Ep 5 - They... don't love our country
Sarfraz Manzoor's new book is a personal exploration of a divided Britain, and his hopes for bridging the differences between Muslim and non-Muslims. Today, issues of identity and belonging are bought into stark relief when Manzoor's eight year old daughter asks a tough question.
Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in the 70s and 80s in a working-class Pakistani Muslim family in Luton. Here he was raised to believe that they were different, they had an alien culture and they would never accept him. They were white people. Now, in present day Britain, Manzoor finds that there has been a shift. They have a different culture and societal values still, but now they are Muslims.
Manzoor has travelled around Britain seeking out the the origins of these divisions, and by interweaving journalism, and his own personal story, he has formed a deeper understanding of the mutual mistrust that lies between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this personal and honest account, he also finds reason to hope for a future where they are us.
Sarfraz Manzoor is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is best know for his first book, 'Greetings From Bury Park' which was adapted for the cinema, and released under the name, 'Blinded by the Light'.
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
Jessica Barker argues that we should rediscover overlooked sculptures of women.
She didn't know it at the time, but as a child Jessica spent part of every Christmas day looking at a famous medieval monument. Later, when she became an expert in medieval art, she was angered by the phrase 'and his wife', so often associated with such monuments. Yet as she dug into the stories behind the women depicted in them, she discovered a more surprising, more subversive, and more interesting story.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
The North Channel is the stretch of water which lies between Scotland and Northern Ireland. At its narrowest, it's just 13 miles wide. In this programme, Helen Mark explores the stories surrounding the journeys which are made from one side to the other. She meets one of the crew working on the passenger ferries which plough back and forth and learns what life is like for those whose working lives centre around this journey. She hears about the sad story of the Princess Victoria - a ferry which sank making the crossing in 1953, with the loss of more than 130 lives.
There have been suggestions for a fixed crossing, either a bridge or a tunnel, for more than a century - an idea recently revived by Boris Johnson. Helen asks an architect whether it could ever really happen. She also meets a woman preparing to try and make the crossing under her own steam, by swimming between the two coasts - braving the cold, the currents and the jellyfish.
Helen reflects on her own personal relationship with the North Channel - having been born on one side, but lived most of her life on the other - and asks whether this narrow strip of sea serves to connect or divide the people on either side.
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Greg Jenner and his guests Professor Michael Scott and comedian Shaparak Khorsandi limber up for a trip to the ancient Olympics.
Discover the drastic measures taken to prevent women watching the action. Hear how the gruelling challenges brought a whole new meaning to the term "leaving it all on the field" and how even death couldn’t stop you winning.
HS2, a high-speed railway linking up London, the Midlands and the North of England has been in development for more than a decade. It was described by Boris Johnson as the ‘spine’ of a new network to deal with the ‘great musculoskeletal problem of UK transport’. The ‘spine’ is costing an arm and a leg.
In 2012 the project was priced at £32.7bn. That was revised to £55bn in 2015. Last year a review by civil engineer Doug Oakervee said the final figure could top £100bn. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has already warned that Covid has severely damaged public finances and that will likely impact decisions made in the comprehensive spending review taking place this autumn.
So how is HS2 progressing and is its completion threatened by its rising costs?
Tony Travers, Professor in the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
In this four-part series Felicity Hannah meets families, businesses & local councils whose lives and fortunes have been changed completely by the pandemic.
This week, in the final programme, she chairs a discussion looking at what Covid will cost the nation’s economy with panellists Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist, Institute for Government, Lord Jim O’Neill, former Conservative Treasury minister & John Gathergood, Professor of Economics at Nottingham University.
One day you're the most powerful person in the country, the next you're irrelevant, forced into retirement 30 years ahead of schedule and find yourself asking 'What do I do now?'
Miles Jupp stars as Henry Tobin - Britain's shortest serving and least popular post war PM (he managed 8 months).
We join Henry soon after his crushing election loss. He’s determined to not let his disastrous defeat be the end of him. Instead Henry's going to get back to the top - he's just not sure how and in what field..
This week Christine encourages Henry to make the most of his green credentials.
Henry Tobin... Miles Jupp
Christine Tobin... Ingrid Oliver
Natalie... Emma Sidi
Jones... Justin Edwards
Lizzie... Alice Fraser
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from the Stroud Subscription Rooms with the former cabinet minister and founder of The Social Mobility Pledge Justine Greening, the Conservative MP and Chair of the COVID Recovery Group of MPs Mark Harper, the Labour Mayor of the West of England Dan Norris and the Green Party's Finance and Economy spokesperson Molly Scott-Cato.
The mark of a civilised country is to know what it is to be civil. But what if you don't know? Across the ages, social commentators have written guide books to tell the uninitiated how to do the right thing at the right time in the right way.
And it's not just snobs that have published guides - the great Renaissance theologian Erasmus took time out from arguing with Luther to instruct children how to behave in company.
Nor is it yet another invention of Victorian England. Five thousand years ago, Ptah-Hotep set down on papyrus the rules of behaviour that all wise men should convey to their sons.
The making of manners in cyberspace. How to respond to emails without causing offence, and what is acceptable on social media. In the world of “netiquette”, we don’t have facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice to help, so rules need to be applied.
Linda Marshall Griffiths dramatises Henry James's classic story of passion and possession.
The spending power of disabled people and their families - the so-called purple pound - is valued at £249 billion a year. So is there a competitive business advantage in designing accessible goods and services? Evan Davis and guests discuss, with examples ranging from haircare products to hotel rooms.
Ed Balls, Sophie Okonedo, Adrian Edmondson, Rag'n'Bone Man, Emily Barker feat Frank Turner, Anneka Rice, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Anneka Rice are joined by Ed Balls, Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Edmondson for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Rag'n'Bone Man and Emily Barker featuring Frank Turner.
Mark Coles profiles Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, political leader of the Taliban.
For a special finale to the current series, Simon Armitage travels to Wales to talk to HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales in his Welsh home, Llwynywermod, in Llandovery. Swapping his shed in the Pennines for a barn beside the Brecon Beacons, Simon weaves the conversation around themes of creativity, inspiration and nature. He speaks to The Prince of Wales about the flora and fauna of their surroundings, his passion for conservation, the music of Wagner, and the former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. At one point, the doors of the big barn are thrown open and Prince Charles takes Simon through a series of hay meadows that surround the former farm, pointing out the trees that have been planted since he took over the property, including the maple trees used to line the aisle of Westminster Abbey for Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton.
Joss Ackland narrates a search through BBC archives for unheard gems from JRR Tolkien, as Oxford Academic Dr Stuart Lee discovers the unbroadcast offcuts from an interview given by the author.
Tolkien gave the interview for a BBC film in 1968, but only a tiny part of it was used in the broadcast programme. It was one of only a handful of recorded interviews he gave, and was also to be his last.
Dr Lee’s search for the unbroadcast rushes takes him to the depths of the BBC film archives, and back to the making of the original film Tolkien in Oxford.
For the director Leslie Megahey, only 23 at the time, this was his first film, and the one that launched a prestigious career. The programme reunites him with three others - researcher Patrick O’Sullivan, Tolkien fan Michael Hebbert, and critic Valentine Cunningham who describes how he was brought in to be the voice of dissent challenging the burgeoning Tolkien cult spreading from America.
What emerges is a picture of a playful academic, whose fiction was little respected by adults at the time and looked down on as a lesser form of literature. But he is robustly defended by Professor Tom Shippey and remembered fondly by his colleague Dr Roger Highfield.
Stuart Lee presents the results of his search through the archives to Dr Dimitra Fimi who considers any new words from Tolkien’s mouth as ‘gold’. While, for Dr Lee, the real dragon’s hoard is the privilege of hearing Tolkien in relaxed mode reflecting on his life as never before.
The blood-soaked finale to the second series. The rebel army, under General Qulan (Christopher Fulford) prepares to march on the city where Gregor (Rufus Wright) struggles to decide where his loyalties lie and is faced with a terrible truth about his past.
Tumanbay is created by John Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.
Juliet Stevenson continues Daisy Johnson's series of deliciously chilling of ghost stories, set in a remote hotel on the Fens.
Today, in 'The Story', although The Hotel is set finally to close its doors for ever, the owner finds that it still has a few more secrets....
Catherine Carr brings together two people who share a common experience but have made radically different choices in life. Each has a gift that unlocks their story.
Francisco Carrasco and Shakur Shidane (Shaks) were children when they escaped political oppression and civil war. Now one has returned to the country of his birth, and the other is staying in the UK.
Shaks left Somalia on the back of a truck when he only five or six years old. In 1994, after more than two years, the family reached London - and safety. Decades later, Shaks has returned to Mogadishu.
Francisco Carrasco was eleven years old when his family left Chile. His father, an economist and politician, was held in concentration camps by the Pinochet regime. In 1975, the Chilean authorities gave the family 48-hours to get out of the country. They were not allowed to return home until 1990 - and by then, Francisco says, “my Chile had gone”. Home is now Liverpool and he is applying for British citizenship.
For both, home is complex and mutable, but ultimately is it about people or place?
Another four contenders join Russell Davies for a socially-distanced contest in Salford, the latest heat in the 2021 season of the nationwide quiz. Today's winner will take another step towards the coveted title of Brain of Britain, by making it through to the semi-finals later this year. Among other things they'll need to know the name of Joe Biden's dog, which priest warned the Trojans not to let the wooden horse into their city, and the lyrics of 'Africa' by Toto.
The programme also includes 'Beat the Brains', in which a listener gets a chance to challenge the competitors with questions he or she has devised.
From a windswept Brighton beach, the poet Cecilia Knapp asks how growing up by the sea has influenced her writing, pulling her back to the shoreline.
Exploring the very different coastal worlds of Shetland, St Ives, Liverpool, Dunbar and Brighton, Cecilia and her fellow poets discuss the beauty and boredom of a coastal upbringing and the things that inspire them, from teenage beach parties and the cold of the Atlantic, to dead jellyfish, phosphorescence and the vibrancy of port cities.
SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 2021
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000z5fb)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Green Originals (m000d70z)
David McTaggart
In the spring of 1972, David McTaggart responded to an advert in a Vancouver magazine for a fledgling organisation calling itself Greenpeace. It was looking for volunteers to go to Muroroa Atoll in the South Pacific to protest against the testing of French atmospheric nuclear bombs.
McTaggart spent five weeks sailing over 3000 miles to reach the exclusion zone and position himself down-wind from the blast. France had already exploded 41 nuclear bombs into the atmosphere, some 200 times the strength of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
In what he thought might be a last recording to his family, he said, "I just hope you understand what I’m doing. I’m against all this stuff."
While he couldn’t claim to be the founder of Greenpeace, David McTaggart was the one who took a small embryonic organisation in the early 1970s and transformed it into a global force for change.
After the nuclear testing protests, McTaggart set up International Greenpeace organisations in Britain, France and the Netherlands. He bought a trawler, Sir William Hardy, from the British Government, and re-named it The Rainbow Warrior.
“For many years, he was the leading figure in campaigns against whaling, seal culling and offshore oil drilling,” says writer Emma Shortis. “He successfully drew attention to the issues in ways that no-one had previously considered, by putting himself directly at the heart of the action – in the line of fire of a whaler’s harpoon, or being rammed by a naval frigate.”
Producer: Emily Williams
Series Editor: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 in association with The Open University
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m000z1k7)
Titania's Town
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the author Peter Hollywood. As read by Stuart Graham.
Peter Hollywood was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. He is the author of Jane Alley, Lead City and Other Stories, Luggage, Hawks and Other Short Stories and Drowning the Gowns. His stories have appeared in numerous journals and he has had stories featured in anthologies including ‘State of the Art: Short Stories by New Irish Writers’, 'Krino - An Anthology of Modern Irish Writing' and ‘Belfast Stories’.
Reader: Stuart Graham
Writer: Peter Hollywood
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z5fd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z5fg)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000z5fj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m000z5fl)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000z5fn)
All Saints, Inveraray, in Argyll
Bells on Sunday comes from the detached tower of All Saints, Inveraray, in Argyll. The 126-foot-high tower was completed in 1921 as a memorial to the members of the Clan Campbell who died in the First World War. The tower contains a peak of ten bells cast by John Taylor of Loughborough in 1920. The tenor weighs forty one and a half hundredweight and is tuned to C. They are the second heaviest ringing peal of ten bells in the world. We now hear them ringing Horton's four Spliced Surprise Royal.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m000z5f4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m000z5lk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (m0000xmb)
Mantras
Musician Jahnavi Harrison examines the ancient practise of mantra recitation and charts the spread of mantras from their Eastern origins to Western pop-culture.
The origin of the word ‘mantra’ lies in the ancient Sanskrit language. It means literally ‘mana’ or mind/heart and ‘tra’ to transport or transcend. In a religious context, Jahnavi explains, a mantra is a sacred sound formula - an arrangement of words with meaning, that have the power to connect the reciter with a specific spiritual goal. But the meaning need not necessarily be understood in order to have an effect, just as you don’t need to know about all the ingredients in cough syrup to feel it doing something.
Om, believed by Hindus to be a 'primordial sacred sound' is perhaps the most well known of the traditional Eastern mantras. Jahnavi introduces us to an extraordinary recording of 10,000 people chanting Om as part of a project organised by the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhatten. We also hear the music of George Harrison which features this ancient chant.
The belief of Hindus and Buddhists, that reciting mantras can transform the body and mind, are now the subject of much scientific study which has shown that regular chanting brings about changes within the brain. In addition to reaping the spiritual and cognitive benefits, Jahnavi explains that she chants daily in order to put on a suit of "sonic armour" that seems to protect her from the noise and intensity of the urban environment.
