible injuries. But the evidence I've uncovered making this series reveals it to have begun much earlier.
This evidence comes from new research into the lives of blind women in the 19th century. We hear the stories of two extraordinary women who fought the conventions of their time, Adele Husson and Hippolyte van Lendegem. Independent, critical, angry - their voices are very modern, and research into their lives challenges accepted wisdom about the history of the disability movement.
With historians Selina Mills, David Turner and Julie Anderson, and readings by Emily Bevan and Madeleine Brolly.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Academic adviser: David Turner of Swansea University
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 15:00 Hardy's Women (m000sgvx)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Episode 2
Dramatisation of Hardy's novel about Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful, poor young Dorset woman. In today's episode, Tess tries to make a clean break with her past by going to work at Talbothay's Dairy, a world away in a different vale.
Cast:
TESS ..... Faye Marsay
ANGEL ..... Matthew Tennyson
CRICK ..... John Dougall
IZZY ..... Kathleen Cranham
MARIAN ..... Bettrys Jones
RETTY ..... Ell Potter
CHARWOMAN ..... Alex Tregear
JOAN DURBEYFIELD ..... Maggie Service
MRS CRICK ..... Elizabeth Counsell
MAN at the Inn ..... Hasan Dixon
FARMER ..... John Lightbody
STRANGER ..... Chris Lew Kum Hoi
JONATHAN ..... David Seddon
Author, Thomas Hardy
Dramatist, Katie Hims
Director, Mary Peate
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000sgvz)
Caleb Azumah Nelson, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Black Britain - Writing Back
Caleb Azumah Nelson talks about his hotly anticipated Open Water, a tender and lyrical love story set in south east London. The finalist of the BBC National Short Story Award discusses his influences - musical and photographic as well as literary - and the importance of giving his two black working class characters authenticity.
My Sister the Serial Killer author, Oyinkan Braithwaite, chooses the book - or books - she'd never lend.
And Black Britain: Writing Back a new series of reissued novels, curated by Booker Prize-winning Bernardine Evaristo, seeks to correct historic bias in British publishing. SI Martin, author of 18th century-set historical thriller Incomparable World, and Nicola Williams, who wrote courtroom drama Without Prejudice in the 1990s early in her successful legal career, discuss their inclusion in the project.
Book List – Sunday 21 February and Thursday 25 February 2021
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
NW by Zadie Smith
Go Ahead in the Rain by Hanif Abdurraqib
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Incomparable World by S.I. Martin
Without Prejudice by Nicola Williams
Britons Through Negro Spectacles by A.B.C. Merriman-Labor
Minty Alley by C.L.R. James
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
Programme Co-ordinator: Belinda Naylor
Image copyright: Stuart Simpson
SUN 16:30 Modern Metamorphoses (m000sgw1)
Episode 3
In the final episode of the series, Michael Symmons Roberts confronts some of the most important metamorphoses that occur to our bodies over the course of our lives, taking Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man speech as his starting point.
He asks how poets react to the changes brought about by adolescence, by pregnancy or by serious illness? How much of our spirit and our voice remains constant as our physical being encounters such dramatic transformations? And are the ravages brought about by old age necessarily a thing to fear, or - as Jorie Graham and Michael Longley suggest - an opportunity to find poetic inspiration in the face of the dying of the light?
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m000s9vx)
Surviving Self-Harm
Sarah (not her real name) first deliberately hurt herself at the age of 11 and continued for more than six years, twice ending up in hospital. Now 18 and on the road to recovery, she says her experience shows the shortcomings in how teachers, parents, and the health system respond to self-harm.
File on 4 analysis of hospital admissions for self-harm reveals a system under growing pressure as more and more pre-teens are hurting themselves so badly they need a hospital bed. In telling Sarah’s story, we look at what works and what doesn’t when it comes to supporting children who self-harm. Why are ever-younger children ending up in hospital after injuring themselves? What has been the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic self-harm? And what was it that finally helped Sarah turn a corner?
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Maggie Latham
SUN 17:40 Profile (m000sgw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000sgw5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m000sgw7)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000sgw9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000sgwc)
Sheila McClennon
This week we have pandemic poetry from Elvis MacGonagall plus Elis and John and possibly their best ever Made Up Game – Scores on the Pause.
We hear from women about career confidence, Granny Kumar meets Beverley Knight, and Marian Keyes reveals who would be top of her Love to Meet list.
Plus acts of love from the young woman who cared for Aids patients when others didn’t dare and Laura Whitmore remembers her friend Caroline Flack.
SUN 19:00 Stillicide (m0008xyw)
Episode 8: Lake
Lydia Wilson continues Cynan Jones' powerful series set in the tangible near future - a future a little, but not quite like our own.
Water is commodified and the Water Train that feeds the city is increasingly at risk of sabotage. And now ice bergs are set to be towed to a huge ice dock outside the capital city.
Today: tensions are rising up in the Lakes, where the Water Train begins its long and hazardous journey south..
Reader: Lydia Wilson
Writer: Cynan Jones
Producer: Justine Willett
Music: Original music by Kirsten Morrison
SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (m000sgwf)
Eleanor Tiernan: Success Without a Sex Tape
Stand-up comedy from Eleanor Tiernan, arguing with herself on the merits of releasing a sextape.
So you still haven't made your most intimate sexual acts available on pay per view? What?! Not even willing to tweet as much as a naked pic? How old school! In our click-bait, "no such thing as bad publicity" world, one woman dares to stand against the tide. How? By not releasing a sextape, obviously.
Written and performed by Eleanor Tiernan
Produced by Daisy Knight
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 The Last Resort (m000sgwh)
Kathleen
A caravan-park on the Northern Irish coast is beset by a series of impossible thefts, forcing its disparate group of residents to come together to find their missing belongings. However, in this uncanny place where static caravans teeter on an eroding a cliff-edge overlooking the ocean, each holidaymaker soon finds themselves similarly wavering between certainty and doubt; one world and the next; the past and the present; and even reality and fantasy.
Author
Jan Carson is a writer and community arts facilitator based in Belfast. Her most recent novel ‘The Fire Starters’ was awarded the EU Prize for Literature 2019 and the author was acclaimed as “one of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation” by the Sunday Times. She has also written ‘Wings’ for BBC Three, ‘UnRaveling’ for BBC Radio 3, several short stories for BBC Radio 4’s ‘Short Works’ series and was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2020.
Reader: Carol Moore
Writer: Jan Carson
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m000sbfs)
How is Emma Barnett settling in as the main presenter of Woman’s Hour? Is she turning the programme into a radio version of Newsnight? In the first edition of a new series of Feedback listeners give their contrasting views.
Also this week, the departing newsreaders Corrie Corfield and Neil Sleat confess their broadcasting sins, including accidentally taking Radio 4 off air.
And two young politics graduates who have never heard the Today programme, give it a listen.
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Kate Dixon
Executive Producer: Samir Shah
A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000sbfq)
Carlos Menem (pictured), Mary Wilson, Robin Pooley, Larry Flynt
Matthew Bannister on:
Carlos Menem, the flamboyant President of Argentina during the 1990s who transformed the country’s economy, but was dogged by allegations of corruption.
Mary Wilson, a founding member of the Supremes who rivalled the Beatles for chart success during the 1960s.
Robin Pooley, the businessman who started in the meat trade before switching to become Chief Executive of the Potato Marketing Board and transforming the fortunes of that humble root vegetable.
Larry Flynt, the multi-millionaire pornographer who saw himself as a champion of free speech.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Jill Hedges
Interviewed guest: Professor Ernesto Calvo
Interviewed guest: John Tuckwell
Interviewed guest: Michael Pollitt
Interviewed guest: Adam White
Interviewed guest: Peter White
Archive clips from: Breakfast with Frost, BBC One, TX
25.10.1998; Midweek, Radio 4, TX 2.
3.2011; Ken Bruce, Radio 2, TX 16.
9.2019; BBC Breakfast, BBC One, TX 12.
7.1994; No Triumph No Tragedy - Larry Flynt, Radio 4, TX 19.
1.1999
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m000sgwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000sgv3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 Analysis (m000s81m)
Flying Blind
What do we really know about the policy choices confronting us? Covid-19 has been a brutal lesson in the extent of our ignorance. We face hard decisions, and argue about them ferociously, when in truth we’re often in the dark about their full consequences. But Covid is not unusual in this respect - and we could learn from it. Other areas of life and policy are similarly obscured. Not that we like to admit it. How well, for example, do we know what the economy is up to? Quite possibly not nearly as well as you might think - even to the extent that it’s recently been suggested the first estimates of GDP can’t be sure of telling the difference between boom and bust - the problem really can be that extreme. Some recessions have turned out to be illusions. In this programme Michael Blastland examines our collective ignorance and how it affects policy and debate, asking if public argument needs a lot more humility.
Producer Caroline Bayley
Editor Jasper Corbett
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000sgwm)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000s9rp)
Seamus McGarvey's Lockdown Diary
With Antonia Quirke
Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey has had an eventful 12 months, from being told to pack his bags overnight and get a flight to America to work on a major Hollywood movie, to catching Covid in Los Angeles, and then working on an entirely different movie in Sicily. He recounts it all in an exclusive audio diary for The Film Programme.
1917 was the biggest hit in British cinemas last year, and it belongs to a long tradition of films that appear to be shot in one take. Antonia looks at the history of one shot movies, and hears from 1917 cinematographer Roger Deakins, Victoria director Sebastian Schipper, Utoya: July 22 film-maker Eric Poppe, and Birdman star Michael Keaton.
Production designer Maria Djurkovic reveals some trade secrets and explains how she built a Greek village in a British studio for the ABBA musical Mamma Mia.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b03xcvt9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2021
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000sgwp)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Sideways (m000s2ks)
2. 1 in 73 Million
In this episode, Matthew tells two stories, both of which raise profound questions about how we think. A group of terrified teenagers discover a disturbing app on social media. A world renowned doctor sets out to uncover hidden crimes.
The tragic events Matthew examines lead to a mother getting jailed for killing her two children. The key piece of testimony in her trial hinges on a question of statistical probability. But, as Matthew reveals, human beings are extremely poor at understanding the improbable.
Producer: Gemma Newby
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Benbrick
Series Editor: Russell Finch
Executive Producer: Sean Glynn and Max O'Brien
Sideways is produced by Novel for BBC Radio 4
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000sgwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000sgwt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000sgww)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000sgwy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000sgx0)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000sgx2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Chine McDonald
Good morning.
