SATURDAY 02 SEPTEMBER 2023

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001q13j)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 How to Build Impossible Things by Mark Ellison (m001q100)
Workshop of Wonders

Mark Ellison is regarded by many as the best carpenter in New York. A man with an affinity for challenging work, he has designed and constructed some of New York's most elaborate and expensive homes, and been profiled in the New Yorker.

Over the past 40 years, Mark has worked on some of the most beautiful homes you have never seen, specialising in rarefied and challenging projects with the most demanding of clients. He built a staircase a famed architect called a masterpiece. He worked on the iconic Sky House, which Interior Design named the best apartment of the decade. He has even worked on the homes of David Bowie, Robin Williams, and others whose names he cannot reveal.

But before he was any of that, Mark was just 'a serial dropout' who spent his young adult years taking work where he found it and sleeping on friends’ floors. As a native of the old steel town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, his route into the building trade and the mastery of a craft was unexpected, moving from construction labourer to carpenter and finally to project manager extraordinaire.

Now, at the age of 60, he has written his first book. In How to Build Impossible Things, Mark Ellison tells the story of his unconventional education in the world of architecture and design, and how he learned the satisfaction and joy that comes from doing something well for a long time. He takes us on a tour through the lofts, penthouses, and townhouses of New York's elite which he has transformed over the years and offers a window into what he has learned about living meaningfully along the way. Mark exposes the messy wiring behind the pristine walls - and the mindset that any of us can develop to build our own impossible things.

In this final episode, Mark reveals what he learned from working on the properties of some of New York’s biggest celebrities and describes the satisfaction he gets from building the most impossible things.

Abridged and produced by Jane Greenwood
Read by Demetri Goritsas
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001q13n)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001q13s)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001q13z)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001q147)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001q14h)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Canon Simon Doogan.


SAT 05:45 Witness (b03jv4x1)
Death in the Boxing Ring

In November 1982, the boxer Deuk-Koo Kim died of brain damage after a world title fight against the American Ray Mancini. Kim fell into a coma after being repeatedly knocked down in the 14th round. His death led to a series of reforms in boxing. Ray Mancini shares his memories of the fight and its aftermath.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001q5y7)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001q0yf)
Stone Circles and Dark Skies in County Tyrone

As a child, Mary McKeown played hide and seek amongst the Beaghmore Stone Circles in her native County Tyrone. It's a mysterious, mystical site with seven circles, ten rows of stones and twelve cairns, all seemingly carefully aligned. They were found by turf cutters in the 1930s, excavated in the 1960s and carbon dated back to the early Bronze Age. There are many theories about what they were used for - perhaps a burial site, a place for harvest ceremonies, or some sort of lunar or solar calendar.

The belief that the stones were connected to celestial events prompted Mary, now working as a tourism officer, to bid for Dark Sky status for Davagh Forest, a short distance away. It's one of the few areas in Northern Ireland unaffected by light pollution. In Irish, 'davagh' means cauldron – the site sits in a natural bowl in the forest protecting it from artificial light from surrounding towns and villages. Davagh became the world's 77th Dark Sky park and the first in Northern Ireland.

Mary and her colleagues were also successful in getting funding to build an observatory. Resident astronomer, Barry Lynn, operates a telescope through a retractable roof and projects images of the skies on screens around the park. He says he was first attracted to the area by his interest in archaeoastronomy, the study of how past cultures viewed the skies. He says its fascinating to think that centuries ago, people watched the same moon, sun and stars as we do today.

Back at the Beaghmore Stones, Helen is persuaded to join Mary for a barefoot walk inside the circles. Some believe that the 'energy' of the landscape promotes a sense of mental well being. Helen remains unconvinced about this, but enjoys recapturing childhood memories.

Produced by Kathleen Carragher


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001q5y9)
Farmers' concerns over new land protections

Farmers on a newly designated protected site say they're being forced to sell up. Natural England has designated 3,000 hectares of the Lands End peninsula in Cornwall as a Site of Special Scientific Interest -or SSSI - that brings in more protection for the area, and stricter rules on what farmers can and can't do. Some who work the land affected - West Penwith Moor and Downs - say the impact on their businesses is so bad that they're leaving.
After multiple delays, this week the government announced it will be bringing in full post-Brexit border checks for some goods imported from the EU from January next year. British farmers have had their produce checked as it goes across to the continent since we left the EU in 2021. leading to higher costs, and delays for exporters. From January some animal products, plants, food and feed will need certification before entering the UK to make sure they're safe. The news has been welcomed by safety groups and farmers, who said the fact that imported food wasn't being checked was putting animal disease protection at risk.
It's harvest time, and arable farmers have been in a race against time to get the crops in during brief dry periods. But it's not just wheat and barley that are being harvested. We also visit farms where blackcurrants are being harvested for a well-known fruit cordial, and report on an experimental harvest of flax in Scotland.
And Sarah Swadling heads to a farm in Dorset where they're trialling artificial intelligence as a way of measuring the amount of wildlife on the site. The equipment can distinguish between different species of bee, for example, and the scientists say it could help in our bid to tackle the nature crisis.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001q5yc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001q5yf)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001q5yh)
Andy McNab, Briony May Williams, Denisa Gannon, Johnny Flynn, James Hart Dyke...in nature

From the day he was found in a Harrods bag as a baby on the steps of Guy's Hospital in London, author Andy McNab has carpe'd the diem out of life. As a member of the SAS he was at the centre of covert operations for nine years on five continents. Now he’s one of the world’s best-selling authors. An astonishing achievement given he had the reading age of an eleven-year-old when he joined the army and read his first book by his seventeenth birthday.

Ten years ago, Briony May Williams became so unwell with polycystic ovary syndrome that she needed to take time away from her job as a language teacher. A friend at the school suggested baking would be a distraction and within five years, she was a semi-finalist on the Great British Bake Off. Since then, she’s gone from contestant to presenter – fronting tv shows like “Food Unwrapped” and “Escape to the Country”.

Denisa Gannon defied the odds to become the first Roma lawyer in England and Wales. Born in a small village in Czechia, she was the fifth of six siblings and the only one to go to a mainstream school. Even after passing the equivalent of A-levels, because of her ethnicity, she faced prejudice and discrimination and was exploited by people to such an extent that she decided to help herself, and others in similar situations, by studying law.

All that plus The Inheritance Tracks of actor and musician Johnny Flynn - and we join the artists and adventurer James Hart Dyke ...In Nature.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (p0cdn5r3)
Hatshepsut

Greg Jenner is joined by special guests Kemah Bob and Dr Campbell Price as they head back to Ancient Egypt to meet the unique and powerful ruler, Hatshepsut.

She reigned for over 20 years, built a temple which is still admired today, had a ‘special’ relationship with statues and was one of the first rulers to focus on divinity rather than gender norms. So why did history try to erase her?

The Athletic production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001q5yl)
Series 41

Masham

Jay Rayner and his panel of food experts have a grand day out in Masham for this week’s episode of The Kitchen Cabinet.

Joining Jay are food historian Dr Annie Gray, chef Tim Anderson, and food writers Sumayya Usmani and Melissa Thompson.

Whether it be assessing the best ways to use leftover brown bread or how to cook a 3 course meal using beer, Jay and the panel of food fanatics discuss a range of culinary conundrums. And there's the most pressing of questions - is it possible to have too many cookbooks?

Also in the programme, Sandra Bell of Wensleydale Creamery joins the team to discuss the origins of the cheese, beloved by Wallace and Gromit. And Jo Theakston of Black Sheep Brewery offers advice on dishes you can pair best with beer.

Producer: Dan Cocker

Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 More or Less (m001ngpm)
Immigration: A More or Less Special Programme

More than 1.2 million people came into the country to stay for more than 12 months in 2022. As only 560,000 left the country, this means net migration is at an all-time high. Both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have said the number of people coming needs to come down. But who counts as an immigrant? How are the figures worked out? Charlotte McDonald will be finding out what the numbers tell us about who is coming to the UK and why. Plus - what about the people who left in 2022?


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001q5yn)
The press under pressure in Indian-administered Kashmir

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' dispatches from Kashmir, Russia, Nigeria, Slovakia and Paraguay.

Understanding the complexities of politics and identity in Indian-administered Kashmir is not easy - and so the Kashmir Press Club was not just a social spot for local reporters, but an informal university for visiting journalists from elsewhere. It was recently closed down by the Indian government: just one sign of the narrowing margins for media freedom in the region. Yogita Limaye reflects on the challenges to reporting on Kashmir in such a climate.

