SATURDAY 28 MAY 2022

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0017kgt)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe (m0017kgw)
10. A Reckoning

Patrick Radden's account of the Sackler family's role in America's opioid crisis concludes. Today, the Sackler reputation comes under scrutiny around the world. In the meantime, there are questions around criminal prosecution and financial settlements, will justice be served? Kyle Soller reads.

The Sackler family are famed for their philanthropy. The name adorns the walls of many of the world's most prestigious institutions, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, and the British Museum to name just a few. Less well known is that much of their wealth came from the powerful painkiller, OxyContin. While the drug wasn’t the only opioid behind this public health emergency, it is regarded as the pioneer. What follows is the story of an immigrant family struggling to survive during the depression, and who, as the 20th century progressed turned their lives around by making their way into the pharmaceutical business. It was Arthur Sackler's role in the marketing of Valium that was the basis of the first Sackler fortune. Later, the lessons learned in making Valium a success story were applied to OxyContin in the 1990s, leading to phenomenal wealth for the Sacklers. Meanwhile, on the eve of the new millenium, families across America were beginning to fall victim to what would become the opioid epidemic.

Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning writer at the New Yorker, winner of the 2019 Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the Baille Gifford Prize, 2021

Kyle Soller is an American film, stage, and television actor. His accolades include an Olivier Award, and three Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Abridger: Katrin Williams.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0017kgy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0017kh0)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0017kh2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0017kh4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0017kh6)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Anne Easter

Good Morning!

I live in one of the most densely populated inner London boroughs that has about 350,000 residents; our streets teem with people, we have great transport links and there are loads of shops, many of which seem to be open all the hours God sends!

Now I don’t very often get further than the M25 and I must confess that I’m one of those city dwellers who thinks that all fields look the same anyway - so it might come as a surprise to hear that I love to listen to Farming Today.

It’s billed as offering us ‘the latest news about food, farming and the countryside’ and I’ve heard all sorts of fascinating issues about intensive animal farming, the sorts of diseases that can affect trees and the joys of the county show which I must say, sounds like great fun. I didn’t realise that around seven million people attend county shows each year.

And I’ve learnt about the human side of rural life too – the joys and drawbacks when families work together, the difficulties when income isn’t assured and the shortage of farm vets.

So, when I’m asked to say grace and thank God for our food at a big city dinner or a church picnic, what I’ve heard and learnt has made me realise something of the human cost of getting that food onto our table and of guarding our countryside. I feel that I pray with a little more empathy and understanding.

Father God, Farmers have worked with you and your creation since the beginning of civilisation; we ask you to bless farmers and their families today, give them strength, wisdom and endurance.

Amen.


SAT 05:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m0017kc7)
Drink Coffee

Coffee drinkers rejoice! Did you know that a simple cup of coffee can improve your mood, boost your workout and even stimulate your brown fat, helping you burn calories? In this episode, Michael Mosley finds out all the benefits of our beloved bean - with research suggesting that it could help your brain and heart. What’s more, if you time it right, a simple cup of coffee could help you get more out of your workout and could even change the way you break down fat. Michael speaks to Professor James Betts at the University of Bath to find out how much coffee is the best dose, and what to bear in mind when having a cup.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0017swh)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m0017k9q)
Happy Valley

Today’s walk starts at Happy Valley in the Mourne Mountains about thirty minutes inland from the coast of County Down. Clare is walking with Kelly Hargie who, for very personal reasons, launched Wild Women Events as a way of encouraging female walkers to explore the countryside of Northern Ireland. Kelly has long understood that escaping into the wild helped her greatly with postnatal depression and recovery from injury and she wanted to share this discovery with like-minded women.

From Happy Valley they head steeply up towards the 7th highest peak in the Mournes, Slieve Meelmore, partly alongside the Shimna River.

This is the second of two back-to-back hikes in the Mournes, recorded on the same day. The first walk was broadcast last week and began – in great contrast to today’s route – at Bloody Bridge.

Grid Ref for their starting point: SB 379 857

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0017swk)
Farming Today This Week: Chelsea Flower Show

All this week we've been looking at the business of growing flowers and plants, and we're at the Chelsea Flower Show to hear about what sort of state our horticulture industry is in. The industry of cut flowers and pot plants is big business - according to Government statistics, the UK grew £1.4 billion worth in 2020.

We speak to the businesses carving out a niche market for their plants, a fantastic display of clematis and with the news that this week the government will allow commercial growing of gene-edited crops in England, we ask what the possibilities are for plant growers.

And we hear from the team who won best in show at this year's Chelsea Flower Show for their rewilded garden.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced for BBC Audio by Caitlin Hobbs


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0017swm)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m0017swp)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0017swr)
DJ Fat Tony and Angela Hartnett

Nikki Bedi and Mobeen Azhar are joined by DJ Fat Tony, who first found fame in the 80s and has played for everyone from Prince and Madonna to Royalty. After 28 years of hedonism, Tony found himself homeless and dying from addiction but he’s now over 15 years sober, in demand as a DJ and working to help others.

We also have Angela Hartnett MBE, the Michelin starred chef who's written cookbooks, judged on BBC’s Best Home Cook and a has passion for good, honest food with the best ingredients possible.

Football manager and former player Carlo Ancelotti has navigated Real Madrid to the face Liverpool in the Champions League final tonight. So what’s his secret?

Spring is in the air and so is birdsong. But how many of us know what we are listening to? We are joined by self taught birdsong expert Lucy “lapwing” Hodson who set up youtube tutorials in lockdown, she also makes props for Springwatch and knows something about Larks. She joins us.

Opera singer Brindley Sherratt chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Beethoven: Fidelio, Mir ist so wunderbar and The Carpenters: We’ve Only Just Begun (photo credit Gerard Collett). And your Thank you.

Producer: Corinna Jones


SAT 10:30 Soul Music (m0017swt)
Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton

Candi Staton and others celebrate this 1970's disco classic which delivers an optimistic message.

Written by David Crawford and released in 1976 this is the kind of song that feels like a carefree celebration, something to lose yourself in on the dancefloor. But its story isn't quite so simple. As Candi tells Soul Music, Young Hearts Run Free was influenced by her own troubled and abusive relationship which she struggled to leave. In fact the creation of the song helped her gain the confidence to finally walk away.

Other contributors are:

Singer songwriter, Glen Hansard. He performs the song 'as' his mother because it reminds him so much of what the song meant to her.

Ziggi Battles , a singer who chose to cover the song as a way of rejoicing in the role it played in recovering from a very difficult time.

Jason Gilkison, the Creative Director of Strictly Come Dancing. It will forever remind him of the first time he choreographed a group dance for Strictly at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. His grandfather had danced there himself as a young man, before establishing the first dance school in Perth, Australia, which is where Jason developed his own love of ballroom dancing.

Neil Brand, composer and broadcaster, analyses why the piece works musically. He also describes the pure joy of a version by Kym Mazelle and - unlikely as it seems - the actor and opera singer, Paul Sorvino. It was used as the soundtrack to the ballroom scene in Baz Luhrmann's film of Romeo and Juliet.

Versions used: Candi Staton; Glen Hansard; Maz O'Connor; Ziggi Battles; Gloria Estefan; Kym Mazelle; Kym Mazelle (Ballroom Version) with Paul Sorvino

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0017sww)
Top commentators review the political week.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0017swy)
Violent Protest in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has been rocked by violent protests. The country is out of cash, which means it is struggling to import fuel, food and basic medicines. This in turn has prompted political turmoil, with anti-government protestors coming under attack from supporters of the ousted government. Rajini Vaidyanathan was there as battles broke out.

It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who first called South Africa the 'Rainbow Nation', reflecting hopes for a new era of equality for the country and as it emerged from decades of apartheid. Now though, migrants in South Africa are being blamed for unemployment and other social problems - some have been murdered by vigilantes. Shingai Nyoka reflects on this rising animosity with particular personal interest, as she herself moved to South Africa from Zimbabwe.

It’s eight years since King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicated, following a string of highly embarrassing scandals. But just recently, the former king returned to Spain for a brief visit - the first since he left. Plenty of Spanish people turned out to welcome their former ruler with full-on patriotic fervour, but as Guy Hedgecoe explains, such sentiments were far from universal.

The death toll in Ukraine numbers the tens of thousands, but there are fears that vastly more people could die as an indirect result of the conflict, as supply lines for wheat and fertiliser are severely disrupted. Jonathan Head reports on how the war is affecting rice farmers thousands of miles away in Thailand.

The war in Ukraine has presented a huge logistical challenge - for citizens and the military, and also for journalists. Joe Inwood has spent most of his BBC career as a producer, but as his team moved across Ukraine, he found himself having to help run a hotel after all the local staff left town.


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0017sx0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0017sx2)
What help can pensioners get with their rising fuel bills?

This week, the chief executive of the energy regulator Ofgem warned the energy price cap could rise to £2,800 a year for a typical home. A few days later, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, unveiled a £15 billion package to help households with their fuel bills - the second in three months. We'll discuss the details of what that means for pensioners with Helen Morrisey from Hargreaves Lansdown.

We'll hear from the CEO of Amigo loans on a new scheme, approved by the High Court this week, which will allow thousands of people who were mis-sold loans to apply for compensation.

What to do if you end up paying for a subscription unwittingly or can’t cancel it – and how the government plans to try and prevent consumers losing out.

And a Money Box mini on the new interest rate for Premium Bonds announced this week.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researcher: Sandra Hardial
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm on Saturday 28th May, 2022)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m0017kg9)
Series 108

Episode 6

Andy Zaltzman presents the News Quiz from the 2022 Hay Festival with panellists Shaparak Khorsandi, Angela Barnes, Paul Sinha and Robin Morgan. News and some (rather tenuous) links to literature combine to make a headline-book-newsfest of a show at the renowned Literature Festival.

Written by Andy Zaltzman with additional material from Alice Fraser, Max Davis and Cameron Loxdale.

Producer: Richard Morris
Production co-ordinator: Katie Baum
A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0017sx4)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0017sx6)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0017kgf)
Grace Blakeley, Thangam Debbonaire MP, John Glen MP, Martin Thatcher

Chris Mason presents political debate from The Princess Theatre, Burnham-on-Sea with staff writer at Tribune magazine Grace Blakeley, Labour MP and Shadow Leader of the Commons Thangam Debbonaire, Conservative MP and Treasury Minister John Glen and the Managing Director of Thatchers Cider Martin Thatcher.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Kevan Long


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0017sx8)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:45 Drama (m0016pjt)
Pretty Vacant

When a major financial donor approaches a Manchester housing charity for the homeless offering them a block of new apartments for the use of those most in need, the organisers think there is a god after all. Using the charity’s fast track access to planning permissions, money is lavished on refurbishing a raft of luxury apartments – a clear statement that even the poor deserve a decent place to live.

But it’s only when a local journalist raises the question as to where the benefactor’s money is coming from that alarm bells start to ring.