What a relief it has been to hear of my parents both receiving the first dose of their coronavirus vaccines. Despite daily video calls with them, my three-year-old misses them dreadfully. As do I. “I want to go to grandma and granddad’s house,” he often says, and we have to find ways to distract him or simply say: “We’ll see them soon.”
I love the sense of hope that is rising as we hear about the number of people becoming more protected against Covid-19 with every passing day. Every jab in someone’s arm means we are all one step closer to this all being over. In a few weeks we’ll be celebrating easter Sunday – marking the event that lies at the centre of the Christian faith. In thinking about the significance of Lent this year, I’m seeing it as a period of waiting in hope for what is to come. Every day of Lent brings us one step closer to the hope represented through Christ’s death and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
There will be moments during Lent and that painful period of doubt in between Good Friday and resurrection day, when that hope feels too far away. Like the times during the pandemic in which I’ve wondered whether I could keep on going when it all felt a bit of a struggle. It’s at exactly those times when hope is most needed. And it’s at those times in which I choose to cling to hope, even when it doesn’t feel near enough. Dear Lord, thank you for the provision of vaccines that help protect people from Covid-19. We pray for all those in countries who do not have access to them yet; provide for them and help us to be people of radical generosity and hope, even in the waiting.
Amen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000sgx4)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:56 Weather (m000sgx6)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b020tp6d)
Goldfinch
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Goldfinch. With its bright yellow wing-flashes and face painted black, white and red, the goldfinch is one of our most colourful birds.
MON 06:00 Today (m000sgrd)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m000sgrg)
Family struggles - from Greek tragedy to The Troubles
Kerri ní Dochartaigh was born in Derry-Londonderry at the height of the Troubles, to a Catholic mother and Protestant father. In Thin Places she traces a life affected by poverty, loss and violence, and the invisible border that runs through it. But she tells Kirsty Wark how the natural world has helped heal the traumas of childhood.
For the writer Sally Bayley it was Shakespeare that brought her solace and ignited her imagination. Growing up in a working class household with no father figures Bayley roamed through his plays looking for companions and escape from her oppressive home. In No Boys Play Here: A Story of Shakespeare & My Family’s Missing Men she explores the crisis of male homelessness and mental illness.
The award-winning actress Lisa Dwan has a deep affiliation with the works of Samuel Beckett. But in her latest performance she reaches back to the ancient Greek tragedians reimagined by another acclaimed Irish writer Colm Tóibín. In Pale Sister she recounts Sophocles’ tragedy of Antigone from the viewpoint of her sister, Ismene.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sgrj)
Episode 1
Scotland’s national poet Jackie Kay brings to life the tempestuous story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
“The first time I saw Bessie Smith, it really was like finding a friend…”
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay with Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000sgrm)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 10:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sgrp)
Pod-cast
Kate Rawson’s bleakly funny and frank drama about miscarriage
Amy inherits a ready-made family when she falls in love with Andy and his young son, Alex. Then she begins to want more.
Amy ….. Jasmine Hyde
Andy ….. Nicholas Gleaves
Alex ….. Wilbur Conabeare
Sonographer ….. Jane Slavin
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
Kate is an actor and writer originally from Cornwall, though currently living surrounded by tech giants and giant trees in Northern California.
Little Blue Lines is her first play for the radio and is based on a blog she wrote while trying to deal with the anxiety of being pregnant after suffering two miscarriages. It came from a strong desire to smash a silence through art that she did not feel capable of breaking in daily conversations. She has also written a stage play based on the story called Bloody Woman.
For details of organisations which offer advice and support with pregnancy related issues, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Other support networks include:
- https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/how-we-help/support-groups/
https://petalscharity.org/
MON 11:00 My Name Is... (m000sgrs)
Richard
Richard is a gamekeeper and special constable with Hertfordshire Constabulary. He is increasingly angry about the rise in rural crime - everything from dangerous fly tipping to livestock poaching and theft of valuable farm machinery.
The toll on our countryside and rural communities is profound, but often ignored, as crime leaves emotional, environmental and economic wreckage behind in places that can ill afford it.
Aware of the need for something to be done, he’s desperate to see a change in society’s attitudes and meets those also involved in tackling the issue.
Producer: Howard Shannon
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
MON 11:30 How to Vaccinate the World (m000sgrv)
Tim Harford reports on the global race to create a vaccine to end the Covid-19 pandemic.
MON 12:00 News Summary (m000sgrx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000sgrz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 12:06 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sgs1)
Episode 1
When the North Kent Echo receives a letter from a woman claiming her daughter was the result of virgin birth, they send feature writer Jean Swinney to investigate.
Jean is almost 40 and and leads a restricted life with her demanding mother. But as she becomes more deeply involved with Gretchen, Howard and Margaret Tilbury, things begin to change.
The author Clare Chambers was born in Croydon and studied English at Hertford College, Oxford. After graduating she lived for a year in New Zealand where she wrote her first novel Uncertain Terms at the age of 22. Small Pleasures was a BBC2 Between The Covers Book Club Pick.
Writer: Clare Chambers
Reader: Monica Dolan
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:20 You and Yours (m000sgs4)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m000sgs6)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m000sgs8)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
MON 13:45 NatureBang (m000p6w2)
Dog Poo and the Challenge of Navigation
Naturebang is back. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight are again trying to make sense of what we humans are all about, with a little help from the natural world. And this week, they’re getting lost.
Navigating our world is a challenge faced by every creature that moves. From dung beetles mapping the desert dunes, to eels circumnavigating the globe, each finds its own way about with unerring accuracy. How do they do it? And how is that going to help Becky and Emily get out of the woods?
The story of animal (and human) navigation is a story of the sun, the stars, magnetic fields, polarised light, and… dog poo. Yes, dog poo.
Featuring Michael S. Painter, Assistant Professor at Barry University, and John Edward Huth, Donner Professor of Science at Harvard University.
MON 14:00 Homeschool History (m000spsx)
Ancient Egyptian Religion
Join Greg Jenner for a fun homeschool history lesson exploring the many Gods and belief systems of Ancient Egypt. In a world of hippo-crocs and party cows (yes really!) discover how the path to the after-life was determined by the goodness of your heart and how mummification was really all about transformation and not preservation.
MON 14:15 Drama (m000sgsb)
Murmuration
A darkly comic and heart-warming drama about a man learning to live with himself and with his voices. By award-winning writer, Christine Entwisle.
Starring Christopher Eccleston.
Barnaby's a voice hearer. When he meets a friendly neighbour they begin to bond over the birds that visit their block of flats.
Charmed by their burgeoning friendship, Barnaby hits crisis point with his voices who want to keep him in all to themselves...
Christine Entwisle became involved with voice hearers after working with MIND HUB in Islington where she created an artistic response to the experience of their service users. She went on to develop her work with voice hearers at the National Theatre Studio. She’s grateful to the incredible generosity of all the voice hearers who have spoken to her about their experience, and in particular to Open Dialogue Practitioner Rachel Waddingham.
A diagnosis of voice hearing has long been stigmatised in western culture, but in recent years there’s been a new approach that helps hearers to understand who their voices are and where they come from. Murmuration is about a man who has struggled to live a happy life because of his diagnosis, finding a new and more hopeful way to live within himself and his voices.
Cast:
Barnaby… Christopher Eccleston
Nellie … Christine Entwisle
Scotty… Joseph Arkley
Child…Debbie Korley
Ringmaster … Dennis Herdman
Directed by Kirsty Williams
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m000sgsd)
Series 34
Semi-final 3
(12/13)
Another trio of heat winners from earlier in the series joins Paul Gambaccini for the contest to decide the one remaining place in the 2021 Counterpoint Final. As always, there are questions covering the whole musical spectrum. How will the contestants fare when asked to identify a Tchaikovsky overture, a theme from a great European film, and a brass arrangement of an 80s rock classic?
They also each have to tackle their own individual round of questions on a special musical topic or theme of which they've had no prior warning.
Hoping to win their way through to the Final are:
Nicki Cockburn, a student from North Wales
Steven Lodge, a care support worker from Somerset
Tim Wise, a retired salesman from Surrey.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000sgsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Dub Revolution: The Story of King Tubby (m000rc4h)
28 January 2021 would have been legendary sound engineer King Tubby’s 80th birthday. The sonic experiments he created in his tiny studio in the ghettos of Kingston Jamaica during the early seventies helped create a genre that’s now part of the very fabric of contemporary music – Dub.
Tubby’s productions pre-empted today’s remix culture, were instrumental in the creation of rap an inspired an eclectic mix of artists from Massive Attack to Primal Scream. Dub went on to inform Jungle, Rave,Techno, Ambient right up to Grime in the 21st century.
Don Letts celebrates the godfather of Dub, with contributions from Dennis Bovell, Adrian Sherwood, Hollie Cook and Mad Professor.
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4
MON 16:30 The Digital Human (m000sgsj)
Series 22
Fated
Aleks Krotoski explores the power of toys and play in shaping our technological future.
Apple's Tim Cook has said he began working on the smartwatch aged 5 after seeing the cartoon character Dick Tracy's wristwatch two way radio. So how much of our technological present has been prescribed by future visions of the past? Clearly many innovators imagination’s get fired up by childhood experiences but do they end up pursuing technologies that don’t actually solve the problems we’re facing? Or worse still, do they lock coming generations into futures where many key decisions have already been made and they’ll end up having to deal with them? Look at climate change.
Aleks explores these ideas with Steven Johnson author of Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World, Jonathon Keats experimental philosopher and founder and curator of The Museum of Future History and Valentina Borretti a researcher who has been looking at how toys given to Chinese children helped fuel China’s industrial miracle.
Producer: Peter McManus
MON 17:00 PM (m000sgsm)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000sgsp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m000sgsr)
Series 86
Episode 1
Paul Merton hosts the return of Radio 4’s longest running panel show. In the first episode back since the death of Nicholas Parsons, who hosted for 50 years, Paul challenges guests Sheila Hancock, Gyles Brandreth, Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans to talk without hesitation, deviation, or repetition. JAM trivia - Sheila Hancock also appeared in the very first episode back in 1967. Caroline Barlow blows the whistle.
Devised by Ian Messiter
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production
MON 19:00 The Archers (m000sgsv)
Tensions rise at Brookfield and Johnny tries to make a friend see sense.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m000sgsx)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 19:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sgrp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 After Trump (m000sgsz)
The Courts
In the final part of his series on the Trump legacy for President Biden, James Naughtie examines why the judges appointed by Donald Trump may be his greatest achievement.