Amid the fog of war, it's harder than ever to separate truth from misinformation about public opinion in Russia. So Will Vernon took to the streets of Moscow to ask members of that public what they think. In their answers, there were words of resignation and nervousness as well as of patriotism. He also heard from an anonymous Russian military analyst and people within the "ever-shrinking world" of opposition politics.

The recent coup in Niger was roundly condemned by the regional trade and diplomatic bloc ECOWAS, led by Nigeria. ECOWAS threatened military action and suspended trade with Niger. That had immediate effects for the truckers and traders who regularly cross the border between Niger and Nigeria - as well as the families and religious groups with extensive networks in both countries. Catherine Norris Trent hears of their concerns over the crisis.

The double murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova in 2018 caused outrage in Slovakia. It set off a wave of public protests which eventually brought down a government. So how has it happened that five years later, the legal cases to convict all the killers is still ongoing, and that Robert Fico, who was unseated by that protest movement, is a contender to be re-elected Prime Minister? John Kampfner investigates a story of secrets and lies.

By some estimates, a language dies, along with its last speaker, around every 40 days; a loss of human knowledge and worldviews we might not come to regret until it's too late. All over the world, indigenous languages are disappearing fast. But in South America there's a notable exception: Guarani, which is widely spoken in Paraguay and beyond - and not only by people of Guarani descent. Grace Livingstone listens to some of the language's most passionate defenders and promoters, who say they'd like their mother tongue to get a little more respect.

00:36 Press freedom in Kashmir
05:44 What do Russians think about misinformation?
11:04 The side-effects of the Niger coup
16:15 Secrets and lies in Slovakia
22:15 Paraguay's thriving indigenous language

Producers: Polly Hope and Joe Kent
Editor: Bridget Harney
Production Co-ordinator: Sabine Schereck


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001q5yq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001q5ys)
Buy Now, Pay Later and Accessible Homes

New research has found that one in five people are paying for essentials - like food and household bills - by borrowing on Buy Now, Pay Later. A report from The Money and Pensions Service says more than ten million people now use it and claims around 40% of people they surveyed were managing their repayments badly including turning to credit cards, savings or overdrafts to pay it back.

Millions of pounds could be saved every year by building more homes that are accessible to people in wheelchairs - that's the conclusion of a report by the London School of Economics and the Housing Association, Habinteg. It looked into the financial costs and benefits of building more accessible homes for people who need them. The number of wheelchair users living in unsuitable homes across the UK is estimated to be more than 400,000. Dan Whitworth visits Kenilworth to meet Georgia and her family for a tour of their partly accessible home.

The government is currently considering ways it could change pensions in the UK to drive better outcomes for savers. Part of this includes a call for evidence looking at how defined benefit schemes might be invested differently. One idea is to make it easier for private sector employers to access tens of billions of pounds of surplus funds that have built up in their pension schemes. The Department for Work and Pensions says "the direction of future policy is not yet decided.” Tom Selby from AJ Bell explores this idea.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Sarah Rogers
Researcher: Sandra Hardial
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm, Saturday 2nd September)

00:00 Introduction
00:41 Buy Now Pay Later
07:25 Accessible Homes
15:41 Self-Assessment Tax Helpline
17:02 Defined Benefit Pensions


SAT 12:30 The Naked Week (m001q12j)
The sixth of our satirical specials this summer. From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.

Host Andrew Hunter Murray (No Such Thing As A Fish, QI Elf, Private Eye) will strip away the curtain and dive into not only the big stories, but also at the way in which the news is packaged and presented.

From award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a (consensual) topical news nude straight to your ears.

Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Sarah Dempster
Gareth Ceredig
Jason Hazeley
Adam Macqueen
Louis Mian
Andrew Hunter Murray

and
Karl Minns
Mark Haynes
Nicky Roberts
Kevin Smith
Cooper Mawhinny Sweryt

Guests: Bobby Seagull, Duncan Lamont, Chris Dodd

Voice:
Jake Yapp

Music:
Jason Hazeley
Gareth Ceredig
Sarah Gabriel

Production Team: Laura Grimshaw, Tony Churnside, Paul Brogden, Katie Sayer

Produced and directed by Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Bill Dare

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001q5yv)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001q5yx)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001q132)
Carla Denyer, John Glen, Luke Pollard, Alice Thomson

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Lostwithiel Community Centre in Cornwall with the co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales Carla Denyer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP, Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard MP and The Times columnist Alice Thomson.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001q5yz)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week


SAT 14:45 Dementia: Unexpected Stories of the Mind (m001kwvx)
Geraint

In this five-part series, neurologist Jules Montague and William Miller go into the homes of people with rare dementias, to discover that dementia is not what we think it is.

It’s a common misconception that dementia is a condition that only affects memory - but Alzheimer’s is only one form of dementia, there are many more. Because the symptoms of rare dementias can be so atypical, often in younger people, those with rare dementias wait twice as long for a diagnosis and a third are initially misdiagnosed.

The symptoms of these dementias go far beyond memory loss. William and Jules meet a man who hallucinates cats and rabbits in his living room, a novelist who is losing her words, a former teacher who cannot see what’s right in front of her, and a family struggling with a genetic legacy that has defined their past and could determine their future.

Dr Jules Montague is a dementia specialist, and William has personal experience of its impact having cared for his father, theatre director Jonathan Miller, who died of Alzheimer’s in 2019. Together they explore the science behind the symptoms and the poignant and extraordinary ways in which families navigate their lives as a result of these conditions.

In this episode, they meet Geraint and his wife Jacqui. In 2020 Geraint received a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia - or FTD - which results in a profound transformation in behaviour and personal identity.

Details of organisations offering information and support with dementia are available at the BBC Action Line here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1Y8B7y39T07GnTlMsLPJG2S/information-and-support-dementia

Producer: Eve Streeter
Original music: A Brief Encounter by Max Walter
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m0014fxp)
Mahabharata Now (Part 1)

The Gods, the law, capitalism and politics jostle for power in this modern adaptation of the ancient Indian poem Mahabharata. Dramatised as a gripping family epic set in 21st century Mumbai, this series is powered by the tensions and rivalries of a turbulent business empire.

One of India’s biggest business empires is facing a crisis that threatens its very existence.

Fifty years ago, two brothers, Sanjay and Paras set up a small business that would eventually grow into Hasta Enterprises, a vast conglomerate encompassing everything from finance to hotels. When Paras died young from a heart attack, sole control of the empire passed to Sanjay, and for many years the money flowed in, power and influence accumulated. Recently however, Sanjay has started to show signs of ill health. Looking to the future, he prays to the Gods and decides to publish a will, setting out the future of Hasta Enterprises.

His choices plunge his family into chaos.

At stake is a vast business empire. The only thing rival factions can agree on is to let a game of dice decide the future.

Written by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle

Cast

Sanjay: Rajit Kapur
Dhruv: Neil Bhoopalam
Yash: Tavish Bhattacharyya
Kala: Anahita Uberoi
Gita: Shernaz Patel
Padma - Ira Dubey
Shaks: Vivek Madan
Karthik: Sukant Goel
Vihaan: Omkar Kulkarni
MC: Aseem Hattangady
Paramedic: Abir Abrar
Consultant: Shivani Tanksale
Gopi: Prerna Chawla

Other characters were played by Shivani Tanksale; Abir Abrar; Omkar Kulkarni and Aseem Hattangady.

Sound Supervisor (Mumbai): Ayush Ahuja
Sound Design and Post Production: Wilfredo Acosta
Original Music: Imran Ahmad

Producer (Mumbai): Nadir Khan
Producer: Helen Quigley and Andrew Mark Sewell
Executive Producer: Andrew Mark Sewell
Director: Jatinder Verma

A B7 Media production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001q5z1)
Hostage negotiator Nicky Perfect, Sarah Beeny, Chelsea Women Manager Emma Hayes, Mothers with bipolar, Bad lists

Nicky Perfect has spent most of her life in highly fraught and dangerous situations, working as a hostage negotiator. Now she’s written about her experience in a new book: Crisis: True Stories of my Life as a Hostage Negotiator. She joins Nuala McGovern to talk about some of the things she learnt along the way.

The TV presenter Sarah Beeny has spent much of her life in the unpredictable world of property renovation. Her latest book, The Simple Life - How I found Home, is about the many homes she's lived in. While she was writing it, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sarah speaks to Nuala about her perspective on language around cancer, and why she loves having a chaotic home.