Cast
Nora: Jane Slavin
Frankie: Tim McInnerny
Leyla: Genevieve Gaunt
Phil: John Hopkins
Yolanda: Alex Constantinidi
Kev: Will Howard

Written by Hugh Costello

Director: Eoin O’Callaghan

A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 15:30 Writing the Road to War (m001797s)
There’s a road which leads directly from every British front door to the horrors of Kyiv or to Mariupol. It seems very far away as Spring emerges in Britain, a Spring in which this European war, though fought also with British aid, money and weapons, is still relegated to screens, radios and newspapers. In this immersive audio journey, we join travel writer and broadcaster Horatio Clare, aboard a convoy delivering aid as he travels from rural Dorset to the Ukrainian border.

As Horatio takes his road to war, influenced by the great writers before him, he sets down his own prose journey, with the words of Matthew Arnold, George Orwell, Alan Moorehead, Martha Gellhorn and Zadie Smith in his ears. When he hits Munich, history turns to current affairs and we hear of his direct encounters with Ukrainian refugees. After crossing the plains of Hungary and the rolling hills of Romania, he finally reaches the Ukrainian Border. There he delivers aid to Ukrainian teenagers and hears their personal accounts of leaving their homeland - and their families - to find safety away from the war.

Produced by Helen Needham in Aberdeen
Original Music Composition by Anthony Cowie
Mixed by Ron McCaskill

Readings by Richard Blair, Gary Watson, Corine Purkis, Joseph Arkley and Zadie Smith.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0017sxb)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Amara Okereke as Eliza Doolittle, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Sean O'Neill on his late daughter's ME

Part of our exclusive Woman’s Hour interview with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. She reveals the full story of her imprisonment in Iran to Emma Barnett. Nazanin explains how she survived solitary confinement, how the love of her daughter kept her alive.

Anita Rani speaks to documentary photographer Joanne Coates about her exhibition and book 'Daughters of the Soil' looking at the role of women in farming; a culmination of a year’s research where she explored the role of women in agriculture in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. We also speak to arable farmer, Christina Willet, who farms with her son in Essex.

This month, the health secretary announced a new plan to tackle ME and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in England. A listen back to our interview with Sean O’Neill, a senior writer for the Times, whose eldest daughter Maeve, passed away last October at the age of 27, after suffering from ME since she was a teenager.

A recent landmark report called ‘Broken Ladders’ has revealed 75% of women of colour have experienced racism at work, 27% having suffered racial slurs and 61% report changing themselves to fit in. Produced by the Fawcett Society and the Runnymede Trust, ‘Broken Ladders’ explores and documents the experiences of 2,000 women of colour in workplaces across the UK, showing the entrenched racism that women of colour endure throughout their careers. Zaimal Azad, senior campaigns officer at the Fawcett Society spoke to Jessica Creighton.

We speak to and hear a live performance from Amara Okereke who has taken on the role of a life time as Eliza Dpolittle in My Fair Lady. Amara, who is 25 has been called 'the new face of British theatre' and has been performing at The Coliseum in London.

Producer: Surya Elango
Editor: Lucinda Montefiore


SAT 17:00 PM (m0017sxd)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0017sxg)
The Mick Lynch One

Nick Robinson speaks to Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, about his union's planned strike action this summer


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0017sxj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0017sxl)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0017sxn)
There are calls for fresh talks as Russian forces push further into eastern Ukraine


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0017sxq)
Dave Stewart, John Waters, Shingai, Ali Official, Ian Shaw, Zaz, Emma Freud, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Emma Freud are joined by Dave Stewart, John Waters, Shingai and Ali Official for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Ian Shaw and Zaz.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0017sxs)
David Canzini

Boris Johnson’s Mr Fixit - a Deputy Chief of Staff - brought in to steady the ship at the height of the "Partygate" allegations. Described as politically astute and determined for the Conservatives to win the next election, Canzini's career in the Tory party began in the 1980s. He's a long-standing Brexiteer who's worked alongside former Conservative leader, William Hague, and is a close ally of the Tories’ election guru, Sir Lynton Crosby. His critics worry he is pushing the Prime Minister further right on things like asylum seekers and trans issues.

Mark Coles explores the life and career of the man who goes by the name DC Grumpy on social media, has a profile picture of Darth Vader and once sported a David Cassidy-style haircut.

Presenter: Mark Coles
Production team: Bob Howard, Natasha Fernandes, Brenda Brown
Sound: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Richard Vadon


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0017sxv)
Armando Iannucci

Writer and director Armando Iannucci reveals the most important artistic influences and experiences that have shaped his own work. Armando was the creative force behind Radio 4’s news satire series On The Hour, which moved to television as The Day Today and launched the career of Alan Partridge. He wrote and directed the political comedy series The Thick Of It, and the long-running American TV series Veep. His big screen credits include In The Loop, The Death Of Stalin and The Personal History Of David Copperfield.

Armando recalls his Italian-Scottish family upbringing in Glasgow, where his lifelong love of classical music was first forged in Hillhead Public Library. A fan of radio comedy from a young age, he talks about the impact of hearing the 1978 radio comedy The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, whose central character Arthur Dent is, like many of Iannucci’s own comic creations, a man way out of his depth as events spin out of control.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq is chosen by Armando as an event that had a big influence on his decision to create political satires The Thick Of It and its big screen spin-off In The Loop, in which government ministers and their advisors struggle to navigate a political path littered with inconvenient facts and rules. Reflecting on his work as a director, Armando Iannucci cites the American filmmaker Sidney Lumet as another major inspiration, with movies including Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Twelve Angry Men and The Verdict.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0017kfl)
Over the Top

What does it mean to be too much, excessive or extra? We're partying in the archives to examine and celebrate extravagance in all its forms as Kit Green takes us Over The Top...

Kit Green has a complicated relationship to being 'Over The Top', they've channelled maximum excess into their beloved character, country music icon Tina C, and written and performed a show about the music hall star Fred Barnes - a man who was excessive to tragic extremes. In this programme Kit asks what being over the top means to them now, in glorious extravagance.

Kit's invited some friends to the party to help them reach maximum excess. They are joined by the king of 90's extravagance, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Professor of the History of Emotions Thomas Dixon drops in to talk extreme joy and extreme sadness. We have an intimate kitchen party chat with Malika Booker on being 'too loud' for poetry, fashion historian Amber Buchart helps us get dressed and fellow performers and hedonists 'Bourgeois & Maurice' bring us their post-pandemic party show 'Pleasure Seekers'.

Keeping us entertained are a host of fantastically over the top characters from the BBC Archives. Party guests include Quentin Crisp, Edina & Patsy and Jilly Goolden. And of course there's some Eurovision. How much? Too Much? Let's find out...

Presenter: Kit Green
Producer: Jessica Treen


SAT 21:00 GF Newman's The Corrupted (b050bfvh)
Series 2

Episode 9

Crime drama based on the characters from the best selling novel by the multi-award winning writer, GF Newman. This second series runs from 1961 to 1970.

Spanning six decades, the saga plots the course of one family against the back-drop of a revolution in crime as the underworld extends its influence to the very heart of the establishment, in an uncomfortable relationship of shared values.

At the start of the 1960s, Joey Oldman acquires crafty Arnold Goodman as his solicitor, and buys shares in the civil engineering firm owned by the corrupt Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples.

Prospering with the help of venal bankers, and growing more devious, he and his wife Cath join Macmillan's Conservative Party. They strive without success to keep their son Brian free of the influence of Jack Braden (Cath's brother) as he takes their 'firm' from running illicit clubs, where they entertain politicians and judges, to armed robbery. All the while, Jack and Brian struggle to keep free of the police and further entanglements with the law, the Kray twins and the Richardsons.

Episode 9:
The police are trying to arrest Jack and put pressure on Brian to turn Queen's Evidence.

Cast:
The Narrator...........Ross Kemp
Joey Oldman...........Toby Jones
Cath Oldman...........Denise Gough
Brian Oldman..........Joe Armstrong
Jack Braden............Luke Allen Gale
Leah Cohen............Jasmine Hyde

Written by GF Newman
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:45 The Skewer (m0017kdm)
Series 6

Episode 8

Jon Holmes remixes news into haunting shapes. This week, 50 Shades of Sue Gray, a greased piglet, and I'd rather have a bowl of Monkeypox.

An Unusual production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News (m0017sxy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (m0017kd9)
The Priorities of the Police

Dame Cressida Dick, the newly-departed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, says policing has become ‘too politicised’. When her force has been criticised on the right for investigating ‘Partygate’ and on the left for letting the Prime Minister off too lightly, and when the Durham Police must now decide whether to end the career of the leader of the Labour Party, it’s hard to argue with her.

The Public Order Bill, which had its second reading this week, will create new legal powers to prevent or punish disruptive demonstrations. That too, critics say, is putting politics into policing.

Meanwhile, the newly-arrived Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, has been talking about priorities. He predicted that the cost of living crisis will trigger an increase in crime and advised officers to ‘use their discretion’ when people are caught shop-lifting. One columnist wanted to know exactly how much he could nick without getting banged up.

Police officers in Scotland have asked for guidance on how to enforce new hate crime legislation after being ‘inundated’ with complaints about posts on social media. At its conference last week, the Police Federation of England and Wales was given a list of horror stories about misogyny in ‘every single force’. This week the National Police Chiefs Council declared itself ‘ashamed’ about racism in law enforcement.

Only six per cent of all crimes resulted in a charge last year. For reported rapes, the charge rate was 1.3 per cent.

Some reformers want police priorities and targets set locally by the communities that are being policed. Others say it is precisely the new requirement that the police should be sensitive to everybody’s feelings that’s stopping them from locking up law-breakers.

Where should the police's priorities lie?

With Morag Livingstone, Dr Victor Olisa, Zoe Strimpel and Dr Roy Bailey

Producer: Peter Everett.


SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz (m0017k7h)
Programme 9, 2022

(9/12)
What might be the preferred tipple of Eric's porcine dictator, Ilya's singular companion, Elvis's explosive alter-ego and Arthur's devious villain?

This can only be a Round Britain Quiz puzzle, and if anyone can answer it it's likely to be the teams from the North of England or the South of England, who have dominated the RBQ rankings in recent series. Stuart Maconie and Adele Geras appear for the North, against Marcus Berkmann and Paul Sinha of the South. Stuart and Adele will be out for vengeance after their defeat the last time these two teams met.

The questions include some ingenious ideas from listeners, who have sent them to the production team at rbq@bbc.co.uk

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (m0017k4r)
Colm Tóibín

The writer Colm Tóibín selects some favourite poems from amongst our listeners' requests and recommendations. His picks include poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Thom Gunn, Maura Dooley, Victoria Kennefick and Anthony Cronin.

Colm Tóibín is the author of ten novels - including Brooklyn, The Magician and The Master. He published his first poetry collection, Vinegar Hill, in spring 2022.

With special thanks to RTÉ Archives for their recording of Seán Mac Réamoinn's reading of The Two Travellers by CJ Boland, and to the Irish Poetry Reading Archive in UCD Library for their kind permission to use their recording of Anthony Cronin reading his poem 'For a Father'.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio

SUNDAY 29 MAY 2022

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0017sy0)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Past Forward: A Century of Sound (m0015lx3)
The Teen Age

Greg Jenner hears a clip from 1961 sitcom Citizen James, and chats to social historian Carol Dyhouse and social entrepreneur Daisy Cresswell about generational differences between teenagers and their parents.