Presenter: Jahnavi Harrison
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000z5lp)
Torth y Tir
Torth y Tir is the UK’s first 'peasant bakery'. Welsh for ‘Loaf of the Land’, the bakery was established in 2017 - not only to provide freshly baked sourdough bread to the local area of St Davids, but also to grow its own wheat and mill its own flour. It's based on the French 'paysan boulanger' model. Founder and master baker Rupert Dunn explains to Verity Sharp what it means to be a peasant baker, talks candidly about the personal and spiritual ideals that are driving him, and speaks about his belief in the principle that everyone living within a certain radius should have access to locally produced, nutritionally dense food.
The wet climate in west Wales isn’t ideal for growing flour-grade wheat, but Torth y Tir is overcoming the challenge by sowing heritage grains. After obtaining his first diverse seed mix from his mentors in France, for the past four years Rupert has seen his crops adapting to his local Pembrokeshire conditions – even this year withstanding 50mph winds. The pride he feels for his wheat even inspires him to sing!
Produced and presented by Verity Sharp.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m000z5ls)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000z5lx)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000z5m1)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000z5m5)
Attitude is Everything
Journalist, campaigner and volunteer Katie Pennick makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the disability charity Attitude is Everything.
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 ‘Attitude is Everything’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Attitude is Everything’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1121975
SUN 07:57 Weather (m000z5m9)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000z5mf)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000z5mk)
Homecoming
From Prospect Farm at Greenbelt. With the annual Greenbelt festival cancelled last year and a smaller gathering at Prospect Farm last week, many have missed their annual homecoming opportunity to be in festive mood amongst friends. As people begin to return to rhythms of life they have known previously, such as the breathing space Greenbelt offers, is it possible to achieve a more balanced world in the future, one of racial and environmental justice, an altogether more hopeful world? Presenter: Chine McDonald; Preacher: Molly Boot; Producer: Andrew Earis.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000z1hb)
The Creep of the On-Screen Narrative
'I don't want to find an eight-part drama more interesting than my life', writes Zoe Strimpel.
Zoe reflects on the power of TV as a coping mechanism at the height of the COVID pandemic.
But she argues that the creep of the on-screen narrative must now be slowed down in order for us to fully re-engage with our lives.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b092r9hw)
Samuel West on the red-eyed vireo
Actor Samuel West remembers one of his proudest moments as a birdwatcher was spotting a rarely seen Red Eyed Vireo on the Isles of Scilly and pulling in crowds of twitchers from all over the island to see it.
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Image : Kelly Colgan Azar.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000z5mp)
News with Paddy O'Connell including the latest on the Afghanistan evacuation. We consider rock's greatest drum beats and as paralympians display their sporting prowess in Tokyo, we find out how easy it is to go shopping in Skipton if you're using a wheelchair. Matthew Parris, Adam MacQueen and Swarzy Macaly review the news.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000z5mt)
Writer, Sarah McDonald- Hughes
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Ben Archer ….. Ben Norris
Josh Archer ….. Angus Imrie
Pat Archer ….. Patricia Gallimore
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Beth Casey ….. Rebecca Fuller
Steph Casey ….. Kerry Gooderson
Vince Casey ….. Tony Turner
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Kate Madikane ….. Perdita Avery
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter ….. Katie Redford
Stella ….. Lucy Speed
SUN 11:00 The Reunion (m000z5my)
The Pioneers of Women's Football
Women have played football for as long as football has been around with the modern game being codified by the FA in 1863.
But it was the First World War and the formation of team from a munitions factory in Preston known as the Dick Kerr Ladies that really drew in the crowds – one game in 1920 attracted 53,000.
But the women’s game was considered to be un-ladylike and seen as unfair competition for the men’s game and so the FA brought in a ban in 1921.
It was to last almost 50 years.
But pressure from within saw it abolished and in November 1972 the women’s game flourished with the staging of the first international match when England played Scotland in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Greenock. More international games followed, with the Wales FA staging their first international in 1973.
These early pioneers helped lay the foundation of the successful professional women’s game we see today.
Joining Kirsty Wark are England player Patricia Gregory and Scotland’s Elsie Cook who co-organised that first international; Margaret Rae, Scotland‘s captain from 1972 onwards; Michelle Adams, who was Wales youngest player aged just 15 in 1973 and went on to get an MBE for her contribution to women’s football; Rose Reilly who played for both Scotland and Italy; and Sue Whyatt who was England’s goalkeeper beginning with the return England v Scotland international in 1973.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Howard Shannon
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 11:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m000z5n2)
Get Some Sun
In this episode, Michael reveals the power of the sun’s rays to lower blood pressure and improve your mood, bones, muscles and immune system. He challenges TV presenter Mehreen Baig to sunbathe herself healthy, and speaks to Professor Ann Webb at the University of Manchester to shed new light on how going out in the middle of the day is the best way to boost your Vitamin D, and how to do it safely depending on your skin type.
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000z5n6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (m000z02c)
Series 26
Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Rufus Hound, Fern Brady, Ria Lina, and Tony Hawks are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as mushrooms, milk, monkeys, and children.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000z5nb)
Tastefully Worded: Exploring food in language
Can you have your cake and eat it? Do you have bigger fish to fry?
Are you seduced by food imagery in literature, and lured into rash purchases by the purple prose of food packaging?
This, then, is the programme for you!
Sheila Dillon is joined by author, poet and presenter of Radio 4's 'Word of Mouth', Michael Rosen, to discuss the origins and impacts of food language: from the everyday idioms that hark back to ancient dietary habits, to the seductive language of advertising.
Exploring food language in various forms, they hear from Dan Jurafsky, a professor of linguistics and computer science at Stanford University and author of ‘The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu’; Melissa Thompson, a food and drink writer who runs the recipe sharing project Fowl Mouths, and advocates for the promotion of black and minority ethnic voices in the food industry; and Dinah Fried, author of ‘Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature’s Most Memorable Meals’.
Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced by Lucy Taylor in Bristol
* * *
The literary excerpts featured in this programme are from:
- Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen (from his YouTube channel)
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams
- Hot Food by Michael Rosen
SUN 12:57 Weather (m000z5nd)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000z5ng)
Jonny Dymond looks at the week’s big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000z5nj)
A Meeting of Minds
In this week's programme, Fi Glover presents four lively conversations between strangers: Adrian, a chef and lover of food, and Jules, who has long-struggled to master the basics in the kitchen; British Indian Michelin-starred chef Alfred, and Mark who runs a successful family-owned fish and chip business; septuagenarians Maura and Keith who have both been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease but lost none of their zest for adventure; and two women who share the same name - Karen - and their thoughts on their name being used in a derogatory way to symbolise difficult white women with prejudiced attitudes.
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 (m000z1k5)
GQT at Home: Seeds, Sets and Protecting Butterfly Eggs
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts chaired by Kathy Clugston. Matthew Pottage, Pippa Greenwood and Matt Biggs answer questions sent in from listeners from across the country.
This week, the panellists discuss how plants know when it is raining (no-one mention Wyndham). They also tackle the controversial subject of what to do with overgrowing ivy and divulge their greatest gardening regrets.
Beyond the questions, Bob Flowerdew has some super saving tips, and Cherry Carmen takes us to the seaside with her advice on coastal gardening success.
Producer - Jemima Rathbone
Assistant Producer - Bethany Hocken
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Green Originals (m000d70z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
00:15 today]
SUN 15:00 Dangerous Liaisons (m000z5nl)
Episode 1
By Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, in a new version by Sian Ejiwunmi-LeBerre.
Tanya Moodie, Nicola Coughlan and Ray Fearon star in this dark and scandalously funny masterpiece of eighteenth-century French literature, which has never before been dramatised by BBC Radio 4.
Sian Ejiwunmi-LeBerre’s brand new version plays fast and loose with the letter form of the novel, as clueless ingenue Cecile de Volanges, and lonely wife Lady Tourvel, both become prey in a struggle for seduction between two amoral ex-lovers: Madame de Merteuil and Count Valmont.
As their affairs become entangled, the rivals’ quest for sensation soon becomes a battle for sexual conquest and control.
Cast:
Madame de Merteuil ….. Tanya Moodie
Count Valmont ….. Ray Fearon
Cecile de Volanges ….. Nicola Coughlan
Lady Tourvel ….. Melody Grove
Danceny ….. Sid Sagar
Lady Volanges ….. Juliet Cowan
The Editor ….. Sian Ejiwunmi-LeBerre
Ensemble ….. Alexander Devrient, David Hounslow, Ryan Whittle
Harpist ..... Ruth Faber
Singers ..... Rowan Atkins, Freddie Falzon
Sound Design: Jon Nicholls, Jonquil Panting, Olga Reed
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
A Jonx production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000z5np)
Making It New? Literature of the Twenties Special
Johny Pitts explores the books of the 1920s with Alison McLeod, Bill Goldstein, James Clammer and Jo Hamya - asking why the era is so relevant today and how writers are responding to uncannily similar crises.
After the devastation of the First World War, a global flu pandemic, economic instability and civil unrest, many writers saw an opportunity to express their disillusionment with society’s issues such as women’s rights, class and racism. Often referred to as the Roaring Twenties. or the Jazz Age, it was also a time of sexual liberation and the pursuit of pleasure has often been perceived (often wrongly) as it’s dominating theme So with many parallels now, what will be the effect on fiction of the next decade? Will we see a period of creative expression and freedom to rival DH Lawrence, Woolf, Fitzgerald and Joyce – and what can reading of those novels reveal to us about what might happen next?
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
Book List
Tenderness by Alison MacLeod
The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature by Bill Goldstein
Insignificance by James Clammer
Three Rooms by Jo Hamya
Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence
The Rainbow by DH Lawrence
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Banjo by Claude McKay
Ulysses by James Joyce
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
SUN 16:30 A World Beyond Alice (b051vlpp)
While British children's books are known across the world, far fewer European children's books are translated into English. David Almond, the award-winning author of books such as Skellig and My Name is Mina, tries to discover how and why this has come about, and makes a heart-felt case for change.
For at least the 150 years since the publication of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), British children's books have enjoyed a world-wide reputation. By contrast, few children's books from continental Europe are translated into English.
It's said that up to 40% of books read by continental European children are translated from other languages while as few as 4% of the books read by British children were originally published in a language other than English.
As David sees it, if the lives, expereriences and concerns of children across Europe differ - and if we hope to resolve issues of alienation in our societies - then this loss is great indeed.
Amongst the books he champions are a dark and shocking existential novel for older children by Danish writer Janne Teller, called "Nothing", and a playful but now poignant picture book about a harmonious multicultural Paris, by Barroux, called "Mr Leon's Taxi".
Hearing from authors Cornelia Funke, Janne Teller and Nadia Budde, publisher Jane Winterbotham, children's book experts Daniel Hahn and Michael Rosen, translator Sarah Ardizzone - and from three tri-lingual British-based brothers - David makes a passionate case for A World Beyond Alice.
Producer : Beaty Rubens
SUN 17:00 A Long Way from Vietnam (m000yyrk)
BBC journalist Nga Pham asks why irregular Vietnamese migration is the second highest into the UK (Albanian nationals are the first), and why the numbers are rising every year.
Even the tragedy of the Essex lorry disaster in 2019, when 39 Vietnamese people were suffocated in a container lorry as they came over the Channel, is not enough to put them off. Coming from some of the most economically deprived provinces in Vietnam, these families pay from $30-45,000 to people smugglers to send hundreds of their children out each year in the hope of a better future.
The land route out through China, Russia, Europe can take months if not years, often involving coercion, trafficking and sexual exploitation along the way. Then Calais and the final peril of crossing by boat or lorry awaits them, before trying to find a job and make a life here.
Nga talks to people in Vietnam about their desperation to leave and why the 39 deaths have not deterred them, and to those who have returned, sending back their earnings to clear family debts, build houses, and buy motorbikes for their relations. She also talks to those who were caught up in trafficking networks, discovered by the police and deported back to Vietnam with nothing to show for their years of slave labour.
In the UK, Nga meets people who have arrived by container just like the Essex 39 - people who are now working in nail bars, cannabis farms and restaurants, hiding in plain sight. She talks to modern slavery lawyers, anti-trafficking police units across the country, and the National Crime Agency which has an officer permanently based in Hanoi. Nga asks the Minister for Immigration what the UK government strategy is for ending this misery of debt bondage and cheap labour.
Presented by Nga Pham
Produced by Anna Horsbrugh-Porter
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:40 Profile (m000z5f4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000z5nr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m000z5nt)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z5nw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000z5ny)
Katie Thistleton
Presenter: Katie Thistleton
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production support: Julie Downing
Studio Manager: Chris Hardman
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m000z5p0)
Justin announces his grand plan and Alistair struggles with a work related issue
SUN 19:15 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000jf72)
Episode 3
Just sit back and enjoy Michael Frayn’s magical entertainment, directed by Martin Jarvis. Technical guidance from a star cast, including Susannah Fielding, Joanna Lumley, David Suchet, Rosalind Ayres, Adam Godley, Alfred Molina, George Blagden and Lisa Dillon.
Does your computer ever talk back at you? Or your sat-nav? What happens to the huge sums you pay to your gas company? Your chance to join a new How-to-Write course. Or to hear some commercial Brainwaves. Are you confused about cold calling? Any feelings about Quantum Entanglement?
Frayn reveals all. No keys or buttons to press.
Cast:
Joanna Lumley, Susannah Fielding, David Suchet, Adam Godley, Alfred Molina, George Blagden, Lisa Dillon, Anna-Louise Plowman, Moira Quirk, Rosalind Ayres, Nigel Anthony, Darren Richardson, Matthew Wolf
Writer: Michael Frayn
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Making Amends (m000z5p2)
Kieran
Five wry stories on the nature of and need for apology, by Nick Walker, the writer of Annika Stranded.