Emma Hayes is the manager of Chelsea Women Football Club. In her time, they have won six Women’s Super League titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups. Emma joins Hayley Hassall to discuss football, motherhood, women's health, and leadership – which is the subject of her new audiobook, Kill the Unicorn.

The Pulitzer prize-winning production Next to Normal is currently on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in London. It features a suburban wife and mother living with bipolar and haunted by her past. Actor Caissie Levy, who plays Diana, and birder and environmentalist, Mya-Rose Craig, share their experiences with Nuala.

Did you hear our special Bank Holiday programme about lists? They pop up everywhere in life – and can be good, or bad. Nuala discusses some historically bad lists with authors Helen Lewis and Anne Sebba.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Lottie Garton

Opener 00:00
Nicky Perfect 01:23
Sarah Beeny 10:41
Emma Hayes 23:10
Bipolar Mothers 35:49
Bad Lists 44:09


SAT 17:00 PM (m001q5z3)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 All Consuming (m001q0xn)
Board Games

Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala take a deep dive into the world of Board Games - from the Ancient Egyptian game of Senet to more recent classics like Monopoly and Catan.

Along the way, they talk history with Dan Jolin, the co-founder of the board game magazine Senet, meet the acknowledged master of the modern strategy game Reiner Knizia who has invented over 800 games, and learn the tricks of the trade from world Monopoly champion Nicolo Falcone who reveals why getting stuck in jail isn't always a bad thing.

Presented by Charlotte Stavrou and Amit Katwala
Produced by Carrie Morrison
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001q5z5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001q5z7)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001q5z9)
Suella Braverman calls on the police watchdog to investigate whether forces' stance on certain issues is having a detrimental affect on day to day policing.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001q5zc)
John Lydon, Simon Reeve, Jamie Lee O'Donnell, Isabel Adomakoh Young, Beautiful Landing, Polly Paulusma and Kathryn Williams

Clive Anderson and Arthur Smith are joined by John Lydon, Jamie Lee O'Donnell, Isabel Adomakoh Young and Simon Reeve for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Polly Paulusma & Kathryn Williams, and Beautiful Landing.


SAT 19:00 Reith Revisited (b096g22r)
Series 1

Angela Stent on George Kennan

Professor Angela Stent examines the lessons to be learnt from the 1957 Reith Lectures by the legendary American diplomat George Kennan, titled "Russia, the Atom and the West". Kennan, the architect of the American post-war policy of containment of the Soviet Union, was a key player during the Cold War. Stent, the former National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the US National Intelligence Council, evaluates the continuing relevance of the lectures, in conversation with Sarah Montague. The series assesses the contributions of great minds of the past to public debate, in a dialogue across the decades with contemporary thinkers. In 1948, households across Britain gathered before the wireless as the pre-eminent public intellectual of the age, the philosopher Bertrand Russell delivered a set of lectures in honour of the BBC's founder, Lord Reith. Since then, the Reith Lectures on the Home Service and subsequently Radio 4 have become a major national occasion for intellectual debate. In this series Radio 4 revisits five of the speakers from the first ten years of the Reith Lectures.
Producer: Neil Koenig
Researcher: Josephine Casserley.


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m001q5zf)
Leïla Slimani

French Moroccan author Leïla Slimani won critical acclaim and a reputation as an author of bold & brutal fiction with her first two novels. Adele is about a bourgeoise Parisian wife and mother who lives a sexually promiscuous secret life. In Lullaby, a nanny kills the children she’s employed to care for, a story currently being adapted as a drama series starring Nicole Kidman. Leïla has also written the first two in a planned trilogy of novels based on her own family history, and has published short stories and non-fiction. She has won France’s most prestigious literary award the Prix Goncourt, and in 2017 she was appointed as President Macron’s personal representative to Francophone countries.

For This Cultural Life, Leïla Slimani tells John Wilson about her childhood in Rabat, the daughter of a prominent Moroccan economist and politician. She reveals how she was motivated to write novels after the death of her father who had been convicted of financial fraud and imprisoned, but who was posthumously cleared of any wrongdoing. She chooses her French-born maternal grandmother, who told stories to Leïla , as a formative influence on her creative imagination from a young age. Having covered the Arab Spring uprisings in Morocco and Tunisia as a journalist for Jeune Afrique magazine, Leïla discusses how news stories have inspired much of her work.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b061pchg)
Destroyer of Worlds

How Britain developed the world's first atomic bomb only to lose it to the Americans when the U.S. reneged on an Anglo-American agreement to share atomic research.

A dawn of two suns - the world's first atomic bomb explosion tested in the New Mexico desert on July 16 1945 - inaugurated the atomic age, forever defining the global struggle for supremacy. At the time, the so called 'Father of the atomic bomb', Robert Oppenheimer, famously quoted Hindu scriptures with the apocalyptic words "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds".

This programme examines the little known story of British involvement in the top secret Manhattan Project to make an atomic bomb and how Britain, once the lead in nuclear weapons, was eventually marginalised.

It is a story of a British/US rivalry which ended in Britain being squeezed out of the project. But it is also the story of Churchill's failure to secure a position on the global high table of nuclear powers, a failure many regard as a betrayal.

While Britain may have regretted the loss of their atomic leadership, this programme also examines the views that one of the reasons for Britain's isolation - American fears about the security risk of British participation - was well justified. After all Klaus Fuchs, a member of the British delegation, was arguably the most significant of the wartime atomic spies.

But, speaking to the widow of an until recently unknown American atomic spy, the programme also uncovers evidence that the so-called 'best kept secret', the Manhattan Project, was far more deeply penetrated than we have previously realised.

Produced by Kati Whitaker
A Kati Whitaker production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hq24)
Series 5

Episode 10

It's now 2000 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.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST
Joseph Oldman Toby Jones
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Tony Wednesday Alec Newman
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
Detective Albright Nigel Pivarro
Inspector Vallins John Hastings
Julian Tyrwhitt Jonathan Tafler
Judge/Lord Carson Jamie Newall
Margaret Olinska Flora Montgomery
Tim Listfield/
Dietrich Heller/
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Catherine Isabella Urbanowicz
John Quayle Damian Lynch
Warder Thompson Christian Rodska
Kevin Wheeler Lucas Hare
Warder Peters Paul Kemp
Sir Ralph Courtney Nick Sampson
Dac Henderson Nicholas Murchie
John Redvers Tom York

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


SAT 21:45 Short Works (m001q11y)
Joan Loves Ice Cream by Tara West

An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from Northern Irish writer Tara West. Read by Julia Dearden.

Tara West is a novelist and Creative Writing Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. She is the author of novels Fodder and Poets Are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan as well as the memoir The Upside of Down. She has short stories published in The Glass Shore and Female Lines. She was part of BBC Writersroom Belfast Voices 2020/21. She won an RTÉ Storyland commission for her first drama ‘The Good Christian Women’s Writing Group’ for which she was nominated for the Royal Television Society’s Debut Writer Award.

Writer: Tara West
Reader: Julia Dearden
Producer: Michael Shannon
Editor: Andy Martin

A BBC Northern Ireland production.


SAT 22:00 News (m001q5zh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Screenshot (m001q12x)
Offices on screen

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a look at offices and office politics on screen.

Mark is joined by director Terry Gilliam who, back in 1985, created one of the most influential and iconic depictions of an on-screen office - Brazil. They discuss the Stanley Kubrick film which inspired Brazil's set design, Terry's own experience as an office drone and why his cult classic film still resonates today.

And Ellen investigates office politics in two very different comedy films, made nearly four decades apart - 1980's 9 to 5 and 2018's Sorry To Bother You.

First, she speaks to legendary screenwriter Patricia Resnick, who co-wrote 9 to 5 in her mid-20s. Patricia discusses how she came to work on the seminal satire of sexism at work, and reveals the real-life stories that influenced her script.

Ellen then talks to musician, activist and filmmaker Boots Riley, whose visionary debut film Sorry To Bother You focuses on a black telemarketer who achieves success when he discovers he can use his 'white voice' on sales calls. They discuss how the film was inspired by Boots' own successful stint in telesales, and why absurdist humour is so well suited for office-set stories.

Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m001q0n7)
Heat 3, 2023

(3/17)
The 2023 season of the general knowledge tournament continues with a contest from London's Radio Theatre. Russell Davies asks the questions, which today range across topics as diverse as botany and chemistry, architecture and ska music. There'll also be a chance for a listener to outwit the Brains and win a prize with questions he or she has thought up.

Appearing today are:
Atalanta Beaumont from Surrey,
David Cowan from Swansea,
John Esling from Suffolk
Emma Goodridge-Hobson from Suffolk.