Marking the centenary of the BBC, Past Forward uses a random date generator to alight somewhere in the BBC's vast archive over the past 100 years. Greg Jenner hears an archive clip for the first time at the top of the programme, and uses it as a starting point in a journey towards the present day. The archive captures a century of British life in a unique way - a history of ordinary people’s lives, as well as news of the great events. Greg uncovers connections through people, places and ideas that link the archive fragment to Britain in 2022, pulling in help from experts and those who remember the time, and looking at how far we've come since then.

Produced by Amelia Parker


SUN 00:30 Short Works (m0017kfz)
Wrecking Ball Swing

Wrecking Ball Swing.

Booker nominated novelist Trezza Azzopardi returns to the Cardiff of her youth for this bittersweet story about childhood, demolition, resistance, change, and what remains of the lost landscapes of our past.

Writer - Trezza Azzopardi
Reader - Lisa Palfrey
Sound - Nigel Lewis
Producer - John Norton

A BBC Audio Wales Production


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0017sy2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0017sy4)
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 (m0017sy6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0017sy8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0017syb)
The parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Fittleworth in West Sussex.

Bells on Sunday comes from the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Fittleworth in West Sussex. The main building dates back to at least 1200 and is Grade 1 listed. The tower holds six bells from four different foundries. The Tenor bell was cast by an unknown founder in Wokingham circa 1440. It weighs seven Hundredweight and is tuned to the note of B. We hear them ringing Plain Bob Doubles.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m0017sxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0017t30)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0366xrw)
Holy Verses

In a programme about the role of poetry in worship, Mark Tully examines the work of the poets John Donne, Kathleen Raine and W.H. Auden, amongst others.

In conversation with the poet Michael Symmons Roberts, he discusses the concept of 'religious poetry' asks whether the term, as TS Eliot claimed, suggests that it's 'like a variety of minor poetry'. He asks what poetry has to offer religion and what it means to poets with faith.

The programme includes music by Stravinsky, John Coltrane and Simon and Garfunkel.

The readers are Toby Jones, Frances Cadder and Harriet Walter.

Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0017t32)
Thinking Small for Big Change

Fred Price rears pigs on his farm in Somerset. He has big plans to create a hub for what he's calling a "small food economy", which will put the focus on growing good food rather than producing profitable commodities. He's also keen to improve the soil and biodiversity of the farm, with 8% of the land now dedicated to managing habitat for beneficial insects. Sarah Swadling meets Fred and finds out how he hopes to change the way we think about our food.

Produced by Caitlin Hobbs


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0017t34)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0017t36)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0017t38)
The Archbishop of Canterbury on Reconciliation; Religion and social care; US Christians divided over gun law reform.

As the population over 65 becomes more ethnically diverse, how ready are care providers to help meet their religious and spiritual needs? It’s a question which has inspired Maaha Suleiman to come up with an App designed to help Care Agencies and Councils match people based on religious and cultural understanding. Our reporter Vishva Samani looks at how it works in practice.

The official celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday will include a special Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s. The Dean, the Very Revd. Dr. David Ison, shares some of the plans the Cathedral has in store.

Following the Church of Scotland's vote to allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages, we ask what it means for the future of the Church and its wider Protestant family. We hear from those right at the heart of the issue, the Rev Prof Andrew McGowan and the Rev. Scott M Rennie.

The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, tells us about the power of reconciliation, the theme of his latest book.

And in the wake of the massacres at Buffalo and now Ulvade in the United States, we ask why some Christians oppose gun law reform. We hear from the Rev. Jim Wallis, Director of the Centre on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University and a former Pastor John Correia, Founder and Owner of Active Self Protection, a self-defence and firearms training company.

Photograph: Karuna Manor Care Home

Producers: Jill Collins and Rebecca Maxted


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0017t3b)
Link Education International

Stand-up comedian Daliso Chaponda makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Link Education International.

To Give:
- UK Freephone 0800 404 8144
-You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- 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 ‘Link Education International’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Link Education International’.
Please note that Freephone and online donations for this charity close at 23.59 on the Saturday after the Appeal is first broadcast. However the Freepost option can be used at any time.

Registered charity number: 1048007


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0017t3d)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0017t3g)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0017t3j)
Waiting

City Church is a vibrant, multinational, all age Elim Pentecostal congregation, based in the heart of Cardiff. This Sunday falls between Ascension Day and Pentecost, representing the time of expectancy and preparation that the disciples experienced as they waited in hope for the promised Holy Spirit to come upon them. Chris Cartwright, City Church leaders Dominic and Catherine De Souza, and members of the church congregation explore the potency that these such ‘in between’ times can offer; how they can present opportunities for us to grow together in faith, courage and expectancy, especially in tough times.

With music from the band at City Church, Cardiff, including ‘Yes and amen’, ‘I surrender all’ and ‘Spirit of the Living God’.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0017kgh)
On Rubble

After recently discovering the secret of her local meadow, which hides the ruins of World War Two, Rebecca Stott reflects on how we rebuild lives and landscapes, from 6th Century Britain to post-war Berlin to Beirut.

She reflects on the damage currently being inflicted on Ukraine, and highlights recent discussions held by the Mayor of Kharkiv to plan the rebuilding of his city.

'It struck me as remarkable that despite the war, despite seeing his city in ruins... the mayor had the capacity to start thinking about the future.'

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith.


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k5bk0)
Water Rail

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Chris Packham presents the water rail. Water rails are very secretive and live in thick vegetation in marshes and fens where the birds breed. The adult birds look rather like small moorhens but with chestnut on top, a blue-grey face and a zebra-stripe patch on their sides. They have long blood-red bills used for probing for insects.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0017t3l)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0017t3n)
Writer, Adrian Flynn
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Alice Carter ….. Hollie Chapman
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
Jakob Hakansson ….. Paul Venables
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Justin Elliott ….. Simon Williams
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Lily Pargetter ….. Katie Redford
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Stella Pryor ….. Lucy Speed
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Denise ….. Clare Perkins
Fern ….. Joanna Gay


SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs (m0017t3q)
David Harewood, actor and presenter

David Harewood is a British actor and presenter who found global fame playing the CIA director David Estes in the acclaimed TV drama series Homeland. He was the first black actor to play Othello at the National theatre in 1997 and took the role of Martin Luther King in the Olivier award-winning play The Mountaintop in 2009.

David was born in Birmingham in 1965. After one of his teachers suggested that he should try his luck at acting, he won a place at RADA where he tackled a number of challenging roles including King Lear. After graduating, he performed in a range of television and theatre productions, but by the time he auditioned for Homeland he says he was down to his last £80. He joined the cast of Homeland in 2011 and the following year he was awarded an MBE for services to drama.

In 2019 he presented a BBC documentary called Psychosis and Me which told the story of the mental breakdown he experienced as a young man. The programme was nominated for a BAFTA award and was praised by critics for its honest exploration of a difficult subject and for helping to remove some of the stigma around mental health. He went on to present a range of documentaries which addressed subjects close to his heart including the health inequality exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the experience of slavery within the history of his own family.

David lives in London with his wife and their two daughters.

DISC ONE: Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers
DISC TWO: Tears on My Pillow by Johnny Nash
DISC THREE: One in Ten by UB40
DISC FOUR: $29.00 by Tom Waits
DISC FIVE: I Still Haven’t found what I’m Looking For by The Chimes
DISC SIX: (Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
DISC SEVEN: Cruisin’ by D’Angelo
DISC EIGHT: Ain’t Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan

BOOK CHOICE: The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
LUXURY ITEM: A disco dancefloor
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Ain’t Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley


SUN 11:45 Living with the Gods (b09byxlr)
Becoming an Adult

Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time.

He focuses on rites of passage, marking the transition from childhood to adulthood, including a lock of bound hair, from the collections of the British Museum, which reveals an important ritual for teenage boys on the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

Producer Paul Kobrak

Produced in partnership with the British Museum
Photograph (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0017tb8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m0017k7t)
Series 89

The Ukulele, Bingo and The Pawn Shop

Sue Perkins challenges Gyles Brandreth, Ria Lina, Zoe Lyons and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

The long-running Radio 4 national treasure of a parlour game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from Bingo to The Pawn Shop.

Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Richard Morris

A BBC Studios Production


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0017t3v)
Falafel: A recipe for connection

Falafels are a widely celebrated and much loved food that have become an everyday part of street food culture in many cities across Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Falafel is known for being cheap, easily available, and accessible - no matter what a person's class, background, religious belief or dietary requirements.

There have long been debates about whether falafel belongs or is authentic to any one nation or culture. Spoiler alert: this programme does not try to answer that question! What Leyla sets out to discover is just how different falafel can be depending on the cultural background of the person cooking it. For example, culturally-definitive recipes for the falafel itself, and specific salads, sauces and breads.

In this programme, we explore how falafel is tied up in a political story of food propaganda, and how it’s been used to create division between different nationalities. But also how the food has followed people to different countries at times of conflict, and still provides a constant reminder of good times and home.

We meet market stall traders in Shepherd's Bush who show the diverse make up of different falafel recipes. We meet the Syrian chef who lost a chain of successful restaurants selling falafel during the conflict in Syria. And a London chef who doesn’t understand why his patrons keep ordering it.

Presented by Leyla Kazim
Produced by Robbie Wojciechowski


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0017t3z)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0017t43)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m0017t47)
Finding the Answer

Fi Glover presents four conversations between strangers.

This week, Dafydd and Huw come together from either side of the debate on Rewilding the countryside; Glenys and Leon share enthusiasms for their hobbies of magnet fishing, beachcombing and meadow trawling; Christine and Shane swap perspectives on ambulance wait times from the view of the patient and the paramedic; Archie and Owen discuss their relationship with body image as young men from different communities.

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: Sam Peach


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0017kfx)
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022: Postbag Edition

Kathy Clugston is joined by experts Matthew Wilson, Anne Swithinbank and Matt Biggs as they head to this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show. To celebrate 75 years of the programme, for the first time ever, Gardeners' Question Time has its very own exhibit at the show.

The exhibit, designed by Matthew Wilson and planted by the whole team, exemplifies all things GQT - from right plant, right place, to the joys of 'grow your own'. The panellists enjoy the GQT exhibit and answer questions from the postbag.

They also catch up with Juliet Sargeant and finally see her designs come to life in the new Blue Peter Garden: Discover Soil.

Meanwhile, roving reporter Peter Gibbs explores the showgrounds. He meets with exhibitors Jane Lyndsey from Tynings Climbers, Joanne Jackson and David Lloyd of Ottershaw Cacti and Chris Potts from Sienna Hosta.

Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Bethany Hocken

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Past Forward: A Century of Sound (m0015lx3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:15 today]


SUN 15:00 Drama (m0017t4c)
Agatha Christie’s Giant’s Bread

One of six brilliant novels written by Agatha Christie under the name of Mary Westmacott. The insatiable hunger of the genius (the giant) will devour everything around him to feed his voracious appetite for art.