In recent decades many political issues have been resolved not by the election of a President, or in Congress, but in the Supreme Court. Donald Trump appointed more judges, at every level, than any recent President, but it is on the Supreme Court - where his three appointments tipped the balance decisively in favour of conservatives - where the impact will be felt most sharply.
James examines how American politics came to revolve around the Courts, and how serious a threat this new conservative majority will present for Joe Biden's presidency.
Producers: Giles Edwards and Jonathan Brunert.
MON 20:30 Analysis (m000sgt1)
Boiled Rabbits of the Left?
George Orwell chastised the "boiled rabbits of the Left" for disliking what he called "the spiritual need for patriotism". He was writing in 1940 during Hitler's Blitz of London and other British cities. But Orwell also poses a challenge to those on the Left today who find patriotism redolent of flag-waving chauvinism, uncomfortably at odds with their cherished internationalism and an unwelcome diversion from other priorities.
Since he was elected leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer has spoken of his love of country, determined to make a break with the legacy of his predecessor. Polling suggested Jeremy Corbyn was perceived to be cool in his patriotic sympathies. That view among electors in northern England and the Midlands was indeed so strong it was one of the main reasons former Labour supporters gave for switching to the Conservatives at the 2019 general election.
In this edition of "Analysis", Edward Stourton asks how Labour can turn the page on its seemingly conflicted stance on patriotism. What would a distinctive Labour patriotism consist of? Could it appeal to different people in different parts of Britain when the Union now seems more fragile than ever? Is the task even so fraught with difficulty that Labour should simply leave this subject to its opponents? In short, what is Labour's answer today to the awkward challenge posed by Orwell eighty years ago and which stubbornly refuses to go away?
Those taking part: Deborah Mattinson of BritainThinks; former Labour leader, Lord Kinnock; singer and author, Billy Bragg; Shadow Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray MP; New Labour loyalist, Lord Adonis; Labour MP, Florence Eshalomi; and Jon Cruddas, Labour thinker and MP for Dagenham & Rainham.
Producer Simon Coates
Editor Jasper Corbett
MON 21:00 England's Level Best (m000s9tt)
When Boris Johnson won the 2019 election, he did so pledging to tackle regional inequality and invest in parts of the country that felt left behind .
His desire to 'level up' the UK is not the first attempt by a government to tackle one of the most fundamental problems in the country’s economy. But his plans were quickly derailed by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now he faces the enormous challenge of delivering tangible improvements to the lives of those who voted for him, while rebuilding the country after successive lockdowns.
Can it be done?
Political journalist Sebastian Payne takes a road trip to speak to business owners, residents and politicians from across the North and the Midlands - from Sedgefield and Liverpool to Stoke-on-Trent.
He mulls over the importance of the 'levelling up' agenda, hearing from key figures like Labour’s Lisa Nandy on the need to broaden the government's focus beyond the cities. He speaks to former chancellor George Osborne about why his Northern Powerhouse agenda was abandoned, and policy makers Rachel Wolf and Diane Coyle about why 'levelling up' is important.
And he asks transport secretary Grant Shapps whether his government’s ambitious plans can be realised.
Presenter: Sebastian Payne
Producer: Ellie Clifford
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m000sgrg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000sgt4)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
MON 22:45 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sgs1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
MON 23:00 Loose Ends (m000sgt6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000sgt8)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2021
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000sgtb)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sgrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000sgtd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000sgtg)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000sgtj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000sgtl)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000sgtn)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Chine McDonald
Good morning.
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” These words open the poem Endymion, one of the most famous works of John Keats, who died on this day in 1821. Published in 1818, Endymion was one of a number of famous literary works written and published in the aftermath of 1816 – The Year Without a Summer. During that year, the eruption of Mount Tambora in what is now Indonesia sparked months of strange climate as a large dust cloud of volcanic ash entered the atmosphere and caused disruption around the world.
During these dark days, the sun frequently disappeared and people were left living under a dark cloud. Winter went on and on, causing psychological and physical damage. I’ve been fascinated by the story of 1816 since hearing about it. Amazed by the fact that though it was a dark year – a trying time for everyone – it seemed to have unleashed an air of creative genius into the atmosphere. It was around this time that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, that Byron wrote Prometheus and that Beethoven began his celebrated late period of composition. Beauty can come from darkness. The past year has seen us all living under a strange cloud of darkness. It has been tough, and there are times when it has been hard to believe that there will be an end to it.
But what I’m heartened by in the story of 1816 is that in the midst of such a trying time, there can still be pockets of beauty and creativity – signals of hope. We have seen this ourselves during the pandemic. Pockets of communities coming closer together, opportunities for people to show kindness and generosity, space for scientific and entrepreneurial innovation. These are things that I pray will live on into the new world, when the darkness ends. Lord Jesus, we pray for the world post-pandemic – help us to not forget the togetherness, the sense of hope, creativity and community and take it with us into a hope-filled future.
Amen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000sgtq)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b095tcwv)
Melissa Harrison on the Stonechat
The clacking call of the stonechat punctuates nature writer Melissa Harrison's memories of cagoule-clad walks on Dartmoor with her family in the 1970's.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Picture: Kirsty Taylor.
TUE 06:00 Today (m000sj77)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m000sj7c)
Richard Bentall on the causes of mental ill health
For a long time people who heard voices or suffered paranoid delusions were thought to be too crazy to benefit from talking therapies. As a young man working on a prison psychiatric ward, Richard Bentall thought otherwise. Together with a small group of clinical psychologists, he pioneered the use of the talking therapy CBT for psychosis and conducted rigorous randomized controlled trials to find out if and why it worked. Turns out, having a good relationship with your the therapist is at the heart of why therapy succeeds, regardless of the type of therapy.
Richard talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his life and work and how his own mental health has suffered at times. He's interested in how adverse life events affect our mental health and has shown that people who suffer abuse, bullying and victimization as children are three times more likely to have a psychotic episode later in life. If someone has a genetic vulnerability too, they are 20 or 30 times more at risk. And a large survey of our mental health, launched by Richard and colleagues on day one of the first lockdown has revealed that lockdown and Covid-19 has not led to a tsunami of mental illness that many feared. 75% of the population has been resilient and that 10% of them have seen their mental health improve.
Producer: Anna Buckley
TUE 09:30 One to One (m000sj7f)
My Donation Story: Sabet Choudhury talks to Saj Khan
BBC journalist Sabet Choudhury donated a kidney to his mother five years ago. He says it was not a difficult decision to make. Once he heard she only had 3 years to live unless he stepped up, his decision was already made. The transplant transformed her life and Sabet says it opened his eyes to the whole issue of organ donation. During his personal donation journey he discovered that there is a lack of organ donors from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK and this can lead to extra-long waits for a transplant. In this, the last of three programmes, Sabet talks to Saj Khan, a teacher from Birmingham who has experience of the emotional highs and lows of waiting for a kidney. Saj had his first transplant as a very young man, but sadly the kidney failed just after he graduated and he has spent years and years waiting for a new kidney.
Produced by Jo Dwyer for BBC Audio in Bristol
TUE 09:45 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sj99)
Episode 2
Scotland’s national poet Jackie Kay charts the rise and fall of Bessie Smith as she brings to life the dramatic story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she frequently brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
“The first time I saw Bessie Smith, it really was like finding a friend…”
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000sj7p)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 10:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sj7r)
Smudge
Kate Rawson’s bleakly funny and frank drama about miscarriage
Andy’s away when Amy starts miscarrying again. Alone in hospital, she’s faced with a series of heartbreaking decisions
Amy ….. Jasmine Hyde
Andy ….. Nicholas Gleaves
Alex ….. Wilbur Conabeare
Heather ….. Jane Slavin
Receptionist ….. Marilyn Nnadebe
Sonographer ….. Elinor Coleman
Natalia ….. Kate Rawson
Junior Doctor ….. Hasan Dixon
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
For details of organisations which offer advice and support with pregnancy related issues, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Other support networks include:
- https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/how-we-help/support-groups/
https://petalscharity.org/
TUE 11:00 Lady Chatterley's Bed Bugs (m000qwtx)
In the early 20th century, technological advances and scientific breakthroughs revolutionised our understanding of insects, bringing the swarming world of bugs into focus for the first time. As modernist writers searched for new ways of seeing the world, they drew on the insects that were all around them.
Dr Rachel Murray explores this small but teeming world of inspiration for modernist writers, tracking a fascination with insects to the trenches of the First World War, where lice infested soldiers and men were killed like flies. We hear from entomologist Richard Jones on the prevalence, and downfall, of bedbugs and the excitement caused by bug mania in cinemas and laboratories throughout Britain.
From this crawling context, literature emerged. Rachel speaks to Dr Michael Malay, who connects Marianne Moore’s precise poetry to her studies in biology and asks Dr Cari Hovanec if D.H. Lawrence was as parasitical as a mosquito.
We go on a moth hunt in Virginia Woolf’s garden at Monk’s House in Sussex and peer into the chaotic patterns of a beehive with writer and beekeeper, Helen Jukes, to discover how and why bugs opened up new worlds for modernist writers.
Readings from Rich Willmott, Fotina Kate Theodore and Jack Thacker.
Presenter: Dr Rachel Murray
Producer: Leonie Thomas
Executive Producer: Natalie Steed
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:30 Mary Portas: On Style (m000sj7t)
Innovate! Gymshark's Ben Francis, Christopher Kane and Kassia St Clair on technology and colour
This week Mary and guests are fashion forward as we examine technology, innovation, and look to a post-lockdown style future
Ben Francis founded activewear brand Gymshark in 2012 at the age of just 17. Today the company is valued at more than £1 Billion. Mary speaks to Ben about riding the Athleisure wave, and harnessing the power of social media.
We talk Technicolour with Kassia St Clair. How does technology influence the colours we see, the clothes we buy and how we decorate our homes?
The fashion designer Christopher Kane is known for being an innovator. In the past year he's seen huge success with his 'More Joy' range, created with his sister Tammy. Tammy and Christopher discuss the enduring popularity of the slogan in fashion, and the importance of calling for joy in uncertain times.
Presenter: Mary Portas
Producer: Jessica Treen
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000sj7w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000sj7y)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 12:06 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sj80)
Episode 2
When the North Kent Echo receives a letter from a woman claiming her daughter was the result of virgin birth, they send feature writer Jean Swinney to investigate.