Making Amends is a therapeutic process that encourages people to recognise behaviour in their past which, because of addiction problems, goes against their values and standards. But the need to make amends and apologise for lapses of behaviour is not just confined to the addicted.
2/5. Kieran
In prison, Kieran had time to reflect on his past mistakes. Newly released, he aims to make amends to Gina.
Nick Walker is the writer of Annika Stranded, which ran for six seasons on BBC Radio 4 between 2013 and 2020. Annika - a TV version - will be broadcast in 2021. He has also written two critically-acclaimed novels , Blackbox and Helloland. His plays and other short stories for radio include The First King of Mars, Life Coach and Stormchasers.
Writer: Nick Walker
Reader: Stuart McQuarrie
Sound Design: Jon Calver
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m000z1kc)
Do people exist as more than through their memory? If you lose it, do you cease to exist? That is the question Sir Jonathan Miller wanted to explore shortly before his death.
This week, his son William talks to Roger Bolton about the Archive on 4 programme he made about his polymath father - Jonathan Miller: Lost Memories - and why he wanted to carry on investigating memory after his father’s death.
Rory Cellan-Jones is soon to leave his job as the BBC’s Technology Correspondent. He explains how he translates complicated stories for a mainstream radio audience.
And two listeners review 5 Live’s Your Call with Nicky Campbell. Will they be ringing back?
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Kate Dixon
Executive Producer: Samir Shah
A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000z1k9)
Charlie Watts (pictured), Austin Mitchell, Hugh Wood, Sean Lock
Matthew Bannister on
The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. We have a tribute from the boogie woogie pianist who played with Charlie in his other band.
The maverick Labour MP and TV presenter Austin Mitchell who fought for the fishing industry in his constituency of Great Grimsby, once changing his surname to 'Haddock' as a publicity stunt.
The composer Hugh Wood, remembered by his former student the pianist Joanna MacGregor.
And the comedian Sean Lock, a regular on Channel Four’s panel show '8 Out of 10 Cats'. His friend and fellow comic Lee Mack pays tribute.
Producer: Lucy Wai
Archive clips used: Daily Politics: BBC Two, TX
13.11.12; BBC NEWS: BBC One, TX 1.
2.1989; Woman's Hour: Radio 4, TX 23.
8.2014; ORKSHIRE TV - September 1974; BBC Proms 2019: Radio 3, TX 29.
8.2019; Cheltenham Festival 1999: London Mozart Players & Chilingirian Quartet; 15 Storeys High: Radio 4, TX
24.11.1999.
SUN 21:00 The Hangover (m000z5gp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000z5m5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 The Untold (m000vxyf)
Two Pairs of Hands
Sandi’s partner Steve died last September after a long illness. They not only lived together, they had worked together for 35 years, making lutes - period instruments that date back to the 16th century.
Now Sandi is having to work single-handed for the first time in her career. It’s not only a practical challenge, it’s a psychological one too. She has to deal with her grief, as well as facing an empty workshop and a backlog of work that’s built up during Steve’s illness, when she was caring for him 24/7.
Her best friend Derin has come to give her moral support and help in the workshop as Sandi takes on the task of making an archlute for a customer in Germany. It’s got a long neck to carry extra bass strings - particularly tricky to manoeuvre with just one pair of hands.
Sandi has no income until she finishes the archlute and the other instruments her customers are waiting for. And she can no longer afford to stay in her workshop now that she’s working solo, so she’s got to find a new place.
Can she meet the challenge?
The programme includes original music, Tombeau for Stephen, written and performed in tribute to Steve by David van Ooijen, on a theorbo made by Steve and Sandi.
Produced in Bristol by Jo Glanville
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000z5p4)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000z0qz)
Hossein Amini on Heat
In the final edition of Moving Image, Francine Stock talks to Hossein Amini about the film that has obsessed him since the first time he saw it in 1995. Heat was the first film to bring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together in the same scene and it's had an influence on the writer of Drive, The Wings Of A Dove and McMafia ever since.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (m0000xmb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2021
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000z5p6)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 The Everywoman (m000hdkc)
Episode 2
In part one, we met the literary archetype of the Everyman, and asked what might have happened to his female counterpart, the Everywoman. Now, Sarah Hall continues her search for Everywoman, ultimately asking if it's something we even want to see in our culture?
We hear from Katherine Rundell about how gender stereotypes begin in children's books and how we might avoid them, ask Costa Prize-winning Novelist Andrew Miller whether men should be frightened of (or praised for) writing female characters, and Bernardine Evaristo discusses her Booker Prize-winning novel, 'Girl, Woman, Other' -does this point the way to a new future for Everywoman?
Presenter: Sarah Hall
Producer: Jessica treen
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000z5fn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z5p8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z5pb)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000z5pd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m000z5pg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z5pj)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishva Samani
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000z5pl)
Supporting people with extra needs on Macaulay Farm
Maclauley Farm on the outskirts of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis is a 120 acre unit which focuses on supporting people who have a wide range of additional needs. Nancy Nicolson meets the owner Roland Engebretsen to hear how the farm provides interesting and meaningful activities, helping its clients by being outside on the land.
MON 05:56 Weather (m000z5pn)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkwtg)
Black Drongo
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the black drongo of Southern Asia. What looks a like a small crow crossed with a flycatcher is riding a cow's back in an Indian village. Black drongos are slightly smaller than European starlings, but with a much longer tail. They feed mainly on large insects: dragonflies, bees, moths and grasshoppers which they will pluck from the ground as well pursuing them in aerial sallies. Although small, these birds are famous for being fearless and will attack and dive-bomb almost any other bird, even birds of prey, which enter their territories. This aggressive behaviour has earned them the name "King Crow" and in Hindi their name is Kotwal - the policeman.
MON 06:00 Today (m000z5vb)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 How to Play (m000z5vd)
Brahms's Piano Concerto No 1 with Stephen Hough and the LPO
International concert pianist, Stephen Hough, and members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra take us behind the scenes at the Royal Festival Hall in London and invite us to listen in as they rehearse Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1. They show us how they combine their skills and insight to ignite one of the great masterpieces of the Romantic era, and give us their musician’s eye view on what makes Brahms’s music so compelling.
With additional recordings by Stephen Hough and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Wales
Photo credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke
MON 09:30 The Age of Denial (m00035nx)
Knowing and Not Knowing
Books about "denialism" describe something global, like the rejection of climate change science. But are its roots personal? Isabel Hardman looks at our extraordinary capacity to deceive ourselves.
Producer: Chris Ledgard
MON 09:45 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z5vg)
Episode 1
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise met for the first time at the Swansea Empire in the 1930s, while appearing as separate acts in one of Jack Hylton’s touring variety shows.
Both were successful child stars, and each recognised instantly a kindred spirit instantly, They were soon touring together with Sadie, Eric’s redoubtable mother, finding them digs and looking out for them.
They learnt their trade the hard way with periods of unemployment and several flops – on the Ed Sullivan show in New York they had to re-write virtually the entire act for the American sense of humour. But the hard won experience gained on the way up proved the making of them.
With brilliant writers like Eddie Braben, Morecambe and Wise found success first at ATV, then at the BBC with The Morecambe and Wise Show, which included stunning and legendary sketches awith Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Angela Rippon.
Morecambe and Wise had become a national institution. Their shows topped the ratings right up until the untimely death of Eric Morecambe in 1984. It's clear that, in their professional life, they were inseparable, fonder of each other than most brothers. After Eric’s death, Ernie Wise soldiered on professionally, but he was now only half a star, and it was clear that for the rest of his life, after a partnership of five decades, Ernie would be searching for Eric.
If Eric had lived, all they would have had to do for work would be to appear on stage as themselves, and they had had a lifetime’s experience for that.
Written by Louis Barfe
Reader: Penelope Keith
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z5vj)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 11:00 My Name Is... (m000z5vl)
My Name Is Christina
Seventeen-year-old Christina Adane wants to put a stop to the endless reliance on junk food and to tackle the way young people like her are targeted and trapped by clever marketing aimed specifically at them
Christina is a force to be reckoned with: her family’s originally from Ethiopia and it was seeing news reports on the impact of Ebola in Africa which first sparked her political activism. During lockdown she launched the petition for free school meals out of term time – a cause taken up by Marcus Rashford. Now she’s finishing her first year in sixth form and as well as contributing to a podcast with Meghan and Harry, she is seeking to challenge our reliance on fast food.
She’s creative with her approach and her recordings give listeners insights into opinions across the spectrum as she speaks to health researchers, chefs, campaigners, teachers, parents and others who want things to change. As she walks down her local high street the proliferation of fast food outlets is striking and so are the numbers of youngsters congregating inside them.
These same youngsters could, she believes, become real force to be reckoned with. As the chair of the youth board of Bite Back 2030 she knows just how effective campaigns can be. In this programme she talks to fellow board member, Barakat Omomayowa about the cyclical way that fast food joints target children and the profits they’re making from this. With nowhere else to congregate, they’re forced to hang out at food joints, and all the more likely to go there if poor quality school meals leave them hungry at the end of the day:
“We need to reimagine our high streets. We need places that are safe and dry, with healthy, affordable, nutritious food instead of more chicken shops and places like McDonalds.” Bite Back 2030 secured a recent victory limiting junk food advertising, but Christina says that’s only part of the solution:
“It’s a systemic issue that comes from marketing, advertising and environment. As young people we have to battle with all of these things.”
MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m000z5h9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 12:00 News Summary (m000z5vp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z5vr)
Episode 6
6/10. Set in the Scottish Highlands, James Robertson’s novel reveals the secrets, both comic and tragic, of two incomers to the rural idyll of an Angus glen. In 1809, Gibb’s relations with Miss Jessie take an unexpectedly amorous turn.
Read by Mark Bonnar
Abridged by the author
Producer: Bruce Young
MON 12:18 You and Yours (m000z5vt)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m000z5vw)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m000z5vy)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Jonny Dymond
MON 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z5w0)
Buy Less Stuff
From clothes to cars and buildings, all our new 'stuff' takes energy and resources to produce. If we want to cut down the use of high carbon materials like steel and cement then we need a new attitude. We need to think about sharing more and valuing what we have, we need products that are designed to last longer.
Tom Heap meets Aisling Byrne from clothing app NUW. Concerned about the impact of fast-fashion on the environment, she found that lecturing friends who loved fashion didn't change their minds or behaviour, so she's designed a clothes-sharing app for people to put unwanted clothes into new hands and get the excitement of something 'new' in return. It can stop the demand for brand new products at the top end and avoid landfill at the other end. Professor Julian Allwood of Cambridge University expands on how much our desire for bigger and better is impacting on resources and how behaviour change needs to come sooner rather than later.
Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Dr Mike Tennant of Imperial College London, Dr Sonali Diddi of Colorado State University, Professor Jana Hawley of the University of North Texas and Professor Sandy Black of the London College of Fashion.
MON 14:00 The Archers (m000z5p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 United Kingdoms (m000z5w2)
Fearing
A groundbreaking five-part series from exciting new writers celebrating and revealing life across the United Kingdoms in short, sharp drama, comedy, news reports, song and poetic monologue. Stories, lives and voices making a kaleidoscope of now.
Each episode features five short dramas by different writers - a total of 50 writers and 100 actors have been brought together, showcasing new writing and performing talent from every corner of the United Kingdom.
Episode 1: Fearing – a moving and powerful look at 21st Century United Kingdoms.
• MUSSELBURGH - An exhausted woman retires to bed for three days and reflects on her failings, only to realise they are a key to hope not fear.
• ERYRI, SNOWDONIA - A narrative song that explores how a child overcomes their fear about fitting in to a Welsh-speaking community. Sound Design by Nigel Lewis
• RANDALSTOWN, COUNTY ANTRIM - A conversational poetic monologue that discusses how fear uses semantics as camouflage and a place to hide in, as though fear is a spirit that inhabits words and is loosed into our neural pathways as a result.
• UNTHANK - A surreal comedy about your life shrinking, literally. Ivy is learning to live with her wheelchair, but fear of change has a dramatic effect on her Cumbrian farmhouse.
• TANKERTON - When house-mates leave and your zero hours contract ends, where else is there to turn in lockdown, if not home? But home is no place for the in-between, the non-conforming, so they pitch their tent on the edge of the sea and allow the waves, the sky and land to be home.
Musselburgh written by Hannah Lavery
Performed by Nalini Chetty
Produced by Kirsty Williams
Eryri written by Lisa Jên Brown
Performed by Lisa Jên brown and Martin Hoyland
Sound Design by Nigel Lewis
Produced by Martin Hoyland and James Robinson
Randalstown written and performed by Clare Dwyer Hogg
Sound Design Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced by Celia de Wolff
Unthank written by Karen Featherstone
Performed by Cherylee Houston (Ivy), Kerry Wilson Parry (Reporter) and Lekhani Chirwa (Rose)
Sound Design by Eloise Whitmore
Co-Produced by Polly Thomas and Dermot Daley
Original Music composed by Niroshini Thanbar
Tankerton written by Shelley Silas
Performed by Tigger Blaze
Sound Design by Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced by Celia de Wolff
Programme Illustration by Eleanor Hibbert
Episode Sound Designers: Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton, Essential Music Ltd
Curated by Celia de Wolff for Pier Productions and BBC Northern Ireland for BBC Radio 4
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m000z5w5)
Heat 7, 2021
(7/17)
Competitors from Somerset, the Home Counties and London join Russell Davies this week for the latest heat of the 2021 general knowledge tournament, recorded in London under pandemic restrictions. Among other things, they'll need to know the name of Vincent Van Gogh's art dealer brother, the distance run in an Olympic steeplechase, and the names of the Imperial Cities of Morocco. Today's winner will take another of the places in the semi-finals later in the season.