Vernon Deyre is lost. He cannot afford to live in the house where he grew up and he’s in love with Nell, a girl who wants security. He takes a job in his Uncle’s factory but then experiences a personal epiphany at a classical concert and is determined to become a composer himself. His work is experimental and difficult, using the sounds made by everyday objects or by using traditional instruments in extreme and unusual ways. Through his work he meets the famous opera singer Jane Harding, who encourages him to move to Russia to compose his greatest Opera.

This is the story of his obsessional pursuit of his music, his relationships, the terrors he experiences in the battlefield and his struggle to regain his identity after the First World War - but, most of all, his final understanding that without creation he has no soul.

Cast:
Carl Bowerman/ George Chetwynd ... Tim McMullan
Sebastian Levinne ... Philip Arditti
Vernon Deyre ... Tom Glenister
Josephine Waite ... Lucy Trodd
Nell Vereker ... Hannah Boyde
Jane Harding .. Janis Kelly

By Agatha Christie, writing as Mary Westmacott
Adapted by Malcolm McKay.

Original music by Nick Bicât
Sound Designer: Leon Chambers

Directed by Annabel Arden
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0017t4h)
Benjamin Myers

Johny Pitts talks to Benjamin Myers about his novel The Perfect Golden Circle.

In his novels, poetry and short stories, Benjamin Myers has long focussed on landscape and the mystical power of place. His previous award-winning novels include The Gallows Pole, Beatings and Pig Iron. Now comes The Perfect Golden Circle or The Strange Rites of an English Summer which explores the healing power of nature in a very different way.

We hear from Lulah Ellender, whose book Grounding: Finding Home in a Garden is about creating a thriving green space in a plot which might soon be lost. Writers Charlie Porter and Charlotte Moore join Johny to discuss the rich history of garden writing and the importance of green and verdant spaces in precarious times.

Book List – Sunday 29 May and Thursday 2 June

The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers
The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers
Beastings by Benjamin Myers
Pig Iron by Benjamin Myers
Grounding: Finding Home in a Garden by Lulah Ellender
What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter
Hancox by Charlotte Moore
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Family from One End Street by Eve Garnett
Modern Nature by Derek Jarman
Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
Unearthed: On Race and Roots and How Soil Taught me to Belong by Claire Ratinon
The Garden by Andrew Marvell


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m0017t4n)
Fiona Benson

Fiona Benson joins Roger McGough to make her selection from listeners' requests. She chooses poems by Lucille Clifton, Sophie Herxheimer, Robin Robertson, Liz Berry, Walt Whitman, Sharon Olds, Hannah Hodgson and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Fiona has published three collections of poetry: Bright Travellers, which was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and won the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry's Prize for First Full Collection; Vertigo & Ghost, which won the Roehampton Poetry Prize and the Forward Prize for Best Collection; and a new collection, Ephemeron.

The extract from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself is taken from a Drama on 3 production for BBC Radio 3, broadcast in 2021. The reader was Eleanor Bron and the Producer was Emma Harding.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m0017kjd)
Searching Questions

Why are a disproportionate number of black children being strip searched? File on 4 hears from teenagers taken in for a ‘strippy’ so often, it’s become part of life.
The strip search of ‘Child Q’, a fifteen year old black girl in a London school, was headline news, sparking outrage and official inquiries. Her teachers claimed she smelled of cannabis, but no drugs were ever found.
A safeguarding report said racism a likely influencing factor in Child Q’s ordeal. The Metropolitan police admitted the strip search should never have happened.
But for some black girls and boys, humiliating – and sometimes unlawful – strip searches are nothing new.
File on 4 hears from young people who’ve been strip searched so often they’ve lost count – in their bedrooms, in children’s homes, and in the back of police vans.
We know children from ethnic minorities are being disproportionately strip searched.
File on 4 can reveal that in the last five years, on average fifty children a week were strip searched in England and Wales - a disproportionate number of them from ethnic minorities.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Hayley Mortimer
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Payton
Editor: Carl Johnston


SUN 17:40 Profile (m0017sxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0017t4r)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0017t4w)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0017t50)
The government wants an investigation into the chaotic scenes before the UCL final.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0017t54)
Nazir Afzal

Sharing the sounds of truth, Injustice and the importance of words from people such as Sue Gray, Armando Ianucci, Candi Statton and Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe.

Presenter: Nazir Afzal.
Producer: Emmie Hume
Production Coordinator: Pete Liggins
Studio Manager: Colin Sutton


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0017t58)
Brian’s looking on the bleak side of things. He mentions to Stella that the forensic accountant is taking things no further over the farm’s finances, and she exclaims this is fantastic news. She’s puzzled as to why Brian seems so miserable. Brian shares that Neil’s venomous words have been playing on his mind. He bitterly regrets how hard he was on Chris, who he admits was a wonderful husband to Alice and a fantastic dad. If Brian had been in Neil’s shoes he probably would have said the same. Stella feels Brian’s tired, and needs a break away from the farm. She suggests he has time off to unwind when Ruairi returns for the holiday.

At the cricket Jazzer admits to Jim he hasn’t told Tracy he’s been sacked. But Jim feels she’d understand; and it’s not as if the two of them are sharing a household. When Tracy pops into the scorebox Jazzer bites the bullet. As predicted Tracy takes a pragmatic approach to the news, but admits it’s not great. Jazzer suggests he moves in, to make up Gary’s lost rent? Tracy’s unsure. They’re interrupted by Roy, and the atmosphere turns icy as Tracy and Jazzer give him a hard time, and he beats a hasty retreat. Jazzer feels this proves his case. They make a formidable team; look how they saw Roy off! Tracy begins to lay down house rules and things get a little raucous as Jim returns wanting to know why the scoreboard isn’t up to date. But Jazzer just thanks Jim for putting the idea in his head.


SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (m0017t5d)
The Rest of Us

Northern Ireland's Mary Flanigan, Scotland's Eleanor Morton and Wales's Esyllt Sears look into the history of Great British science and technology, highlighting figures who you may not be as familiar with as you should be.

From gin and tonic to radar and completely useless units of measurement, Mary, Eleanor and Esyllt will tell you things you didn't know, and give a new perspective on things you did.

Written by and starring Mary Flanigan, Eleanor Morton and Esyllt Sears

Recorded and mixed by David Thomas

Produced by Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 How One Becomes Lonely (m0017t5k)
Episode 4

Novelist and musician Luke Sutherland’s immersive tale of cowardice, courage and connection tackles the perpetual struggle to make sense of an ever-changing world. From the comfort of his Perthshire home, 81-year old Archie Devine dips into the murkier corners of the internet as he remembers the time he let true love slip through his fingers.

As Archie remembers the bitter end of his relationship with Nadine, his online correspondence with credence takes a dark turn.

Words and music by Luke Sutherland
Read by Cal MacAninch and Reuben Joseph
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie


SUN 20:00 More or Less (m0017kc5)
Germany’s excess deaths, Eurovision and teacher shortages

Some recent, and surprising, estimates from the World Health Organisation suggested that the UK fared better than Germany in the pandemic. But did they get it right?

At Eurovision this year an algorithm was apparently used to replace whole countries’ votes - was it responsible for the UK’s second-place finish?

The global economy has been putting the squeeze on many of us this year. Various factors have caused food, fuel and energy prices to rocket and many households are starting to feel the pinch. We speak to economist Duncan Weldon about whether this year is the worst hit to the cost of living since records began.

An unusually large contingent of children are set to hit English secondary schools just as the number of 21 year olds dips – so are we heading for a teaching crunch in England?

Produced in partnership with The Open University.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0017kg1)
Baroness Haleh Afshar, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kay Mellor, Vangelis (Pictured)

Matthew Bannister on

Baroness Haleh Afshar, the Iranian-born academic and activist who made her home in the UK and campaigned for women’s rights.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates who led the transformation of his country and was a key ally of the West.

Kay Mellor, the TV writer best known for series like 'Band of Gold', 'Fat Friends' and 'The Syndicate'.

Vangelis, the prolific composer who won an Oscar for the soundtrack to the film 'Chariots of Fire'.

Producer: Neil George

Interviewed guest: Molly Newton
Interviewed guest: Janet Veitch OBE.
Interviewed guest: Sameer Hashmi.
Interviewed guest: Paul Allen.

Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Baroness Haleh Afshar 28/12/2008; FOX 5 New York, The first minutes of the reporting of the 9/11 attacks from WNYW 11/09/2001; BBC Radio 4, Today Programme - Kay Mellor tribute 18/05/2022; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs - Kay Mellor OBE 29/10/2017; Granada TV, Band of Gold (1995); Rollem Productions/ Tiger Aspect Productions/ Yorkshire Television, Fat Friends 2000; Isolde Films, Vangelis and the Journey to Ithaka - Documentary (2013); Al Jazeera English, Vangelis: A Message of Hope 22/01/2012.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0017sx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0017t3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 The Digital Human (m000tml8)
Series 22

Find

In 2006 the creators of the alternate reality game, Perplex City set a puzzle challenge called Billion to One. With only one photograph and a first name players were tasked with using the internet to find out who the man was in the photo. Despite thousands of people looking for Satoshi he stayed hidden for 14 years until eventually, just before New Year in 2021 Tom Lucas in Germany used reverse image search and in under five minutes discovered who he was, where he lived, worked and how to contact him.

This may be considered progress for those who want to be found but for people like Sian who live under Witness Protection, advancements in technology means stepping out of her house becomes a huge risk. Because we capture so much of our lives and put it online, where ever Sian goes she has to be vigilant she’s not caught on camera or video. Just one reverse image search could mean she is found, which could have dire consequences for her and her family.

In Japan, Satoshi records his first interview since being found giving a voice to the Billion to One puzzle photo for the first time. Aleks finds out if Satoshi knew thousands of people were looking for him and how feels about being found?

Producer Kate Bissell
Researcher Juliet Conway


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0017t5p)
Nick Watt discusses the continuing fallout from the Sue Gray report and assesses the Chancellor's measures to help with the cost of living, with Conservative MP Claire Coutinho; Labour's Emma Hardy; and pollster James Johnson. The UK editor of Politico, Jack Blanchard, brings additional insight and analysis of the top stories at Westminster.


SUN 23:00 Loose Ends (m0017sxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0366xrw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]

MONDAY 30 MAY 2022

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0017t5v)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m0017kcw)
Wealth - Plutocratic London

Plutocratic London and dynastic wealth. Caroline Knowles, Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, takes Laurie Taylor on a tour of plutocratic London, a city with more resident billionaires than New York, Hong Kong or Moscow. How have the fabulously rich re-made London in their own image and what is the cost to ordinary Londoners? They’re joined by Katie Higgins, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sociology of Elites at the University of Oxford, and author of a study exploring the inheritance practices of the ultra wealthy. How do they maintain a belief in the value of work whilst preserving inheritance for the generation to come?

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0017syb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0017t60)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0017t63)
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 (m0017t68)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0017t6d)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0017t6g)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Anne Easter

Good morning!