Today's winner will return for the semi-finals later in the series.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Yeti (p0fxttvc)
10. It’s Testing Time

In the final leg of their yeti search, Andy is taken ill leaving Richard to spend the night alone in yeti country.

Meanwhile, Andy receives a mysterious phone call from a man who says he has evidence of the yeti.

The pair are reunited in Thimpu where they discuss their findings. Have they finally found the evidence they’ve been searching for? Can they once and for all prove the creature is real?

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 03 SEPTEMBER 2023

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001q5zl)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Four Sides of Seamus Heaney (m001q0lk)
Seamus Heaney - Love Poet

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize winner and one of the best loved poets writing in English, died in August, 2013. BBC Radio 4 is marking this with Four Sides of Seamus Heaney, four programmes, each on a different aspect of his work, each with a different presenter with personal knowledge of the poet.

In the second programme Seamus Heaney's daughter, Catherine, explores love in her father's poems. 'And here is love/ like a tin smith's scoop/ sunk past its gleam/ in the meal-bin.' These are the concluding lines of a poem dedicated to his aunt, Mary Heaney, who is baking in the kitchen. In the kitchen of her childhood home in Dublin Catherine Heaney talks to her mother, Marie, who shows her the handwritten book of love poems Seamus gave her in 1983, in lieu of a Christmas present. One is about the morning of Catherine's birth. There were to be another three decades' worth of love poems.

In 1972 Heaney gave up the security of a job as a lecturer at Queen's University, and the insecurity of life in Belfast at the height of The Troubles, and moved to Glanmore, a cottage in rural Wicklow, to devote himself to writing. In the kitchen Catherine hears from her brothers Christopher and Michael about that time and the poems he wrote, including 'A Kite for Michael and Christopher', a poem of love - but a tough one.

Paula Meehan, a former Ireland Professor of Poetry, reveals how 'The Blackbird of Glanmore', a late poem, connects Heaney with the very beginnings of Irish poetry. Rosie Lavan, co-editor of the forthcoming Collected Poems of Seamus Heaney, looks to the early poems to show how for Heaney love is never simple.

In Dublin, and in Wicklow, Seamus Heaney's words are written on walls - because people love them.

Presenter: Catherine Heaney
Producer: Julian May


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001q5zn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001q5zq)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001q5zs)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001q5zv)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001q5zx)
St Mary’s Church in Gislingham, in Suffolk.

Bells on Sunday comes from St Mary’s Church in Gislingham, in Suffolk. In 1599, the original bell tower collapsed and was replaced by a shorter tower with base walls five feet thick. Four medieval bells survived the collapse and were recast in the 17th century into a ring of five bells with a new treble added in the 19th century. In 2006, they were augmented to a ring of eight by the Whitechapel Foundry of London. The tenor weighs fourteen and a quarter hundredweight and is tuned to the note of E. We hear them ringing Lessness Surprise Major.


SUN 05:45 Reith Revisited (b096g22r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001q63t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01lstrl)
Practical Jokes

Most of us like a practical joke, but can it do us good while it's making us laugh? In the week of the Festival of Janasthami, celebrating the birth of Krishna, the Hindu Deity known amongst other things for his practical jokes, Mark Tully discusses the spirituality of the Prankster.

Like it or not, practical jokes and pranks play an intrinsic and important part of life. And our reactions to them can be revealing. A joke played and taken in good part can be an affirmation of friendship. Many initiation rites have pranks at their core. Some religious teachers have used them to make a memorable point.

Yet a delicate balance has to be struck. There must be countless examples of pranks tipping over into cruelty, or friendships being ruined by a misplaced trick. At the same time we can delight in being the butt of an inventive prank and we certainly love to see them played on others.

With the help of Professor Dacher Keltner a psychologist from University College, Berkeley and with music from Dudley Moore, Haydn and the musical "Matilda", Mark Tully investigates the cultural importance of joke playing.

The readers are Helen Ryan and Kenneth Cranham.

Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 Natural Histories (b08y0smy)
Grass

It's given us our oldest stories, made England a green and pleasant land, and has even helped shape our brains. Natural Histories investigates our obsession with grass, and Arcadian toil according to Victorian writer Richard Jefferies. Humans evolved in the grasslands and the major food crops (all grasses) have made us what we are. Thousands of years later it even gives suburban man an energy and a purpose through the summer.

Brett Westwood leads us through nature rich hay-meadows, through cornfields, across garden lawns and onto Wembley stadium in his quest to appreciate a neatly manicured piece of turf. How grass has influenced humanity is explored via author Tim Dee, grass expert Howard Thomas, artists Ackroyd and Harvey, Oxford gardener Simon Bagnall, historian Oliver Cox and groundsman Karl Standley.

First broadcast in a longer form 18th July 2017
Original producer: Melvin Rickarby
Archive producer : Andrew Dawes


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001q640)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001q644)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001q648)
Reconciling sex work with faith

Can you be a sex worker and still follow your faith? Sex work has always challenged religion. Although it’s broadly considered immoral within Christianity, Islam and Judaism, sacred texts carry some mixed messages. We hear from a British woman who grew up as a devout Muslim but now makes adult content for the online service Only Fans. She’s often pictured wearing a hijab. She’s received death threats but believes that expressing her sexuality and making her own choices about her body are empowering. She reflects on the difficulity of reconciling sex work with religious faith.

Attendance at Church of England services has fallen sharply in recent decades. A new survey of over a thousand clergy suggests that many are anxious about the future of the church. Nearly a third of those who responded to the poll, by the Times newspaper, felt that the Church could face extinction if the decline continues. Some believe that part of the problem is that church teaching on issues like gay marriage and the role of women is out of touch with public opinion. We hear from several Anglican priests and invite the church to respond to their concerns.

Why are nuns such an enduringly popular subject for films? This week, The Nun II, a horror movie, is released in UK cinemas. It's just the latest in a rich seam of nun-themed films, which includes Sister Act, Black Narcissus, Nuns on the Run, and The Sound of Music. A film critic and a Catholic nun discuss the portrayal of nuns in cinema and reflect on the enduring appeal of nuns to film makers.

Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Jonathan Hallewell and Bara'atu Ibrahim
Editor: Tim Pemberton
Studio Managers: Simon Highfield and Sue Stonestreet
Production Coordinator: David Baguley


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001q64d)
Prisoners of Conscience

Former beneficiary and director at Prisoners of Conscience, Mandira Sharma makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Prisoners of Conscience.

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 ‘Prisoners of Conscience'.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Prisoners of Conscience."
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: 213766


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001q64j)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001q64s)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001q650)
Princess of the marshes

A service to mark the 1350th anniversary of the founding of Ely Cathedral by St Etheldreda, a Saxon Princess who gave her life over to humbleness and prayer in the marshes of Ely.

Canon Jessica Martin and Canon James Reveley tell the story of Etheldreda's life, and of the legacy she left which still lives on today in the form of a majestic cathedral which became a place of pilgrimage after her death.

The choir and congregation join together in the hymns Blessed City, heavenly Salem, and Christ is our Cornerstone.

Readings: Wisdom 7 vv.7-14; Matthew 5 vv.14-16.

Conductor: Sarah MacDonald; Organist: Glen Dempsey

Producer: Ben Collingwood.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001q134)
Against the Bucket List

Will Self reflects on the spread of the craze for so-called 'bucket lists'.

He argues that 'far from introducing the ecstatic into our necessarily ephemeral existence, the bucket list reimposes the clock-watching go-round most of us have endured for most of our lives'.

'What gives life to life is death - nothing else,' he writes, 'while to live that life to the full is to realize this fully'.

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Editor: Bridget Harney


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b04mlpgv)
Vegetarian Tree Finch

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

Chris Packham presents the vegetarian tree finch on the Galapagos Islands. These streaky sparrow-like birds found on the Galapagos Islands may look rather plain, but belong to the evolutionary elite, having attracted the attention of Charles Darwin on his visit there in 1835. Darwin noticed that the fourteen or so species of finches, which he concluded were derived from a common ancestor on this isolate archipelago, had evolved bills adapted to the type of food available. The Vegetarian finch has a bill rather like a parrot's, with thick curved mandibles and a biting tip which also allows it to manipulate seeds, similar to a parrot or budgie. Vegetarian finches are especially fond of the sugar-rich twigs of certain shrubs and are use the biting tip of their bills to strip off the bark to reach the softer sweeter tissues beneath: a niche that other finches on Galapagos haven't exploited yet.

