SATURDAY 15 JULY 2023

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001npgx)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001npp4)
Stay Young - with Michael Mosley

Stay Young - Ep 5: Stay Strong

Michael explores the best way to help you look younger as well as live longer and healthier – revealing how strength training can benefit your waistline, preserve muscle fibres and increase healthy lifespan.

Pumping up your muscles is one of the best ways to protect from the ravages of time and injury. In this episode, Michael speaks to Professor Abigail Mackey from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, to find out how resistance training can strengthen the connection between your brain and muscles, and keep them looking younger at the cellular level. And it’s not just your muscles that benefit, maintaining your muscle mass can boost your brain function, improve sleep, and significantly reduce your risk of diabetes. It may even be better at reducing belly fat than cardio! Champion weight-lifter Shirley Webb reveals how lifting weights transformed her life and mobility even though she only started pumping irons in her mid-70s.

Producer: Catherine Wyler
Assistant Producer: Gulnar Mimaroglu
Executive Producer: Zoe Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001npgz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001nph1)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001nph3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001nph5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001nph7)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea


SAT 05:45 Living on the Edge (m001npb2)
Corsewall

Ten coastal encounters, presented by Richard King.

Today: a visit to Corsewall lighthouse, near Stranraer, with keeper Barry Miller.

Not simply town or countryside, the coastline is a place apart – attracting lives and stories often overlooked.

In these ten programmes, the writer Richard King travels around the UK coast to meet people who live and work there – a sequence of portraits rooted in distinct places, which piece together into an alternative portrait of the UK: an oblique image of the nation drawn from the coastal edge.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001nvfv)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001np6l)
Tiny's Cairn

It's a land of standing stones, burial cairns and circles in the fields - Glen Lonan beside Loch Nell. Lupi Moll and Ivan Nicholson, who've known the area all their lives, take Oban resident Antonia Quirke on a short trek through the glen to see if they can work out why there are so monuments here. It was once part of the road of the kings, an ancient coffin route. It also includes a more recent memorial, a stone eye that marks the resting place of Lupi's wife, who died twelve years ago.

The presenter is Antonia Quirke, and the producer in Bristol is Miles Warde


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001nvfx)
15/07/23 Farming Today This Week: Great Yorkshire Show, calls for a rethink on beavers, fairer milk contracts, singing sheep

Great Yorkshire Show: we ask the Defra Secretary what the new rules on pollution mean for farmers.
Why MPs are calling for a rethink on beavers.
And dairy farmers welcome new government measures to protect them from unfair contracts with milk companies.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001nvfz)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001nvg1)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001nvg5)
Anita Rani, Max Dickins, Nadeem Perera, Minnie Driver

Countryfile, Woman’s Hour, and dazzling audiences on the Strictly Dancefloor – Anita Rani is a hugely popular and award-winning presenter whose Indian ancestry means a lot to her - and it was her experience on Who Do You Think You Are? that planted the seed for her debut novel “Baby Does a Runner".

Max Dickins is a stand-up comedian and author who has performed thousands of gigs and 3 hour solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. His latest book ‘Billy No Mates’ is a memoir which touches on some really important and emotional issues about loneliness and why so many men are so bad at friendship.

Nadeem Perera is a wildlife host and co-founder of the birdwatching collective “Flock Together”. He grew up in the London Docklands but was often taken back to Sri Lanka by his mother and it was the nature of her homeland that inspired him to become a naturalist.

Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the mellifluous actor and musician Minnie Driver.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad

Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (p0cwb369)
The History of Timekeeping

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr David Rooney and Desiree Burch at the literal beginning of time to explore the history of timekeeping. Covering everything from the origins of timekeeping to time in space, we even learn how you can smell the time! Above all, we finally find out who you can blame for daylight savings and the real reason it was invented.

You’re Dead To Me is a production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4.
Research by Rosie Rich
Written by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow
Project Management: Isla Matthews
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey


SAT 10:30 Rewinder (m001nwnv)
A Business of Ferrets

Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and proud radio nerd, heads into the BBC archives to deliver a selection of prime audio, using stories of the week and listener requests as his launch-pad.

As Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Oppenheimer opens in cinemas, Greg finds some extraordinary recordings of the real J Robert Oppenheimer, the man in charge of the secret laboratory at Los Alamos where the atomic bomb was invented. We hear Oppenheimer's reaction to the testing of the first ever nuclear bomb in 1945, as well as his thoughts on the bombing of Hiroshima. He was invited to give the BBC Reith Lectures in 1954, and then in 1956 his security clearance was stripped from him by the US Government during a trial which the BBC reconstructed verbatim in a strange programme broadcast in 1970.

Following on from Greg's enthusiastic search for old radio jingles last week, listener requests lead him to more memorable melodies, including jingles for paraffin and the decimalisation of Australian currency.

Greg also marks 40 years since vandals broke into the Blue Peter garden. He unearths some letters sent in by young viewers with offers of help, some more sinister than others.

And a clip of legendary director, actor and writer Ken Campbell on Radio 4's Midweek in 2002 sends Greg down a ferret hole where he explores Blue Peter's strange obsession with ferrets over the years, and finds the man who held the world record for keeping ferrets down his trousers.

Producer: Tim Bano


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m001nvg8)
The i Newspaper's Chief Political Commentator, Paul Waugh, discusses the biggest political stories of the week with guests.

Paul Waugh discusses the public sector pay settlements with former Treasury Minister, Dame Angela Eagle, and the Conservative Chair of the Education Select Committee, Robin Walker.

Baroness Catherine Ashton, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, delivers her assessment of the NATO Summit.

Labour Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Dame Diana Johnson, and fellow Conservative Committee member, Tim Loughton, discuss the Illegal Migration Bill.

And, former Conservative special adviser Sam Freedman, and The Guardian's Media Editor, Jim Waterson, discuss what the arrival of new social media app 'Threads' means for politicians and journalists.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001nvgb)
Wagner Group: Business as Usual

Kate Adie presents stories exploring events in Russia, the United States, Mexico, Lanzarote and South Africa.

After its failed march on Moscow, the Wagner Group was supposedly going to be disbanded and its leader exiled to Belarus. But as our Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford found out, this mercenary army still appears to be recruiting new members to its ranks - and Yevgeny Prigozhin is a free man.

Across the United States, tens of millions of Americans still believe that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election - some of them are serving in public office. Mike Wendling is just back from Iowa, where he met one former conspiracy theorist whose own political appointment is causing friction among local Democrats and Republicans.

The Tren Maya project is a huge looping railway line, nearly a thousand miles long, which (if completed) would connect the dots in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula - once the heartland of Mayan civilisation. As with any groundbreaking transport works, not everyone is happy - there have been objections over its potential environmental impact. Louise Morris recently followed the journey of a convoy which aimed to stiffen resistance to the project.

The Canary Islands were well known to ancient civilisations of the Mediterranean. There are accounts of Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians all reaching the islands, as they hunted for valuable plants which were sources of red dye for fabrics. These days, the islands belong to Spain and among them is Lanzarote - a popular destination for European sun-seekers. But beyond its tourist hotels and restaurants, Charles Emmerson stumbled across the origins of one modern European empire.

In South Africa, questions over the nation’s education system can get seriously heated. Decades after the end of apartheid, many people argue that South Africa’s schoolrooms are still far too focused on European scholarship - so does that explain the indifference to one of the country's most valuable literary treasures? Oxford Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Emma Smith, finds herself the only one excited by a rare copy of Shakespeare's First Folio.

Producer: Polly Hope
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001nvlv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001nvgg)
Call to Reopen Energy Support Scheme

A “staggering failure” is how one senior MP has described a government scheme designed to help nearly a million households with their energy bills last winter. Former SNP and now independent MP Angus MacNeil, who's Chair of Parliament’s Energy Security and Net Zero committee, has called on the government to reopen the scheme after a Money Box investigation reported that 750,000 eligible households have not received the £400 to help with their fuel costs and can't now apply for it. The Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding was launched in February to give the £400 to people who live in park homes, on narrow boats, in care homes, and travellers who had not automatically had the £400 which was sent to households with an electricity meter.
In response, a government spokesperson said: "We spent billions to protect families when prices rose over winter, covering nearly half a typical household's energy bill – this includes more than £50m supporting 130,000 households without a domestic energy supplier".

What do the government’s new proposals for pensions mean for the millions of people with money invested and how risky are the plans?

There's a warning about mortgage scams where people are being tricked into giving away personal details by phishing emails and texts.

And will government plans to reform consumer credit law strengthen or weaken our rights?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 15th July, 2023)


SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m001npg1)
Series 23

Episode 5

A look back at the week in which the BBC began eating its own tail.

In a week in which the BBC began to eat its own tail, the Dead Ringers team provides the gravy to go with it. Plus an interview with the man no one is talking about, Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey, and an episode of The Archers fashioned for Gen Z.

This week's impressionists are Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Jess Robinson and Duncan Wisbey.

This episode was written by: Nev Fountain & Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Ed Amsden & Tom Coles, Edward Tew, Robert Darke, Joe Topping, Sophie Dickson, Sarah Campbell, Peter Tellouche and Cody Dahler.

Produced and created by Bill Dare
Production Coordinator: Dan Marchini


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001nvgj)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001nvgl)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001npgh)
Thangam Debbonaire MP, Richard Foord MP, John Glen MP and Katherine Bennett

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Melksham Assembly Hall in Wiltshire with the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Thangam Debbonaire MP, the Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Richard Foord MP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP and the Chief Executive of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Katherine Bennett.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001nvgq)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week


SAT 14:45 The Museums That Make Us (m001687d)
Bristol's M Shed museum

Neil MacGregor presents a new series for BBC Radio Four celebrating the role and ambition of museums the length and breadth of the country, and in the process he'll be finding answers to the question ‘What are Museums For in 2022’.

With the toppling of the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in 2020, in the wake of the worldwide protests over the murder of George Floyd, Bristol became a centre of debate about the way we talk about colonial history, and what we do with objects that describe recall it. The statue, now on its side and still covered in paint, is in Bristol's M Shed museum, but that's not the object that the museum have chosen to tell the story of their museum's relationship with the city today. Instead Neil is shown around one of the city's old Lodekka Buses, which is used to tell the story of the Bristol Bus boycott of 1963. It arose from the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus Company to employ black or Asian bus crews in the city. In common with other cities, there was widespread racial discrimination in housing and employment at that time. But the boycott, led by youth worker Paul Stephenson and the West Indian Development Council, worked. Soon after, the restrictions were dropped and it was considered to have been influential in the movement that lead to the passing of the Race Relations Act of 1965.

Museums have always been telescopes trained on the past to help locate a sense of place in the present. Neil believes that role is an active one, responding to changes in the people museums serve and the shifting social and cultural landscape they inhabit. After spending much of his life at the centre of our national Museum life in London, Neil is taking to the road to discover more about the extraordinary work being done in Museums outside the capital, from Stornoway to Stowmarket, and Belfast to Birmingham.