Taking part are:
Heather Auton, a retired marketing director from Amersham in Buckinghamshire
George Bulmer, a retail manager from Hammersmith in London
Ian McKillop, a locum pharmacist from Ilminster in Somerset
Emma Napper, a personal assistant from Arlesey in Bedfordshire.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000z5nb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Write Her Story (m000z0qg)
Why are women not used as the dramatic engines in drama more? asks double Oscar-winning, recent Tony, Bafta and Emmy Award-winning actress Glenda Jackson.
Despite improvements, the statistics concur with her theory. With great contributions from actress Adjoa Andoh, director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia, The Iron Lady), actress Harriet Walter, writer Sally Wainwright and director Richard Eyre.
Presented by Glenda Jackson
Produced by Pauline Harris
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m000z5w8)
The College of Cardinals
For over 1000 years, the College of Cardinals has been responsible for electing the Pope. The Papal Conclave is always conducted in private and very little was known about how its members actually make their final choice for the role of Pontiff. But in recent years, the secrets of the Conclave have begun to leak out and public interest in its inner workings has been piqued by bestselling authors Dan Brown and Robert Harris who have featured the College of Cardinals in novels read by millions. Ernie Rea takes a look at the College of Cardinals. How influential are they outside the Vatican, what do they do in Conclave and how can a Pope influence the choice of his successor by deciding who should become a cardinal.
Producer: Helen Lee
Assistant Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz
MON 17:00 PM (m000z5wb)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z5wd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000z5wg)
Series 26
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.
Sally Phillips, Frankie Boyle, Lucy Porter and Neil Delamere are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as moths, football, singing and shopping.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m000z5j4)
Lilian is confronted by a ghost from the past and Jakob finds roles reversed at the vets.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m000z5wj)
Actor Liz Carr on Silent Witness and Hollywood
Liz Carr's role in Silent Witness was a groundbreaking step in the depiction of disability in primetime TV drama. The actor, comedian and broadcaster, who has used a wheelchair since childhood, looks back at her early years, her law degree, and how that led her to life of activism for disability rights.
Liz spent six years playing Clarissa Mullery in the BBC drama series, and she discusses the work she has been offered since she left, with latest projects being a major new Jack Thorne TV drama about disability rights, a new stage version of Larry Kramer's classic 1980s AIDS play The Human Heart at the National Theatre, and her first Hollywood film, Infinite, starring Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Presenter Elle Osili-Wood
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Main image: Liz Carr
Image credit: Charlie Carter
MON 19:45 Prime Ministers' Props (b07mxt94)
Series 1
Neville Chamberlain's Umbrella
Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader.
Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.
Neville Chamberlain always liked to carry a big black umbrella. It was intended to project an image of the quintessential Englishman, who was always smart, prepared and, in a manner of speaking, neatly furled. When Chamberlain arrived home after meeting Hitler at Munich in 1938, he was clutching Hitler's signed piece of paper in one hand and his brolly in the other. His umbrella now took on a new and potent symbolism as a "peace umbrella" and one that would keep the German bombs from raining down on British heads. He was sent hundreds of umbrellas by a grateful public and there was even a song composed at the time that contained the lyrics, "You look swell holding your umbrella / All the world loves a wonderful fella".
Yet as war broke out in Europe, Chamberlain's trademark brolly was quickly seized upon by his enemies as a laughable symbol of his gentlemanly ineffectiveness and it became a lightening-rod for critics of appeasement. Declassified MI5 records reveal how Hitler mocked him for it - and Chamberlain's once so celebrated umbrella morphed from useful trademark into an embarrassing symbol of political weakness and pusillanimity.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
MON 20:00 Happy 2,500th to the Brave 300! (m000z5wl)
Is this the biggest anniversary programme ever made? Numerically speaking, it just might be.
This August Bank Holiday, the famed Battle of Thermopylae is 2500 years old precisely. To celebrate this unique jubilee, comedian and classicist Jon Harvey (the human alias of novelty politician Count Binface) separates myth from reality in the story of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans who held out against the mighty Persian army.
Featuring interviews from the worlds of classics, politics, film, extreme sports and non-league football, Jon explores the enduring popularity of history’s most famous heroic last stand.
Written, presented and produced by Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Polly Thomas
Production Support: Leah Marks
Edited by Jon Harvey and Paul Cargill
A Naked production for BBC Radio 4
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m000z0qd)
Catalonia: Squatters, Eviction and Extortion
Spain has a history of squatting. After the property crash of 2008 many families were forced to occupy homes that did not belong to them because they could not pay their mortgages. Now a darker side to ‘okupacion’ has emerged. Organised crime has seen an opportunity. Some flats in Barcelona have become ‘narcopisos’ - properties used to process or sell drugs. Other empty properties have been ‘sub-let’ by gangs to families who cannot afford a commercial rent. And the pandemic has spawned a new commercial model – extortion. These are cases where squatters occupy a property and demand a ‘ransom’ from the owner of several thousand Euros before they will leave. Enter the controversial ‘desokupa’ companies – firms run by boxers and bouncers who will evict unwanted 'tenants'.
Producer / Presenter: Linda Pressly
Producer / Presenter in Spain: Esperanza Escribano
Editor: Bridget Harney
(Image: Jorge Fe, director of FueraOkupas – a company dedicated to evicting squatters and unwanted tenants. Credit: BBC/Esperanza Escribano)
MON 21:00 China's Great Science Leap (m000yyqd)
Cells and Chips
President Xi Jinping is investing seriously into his strategic vision of turning China into a nation of scientific pace-setters. China’s past contributions to modern science have been proportionally lacklustre, but with a reinvigorated focus over the past two decades, China is fast turning from imitator to innovator. What might this increasing scientific prowess mean for the future of China’s development as well for the international scientific community?
Whereas once many Chinese scientists chose to go abroad to further their careers, presenter Dr Kevin Fong hears how the government has sought to lure its brightest researchers back. He asks what that means for both scientific collaborations and the culture of science in China and the UK. As scientific research relies on transparent information sharing, what are the challenges of collaborating with an authoritarian regime?
In this first episode, Kevin hears how Chinese science has advanced over recent decades following a low point during the Chinese Cultural revolution. He speaks to a Chinese bio-chemist about his career in the USA and finds out why he decided to move back to China to start a biotech business. At Loughborough University, Kevin meets a team of researchers working on Artificial Intelligence tools with Chinese counterparts, to help monitor and predict air pollution.
But is the UK an equal partner and beneficiary of these academic partnerships? As China is set to become the UK’s most significant research partner, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions, we examine how the UK might navigate these choppy waters and what the risks and benefits of scientific collaboration might be.
MON 21:30 How to Play (m000z5vd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z5wn)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z5vr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (m000yyr3)
Digital body language: how to work online
Michael Rosen gets advice from Erica Dhawan on the best ways to communicate on-screen, as people work and live more in zoom, text, social media and email rather than meeting up. We need to find new ways of talking to each other 'virtually'.
Erica Dhawan is the author of Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance.
Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol.
MON 23:30 Mastertapes (b01p71gb)
Series 1
The Zombies (the A-Side)
John Wilson concludes his series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 7. Forty five years after it was recorded, Rod Argent, Chris White and Colin Blunstone recall the making of the Zombies album 'Odessey And Oracle'. When it was released in 1968, after the band had split up, it was indifferently received. But since it has been described as: "one of the great undiscovered works of the psychedelic era" - Pitchfork; "an album that should grace any record collection... essential" - BBC; and "combining the adventure of Sgt. Pepper with the concision of British Invasion Pop" - Rolling Stone.
Those who have cited the Zombies as influences include everyone from Courtney Love to the Magic Numbers and from the Arctic Monkeys to Paul Weller. 'Odessey And Oracle' (the title was mis-spelt by the designer of the cover) contained only one stereotypically summer-of-love hit ('Time Of The Season') - the darker tones and dramatic third-person feel of much of the album (including the likes of 'Care of Cell 44', 'The Butcher's Tale' and 'A Rose For Emily') makes it sound ahead of its time.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
TUESDAY 31 AUGUST 2021
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000z5wq)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z5vg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z5ws)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z5wv)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000z5wx)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m000z5wz)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z5x1)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishva Samani
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000z5x3)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0n4w)
Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the displaying Raggiana bird-of-paradise from Papua New Guinea. An explosion of colour flashes across the tree canopy of a rainforest: male Raggiana birds-of-paradise, one of the most spectacularly coloured birds in the world, are displaying to one another. The Raggiana or Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise is Papua New Guinea's national bird and it's easy to see why. His yellow head and green throat are eye-catching enough but even more flamboyant are the long tufted flank feathers which he can raise into a fan of fine reddish-orange plumes. Males gather at traditional display sites quivering these enormous flaming plumes like cabaret dancers as they cling to an advantageous branch. The urgency of their display is underlined by frantic calls which echo through the canopy, in the hope he can impress the much plainer female to mate with him.
TUE 06:00 Today (m000z5hc)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Kindness Test (m000z5hf)
When was the last time you did something really kind for someone or someone else did something really kind for you?
In the Kindness Test Claudia Hammond and guests are looking at the place of kindness in today’s world, asking what it really means, what happens in our brains when we act kindly and whether there can ever be a role for it in the cut-throat worlds of business and politics.
And with many aspects of kindness remaining under-researched, with your help Claudia will be asking you to fill in the gaps ……
Producer: Erika Wright
TUE 09:45 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z5k3)
Episode 2
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise met for the first time at the Swansea Empire in the 1930s, while appearing as separate acts in one of Jack Hylton’s touring variety shows.
Both were successful child stars, and each recognised instantly a kindred spirit instantly, They were soon touring together with Sadie, Eric’s redoubtable mother, finding them digs and looking out for them.
They learnt their trade the hard way with periods of unemployment and several flops – on the Ed Sullivan show in New York they had to re-write virtually the entire act for the American sense of humour. But the hard won experience gained on the way up proved the making of them.
With brilliant writers like Eddie Braben, Morecambe and Wise found success first at ATV, then at the BBC with The Morecambe and Wise Show, which included stunning and legendary sketches awith Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Angela Rippon.
Morecambe and Wise had become a national institution. Their shows topped the ratings right up until the untimely death of Eric Morecambe in 1984. It's clear that, in their professional life, they were inseparable, fonder of each other than most brothers. After Eric’s death, Ernie Wise soldiered on professionally, but he was now only half a star, and it was clear that for the rest of his life, after a partnership of five decades, Ernie would be searching for Eric.
If Eric had lived, all they would have had to do for work would be to appear on stage as themselves, and they had had a lifetime’s experience for that.
Written by Louis Barfe
Reader: Penelope Keith
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z5hk)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 11:00 China's Great Science Leap (m000z5hm)
Satellites and Space
President Xi Jinping is investing seriously into his strategic vision of turning China into a nation of scientific pacesetters. China’s past contributions to modern-science have been proportionally lacklustre, but with a reinvigorated focus over the past two decades, China is fast turning from imitator to innovator. What might this increasing scientific prowess mean for the future of China’s development as well for the international scientific community?
Whereas once many Chinese scientists chose to go abroad to further their careers, presenter Dr Kevin Fong hears how the government has sought to lure its brightest researchers back and what that means for both scientific collaborations and the culture of science in China and the UK. As scientific research relies on transparent information sharing, what are the challenges of collaborating with an authoritarian regime?
In this second episode Kevin explores China’s booming space programme and quantum advancements; from a newly built space station to the launch of the world's first quantum satellite.
Kevin speaks to Professor Jian-Wei Pan, a scientist whose illustrious career is a list of quantum firsts and hears how China is fast making inroads into quantum computing and communications. We imagine what a quantum future - with China at the forefront - might look like and whether this potentially game-changing technology will be developed in a collaborative or competitive spirit.
TUE 11:30 How to Imagine the Future (m000z5hp)
Alok Jha examines ARIA, the UK's new body for cutting edge scientific research and explores the history of DARPA, the legendary American agency that inspired it.
Pioneering computer scientist Vint Cerf - who helped to create the internet while working for DARPA in the 1970's - shares the secrets of the the agency's success. Created by President Eisenhower, its brief was to imagine the future. And that's exactly what it did. As well as the internet, DARPA helped to create GPS, drone technology and voice recognition.
Science correspondent of The Economist Alok Jha assesses the UK government's plans to emulate DARPA here in Britain. Originally championed by the PM's former chief advisor Dominic Cummings, the government is in the process of creating ARIA, an £800m agency which will do the same sort of high risk, high reward research which DARPA has pioneered in the US.
But many aren't sure whether it will be possible to replicate DARPA in the UK. Sceptics are yet to be convinced that ARIA will share DARPA's cherished independence from government. And critics say that without DARPA's defence remit, ARIA will lack focus.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000z6c4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z5ht)
Episode 7
7/10. Gibb’s relationship with Jessie is proving a challenge and he decides to leave Glen Conach. But he doesn’t get far before he encounters an army officer with unwelcome news for the Baron and his family.
Read by Mark Bonnar
Producer: Bruce Young
TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m000z5hw)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m000z5hy)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m000z5j0)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z5j2)
Eat Better for the Planet
How to improve mass catering for the planet. Tom Heap considers how changing the menus in schools, hospitals and the armed forces could help in the fight against climate change.
Andy Jones, chair of the Public Sector Catering 100 Group, explains how his own farming family background informs his drive to reduce the amount of meat served in canteens and increase the choice of vegan and vegetarian options. Tom visits hospitals in Nottingham to see the drive in action and joins climate scientist, Dr Tamsin Edwards to consider the carbon impact of a broader shift from beef to beans.
Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Dr Rosie Robison from Anglia Ruskin University and to Dr Tara Garnett and Dr Peter Scarborough from the University of Oxford.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000z5j4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Brief Lives (m0008nzc)
Series 11
Episode 2
Brief Lives by Tom Fry & Sharon Kelly. Episode 2.
Frank and Sarah come across a teenager who has been beaten up. Is this just a street crime. Or something much more sinister.