Producer : Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001q659)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001q65j)
Writer, Caroline Jester
Director, Dave Payne
Editor, Jeremy Howe

David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Rex Fairbrother ….. Nick Barber
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Mia Grundy ….. Molly Pipe
Brad Horrobin ….. Taylor Uttley
Chelsea Horrobin ….. Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Stella Pryor ….. Lucy Speed
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Oliver Sterling ….. Michael Cochrane
Hannah Riley ….. Helen Longworth
Adil Shah ….. Ronny Jhutti


SUN 11:15 The Reunion (m001q65s)
Spitting Image (200th Episode)

For the 200th edition of The Reunion, Kirsty Wark brings together the original team behind the satirical TV hit of the 1980s, Spitting Image.

Recorded in front of an audience in Cambridge, where the Spitting Image archives are now held by Cambridge University Library, we relive the stories of a show which very nearly didn't happen.

Only when Central Television in Birmingham decided to take a risk with a puppet show for adults did Spitting Image hit the screens. The rest is history.

With co-creators Peter Fluck and Roger Law, producers Jon Blair and John Lloyd, writers Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, puppeteer Louise Gold, voice artists Chris Barrie and Steve Nallon, and the man who made it all possible, Central Television commissioner Charles Denton.

Producer: Mark Rickards
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001q66b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m001q0nl)
Edinburgh Festival 2023

2. MacAulay, Brandreth, Parris and McCabe

In this the second of two specials recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sue Perkins challenges guests including Gyles Brandreth, Susie McCabe, Fred MacAulay and Rachel Parris to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

Production coordinator: Caroline Barlow
Producer: Rajiv Karia

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001q63l)
Festival Food

As summer draws to a close, Jaega Wise heads to the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) to learn what goes into feeding the thousands of fans gathered for the Green Man festival. Over the past 20 years or so, the food at music festivals has evolved from mostly burgers, chips and noodles, to an array of traders cooking foods from all over the world, sit-down banquets, and chefs on the line up.

So what has driven this change, and can it continue to thrive while the cost of everything involved in producing it has risen so much? What has the evolution of better festival food meant for sustainability? And what do you do if you don’t want to spend a fortune on food at a festival, but still want to eat well? Comedian George Egg has some answers.

Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Natalie Donovan


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001q66m)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001q66z)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 Seek the Light (m001q679)
Sea Swallows

Of all the amazing stories of bird migration none is more epic than that of the Arctic Tern, sometimes nicknamed the sea swallow because of its graceful, streamlined shape and long tail streamers.

Lovers of the light, Terns spend their lives in its constant pursuit. They arrive in Scotland in May and spend their summer breeding and raising their young before setting off on the mind-bogglingly long 20,000 mile migration to Antarctica. With a lifespan of 30 years, it's the equivalent of flying to the moon and back. And it means arctic terns see more daylight than any other creature on the planet.

It's in telling this story that Karine is led to one of the tern's strongholds, the magical Isle of May, five miles off the Fife coast. For humans, the Isle of May has its own light-related significance. Since 1635, sailors have been kept safe by a lighthouse there, the first was a crude affair, but it became the site for the first of the Stevenson lighthouses, and that majestic building still stands.

Now the island is best known for its seabird colonies and the scientific research into them. Speaking to scientists there, Karine will further explore the mysteries of bird migration, a recurring theme in many of her works. So much of it revolves around light and dark. While the terns may be seeking the summer sun it's by the stars that they find their way. Polaris, the pole star is crucial; and this leads Karine to speak with Stephen Emlen, the professor of neurobiology and behaviour that discovered this by taking live buntings into a planetarium and systematically blocking out constellations to see how they reacted. The experiment showed that the birds are primed for night time navigation, not by an inborn star map but by paying "close attention to the movement of the sky. They're hardwired to pay attention to something, which then takes on meaning."

Produced by Peter McManus
Written and presented by Karine Polwart
Music by Karine Polwart and Pippa Murphy

Vocals - Karine Polwart
Piano - Dave Milligan


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001q11p)
Hampshire

What plant related songs would the panel add to their gardening playlist? Why is it so difficult to grow cucumbers? Why aren’t my strawberry plants producing any fruit?

Kathy Clugston is in Hampshire for this week's GQT. Joining her are pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood, head gardener Ashley Edwards and garden designer Juliet Sargeant.

Later in the show, Matthew Wilson gives us a much needed mulching masterclass, where we find out how to get the best out of our organic matter.

Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock
Executive Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001q67q)
The Three Musketeers - Episode 1

The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work.

John Yorke examines Alexander Dumas’ classic, The Three Musketeers. It's one of Dumas' most famous works and contains one of literature's greatest heroes in D'Artagnan and one its most dastardly villains in Milady De Winter.

In the first of two episodes about the book, John shows us how Dumas was able to create such enduring characters that have lived in the public imagination for almost 200 years. The names of the Musketeers themselves - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - are familiar to people who've never read the actual book but seen one of the many film and TV adaptations. The novel mixes real historical figures with fictional creations, and John explores how closely Dumas remained true to the reality of the world he was portraying.

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 in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. 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:
Dr Edmund Birch – Lecturer in French Literature at Cambridge University.
Adrian Hodges – TV and film Director
Maimie McCoy – actor and 'Milady' in 'The Musketeers'
Reading by Matthew Gravelle

Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Sound by Iain Hunter
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m001q684)
Milady - Part 1

By Lucy Catherine

The origin story of Milady de Winter, one of the greatest villains of classic fiction.

Created by Alexandre Dumas, Milady is one of D'Artagnan & Co's fiercest and most memorable adversaries in The Three Musketeers. Over the years, she has become an iconic femme fatale, not least because of the many portrayals by stars including Lana Turner, Faye Dunaway and Eva Green.

In this original, two-part drama, we tell Milady's genesis story, charting her rise from spirited provincial teenager to deadly political operative in 17th century Paris and London.

Milady . . . . . Anjana Vasan
Father Laurent . . . . . Luke Nunn
Comte De La Fere . . . . . Sam Troughton
Cardinal Richelieu . . . . . Carl Prekopp
The Comtesse . . . . . Elizabeth Counsell
Marie Therese . . . . . Rhiannon Neads
Rochefort . . . . . Don Gilet
Jailer . . . . . Shaun Mason
Baron Sheffield . . . . . Gerard McDermott

Technical team: Keith Graham, Alison Craig, Mike Etherden
Production co-ordinator: Hannah O'Reilly
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m001q68l)
Denise Mina: The Long Drop

James Naughtie is joined by Denise Mina to talk about her book The Long Drop. This intriguing true-crime story is set in 1950s Glasgow when notorious serial killer Peter Manuel spread fear throughout the city. The Long Drop alternates between Manuel's trial and a extraordinary night he spent with Glaswegian businessman William Watt, whose own family Peter Manuel was suspected of killing. Despite this, the two men form an unlikely alliance and tour the bars and dives of Glasgow together.

Recorded at The Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh.

Upcoming recordings at BBC Broadcasting House in London:

21 September at 1300 - Bernardine Evaristo on Mr Loverman

12 October at 1200 noon - Katherine Heiny on Standard Deviation.

Email bookclub@bbc.co.uk to take part


SUN 16:30 Four Sides of Seamus Heaney (m001q692)
Seamus Heaney - The Troubles

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize winner and one of the best loved poets writing in English, died in August, 2013. BBC Radio 4 is marking this with Four Sides of Seamus Heaney, four programmes, each on a different aspect of his work, each with a different presenter with personal knowledge of the poet.

Gail McConnell has written about Seamus Heaney and his contemporaries and teaches at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's, Belfast - the university where Heaney studied and taught. Heaney marched on Civil Rights demonstrations and lived in Belfast during the early years of The Troubles.

McConnell, whose father was murdered by the IRA in front of their family home when she was three, considers the pressures Heaney and fellow poets were under, to write for one side or another, and the courage he showed in writing about murders, punishments and the complexities of the north of Ireland.

When the bodies of executed people in the Iron Age were found preserved in bogs in Jutland, Heaney saw a parallel with the atrocities of his own society, such as tarring and feathering, and expressed this in his collection, North. McConnell explores the ensuing controversy with novelist Colm Toibin, and poet Leontia Flynn.

In his next collection, Field Work, Heaney revealed himself as far less certain, questioning himself, his role and writing elegies with great compassion.

We hear Heaney reading some of his finest poems - Whatever You Say Say Nothing, Punishment and The Harvest Bow, which Professor Fran Brearton says is one of the great poems of the 20th century. Rosie Lavan, co-editing Seamus Heaney's Complete Poems, and Colm Toibin, unpack his conviction of the importance, in times of trouble, of poetry.