In each episode he visits a single museum, inviting them to choose an object from their collections which they feel best illustrates their civic role, and the way they relate and want to relate to their local audience. Very rarely have they chosen a crown jewel from their often priceless collections. More often it's an object with a particular local resonance, or which helps tackle episodes from the past which are being viewed very differently by citizens in the 21st century.

He’ll be visiting the great national museums of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, as well as major city institutions in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and elsewhere. And in spite of the challenges of the last two years, everywhere he meets passionate teams who are dedicated to providing a unique experience for both local audiences and visitors from further afield.

Neil writes: “What’s going on in our museums is at once challenging and exciting and it can only really be understood by visiting as many as possible and finding out how they have approached what is a vital role in providing a sense of local, regional and national identity.”

Producer - Tom Alban
Original music composed by Phil Channell


SAT 15:00 Fault Lines: Money, Sex and Blood (m000fdyb)
Series 1: Money

A Not Nice Girl

1/2. A Not Nice Girl
by Christopher Reason
Constance is the mother to Miles Sterling, one of the richest men in Britain. He's accrued his fortune in oil and plastics. Miles is treading a fine line between reputability and disrepute, and when a dark secret comes to light it puts his whole career in the balance.

Constance - Glenda Jackson
Miles - Robert Glenister
Rufus - Jonathan Keeble
Rachel/Janet - Fiona Clarke
Lydia - Heather Craney
Gabriel - Hasan Dixon
Produced and Directed by Pauline Harris

Further Info: This series begins with a two part drama. The remaining dramas are all stand-alone looking at the extended family across Britain. When Constance is diagnosed with Motor Neuron disease she decides to delve into the lives of a family she’s long refused to acknowledge. Future series, will explore aspects of society through the lens of sex and blood. Inspired by Zola's Rougon-Macquart Series, BLOOD SEX AND MONEY, where Zola examined different areas of society in Second Empire France.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001nvgv)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Welfare Support at Sandhurst, Women Plumbers, Flying with Children

In her only broadcast interview, Louise Townsend, the mother of Olivia Perks who took her own life in 2019 whilst at Sandhurst Military Academy, speaks to Woman’s Hour. Louise discusses her view that there was a lack of welfare support from the academy towards her late daughter and what steps need to be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

According to the ONS, only 2.4% of plumbers are women. We speak to two female plumbers about why that figure is so low and whether they recommend the job to other women. Sovay Berriman runs the company PlumbMaid and is based in Cornwall, and Lysette Hacking, worked as a plumber for six years before becoming a lecturer in plumbing at Calderdale College in Halifax in Yorkshire.

The Supreme Leader of Iran has called for a massive population increase, and the state has been offering financial incentives for women to have more children. There is also now more pressure on women not to access contraception, and abortion has been criminalised further, with a potential prison sentence for women being proposed by the regime. Meanwhile cases of unsafe illegal abortions have increased. The BBC’s Saba Zavarei has been speaking to Iranian women about their experiences.

Where do you put your awards and achievements? Do you show them off or keep them all to yourself? We hear from the academic Dr Louise Creechan who keeps hers in her downstairs loo, while the co-host of the Wittering Whitehalls, Hilary Whitehall, has kept her trophy in her handbag.

As the holiday season begins, we talk to Jane Dowden and Lucy Cavendish about travelling on planes with small children, and how to deal with tantrums and disgruntled fellow passengers.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Lucy Wai
Editor: Louise Corley


SAT 17:00 PM (m001nvgz)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Sliced Bread (m001np5v)
Mosquito Repellents

If you are heading somewhere tropical this summer, or just want to protect yourself from bites in your own back garden, then which mosquito repellents can you trust?

Greg Foot gets up close and personal with a box full of hungry mosquitoes to find out.

Is it all about DEET or are there alternatives which are just as effective? What about citronella? And how well do bracelets, patches and candles perform?

And if you do get bitten, what is the best treatment for a mosquito bite?

Greg assesses the scientific evidence with Professor James Logan from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Dr Jane Wilcock, an indepedent researcher and GP.

If you’ve seen an ad, trend or fad relating to another consumer product and wonder if there’s any evidence to back up a claim, drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or you can send a voice note to our WhatsApp number: 07543 306807

PRESENTER: Greg Foot
PRODUCER: Jon Douglas


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001nvh3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001nvh7)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001nvhc)
The Czech Republic player makes history by beating Tunisia's Ons Jabeur on Centre Court 6-4, 6-4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001nvhh)
Mark Gatiss, Raksha Dave, Thenjiwe, Penguin Cafe, Kit Green, Scottee, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Scottee are joined by Mark Gatiss, Raksha Dave, Thenjiwe and Kit Green for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Penguin Cafe and Kit Green.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m001nvhm)
Joe Biden

Joe Biden has been involved in US politics for more than fifty years, becoming one of America’s youngest senators in 1972, when Richard Nixon was in the White House. Now, aged eighty, Biden is the oldest US president in history and is seeking re-election in 2024.

He’s experienced terrible tragedies in his life, when his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car accident in 1972, and the death from cancer of his elder son, Beau, in 2015.

Yet he bounced back, serving two terms as vice president under Barack Obama, and finally making it to President in 2021. As he makes another run at the White House, Mark Coles charts his life from the blue-collar town of Scranton, Philadelphia to Washington DC and hears how family plays a very important role in his life.

Presenter: Mark Coles
Production team: Diane Richardson, Alix Pickles, Sabine Schereck, Sally Abrahams
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon


SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0fwww6q)
Series 27

The Magic of Mushrooms

Brian Cox and Robin Ince find out about the secret world of fungi, hidden beneath our feet. They are joined by biologist Merlin Sheldrake and mycologist Katie Field. They hear about the hidden life of fungi, including their hundreds of mating types, predatory behaviour and crucial role in life beginning on Earth. Katie shares how mycologists like her are using fungi to come up with creative solutions to climate change.

New episodes are released on Saturdays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF

Producer: Caroline Steel
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b09wlnch)
The King and Kennedy Assassinations: If the Dead Could Speak

Exactly 55 years ago, two assassinations rocked America. The civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King and Senator Robert F Kennedy were murdered two months apart. Michael Goldfarb retells their story and asks their children, grandchildren and close friends about America in those terrible days and America now.

Producer: Julia Hayball
A Certain Height production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:00 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hfrn)
Series 5

Episode 3

It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th century greed, as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST

Toby Jones. Joseph Oldman/Olinska
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Catherine Isabella Urbanowicz
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
John Redvers Tom York
Sir Ralph Courtney Nick Sampson
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Brian Perry Nicholas Murchie
Jack Braden/Stranger John Hollingworth
Kevin Wheeler Lucas Hare
Peter Balladur Jamie Newall
Supervisor Kieron Jechinnis
Warder Peters/John Major Paul Kemp
Sonia Hope/Angela Sarah Lambie
John Redvers Tom York

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:45 The Skewer (m001npfd)
Series 9

Episode 4

Jon Holmes's comedy current affairs concept album remixes news into award-winning satirical shapes. This week - He Who Shall Not Be Named (at the time of writing), George Osbourne's Big Day, Do Ray Me Kier, and Taliban Barbie.

Created and produced by Jon Holmes

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News (m001nvht)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Add to Playlist (m001npgc)
Natalie Duncan and Gabriella Swallow celebrate Bastille Day

Pianist and singer Natalie Duncan and cellist Gabriella Swallow take us from the French Alps to a dusty airstrip in the Australian outback with Miles Davis as they add the next five tracks.

Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are also joined by Ukrainian-born pianist Dinara Klinton for some Hungarian Rhapsody.

Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Belleville Rendez-vous/Les Triplettes de Belleville
Spirit in the Dark by Aretha Franklin
Hungarian Rhapsody No2 in C-Sharp Minor by Franz Liszt, played by Vladimir Horowitz
Concert on the Runway by Miles Davis and Michel Legrand
Cricket on a Line by Colt Ford ft Rhett Atkins

Other music in this episode:

La Valse by Les Négresses Vertes
Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
School Spirit by Kanye West
Hungarian Rhapsody No2 in C-Sharp Minor by Franz Liszt, played by Dinara Klinton
Old Town Road by Lil Nas X


SAT 23:00 The 3rd Degree (m001npb6)
Series 13

University of Strathclyde

Coming this week from the University of Strathclyde, The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.

The specialist subjects this week are creative writing, management science and civil and environmental engineering so there'll be questions involving words like "babok", "chiasmus" and "vug". Also, a chance to find out about the fascinating Mavis Grind.

The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The general knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow and Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three specialist subject rounds, in which students take on their professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.

In this series, the show goes to Exeter, Strathclyde, Keele, King’s College London, Portsmouth, and Somerville College, Oxford.

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:30 Yeti (m001nvhy)
3. Gambolling on the Glacier

While yeti searching in northern Myanmar, Andy and Richard cross paths with a pair of British mountaineers who tell them about a strange creature they saw while climbing in the Himalayas.

While Andy believes this is a real yeti sighting, Richard needs to investigate further. He uncovers more accounts of strange sightings and footprints at high altitude.

Can these stories be true? The yeti enthusiasts decide to find out for themselves.

In this 10-part documentary series, Andrew Benfield and Richard Horsey travel through India, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan in search of stories of yeti sightings and encounters. They hear from villagers, yak herders, sherpas and mountaineers, who give surprisingly consistent descriptions of a mysterious, large, hairy creature. This series takes us on a journey deep into Himalayan culture as the presenters grapple with their own inner demons to try to make sense of the yeti myth.

Producer: Joanna Jolly.
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass.
Sound designers: Peregrine Andrews and Dan King.
Composer of original music: Marisa Cornford.
Assistant Producer Maia Miller- Lewis.
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.

SUNDAY 16 JULY 2023

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001nvj2)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Poetry Please (m001np5m)
Michael Pedersen

The Scottish poet Michael Pederson joins Roger McGough to make a selection of listener requests, including poems by Jackie Kay, Edwin Morgan, Maggie Smith, Ted Hughes and Ada Limón.

Michael has published three collections of poetry, including his most recent, The Cat Prince. His prose memoir, Boy Friends, was published in 2022. He won a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, the John Mather's Trust Rising Star of Literature Award. Pedersen also co-founded Neu! Reekie! — a prize-winning literary production house that produced cutting edge shows in Scotland and the world over for over ten years.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001nvj6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001nvjb)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001nvjg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001nvjl)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001nvjr)
St. Olave, Hart Street, in London

Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St. Olave, Hart Street, in London. Built in the 15th Century, this church escaped the Great Fire and is famous as being the church where Samuel Pepys worshipped and was buried. Its eight bells were destroyed when the church was bombed in 1941, but a new ring of eight was cast in 1953 by Mears and Stainbank of Whitechapel out of the metal of the old bells. The Tenor bell weighs eleven and three quarter hundredweight and is tuned to C. We hear them ringing Stedman Triples.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m001nvhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001nvgp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (m0001h0x)
Living in the Moment

Rabbi Harvey Belovski examines the benefits of living in the moment and concentrating on the needs of the now. He highlights the importance of accepting and understanding the future’s unpredictable nature.