FRANK...... David Schofield
SARAH........ Kathryn Hunt
NEIL .............Paul Barnhill
ROY.......... Chris Jack
PC EGAN..... Helen O’Hara
CHRIS.......... Ike Bennett
DC BRYANT...... Lloyd Peters
DOCTOR...........Hamilton Berstock
Director/Producer Gary Brown
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m000z5j6)
Tenderness
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about finding tenderness. Conversations with cats, the sound of a piano drifts through the night and a memory of old, lost love.
Curatorial team: Alia Cassam and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
Executive Producer: Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 My Name Is... (m000sqrg)
Hamza
Hamza Malik coaches basketball and martial arts, he's also studying to be a physiotherapist. He believes broadening access to sport can improve opportunities for disadvantaged kids
Alongside studying for his degree Hamza Malik coaches kids in the sports he loves: martial arts and basketball. He's based in the Mandela Centre in Leeds and since lock-down he's seen kids go one of three ways: sticking with the more limited fitness opportunities online; just dropping out altogether; or rising to the challenge and securing opportunities they couldn’t have foreseen. But he believes it didn’t need to be such a lottery and especially one that falls so heavily on those with so little.
Across the UK kids sports have suffered, from swimming lessons through to basketball, which is now suspended – Hamza says there is still no guidance on when players can get back into training. He's worried that mixed messages, stop start regulations and the long periods of absence, will permanently set back a lot of what had been achieved. He speaks to youngsters who have embraced these disruptions and made the best of the situation; with one securing a place at a prestigious prep school and with eyes on the NBA.
As well as the success stories, he's seen the impact of youngsters deciding not to continue and he worries about what will happen. Some of those hardest hit had used sport to stay engaged. They don’t have the facilities available to private schools and with most leisure centres closed or access restricted there’s a big loss on many levels. Hamza is keen to pursue those in a position to help in an attempt to secure the kind of funding and commitments necessary to really ensure that talent and potential won’t be lost forever.
TUE 16:00 The Whistling Woman (b053721k)
Soprano and broadcaster Catherine Bott explores the art of whistling. It was once thought to be bad luck or unsuitable for a woman but Catherine herself is an inveterate whistler, often finding herself doing so unconsciously when she is doing her shopping.
Catherine considers the myths surrounding whistling women. She meets Sheila Harrod, a former champion whistler and celebrates the remarkable career of Ronnie Ronalde who was a huge whistling star in the 1940s and 50s.
Catherine speaks to Tamas Hacki, a former professional whistler and doctor who has studied the physiology of whistling compared with singing. And she learns about whistling as a means of communication in places like the Spanish island of La Gomera.
With contributions from John Lucas who has co-authored a history of whistling, Julien Meyer who has researched whistled speech and has written a book about it, and Simon and Eleanor Grant.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m000z5j8)
Josiah Wedgwood, master potter
When Josiah Wedgwood had part of an injured leg amputed, he encouraged his workers to celebrate the anniversary as St Amputation Day. This remarkable man from Stoke on Trent built a pottery empire that made him famous round the world. He's nominated here, on location, by the former MP for Stoke Central, Tristram Hunt, now head of the Victoria and Albert museum in London. The programme includes an interview with the head of Royal Staffordshire, Norman Tempest, plus readings from Brian Dolan's biography, The First Tycoon.
Tristram Hunt's latest book is called The Radical Potter.
The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer for BBC audio in Bristol is ex-Stoke resident Miles Warde
TUE 17:00 PM (m000z5jb)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z5jg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 The Birthday Cake Game (m000z5jj)
Series 1
Episode 1
A brand new comedic quiz hosted by Richard Osman that poses one simple question - do you know how old people are? Part quiz show, part panel show, and sometimes part chat show - The Birthday Cake Game is always play-along and full of entertaining guesses, with some surprising take home facts.
The trio joining Richard this week, battling to prove they're the best at working out ages and to take home the coveted birthday cake, are Jayne Sharp, Ed Gamble and Beattie Edmondson. Tune in to find out who comes out on top and see if you can beat the players and score higher at home.
Production Manager: Ellie Threlfall
Production Executive: Gemma Whitford
Producer: Tamara Gilder
A Remarkable production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000z5jn)
Tracy lends a helping hand and Lilian admits the truth
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000z5jq)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 19:45 Prime Ministers' Props (b07nrlqn)
Series 1
Stanley Baldwin's Iron Gates
Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader - from Winston Churchill's cigar and siren suit to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.
Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.
In 1937, Stanley Baldwin retired in what was considered a blaze of glory, and he expected to live out his remaining days as a revered elder statesman behind his wrought-iron gates at his country estate, Astley Hall. But the Second World War changed everything and Baldwin's reputation collapsed when he became the scapegoat for Britain being ill-equipped to fight Hitler.
The problem became centred on his iron gates when, in September 1941, Stanley Baldwin's old enemy, Lord Beaverbrook, asked all local authorities to survey their area's iron and steel gates for requisitioning as scrap metal. Baldwin duly applied for exemption for the Astley Hall gates on the grounds of artistic merit. However Beaverbrook bit back and Baldwin's gates became something of a cause celebre and the focus for a national campaign hounding an old appeaser who was now seen to be hampering the war effort.
Stanley Baldwin's iron gates at Astley Hall were eventually removed, all except the pair of presentation gates given to him by the Worcestershire Association on his retirement. Sir David Cannadine goes in search of Baldwin's remaining gates to find out what happened to them.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
TUE 20:00 After Merkel (m000z5js)
After 16 years as chancellor of one of the world's most powerful nations, the unassuming East German scientist turned power politician, Angela Merkel, remains a bit of an enigma. And at the end of September, her time in power comes to an end.
BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler asks now that the woman dubbed Mutti, or Mummy, is leaving politics, if history books will deem her a political visionary or more of a middle manager. And what will be the impact of Angela Merkel's departure on her country and the EU? Influential Germany has traditionally been a close ally of the UK's. What happens there has an impact on us all.
Contributors include France's Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire; former Brexit Secretary David Davis; Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister; the Scottish Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson; and the journalist for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Helene Bubrowski.
Presenter: Katya Adler
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Camellia Sinclair
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000z5jv)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Curating the Future (m000drly)
Museum of the Future
In an increasingly digital world, museums are responding to calls for greater digital access and the potential of immersive technology. With the Directors of the Tate, National Gallery and British Museum, Tristram asks whether and other institutions, Tristram asks whether digital technology undermines or enhances the role and function of museums and galleries. How important is the aura of authenticity or are visitors now more interested in downloading a Rembrandt or Vermeer ?
And, as financial power heads east to the Gulf and China, Tristram explores the wonders of some of the world's newest museums and galleries asks how older institutions can compete.
Producer: Julia Johnson
TUE 21:30 The Kindness Test (m000z5hf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z5jy)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z5ht)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (p06pz0kx)
68. Dress smart, jock smart… with London Hughes
Fi and Jane congratulate each other on winning Funniest Show at the ARIA radio awards! They’re joined by comedian and presenter London Hughes who shares stories about a nightmare date, her amazing dancing grandma, and overturning racial stereotypes.
TUE 23:30 Mastertapes (b01pbq46)
Series 1
The Zombies (the B-Side)
John Wilson concludes his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 7, the B-side. Having discussed the making of the Zombies' seminal 1968 album, "Odessey & Oracle" (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Tuesday 11th December and available online), Rod Argent, Chris White and Colin Blunstone responds to questions from the audience and perform live versions of some of the songs from the album, still held in such high regard.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
WEDNESDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2021
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000z5k1)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z5k3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z5k6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z5k8)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000z5kb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m000z5kd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z5kg)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishva Samani
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000z5kj)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlpgv)
Vegetarian Tree Finch
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Chris Packham presents the vegetarian tree finch on the Galapagos Islands. These streaky sparrow-like birds found on the Galapagos Islands may look rather plain, but belong to the evolutionary elite, having attracted the attention of Charles Darwin on his visit there in 1835. Darwin noticed that the fourteen or so species of finches, which he concluded were derived from a common ancestor on this isolate archipelago, had evolved bills adapted to the type of food available. The Vegetarian finch has a bill rather like a parrot's, with thick curved mandibles and a biting tip which also allows it to manipulate seeds, similar to a parrot or budgie. Vegetarian finches are especially fond of the sugar-rich twigs of certain shrubs and are use the biting tip of their bills to strip off the bark to reach the softer sweeter tissues beneath: a niche that other finches on Galapagos haven't exploited yet.
WED 06:00 Today (m000z6cb)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m000z6cd)
Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life.
WED 09:30 Four Thought (m000z6cg)
Who Owns Space?
Simon Morden argues that we should resist the privatisation of space.
Simon is a scientist and science fiction writer, and in this talk he reflects on what science fiction has taught us. "We know about the hubris of science through Frankenstein, we know of totalitarian state-controlled media through 1984, and we also know it’s a terrible idea to break quarantine protocols through the film Alien," he says. "Science fiction doesn’t prevent us from doing those things, but we can’t say we didn’t know what the results would be." Simon is concerned that science fiction has also shown us a dark future where the coming era of space exploration - and the exploitation of extra-terrestrial objects - is dominated by private companies. It is one he is keen to avoid.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 09:45 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z6dx)
Episode 3
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise met for the first time at the Swansea Empire in the 1930s, while appearing as separate acts in one of Jack Hylton’s touring variety shows.
Both were successful child stars, and each recognised instantly a kindred spirit instantly, They were soon touring together with Sadie, Eric’s redoubtable mother, finding them digs and looking out for them.
They learnt their trade the hard way with periods of unemployment and several flops – on the Ed Sullivan show in New York they had to re-write virtually the entire act for the American sense of humour. But the hard won experience gained on the way up proved the making of them.
With brilliant writers like Eddie Braben, Morecambe and Wise found success first at ATV, then at the BBC with The Morecambe and Wise Show, which included stunning and legendary sketches awith Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Angela Rippon.
Morecambe and Wise had become a national institution. Their shows topped the ratings right up until the untimely death of Eric Morecambe in 1984. It's clear that, in their professional life, they were inseparable, fonder of each other than most brothers. After Eric’s death, Ernie Wise soldiered on professionally, but he was now only half a star, and it was clear that for the rest of his life, after a partnership of five decades, Ernie would be searching for Eric.
If Eric had lived, all they would have had to do for work would be to appear on stage as themselves, and they had had a lifetime’s experience for that.
Written by Louis Barfe
Reader: Penelope Keith
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z6cl)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 Happy 2,500th to the Brave 300! (m000z5wl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 The Pin (b08yqb9k)
Series 3
Ep 3: Stocks
"The most exciting new comedy duo working today" - David Walliams
Their hugely successful second series won critical acclaim and a slew of awards. Now double-act The Pin are back with more of their trademark offbeat nonsense.
In this episode, in a bid to diversify, Alex and Ben are attempting to enter the world of high finance...
"One of the smartest, punchiest new comedy duos to have appeared in a while...had me laughing out loud on my own in an empty room" The Guardian
"Exquisitely silly and very funny...makes you feel as though you might be hearing the next Mitchell and Webb" The Times
"Genuine moments of hilarity and a real breath of comedic fresh air" RadioTimes
Written and performed by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen.
Featuring Liam Williams.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
A BBC Studios Production.
WED 12:00 News Summary (m000z6m4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z6cq)
Episode 8
8/10. In 1809, Jessie persuades Gibb to stay in the glen - but what will be their fate? In the present day, Lachie brings Maja further news of the ghost, prompting memories of a young girl who came to the glen many years before.
Read by Mark Bonnar and Phyllis Logan
Producer: Bruce Young
WED 12:18 You and Yours (m000z6cs)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m000z6cv)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m000z6cx)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z6cz)
Better Blocks
Concrete blocks are the foundations of the modern world but they could be greener. Tom Heap meets Colin Hills and his team turning waste dust and carbon dioxide into building materials.
Professor Hills of the University of Greenwich has developed a technique that mimics natural processes, using carbon dioxide as a glue to form stone aggregates from waste dust left behind by heavy industry. The spin-off company, Carbon 8 Systems, has compressed the process into a shipping container and now makes building materials in the UK and France with this clever carbon-munching technique. Colin's colleague, Nimisha Tripathi wants to adapt the system for the developing world, choosing waste from her native India- things like pistachio shells and banana skin- to make a tailored range of building products relevant to the region in which they're made.
Tamsin Edwards of King's College London joins Tom to consider just how much carbon dioxide we can remove from the atmosphere by developing this new generation of bricks and mortar.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Series Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Paul Fennell and Dr Rupert Myers of Imperial College London and to Professor Karen Scrivener of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
WED 14:00 The Archers (m000z5jn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (m0007ymd)
Tinsel Girl and the Pain Clinic
Uplifting comedy drama about the life, friendships and misadventures of wheelchair user Maz. Starring and inspired by Cherylee Houston. Written by Lou Ramsden
Normally sparky Maz hits rock bottom. In her darkest place yet her only option is a stay at a pain clinic. She reluctantly checks herself in and by doing so, embarks on an adventure, transforming a ward of unhappy, uncommunicative patients into a place of mischief and friendship. But by changing other people's outlooks, will Maz also be forced to change her own?
MAZ .....Cherylee Houston
RACHEL/STUDENT.....Kathryn Pemberton
JULIET/ MRS COATES....Krissi Bohn
DAWN.....Julie Hesmondhalgh
RICHARD.....Kevin Davids
BERNIE/ ED/ DS WARREN/ SPECIALIST.....Toby Hadoke
Directed by Nadia Molinari
This drama is dedicated to Ian from Bath Pain Clinic.
WED 15:00 The Hangover (m000z5gp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
WED 15:30 Prison Break (m000vrj2)
Episode 3: Decriminalisation
Former 'prison wife' Josie Bevan confronts the failings of the prison system.