Today, May the thirtieth, the Church remembers Josephine Butler, an English feminist and social reformer who was born in 1828. Josephine was an extraordinary woman, well ahead of her time, who, when her youngest child died in an accident, decided that the best way to deal with her grief was to try to help others who less fortunate than herself so she went to the local workhouse and listened to the women there.

Hearing their stories, Josephine went on to campaign for a number of feminist causes, including the right of girls to better and equal education and for an end to the human trafficking that took girls and young women to Europe as prostitutes.

There are some who’d say that the term Christian feminist is an oxymoron, given the blatant discrimination that the church has practised towards women over the years, but Josephine saw her work very much as the manifestation of her faith which, she wrote, was in God to whom she prayed direct, she didn’t bother with the church as intermediary!

Two hundred years later, feminist causes still need to be championed – the average hourly earnings of women in this country is overall still fifteen percent less than that of men.

While the Bible inevitably reflects the social culture of its day, it seems very clear to me that Jesus bucked those trends. He included all those who were often excluded, especially women. He listened to women’s views and used positive examples of women in his stories – even suggesting that women could be like God in the story of the lost coin, for example.

God, help us to enjoy the diversity of all those around us but to treat each person we meet equally and honourably.

Amen


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0017t6j)
30/05/22 Peat fires; Soil workshop; Farming and climate change.

The RSPB and Greenpeace say they have evidence of illegal burning of peatlands. Burning peat was banned in protected areas and where the peat is deep last year, as part of government efforts to protect and restore peatlands which sequester carbon. Traditionally some have been routinely burnt to create the right habitat for grouse and also to prevent wildfires. But conservationists say they’ve reported 79 cases of possible illegal peat burning.

Applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive open later this week. It's the first phase of England’s replacement for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy: farmers will be paid for the public goods they provide. This is a massive change and there is help and advice for farmers as they make the transition. In Devon, a business advice service - the Business Information Point - has been running a series of free workshops to get farmers up to speed. One of them is about soil, and how to improve it.

What impact will climate change have on farming in the future? Met Office scientists have been studying the impacts on everything from producing livestock, to growing crops, disease and drought.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


MON 05:56 Weather (m0017t6l)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b020tnrx)
Nightjar

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Nightjar. Take a walk on a heath on a warm summer evening and you may hear the strange churring sound of the nightjar.


MON 06:00 Today (m0017t7v)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0017t7x)
Family drama at Hay Festival

In front of an audience at this year’s Hay Festival Helen Lewis talks to three prize winning authors about their work.

Damon Galgut’s Booker-winning The Promise tells the story of a family and a country – South Africa – and the failed promises that destroy them both. The exciting promise of a super-connected world where memories are currency is set against the quest for privacy in Jennifer Egan’s new novel The Candy House. And Margo Jefferson examines every passion, memory and influence – from family to jazz to art – in her new memoir, Constructing a Nervous System.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Black Gold by Jeremy Paxman (m0017t7z)
Episode 1

Writer and broadcaster Jeremy Paxman’s vivid and compelling social history of how coal 'made' Britain read by Adrian Scarborough.

Episode One: A Rock that Burns

It was Britain's good fortune to be blessed with rich seams of anthracite and the ambition and hard labour of her inhabitants to turn it into the nation's powerhouse. From Roman times to the late 20th century, Paxman explores the stories of the engineers and inventors, landowners, entrepreneurs and industrialists who saw the potential for innovation and wealth. For centuries it was the driving force behind our economy and trade and the preoccupation of politicians. It fuelled the industrial revolution producing everything from carriage wheels to needles, it warmed and lit the nation’s homes and powered our steam trains and ships.

Underpinning all of this and central to Paxman’s book is the history of the miners themselves who toiled in appalling conditions to hack the coal from the underground seams and the mining communities that formed around the pitheads. He also explores the terrible human cost of coal with the filthy, polluting air it produced as it burned and the inevitable and multiple accidents that happened to those working underground.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton and produced by Julian Wilkinson.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0017t82)
Hannah Fry, Female Bouncers, Ukrainian Refugees

Hannah Fry is a professor in the Mathematics of Cities at UCL, a best selling author, a TV presenter and a podcaster. But in January 2021, her life changed when she found out she had cervical cancer. At just 36 years old, with two young daughters, she was faced with her own mortality. She turned to the statistics to find out what she was facing. But what she found within them shocked her. As a way of coping with the diagnosis, she started filming her treatment and has turned it into a deeply personal documentary: Making Sense of Cancer.

What’s it like to be a female bouncer? With the industry saying staff shortages are impacting their ability to keep people safe, they are making plans to hire more women. Michael Kill is CEO of the Night Time Industries Association and Carla Leigh is a Door Supervisor and is setting up her own security business focusing on getting women in to the industry.

Over 60 thousand Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the UK since the beginning of the war. Most of those are women and children as most men have been banned from leaving Ukraine. Anya Abdulakh is from the charity Families4Peace, which is helping newly arrived Ukrainians in London. She is working with women like Maria and Olena who both came to the UK from Kyiv in recent weeks. Anya, Maria and Olena speak to Paulette.

Do you know what a tweenager is? A listener got in touch and told us she was struggling to work out how to support and understand her 11-year-old daughter. In focusing on teenagers have we neglected younger children? Dr Tara Porter is a Clinical Psychologist and she argues that the 'tween' years lay the groundwork for the teens. She joins Paulette Edwards to offer insights and advice.

Presenter: Paulette Edwards
Producer: Emma Pearce


MON 11:00 The Untold (m0017t84)
Trouble at the Barbers

The covid-19 lockdowns were brutal for small businesses. They were particularly tough for barbers. In an industry when getting up-close and personal is the only way to get the job done, the business of hair-cutting was simply unworkable.

Phil, a barber in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, knows that the gentleman's shaves, haircuts, skin-fades and beard-trims he offers can be so much more than just personal grooming - they can be a much needed self-esteem boost, a chance to chat to a sympathetic ear, or a moment of peace on a tough day. In March 2020, finding himself shut down like the rest of the industry, Phil was keen to find a way to stay connected to his customers, haircuts or no haircuts. He took to facebook and - reluctantly at first - started hosting live chat sessions... just a chance to connect, chill out and have a chat. As the world went in, then out, then back in to successive waves of lockdowns, Phil felt he was making it work. Weathering the storm, and making the best of a bad situation.

But June 2021 was to bring a shock that no-one could have predicted, and which might just be the final straw.

Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight


MON 11:30 Don't Log Off (m0017t86)
Series 13

Keeping Going

In Melbourne, Jaswinder describes the epic road trip he made with his fellow members of Sikh Volunteers Australia, to bring healthy food to the victims of severe flooding more than 1000km from their base.

Karma is a tour guide through the majestic mountains of Bhutan where he leads treks lasting up to 27 days - but health issues are placing Karma's business in jeopardy.

Nearly two years on from the explosion which devastated the city of Beirut, Lebanon is enveloped in an acute economic crisis and Paloma's mum has been telling her to leave.

Using social media, Alan Dein is connecting with people around the world, to hear stories of hope and support, whether in peaceful or unsettled times.

Producer: Conor Garrett


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0017t88)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0017t8b)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


MON 12:57 Weather (m0017t8d)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m0017t8g)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 How to Steal a Trillion (m0017t8j)
1 - The Invention of Offshore

Author and journalist Oliver Bullough traces Britain's vital role in the growth of 'offshore' money laundering, talking to historians, whistleblowers, former law enforcement investigators and politicians.

In this episode, he traces the origins of offshoring back to the sleepy City of London of the 1950s. A moment of inspiration fuses with the shock of the Suez Crisis to create the launch of a whole new approach to finance - with consequences that are still playing out right now.

Series contributors include: Graham Barrow, Roman Borisovich, Bill Browder, Liam Byrne, John Christensen, Damian Hinds, David Lewis, Vanessa Ogle, John Penrose, Catherine Schenk, Helena Wood

Producer: Phil Tinline


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0017t58)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (m0017t8m)
Barbeque 67 - The Original Summer of Love

Robert Glenister and Anamaria Marinca in a drama about migrant workers Jimi Hendrix and the true story of the rock festival that launched the Summer of Love. With verbatim accounts from those who took part, including Geno Washington, Zoot Money and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason.

In a Lincolnshire landscape now home to labourers from Eastern Europe, Doug’s greatest memory is of Spalding’s Barbeque 67. Widowed, retired and depressed, this former tulip farmer (Robert Glenister) is helped to his feet by the young Romanian Tereza (Anamaria Marinca). An intimate friendship blossoms. Tereza grafts at picking vegetables and grading potatoes, but she once fronted her own band, Purple Haze, and Doug finds himself retelling the story of the night when Hendrix came to Spalding and played in the first ever rock festival.

For, amazing as it sounds, this happened exactly 55 years ago. On 29th May 1967 thousands descended on a giant agricultural shed, the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall. Alongside Hendrix, one of the greatest line-ups in rock history included Eric Clapton, Geno Washington, Pink Floyd, The Move, Zoot Money and local band Sound Force Five.

While Doug measures the person he has become against the person that Hendrix invited him to be, events in the town lead to an escalation of hostility to its Romanian workers. A series of confrontations will leave both Doug and Tereza to make decisions about where their futures lie.

Cast:
Doug - Robert Glenister
Tereza - Anamaria Marinca
John - Gerard McDermott
Young Doug - Tom Glenister
Young John - Joe Parker
Jimi Hendrix - Shaq B. Grant
Stefan - Timotei Cobeanu
Mr Carlton - Roger Alborough

Additional, real-life contributors:
Jane Cooper
Lynton Guest
Doug Kendall
Christopher Longstaff
Rob Mardle
Vic Martin
Nick Mason
Zoot Money
Rob Offer
Mick Peacey
Alastair Stewart
Colin Ward
Geno Washington

Written by Andy Barrett
Sound Design: David Thomas
Director: Andy Jordan
Producer: Jonathan Banatvala
Executive Producer: Melanie Nock

An International Arts Partnership production for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz (m0017t8p)
Programme 10, 2022

(10/12)
Wales make the last of their four appearances in the current series, fervently hoping they can add another victory to their tally this season. Myfanwy Alexander and David Edwards appear for Wales, against Val McDermid and Alan McCredie of Scotland.

A knowledge of provincial English painters, characters in Macbeth, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the sayings of Bill Shankly might all be very helpful to the panel this week. As they work their way to the answers Kirsty will be on hand to feed them clues, though the more help she has to give them the fewer points they'll end up with.

A proportion of the questions have, as usual, been provided by RBQ listeners.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m0017t3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Dancer and Her Shoe Maker (m0017k94)
A dancer at the top of her career can't do her job without the skill and attention to detail of their shoemaker.

Francesca Hayward is a principal dancer for the Royal Ballet and Bob Martin is her shoemaker. It’s a very personal choice for a dancer to settle on the perfect shoe - each maker is different - and so once they've found one, they rely on the maker of that shoe for their whole career.

Pointe shoe making is a dying craft which has recently been given heritage craft status in the UK. There are not many people left like Bob.