Harvey considers the value of mindfulness as a way of encouraging people to pay attention to the present, reducing stress and improving mental wellbeing. He explains that spirituality is often misperceived as venerating the past, or aspiring towards the future. While it’s important to do so, identity and meaning can also be found in the present.

Harvey reads a prayer that imagines God reviewing the performance of every human being. The prayer has a simple and plaintive message: no-one knows whether they will be alive this time tomorrow, let alone further into the future. The importance of appreciating the present, then, becomes clear. According to legend, the prayer was written by Rabbi Amnon, who composed it as he lay dying, having been tortured for his refusal to abandon his faith.

Rabbi Harvey also considers the relationship between living in the moment and caring for one’s self. While it’s important to be fully present for others, what’s more important, according to Harvey is to attend to one’s own needs. This in turn leads to being better at living in the moment for others.

Presenter: Harvey Belovski
Producer: Oliver Seymour
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m001nvgt)
Daffodil bulb harvest

The Taylor family have been in the flower bulb business for four generations. Sarah Swadling visits their Lincolnshire farm as the daffodil bulb harvest is in full swing. Taylor’s grows 150 hectares of daffs for bulbs, as well as buying them from local farmers. The company also sources and packs other flower bulbs from around the world. Sarah finds out what it takes to get them from the field to being ready to plant in the garden this autumn.

Produced and presented by Sarah Swadling


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001nvgy)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001nvh2)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001nvh6)
Soul Survivor; 'Our Problematic Father'; White Privilege

The Church of England's National Safeguarding Team has said it will not discipline Soul Survivor's Mike Pilavachi. Pilavachi, who founded Soul Survivor church and its Christian youth festivals resigned four months after more than 100 people alleged inappropriate behaviour that including wrestling with young teenagers. Edward Stourton speaks to David Gate, a former Soul Survivor church member, who shares his first hand experience.

The Archbishop of York said last week that addressing God as 'Our Father' might be 'problematic'. We've gathered the opinions of some theologians - Christian, Muslim and Jewish - about the gender of God.

A report published this week says many Catholic and Church of England schools are using American-style Critical Race Theory to teach pupils about racial justice, claiming the lessons are divisive and do more harm than good. Edward Stourton is joined by the author of the report, Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert to debate the issue with The Reverend Nigel Genders, Chief Education Officer for the Church of England.

Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Peter Everett
Studio Managers: Colin Sutton & Helen Williams
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001nwp5)
Sumatran Orangutan Society

Actor Brian Blessed makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Sumatran Orangutan Society.

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 ‘Sumatran Orangutan Society’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Sumatran Orangutan Society’.
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: 1158711


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001nvhb)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001nvhg)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001nvhl)
Margam Abbey in South Wales was once one of the foremost monastic institutions in Wales, offering generous hospitality to visitors, and helping the community in times of need. In this service, broadcast live from Margam Abbey church, the Rt. Revd. Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff preaches on the parable of the sower, and the theme of growth and fruitfulness. The service is led by the Rev'd Mark Greenaway-Robbins, and members of the BBC National Chorus of Wales (directed by Adrian Partington) will sing the followings hymns and anthems:
All creatures of our God and King
King of glory (Gwalchmai)
For the fruits of God’s creation
Now my tongue the mystery telling
John Rutter: For the beauty of the earth
Joseph Haydn: Achieved is the glorious work

The organist is John Cheer.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001npgl)
The Dragon and The Dog

While viewing a 16th Century painting of St George slaying a dragon, Adam Gopnik reflects on how we all, in life, attempt to slay ‘the dragons of our disorder.’

He concludes that 'dragon and saint are permanently entangled, as our demonic forces are with our better nature.’

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


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04sym21)
Black-chinned Hummingbird

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the North American black chinned hummingbird. What seems to be a large green beetle is flying erratically across a Los Angeles garden: suddenly, it hovers in mid-air to probe a flower bloom; this is a black-chinned hummingbird. Although often thought of as exclusively tropical, a few species of hummingbirds occur widely in North America and in the west; the Black-chinned hummingbird is the most widespread of all. Both sexes are glittering emerald above: the male's black throat is bordered with a flash of metallic purple, which catches the sun. Black-chinned "hummers" are minute, weighing in at just over 3 grams. But they are pugnacious featherweights seeing off rival males during intimidation flights with shrill squeals, whilst remarkably beating their wings around 80 times a second. They'll also readily come to artificial sugar-feeders put out by householders to attract these flying jewels to their gardens.

Producer Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001nvhq)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001nvhv)
Writer, Liz John
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Tony Archer ….. David Troughton
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Eddie Grundy ….. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy ….. Angus Stobie
Brad Horrobin ….. Taylor Uttley
Joy Horville ….. Jackie Lye
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Stella Pryor ….. Lucy Speed
Hannah Riley ….. Helen Longworth
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Rob Titchener ..... Timothy Watson
Dr Webber …..Leah Marks


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m001nvhz)
Jill Scott, footballer

Jill Scott is the second most capped England footballer ever, playing for her country 161 times. Before her retirement last year, she played in ten major international tournaments and was part of the England team who beat Germany to win the 2022 European Championships.

Jill was born and brought up in Sunderland, and excelled in a range of sports from an early age. She won the London mini-marathon when she was 14 but her heart was in football. She played for a boys junior football team until she was asked to leave when she was nine years old. Fortunately her mother found a girls team for her.

She began her senior career when she was a teenager, initially playing for Sunderland before moving on to Everton and then Manchester City, where she won all the domestic trophies. She was renowned as a highly competitive midfield player, who scored 27 goals for England.

She lives in Manchester with her partner Shelly, where they co-own a coffee shop. .

DISC ONE: (Something Inside) So Strong - Labi Siffre
DISC TWO: So Good - Boyzone
DISC THREE: Step by Step - Whitney Houston
DISC FOUR: Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
DISC FIVE: The Climb - Miley Cyrus
DISC SIX: My Love is Your Love - Whitney Houston
DISC SEVEN: Mysterious Girl - Peter Andre
DISC EIGHT: Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

BOOK CHOICE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend
LUXURY ITEM: A notebook and pens
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Climb - Miley Cyrus

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001nvls)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m001npbz)
Series 79

Episode 1

Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises yet more quality, desk-based entertainment for all the family.

The series begins at the Forum in Bath where Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans are pitched against Marcus Brigstocke and Rory Bremner, with Jack Dee in the role of reluctant chairman. Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano.

Producer - Jon Naismith

It is a BBC Studios production


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001nvj7)
Smoke, Fire and Flame: Trends v Tradition

The practice of smoking is one of the world’s oldest food preservation methods, but which techniques are catching fire today, while other processes risk being extinguished?

We hear from producers bringing diverse barbecue and smoking techniques to new audiences, as well as those keeping traditional processes alive.

Leyla Kazim visits Cue Point to hear from Mursal Saiq and Joshua Moroney about their unique ‘British Afghan Fusion BBQ’ that brings an inclusive style of smoking to a wider audience while drawing on diverse culinary heritages. Melissa Thompson, writer, cook and author of Motherland, discusses the central role smoke plays in Jamaican cuisine, and why food and history in the Caribbean are so intertwined.

Author of the Barbecue Bible and Project Smoke, Steven Raichlen, traces the history of smoking from its Palaeolithic origins to present day, and argues that cooking with fire was one of the greatest technological advances in the history of humankind.

Helen Graves, editor of Pit Magazine and author of Live Fire, explains why she has made it her mission to champion the broad range of diversity in open fire cooking, and the reasons she tends not to follow the trend of US-style barbecue.

Producer Robbie Armstrong heads to Fèis Ìle, Islay’s annual whisky and music festival, to hear about the renaissance of peated whiskies with Ardbeg’s visitor centre manager Jackie Thompson. He speaks to Arbroath smokie producer Iain R. Spink about reviving ancient methods on the verge of being snuffed out. Christian Stevenson, better known as DJ BBQ, tracks the popularity of US grilling and smoking in the UK.

Leyla and Robbie sit down to taste some smoky drinks, while pondering the future of traditional methods, and how to balance the world’s love for peated whiskies with peatland restoration.

Leyla discovers that while some processes born out of necessity may be less popular today, it’s clear the practice of smoking is showing no signs of dissipating.

Presented by Leyla Kazim.
Produced by Robbie Armstrong.


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001nvjc)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001nvjh)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 Director of Me (m001nvjm)
Darren

How do you manage your mental health when you cannot control the direction of your mind?

Director of Me follows three people with diagnosed mental health conditions through a month in their lives. Each episode pivots around self-recorded audio diaries as they reflect on what it's like to inhabit and manage their minds.

The programmes incorporate specially composed music, worked up in collaboration with each person to illustrate how they experience their mental health conditions.

In episode one, we meet Darren, aged 57. He's a father, a friend, a husband and son. He is a motorbike enthusiast, a jazz man and retired solicitor. Darren lives with Bipolar, having been diagnosed in 2017 despite having experienced symptoms since his 20s.

“I live with my wife, two children, a deranged dog and a crafty cat. I also live with another beast, a beast called Bipolar; the artist formerly known as manic depression.”

This episode was recorded by Darren.

Producer: Catherine Carr
Assistant Producer and Composer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree

With thanks to Bipolar UK for their support.

A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001npf2)
Borde Hill

I planted 250 parsnip seeds, why have I only managed to grow two? Should I radically prune my rose bush? What's the most surprising thing you’ve uncovered while gardening?

Peter Gibbs and his panel of GQT experts are in Borde Hill. Ready to share their expertise on a variety of plant-based problems are plant pathologist Pippa Greenwood, proud horticulturist Christine Walkden, and garden gur, Kirsty Wilson.

GQT regular and curator of RHS Wisley, Matthew Pottage pays a visit to Warley Place, the former home of passionate plant collector, Ellen Willmott, to discuss her legacy on the gardening world.

Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001nvjw)
Mother Courage and Her Children - Episode 1

John Yorke takes a look at Mother Courage and her Children, Bertolt Brecht’s play written in 1939 on the eve of World War Two.

Set in an earlier time when the Thirty Years War was raging across Europe, Mother Courage and her Children deals with some of the great themes of conflict and capitalism, looking at the way that one mother tries to survive with her family intact. Brecht grew up in Germany in the years after the First World War when the country was struggling with inflation running out of control. This difficult situation informed Brecht’s political views, and he supported the Communist ideals, although never actually joined the Communist Party.

His work reflects his concerns about the nature of capitalism and war. Mother Courage focusses on a woman who wants to make a living selling goods to anyone who will buy them, regardless of allegiance. She has three children, and the play shows how one-by-one she loses each of her them to war. We see how her decisions contribute to her deaths of her children.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone.