Presenter: Gail McConnell
Producer: Julian May


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m001q0tv)
A Different Class: Excluded kids lured into crime

After an inevitable decline during the pandemic, school exclusions are again on the increase. There are concerns that behaviour is worse because, post pandemic, children can’t regulate their behaviour in the classroom. So what happens to those who are kicked out? The Government says it has issued updated guidance on suspensions and permanent exclusions and is clear that initial intervention should be put in place where children are at risk of being permanently excluded and entering alternative provision. It says permanent exclusions should always be a last resort and shouldn’t mean exclusion from education. But File on 4 hears compelling evidence from pupils, parents and teachers to suggest hundreds - maybe thousands - are falling under the radar, targeted by criminal gangs, forced to sell drugs and lured into a life of crime.

Reporter: De-Graft Mensah
Producers: Shona Elliott and Tom Wall
Senior Digital Journalist: Melanie Stewart-Smith
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Technical Producer: Gareth Jones
Editor: Carl Johnston


SUN 17:40 Reith Revisited (b096g22r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001q69k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001q69w)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001q6b6)
Chancellor says ministers acted immediately after learning about risk from weak concrete. Ukraine says its troops have broken through first Russian defence lines in the south.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001q6bj)
Salma El-Wardany

This week Salma learnt what Eleanor Roosevelt got up to behind closed doors, what Hatshepsut got up to in public (which possibly should have been kept behind closed doors) and what trad wives really want. In fact, she learnt what a trad wife is, and it’s safe to say her mind was blown on each and every occasion.

Presenter: Salma El-Wardany
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinator: Lydia Depledge-Miller
Studio Manager: Sue Stonestreet


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001q635)
Pat’s brought a beef bourguignon over to Helen’s, and finds Natasha there keeping an eye on Jack while Helen’s out running. Natasha asks Pat how she thinks Helen’s doing. Pat’s not sure – she’s had an awful few months and the amount of running she’s doing is worrying. Helen confides to Pat later that she feels she’s handled everything badly, and scared Henry. Pat reassures her, and offers to take Jack and Henry for a couple of hours. Helen’s grateful. She suggests Pat takes the bourguignon back with her for the boys. She’s not hungry. Pat insists she keep it. Natasha returns later to retrieve a forgotten toy, and Helen offers her the bourguignon. It would be doing her a favour. Natasha accepts.
Brad and Mia have the house to themselves, and Brad’s lined up a selection of films. Mia wants a day off from heavy stuff and wants to watch something cheesy and ‘wish fulfilment’. They make their choice and enjoy the film, sharing some banter and flirtatious compliments. Mia doesn’t want the summer to end. She suggests they go to Brad’s room. Later Brad’s keen to establish that Mia has no regrets. On the contrary, says Mia, she should talk to her dad, and Will, about staying over one night. Brad agrees he’ll talk to his mum, admitting she might worry about contraception. Neither of them are keen to broach this with their parents yet, so they agree to leave those conversations for a bit. There’s no rush.


SUN 19:15 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Austen? (m00168r1)
Series 1

Episode 2

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders star as respected novelist Florence and movie star Selina, in a sparkling comedy series about two sisters at war, by Veep writer David Quantick.

Florence becomes obsessed with her sister Selina's old movies – The Vixen, The Vixen 2 and The Vixen 3D. Meanwhile Selina takes Florence’s daughter Lucy clothes shopping and Lucy interrogates her about her mysterious absent father, Jonathan. The day ends in chaos as Florence unwittingly tells a journalist that she’d love to make a sex tape.

Critical reaction to the first episode in this series, originally broadcast in December 2020:
“The leads’ natural chemistry, plus David Quantick’s witty script… make for an enjoyable comedy with series potential” The Observer

“It’s as slick, dark and funny as one would expect – but surely this cannot be a one-off? The ending alone leaves us begging for a series” Radio Times

“French and Saunders sparkle with a magic that is so rarely heard in new radio comedies that I’d almost forgotten it was possible” Daily Telegraph

Cast:
Florence - Dawn French
Selina - Jennifer Saunders
Mrs Ragnarrok – Rebecca Front
Lucy - Lisa McGrillis
All the men - Alistair McGowan

Written by David Quantick
Producer: Liz Anstee

A CPL production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Invasive Species (m001q6bw)
Episode 3

Helen McAlpine reads a speculative serial from Rachelle Atalla, set in a near future with uncomfortable parallels to our present.

As temperature rises, forest fires and landslides dominate the global news, Fran is preoccupied with matters closer to home. Knotweed is running wild across the UK and in her cottage garden, the specialist team's first attempt to tame the outbreak has not been successful.

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Rachelle Atalla is an award-winning Scottish-Egyptian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter based in Glasgow. Her debut novel The Pharmacist was shortlisted for Best Fiction at the Scottish National Book Awards. In March, she published her climate-focused second novel Thirsty Animals. Her short stories have been published widely and she is the recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. In screenwriting, her first feature was developed with BBC Film and she is developing an adaption of The Pharmacist with Compact Pictures.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (m001q0s6)
HS2 and electric cars, UK vs China emissions & massive maths errors

Can you really buy an electric car for everybody in the UK for the cost of HS2? That claim was recently made on Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme. Also we look at a viral claim that 1 in 73 people who received the Covid vaccine in England was dead by May 2022. Plus we look at the size of the UK's carbon emissions when compared with China and talk about how a recent More or Less maths error pales in comparison to one in the Guardian.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Reporters: Nathan Gower, Natasha Fernandes
Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Richard Vadon

00:45 HS2 and electric cars
06:37 Deaths and the vaccine
15:43 Massive maths errors
19:33 UK vs China emissions


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001q123)
Julian Haviland, Johaar Mosaval, Tricia Tyler, Matyelok Gibbs

Matthew Bannister on:

Julian Haviland who was political editor at ITN and then the Times, covering key events at Westminster in the 1970s and 80s.

Johaar Mosaval, the South African dancer who overcame racial prejudice to fulfil his dream of becoming a ballet star.

Tricia Tyler, who edited the Nursing Times.

Matyelok Gibbs, the actor and director who secured the future of London’s famous Unicorn Children’s Theatre.

Interviewee: Philip Webster
Interviewee: Sharon Paulson
Interviewee: Janet Snell
Interviewee: Ursula Jones

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive used:
Julian Haviland interview with Prime Minister Ted Heath, Associated Press, 22/01/1974; Julian Haviland interview with Margaret Thatcher, ITN Archive YouTube Channel, 04/10/1976, uploaded to YouTube 17/08/2023; Julian Haviland interview with Matt Chorley, Red Box podcast, The Political Editors: Julian Haviland, The Times, 23/08/2023; Julian Haviland Interview with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, ITN archive, 23/07/1980; Johaar Mosaval interview, University of Cape Town South Africa, Uploaded on YouTube 17/04/2020; Johaar Mosaval interview, Al Jazeera English, Uploaded on YouTube 12/03/2023; Jewel in The Crown, promo, Granada TV, 1984; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Promo, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010;


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001q5ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001q64d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Loose Ends (m001q5zc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001q6cn)
Ben Wright hosts political discussion with Conservative former Cabinet minister, Dame Andrea Leadsom; Shadow Justice Secretary, Steve Reed; and Hannah White - Director of the Institute for Government. They preview the new political season and two hot topics for the coming week: the crisis over crumbling concrete in schools and other public buildings, and the splits in both main parties over achieving net zero. They also talk about Parliament's own long-delayed restoration and refurbishment project. Kate Devlin - politics and Whitehall editor at the Independent - brings additional insight and analysis.


SUN 23:00 Life Changing (m001ljcf)
Overheard

Hazel Ellis-Saxon was brought up in a busy household with four siblings in the village of Tiptree in Essex in the 1960s. She struggled with her school work and was often finishing assignments when the other children were enjoying playtime. One day in a quiet classroom Hazel overheard her form teacher describe her to a colleague as ‘mentally retarded’. These two words had a profound effect — leading her to believe that she must be a huge disappointment to her parents and would never enjoy a full life.

Dr Sian Williams hears how this label shaped Hazel’s decisions for decades and what it took for her to throw it off.


SUN 23:30 Beyond Belief (m001q0nb)
Faith and Fortune

Daniel Ally is an influencer and author who has built an online coaching business, sharing tips on how to become wealthy. He’s also a committed Christian who credits the Bible for turning his life around. He speaks to Aleem Maqbool about how his beliefs inspire him to seek financial success.