Jean is almost 40 and and leads a restricted life with her demanding mother. But as she becomes more deeply involved with Gretchen, Howard and Margaret Tilbury, things begin to change.
Episode Two
Jean visits Gretchen’s husband, Howard Tilbury in his jeweller’s shop near Covent Garden.
The author Clare Chambers was born in Croydon and studied English at Hertford College, Oxford. After graduating she lived for a year in New Zealand where she wrote her first novel Uncertain Terms at the age of 22. Small Pleasures was a BBC2 Between The Covers Book Club Pick.
Writer: Clare Chambers
Reader: Monica Dolan
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:20 You and Yours (m000sj82)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m000sj84)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m000sj86)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 NatureBang (m000pffm)
Ants and Social Distancing
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight find out what ants teach us about surviving a pandemic.
As social animals, we're particularly susceptible to disease, so perhaps there are lessons to be learned from other sociable species in how we manage this. Ants are one of the most social species on the planet, and it turns out they know a thing or two about self-isolation and social distancing.
The story of how we protect each other (and ourselves) is a story that takes us from the complex maze of an anthill to the equally complex maze of human etiquette. If you think social distancing is a new invention - or even a human invention - think again.
Featuring Dr Nathalie Stroeymeyt, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, and Michael de Barra, Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University London.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000sgsv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (m000sj88)
Writ in Water
A new play by John Keats expert Angus Graham-Campbell to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of the poet, who lost his battle with tuberculosis at the age of only 25.
Despite his tragic early death, Keats produced a huge output, but his success and acclaim would really only come after his passing. In his 20s, he fell passionately in love with a neighbour in Hampstead, Fanny Brawne, who was the inspiration for some of his famous poems. But after a lifetime of poor health, he was persuaded by the doctors to travel to Italy in the hope that the warmer climate might improve his health.
The play focuses on the journey to Italy and his time there. Setting off with his close friend, Joseph Severn, their journey by boat was treacherous and nearly killed them but, having finally made it there safely, they were able to enjoy a short time before his illness overwhelmed him.
Angus Graham-Campbell's previous drama about the earlier life of Keats, Rebel Angel, was broadcast to mark the 200th anniversary of the poet's birth.
Cast includes Billy Howle whose recent credits include leads in The Serpent on BBC television, the films Dunkirk and On Chesil Beach. Callum Woodhouse plays a leading role in The Durrells and is one of the leads in the acclaimed new series of All Creatures Great and Small. This is their debut in radio drama.
Cast:
John Keats........................Billy Howle
Joseph Severn...................Callum Woodhouse
Fanny Brawne..................Saffron Coomber
Poynter..............................Will Howard
Dr Clark.............................Stephen Critchlow
Rev. Wolfe..........................Crawford Logan
Princess...............................Rachel Atkins
Dr Darling...........................Gerard McDermott
Author: Angus Graham-Campbell
Director: Cherry Cookson
A Wireless Theatre production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m000sj8b)
Correspondents
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about letter writing - Mother’s Day cards travelling thousands of miles home, love letters that are cherished, hidden and lost, and a one-way correspondence bringing comfort during chemotherapy.
Letters to My Dear Lovers
Produced by Sofia Saldanha
You Go First
Featuring Helene Ishikawa
Produced by Rachel Ishikawa
Ursula Bloom speaking to Jack Singleton
Home This Afternoon, BBC Radio, 1965
From Me To You
Featuring Alison Hitchcock and Brian Greenley
Produced by Helen Zaltzman
First broadcast in The Allusionist podcast episode ‘66. Open Me part 1’
frommetoyouletters.co.uk
Production Team: Eleanor McDowall
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m000sj8d)
Series 17
More Frytful Scares
It was a dark and stormy night. A secret message arrived addressed to Rutherford & Fry from a mysterious woman called Heidi Daugh, who demanded to know: "Why do people like to be scared? For example, going on scary amusement park rides and watching horror movies that make you jump.”
What followed was an investigation, which would test our intrepid duo to their very limits. They explore the history of horror, starting with its literary origins in the Gothic fiction classic 'The Castle of Otranto'.
Adam challenges Hannah to watch a horror film without hiding behind a cushion. She quizzes horror scholar Mathias Clasen to find out why some people love the feeling of terror, whilst it leaves other cold.
Sociologist Margee Kerr and psychologist Claudia Hammond are also on hand to explore why scary movies are so powerful and popular.
Then Rutherford and Fry investigate the more physical side of fear, when they delve into the history of roller coasters to investigate why we enjoy being scared.
Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the pair attempt to channel their inner adrenaline junkies with a trip on one the UK's scariest roller coasters at Thorpe Park.
David Poeppel from New York University studies the science of screaming, and we discover what makes screams uniquely terrifying. Plus, psychologist and broadcaster Claudia Hammond describes some early experiments which tested how fear affects our body.
This episode is a remake of two earlier broadcast episodes.
If you have any Curious Cases for the team to investigate please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Producers: Fiona Roberts & Michelle Martin
Presenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry
TUE 16:00 Born in Bradford (m000sj8g)
Born in Bradford is one of the world's largest longitudinal studies, tracking 14,000 children and their families and reporting on factors affecting health and well-being: Winifred Robinson reports.
Radio 4 has been alongside Born in Bradford since it started, in 2007. The first children recruited are now teenagers and Winifred Robinson investigates the impact of lockdown life on them. Such a wealth of information exists on the thousands of children in the study - from the basics of height and weight, through to their family backgrounds, living conditions and daily routines.
The researchers are now focusing on lockdown life and its impact on health; conducting detailed questionnaires with around 2,000 of the families. As the virus continues to spread through the community and the number of patients admitted to hospital slowly rises, the results provide a heart breaking insight into the impact on children.
Winifred looks at the findings and speaks to youngsters about their concerns. For some these revolve around fears their families will lose their homes and jobs – others have already seen this happen. The tales range from not having enough to eat, through to not having a winter coat. They explain how they cope and who they talk to about what is happening in their homes.
There are powerful insights into the emotional impact of lockdown on the youngsters. There has been an increase in hospitalisation rates for self-harm and accident and emergency staff have picked up other trends in admissions which concern them. This is such a difficult time and Professor John Wright, who heads the study, says these experiences are important to chronicle:
“The epidemic of mental-health is less visible but will have serious longer term consequences. The challenge that policy makers face is how to balance the scales of clinical harm from the virus on one side, against the wider social and economic harm on the other.”
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m000sj8j)
Amrou AL-Kadhi & Peter Bazalgette
Peter Bazalgette's choice is On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming and Harriett goes for Lullaby by Leila Slimani. Amrou Al-Kadhi chooses Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, and a central character divides opinion. Is she intensely irritating or a gay icon to be celebrated?
Producer Sally Heaven
Join our Instagram book club: @agoodreadbbc
TUE 17:00 PM (m000sj8l)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000sj8q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Henry Normal: A Normal... (m000sj8s)
Communication
"Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal"
Simon O'Hagan - Radio Times
The seventh instalment in this acclaimed, occasional series in which acclaimed, occasional writer Henry Normal tackles those subjects so big only radio can possibly contain them. So far Henry has covered ‘Family’, ‘Life’, ‘Love’, ‘Imagination’, ‘Nature’ and ‘The Universe’; in this new episode he explores ‘Communication’, recorded with a virtual audience.
Through poetry, stories, jokes and quotes Henry will be looking at the way ‘how’ we communicate colours ‘what’ we communicate and exploring ‘why’ we communicate in the first place.
Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan’s Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.
He’s published eight collections of poetry including his most recent ‘The Beauty Within Shadow’. Plus his memoir written with Angela Pell ‘A Normal Family’ everyday adventure with our autistic son.
Praise for previous episodes in this series:
"It's a rare and lovely thing: half an hour of radio that stops you short, gently demands your attention and then wipes your tears away while you have to have a little sit down"
"It's a real treat to hear a seasoned professional like Henry taking command of this evening comedy spot to deliver a show that's idiosyncratic and effortlessly funny"
"Not heard anything that jumps from hilarious to moving in such an intelligent, subtle way as Henry Normal's show"
Written and performed by Henry Normal
Production Coordinator - Beverly Tagg
Produced by Carl Cooper
This was a BBC Studios production.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000sh8p)
Helen makes an important decision while Ben and Ruairi hatch a plot.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000sj8v)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sj7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m000sj8x)
The Dangers of Dating Apps
Millions of us each year pick up our phone and swipe right in the hope of finding ‘the one’, and with the pandemic limiting even the most basic of social interactions, statistics suggest more of us are using apps than ever before. For the majority of us these apps are a useful tool to connect in a busy world, but to criminals they serve as a playground to hunt for the vulnerable. From romance fraud to sexual predators, Livvy Haydock investigates the dangers these app’s pose, if big tech does enough to protect its users, and what we as individuals should do to keep ourselves safer.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000sj8z)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m000sh8x)
A weekly quest to demystify health issues, bringing clarity to conflicting advice.
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m000sj7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000sj91)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sj80)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (m000sj93)
We're All Wanging On, with Nicky Campbell
This week on Fortunately, Fi and Jane are joined by presenter Nicky Campbell. The 5Live Breakfast Show and Long Lost Family presenter talks about his new book One of the Family, which explores his own life experiences and the importance of his dog Maxwell. There's also a special guest appearance from his wife, Radio 4's Tina Ritchie. Nicky may be the man for The Big Questions but before he turns up the important topics broached by Fi and Jane include parallel universes, alien life, skiffle bands and broody photos.
Get in touch: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000sj95)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
WEDNESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2021
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000sj97)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sj99)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000sj9c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000sj9f)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000sj9h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000sj9k)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000sj9m)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Chine McDonald
Good morning.
About a year ago, I took my first steps into giving up an almost 20-year addiction to a particular fizzy drink. Since my teenage years, I had drunk gallons of the stuff. I panicked if my supply was running low. I craved it, I began to rely on it as a daily indulgence in the middle of busy days – the crack of the can and the fizz of the pour into a glass, symbolising the familiar and much-craved sounds of companionship and security. I knew I was relying on it far too much and though it seemed a relatively safe thing to be addicted to, my distress at the thought of being without it signified something else – perhaps a fear and anxiety that I hadn’t been able to articulate.