Contributors:
Professor Laura Bradley Dean of Postgraduate Research, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Personal Chair of German and Theatre, University of Edinburgh
Mark Ravenhill, Playwright
Julie Hesmondhalgh, Actor

Credits:
Helene Weigel in "Brecht on Stage", (BBC / Open University, 1989)

Producer: Mark Rickards
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m001nvk0)
Mother Courage and Her Children (Part 1)

An innovative new two-part radio production of Brecht’s timeless anti-war play with songs. A narrator observes from present day Ukraine, and unconventional techniques mirror Brecht’s “alienation effect”.

Recorded in London and Kyiv, with a mixed cast, Mother Courage and her three adult children pull her cart through a land ravaged by the Thirty Years War (1618-48), loaded with supplies for sale to whoever will buy them. They follow armies across Germany and Sweden for over two decades, trading with soldiers, and turning a profit, selling anything armies desire or require; morals don’t enter into it. The more desperate they are, the more she charges them. Nothing comes before making a profit, not even her three children.

Many consider Mother Courage to be the greatest anti-war play ever and one of the 20th century's greatest plays. Bertolt Brecht's classic drama with songs (last produced on BBC radio in 1990), is now all the more pertinent and relevant, with war returning to Europe. A resonant new Mother Courage for Europe today.

Adapter/director Turan Ali has 3 decades of award-winning radio drama under his belt.
Musical Director Tim Sutton composed new music and adapted Brecht’s lyrics for the 7 songs.

CAST
Mother Courage - Maggie Steed
Narrator (in Kyiv) - Rob Feldman
Chaplain - Guy Henry
Cook - William Brand
Yvette - Sirine Saba
Kattrin - Fiona Skinner
Eilif - Andre Antonio
Swiss Cheese - Taheen Modak
Sergeant - Richard Glover
Rec. Officer - David Holt
Commander - Mark Straker

Musicians : Sophie Creaner, Freddie Gavita, Beth Higham-Edwards, Justin Quinn, Ian Watson.

New music and adapted lyrics by Tim Sutton
Adapted for radio and directed by Turan Ali
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m001nvk3)
Megan Nolan, plus crime summer reading recommendations from Vaseem Khan, Laura Wilson and Val McDermid

Johny Pitts speaks to Megan Nolan about her new novel, Ordinary Human Failings. The book explores the demonization of an Irish family and tabloid journalism in nineties London following a shocking tragedy.

Plus what is the best crime fiction out there this summer? Vaseem Khan, incoming chair of the Crime Writers Association, and critic Laura Wilson give their tips, from hot new psychological thrillers to reissued classics.

And Val McDermid chooses a very modern-feeling 1940s whodunit for her Book I'd Never Lend.

Book List – Sunday 16 July and Thursday 20 July

Ordinary Human Failing by Megan Nolan
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
Grave Expectations by Alice Bell
The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh
The Wheel of Doll by Jonathan Ames
Alchemy by SJ Parris
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Uncle Paul by Celia Fremlin
The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald
Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m001nvk5)
Rachel Long

The poet Rachel Long joins Roger McGough to make a selection of listener requests, from Kei Miller to Sarah Howe, Emily Dickinson to Gboyega Odubanjo.

Rachel Long's debut poetry collection, My Darling from the Lions, was published in 2020. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Costa Poetry Award, the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Jhalak Prize and was a TIME book of the year and a Best Poetry Book by the Guardian.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m001npb4)
The GP Crisis

The morning rush in a doctor’s surgery usually begins around 8am, before the doors even open, as patients ring up to try and get a precious appointment. But why is it so hard to get to see a GP, and why is primary care under such pressure?
File on 4 has spent a week in a GP’s surgery speaking to doctors, staff, and patients to try and understand the challenges facing the front line of health care.
The programme has been given access to what goes on behind the scenes at a doctor’s surgery in Gateshead, on Tyneside, in one of the most deprived parts of England. It hears why a growing population, more elderly people, and fewer fully qualified doctors dealing with more complex health problems are all factors pushing some GP practices to the brink, and some to consider leaving the profession altogether.

Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producers: Fergus Hewison and Kat Collins
Techincal Producer: Nicky Edwards
Editor: Carl Johnston


SUN 17:40 Profile (m001nvhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001nvk7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001nvk9)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001nvkc)
Sir Keir Starmer refuses to commit to putting more money into public services.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001nvkf)
Rima Ahmed

Rima Ahmed loves it when people speak about their passions. And on Pick of the Week this week we're passionate about all sorts of things, from ballpoint pens to magpies. We're also considering modern masculinity, celebrating the return of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, and Rima gets a second chance to hear the sets she missed at Glastonbury.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed
Producer: Jessica Treen
Production Co-ordinator: Lydia Depledge-Miller


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001nvkh)
Tracy and Jazzer enjoy a honeymooner’s breakfast at Ambridge View. When Neil asks if they’re married now, Tracy says they tried when they were in Scotland, but needed to give more notice. They had a relaxing holiday though and loved driving Jim’s Riley. Talk turns to Berrow and with Jazzer’s cast removed, Jazzer will start back there next week. Neil’s relieved when Jazzer’s supportive over George’s sacking. But Susan tells Tracy that Emma’s still fuming about it. Susan thinks George is just misunderstood. Tracy’s confused to find her house is cleaner than went she went away, but when she asks, discovers it wasn’t down to Susan. Susan’s relieved that Bert’s going back to Tracy’s. Kirsty helps Helen make decorations for Seren and Nova’s birthday party on Friday. When Miles messages Helen asking to meet, Kirsty reminds Helen that Rob’s not her problem. Helen thinks that when she told Lee that Rob was dying, he was shocked, but also seemed relieved. Helen admits that when she’d heard Rob only had months to live, just for that moment, she felt sorry for him. She comforted him when he cried but being that close to him made her feel sick. She wonders if she’s regressed, but Kirsty says Helen showed her humanity and strength. When Kirsty offers to postpone her Prague trip with Erik to support Helen, Helen’s fine, saying she can’t wait to hear the details of Kirsty’s holiday on her return.


SUN 19:15 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m001nwnx)
Series 2

Shrewsbury to Pwllheli

Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his series of rail journeys across the country with a trip from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli on the Cambrian coast line.

Alexei’s mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers, in a quest for conversations with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There’s humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, among his many fellow travellers, Alexei miraculously finds Barry, an old school friend from Liverpool; Denise, who has been given an extraordinary set of directions in order to deal with the complex arrangements for her holiday; Geoff, who on a whim, decided to buy one of the UK's oldest cinemas, in a tiny Welsh seaside town; Isabel, who is off to monitor dolphins - and Margaret, who has been going to the same spot on the Cambrian coast for her holiday every year for more than 50 years - and now her extended family is following the same tradition.


SUN 19:45 Golden Eggs (m001nvkk)
The Golden Egg Method

Five British Asian writers take folktales or traditional stories and rework them in contemporary settings.

Episode 1: The Golden Egg Method by Divya Ghelani.
Inspired by the story of Gandhari in the Mahabharata. A woman believes her chances of bearing a child have long gone, until she meets a London doctor who is experimenting in IVF.

Divya Ghelani was born in Gujarat and grew up in Loughborough, Leicestershire. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and an MPhil in Literary Studies from the University of Hong Kong. She lives between Berlin and the UK where she has published short stories and judged story and flash fiction competitions. She is working on her first novel.

Writer: Divya Ghelani
Reader: Sudha Bhuchar
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m001npfm)
How effective is the BBC at reporting on itself? Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, joins Andrea Catherwood to respond to your comments on how the BBC handled the Huw Edwards story.

Glaswegian comedian Janey Godley reveals why she’s telling all the jokes in her Radio 4 series, Janey Godley: The C Bomb, and hears the views of the audience.

Dr Kevin Fong answers listener comments on the BBC’s portrayal of the NHS, and discusses his new Radio 4 series The NHS: Who Cares? which explores the challenges it faces today from the perspective of the people who deliver the care.

Presented by Andrea Catherwood

Produced by Gill Davies

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001npfg)
Malcolm Mowbray, Victoria Amelina, Roger Lovegrove, Mavis Cheek

Matthew Bannister on

Malcolm Mowbray, the British film director best known for making “A Private Function” - the comedy about wartime rationing starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film’s writer Alan Bennett pays tribute.

Victoria Amelina, the Ukrainian novelist and war crimes researcher who was killed in a missile strike in Kramatorsk.

Roger Lovegrove, the ornithologist who played a leading role in re-introducing red kites to the UK.

Mavis Cheek, who wrote humorous novels about middle class marriage and relationships. We’re joined by her friend Helen Lederer.

Interviewee: Olha Mukha
Interviewee: Alan Bennett
Interviewee: Joe Mowbray
Interviewee: Roy Dennis
Interviewee: Helen Lederer

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive used:
Kramatorsk: Russian missile strike hits restaurants in Ukrainian city, Verified Live, BBC World News, 28/06/2023; Victoria Amelina interview recorded 15/05/2023, Copyright Clearance Centre, YouTube uploaded 03/07/2023; Playhouse: Days at the Beach, Director: Malcolm Mowbray, BBC Two, 13/02/1981; Our Winnie, BBC Four, repeated broadcast 10/12/2009; Malcolm Mowbray, London Standard Film Awards, BBC One, 26/01/1986; A Private Function (1984) film promotion, Hand Made Films, YoutTube uploaded 24/05/2019; A Private Function (1984), Hand Made Films, 1984; Roger Lovegrove: Red Kite, The Great British Birdwatch BBC One, 19/06/1989 ; Red Kite sound effects, RSPB, recordist Jens Kirkeby, recorded 17/08/2005; Mavis Cheek interview, Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 04/03/2002; Mavis Cheek reading The Sex Life of My Aunt, Faber and Faber, Arts Archive, Woman’s Hour arts book archive website, BBC Radio 4, uploaded 04/03/2002; Mavis Cheek interview and extract reading, Sixty Minutes, BBC One, 26/10/1983.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001nvgg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001nwp5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Loose Ends (m001nvhh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001nvkp)
Ben Wright discusses the prospects for all the main parties in this week's trio of by-elections with Conservative MP Steve Brine, Labour's Dame Meg Hillier and Sarah Olney from the Liberal Democrats. They also talk about Sir Keir Starmer's latest interview outlining his approach to government. Journalist Jack Blanchard - UK Editor of Politico - brings additional insight and analysis. The panel also discuss why so many MPs have decided to stand down at the next general election.


SUN 23:00 Moral Maze (m001npdp)
Cluster bombs and the ethics of warfare

As NATO meets this week, the US is seeking to calm its critics over sending cluster bombs to Ukraine. Cluster munitions are banned by many countries – including the UK and most EU members. They are more indiscriminate and can leave unexploded bomblets scattered over a wide area, posing a lethal threat to civilians years after a conflict has ended. The US, which is not a signatory to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, argues that supplying these weapons is justified in the defence of Ukraine, that civilian areas would be avoided and that records would be kept to facilitate a clean-up operation after the war.

While some see this as a clear concession of the moral high ground, others disagree. As one US congressman put it, “the only way it erodes the moral high ground is if either you're an idiot, or you're rooting for Russia in this conflict."