This inspires a discussion on the interconnections between faith and finance, whether seeking earthly fortune is in conflict with spiritual beliefs and how different faiths approach the gap between rich and poor.

Aleem is joined by:

Dr Christopher Wadibia - Junior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford. Christopher’s doctoral research studied the politics underpinning one of Nigeria's most popular and influential Pentecostal churches and the investments they make in the social and economic development of Africa’s most populous nation.

Uneesa Zaman - a communications professional with 10+ years of experience managing global clients across financial services with a focus on financial inclusion. She runs Uneesa Finance - a platform dedicated to educating women about halal finance (with a pop culture twist!) and has helped over 10k women learn more about finance to date.

Prof Atul K Shah - creative pioneer in the fields of accounting, finance, leadership and diversity. He holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and is author of ‘Jainism and Ethical Finance’ ‘Inclusive and Sustainable Finance - Leadership, Ethics and Culture’

Producer: Katharine Longworth
Presenter: Aleem Maqbool
Assistant Producers: Robert Guthrie and Ajai Singh

MONDAY 04 SEPTEMBER 2023

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001q6d3)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m001q0vv)
The Petite Bourgeoisie

The Petite Bourgeoisie - Laurie Taylor talks to Daniel Evans, Research Assistant at Cardiff University and author of a new study which explores the unstoppable rise of the lower middle class. Marx predicted that this insecure class, sandwiched between the working class and the bourgeoisie, would be absorbed into the proletariat as artisans died out during the industrial revolution. In fact, it has grown exponentially and is now a significant player within global politics, courted by the right and the left. Far from losing influence, the individualist values associated with it have been popularised by a society which some say fetishizes “aspiration” and entrepreneurship.

They're joined by Nicola Bishop, cultural historian and Senior Teaching Fellow at Loughborough University, whose latest book analyses white collar workers in British popular culture, from the novels of Charles Dickens to comedy TV sitcoms. Why have lower middle class, suburban values become such a staple of our cultural consumption and what can this tell us about national British identity?

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001q5zx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001q6dh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001q6ds)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001q6f1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001q6fc)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001q6fn)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Canon Simon Doogan


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001q6g1)
04/09/23 Scrapping pollution rules for housing; developing homes on Dartmoor; growing herbs in the UK

Last week, the government announced new plans to scrap water pollution restrictions for housing developments in order to build new homes - some farmers warn that the government is undercutting its own environmental schemes.

The Government consultation on proposals to allow the conversion of barns and disused shops into houses without the need for planning permission ends later this month - it is considering extending these changes into the National Parks, which have had long held protections against such developments.

And all this week we look at growing herbs in the UK.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Rhiannon Fitz-Gerald.


MON 05:56 Weather (m001q6gh)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b08zc77w)
Alex Gregory on the White Stork

Double Olympic gold medal-winning rower Alex Gregory recalls seeing white stork in Portugal for Tweet of the Day.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong.

Producer: Mark Ward
Photograph: Boberskik.


MON 06:00 Today (m001q628)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Is Psychiatry Working? (m001j4hm)
Therapy

Although psychiatry helped writer Horatio Clare when he was in crisis, some people in difficulty, their families, clinicians, psychologists and psychiatrists themselves will tell you there are serious questions about the ways psychiatry understands and treats some people in trouble. And so this series asks a simple question: is psychiatry working? In the following series, accompanied by the psychiatrist Femi Oyebode, Horatio traces a journey through crisis, detention, diagnosis, therapy, and recovery. In this episode, they consider the different forms and aims of therapy.

If you need support with mental health or feelings of despair, a list of organisations that can help is available at BBC Action Line support:

Mental health & self-harm: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1NGvFrTqWChr03LrYlw2Hkk/information-and-support-mental-health-self-harm
Suicide/Emotional distress: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/information-and-support-suicide-emotional-distress

or you can call for free to hear recorded information on 0800 066 066.

Presenters: Horatio Clare and Femi Oyebode
Producer: Emma Close
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound Mix: James Beard


MON 09:30 Shock and War: Iraq 20 Years On (m001k7xn)
9. Broken Trust

The widespread view among the British public that they had been misled about the reasons for war would leave deep scars. What is the legacy of the Iraq war on trust in public life and politics, and what has been the toll on individuals and societies?

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 Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food by Fuchsia Dunlop (m001q66f)
Cha sui pork and the story of roasting

Award winning cook and writer Fuchsia Dunlop reads from her new book about China's rich and ancient culinary culture. Today her theme is the transformative power of cooking.

Fuchsia tells the story of China's gastronomic culture through a selection of classic dishes. She challenges western pre-conceptions of simplified Cantonese cooking that first took hold when Chinese labourers left their homeland and settled abroad. Instead, she reveals is a sophisticated gastronomy that is finding more and more favour across the globe. From roasted meats, to the versatility of the soybean, braised pomelo pith, noodles and dim sum, Fuchsia takes us on a mouth-watering journey which explores the history, philosophy and techniques of China's diverse and ingenious food heritage.

Fuchsia was the first westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, and has been travelling around China, researching and cooking food for 30 years. She has written a number of best-selling books on Chinese food, several of which are now published in translation in China.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001q62g)
DIY fertility tests, Sudan conflict, Rebuilding my life

A BBC investigation has found that at least five women have died after family courts allowed fathers accused of abuse to apply for contact with their children. Some took their own lives, and one had a heart attack outside a court. Nuala McGovern is joined by Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno who led the research in to this.

We often talk to women about the immediate impact of traumatic life-changing events. But what happens after the dust has settled? This week on Woman’s Hour, we are inviting you to listen to three women’s experiences of picking up the pieces. Claire Russell lost her partner Mark to suicide in 2018, and miscarried their baby a few weeks later. Claire tells Nuala about how she began to recover.

Since the conflict in Sudan erupted again in April, there have been reports of the increased use of sexual violence against women and girls. More than four million women and girls are at risk of sexual violence across Sudan, according to the World Health Organization. Nuala speaks to CNN’s Nima Elbagir and to Duaa Tariq who is in Khartoum.

How reliable is DIY fertility testing in helping you plan for a baby? A recent report in the British Medical Journal has found that some DIY tests that were sold in the UK to measure oestrogen levels may have given misleading results. The report's author, Emma Wilkinson, joins Nuala alongside Dr Ippokratis Sarris, Consultant in Reproductive Medicine and Director of King’s Fertility. 

Have you ever been in a 'situationship'? It's sort of a relationship but you're not exclusive. It's the subject of the debut novel of Taylor-Dior Rumble. The Situationship is published by Merky Books and it's been termed the label's first Rom-Com. Taylor-Dior joins Nuala in the studio.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Emma Pearce


MON 11:00 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (m000z0c2)
Series 4

1979-2021

Clarke Peters' concluding three-part series reveals stories from the history of black music in Europe over the last four decades.

From the collapse of the Eastern Bloc to the rise of multiculturalism, this was a time that saw old walls come tumbling down, while new forms of technology and new styles of music were all emerging at a rapid pace.

In this final episode of the series, Clarke focuses on black music in France, from the era of Zouk and Kassav’ through to the time of rap stars like MC Solaar. He also delves into the stories of black musicians in Italy today, from rapper Tommy Kuti to Afrobeat artist RayJeezy.

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


MON 11:30 Analysis (m001n8gp)
Do single people get a raw deal?

Single people make up a large proportion of the population in Britain. People are marrying later and less, getting divorced more often, and living longer. Although not all people who live alone are single, the growth of one-person households now outstrips the rise in the UK population - and is projected to continue.

And yet life in Britain often seems ill-suited to their needs. Being single is expensive and modern dating can be brutal. The idea that being in a couple provides greater happiness and fulfillment still has a tight grip on our collective psyche. So is it right to say that singles get discriminated against? And are there ways we might re-imagine life in Britain so that singles get a fairer deal?

Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound Engineer: Kelly Young
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck

Contributors:
Amy Key - Poet and Author of Arrangements in Blue: Notes of Love and Making a Life
Sarah Harper - Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford
Emma John - Journalist and Author of Self Contained: Scenes from a Single Life
Ben Arogundade - Author of My Terrifying, Shocking, Humiliating, Amazing Adventure in Online Dating
Elyakim Kislev - Professor of Public Policy and Government at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of numerous books about single life
Sasha Roseneil - Sociologist and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001q69b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001q62l)
Ulez compliant cars, Getting Rid of Bankbooks and Pizza

If you have a car that is not ULEZ compliant, what are your options?

Pizza Hut introduced US style pizza restaurants to the UK in 1973. They are said to be struggling with debt, if they went would we miss them?