This programme takes you behind the curtain to peep into a world of craft, sweat and determination. Rich in ballet music, this is an uplifting real life fairy tale of two people connected by a shoe.

Producer: Catherine Robinson for BBC Audio Wales and West


MON 16:30 The Digital Human (m0017t8s)
Series 26

Reflections

Aleks Krotoski asks if AI companions will be like imaginary friends of childhood? And if so will they afford the same benefits - making us better, more social human beings.

To mark the 10th anniversary of The Digital Human we're answering some of the questions that have stuck with us over the last 10 years. In 2017 we spoke to Eugenia Kuyda she used her AI startup in San Francisco to help her create a chatbot version of her late friend Roman. Using all the texts she and her firends had ever received from him they made an AI that could text in voice.

But its where she wanted to take the technology that intrigued us. She wanted give everyone their own Roman, an AI bot that would be a constant companion infinitely patient and understanding. It would be taught by the user using their own texts and so would speak to them in their own voice, she called it Replika. Five years on Replika has 20 million users across the globe.

The idea made us instantly think of imaginary friends from childhood. In this programme Aleks sets out to find out if this more than an interesting metaphor but perhaps a key way to understand our relationship with these soon to be pervasive technologies.

Producer: Peter McManus


MON 17:00 PM (m0017t8v)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0017t8x)
Russian forces are reportedly nearing the centre of Severodonetsk, in eastern Ukraine.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0017t8z)
Series 89

Talking Pictures, The Art of Drag and My Fashion Essentials

Sue Perkins challenges Dane Baptiste, Jayde Adams, Jan Ravens and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

The long-running Radio 4 national treasure of a parlour game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from The Art of Drag to My Fashion Essentials.

Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Hayley Sterling

A BBC Studios Production


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0017t91)
Chelsea’s keen to enjoy some space now her Uncle Gary has moved out. But Tracy asks her instead if she’d mind Jazzer moving in. Chelsea doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Tracy points out it would help them financially, but Chelsea counters that she’s sure Tracy will get a new job, so it will all be fine as it is. Jazzer seeks out Chelsea, and gives her a hand with her bike chain. He asks her why she doesn’t want him to move in, and at last she reveals the problem’s Webster. She can’t bear the thought of having a big spider in the house; she’s phobic. But she knows how much Jazzer loves Webster. Jazzer’s just relieved it’s not about him.
Adil fills Roy in on some of the plans for the new look hotel. Roy admits he feels like a pariah in his own village. Adil assures him it will pass, and people will come round. He’s had similar experiences in his own past. He moves on, emphasising the focus on local for the new Grey Gables; he wants to connect the hotel to the community, to give guests a sense of place. Later Roy’s prompted to confess the racist incident against Usha he was involved with in the past. This rattles Adil, and he suggests they move forward with work matters. Roy tries to explain his current stance, and that this episode was very much in the past, but Adil excuses himself – he has calls to make.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0017t93)
Refik Anadol, Jasdeep Singh Degun, The British Art Show

Immersive digital art in Coventry, the British Art Show, & music from Jasdeep Singh Degun.


MON 20:00 The Little Black Book (m0017t95)
Growing up in New York in the 1980s, Laurence Legall was more than aware of the dangers of walking down the street. It didn't take much for a young black man to be stopped and searched by the city police - and if you made a wrong move, you could end up dead.

In this programme, from his home in Brooklyn where he has lived for much of his life, Laurence tells the story of the small but vitally important book created by his mom to help young black men stay safe on the streets of NYC.

It all began one day in 1985 when he went to buy some shoes with friends. They were robbed by a group of young men. Seeing a police car, they flagged them down but the NYPD didn't take their complaint seriously. When he got home, his mom was furious. But rather than just accept it, she decided do something about it.

And she was no stranger to 'doing something about it'. Back in 1957, Carol Taylor fought discrimination on the airlines to become the first black flight attendant in the United States. A few years later, she took her place on the podium at the March on Washington in 1963 with other civil rights campaigners.

And then years later, she wanted to make a stand for her son and all other young black men. Laurence's experience had been the last straw and, that evening, Carol sat down and wrote a list of survival rules for not just her son but for all black men to follow in the event of being stopped by the police. She called it The Little Black Book. This programme charts the story of that book, its important list of 30 rules and how it continues to be relevant nearly 40 years after its first publication.

Producer: Caroline Heywood
Executive Producer: Ashley Byrne
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4

Picture: Courtesy of Laurence Legall


MON 20:30 Analysis (m0017t97)
From Russia with love

As Russia’s brutal war with Ukraine enters its fourth month, Edward Stourton asks who Russia's allies and friends are and looks at the nation's influence overseas.

While President Putin has made no secret of his belief that Ukraine should be part of a “greater Russia”, what is less apparent is how far Russia’s influence is spreading in other parts of the world.

These include sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. With the West having left a vacuum in parts of Africa, President Putin has been able to offer military help in unstable countries such as Mali and the Central African Republic.

This follows Russia's intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of Bashar Al-Assad's government, with implications for the wider geopolitics of the region.

And in Latin America, Russia is accused of using soft power tactics through its media channels to polarise society and spread anti-US and anti-Western propaganda.

Edward Stourton asks to what extent this shows that Russia is trying to rebuild the old Soviet-US spheres of influence of the Cold War.

Producer: Caroline Bayley
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Helena Warwick


MON 21:00 The Dolittle Machine (m0017khn)
Can we build a Dolittle Machine, a piece of technology that will let us converse with the animals of planet Earth? Science fiction writer Matthew De Abaitua investigates how the latest advances in AI mean that this is now more in the realms of the possible, rather than in the purely fantastical.

Starting in his garden with two cats, he finds himself in a tropical forest with big-brained hook-wielding birds, surveying multidimensional neural networks, and meets a woman who found out about her pregnancy from a dolphin. There are also robotic fish and sound pictures painted at high speed by fruit bats.

What is Matthew’s machine going to look like, how will it operate, and what will we learn from it all?

Featuring:
Linda Erb, vice president of animal care and training, Dolphin Research Center, Florida.
Martha Nussbaum, professor of law and philosophy, University of Chicago.
Diana Reiss, professor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College.
Daniela Rus, roboticist, professor and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, MIT.
Natalie Uomini, researcher into New Caledonian crows and animal intelligence.
Yossi Yovel, professor, Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University.

Extracts from ‘Songs of the Humpback Whale’ used with permission from Ocean Alliance.
Sperm whale sounds courtesy of Project CETI.

Presenter: Matthew De Abaitua
Producer: Richard Ward
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for Radio 4


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m0017t7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0017t9b)
EU unable to agree ban on Russian oil imports

In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 Mr Wilder and Me by Jonathan Coe (m0017t9d)
Episode 1

In 1945, Billy Wilder made a film called "Death Mills" about the Holocaust. In it he showed “an entire field, a whole landscape of corpses”. He went on to make "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment". "Mr Wilder & Me" is ostensibly a fiction about a young woman discovering her love of film, music and young men but it is also about the way that a generation of film-makers responded to the great cataclysm of the second world war and the seriousness with which they viewed entertainment, particularly comedy, as an escape from nightmarish reality.

The protagonist, Calista is a film score composer and she tells the story of how she came to work for the legendary film director, Billy Wilder whilst he was preparing to work on one of his last films, "Fedora".

Written by Jonathan Coe
Abridged by Florence Bedell

The reader is Jasmine Hyde

Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 DMs Are Open (m0017m2c)
Series 1

Episode 2

This week, DMs Are Open sees show hosts Athena Kugblenu and Ali Official dissecting the big stories alongside Akafi Ali, Abi Clarke and Stuart Laws. Tune in for sketches, one-liners and voice notes about the Love Island preoccupied with recycling, football louts in a board meeting, and how opera singers take on video game classics.

Written by: YOU, the public!
Script Editors: Catherine Brinkworth & Nathan Darcy-Roberts
Producers: Sadia Azmat and Rajiv Karia
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Sean Kerwin
Sound Engineer: Neil Goody - Premises Studios

A BBC Studios Production


MON 23:30 Epiphanies (m000y6jd)
Sara Collins, Bobby Gillespie, Lisa Dwan

John Wilson explores the intimate moments of creative inspiration that have been experienced by some of our best known artists.

The actress Lisa Dwan recalls the unforgettable impact of seeing her first Beckett play on television, and then, as a young actress, receiving the script for “Not I” and realising that this was a man who was writing for ‘the voices in my head’.

Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream talks about writing poetry as child in a tough Glaswegian comprehensive school and the breakthrough moment during the writing of the band’s hit ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’ when he realised you didn’t have to use metaphor or symbolism, but instead could channel raw, honest emotion.

Novelist Sara Collins remembers fleeing Jamaica with her family at the age of four, after her father was forced into exile during the political turmoil of the mid-1970s. As the feelings of displacement and loss of identity overwhelmed her, she found solace in the world of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Match Girl.

Produced by John Wilson
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

TUESDAY 31 MAY 2022

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0017t9h)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Black Gold by Jeremy Paxman (m0017t7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0017t9k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0017t9m)
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 (m0017t9p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0017t9r)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0017t9t)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Anne Easter

Good morning!

When I was Chaplain of our local maternity hospital, I often met women who had made friends with others at ante natal clinics and I know of some of those friendships that, years later, are still going strong.

I remember sharing with other women about all the preparations I was making for the new baby, the problems of choosing the right names and our wondering together if life would ever be the same – as if!

Today, May 31st, is when Christians remember and celebrate the Visitation, when Mary, who was expecting Jesus, went to see her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting a baby. Both pregnancies were unusual; Elizabeth was well past child-bearing age and thought she and her husband would never have a baby but her son John later prepared the way for Jesus. Mary was very young and just engaged.

The story in the Bible says that Elizabeth felt her baby jump in response to the arrival of Mary and her bump and that, in the privacy of their home, Mary and Elizabeth could marvel over their condition and wonder at the blessings that had so unexpectedly come upon them. And that story foretells the meeting, some thirty years later, when John the Baptist recognised Jesus as divine and baptized him in the river Jordan.

God our Mother, thank you for those around us with whom we can share our hopes and fears. Encourage us to dream dreams and to do what we can to bring light and joy into this world.

Amen


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0017t9w)
The Government has begun negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Mexico, hoping to build on the deal inherited from the EU. We hear from a cheese producer looking to expand into this new market. Meanwhile, the UK Government has also signed a document called a Memorandum of Understanding with the US State of Indiana. But what will it mean for British farmers?

And is vertical farming the future of food production? We visit a new facility being built just outside Norwich where they plan to grow 300 thousand bags of salad each week on a site of just four acres.

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b092clll)
Amy Liptrot on the Arctic Tern

Orcadian author and conservationist Amy Liptrot laments of the disappearance of breeding Arctic terns from her family farm for Tweet of the Day.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.

Producer Mark Ward.