What should be the ethical rules of conduct in warfare, when the goal of opposing armies is to perpetrate, and sometimes maximise, death and destruction? For some, the tragedy of war is the suspension of ethical norms. And yet, certain fundamental principles, such as proportionality of violence and discrimination between enemy combatants and non-combatants, have existed for centuries to prevent the ends being justified by any means necessary in battle. But what if the enemy has no regard for these rules? How should they be interpreted outside a philosophy seminar and in the chaos of war?

While the character of war is changing, the fundamental moral issues have not. When, in warfare, is it acceptable to violate ethical principles in the hope of achieving a greater good?

Producer: Dan Tierney.

MONDAY 17 JULY 2023

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001nvkr)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Sideways (m001np4b)
46. China's Ping Pong Power: Episode 2

Former England international table tennis player, Matthew Syed, continues this three-part mini series from Sideways, with a moment that changed the course of China-US relations - when the hippie American player Glen Cowan met the world's greatest table tennis star Zhuang Zedong.

This event would usher in rapprochement between the two nations and lay the groundwork for both Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon's landmark visits to the once isolated China.

In China's Ping Pong Power, Matthew explores the vital role played by the little game of ping pong in the rise of this great power, taking us from the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, to the thawing of US-China relations during the Cold War, to Olympic glory and the sporting ambitions of the country today.

Presented by Matthew Syed
Producer: Katherine Godfrey
Series Lead: Pippa Smith
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Script consultation: Dr Olivia Cheung, SOAS, University of London
Sound Design and mix: Rob Speight
Archival research: Nadia Mehdi
With thanks to Zhijie Shao from the BBC World Service and to the International Table Tennis Federation

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001nvjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001nvkt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001nvkw)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001nvky)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001nvl0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001nvl2)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001nvl4)
17/07/23 Bovine TB and badgers; Farming co-operatives; Vineyards.

All week we're looking at co-operatives. They're a big part of farming networks on the continent, so are English and Welsh farmers missing out a trick?

The rise and rise of English and Welsh wine. New figures from land agents show an increase in number of vineyards and the amount people are paying for their produce.

Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Rebecca Rooney


MON 05:56 Weather (m001nvl6)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlmf8)
Blue Jay

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Chris Packham presents the North American blue jay. The loud warning screams of blue jays are just part of their extensive vocabulary. These birds are intelligent mimics. Blue jays are neat handsome birds; lavender-blue above and greyish below with a perky blue crest, black collar and white face. But the blue jay is not blue, but black. Its feather barbs contain a dark layer of melanin pigment; the blue we see is caused by light scattering through modified cells on the surface of the feather barbs and reflected back as blue. Common over much of eastern and central North America, blue jays will move in loose flocks to take advantage of autumnal tree mast. A single blue jay can collect and bury thousands of beechnuts, hickory nuts and acorns (in a behaviour known as caching) returning later in the year to retrieve these buried nuts. Any they fail to find, assist in the natural regeneration of native woodlands.

Producer Andrew Dawes


MON 06:00 Today (m001nvpy)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 The NHS: Who Cares? (m001nvq4)
No Ordinary Crisis

Anaesthetist Dr Kevin Fong, tells the story of the NHS today and the challenges it faces, from the perspective of the people who deliver the care.

In the second episode of the series, Kevin spends a day with SeaCAM - the South East Coast Ambulance Service - to get a glimpse of the pressures the workforce face in trying to meet the required response times for each category of emergency call.

Last winter's media reports showing queues of ambulances snaking round hospitals and patients waiting for hours to be admitted to A&E was, for many, shocking to see. Some commentators say it was a crisis like no other and that the NHS has reached a tipping point.

So, what was it really like for those crews and can the service ever recover?

Written and Presented by Dr Kevin Fong
Producer: Emily Bird
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
A TellTale Industries production for BBC Radio 4


MON 09:30 Shock and War: Iraq 20 Years On (m001k0mp)
2. The Commitment

The US was set on war with Iraq. But why did Tony Blair commit Britain to joining it? Twenty years on, how does the former Prime Minister reflect on his decision?

Presenter: Gordon Corera
Series Producer: John Murphy
Producers: Ellie House, Claire Bowes
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore, Naked Productions
Production coordinators: Janet Staples, Brenda Brown
Series Editor: Penny Murphy


MON 09:45 The Forgotten Girls by Monica Potts (m001nvvd)
Book of the Week: Ep 1 - Growing up in rural America

Monica Potts new book is a powerful account of friendship, ambition and lost promise in 21st century rural America. Today, she goes back to Clinton, the small town in the Ozarks where she grew up. Recollecting her childhood prompts questions about cycles of hardship in the poorest of American communities, and her own past. Kelly Burke reads.

Monica Potts is an acclaimed journalist and here she sets out to understand generational cycles of poverty and hardship that continue to blight the lives of rural communities in contemporary America. At the same time, she reconnects with her childhood friend, Darci, and the big economic and social questions she's asking become personal. Darci, her talented and brilliant friend was now homeless, jobless and an addict. Her fate could have been Monica's, and so begins a journey to find out why the two women's lives took such different paths.

Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001nvqm)
Hope Powell, Dr Gladys McGarey, Deirdre O'Kane, suicide and young women

Nuala McGovern is joined by one woman who has had a huge impact on the women's game over many years - Hope Powell - the former Lioness head coach will discuss England's chances, the growth of the game and how to continue building a legacy for women's sport.

A fifth of young women suffering a mental health crisis were asked if they were on their period, a new survey has found.
Research by the prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) also found that women’s calls for help were sometimes dismissed. We talk to Wendy Robinson, Head of Services at Suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)

Dr Gladys McGarey, cofounder of the American Holistic Medical Association, began her medical practice at a time when women couldn't even own their own bank accounts. Now a 102 and still practicing as a doctor, she was born in India in 1920. She started medical school just before the Second World War, married a fellow doctor, Bill and together they practised medicine, first in Ohio, then In Arizona. They also produced six children. Dr Gladys has now written a book, The Well-Lived Life.

Deirdre O'Kane became a stand-up comic in 1996, getting to the finals of the BBC New Comedy Awards of that year. A co-founder of Comic Relief in Ireland, she also fronted her own talk shows, Deirdre O’Kane Talks Funny on RTÉ as well as a brand-new series, The Deirdre O’Kane Show on Sky Max. One of Ireland’s favourite comedians, she is also known for acting roles such as Chris O’Dowd’s Moone Boy and the biopic of philanthropist and children’s rights stalwart Christina Noble called Noble, for which she received an IFTA Award. Deirdre joins Nuala to discuss her wide-ranging career and her new stand up show Demented, which is coming to London’s Soho Theatre this week.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Studio Manager: Gayl Gordon


MON 11:00 Don't Log Off (m001nvqt)
Life is a River

Alan Dein connects online with strangers from across the world. In this edition his conversations include Jebrail, a victim of Turkey's earthquake who is living in a shipping container. Jebrail lives in Malatya, a city which was greatly damaged and lost many citizens to the disaster. Alan also meets Dina, a retiree originally from Uzbekistan and currently living in Durrës, Albania. Dina has lived in many countries all over the world and on both sides of the Iron Curtain. His third companion is Nertil, a young man living and working in Mitrovica, Kosovo, who joins Alan for conversation and a macchiato.

Producer: Sam Peach


MON 11:30 The Bottom Line (m001np7m)
Business on 'the box'

From The Office and Succession to The Apprentice and Dragons' Den, does the portrayal of business on television inspire or is it a total turn off to budding entrepreneurs? And how challenging is it to create great drama from the world of business? Is 'greed, for lack of a better word, good' as Gordon Gekko from Wall Street would have us believe? Or post financial crash, is the world looking to find a more equitable and kind example of the business world on screen?


PRESENTER: EVAN DAVIS

GUESTS

Ash Atalla, CEO, Roughcut Productions

Dave Fishwick, businessman, subject of Netflix movie, 'Bank of Dave'

Nisha Katona, Founder, Mowgli Street Restaurants, Great British Menu judge

Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, co-writers, 'Industry' , BBC 2 drama series

Clip from 'Industry' BBC2
Bad Wolf Productions
HBO/BBC

Produced in Partnership with the Open University

PRODUCTION TEAM

Producer: Julie Ball
Editor: China Collins
Sound: James Beard and Graham Puddifoot
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001nvxf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001nvr5)
Student living costs; Taylor Swift tickets; Saving cinema

The cost of living crisis is forcing more university students to take on more hours in their part-time jobs, with most saying that supporting themselves is affecting their studies.
Research by the Institute of Higher Education Policy, found more than half of the 10,000 students they spoke to said they did paid work during term time, with most saying they were using their wages to support their studies. The biggest rises in living costs come from student accommodation prices. We hear from students about the impact part-time work is having on their studies.

Retailers have been going into prisons in search for staff. The companies involved, include the Co-Op, Iceland, B&Q, Oliver Bonas and Greggs. They're taking part in a government programme that's encouraging retailers to employ prisoners once they're free. The Ministry of Justice say hundreds of prisoners from 30 prisons have met potential employers. They hope the initiative will help fill vacancies on the high street. We find out how it will work...

Today is a big day for "Swifties."
Tickets for general sale begin today for Taylor Swift's shows in London and Edinburgh. The Eras Tour is set to be the largest grossing tour to date. The Tour covers her entire career, with Taylor performing songs from all 10 of her albums. But with pre-release sale tickets selling out fast, and prices for accommodation soaring, we look at the real cost of how much it is to be a Swifty.

Friday sees the release of two of the most hyped films of the year go up against each other.
Barbie stars Margot Robbie, who plays the famous Mattell doll. In stark contrast, Oppenheimer, tells the story of one of the inventors of the first atomic bomb, played by Cillian Murphy. But after a number of cinema closures, will they be enough to save theatres?

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: LYDIA THOMAS


MON 12:57 Weather (m001nvrc)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001nvrk)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 The Banksy Story (m001nvrr)
1. The Mild, Mild West

James Peak isn't an art critic, or even a journalist. He's a Banksy super-fan, and in this series he, and his soundman, Duncan, get closer than close to Banksy's secret world - telling the story of the graffiti kid who made spraying walls into high art, the household name who is completely anonymous, the cultural phenomenon who bites the hand that feeds him.

James persuades a member of Banksy's secret team – someone who worked closely with the artist when they were starting to cut through – to talk about the experience. The story that results is a rollercoaster ride.

In this episode, how did the city of Bristol, in the south west of England, help to shape Banksy and his art? And will James and Duncan find the person they're looking for?

Written, Produced and Presented by James Peak
Sound & Commentary: Duncan Crowe.
Voices: Keith Wickham & Harriet Carmichael
Music: Alcatraz Swim Team & Lilium
Series Mixing: Neil Churchill
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
With special thanks to Hadrian Briggs, Pete Chinn, Patrick Nguyen, John Higgs and Steph Warren.