I decided that Lent would be a good place to start, although the thought of 40 days without it was at that point almost too much to bear. I’m glad to say that that fast from my favourite fizzy drink truly broke my addiction and I have pretty much not touched the stuff since. Today marks a week since the first day of Lent, and many of us will have experienced our first few days of fasting from something. Maybe our Lenten sacrifices are going well, maybe not so much. Regardless, Lent affords us an opportunity to stop and think about the things we might be relying on a little too much.
For Christians, it’s a chance to refocus on Christ and notice those things we rely on other than him. I’ve found that after fasting and sacrifice can come a new form of liberation. Like Jesus as he experienced the solitude and temptation in 40 days in the wilderness, may we be able to lift our heads to the one on whom we should depend. Lord, help us to see you. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000sj9p)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b08zc0qv)
Alex Gregory on the House Sparrow
Rower and two times Olympic Gold medallist Alex Gregory tells the story of his childhood pet, a house sparrow called Sparky.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Mark Ward.
WED 06:00 Today (m000sh7v)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Positive Thinking (m000sh7x)
Searching for Lasting Happiness
Sangita Myska goes in search of the innovators who think they hold the key to improving the way we live.
Each week, we hear from a different innovator trying to solve a different problem. You'll find out what motivates them, why they're tackling it, and what their solution is. We'll then stress test their idea with a panel of experts.
In this we're tackling nothing less than the secret to lasting happiness. Our innovator is former Chief Business Officer for Google X, Mo Gawdat who says he has come up with a mathematical solution to happiness.
Contributors include:
Prof. Laurie Santos, a cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University.
Dr. Michael Plant, a moral philosopher who researches how to make people happier. He's the Founder-Director of the Happier Lives Institute and a post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oxford
Emily Esfahani Smith, is the author of 'The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness'.
Find about more about Mo Gawdat by searching for the 'Slo Mo' podcast.
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
WED 09:30 Will Self Takes the Waters (m000sh7z)
Something in the Water
Will Self ponders questions of health in our insatiable thirst for mineral waters. When water flows freely from the tap, why are we so attached to the bottled variety?
Today, how Buxton rose to prominence as a spa town in the 18th and 19th centuries and what it owes to the grand spas of central Europe.
Over five episodes, Will investigates the story of five different mineral waters, and their enduring appeal.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
(Photo credit: Luther Self)
WED 09:45 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sh81)
Episode 3
Scotland’s national poet Jackie Kay explores the success of Bessie Smith and the rise in popularity of the blues, as she brings to life the dramatic story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she frequently brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
“The first time I saw Bessie Smith, it really was like finding a friend…”
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000sh83)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 10:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sh85)
Twinkle
Kate Rawson’s bleakly funny and frank drama about miscarriage
Pregnant once more, Amy finds the anxiety unbearable and is determined not to bond with this new little blue line.
Amy ….. Jasmine Hyde
Andy ….. Nicholas Gleaves
Alex ….. Wilbur Conabeare
Steve ….. David Sturzaker
Dr Harris ….. Marilyn Nnadebe
EPU Nurse ….. Elinor Coleman
Natalia ….. Kate Rawson
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
For details of organisations which offer advice and support with pregnancy related issues, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Other support networks include:
- https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/how-we-help/support-groups/
https://petalscharity.org/
WED 11:00 After Trump (m000sgsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 Ability (m000sh87)
Series 3
Ranting and Rating
Matt is 27. He has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app on his iPad. Everyone who cares about Matt knows that this isn't the defining thing about him.
He is funny and clever and "up for stuff" - partly because he is keen to show that there's nothing he can't do, but also because, if he's honest, he's aware that he's less likely than other people to get the blame.
In this third series of the award-nominated comedy, Matt is still sharing a flat with his best mate, Jess (Sammy Dobson). He still has his rubbish carer, Bob (Jason Lewis) and over the last year or so the three of them have been through a lot together - well a lot of drinking and hangovers anyway. And now, finally, Matt has met a woman he likes and who also seems to like him (Anna, played by Lisa Hammond).
They seem to have so much in common. But somehow they don't seem to manage to get through an evening without it ending in a row. And when Matt tries to storm out of a restaurant, and finds the entrance blocked with highchairs, he resorts to ranting about it on social media, and out of nowhere, Crip Advisor is born. But will this help him get Anna back?
Ability is the semi-autobiographical co-creation of the 2018 Britain’s Got Talent winner, Lee Ridley, otherwise known as Lost Voice Guy. Like his sitcom creation, Lee has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app. He is - probably - the first stand up comedian to use a communication aid. Prior to BGT, Lee won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2014. He has written and performed four full Edinburgh shows and completed major sell out tours of the UK.
The series is co-written by Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt. It's set in Newcastle and many of the cast last played together as children in Biker’s Grove.
A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000sh89)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000sh8c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 12:06 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sh8f)
Episode 3
When the North Kent Echo receives a letter from a woman claiming her daughter was the result of virgin birth, they send feature writer Jean Swinney to investigate.
Jean is almost 40 and and leads a restricted life with her demanding mother. But as she becomes more deeply involved with Gretchen, Howard and Margaret Tilbury, things begin to change.
Episode Three
Jean goes to Broadstairs to talk to Alice Halfyard, the for-mer matron of the St Cecilia Nursing Home.
The author Clare Chambers was born in Croydon and studied English at Hertford College, Oxford. After graduating she lived for a year in New Zealand where she wrote her first novel Uncertain Terms at the age of 22. Small Pleasures was a BBC2 Between The Covers Book Club Pick.
Writer: Clare Chambers
Reader: Monica Dolan
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:20 You and Yours (m000sh8h)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m000sh8k)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m000sh8m)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 NatureBang (m000pmw4)
Naked Mole Rats and Life Extension
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight examine the naked mole rat, a saber-toothed sausage of a rodent, which seems to defy the mammalian laws of aging. It lives way longer than what is expected of a rodent and is now the focus for much medical research as scientists try to understand more about their aging process in the name of human life extension.
Of course, we all want to age slower and live longer, but does that mean we should continually strive to extend human life expectancy forever and always? Beyond the ethics, there's also some big philosophical questions. How does a longer life span affect our sense of 'self'? And does living longer solve the problem of death?
Featuring Dr Rochelle Buffenstein, Senior Principal Investigator at Calico Life Sciences, and Julian Baggini, philosopher, journalist and author.
WED 14:00 The Archers (m000sh8p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Riot Girls (m000sh8r)
The Fall Down
Episode 1
Seven mysterious women arrive on our planet, without fanfare and without a spaceship. They apparently offer incredible solutions to the world's problems. But who are they and what do they want? Lauren Cornelius, Lyndsey Marshall and Fanta Barrie star in Melissa Murray's feminist dystopian drama.
Directed by Emma Harding
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Maya.....Lauren Cornelius
Barry.....Hasan Dixon
Jan.....Lyndsey Marshall
Martin/ Stevens.....David Sturzaker
Doctor Ramsey.....Tony Turner
Horace.....Fanta Barrie
Renata/ Job Centre.....Jane Slavin
Army leader.....Nicholas Murchie
Young Man.....Stewart Campbell
WED 15:00 Money Box (m000sh8v)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (m000sh8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Sideways (m000sh8z)
3. The West and the Rest
Did a shift in our sexual behaviour 2000 years ago lead to the rise of the west as a globally dominant force?
Matthew Syed wants to put the western mind in the spotlight. There’s a good reason for doing this. It turns out that 96% of psychological experiments have been carried out on western students. Why is this? Because western students are easy to access for a psychologist working in a university.
This might sound convenient, but there’s a problem - it turns out that westerners think in a particular way. Easily reproducible experimental findings in the west don’t stack up when you use non-western subjects. Many of our classical assertions about the workings of the human mind are based entirely on the western human mind.
Matthew digs into the deep roots of the western mind and asks whether a ban on cousin marriage triggered a surge of innovation in the west as tribal boundaries broke down.
It’s an intriguing theory, but does it stack up? Matthew is determined to find out.
Producer: Robbie MacInnes
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Benbrick
Series Editor: Russell Finch
Executive Producer: Sean Glynn and Max O'Brien
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000sh91)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world
WED 17:00 PM (m000sh93)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000sh95)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar (m000sh97)
Episode 3
Granny Kumar is back! Meera Syal’s glorious comedy creation returns, with her great granddaughter Maya (Ambreen Razia) and arch nemesis “frenemy” Geeta (Harvey Virdi) to chat with the sisters.
Left alone while her family are stuck in quarantine on a world cruise, Granny Kumar decides to host her own series, born out of frustration at seeing or hearing the same old parade of guests on chat shows (mainly male, pale and stale).
She wonders why no one interviews any of the sisters and asks them about their extraordinary, complex and uplifting stories.
So, Gossip and Goddesses is born – Ummi Kumar gathers together her favourite inspirational women at Wembley Community Centre, aided by her millennial great granddaughter Maya and her arch nemesis “frenemy” Geeta, leader of the local Asian Ladies Silver Bats community group.
The show is a women-only party, where they share stories, laugh loads and chew the fat/dish the dirt/eat the biscuits…
A blend of sitcom, silliness and improvised chat, led by the best kind of interviewers who know how to make anyone talk - two really nosy old Indian women.
Guests:
Sharp stand-up comedian Ayesha Hazerika and Countryfile presenter Anita Rani
Cast:
Ummi Kumar – Meera Syal
Geeta Bhandari – Harvey Virdi
Maya Kumar – Ambreen Razia
Written by Meera Syal
Music by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m000sh99)
Chris has a confession to make while Ruth and David come to an agreement.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m000sh9c)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sh85)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m000sh9f)
Combative, provocative and engaging live debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Anne McElvoy, Ash Sarkar, Mona Siddiqui and Tim Stanley. #moralmaze
WED 20:45 Lent Talks (m000sh9h)
A Letter to Lydia
A personal, hopeful reflection inspired by an aspect of the story leading up to Easter.
In a letter written to his daughter Lydia, who was born during the pandemic, Manchester-based intensive care doctor Mark Tan describes the last 12 months working on the front line alongside colleagues, patients and their loved ones who have had to endure and sacrifice so much.
Producer: Dan Tierney.
WED 21:00 The Power of... (m000rdcb)
The Power of Night
Lucy Cooke meets some of the animal kingdom’s nocturnal inhabitants to understand why it pays to stir once the sun goes down.