TUE 06:00 Today (m0017tgj)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0017tgl)
Pete Smith on why soil matters

Pete Smith is very down to earth. Not least because he’s interested in soil and the vital role it plays in helping us to feed the world, mitigate climate change and maintain a rich diversity of species on planet earth. He was born in a pub and failed the 11+ exam (designed to identify bright children just like him) but he became a distinguished professor nonetheless.
Tackling climate change in isolation is a mistake, he says. We need to consider all the challenges facing humanity and identify strategies that deliver benefits on all fronts: food security, bio-diversity and human development goals.
He tells Jim Al-Khalili about his life and work and the urgent need for our degraded peat bogs to be restored. Peat bogs that have been drained (for grazing or to plant trees) add to our carbon emissions. Healthy peat bogs, however, are carbon sinks.
Producer: Anna Buckley


TUE 09:30 One to One (m0017tgn)
The Beat of Change: Faranak Amidi and Dr Martha Newson

Faranak Amidi, World Service radio presenter and women's affairs reporter, talks to anthropologist Dr Martha Newson, who has studied rave, about about why humans have always partied, how it can bond us, and whether rave can change society for the better.

Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton


TUE 09:45 Black Gold by Jeremy Paxman (m0017tj4)
Episode 2

Writer and broadcaster Jeremy Paxman’s vivid and compelling social history of how coal 'made' Britain read by Adrian Scarborough.

Episode Two: Life Underground

It was Britain's good fortune to be blessed with rich seams of anthracite and the ambition and hard labour of her inhabitants to turn it into the nation's powerhouse. From Roman times to the late 20th century, Paxman explores the stories of the engineers and inventors, landowners, entrepreneurs and industrialists who saw the potential for innovation and wealth. For centuries it was the driving force behind our economy and trade and the preoccupation of politicians. It fuelled the industrial revolution producing everything from carriage wheels to needles, it warmed and lit the nation’s homes and powered our steam trains and ships.

Underpinning all of this and central to Paxman’s book is the history of the miners themselves who toiled in appalling conditions to hack the coal from the underground seams and the mining communities that formed around the pitheads. He also explores the terrible human cost of coal with the filthy, polluting air it produced as it burned and the horrific accidents that happened to those working underground.

In today’s episode we hear first hand testimonies of what life was actually like for miners and how in the 19th Century many of them were underage. They worked the seams bent over for hours in filthy and dangerous conditions and, with little regard for safety, young miners at the Huskar Pit in South Yorkshire paid a terrible price.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton and produced by Julian Wilkinson.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0017tgs)
Grease stars Olivia Moore and Jocasta Almgill. Author Julie Myerson. Restorative justice.

Grease IS the word! We meet actors Olivia Moore and Jocasta Almgill, who are taking on the roles of Sandy and Rizzo in a new production of one of the best-loved musicals of all time.

Author Julie Myerson’s new book is Nonfiction, a novel about a couple struggling with a daughter who is addicted to heroin. It's partly inspired by the experience of her own son's drug addiction. Julie joins Andrea Catherwood to talk about addiction, maternal love and the ethics of novel writing.

As we await the verdict in the Heard / Depp libel trial, we look at the ramifications. Some say that neither party comes out of it well, but there are also serious concerns that this televised court case is harmful to victims.

New sentencing guidelines regarding child sexual offences come into force today. Child abusers will now face tougher sentences for the act of planning or facilitating sex offences even if sexual activity doesn't occur or the child doesn’t exist, for instance, where police pose as children in sting operations. We hear from Gabriel Shaw, Chief Executive of the charity NAY-PAC, National Association for People Abused in Childhood.

And for the first time in Scotland, some victims of rape and domestic abuse will be able to formally meet those who harmed them. In a process called restorative justice, victims of crime, such as sexual abuse or assault, can ask for a face-to-face meeting with the perpetrator. Andrea talks to Gemma Fraser, head of Restorative Justice Policy at Community Justice Scotland, and Ashley Scotland, Chief Executive of the charity Thriving Survivors, which will offer a specialist service for cases involving sexual harm.

Presenter Andrea Catherwood
Producer Beverley Purcell
PHOTO CREDIT; Manuel Harlan


TUE 11:00 The Truth About Tourette’s (m0017tgv)
Aidy Smith has Tourette Syndrome - commonly thought of as a swearing disorder. But in reality, 90% of people with Tourette’s don't swear. Over the decades, popular culture has built up a skewed picture of Tourette Syndrome. Documentaries have focused on those with extreme symptoms and Coprolalia. Hollywood movies have used it as a means of manufacturing cheap laughs. Comedians have used it as a punchline.

In this programme, Aidy meets people with incredible talents and successful careers who have overcome the struggles and the stigma. People like Pete Bennet, who rose to fame in 2006 after winning the seventh series of the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother, and Dr Wilson Tsai, a thoracic surgeon in the US who hopes to inspire others by sharing how martial arts and practicing medicine gave him confidence and a sense of worth.

A Rosa production for BBC Radio 4

BBC Action Line support:

Tourettes Action provides confidential and impartial support to adults and children living with Tourette Syndrome.
Live chat available
www.tourettes-action.org.uk

The Brain Charity provides help and support to people with conditions affecting the brain, spine and nervous system, including Tourette’s syndrome.
Phone: 0800 008 6417
https://www.thebraincharity.org.uk/

Information from the NHS:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tourettes-syndrome/


TUE 11:30 Black Roots (m0017tgx)
Episode Two – Arnold Shultz, the banjo and bluegrass music in Kentucky.

String bands, hoedowns, square dances, old-time fiddle and banjo styles, these sounds were a dominant strand in African American roots music from the 17th century onwards. Despite this, many people think that such music comes solely from dungaree-wearing, white rural folk. Country might appear to be the whitest of all music genres, but it has some surprising roots.

How have these black roots been whitewashed from the history of American folk and country music? How have folk and country been positioned as white genres? What does black Americana sound like today?

In this episode, acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens explores bluegrass music in Kentucky, the history of the banjo and the story of Arnold Shultz.

For many listeners of bluegrass, the story of this music begins in December 1945, when ‘Father of Bluegrass’ Bill Monroe brought his band on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Yet, Bill Monroe always acknowledged the black fiddler and guitarist Arnold Shultz as one of his major influences. Rhiannon explores how African American musicians like Shultz were often mentors to white country stars of the time.

Featuring Joshua Bronnenberg, Dr Richard S. Brown, Dr. Erika Brady, Dom Flemons, Dr Andrew Rhinehart and Tray Wellington.

Presented by Rhiannon Giddens
Produced by Tom Woolfenden
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0017tl7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0017th1)
Call You & Yours: Holiday Plans

On Call You & Yours we're asking: about your holiday plans.

Will it be a staycation... again? Or come flight delays and airport queues, are you determined to go abroad?

Will the cost of living squeeze put you off or make you more determined to take a break.

If you haven't decided yet, there's not much time left to book - and fewer rooms and holiday homes to let this year- is that your experience?

Email us now - youandyours@bbc.co.uk and add a phone number so we can call you back


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0017th3)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0017th5)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 How to Steal a Trillion (m0017th7)
2 - The Last Pink Bits

Author and journalist Oliver Bullough traces Britain's vital role in the growth of 'offshore' money laundering, talking to historians, whistle blowers, former investigators, and politicians.

In this episode, he traces how offshoring developed through Britain's links to an unusual number of islands - the 'last pink bits' on the old Imperial map, and Crown Dependencies, such as Jersey.

Series contributors include: Graham Barrow, Roman Borisovich, Bill Browder, Liam Byrne, John Christensen, Damian Hinds, David Lewis, Vanessa Ogle, John Penrose, Catherine Schenk, Helena Wood

Producer: Phil Tinline


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0017t91)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 The Penny Dreadfuls (m000h8gk)
Richard III Rebothered

Rather than a conniving and treacherous hunchback, Richard was an honest and loyal warrior with only a slight spinal kink, nothing you'd notice if you weren't looking for it.

This is the story of how, through the invention of the printing press, a good man became the first victim of fake news and how the Tudor dynasty was built on a foundation of lies by the world's first spin doctor, Henry Tudor.

Written by David Reed.

Starring The Penny Dreadfuls:

Humphrey Ker
David Reed
Thom Tuck

With Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Celeste Dring.

Producer: Julia McKenzie

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2020.


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m0017th9)
Series 31

Sound Effects

Listening to the melodies in auctioneer school, reimagining the sound in your ears and a twilight audio-experience which takes you back in time. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures inspired by unusual sound worlds.

The Auctioneer (Excerpt)
Originally produced by Ned Sublette for New American Radio
somewhere.org

Accompaniment for Ever-Present Sounds
Composed by Sami El-Enany

Flying Fox
Featuring Lawrence Pope
Produced by Thomas Phillips

Photo credit: Doug Gimesy

Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:30 A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand (m0017tcx)
Series 1: Addicted to Food

1. How did we get so different?

Chris and Xand are doctors, scientists and identical twins. Well, not quite identical. Xand is 20kg heavier, clinically obese, and has a Covid induced heart condition.

Chris believes that the reason Xand is overweight is the same reason that most of us in the UK are overweight - Ultra Processed Food or UPF. It’s the main thing that we now eat and feed to our children, but most of us have never heard of it. It’s addictive, highly profitable and the main cause of the global obesity pandemic. It’s destroying our bodies, our brains and the environment.

In this series, recorded during the first coronavirus lockdown of 2020, Chris wants to help his brother quit UPF and get his health back. So, he has a plan. In an attempt to turn Xand's life around, Chris persuades his brother to eat a diet comprising 80% Ultra-processed food while learning about every aspect of it. By doing this, Chris tests two theories - that Xand is addicted to UPF, and that eating more of the stuff while learning about it, will help him quit.

Chris believes that the science shows UPF is addictive and harmful to the body, not least by driving excess consumption and weight gain. By speaking with the world’s leading experts on obesity and nutrition, Xand will learn what UPF is made of, how it’s produced, whether it’s addictive, what it does to the human brain and body and how it is the number one force driving global obesity.

In episode 1 - How did we get so different? - Chris and Xand speak to Cambridge University geneticist Dr Giles Yeo to begin to understand the origins of Xand's (and everyone else's) size, learning about the role our food environments play in our susceptibility to UPF. How much is destiny, how much might we be able to control?

Presented by Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken
Produced by Hester Cant
Executive Producers Philly Beaumont and Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media and van Tulleken Brothers Ltd production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:00 A Laureate for Elizabeth (m0017thc)
Masefield, Day-Lewis, Betjeman, Hughes, Motion, Duffy and Armitage - these are the poet laureates who have served during the reign of Elizabeth II.

William Sieghart looks at their work as public poets and how they represent and epitomise not only an evolution of attitudes to monarchy, but also a radical change in poetry itself. Together, these poets provide a literary counterpart to the ways Britain has changed during the 70 years of Elizabeth’s reign.

As the Royal Family has become more approachable, through their changing societal roles and the increased use of modern media, so the Laureate's role has changed too. John Betjeman's poems, for example, are remarkable for their affectionate, amusing tone - such as this description of a Royal ceremony:

"Earl marshal leads the victims in.
The Royal Family waits alone.
Now television cameras whirr
Like cats at last induced to purr."