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001nvkh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Fault Lines: Money, Sex and Blood (m000ffz9)
Series 1: Money

The Road More Travelled

2/2. The Road More Travelled
by Christopher Reason
Constance is the mother to Miles Sterling, one of the richest men in Britain. Miles made his fortune in oil and plastics, but his career hangs in the balance, as it appears he's being blackmailed and lies, deceit and dark secrets come to the fore.

Constance - Glenda Jackson
Miles - Robert Glenister
Gabriel/Asif - Hasan Dixon
Rufus - Jonathan Keeble
Producer/Director - Pauline Harris


MON 15:00 The 3rd Degree (m001nvry)
Series 13

Somerville College, Oxford

Coming this week from Somerville College, Oxford, The 3rd Degree is a a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.

The specialist subjects this week are classics, classical archaeology and ancient history, physics and linguistics, so the questions range from a sybil in a bottle to an electron in a spiral via mustard, runes and Kate Winslet. And you'll learn some simple tips for translating Japanese into Hungarian.

The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The general knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow and Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three specialist subject rounds, in which students take on their professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.

In this series, the show goes to Exeter, Strathclyde, Keele, King’s College London, Portsmouth, and Somerville College, Oxford.

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m001nvj7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0fwww6q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Saturday]


MON 16:30 Soul Music (m0012fbs)
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

More gospel than rock, this 1987 hit has inspired great change in people's lives and created memories for music lovers across the world.

Brendan McManus was a corporate high flyer with an inexplicable sense that his life needed to change direction. This song was the tipping point that encouraged him to make a huge decision.

Raghav Prasad writes a music blog about the songs he grew up with as a young man in India. This track takes him back to the 'chummery' where he lived in Bombay (now Mumbai) when he was starting out on what became a globe-trotting career. This song reflects both his continued urge to travel but also how he regards his Hindu faith.

Neil Brand is a musician and broadcaster and a regular Soul Music contributor. He explains that the roots of this track are more gospel than rock.

Pauline Henry was the lead singer of The Chimes. Their version of this track, with Pauline's stirring vocals, not only changed her life but was said to be Bono's favourite interpretation of the song.

Rory Coleman is a world-class athlete and life coach who loves nothing more than to run for hundreds of miles across inhospitable terrain. However, in his 20s, his life was out of control. Something had to change and this song provided inspiration.

Gail Mullin, in Kansas City, describes how much her husband loved U2 and especially this track. Shortly before he died he received a personal letter from Bono explaining what motivated him to write this song.

Scroll down on the Soul Music webpage to the 'related links' box for more info about all the guests.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Karen Gregor


MON 17:00 PM (m001nvsc)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001nvsr)
Scientists say the development can slow the progression of the disease by around a third


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m001nvsz)
Series 79

Episode 2

This series of Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises more homespun wireless entertainment for the young at heart.

This week the programme pays a return visit to the Bath Forum where Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans are pitched against Marcus Brigstocke and Rory Bremner, with Jack Dee in the chair.

At the piano - Colin Sell.

Producer - Jon Naismith.

It is a BBC Studios production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001nvqs)
Emma thinks it’s a brilliant idea of George’s to ask if there’s any work going at Bridge Farm, with Johnny still away. George is awkward when he asks Tony and reels when Tony’s mentions he’s heard George has an attitude problem. Tony won’t tolerate that on Bridge Farm. George reminds Tony about the farm footage he shot for the website; he has ideas for other things to film for the veg-box customers. Thawing slightly, Tony says they’re coping without cover at the moment, but he’ll let George know if that changes. Later George reckons to Emma that it’s Hannah fault for bad-mouthing him. Emma advises ignoring that and concentrating on his future.
Helen meets Miles in a Borchester café. Miles needs her to explain Rob’s diagnosis before telling his father and asks Helen to encourage Rob to discuss possible treatments. When Helen says that’s for Rob’s doctors to sort, Miles counters that Rob won’t engage with them. Helen reminds Miles that she’s divorced from Rob, and his diagnosis and response to it is Miles and his family’s problem. Changing tack, Miles tells Helen she owes Rob, after stabbing him and trying to end his life. Furious Helen reminds Miles about what actually happened and that her marriage to Rob was abusive and torture. Helen leaves, telling Miles never to contact her again. But Miles catches up with her saying she’ll always regret denying Rob access to Jack. After Rob dies, Jack’s all that Miles and his father will have left of him. Helen tells Miles to get out of her way.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001nvt4)
Greta Gerwig, Tudor tapestry, Tanika Gupta, Jane Birkin farewell

This Friday sees the release of the much anticipated ‘Barbie’ starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Samira meets director, Greta Gerwig to discuss the making of the film and her myriad of influences.

A tapestry commissioned by Henry VIII has come up for sale in Spain. Historian of early modern textiles Isabella Rosner tells Samira why ‘Saint Paul Directing the Burning of the Heathen Books’ is so significant. We also hear from the collector and philanthropist behind the Auckland Project, Jonathan Ruffer, about why he's campaigning for the tapestry to be saved for the nation and installed at Auckland Castle.

Last year, Tanika Gupta’s play, The Empress, was put on the GCSE curriculum for the first time. Set in the late 19th century, the play intertwines the story of Queen Victoria’s relationship with her Indian teacher Abdul Karim, with the story of Rani Das, a young Indian woman brought to the UK by an English family. It was premiered by the RSC in 2013 and Tanika joins Front Row to discuss updating it for a new production.

Front Row bids farewell to the actress and singer, Jane Birkin, whose death was announced yesterday.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Corinna Jones


MON 20:00 Intrigue (p0fvczxs)
Burning Sun - Ep 4: Consent

The scandals are making headlines around the world and K-pop fans react. Jung’s superfan watches as one after another K-pop star is arrested. She has had enough and becomes part of a feminist movement for change against spy cam crimes and misogyny. The woman who made the original allegation against Jung says she regrets not pursuing it. She was viciously trolled after her accusation, and she campaigns to make sure this never happens again to another woman who dares to speak out.

For the first time, we give the definitive account of the sex scandals that brought down some of Korea’s biggest K-pop stars. It’s a tale of depravity, power and excess - hidden behind a facade of wholesome pop music.

Co-creator, presenter and writer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Local Producer: Lee Hyun Choi
Assistant Producer and researcher: Loonie Park and Jeong-One Park
Translator and researcher: Jinny Yeon
Music: Tom Haines at Brain Audio
Sound Design: Carlos San Juan at Brain Audio
Co-creator and executive producer: Kavita Puri

ACTORS
Kang Kyung-Yoon: Julee Cerda
Oh Se-Yeon: Rosa Escoda
Ryu Ho-Jeong: Tina Chiang
Kyung-Mi: Pricilla Chung
Jung Joon-Yung: J Sebastian Lee
Kakao chat voices: Jun Noh, Wontek Woo, Je Seung Lee
Drama director: Anne Isger


MON 20:30 Analysis (m001nvtf)
Is there a new elite?

People have always fought back against “The elite”, and until recently they were easily recognisable: rich, privileged and often born into money. Old Etonians, billionaires, oil barons, media tycoons ruled the roost, but there are claims things are changing, and the rise of a new elite is challenging the status quo.
Author Matthew Goodwin calls them a group of “radical woke middle-class liberals completely out of step with the public”. University graduates working in creative industries, media and universities, who have an heavy influence over the national conversation about things like immigration, trans rights and sex education, but critics say they don’t represent “ordinary folk”, and as a result communities are feeling unrepresented and left behind.
So who is in charge, or is there an unlikely, and unknowing, coalition between the two – the new elite dominating social discourse and cultural discussion, whilst the traditional elite pull the strings of politics and economics?
This is the next chapter of the culture wars – but while the pair of them battle it out for supremacy, much of the country struggles on day-to-day watching from the side lines.

Presenter: Neil Maggs
Producer: Jonathan IAnson
Editor: Clare Fordham


MON 21:00 Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin (m001np8p)
7. The Suspicion Business

Mysterious deaths in Soviet Russia and what they might tell us about the origin of Covid.

When US intelligence agencies blamed a spate of unexplained Russian deaths in 1979 on a leak from a bioweapons facility, the Soviet government responded angrily, saying the cause was natural. A top US scientist stepped in to find the truth - and was given anything but. Does pointing the finger of blame creative a disincentive for governments to cooperate more fully? Or should information from inside authoritarian states be treated with suspicion? A Chinese insider has a set of striking revelations and someone who dismissed conspiracy theories now has one of his own.

Archive: CBS; The White House; C-SPAN; New Yorker; New York Times.

Presenter: John Sudworth
Series producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound design and mix: James Beard
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke
Science advice: Julian Siddle and Victoria Gill
Extra production: Eva Artesona and Kathy Long
Research support: Zisheng Xu and BBC Monitoring
Production coordinators: Siobhan Reed, Helena Warwick-Cross, Sophie Hill, and Debbie Richford
Theme and original music: Pete Cunningham, with trumpet by Joss Murray
Radio 4 Editor of Editorial Standards: Roger Mahony
Head of BBC News - Long Form Audio: Emma Rippon


MON 21:30 The NHS: Who Cares? (m001nvq4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001nvtm)
“Turning point” in the fight against Alzheimer's.

Also:

UK government publishes climate adaptation strategy.

and

Russia passes anti-trans legislation.


MON 22:45 The Sorcerer of Pyongyang by Marcel Theroux (m001nvtt)
Episode Six

In 1995, an 11-year-old boy in North Korea, Cho Jun-su, stumbles across a strange, foreign book that will change his life.

Helped in private by a teacher, Jun-su learns that it is a Dungeon Master’s guide. Dungeons and Dragons opens up a whole new world of make-believe and imagination for the boy.

But in the years that follow, Jun-su learns that, in a totalitarian state, imagination can be a dangerous thing.

Episode Six
After his arrest, interrogation and confession, Jun-su is transported to a penal colony.

The author Marcel Theroux is a British American novelist and broadcaster. He is the author of Far North, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The Sorcerer Of Pyongyang is his fifth novel.

Writer: Marcel Theroux
Reader: Edmund Kingsley
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (p0g097t7)
Learning Yiddish

Michael Rosen is learning Yiddish. Every Sunday, he joins other adults in an evening class, conjugating verbs and practising rhymes.

For this episode of Word of Mouth, he invites his teacher, Tamara Micner, to join him in the studio. The pair have fun swapping family stories and sharing how they were first exposed to Yiddish. Tamara explains where the language came from and how it's evolved, and they discuss its connections to English. We also hear what Michael is like in class as a new learner, as he wraps his head around the pronunciation and patterns of this language which links him to his family history.

Producer: Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio in Bristol.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001nvv0)
Sean Curran reports as ministers clash with peers over government plans to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Also: a shake-up for some universities.

TUESDAY 18 JULY 2023

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001nvv5)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 The Forgotten Girls by Monica Potts (m001nvvd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001nvvl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001nvvq)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001nvvv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001nvvz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001nvw3)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001nvw5)
18/07/23 Fisheries management plans; farm safety; milk processing co-operatives

The government announces details of its Fisheries Management Plans.