Josie visits Devon to meet the family of Luke, who died aged 16 after taking ecstasy. With Luke's sister and mother, she talks with the teenage boy who had supplied the tablets and who they saved from a prison sentence.
Illegal drugs are a major factor both in who ends up in prison and what goes on there. Josie talks with former prison governor Ian Acheson about order and safety in our jails and with Niamh Eastwood of Release about why she believes criminalisation is more harmful than drugs.
Josie's previous podcast series Prison Bag - one family's unflinching confrontation with the prison system - is available on BBC Sounds.
Produced by Rebecca Lloyd-Evans and Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (m000z6d2)
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m000z6d4)
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
WED 17:00 PM (m000z6d6)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z6db)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 My Teenage Diary (m000z6dd)
Series 10
Deborah Frances White
Rufus Hound's guest is the comedian, writer and podcaster Deborah Frances White, who reads from her teenage diaries. She talks about growing up as a Jehovah's Witness - can her conversion be linked to the moment she wasn't picked for the Inter-School Dance Competition?
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m000z6dg)
There’s a near miss for Justin and Alistair’s situation becomes ever more complicated
WED 19:15 Front Row (m000z6dj)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 19:45 Prime Ministers' Props (b07pgwg1)
Series 1
Anthony Eden's Homburg Hat
Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader - from Winston Churchill's cigar and siren suit to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.
Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.
Anthony Eden was one of the briefest serving Prime Ministers of modern times, and his name became inseparably linked with the Suez fiasco of 1956, from which his reputation has never recovered. But in the earlier stages of his political career, Eden was widely regarded as the most attractive and glamorous figure in British public life. These qualities were both proclaimed and symbolised by his Homburg hat, which he briefly made fashionable when it became known as the Eden on Savile Row. In fact, Anthony Eden is the only British Prime Minister, apart from the Duke of Wellington, to have had an item of apparel named after him.
But with Eden's fall from grace, the Eden hat was quickly forgotten and one biographer wrote scathingly in the 1960s, "who wears an Anthony Eden hat today?"
And while we still use the phrase Wellington boot, and remember the victor of Waterloo, the Eden Homburg, and the man who gave his name to it, have both been largely forgotten.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
WED 20:00 Behind the Crime (m000z6dl)
As a society, we send close to 100,000 people to prison each year. But what happens to people while they’re behind bars?
Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken are forensic psychologists who work in prisons.
Their role is to help people in prison look at the harm they’ve caused to other people, understand why it happened and figure out how to make changes to prevent further offending after they’ve been released.
In Behind the Crime, they take the time to understand the life of someone who’s ended up in prison, and what happened afterwards.
In this episode, they talk to 23 year-old Courtney, a mum who received a five-year sentence for her part in a series of armed robberies at the age of 17.
Through the course of the conversation, they explore some of the key events in Courtney’s life and track some of the threads that led her down a path to prison.
At the same time, Sally and Kerensa explain some of the methods they use to reach the core factors that can lead to people harming others – and how they then work with people in prison to prevent further harm from happening in the future.
Producer: Andrew Wilkie
Editor: Hugh Levinson
A BBC Radio Current Affairs and Prison Radio Association co-production for BBC Radio 4
Image: Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken. Credit: Christopher Terry/Prison Radio Association
WED 20:45 Four Thought (m000z6cg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 21:00 My Name Is... (m000s80b)
My Name Is Elvis
Elvis lives in Stroud in Gloucestershire. He makes a living performing poems to a paying audience who sometimes also buy his books. But Elvis hasn't seen a real audience since Burns Night 2020. As lockdown two begins, he seeks advice on how to carry on. Funny, uplifting and filled with his trademark verse, this is the story of a man, his charismatic alter ego, and his cats.
With contributions from Mrs Elvis, plus Luke Wright, who did 100 online shows in 100 days; Lottie and Miles from the Prince Albert pub, home to many raucous nights in Stroud; and the producer Frank Stirling, who explains the joys of the virtual audience.
Produced in Bristol by Miles Warde
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000z6d4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z6dn)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z6cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
WED 23:00 Helen Lewis: Great Wives (m000z6dq)
Series 1
Muses
For two decades, Great Lives on Radio 4 has explored what it takes to change the world. But Helen Lewis wants to ask a different question: what does it take to live with someone who changes the world?
Behind the history of genius lies a second, hidden history: the stories of people who give geniuses the time they need to flourish. This series explores the many "supporting roles" needed to sustain an apparently "singular" genius.
In this episode Helen turns her attention to the role of the Muse as she meets many and various historical figures from Elizabeth Siddal to Dora Maar via Alice B Toklas.
Written by Helen Lewis with additional voices from Joshua Higgott
Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
A BBC Studios Production
WED 23:15 Tricky (p08w21ph)
Why is Depression Still Stigmatised?
Tricky is the place to discuss difficult questions away from the bear pit of social media.
Musician James Alexander Graham, film maker Harleen Nottay, yoga teacher Finlay Wilson & artist Ruby Streek discuss the stigma around depression and what people don't get about it.
Despite more information being available than ever, depression is still a subject people are reluctant to talk about. Our panel explore why that's still the case and how they live with depression. They've all had experiences that show there's still plenty people don't understand and this can lead the uneducated to make blunders big and small.
Producers: Myles Bonnar and Peter McManus
Editor: Anthony Browne
A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4
WED 23:30 Mastertapes (b02mfzt8)
Series 2
Richard Thompson (A-Side)
John Wilson continues with the second series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 3, A-side. "Rumor And Sigh" - Richard Thompson
Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of all time, Richard looks back at the making of what is not just his most commercially successful album, but also one of the high points of his career. It was album that earned him a Grammy Nomination for the Best Alternative Music Album (he lost out R.E.M.) and it captures Thompson's obsession with romantic despair and the more miserable quirks of fate. And yet, like all good tragedy, it does not sound depressing - it is instead life affirming.
Richard has said that the albums he considered "successful" were those where his initial concept most closely matched the finished product. By this yardstick, 'Rumor And Sigh' was one of his most successful albums, containing such tracks as "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", "God Loves A Drunk" and "Why Must I Plead".
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
THURSDAY 02 SEPTEMBER 2021
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000z6dt)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z6dx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z6f2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z6f6)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000z6fb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m000z6ff)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z6fl)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishva Samani
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000z6fq)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09v2x52)
Andy Clements on Pink-footed Geese
Andy Clements of the British Trust for Ornithology explains why he finds the sound of Pink-footed Geese so exciting as they fly overhead calling to one another.
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 encounters with nature and reflections on our relationship with the natural world.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Mark Rhodes.
THU 06:00 Today (m000z6rm)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Citizens of Somewhere (m000z6rp)
Stoke-on-Trent
John Harris of the Guardian presents a new series telling the story of the UK in 2021 through the voices and stories of ordinary people in four places with a distinctive identity.
In this programme, he and his producer Leala Padmanabhan visit the Midlands city of Stoke-on-Trent, a place steeped in history - the pottery industry, coal mining and the birth of the musical sub culture Northern Soul.
The city also reflects some changes that have recently re-aligned British politics. Nearly 70 per cent of Stoke's voters backed leave in the 2016 EU referendum. Its three parliamentary seats were held by Labour for decades, but are now Conservative. The city is one of the key places the prime minister Boris Johnson says he wants to 'level up' by improving infrastructure, opportunities and community life. We ask the Conservative leader of Stoke city council, Abi Brown, for her views on 'levelling up' and what she wants to see central government deliver for Stoke's citizens.
People in Stoke's towns of Tunstall and Burslem tell us about their lives - emerging from the pandemic, the state of their communities, work, Brexit and how they think the city should be improved.
We discuss the impact of the decline of the pottery industry with some describing it as a 'bereavement' for the city but we also visit one of Stoke's enduring and successful ceramics firms, Royal Stafford in Burslem.
Finally, we visit the buzzing cultural quarter in Hanley to talk to young entrepreneurs, including the owner of a craft ale bar and restaurant, Bottlecraft.
Producer: Leala Padmanabhan
Mixed by Hal Haines
THU 09:30 Questions Answered (m000vynx)
Anthony
Anita Anand and Chris Mason learn more about the lives of some of the listeners of Any Questions and Any Answers. Today we hear from Anthony who actually called Any Answers twice, the second time after a dramatic change in his circumstances. He came to Broadcasting House to talk to Anita.
THU 09:45 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z6sf)
Episode 4
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise met for the first time at the Swansea Empire in the 1930s, while appearing as separate acts in one of Jack Hylton’s touring variety shows.
Both were successful child stars, and each recognised instantly a kindred spirit instantly, They were soon touring together with Sadie, Eric’s redoubtable mother, finding them digs and looking out for them.
They learnt their trade the hard way with periods of unemployment and several flops – on the Ed Sullivan show in New York they had to re-write virtually the entire act for the American sense of humour. But the hard won experience gained on the way up proved the making of them.
With brilliant writers like Eddie Braben, Morecambe and Wise found success first at ATV, then at the BBC with The Morecambe and Wise Show, which included stunning and legendary sketches awith Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Angela Rippon.
Morecambe and Wise had become a national institution. Their shows topped the ratings right up until the untimely death of Eric Morecambe in 1984. It's clear that, in their professional life, they were inseparable, fonder of each other than most brothers. After Eric’s death, Ernie Wise soldiered on professionally, but he was now only half a star, and it was clear that for the rest of his life, after a partnership of five decades, Ernie would be searching for Eric.
If Eric had lived, all they would have had to do for work would be to appear on stage as themselves, and they had had a lifetime’s experience for that.
Written by Louis Barfe
Reader: Penelope Keith
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z6rv)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m000z6ww)
Series focusing on foreign affairs issues. Producer: Bridget Harney
THU 11:30 Song of the Thames (m000z6wy)
Singer and song collector Sam Lee traces the wonders of the distinctly English chalk stream, with a journey along the largest and most famous, the River Thames.
Beginning at its source in the idyllic Cotswold countryside and following the majestic water all the way to its most famous stretch through central London, he unearths the untold origins of England's best-known river.
Through folklore, music, ecology and lives along 215 miles of river, he discovers the past, present and future influence of a stretch of water with deep cultural roots stretching through the heart of England. Who is fed and who is starved by the river now and what does it mean to the people who live along its banks?
From storyteller, Druid and coracle maker Chris Park at Thames Head, via singer and land rights activist Nick Park on his houseboat in Oxfordshire, Debbie Leach of Thames 21 helping communities reconnect with and clean up the river in London, retired Thames lighterman Dave Jessop and members of religious communities who recognise the Thames in their worship, to author Rachel Lichtenstein in the Essex marshes, Sam explores a flow of ideas flowing from source to sea.
By the end, we are a world away from the pure waters of the river's beginnings, and Sam and his band of pilgrims will offer up a requiem for the world's greatest chalk stream, as we are enveloped in the pulsing sounds of the river crashing into the North Sea.
Presenter: Sam Lee
Producer: Michael Umney
Executive Producer: Katherine Godfrey
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m000z6x0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z6s9)
Episode 9
9/10. In 1945, a young girl arrives in the glen in curious circumstances. She is found, covered in soot and seemingly unable to speak, hiding under the back seat of the school bus.
Reader: Phyllis Logan
Producer: Bruce Young
THU 12:18 You and Yours (m000z6x2)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
THU 12:57 Weather (m000z6x4)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m000z6x6)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z6x8)
Black Gold
Biochar is an idea thousands of years old but one that seemed to have been (foolishly) lost by many along the way.
Like charcoal, biochar is made by baking wood in the absence of oxygen and then quenched. It can then be ground down and worked into the soil to improve fertility and crop yields. It's believed to have been applied thousands of years ago in the Amazon, to generate the Terra Preta.
The biochar locks in much of the carbon captured by the trees and stabilises it. Tom meets Forester Dave Faulkner and his team at Whittlewood to see the productions process in Northamptonshire.
Meanwhile, Josiah Hunt experimented with the process in Hawaii and now supplies across California. As well as capturing carbon and improving the soils, he says they're removing liability wood to reduce forest fires and are helping to produce green electricity.
Can this ancient process help bring new hope?
Producer Anne-Marie Bullock
Researcher Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Stuart Haszeldine and Dr Ondřej Mašek from the University of Edinburgh and the UK Biochar Research Centre.
THU 14:00 The Archers (m000z6dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (m0008wlf)
Song and Dance
by Barney Norris.
Anne and Pete have gone bird watching with their friend Martin when he dies suddenly of a heart attack. They have to make the long journey back home and visit his widow, but his sudden death forces them to confront their own feelings.
Anne ..... Susan Brown
Pete ..... Robin Soans
Eleanor ..... Tessa Peake-Jones
Directed by Sally Avens
Barney Norris is a critically acclaimed playwright, poet and author. His debut full-length play VISITORS won the Critics Circle Award 2014 for Most Promising Playwright. He was also shortlisted for the prestigious Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Most Promising Playwright, the Writers Guild of Great Britain 2014 award for Best Play and the Best New Play Award at the Off West End Theatre Awards 2014. His play 'The Queen of The Isle of Wight' has recently been broadcast on Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m000z6xb)
A Sunny Stomp on the Pentland Hills
Clare hikes with the inspirational adventurers Hazel and Luke Robertson on the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. They are mountain leaders, polar explorers and public speakers with many personal experiences to draw upon. Hazel spent four years of her childhood growing up in Canada and Alaska, which developed her love of the outdoors. At the age of 30, Luke became the first Scot to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole. This was in 2016, just two years after major brain surgery. Both are originally from the North East of Scotland, but now live in Edinburgh from where they run their company 'Everyday Exploring'. They've chosen to take Clare on one of their favourite local walks: Starting at Bonaly (Grid Ref: NT 211 674) they head up White Hill and onto Capelaw hoping, first, for views across the three bridges that span the Firth of Forth and then a broader view taking in more of the Pentlands range. See the 'related links' box on the Ramblings webpage for more information about what's been discussed in the programme.