She examines some of the extraordinary nocturnal adaptations from the largest group of mammals, the bats, to the mysterious long fingured lemur, the Aye Aye, to hear why the dark has proved evolutionarily advantageous. In an increasingly crowded planet, could future survival for many diurnal animals depend on a nightlife?
Producer Adrian Washbourne
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000sh91)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000sh9k)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sh8f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m000sh9m)
Series 7
Episode 8
The critically acclaimed late-night ramble with Patrick Marber and Peter Curran.
From their beds, Patrick and Peter muse on what to do when staring to visible boring someone, the mechanics of deja-vu, and school friends who drank ink and licked sauce bottles for the benefit of others.
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m000sh9p)
Series 3
Episode 7
Jon Holmes's award winning satirical river of sound returns to twist itself into the news.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000sh9r)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
THURSDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2021
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000sh9t)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sh81)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000sh9w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000sh9y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000shb0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000shb2)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000shb4)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Chine McDonald
Good morning.
Sunday afternoons during lockdown have led to a new tradition in our house, of revisiting some of our favourite films from childhood. From Disney classics such as Lady & The Tramp to sport favourites such as The Mighty Ducks and a firm favourite in my house growing up (although hardly anyone I know has ever heard of it) The Happiest Millionaire, a cheesy, twee and entirely saccharine musical.
These films are perfect accompaniments to a Sunday afternoon, which follows a roast dinner that has become a sacred ritual to distinguish the end of one week from the beginning of another. In these strange days, many of us are finding comfort in nostalgia. There are moments in which I find myself in what feels like an out of body experience, looking down on life as it is now and finding it unbelievable, strange, alien. It’s the masks and the hand sanitiser and the eerily post-apocalyptic emptiness of the high street. It’s the people I love and value – friends, family and colleagues – reduced to 2-dimensional figures in screens. In these strange times, nostalgia is like a comfort blanket. Many of us are returning to the things we have enjoyed in the past in order to feel again the emotions of joy, euphoria, laughter, excitement. Feeling those things again helps to keep us going, reminding us of what we have felt before and what we will one day feel again.
While we wait for life to open up again, and the nightmare of this pandemic to be over, I’m going to keep returning to the familiar anchors of favourite films and foods and songs, until we can meet again with friends and family and make new memories in 3D. Dear Lord, thank you that you are our comfort. In the hard times, in the loss and the loneliness and uncertainty and anxiety. Help us to have a sense of a peace that passes all understanding. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000shb6)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0901g05)
Frank Gardner on the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
High up in the rain-forests of Papaua New Guinea the BBC's Frank Gardner recalls hearing the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Picture: Wanghc732.
THU 06:00 Today (m000sjxr)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m000sjxt)
Marcus Aurelius
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, according to Machiavelli, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 AD, has long been known as a model of the philosopher king, a Stoic who, while on military campaigns, compiled ideas on how best to live his life, and how best to rule. These ideas became known as his Meditations, and they have been treasured by many as an insight into the mind of a Roman emperor, and an example of how to avoid the corruption of power in turbulent times.
The image above shows part of a bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
With
Simon Goldhill
Professor of Greek Literature and Culture and Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge
Angie Hobbs
Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield
And
Catharine Edwards
Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson
THU 09:45 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sjxw)
Episode 4
Scotland’s national poet Jackie Kay turns her creative lens on the legendary life of Bessie Smith, as she brings to life the dramatic story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she frequently brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
“The first time I saw Bessie Smith, it really was like finding a friend…”
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay with Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000sjxy)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 10:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sjy0)
Less
Kate Rawson’s bleakly funny and frank drama about miscarriage
Amy clings to the hope that she’ll still have her happy ending
Amy ….. Jasmine Hyde
Andy ….. Nicholas Gleaves
Alex ….. Wilbur Conabeare
Amy’s Mum ….. Jessica Turner
Shania ….. Marilyn Nnadebe
Clive ….. Nicholas Murchie
Lorraine ….. Jane Slavin
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
For details of organisations which offer advice and support with pregnancy related issues, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Other support networks include:
- https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/how-we-help/support-groups/
https://petalscharity.org/
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m000sjy2)
Insight and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world
THU 11:30 John Keats: Life and After-Life (m000sjy4)
Episode 2
Stripping away old myths, this series on the life and after-life of one of our greatest poets provides a vibrant new portrait of John Keats as both physician and poet, two hundred years after his death and in an era when there are still battles over entry to the literary world.
With extensive readings from the poems and letters by Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Sam in Love Actually, Samuel in Bright Star, and - most recently - Benny in Queen's Gambit).
John Keats' death at the age of just 25 and the cult that immediately grew up around his memory often suggest he was a delicate flower. Sasha Dugdale, an award-winning poet herself, looks beyond this image to reveal an energetic young man, living life to the full both as a poet and doctor, until the endemic illness of his day, tuberculosis, overwhelmed him.
In the second of two programmes, Sasha's focus is on Keats' death in Rome and the myths which began to develop immediately afterwards. Talking with a range of eminent guests, she attempts to paint a more authentic portrait of the great poet of mortality and immortality, now, in the 21st Century.
With contributions from Sir Bob Geldof - Keats-Shelley200 Ambassador of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, English scholar Professor Sir Jonathan Bate; Dr Mina Gorji from Pembroke College, Cambridge; Druin Burch, a doctor of Acute Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford; Keats' biographer Lucasta Miller; Giuseppe Albano curator of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome and others.
Producer: Beaty Rubens
THU 12:00 News Summary (m000sjy6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000sjy8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 12:06 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sjyb)
Episode 4
When the North Kent Echo receives a letter from a woman claiming her daughter was the result of virgin birth, they send feature writer Jean Swinney to investigate.
Jean is almost 40 and and leads a restricted life with her demanding mother. But as she becomes more deeply involved with Gretchen, Howard and Margaret Tilbury, things begin to change.
Episode Four
Jean is developing a friendship with Gretchen and Howard, but she must keep up the investigation. In London, she visits Martha - Gretchen’s friend from her time at St. Cecilia’s.
The author Clare Chambers was born in Croydon and studied English at Hertford College, Oxford. After graduating she lived for a year in New Zealand where she wrote her first novel Uncertain Terms at the age of 22. Small Pleasures was a BBC2 Between The Covers Book Club Pick.
Writer: Clare Chambers
Reader: Monica Dolan
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:20 You and Yours (m000sjyd)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
THU 12:57 Weather (m000sjyg)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m000sjyj)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 NatureBang (m000pxp1)
Slime Mould and Problem Solving
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight celebrate the intelligence of a brainless slime mould. As single-cell protists, with no brain and no nervous system, slime moulds do not 'think' in human terms, but they can calculate and navigate complex systems with incredible efficiency and objectivity. With some help from a few oat flakes, because slime mould loves oats.
One species in particular, Physarum Polycephalum, has proven itself to outwit us time and time again, from solving complex urban transport problems to mapping the structures of the cosmic web. In doing so, it totally overthrows our human definition of intelligence, where we have positioned ourselves at the top of a big biological hierarchy. From the bottom up, slime mould is starting to uproot the whole system.
Featuring Merlin Sheldrake, writer of 'Entangled Life', and experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats.
THU 14:00 The Archers (m000sh99)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Riot Girls (m000sjyl)
The Fall Down
Episode 2
Maya and Jan have been kidnapped by The Seven, a mysterious group of women who have arrived on our planet, offering incredible solutions to the world's problems. But even stranger things are about to start happening - the fall down is about to occur. Lauren Cornelius, Lyndsey Marshall and Fanta Barrie star in Melissa Murray's feminist dystopian drama.
Directed by Emma Harding
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Maya.....Lauren Cornelius
Jan.....Lyndsey Marshall
Horace.....Fanta Barrie
Renata.....Jane Slavin
Petri.....Elinor Coleman
Robin.....David Sturzaker
Doctor Ramsey.....Tony Turner
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m000sjyn)
From Solicitor to Sculptor: Simon Gudgeon in Dorset
Simon Gudgeon is one of our leading sculptors, but he didn't practice his art until his mid 40s. He'd worked as a solicitor, a photographer, and a landscape gardener before, one day, picking up a lump of clay to see what he could create. It wasn't long before he knew that sculpting was all he wanted to do. His distinctive creations, often inspired by the natural world, are showcased at his own venture, Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset. Set in 26 acres and featuring over 40 lake and riverside works of art, establishing Sculpture by the Lakes proved a financially risky labour of love. Simon tells his story to Clare Balding on a walk from the historic St. Nicholas Church in Moreton, to his home at the sculpture park in Pallington, Dorset.
Grid Ref for St. Nicholas Church: SY805892
Grid Ref for Sculpture by the Lakes: SY786912
Producer: Karen gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000sgv3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m000sgvz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000sjyq)
Film programme looking at the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000sjys)
Dr Adam Rutherford and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that's changing our world
THU 17:00 PM (m000sjyv)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000sjyx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Between Ourselves with Marian Keyes (m000sjyz)
Shame
Back for a second series, Marian Keyes continues to be a publishing sensation. Her works of fiction - Rachel's Holiday, The Break and her latest, Grown Ups, among many others - have sold in their millions across the globe.
Marian reads selections from her non-fiction writing in conversation with her friend, the actor Tara Flynn.
With the on-going international unpleasantness – and in the brief respite between lockdowns - this series was recorded without a studio audience at Marian’s home in County Dublin, Ireland. If you listen carefully you might hear the number 96A bus rumbling past, outside.
What we might lack in a studio audience reaction we hope to make up for in warmth and witty, good-natured companionship. The first series was described in The Observer as “a laugh out loud hoot” and the Daily Mail called it “bright, funny and clever”.
This week's theme is shame. Alongside the craic, Marian tells the stories of her Bono Boots and an embarrassing experience in London involving Joan of Arc.
Presenters: Tara Flynn and Marian Keyes
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m000sjz1)
Writers, Daniel Thurman & Adrian Flynn
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe
David Archer ... Tim Bentinck
Ruth Archer ... Felicity Finch
Ben Archer ... Ben Norris
Helen Archer .... Louiza Patikas
Harrison Burns ... James Cartwright
Chris Carter ... Wilf Scolding
Alice Carter ... Hollie Chapman
Ruairi Donovan .... Arthur Hughes
Jim Lloyd ... John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary ... Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller .... Annabelle Dowler
Johnny Philips .... Tom Gibbons
Lee .... Ryan Early
Jade .... Ayesha Antoine
THU 19:15 Front Row (m000sjz3)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 Little Blue Lines (m000sjy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000sjz5)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders explore major news stories.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m000sjz7)
Evan Davis chairs a round table discussion providing insight into business from the people at the top.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000sjys)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m000sjxt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000sjzb)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000sjyb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
THU 23:00 A Good Read (m000sj8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000sjzd)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2021
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000sjzg)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sjxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000sjzj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000sjzl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000sjzn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000sjzq)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000sjzs)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Chine McDonald
Good morning.