A North Yorkshire farmer who's also an A&E consultant shares his unique perspective on farming safety.

What it's like to play a role in a multinational dairy co-operative.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Rhiannon Fitz-Gerald.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk9b)
Bluethroat

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

Brett Westwood presents the bluethroat. This is a fine songbird and a sprightly robin-sized bird with a dazzling sapphire bib. Your best chance of seeing one is in autumn when they pass through the north or east coast on migration.


TUE 06:00 Today (m001nvnv)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Across the Red Line (m001nvnx)
The Boomers have had it too good

The Baby Boomer generation, in the UK those born between 1946 and 1964, have had a profound impact on British society, not least because they represent a surge in population growth. Thanks to policies enacted by various governments over the last half century they have been able to benefit from an economic situation that allowed and encouraged home ownership and those that have reached pensionable age are now protected against wage and interest growth. By contrast, generations that followed have found it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder and find themselves taking the brunt of the current cost of living crisis.

Henry Hill of the website Conservative Home argues for the contention that Baby Boomers have had it too good, and that legislation is required to change the economic dynamics in favour of the generations that are following. Putting the case against him is Jackie Weaver Chief Officer of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, although perhaps better known as the woman who chaired a zoom Parish Council meeting in 2020 that went viral during lockdown. Jackie argues that not only is it unfair to treat Baby Boomers as a generic group, but that they themselves faced hardships and economic pressures, and in many cases, particularly outside London still do.

Anne McElvoy then invites Louisa Weinstein, founder of the Conflict Resolution Centre, to help Jackie and Henry explore their respective Boomer and Millenial backgrounds and ask each other what it is that shapes and governs their world view and their attitude to the generational divide implied in the contention. The ambition is to see if there is any way of exploring, and even occupying the fertile ground that lies a little closer to their respective Red Lines.

Producer: Tom Alban


TUE 09:30 An Almanac for Anxiety: In Search of a Calmer Mind (m001nvp1)
Episode 3 - Water

Anxiety is the most common form of mental illness in the UK, with nearly a fifth of people experiencing it over the course of a year. Although it is often treated through medication, there are many alternative ways which are proving to be very effective in reducing anxiety amongst some people. In this series, we explore how connecting with the elemental forces of nature helps people with a range of mental illnesses to feel better. We also learn about the current academic research behind these methods.

In Episode 3 - Water - we join a group of socially prescribed outdoor swimmers on Teignmouth Beach in Devon who find joy in immersing themselves in cold water. We also hear why spending time around blue spaces is so effective at promoting a sense of calm from Dr Catherine Kelly of the University of Brighton.

Produced and Presented by Helen Needham
Research by Anna Miles and Maud Start
Original Music by Anthony Cowie
Mixed by Ron McCaskill and Malcolm Torrie

A BBC Scotland Production made in Aberdeen for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:45 The Forgotten Girls by Monica Potts (m001nvp5)
Book of the Week: Ep 2 - Church and religion in rural America

In Monica Potts' powerful book about friendship, and lost promise in 21st century rural America she reflects on the role of religion, and recalls becoming a teenager in the 1990s,and her 'boy crazy' friends. Kelly Burke reads.

Monica Potts is an acclaimed journalist and here she sets out to understand generational cycles of poverty and hardship that continue to blight the lives of rural communities in contemporary America. At the same time, she reconnects with her childhood friend, Darci, and the big economic and social questions she's asking become personal. Darci, her talented and brilliant friend was now homeless, jobless and an addict. Her fate could have been Monica's, and so begins a journey to find out why the two women's lives took such different paths.

Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001nvpc)
Zoe Saldaña, Yomi Adegoke, Guardianship, Lunar module engineer

Zoe Saldaña has appeared in the top three grossing movies of all time – Avatar, Avatar: Way of Water and Avengers: Endgame. You may know her as Uhura in the Star Trek reboot films, Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, or as Neytiri in Avatar. Now Zoe is taking a break from sci-fi and fantasy to star in a new, Earth-based TV series called Special Ops: Lioness. It’s a spy thriller about a covert programme that trains and dispatches women around the world as undercover operatives. Zoe joined Nuala to record an interview last week, before the US actors’ strike was called.

The Metropolitan Police has started using counter-terrorism tactics to hunt down the 100 worst male sexual predators targeting women. Nuala gets the reaction of former Inspector of Constabulary Zoe Billingham, who led the 2021 review of the policing response to violence against women and girls, calling for it to be treated with the same priority as terrorism.

15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa still apply laws that require women to either 'obey' their husbands or seek their permission to leave the marital home, work, or travel. That’s according to a new report from Human Rights Watch, which compares the state of male guardianship laws across the region. The report finds that, although women’s rights activists have been successful in winning some freedoms, new restrictions are still being implemented – particularly in areas of conflict such as Yemen and Syria. Rothna Begum, Senior Women's Rights Researcher, joins Nuala to explain the findings.

Yomi Adegoke is the co-author of the bestselling guide, Slay in Your Lane: A Black Girl’s Bible. Now she’s stepping into the world of fiction with her debut novel, The List. Journalist Ola and her fiancé Michael are getting married in a month, but their excitement is shattered when a database of men in the world of media, and allegations of sexual harassment against them, is anonymously posted online. And Michael is on it. How will the couple navigate the fall out? Yomi joins Nuala to talk about why she wanted to write this story.

For the first time in fifty years, humans will soon be returning to the moon. Sara Pastor is the project manager and Chief Engineer of the International Habitation module – the place where astronauts will live and study scientific findings in space as part of the Artemis Mission, set to happen in the next few years. Sara joins Nuala to talk about why this is such an important project for human exploration, and how women are at the centre of it.


TUE 11:00 Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin (m001nvph)
8. An Answer

Speculation that newly declassified US intelligence will contain smoking-gun evidence.

Three years on from the start of the pandemic, the FBI - the US domestic intelligence agency - reveals it sees a lab leak in Wuhan as the most likely source of Covid. Weeks later, the US Congress passes a law requiring the country’s intelligence agencies to declassify information they have that potentially links the Wuhan Institute of Virology with Covid’s origin. What will it reveal? And, in our final episode (for now at least), what conclusions can we reach about that question that’s sparked so much controversy and acrimony: where did Covid come from?

Archive: Fox News; C-SPAN.

Presenter: John Sudworth
Series producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound design and mix: James Beard
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke
Science advice: Julian Siddle and Victoria Gill
Extra production: Eva Artesona and Kathy Long
Research support: Zisheng Xu and BBC Monitoring
Production coordinators: Siobhan Reed, Helena Warwick-Cross, Sophie Hill, and Debbie Richford
Theme and original music: Pete Cunningham, with trumpet by Joss Murray
Radio 4 Editor of Editorial Standards: Roger Mahony
Head of BBC News - Long Form Audio: Emma Rippon


TUE 11:30 A Week in New York with Bruce and Bob, July 1973 (m001nvpp)
Lee Jaffe is an artist, photographer, filmmaker, musician and producer who, in July 1973, booked an unknown act from Jamaica to support an exciting new talent from New Jersey for a week long residency at New York's legendary Max's Kansas City. It kick started both performers on their paths to become cultural titans.

Lee recalls the week 50 years ago when each act alternated opening and closing slots for the 40 people who showed up each night, the two legends playing 14 gigs each across the week. Marley was making his first visit to America in support of the Catch a Fire album, while Bruce was promoting his first album. The two bands hung out - while also going to see The New York Dolls at Kenny's Castaways nightclub around the corner and Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden.

Lee tells the behind the scenes tales of this slice of rock history, joined by several contributors who were there - including Bruce Springsteen, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, E Street band pianist David Sancious, photographer Bob Gruen, publicist Cherry Vanilla, manager Toby Mamis, Geoff MacCormack who went with David Bowie to see Bruce Springsteen, and Warhol acolyte Tony Zanetta who was a regular in the legendary back room at Max's.

This snapshot of a week in the life of one of New York's most acclaimed nightclubs of the 70s, where Andy Warhol held court every night with a stunning array of the art world's alternative elite, recalls the years when decadence was de rigueur among the hedonists who lived and breathed sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

The club's owner, Mickey Ruskin, prided himself on booking new bands who he believed had something different to offer - which is why Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen were on the same bill that week in the summer of '73.

A Zinc Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001nvpt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001nvq0)
News and discussion of consumer affairs.


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001nvq6)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001nvqd)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 The Banksy Story (m001nvql)
2. Love & Death & BMX

James Peak isn't an art critic, or even a journalist. He's a Banksy super-fan, and in this series he, and his soundman Duncan, get closer than close to Banksy's secret world - telling the story of the graffiti kid who made spraying walls into high art, the household name who is completely anonymous, the cultural phenomenon who bites the hand that feeds him.

James persuades a member of Banksy's secret team – someone who worked closely with the artist when they were starting to cut through – to talk about the experience. The story that results is a rollercoaster ride.

In this episode, James finds someone from Banksy's secret team, but will they talk?

Written, Produced and Presented by James Peak
Sound & Commentary: Duncan Crowe.
Voices: Keith Wickham & Harriet Carmichael
Music: Alcatraz Swim Team & Lilium
Series Mixing: Neil Churchill
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
With special thanks to Hadrian Briggs, Pete Chinn, Patrick Nguyen, John Higgs and Steph Warren.

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001nvqs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Fault Lines: Money, Sex and Blood (m000fgdh)
Series 1: Money

Collapse

Collapse
by Esther Wilson
Hannah lives in a tower block with her son and has recently taken on her sister's son too, and soon finds out the harsh realities of kinship care. With a chronic lack of social housing there's been a delay in rehousing the remaining tenants when tragedy strikes.

Constance - Glenda Jackson
Hannah - Gillian Kearney
Eden - Albie Crompton
Dylan - Edmund Davies
Jamal - Peter Singh
Neil - Paul Bernhard
Shelly - Susan Twist
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m001nvr0)
Series 35

Art

Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures rediscovering the contexts that give cause to communities and their art.