Presenter: Clare Balding
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000z5m5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m000z5np)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m000z6xd)
Film programme looking at the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m000z6s5)
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m000z6xg)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z6xj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Dr Phil's Bedside Manner (m000z6xl)
Series 1
Dr Phil visits Birmingham City Hospital
An innovative mix of comedy performance and documentary in a new series presented by Dr Phil Hammond.
As a doctor and a comedian, Phil knows that humour and laughter are vital coping mechanisms in the NHS, as he travels the UK on a mission to listen to the beating heart of a national institution.
The programmes are an adventurous, hilarious, thought provoking mix of humour and happiness, tragedy and reflection as the personal thoughts, opinions, experiences and hopes of people who work for and use the NHS are revealed.
In each programme, Phil visits one NHS hospital somewhere in the UK and speaks to porters and patients, cleaners and cardiologists, visitors and volunteers, the managers and the medics.
And at each location Dr Phil performs a free stand-up comedy show for the staff based on his listening experiences at that location and the stories of the people he has met.
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m000z6rz)
Writer, Adrian Flynn
Directors, Kim Greengrass & Jeremy Howe
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Justin Elliott … Simon Williams
Jakob Hakansson ….. Paul Venables
Tracy Horrobin … Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jazzer McCreary … Ryan Kelly
Denise … Clare Perkins
Nancy … Frances Barber
THU 19:15 Front Row (m000z6s1)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 19:45 Prime Ministers' Props (b07qbcb0)
Series 1
Sir Alec Douglas-Home's Matchsticks
Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader.
Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.
The aristocratic Sir Alec Douglas-Home appeared removed both from the majority of the British people and, to some extent, the modern world itself. He showed the depth of his inexperience when he casually commented to a reporter that he used matchsticks to help him understand economic problems. "When I have to read economic documents I have to have a box of matches and start moving them into position to simplify and illustrate the points to myself."
It was a gift for Leader of the Opposition, Harold Wilson, who used the matchstick comment to goad and embarrass the Conservative Prime Minister at every opportunity. The matchsticks came to define Sir Alec's inadequacies as leader and, when it came to problem-solving, his ultimately successful opponent Wilson was more familiar with slide rules than matchsticks.
Home's premiership was the second briefest of the twentieth century, lasting just two days short of a year. Who knows what would have happened if Sir Alec hadn't made that careless matchstick comment.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000z6s3)
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 20:30 Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket (m000xkyc)
Planet B
Why does Elon Musk believe he can save the world by colonising Mars? When PayPal was bought for $1.5 billion, Elon Musk and other company founders made huge personal fortunes. Musk used his to start the rocket company, SpaceX. He also began talking about very big plans for the future of humanity. He wanted humans to become ‘a multi-planetary species’ and said he was accumulating resources to 'extend the light of consciousness to the stars’. Soon he was talking about humans moving permanently to Mars. Future-of-humanity questions used to belong to religion and philosophy. Under ‘Muskism’ they belong more to engineering and entrepreneurship. Jill Lepore traces the history of Silicon Valley's fascination with existential catastrophism. In the second of five programmes, strap in to head to Mars.
The Evening Rocket is presented by Jill Lepore, Professor of American History at Harvard University and staff writer at The New Yorker. Her latest book is If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future. She is also the host of The Last Archive, a podcast from Pushkin Industries.
Producer: Viv Jones
Researcher: Oliver Riskin-Kutz
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Mixing: Graham Puddifoot
Original music by Corntuth
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000z6s5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 Citizens of Somewhere (m000z6rp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z6s7)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z6s9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
THU 23:00 The Absolutely Radio Show (b08wmyc7)
Series 2
Episode 2
The cast of TV's hugely popular sketch show return for their second series on BBC Radio 4. Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes revisit some of their much-loved sketch characters, while also introducing some newcomers to the show.
In 2013, the group that made their name on Channel Four in the 1980s and 90s got back together for Radio 4's Sketchorama: Absolutely Special - which won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Live Scripted Comedy. The first series of The Absolutely Radio Show picked up a Celtic Media Award nomination for Best Radio Comedy.
Cast:
Peter Baikie
Morwenna Banks
Moray Hunter
Gordon Kennedy
John Sparkes
Gus Beattie
Gordon Kennedy
Produced by Gordon Kennedy and Gus Beattie.
An Absolutely/Gusman production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Mastertapes (b02mxyzm)
Series 2
Richard Thompson (B-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 3, the B-side. Having discussed the making of "Rumor And Sigh", not just his most commercially successful album, but also a high point of his career (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 10th June and available online), Richard Thompson responds to questions from the audience. He also performs live versions of some to the tracks from the album as well as classic tracks from his days with Fairport Convention.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRIDAY 03 SEPTEMBER 2021
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000z6sc)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z6sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000z6sh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000z6sk)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m000z6sm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m000z6sp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000z6sr)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishva Samani
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000z6st)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09wvgfw)
Mark Cocker on the Curlew
High in the Derbyshire hills the bubbling melancholic sound of the curlew lifts nature writer Mark Cocker's heart in this Tweet of the Day.
Producer Tim Dee
Photograph: Kevin Carolan.
FRI 06:00 Today (m000z784)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 The Reunion (m000z5my)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe (m000z78r)
Episode 5
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise met for the first time at the Swansea Empire in the 1930s, while appearing as separate acts in one of Jack Hylton’s touring variety shows.
Both were successful child stars, and each recognised instantly a kindred spirit instantly, They were soon touring together with Sadie, Eric’s redoubtable mother, finding them digs and looking out for them.
They learnt their trade the hard way with periods of unemployment and several flops – on the Ed Sullivan show in New York they had to re-write virtually the entire act for the American sense of humour. But the hard won experience gained on the way up proved the making of them.
With brilliant writers like Eddie Braben, Morecambe and Wise found success first at ATV, then at the BBC with The Morecambe and Wise Show, which included stunning and legendary sketches awith Andre Previn, Shirley Bassey and Angela Rippon.
Morecambe and Wise had become a national institution. Their shows topped the ratings right up until the untimely death of Eric Morecambe in 1984. It's clear that, in their professional life, they were inseparable, fonder of each other than most brothers. After Eric’s death, Ernie Wise soldiered on professionally, but he was now only half a star, and it was clear that for the rest of his life, after a partnership of five decades, Ernie would be searching for Eric.
If Eric had lived, all they would have had to do for work would be to appear on stage as themselves, and they had had a lifetime’s experience for that.
Written by Louis Barfe
Reader: Penelope Keith
Abridger: Libby Spurrier
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000z788)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 The Digital Human (m0009z7s)
Series 18
Character Witness
Gangs are territorial, every street, every block is mapped out according to who’s in charge, where. It’s still true today. But now that the internet is where we do so much of our social lives, gangland has also gone online. Territory isn’t just where you physically operate, but where the mind wanders as well, but what happens when staking out territory online is then used as evidence to convict you in the real world? In this episode, we’re looking at what this means for the people caught up in gang warfare, how a social media profile can keep you safe but at the same time be used as a character witness against you. Featuring former gang members and gang mediators from Chicago Aleks finds out how social media along with poverty is trapping young people in fractured communities, into a cycle of violence and revenge.
Produced by Kate Bissell
With thanks to YBH Honcho for the use of his music
FRI 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (m000z78w)
A Deadly Habit
Episode 1
by Jeremy Front
based on the novel by Simon Brett
When Charles gets offered a job in a verbatim theatre piece set in a monastery he isn't very enthusiastic but at least it saves him from having to do anymore D.I.Y for Frances. Before too long disaster strikes the production and Charles once again is on the trail of a murderer.
Charles ..... Bill Nighy
Frances ..... Suzanne Burden
Maurice ..... Jon Glover
Lydia ..... Ria Marshall
Kit ..... Joseph Ayre
Justin ..... Tony Turner
Brendan ..... Jonathan Kydd
Nina ..... Marilyn Nnadebe
Bar manger ..... Stewart Campbell
Directed by Sally Avens
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000z793)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:04 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z78s)
Episode 10
10/10. The identity of the mysterious “dumb lass” is gradually revealed. Still unable or unwilling to speak, she shows a talent for art and signs a painting of the glen with her real name.
Reader: Phyllis Logan
Producer: Bruce Young
FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m000z797)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
FRI 12:57 Weather (m000z79d)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m000z79j)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Jonny Dymond
FRI 13:45 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z79l)
New Nuclear
Nuclear power should be a powerful ally in the fight against climate change but cost and safety issues hold it back. Could a new generation be safer and cheaper? Tom Heap meets the team behind the molten salt reactor that can use nuclear waste as fuel and is claimed to be significantly cheaper and safer than current reactors.
Ian Scott was a senior scientist at Unilever, pioneering research into skin-ageing, but when he retired from the field of biological sciences he became fascinated by the costs of nuclear power. Why had nuclear electricity- which we'd once been promised would be 'too cheap to meter'- become one of the most expensive forms of energy generation. The answer lay with the safety mechanisms that have to be built-in to reduce the risk of another Chernobyl or Fukushima. If he could develop a system that would be much safer then it would, almost certainly, be much cheaper.
Scott's central idea- to use molten salt as a coolant rather than water- caught the eye of energy authorities in Canada and Ian's company, Moltex, has plans to build its first reactor in New Brunswick. Significant safety concerns remain, with some in Canada concerned about Moltex plans to use spent fuel from conventional reactors and others raising fundamental issues about the corrosive qualities of molten salt and the generation of radioactive tritium
Tom visits the Moltex laboratories and climate scientist, Tamsin Edwards, gauges the potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Ian Farnan and Dr Eugene Shwageraus from the University of Cambridge.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000z6rz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Nuremberg (m000z79n)
Because They Started It, by Jonathan Myerson
June 1945 and, with the Nazis under arrest, the Allies must now decide what to do with them.
Washington wants a trial while, in London, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is happy with a summary court martial. But if you put them on trial, what is the charge?
Seen through the eyes of Diana, a Whitehall secretary, the tortured negotiations unfold, edging towards the creation of a totally new sort of trial. Churchill wants the top 50 put against a wall and shot; Stalin wants them to have a show trial and then be shot. But following the sudden death of Roosevelt, the new US President Truman insists on formal justice.
Whose trial procedure should they adopt? Russia and France don’t use cross-examination and America is insisting on a charge of conspiracy, unknown in France. But procedure is nothing compared to the problem of the Four Indictments. They end up having to invent new words – Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide.
Cast:
The Hon. Diana Ravenscourt - KATE PHILLIPS
Robert H Jackson - JOSEPH MYDELL
Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe - FORBES MASSON
Samuel Rosenman CLIVE WOOD
Murray Bernays - JOSEPH ALESSI
Iona Nikitchenko - HENRY GOODMAN
General Clay - NATHAN WILEY
Henri Gros - JONATHAN CULLEN
Joseph Stalin - JASPER BRITTON
Winston Churchill - ANDREW WOODALL
Sound Designer - ADAM WOODHAMS
Studio Manager - MARK SMITH
Original Score - METAPHOR MUSIC
Writer and Director - JONATHAN MYERSON
Producer - NICHOLAS NEWTON
A Promenade production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
FRI 14:45 Chinese Characters (b0b0xlks)
Deng Xiaoping: Black Cat, Yellow Cat
He was nicknamed "the steel mill" for his capacity to just keep going on and on. He was Mao's lieutenant who was purged twice and rose three times, the final time to the very top. He enabled China's economic miracle to happen after 1978 by allowing capitalism to reemerge in the world's biggest Communist country. "It doesn't matter if a cat is white or yellow if it catches mice," he observed. He put down protests with ferocity in 1989. And he negotiated the last piece of unfinished business between Britain and China - the return of Hong Kong in 1997. As China becomes ever more prominent today, we need to understand that we live in Deng Xiaoping's world - and why.
Presenter: Rana Mitter
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000z79q)
GQT at Home
Peter Gibbs hosts this week's horticultural panel show. His experts, on hand to answer listeners questions, queries and quandaries, are Matthew Wilson, Anne Swithinbank and Christine Walkden. They are joined by a virtual audience from across the country.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Aniya Das
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000z79s)
A Little Lay-Off
By Candy Neubert. A story about football loyalty, hope and box-to-box midfield play.
A few times a season, a woman books a night at a hotel in her nearest town - so she can watch Arsenal on TV in her favourite pub.
Candy Neubert is a poet who has also published novels and short stories. Her latest collection, Privacy, was published in April 2021.
Writer: Candy Neubert
Reader: Chetna Pandya
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000z79v)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to the unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m000z6cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m000z79x)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000z79z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m000z7b7)
Series 106
Episode 1
Andy Zaltzman presents a look back at the week's headlines.
FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000z78d)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
FRI 19:45 Prime Ministers' Props (b07syyrk)
Series 1
Harold Wilson's Pipe and Mac
Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader - from Winston Churchill's cigar and siren suit to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.
Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.
Harold Wilson sought to enhance his political image, in part by wearing a Gannex mac which made him seem ordinary, and also by puffing at his pipe, as memorably expressed in Ruskin Spear's 1974 portrait of him.
Following Stanley Baldwin, who had also made much of his pipe, Harold Wilson hoped to convey an image that was homely, benevolent and avuncular, and to some extent he succeeded. But the unintended consequence was that the pipe also enhanced Wilson's reputation for evasiveness and deviousness. Whenever asked a difficult question by an interviewer, he would delay and distract attention by lighting up - and it was widely believed that, although he puffed his pipe in public, he preferred cigars in private. A rumour that his son, Robin Wilson, scotches.