That is quite different from Ted Hughes’ poetry from the 90s, "Rain-Charm for the Duchy: A Blessed, Devout Drench for the Christening of His Royal Highness Prince Harry" which, while it echoes ancient belief in the relationship between the monarch’s fertility and the nation’s health, strongly referenced Hughes’ concern with environmentalism.

Later still, Andrew Motion’s Christmas poem in 2000 included references to London homelessness, "a shanty town of cardboard boxes" .

The great Royal events and Jubilees have continued to be celebrated, but the poetry has moved from reverence to relevance. As Carol Ann Duffy, the first woman laureate puts it, "All poets, to a greater or lesser degree, need to have a finger on the national pulse. Poetry provides an important alternative voice to journalists or pundits or academics as a way of dealing with things that matter to us all."

A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m0017thf)
Judy Garland

Susie Boyt picks Judy Garland, the child star who became one of the most famous entertainers of the twentieth century. June 2022 will be the centenary of her birth.

"All people ever said to me was, ‘You have got to toughen up,'" Susie told us. "You cannot go round nursing these wild cascades of feelings, or you’re never going to have a happy life. Then one day my mother took me to see The Wizard of Oz. It was the first film I ever saw at the cinema, and when I heard Dorothy singing Over the Rainbow, I thought, here is someone whose feelings seem to run as high as my own and she’s not hiding it, she’s not embarrassed by it, she’s not ashamed. She was leading with her feelings as though they were the best thing life contains."

Joining Susie Boyt is John Fricke, leading Judy Garland expert who put her ability to thrill her audiences far ahead of the many tabloid accounts of her life.

The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer in Bristol is Miles Warde


TUE 17:00 PM (m0017thh)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0017thm)
The holiday company, Tui, has announced more flight cancellations as the travel industry continues to experience staffing shortages, causing widespread disruption.


TUE 18:30 Daphne Sounds Expensive (b08yqccf)
Series 2

Atlantis

World-renowned opera singer Sir Willard White has an ingenious plan to solve the boys' money woes. They must travel to the lost city of Atlantis in pursuit of a legendary precious metal.

Join critically-acclaimed sketch trio, Daphne, as they pull out all the stops in a dazzling array of peculiar characters, whacky scenarios, dodgy remarks, curious observations, minor altercations and major peacemaking - served on a bed of catchy little numbers with a live nine-piece band.

Written by and starring: Jason Forbes, Phil Wang & George Fouracres

with Celeste Dring, Will Seaward and Sir Willard White

The Daphne theme was composed by Jeff Carpenter

Original music composed by Pippa Cleary

Orchestrator: Simon Nathan

The Daphnettes were the London Musical Theatre Orchestra:

Musical Director - Freddie Tapner

Violin - Debs White
Cello - Nick Squires
Trumpet - Michael Maddocks
Trombone - Elliot Pooley
Tenor Sax - Joe Atkin Reeves
Drum Kit - Ben Hartley
Percussion - Ben Burton
Piano - Jon Ranger
Bass - Jack Cherry

The Production Coordinator was Hayley Sterling

It was produced by Matt Stronge and was a BBC Studios production.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0017tc6)
Roy attempts to continue the conversation with Adil that he began yesterday. He suggests they go to the pub for lunch. Adil observes that as Roy’s been in Ambridge all his life, he must like it. Roy agrees that on its day, there aren’t many lovelier places. Adil thinks so too. They relax and exchange chat. Adil reassures Roy he has no problem with his past – and in turn Roy needs to stop worrying about what other people think of him working with Adil. They need to forge ahead with the future of Grey Gables.

Steph Casey’s taken over the Brookfield kitchen as she prepares herself and husband Liam for photos to help promote the farm. She’s full of ideas for good shots, though Ruth observes Liam’s not looking too happy. Stella arrives to finalise arrangements for shearing the Brookfield flock at Home Farm. She raises her eyebrows at the sight of David photographing flamboyant Steph. Ruth suggests they leave them to it, and instead shares with Stella the plans for the new winter housing for the cows. Stella confides to Ruth her concern for Brian. He’s clearly very tired with the fallout from Alice’s divorce. They’re interrupted once more by Steph, who’s had enough of Liam. He’s stormed off the shoot. She wells up, asking David and Ruth what their secret is. They impart some wise words of advice, and Steph pronounces them a great example of a happy marriage. She longs for this for herself and Liam. David suggests she starts by picking up the phone.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0017thp)
Rory Kinnear on the film Men, Lord Parkinson on the new UK City of Culture, The Duchess of Cornwall, Mo Abudu on Blood Sisters

Actor Rory Kinnear plays ten characters- all the male roles but one- in the new psychological horror film from Alex Garland, Men. He joins Samira Ahmed to discuss how he approached playing multiple roles in this exploration of fear and loathing in the English countryside.

The UK’s new City of Culture 2025 is announced. The Minister of Arts, Lord Parkinson reveals which bid from the shortlist of Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough has been successful and what the title will mean in terms of investment and attracting visitors to the area.

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is involved with the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Prize as vice patron of the Royal Commonwealth Society. She spoke to Tina Daheley about how the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools promotes literacy and empowers young people.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Julian May

Photo: Actor Rory Kinnear in the film Men Credit: Entertainment Film Distributors


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0017thr)
Ukraine: The Disinformation War

Russia’s response to accusations of war crimes in Ukraine has been to blame the Ukrainians of bombing their own side. Some people here in the UK have been sharing this version of the war on social media. Driven by a conviction that Western governments are responsible for many of the world’s ills, these academics, journalists and celebrities have shared misinformation in their attempts to raise questions about the official narrative of the war. Their detractors say they are useful to Vladimir Putin. They claim there’s a McCarthyist witch hunt against them. All wars are fought as much in the information space as on the battle field and Chloe Hadjimatheou looks at where the new red lines are being drawn in an age of disinformation.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0017tht)
Matchday Mayhem; The Great Outdoors

Visually impaired Liverpool FC fans Dave Williams and Aj Ahmed were at the Stade de France last weekend, as Liverpool prepared to meet Real Madrid in the Champions League final. News headlines have been dominated by the mayhem that unfolded there, including the use of tear gas and dangerous overcrowding. The two tell us what happened to them, whilst caught up in it.

A lot of the great outdoors can be quite inaccessible, especially if you are completely blind. Nature is often synonymous with visual beauty and, with the exception of birds, a lot of wildlife can be rather quiet. We speak to two avid visually impaired naturists about how they create access opportunities for themselves. Andrew Hesser has recently appeared on BBC Two's Gardeners' World and he shares his top tips for introducing a little more gardening and nature into your life. Andy Shipley has dedicated himself to the idea of involving other visually impaired people in all aspects of enjoying the natural world. Under his organisation called Natural Inclusion, Andy provides disability inclusion training to heritage sites and parks and facilitates workshops to encourage people to experience nature with more senses than just sight. Andy tells us about some of the projects he's worked on.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole

Website image description: two women on a hike in Munnar, India. One woman is visually impaired and is using a cane. Behind them, stretches green fields and trees.

Link to Andrew Hesser's Facebook group, for tips and advice on gardening: https://www.facebook.com/groups/385503852747202
Link to Andy Shipley's Natural Inclusion: https://www.natural-inclusion.org/


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (m0017tcb)
Post-pandemic mental health; navigation ability; conversations with strangers

Back in 2020 at height of pandemic lockdown the “ Social Study” a longitudinal study began looking at the psychological and social impact of the pandemic involving over 95,000 UK adults. What started as a 12 week study has now been running for 2 years. So now, as we’re emerging from restrictions of the pandemic, epidemiologist Daisy Fancourt of University College London discusses the post -pandemic’s impact on our mental health.

Do you find yourself keep getting lost? Many factors influence our ability to navigate but the environment we grow up in is often overlooked. Could living in the city compared to the countryside help or hinder our sense of direction? Claudia hears from Professor Hugo Spiers whose major new study across 40 countries reveals people who grew up in rural or suburban areas have better spatial navigation skills than those raised in cities, particularly cities with grid-pattern streets.

Good conversation can be one of life’s most enjoyable experiences, but we are surprisingly bad at judging how well conversations could go with a stranger. Mike Kardas of North Western university has attempted to examine the time course of enjoyment after getting 1000 participants to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Surprisingly we don’t run out of things to say. but how deep can a conversation go?

Claudia Hammond’s studio guest is Professor of health psychology Daryl O’Connor from the University of Leeds

Producer Adrian Washbourne
Made in Partnership with The Open University


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m0017tgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0017thw)
More "Partygate" pressure on Boris Johnson

In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 Mr Wilder and Me by Jonathan Coe (m0017thy)
Episode 2

In 1945, Billy Wilder made a film called "Death Mills" about the Holocaust. In it he showed “an entire field, a whole landscape of corpses”. He went on to make "Sunset Boulevard", "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment". "Mr Wilder & Me" is ostensibly a fiction about a young woman discovering her love of film, music and young men but it is also about the way that a generation of film-makers responded to the great cataclysm of the second world war and the seriousness with which they viewed entertainment, particularly comedy, as an escape from nightmarish reality.

The protagonist, Calista is a film score composer and she tells the story of how she came to work for the legendary film director, Billy Wilder whilst he was preparing to work on one of his last films, "Fedora".

Written by Jonathan Coe
Abridged by Florence Bedell

The reader is Jasmine Hyde

Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (m0017tj0)
235. I've been to Split several times, with Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes

This week on Fortunately Fi and Jane are joined by the journalists Sirin Kale and Pandora Sykes, hosts of the podcast Unreal, a critical history of reality TV. Unreal looks back to the earliest days of the format and takes us all the way to today, featuring iconic shows and stars. Before their guests' arrival Fi and Jane have had some niche PhD titles sent in and emergency Jubbly plans are afoot.

Get in touch: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk


TUE 23:30 Epiphanies (m000ycvx)
Edmund de Waal, Danielle de Niese, Gabriel Krauze, Olivia Williams

John Wilson explores the intimate moments of creative inspiration that have been experienced by some of our best known artists.

Opera superstar Danielle De Niese remembers how her mother inspired her to sing as a young girl growing up in Australia, with an interpretation of Barbra Streisand’s Evergreen that taught her that singing is as much about personal interpretation.

Gabriel Krauze was longlisted for the Booker Prize for his debut novel Who They Was, based on his time as a member of criminal gangs as a young man on the streets of west London. An obsessive reader of fiction as a child, he remembers the epiphany of first hearing It Was Written, an album by New York rapper Nas which inspired him to tell his own stories of criminality and survival.

As a young girl, actress Olivia Williams wanted to be a ballet dancer after falling in love with Rudolf Nureyev when she saw him dance in Sleeping Beauty. She was inspired to become a stage actress Royal Shakespeare after seeing Judi Dench lead a comedy musical production of A Comedy Of Errors in the mid 1970s.

Ceramic artist and author Edmund de Waal first discovered the pottery wheel when he was taken to an evening art class at the age of five, a moment of epiphany that set the course of his life for the next 50 years.

Produced by John Wilson
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4