I’m a big fan of musicals. I can’t wait till the day when the West End opens its doors again and I can join others as we watch wide-eyed, the epic productions and rousing musical scores brought to life on stage.
One of my favourites is Les Miserables – the musical adaptation of the French historical novel by Victor Hugo, who was born on this day in Besancon, France, in 1802. The story of Les Mis is onrone of love, justice, mercy, redemption and ultimately hope. There’s a line from it, which I believe can give hope to us today as we face yet another day in lockdown in a global pandemic. “Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise.” In our darkest nights, it can feel like the sun may never come out again. We can’t see our way through the pain and the worry and the fear and the uncertainty. As we head towards the first anniversary of Covid-19 cases rapidly rising in the UK and the ensuing lockdown, it may feel like this is a dark night has gone on and on and on.
But I’m reminding myself today that the sun will rise again. This is what hope feels like. The Christian hope looks forward to a day when all pain will end, death will cease and things will be put right again – all of this made possible by Jesus, whose death and resurrection we will be celebrating in a few weeks on Easter Day. The Christian hope does not pretend that the dark nights will be easy, nor does it pretend that dark nights will never come. Instead, my faith tells me that during that dark night, God will be present with me, holding my hand through it all. And that one day – all shall be made well. Lord, help us to be people full of hope, give us strength to keep on going.
Amen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000sjzv)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b020vp4h)
Little Egret
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Little Egret. The colonisation of the UK by these small brilliant-white herons with black bills and yellow feet, has astonished ornithologists because of its speed.
FRI 06:00 Today (m000skc2)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m000sgvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000skc4)
Episode 5
Scotland’s national poet Jackie Kay examines the rumours and controversies around the death of Bessie Smith, as she brings to life the dramatic story of the Empress of the Blues.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she frequently brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
“The first time I saw Bessie Smith, it really was like finding a friend…”
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay with Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000skc6)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 10:45 Little Blue Lines (m000skc8)
More
Kate Rawson’s bleakly funny and frank drama about miscarriage
Amy starts to believe that this time her baby will survive.
Amy ….. Jasmine Hyde
Andy ….. Nicholas Gleaves
Alex ….. Wilbur Conabeare
GP ….. Jessica Turner
Dr Harris ….. Marilyn Nnadebe
Heather ….. Jane Slavin
Directed by Gemma Jenkins
For details of organisations which offer advice and support with pregnancy related issues, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Other support networks include:
- https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/how-we-help/support-groups/
https://petalscharity.org/
FRI 11:00 Britain's Fascist Thread (m000skcb)
Episode 2
Historian Camilla Schofield explores a century of British fascism.
From the formation of the British Fascisti in 1923, through the BUF, the National Front and the BNP, the history of fascism in Britain is, in a sense, an unbroken thread.
But if the politics – or anti-politics – has remained more-or-less consistent, with a lineage of hatreds, pseudo-science, failed leaders and tactics, the means by which fascism is calibrated and communicated in the 21st century has fundamentally changed.
In the second programme in the series we look back at a march staged by the National Front – and the ensuing counter-demonstration – in Lewisham in 1977.
Featuring Paul Gilroy, Peter Hain, Lez Henry, Paul Jackson and Joe Mulhall.
Producer: Martin Williams
FRI 11:30 Born in Bradford (m000sj8g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000skcd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000skcg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 12:06 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000skcj)
Episode 5
When the North Kent Echo receives a letter from a woman claiming her daughter was the result of virgin birth, they send feature writer Jean Swinney to investigate.
Jean is almost 40 and and leads a restricted life with her demanding mother. But as she becomes more deeply involved with Gretchen, Howard and Margaret Tilbury, things begin to change.
Episode Five
With Gretchen’s blessing and encouragement, Jean takes Margaret for an outing in London.
The author Clare Chambers was born in Croydon and studied English at Hertford College, Oxford. After graduating she lived for a year in New Zealand where she wrote her first novel Uncertain Terms at the age of 22. Small Pleasures was a BBC2 Between The Covers Book Club Pick.
Writer: Clare Chambers
Reader: Monica Dolan
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:20 You and Yours (m000skcl)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
FRI 12:57 Weather (m000skcn)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m000skcs)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Jonny Dymond.
FRI 13:45 NatureBang (m000q3ks)
Dragon Lizards and the Gender Spectrum
Sex is simple. Or so we're taught; animals can be male or female. But even the briefest glance at the animal kingdom tells us that this simply isn't true. Some creatures have only one sex; some have three; some have none at all. Some animals are two sexes at the same time; some flip flop between them when the time is right. When evolution came to solve the problem of procreation, she did it in a myriad of mind-blowing ways.
When it comes to humans, it's even more complicated - we have this thing called Gender, too. It's often defined as the social and cultural side of sex, distinct from the biological. But that's not the full story. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight travel back to the dawn of human culture, and into the tangled depths of our genetic code, to try and unravel why we are the way we are, and why it matters so much that we understand it all properly.
Featuring Professor Jenny Graves, geneticist at La Trobe University, and the writer and scholar Meg-John Barker.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000sjz1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Riot Girls (m000skcx)
The Fall Down
Episode 3
Maya and Horace have escaped from The Seven's compound and head to Manchester in order to rescue Jan's baby. Jan has been taken back to the compound, where Renata now asks her to make an horrific sacrifice. Meanwhile, the fall down is increasing in velocity - humans falling out of one world and into another. Lauren Cornelius, Lyndsey Marshall, Fanta Barrie and Jane Slavin star in Melissa Murray's feminist dystopian drama.
Directed by Emma Harding
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Maya.....Lauren Cornelius
Jan.....Lyndsey Marshall
Horace.....Fanta Barrie
Renata.....Jane Slavin
Petri.....Elinor Coleman
Mary.....Marilyn Nnadebe
Floran.....Jessica Turner
Barry.....Hasan Dixon
Young Man.....Stewart Campbell
Doctor Ramsey.....Tony Turner
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000skd1)
GQT at Home
Peter Gibbs hosts the gardening panel show. This week he's joined by Matt Biggs, Anne Swithinbank, James Wong and a live virtual audience, to answer questions from listeners.
Producer - Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer - Rosie Merotra
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000skd5)
Handy Number
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the Northern Irish writer Matthew McDevitt. As read by Tara Lynne O'Neill (Derry Girls)
Matthew McDevitt lives in Derry with a very clever librarian and three Spaniels. He is a writer for BBC NI's television series 'Soft Border Patrol' and his first radio play 'Lock In' starring Conleth Hill was broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster in 2018.
Reader ..... Tara Lynne O'Neill
Writer ….. Matthew McDevitt
Producer ….. Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000skd9)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (m000skdf)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
FRI 17:00 PM (m000skdk)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000skdp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (m000skdv)
Series 58
Episode 1
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches in front of a remote audience - and all from their own home!
In the first show of the new series, they are joined by Jessica Fostekew and Ken Cheng, plus music from Beardyman.
Voice Actors: Luke Kempner and Gemma Arrowsmith
Producer: Adnan Ahmed
Production Co-Ordinator: Carina Andrews
Editor/Engineer: David Thomas
BBC Studios Production
FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000skf3)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 Little Blue Lines (m000skc8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000skf7)
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Studio direction: Laura Thomas
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000skfb)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Blood Lands (m000skfd)
Blood Lands
At dusk on a warm evening in 2016, two men arrive, unexpectedly, at a remote South African farmhouse. The frenzy that follows will come to haunt a community, destroying families, turning neighbours into traitors, prompting street protests, threats of violence, and dividing the small farming and tourist town of Parys along racial lines. Blood Lands is a murder investigation, a political drama, a courtroom thriller, and a profound exploration of the enduring tensions threatening the “rainbow nation". Over the course of three years, correspondent Andrew Harding has followed every twist of the police’s hunt for the killers, the betrayals that opened the door to an explosive trial, and the fortunes of all those involved – from the dead men’s families to the handful of men controversially selected for prosecution.
Presenter, Andrew Harding
Producer, Becky Lipscombe
Editor, Bridget Harney
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000skfg)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers (m000skcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:06 today]
FRI 23:00 Newsjack (m000sjws)
Series 24
Episode 1
The week's news stories lovingly moulded into sketches and one-liners by the public.
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000skfj)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
A Good Read
16:30 TUE (m000sj8j)
A Good Read
23:00 THU (m000sj8j)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (m000sbg5)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (m000skfb)
Ability
11:30 WED (m000sh87)
After Trump
20:00 MON (m000sgsz)
After Trump
11:00 WED (m000sgsz)
Analysis
21:30 SUN (m000s81m)
Analysis
20:30 MON (m000sgt1)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (m000shg9)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (m000sbg3)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (m000skf7)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (m000sjys)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (m000sjys)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (m000sgwr)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (m000sgwr)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
09:45 MON (m000sgrj)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
00:30 TUE (m000sgrj)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
09:45 TUE (m000sj99)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
00:30 WED (m000sj99)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
09:45 WED (m000sh81)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
00:30 THU (m000sh81)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
09:45 THU (m000sjxw)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
00:30 FRI (m000sjxw)
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
09:45 FRI (m000skc4)
Between Ourselves with Marian Keyes
18:30 THU (m000sjyz)
Blood Lands
21:00 FRI (m000skfd)
Born in Bradford
16:00 TUE (m000sj8g)
Born in Bradford
11:30 FRI (m000sj8g)
Brief Lives
21:00 SAT (b07m58fk)
Britain's Fascist Thread
11:00 FRI (m000skcb)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (m000sgvc)
Bunk Bed
23:00 WED (m000sh9m)
Counterpoint
23:00 SAT (m000s80z)
Counterpoint
15:00 MON (m000sgsd)
Desert Island Discs
11:00 SUN (m000sgvk)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (m000sgvk)
Disability: A New History
00:15 SUN (b02147h7)
Disability: A New History
14:45 SUN (b02140ny)
Drama
14:15 MON (m000sgsb)
Drama
14:15 TUE (m000sj88)
Dub Revolution: The Story of King Tubby
16:00 MON (m000rc4h)
Electric Decade
15:00 SAT (m000shgc)
England's Level Best
21:00 MON (m000s9tt)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (m000shfq)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (m000sgx4)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (m000sgtq)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (m000sj9p)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (m000shb6)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (m000sjzv)
Feedback
20:00 SUN (m000sbfs)
Feedback
16:30 FRI (m000skdf)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (m000s9vx)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (m000sj8x)
Fortunately... with Fi and Jane
23:00 TUE (m000sj93)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (m000shg1)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (m000sjy2)
Front Row
19:15 MON (m000sgsx)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (m000sj8v)
Front Row
19:15 WED (m000sh9c)
Front Row
19:15 THU (m000sjz3)
Front Row
19:00 FRI (m000skf3)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (m000sbfl)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (m000skd1)
Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar
18:30 WED (m000sh97)
Hardy's Women
15:00 SUN (m000sgvx)
Henry Normal: A Normal...