The Gannex mac was also to become a hostage to fortune for Wilson. While he was the peak of his popularity, the Gannex made him look like a man of the people and the millionaire businessman who invented Gannex, Joseph Kagan, became a close friend of Wilson. But once Kagan fell from grace due to his crooked business dealings, Wilson's Kagan connection was further evidence to his enemies that he was not to be trusted.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000z78g)
Gracie Mae Bradley
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from Chacewater Village Hall with a panel that includes the director of Liberty, Gracie Mae Bradley.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000z78j)
The Limits of Reason
John Gray on how former British prime minister Arthur Balfour identified a weakness in the idea that science and faith are opposites.
"Beyond our narrow corner of things, there may be limitless possibilities, or else primordial chaos," he writes. "Our belief in the uniformity of nature is not a result but a presupposition of science - in other words, an act of faith."
Producer: Adele Armstrong
FRI 21:00 39 Ways to Save the Planet (m000z78l)
Five More Ideas to Change the World
You can't solve climate change with one idea, but what about 39? Tom Heap presents five more carbon-busting ideas from the grit of a French cement factory to the freshly laundered world of fashion apps. He's joined by the climate scientist, Tamsin Edwards to crunch the numbers and decide which will make a real difference to the future of our planet.
Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock
Researcher: Sarah Goodman
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000z78n)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 News of the Dead by James Robertson (m000z78s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m000z5j8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 The Disrupters (m000s6xq)
DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis
Rohan and Kamal talk to artificial intelligence expert, neuroscientist and entrepreneur Demis Hassabis. A former chess child prodigy, Demis is chief executive of DeepMind, the artificial intelligence business bought by Google for £400m only three years after it had started. But previously Demis had another company, which had failed. In this podcast he talks about lessons learnt from that experience; the dangers of being over idealistic, burn out and knowing when to cut your losses.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
39 Ways to Save the Planet
13:45 MON (m000z5w0)
39 Ways to Save the Planet
13:45 TUE (m000z5j2)
39 Ways to Save the Planet
13:45 WED (m000z6cz)
39 Ways to Save the Planet
13:45 THU (m000z6x8)
39 Ways to Save the Planet
13:45 FRI (m000z79l)
39 Ways to Save the Planet
21:00 FRI (m000z78l)
A Charles Paris Mystery
11:30 FRI (m000z78w)
A Long Way from Vietnam
17:00 SUN (m000yyrk)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (m000z1hb)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (m000z78j)
A World Beyond Alice
16:30 SUN (b051vlpp)
After Merkel
20:00 TUE (m000z5js)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (m000z5gw)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (m000z1h8)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (m000z78g)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b07mvd5z)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (m000z6s5)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (m000z6s5)
Behind the Crime
20:00 WED (m000z6dl)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (m000z5fn)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (m000z5fn)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (m000z5w8)
Brain of Britain
23:00 SAT (m000z022)
Brain of Britain
15:00 MON (m000z5w5)
Brief Lives
14:15 TUE (m0008nzc)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (m000z5mp)
China's Great Science Leap
21:00 MON (m000yyqd)
China's Great Science Leap
11:00 TUE (m000z5hm)
Chinese Characters
14:45 FRI (b0b0xlks)
Citizens of Somewhere
09:00 THU (m000z6rp)
Citizens of Somewhere
21:30 THU (m000z6rp)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (m000z0qd)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (m000z6ww)
Curating the Future
21:00 TUE (m000drly)
Dangerous Liaisons
15:00 SUN (m000z5nl)
Dr Phil's Bedside Manner
18:30 THU (m000z6xl)
Drama
15:00 SAT (m0000stt)
Drama
14:15 WED (m0007ymd)
Drama
14:15 THU (m0008wlf)
Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket
20:30 THU (m000xkyc)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (m000z5ds)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (m000z5pl)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (m000z5x3)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (m000z5kj)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (m000z6fq)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (m000z6st)
Feedback
20:00 SUN (m000z1kc)
Fortunately... with Fi and Jane
23:00 TUE (p06pz0kx)
Four Thought
05:45 SAT (m000z0c4)
Four Thought
09:30 WED (m000z6cg)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (m000z6cg)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (m000z5gk)
Front Row
19:15 MON (m000z5wj)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (m000z5jq)
Front Row
19:15 WED (m000z6dj)
Front Row
19:15 THU (m000z6s1)
Front Row
19:00 FRI (m000z78d)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (m000z1k5)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (m000z79q)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (m000z5j8)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (m000z5j8)
Green Originals
00:15 SUN (m000d70z)
Green Originals
14:45 SUN (m000d70z)
Happy 2,500th to the Brave 300!
20:00 MON (m000z5wl)
Happy 2,500th to the Brave 300!
11:00 WED (m000z5wl)
Helen Lewis: Great Wives
23:00 WED (m000z6dq)
How to Imagine the Future
11:30 TUE (m000z5hp)
How to Play
09:00 MON (m000z5vd)
How to Play
21:30 MON (m000z5vd)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (m000z5jv)
Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley
11:45 SUN (m000z5n2)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (m000z1k9)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (m000z79v)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (m000z5h9)
Loose Ends
11:30 MON (m000z5h9)
Making Amends
19:45 SUN (m000z5p2)
Mastertapes
23:30 MON (b01p71gb)
Mastertapes
23:30 TUE (b01pbq46)
Mastertapes
23:30 WED (b02mfzt8)
Mastertapes
23:30 THU (b02mxyzm)
Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile
19:15 SUN (m000jf72)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (m000z1hl)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (m000z5fb)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (m000z5p6)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (m000z5wq)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (m000z5k1)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (m000z6dt)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (m000z6sc)
More or Less
09:00 WED (m000z6cd)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (m000z6cd)
My Name Is...
11:00 MON (m000z5vl)
My Name Is...
15:30 TUE (m000sqrg)
My Name Is...
21:00 WED (m000s80b)
My Teenage Diary
18:30 WED (m000z6dd)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (m000z1hx)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (m000z5fl)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (m000z5pg)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (m000z5wz)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (m000z5kd)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (m000z6ff)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (m000z6sp)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (m000z5gm)
News Summary
06:00 SUN (m000z5lk)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (m000z5n6)
News Summary
12:00 MON (m000z5vp)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (m000z6c4)
News Summary
12:00 WED (m000z6m4)
News Summary
12:00 THU (m000z6x0)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (m000z793)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (m000z5dq)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (m000z5lx)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (m000z5mf)
News and Weather
13:00 SAT (m000z5gt)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
12:04 MON (m000z5vr)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
22:45 MON (m000z5vr)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
12:04 TUE (m000z5ht)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
22:45 TUE (m000z5ht)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
12:04 WED (m000z6cq)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
22:45 WED (m000z6cq)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
12:04 THU (m000z6s9)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
22:45 THU (m000z6s9)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
12:04 FRI (m000z78s)
News of the Dead by James Robertson
22:45 FRI (m000z78s)
News
22:00 SAT (m000z5f8)
Nuremberg
14:15 FRI (m000z79n)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (m000z5lp)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (m000z5np)
Open Book
15:30 THU (m000z5np)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (m000z0qx)
PM
17:00 SAT (m000z5h0)
PM
17:00 MON (m000z5wb)
PM
17:00 TUE (m000z5jb)
PM
17:00 WED (m000z6d6)
PM
17:00 THU (m000z6xg)
PM
17:00 FRI (m000z79x)
Party's Over
12:30 SAT (m000z1kk)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (m000z5ny)
Power Lines
23:30 SAT (m000yyvk)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (m000z1hz)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (m000z5pj)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (m000z5x1)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (m000z5kg)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (m000z6fl)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (m000z6sr)
Prime Ministers' Props
19:45 MON (b07mxt94)
Prime Ministers' Props
19:45 TUE (b07nrlqn)
Prime Ministers' Props
19:45 WED (b07pgwg1)
Prime Ministers' Props
19:45 THU (b07qbcb0)
Prime Ministers' Props
19:45 FRI (b07syyrk)
Prison Break
15:30 WED (m000vrj2)
Profile
19:00 SAT (m000z5f4)
Profile
05:45 SUN (m000z5f4)
Profile
17:40 SUN (m000z5f4)
Questions Answered
09:30 THU (m000vynx)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (m000z5m5)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:25 SUN (m000z5m5)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (m000z5m5)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (m000z6xb)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (m000z5dz)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (m000z1hs)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (m000z5fg)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (m000z5pb)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (m000z5wv)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (m000z5k8)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (m000z6f6)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (m000z6sk)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (m000z1hq)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (m000z1hv)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (m000z5h3)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (m000z5fd)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (m000z5fj)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (m000z5nr)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (m000z5p8)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (m000z5pd)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (m000z5ws)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (m000z5wx)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (m000z5k6)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (m000z5kb)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (m000z6f2)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (m000z6fb)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (m000z6sh)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (m000z6sm)
Short Cuts
15:00 TUE (m000z5j6)
Short Works
00:30 SUN (m000z1k7)
Short Works
15:45 FRI (m000z79s)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (m000z5h7)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (m000z5nw)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (m000z5wd)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (m000z5jg)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (m000z6db)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (m000z6xj)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (m000z79z)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (m0000xmb)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (m0000xmb)
Song of the Thames
11:30 THU (m000z6wy)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (m000z5mk)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (m000z5m1)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
09:45 MON (m000z5vg)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
00:30 TUE (m000z5vg)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
09:45 TUE (m000z5k3)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
00:30 WED (m000z5k3)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
09:45 WED (m000z6dx)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
00:30 THU (m000z6dx)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
09:45 THU (m000z6sf)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
00:30 FRI (m000z6sf)
Sunshine and Laughter by Louis Barfe
09:45 FRI (m000z78r)
The Absolutely Radio Show
23:00 THU (b08wmyc7)
The Age of Denial
09:30 MON (m00035nx)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (m000z5mt)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (m000z5p0)
The Archers
14:00 MON (m000z5p0)
The Archers
19:00 MON (m000z5j4)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (m000z5j4)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (m000z5jn)
The Archers
14:00 WED (m000z5jn)
The Archers
19:00 WED (m000z6dg)
The Archers
14:00 THU (m000z6dg)
The Archers
19:00 THU (m000z6rz)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (m000z6rz)
The Birthday Cake Game
18:30 TUE (m000z5jj)
The Bottom Line
17:30 SAT (m000x6wk)
The Briefing Room
11:00 SAT (m000z0rh)
The Briefing Room
20:00 THU (m000z6s3)
The Digital Human
11:00 FRI (m0009z7s)
The Disrupters
23:30 FRI (m000s6xq)
The Etiquette Guide
14:45 SAT (b06vj1tb)
The Everywoman
00:15 MON (m000hdkc)
The Exchange
22:15 SAT (m000z0cj)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (m000z0qz)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (m000z6xd)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (m000z5nb)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (m000z5nb)
The Hangover
12:04 SAT (m000z5gp)
The Hangover
21:00 SUN (m000z5gp)
The Hangover
15:00 WED (m000z5gp)
The Hotel
21:45 SAT (m000qbkx)
The Kindness Test
09:00 TUE (m000z5hf)
The Kindness Test
21:30 TUE (m000z5hf)
The Listening Project
13:30 SUN (m000z5nj)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (m000z6d4)
The Media Show
21:30 WED (m000z6d4)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (m000z7b7)
The Pin
11:30 WED (b08yqb9k)
The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed
19:15 SAT (m000z5f6)
The Reunion
11:00 SUN (m000z5my)
The Reunion
09:00 FRI (m000z5my)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:04 SUN (m000z02c)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (m000z5wg)
The Untold
21:30 SUN (m000vxyf)
The Whistling Woman
16:00 TUE (b053721k)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (m000z5ng)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (m000z5wn)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (m000z5jy)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (m000z6dn)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (m000z6s7)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (m000z78n)
They by Sarfraz Manzoor
00:30 SAT (m000z1hn)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (m000z6d2)
Today
07:00 SAT (m000z5dx)
Today
06:00 MON (m000z5vb)
Today
06:00 TUE (m000z5hc)
Today
06:00 WED (m000z6cb)
Today
06:00 THU (m000z6rm)
Today
06:00 FRI (m000z784)
Tricky
23:15 WED (p08w21ph)
Tumanbay
21:00 SAT (b08tcc2f)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b092r9hw)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b04hkwtg)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b04t0n4w)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b04mlpgv)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b09v2x52)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b09wvgfw)
United Kingdoms
14:15 MON (m000z5w2)
Weather
06:57 SAT (m000z5dv)
Weather
12:57 SAT (m000z5gr)
Weather
17:57 SAT (m000z5h5)
Weather
06:57 SUN (m000z5ls)
Weather
07:57 SUN (m000z5m9)
Weather
12:57 SUN (m000z5nd)
Weather
17:57 SUN (m000z5nt)
Weather
05:56 MON (m000z5pn)
Weather
12:57 MON (m000z5vw)
Weather
12:57 TUE (m000z5hy)
Weather
12:57 WED (m000z6cv)
Weather
12:57 THU (m000z6x4)
Weather
12:57 FRI (m000z79d)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (m000z5p4)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (m000z5gy)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (m000z5vj)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (m000z5hk)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (m000z6cl)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (m000z6rv)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (m000z788)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (m000yyr3)
World at One
13:00 MON (m000z5vy)
World at One
13:00 TUE (m000z5j0)
World at One
13:00 WED (m000z6cx)
World at One
13:00 THU (m000z6x6)
World at One
13:00 FRI (m000z79j)
Write Her Story
16:00 MON (m000z0qg)
You and Yours
12:18 MON (m000z5vt)
You and Yours
12:18 TUE (m000z5hw)
You and Yours
12:18 WED (m000z6cs)
You and Yours
12:18 THU (m000z6x2)
You and Yours
12:18 FRI (m000z797)
You're Dead To Me
10:30 SAT (p085v4zm)