An Image Interrupted
Produced by Danny Greenwald
Featuring the voice of Taha Heydari

àlá lo lá (You Dreamed a Dream)
Produced by Tobi Adebajo
Poems: In a Dream, Agbegbe T’ala, Safari Ya Siri
Sound Design by Tobi Adebajo
Music by Akin Euba, Nabalayo, petals and Tobi Adebajo

Banned in America
Produced by Lucy Evans (they/them), also known as the drag king Sir Cum Sized (he/him).
Featuring interviews with:
Angelique Young-Cavalier (she/her), a Trans, Equal rights activist, Motivational Speaker and Drag Queen Entertainer Based in Tampa, Florida.
Jackie Rosebutch (they/them), a non-binary drag Goddex and environmental science enthusiast based in Missoula, Montana.
Maxi Glamour (they/them) @maxiglamour, a multidisciplinary artist at the intersection of high fantasy and social critique. Known as the Demon Queen of Polka and Baklava, Maxi Glamour uses demonological imagery as an allegory for how marginalised people are demonised by society, and wit and magic to examine the structural harm of oppression.
Bella DuBalle (she/her), a Show Director and Host at Atomic Rose in Memphis Tennessee, and also a licensed minister who has performed many weddings. Bella created and hosts “the Mid-South’s local RuPauls’s Drag Race", a competition called War of the Roses.
Bobby Pudrido (he/him), a Texas-based drag king and show producer who uses drag as a way to explore, blend, and showcase his queerness and Latine culture. In his drag show productions, Pudrido prioritises trans, gender diverse, black and brown drag kings and their accomplices as a way to push back against the erasure of these identities in mainstream culture.
Special thanks to Samara Slaughter (she/her), JD Miller (they/them), Butch Mermaid (they/them), Sam Bam Thankyoumaam (they/he), Hugh Mann Race (he/they), Puppi Love (she/they), Dick TransDyke (they/he), Problem Child (she/they), Luxury Bones (he/they) and Andie Sleaze (they/he) from New York the chorus of resistance heard at the beginning.

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


TUE 15:30 A Very British Cult (m001kxfh)
2. The Daily Call

Jeff is being drawn deeper and deeper into a life coaching group called Lighthouse. He loves having a mentor and feels great about life. Now it’s time to take the next step, to go full time. But what exactly awaits Jeff, and what is it going to cost him?

What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a sinister life coaching company.

Reporter: Catrin Nye
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main & Jo Adnitt
Researcher: Aisha Doherty
Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat
Sound Mixing: James Bradshaw
Original Music by: Phil Channell
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m001nvr6)
Interpreting Presidents Putin and Zelensky

Irina Morgan is a high level interpreter. Being bi-lingual in Russian and Ukrainian means she's in demand whenever Vladimir Putin or President Zelensky give a press conference requiring simultaneous interpretation. Irina talks to Michael about the language do's and don'ts of live translation, and about how she puts herself into the mindset of someone like President Putin in order to give an accurate representation of his distinct man-of-the-people hard man linguistic style. By contrast Volodymyr Zelensky is a linguistic free-styler - like following jazz, Irina says.
A fascinating look at the life of a language specialist.

Producer: Maggie Ayre


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m001nvpw)
Niamh Cusack & Elly Griffiths

Niamh Cusack chooses Lila by Marilynne Robinson part of a group of novels set around the fictional Iowa town of Gilead and centres on the gentle relationship between a poor young woman who has grown up drifting around the midwest and an elderly man of God, the Reverend John Ames. For Niamh the novel speaks to the loneliness of life but she also finds its humanity uplifting and inspiring.
Crime writer Elly Griffiths' choice is Something In Disguise by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Ostensibly a semi comic family drama, Elly finds something more sinister in the book which she terms 'domestic noir'.
Harriett has chosen Naples '44 - travel writer Norman Lewis' account of wartime Naples and the allied liberation of Southern Italy. There are differing opinions as to whether the book is a touching tribute to the warmth and resilience of the Neapolitan people at a desperate time or a rather patronising outdated view of Italy.
What do you think? You can join in the discussion on our Instagram page @agoodreadbbc

Producer: Maggie Ayre


TUE 17:00 PM (m001nvrd)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001nvrl)
The bill is set to become law after passing a series of votes in the House of Lords


TUE 18:30 The Ultimate Choice (m0019bx3)
Pilot: Flatmates and Zombies

Steph McGovern leads a pair of seriously funny minds through some devious Would You Rather dilemmas, to find definitive answers to the great questions of our age. Or not.

In this episode, comedians Russell Kane and Ria Lina step up to the plate, with their fates to be decided by the wise and all-powerful studio audience, who will make the ultimate choice.

Starring Steph McGovern, Russell Kane and Ria Lina
Devised by Jon Harvey and Joseph Morpurgo
Mixed by David Thomas
Production Support: Leah Marks
Associate Producer: Joseph Morpurgo
Produced and edited by Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Ed Morrish

A Naked production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001nvrs)
Neil and Hannah are unhappy to hear Martyn’s visiting Berrow. Neil thinks he’s miffed about George’s sacking. Hannah says she’ll leave if Martyn petitions to get George back. Later angry Emma has a go at Hannah for getting George sacked and bad-mouthing him. Hannah admits she may’ve mentioned it to Johnny. When Hannah points out George has a problem with women, Emma tells her to shut up and to stop spreading rumours.
Emma visits Tony with a croissant and cappuccino, and he guesses that it’s about George working on the farm. When Emma stresses that George’s confidence has slipped since he left Berrow, Tony wonders if George has the right attitude to work on a busy farm. Emma thinks someone’s told Tony about what happened at Berrow, and Tony admits he’d heard George has a tongue in him. Tony agrees to have George on a trial basis.
Tom, Tony and Pat discuss the news from Helen that Rob’s dying. Tom thinks it’s a good thing, but Pat points out it’s still the end of someone’s life. Upset Tony tells Tom to leave it and walks out. Later Tony admits to Tom that Rob dying means he’s got away with all his abuse, he should be publicly recognised for each crime he’s committed. Tony’s furious when Tom wonders how he’d feel it if happened to his daughters. Does Tom know what’s it’s been like to watch Helen be abused by a manipulative animal? Rob’s ending is too easy after what he did to Helen. Tony tells Tom to leave him alone.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001nvrz)
20 years of Podcasting, Black Venus, AI Songwriting Challenge

Aindrea Emelife and black women in art. Nigerian-British curator on her Somerset House exhibition Black Venus, addressing colonial history and the representation of black women in art as subject and artist, and her new curatorial role at the Edo Museum of West African Art, opening in Nigeria from 2024.

Earlier this year a viral song purporting to feature Drake and The Weeknd was removed from streaming services when it emerged that vocals on the track were not the artists, but were generated by Artificial Intelligence. Songwriters are increasingly concerned that AI could put them out of business, but how worried should they be? The BBC’s Will Chalk is joined by two professional songwriters, Aaron Horn and Holly Henderson, to see who can write the most convincing pop hit – the humans or the machines.

20 years since the launch of the first ever podcast, we look back at the highlights of the medium’s explosive growth. Tom Sutcliffe is joined by podcast pioneer and host of The Allusionist, Helen Zaltzman, and by Dino Sofos, founder and CEO of audio production company Persephonica.


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001nvs4)
The Epilepsy Drug Scandal

It’s been called a bigger scandal than Thalidomide. The drug sodium valproate is estimated to have harmed 20,000 children in the UK.

It’s mainly used to treat epilepsy and other conditions such as bipolar disorder.

But taking the drug when pregnant can cause serious harm to unborn babies.

Even when it was licenced fifty years ago, it was known to cause harm to foetuses in animals. But it wasn’t until 2005 that the patient information leaflet, which should come with a prescription- gave clear warnings on the risks of taking valproate in pregnancy to unborn children, beyond a small chance of spina bifida.

File on 4 asks if the health regulators in the UK and the company who make it, Sanofi, did enough to inform patients of the severity of the drug's risks soon enough.

Meanwhile, new risks of the drug are still emerging. A new study shows the drug may affect the neurological development of children fathered by men taking valproate. The evidence is still inconclusive, but neurologists are uncertain what to advise their male patients on valproate.

And why are women still getting pregnant on it? We ask if the system set up to protect women taking it is working as it should be?

A major review of the drug made a number of recommendations, including the setting up of specialist clinics and a compensation scheme for those affected. The programme asks what progress has been made in the UK to implement those changes, and are we lagging behind other countries?

File on 4 speaks to the families whose children have been left with lifelong neurological and physical disabilities as a result of taking the medication.

Reporter: Rachel Stonehouse
Producers: Jane Fellner and Emma Forde
Editor: Carl Johnston


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001nvsb)
Books on Blindness

Selina Mills and Andrew Leland have both just published new books about blindness. Andrew's is called The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight and Selina's is Life Unseen: A Story of Blindness. Both books have similar themes, in that they assess where the societal attitudes towards blindness may have originated from and how they subsequently interweave into our modern society. Both authors are visually impaired and live on either side of the Atlantic, and so they join us in discussing the cultural and historical differences.

In Touch has widely covered the proposed closures of ticketing offices at train stations. Well now a public consultation has been launched by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch. It ends on Wednesday 26 July and to submit your responses, you can visit their websites or call 0300 123 2350.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m001nvsj)
How fast should you eat your food?

Our guinea-pig presenter James Gallagher has been eating either extremely fast or excruciatingly slow to figure out what our eating speed does to our health. Dr Sarah Berry from Kings College London explains it’s not good news if you devour your dinner! And we get to the bottom of the headlines on cancer and the artificial sweetener aspartame. James and Prof David Spiegelhalter discuss why these cancer-scare stories keep on happening.

Get in touch with the team (especially if you have any questions about headache or migraine) on InsideHealth@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Julia Ravey
Editor: Erika Wright
Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris
Studio Manager: Giles Aspen


TUE 21:30 Across the Red Line (m001nvnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001nvsq)
Tears in Commons over controversial Troubles bill

Also:

Donald Trump says he expects to be arrested

and Stock Aitken Waterman - The Musical


TUE 22:45 The Sorcerer of Pyongyang by Marcel Theroux (m001nvsx)
Episode Seven

In 1995, an 11-year-old boy in North Korea, Cho Jun-su, stumbles across a strange, foreign book that will change his life.

Helped in private by a teacher, Jun-su learns that it is a Dungeon Master’s guide. Dungeons and Dragons opens up a whole new world of make-believe and imagination for the boy.

But in the years that follow, Jun-su learns that, in a totalitarian state, imagination can be a dangerous thing.

Episode Seven
Pyongyang 2012. Jun-su begins a new chapter in his life with Su-ok, Guk-ju and the brother of Kim Jong-un, Jimi.

The author Marcel Theroux is a British American novelist and broadcaster. He is the author of Far North, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The Sorcerer Of Pyongyang is his fifth novel.

Writer: Marcel Theroux
Reader: Edmund Kingsley
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:00 Witch (p0fpbv4q)
8. Hag

The witch has held a place firmly in our imagination for centuries – from whispered warnings in folklore to pop-culture driven heights. But what does it mean to be a witch now?

Presenter India Rakusen, creator of the podcast 28ish Days Later, is on a journey to find out.

In this episode, we're investigating what made older women a key target during the witch hunts in many places in Europe. India wants to find out why that was, and how this has subsequently shaped life for older women several hundred years later. We meet modern witches who show us how covens help to break down ageism.

'Hag' poem written and performed by Sarah MacGillivray.

Presenter: India Rakusen
Additional voiceover: Emma Taylor
Scored with original music by The Big Moon.

Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Producer: Elle Scott
Producer: Lucy Dearlove
AP: Tatum Swithenbank
Production Manager: Kerry Luter
Sound Design: Olga Reed

A Storyglass production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001nvt6)
All the news from Westminster with Susan Hulme.