18:30 TUE (m000sj8s)
Homeschool History
14:00 MON (m000spsx)
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates
00:30 SAT (m000sbdq)
How to Vaccinate the World
11:30 MON (m000sgrv)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (m000sjxt)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (m000sjxt)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (m000sj8z)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (m000sh8x)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (m000sh8x)
John Keats: Life and After-Life
11:30 THU (m000sjy4)
Just a Minute
18:30 MON (m000sgsr)
Lady Chatterley's Bed Bugs
11:00 TUE (m000qwtx)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (m000sbfq)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (m000skd9)
Lent Talks
20:45 WED (m000sh9h)
Little Blue Lines
10:45 MON (m000sgrp)
Little Blue Lines
19:45 MON (m000sgrp)
Little Blue Lines
10:45 TUE (m000sj7r)
Little Blue Lines
19:45 TUE (m000sj7r)
Little Blue Lines
10:45 WED (m000sh85)
Little Blue Lines
19:45 WED (m000sh85)
Little Blue Lines
10:45 THU (m000sjy0)
Little Blue Lines
19:45 THU (m000sjy0)
Little Blue Lines
10:45 FRI (m000skc8)
Little Blue Lines
19:45 FRI (m000skc8)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (m000sgt6)
Loose Ends
23:00 MON (m000sgt6)
Mary Portas: On Style
11:30 TUE (m000sj7t)
Meeting Myself Coming Back
20:00 SAT (m000shgt)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (m000sbgg)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (m000shgy)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (m000sgwp)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (m000sgtb)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (m000sj97)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (m000sh9t)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (m000sjzg)
Modern Metamorphoses
23:30 SAT (m000s859)
Modern Metamorphoses
16:30 SUN (m000sgw1)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (m000sgwk)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (m000sgwk)
Money Box
15:00 WED (m000sh8v)
Moral Maze
22:15 SAT (m000s7nh)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (m000sh9f)
My Name Is...
11:00 MON (m000sgrs)
My Teenage Diary
19:15 SAT (b0b92wy4)
NatureBang
13:45 MON (m000p6w2)
NatureBang
13:45 TUE (m000pffm)
NatureBang
13:45 WED (m000pmw4)
NatureBang
13:45 THU (m000pxp1)
NatureBang
13:45 FRI (m000q3ks)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (m000sbgq)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (m000shh6)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (m000sgx0)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (m000sgtl)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (m000sj9k)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (m000shb2)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (m000sjzq)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (m000shg3)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (m000sgvm)
News Summary
12:00 MON (m000sgrx)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (m000sj7w)
News Summary
12:00 WED (m000sh89)
News Summary
12:00 THU (m000sjy6)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (m000skcd)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (m000shfn)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (m000sgtz)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (m000sgv7)
News
13:00 SAT (m000shg7)
News
22:00 SAT (m000shgw)
News
06:00 SUN (m000sgts)
Newsjack
23:00 FRI (m000sjws)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (m000sgtv)
One to One
14:45 SAT (m000s182)
One to One
09:30 TUE (m000sj7f)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (m000sgvz)
Open Book
15:30 THU (m000sgvz)
PM
17:00 SAT (m000shgh)
PM
17:00 MON (m000sgsm)
PM
17:00 TUE (m000sj8l)
PM
17:00 WED (m000sh93)
PM
17:00 THU (m000sjyv)
PM
17:00 FRI (m000skdk)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (m000sgwc)
Positive Thinking
09:00 WED (m000sh7x)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (m000sbgs)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (m000sgx2)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (m000sgtn)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (m000sj9m)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (m000shb4)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (m000sjzs)
Profile
19:00 SAT (m000sgw3)
Profile
05:45 SUN (m000sgw3)
Profile
17:40 SUN (m000sgw3)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (m000sgv3)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:25 SUN (m000sgv3)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (m000sgv3)
Ramblings
06:07 SAT (m000s9rm)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (m000sjyn)
Rewinder
10:30 SAT (m000shfz)
Riot Girls
14:15 WED (m000sh8r)
Riot Girls
14:15 THU (m000sjyl)
Riot Girls
14:15 FRI (m000skcx)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (m000shfx)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (m000sbgl)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (m000shh2)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (m000sgww)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (m000sgtg)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (m000sj9f)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (m000sh9y)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (m000sjzl)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (m000sbgj)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (m000sbgn)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (m000shgl)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (m000shh0)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (m000shh4)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (m000sgw5)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (m000sgwt)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (m000sgwy)
Shipping Forecast
12:03 MON (m000sgrz)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (m000sgtd)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (m000sgtj)
Shipping Forecast
12:03 TUE (m000sj7y)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (m000sj9c)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (m000sj9h)
Shipping Forecast
12:03 WED (m000sh8c)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (m000sh9w)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (m000shb0)
Shipping Forecast
12:03 THU (m000sjy8)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (m000sjzj)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (m000sjzn)
Shipping Forecast
12:03 FRI (m000skcg)
Short Cuts
15:00 TUE (m000sj8b)
Short Works
00:30 SUN (m000sbfn)
Short Works
15:45 FRI (m000skd5)
Sideways
00:15 MON (m000s2ks)
Sideways
16:00 WED (m000sh8z)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (m000shgq)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (m000sgw9)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (m000sgsp)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (m000sj8q)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (m000sh95)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (m000sjyx)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (m000skdp)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
12:06 MON (m000sgs1)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
22:45 MON (m000sgs1)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
12:06 TUE (m000sj80)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
22:45 TUE (m000sj80)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
12:06 WED (m000sh8f)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
22:45 WED (m000sh8f)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
12:06 THU (m000sjyb)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
22:45 THU (m000sjyb)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
12:06 FRI (m000skcj)
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
22:45 FRI (m000skcj)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b03xcvt9)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b03xcvt9)
Soundstage
05:45 SAT (b05n1hws)
Stand-Up Specials
19:15 SUN (m000sgwf)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (m000sgrg)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (m000sgrg)
Stillicide
19:00 SUN (m0008xyw)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (m000sgv9)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (m000sgv1)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (m000sgvf)
The Archers
19:00 MON (m000sgsv)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (m000sgsv)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (m000sh8p)
The Archers
14:00 WED (m000sh8p)
The Archers
19:00 WED (m000sh99)
The Archers
14:00 THU (m000sh99)
The Archers
19:00 THU (m000sjz1)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (m000sjz1)
The Battles That Won Our Freedoms
11:45 SUN (m0001y9c)
The Bottom Line
17:30 SAT (m000s9s9)
The Bottom Line
20:30 THU (m000sjz7)
The Briefing Room
11:00 SAT (m000s9s7)
The Briefing Room
20:00 THU (m000sjz5)
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry
15:30 TUE (m000sj8d)
The Digital Human
16:30 MON (m000sgsj)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (m000s9rp)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (m000sjyq)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (m000sgsg)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (m000sgsg)
The Last Resort
19:45 SUN (m000sgwh)
The Life Scientific
09:00 TUE (m000sj7c)
The Life Scientific
21:30 TUE (m000sj7c)
The Listening Project
13:30 SUN (m000sgvv)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (m000sh91)
The Media Show
21:30 WED (m000sh91)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (m000sbfz)
The Now Show
18:30 FRI (m000skdv)
The Power of...
21:00 WED (m000rdcb)
The Skewer
23:15 WED (m000sh9p)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:04 SUN (m000s81f)
The Why Factor
21:45 SAT (b07ks3kh)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (m000sgvs)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (m000sgt4)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (m000sj91)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (m000sh9k)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (m000sjzb)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (m000skfg)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (m000sgt8)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (m000sj95)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (m000sh9r)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (m000sjzd)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (m000skfj)
Today
07:00 SAT (m000shfv)
Today
06:00 MON (m000sgrd)
Today
06:00 TUE (m000sj77)
Today
06:00 WED (m000sh7v)
Today
06:00 THU (m000sjxr)
Today
06:00 FRI (m000skc2)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b09lyhms)
Tweet of the Day
10:54 SUN (m000sgvh)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b020tp6d)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b095tcwv)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b08zc0qv)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b0901g05)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b020vp4h)
Weather
06:57 SAT (m000shfs)
Weather
12:57 SAT (m000shg5)
Weather
17:57 SAT (m000shgn)
Weather
06:57 SUN (m000sgtx)
Weather
07:57 SUN (m000sgv5)
Weather
12:57 SUN (m000sgvq)
Weather
17:57 SUN (m000sgw7)
Weather
05:56 MON (m000sgx6)
Weather
12:57 MON (m000sgs6)
Weather
12:57 TUE (m000sj84)
Weather
12:57 WED (m000sh8k)
Weather
12:57 THU (m000sjyg)
Weather
12:57 FRI (m000skcn)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (m000sgwm)
Why Why Why?
19:45 SAT (m000qjyz)
Will Self Takes the Waters
09:30 WED (m000sh7z)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (m000shgf)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (m000sgrm)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (m000sj7p)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (m000sh83)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (m000sjxy)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (m000skc6)
World at One
13:00 MON (m000sgs8)
World at One
13:00 TUE (m000sj86)
World at One
13:00 WED (m000sh8m)
World at One
13:00 THU (m000sjyj)
World at One
13:00 FRI (m000skcs)
You and Yours
12:20 MON (m000sgs4)
You and Yours
12:20 TUE (m000sj82)
You and Yours
12:20 WED (m000sh8h)
You and Yours
12:20 THU (m000sjyd)
You and Yours
12:20 FRI (m000skcl)