More and more people are looking to repair shops to help people avoid fast fashion.

Would you know what to do if your dog fell ill and needed first aid?

Bankbook holders are angry at the Lloyds group who say they'll be phasing out bankbooks . The books are used by over 3 million people to manage their banking.

There's been a rise in the number of 'keyless' cars being stolen, is there anything that can be done to foil hi-tech thieves determined to steal high end vehicles?

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: KEVIN MOUSLEY


MON 12:57 Weather (m001q62p)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001q62w)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 Intrigue (m001q630)
The Immortals – Ep 1: Dracula

Over the last 100 years, we’ve seen global life expectancy double. Could it happen again?

Technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

Bryan Johnson is a technology success story. In 2013, he sold his company to PayPal for $400 million, and now spends his time - and $2m annually - on the search for eternal life. He believes he has found the secret - or, at least, can find it in the thousands of scientific articles he and his team sift through for their protocol of treatments. The most unusual of which is infusing Bryan’s veins with the plasma of young people.

Has he discovered the fountain of youth?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001q635)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 This Cultural Life (m001q5zf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Saturday]


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m001q63d)
Heat 4, 2023

(4/17)
In which month of 1066 did the Battle of Hastings take place? Which mathematician is known as the Father of Geometry? Which musical is set on board the SS American? Russell Davies puts these and many other brain-wracking teasers to the contenders in today's heat of the venerable general knowledge tournament, coming from the Radio Theatre in London.

Taking part today and hoping to win a place in the semi-finals are:
Eleanor Ayres from Cambridgeshire
Matt Barr from Bolton
Richard Burr from Colchester
Ruth Downing from London.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m001q63l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 History's Secret Heroes (m001mt5m)
3. Ghost Army

Bernie Bluestein, Seymour Nussenbaum and George Dramis are part of a secret army unit with one job: to put on a show for an audience who wants to kill them.

Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.

A BBC Studios Podcast production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Producer: Clem Hitchcock
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m001q63s)
Faith and Politics

The former SNP leadership contender Kate Forbes, found herself at the centre of a political storm about her religious views. In response to interviews questions, she said the idea of having children outside of marriage conflicted with her Christian faith and confirmed that she was anti-abortion. Ms Forbes also said she would not have voted for same-sex marriage if she had been a politician in 2014 when the law passed. The backlash against these views led SNP colleagues to abandon her campaign in droves.

In her first major broadcast interview after withdrawing from the leadership race, Kate Forbes said “We live in a world where it’s our duty and responsibility to coexist in a compassionate, caring, loving way. There is no doubt – people put this to me all the time – that if I had perhaps not been honest, and not been truthful, if I had tried to make certain things more palatable, or politically correct, then would I have been more successful? Perhaps”.

This inspires a discussion on relationship between faith and politics and whether the two can work together.

In a special episode of Beyond Belief, recorded in front of a live audience at the Religion Media Festival in London.

Aleem is joined by:

NICK FLETCHER, Conservative MP for Don Valley, who’s talked in the past about the way in which he sees himself as a Christian first and politician second

RUTH CADBURY, Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, who’s a Quaker. She was among the MPs who signed an early day motion calling for the abolition of parliamentary prayers

DABINDERJIT SINGH OBE is former director of the National Audit Office and for decades has played a prominent role in government-Sikh relations.

REV SALLY HITCHENER is an Anglican priest, Associate Vicar at St Martin-in-the-Fields, charity co-founder and LGBTQ+ rights activist.

Producer: Linda Walker and Katharine Longworth
Presenter: Aleem Maqbool
Assistant Producer: Naomi Wellings


MON 17:00 PM (m001q63x)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001q645)
A former senior civil servant said Rishi Sunak cut money for school repairs as Chancellor


MON 18:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m001q649)
Series 2

Episode 1

In each episode of Paul Sinha’s Perfect Pub Quiz, the quizzer, comedian and Rose d’Or winner Paul Sinha invites the audience to tell him their favourite quiz questions, before offering up not just different and surprising questions, but also the fascinating stories behind the answers.

It’s facts, jokes, stories and puns – just the way you like them.

This episode is full of things that have changed since the previous series, including new British cities and a new British Prime Minister, and was recorded in front of a live audience in Brighton.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience

Original music: Tim Sutton

Sound engineer: David Thomas

Producer: Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001q64h)
Susan greets smiling Mia in the shop, who’s come in to buy breakfast for Brad. Spotting Mia also has a flask of coffee with her, she delves for information on their relationship. Stella overhears and scolds Susan good naturedly for her interrogation. When Mia’s gone Stella remarks on how happy she looked. Susan agrees wistfully. There’s nothing like being in love. Later Stella and Pip chat about when they first met, and how far they’ve come. Stella admits to being jealous of Mia’s ‘in love’ feeling. She’d like to take back her recent harsh words to Pip and admits she was wrong to make Pip feel so bad. Stella wonders if they could hang out more and see what happens. Pip would love to see what happens and thanks Stella for giving her a chance. Stella’s just grateful Pip hasn’t told her to get lost.
Ben admits to his mum that the residents at The Laurels don’t yet know he’s leaving. Ruth reckons he needs to get on with it, today. Sykesy takes the news badly. He’s cross that Ben didn’t tell him earlier, and accuses him of picking things up and dropping them when he gets bored. Later Ben reports Sykesy’s angry reaction to Ruth. Ruth reassures him but Ben feels bad; no-one comes to see Sykesy and he needed Ben. Ruth worries to Pip that Ben’s still quite vulnerable. Ruth also wonders to Pip whether she’s offended Stella, who she’s finding quite distant. Could Pip do some digging? Sure, no problem, replies Pip.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001q64p)
Anna Wintour on Vogue World; Bloomsbury Group fashion; BBC Singers conductor Sofi Jeannin

Dame Anna Wintour, Global Editorial Director of Vogue, tells Samira Ahmed about Vogue World, the magazine’s fashion and performance spectacular which makes its UK debut this month at the start of London Fashion Week.

You may know the early 1900s Bloomsbury Group for its art and philosophy, but the collective was also in the vanguard of sartorial revolution. In the studio to discuss its impact on fashion are writer Charlie Porter, author of Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion, and British-Turkish fashion designer Erdem Moralıoğlu.

The Swedish-French conductor of the BBC Singers, Sofi Jeannin, joins Samira to discuss the choir's range, reputation and morale after a period of uncertainty over its future.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Paul Waters


MON 20:00 Wally, the Reluctant Nuclear Hero (m001q64y)
The infamous breakdowns of Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 represent our deepest fears around nuclear power, yet both disasters happened during peace time.

In the early days of the war, Russian forces seized Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The site has come under repeated fire, prompting warnings in May this year from the UN nuclear agency that the world risked a "severe nuclear accident".

And this isn't a new problem. Here we tell a story with its origins in the Vietnam War and how the threat of the world's first dirty bomb loomed large.

The battle over nuclear energy first came to the attention of the West in 1975, as the North Vietnamese Army advanced on Saigon during the end days of the war. Most of the world was unaware at the time that the North Vietnamese were also advancing on a new breed of nuclear reactor, gifted to the South by the US government. Not only was it technology the North's Russian allies did not yet have, it was also a source of weapons-grade nuclear fuel. As a last resort, the US discussed bombing the facility, risking nuclear fallout rather than have the technology fall into Soviet hands.

To avoid humanitarian and environmental disaster on a colossal scale, and despite having literally no military experience, a physicist from Idaho called Wally Hendrickson volunteered to be dropped into the front line to remove the fuel rods from the reactor before it was over run.

Still alive and well, Wally's story is just as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. The setting may be different, but right now the fear of nuclear disaster hangs over us.

A 2 Degrees West production for BBC Radio 4


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m001q0ws)
Singing Morocco's New Identity

Gnawa music is a Moroccan spiritual musical tradition developed by descendants of enslaved people from Sub-Saharan Africa. It combines ritual poetry with traditional music and dance, and is traditionally only performed by men. But one female Moroccan artist, Asmâa Hamzaoui, has broken the mould. She's become an international star, who has even performed for Madonna on her birthday. Reporter Myriam Francois travels to Casablanca to meet Asmaa and her family, and follows her to the Essaouira Festival, the annual celebration of Gnawa culture.

What does its ever-growing popularity tell us about the changing identity of a country that once saw itself primarily as part of the Arab world, but has now become more interested in its links to the rest of the African continent?

Presented by Myriam Francois
Produced by Tim Whewell
Series editor Penny Murphy


MON 21:00 The Archbishop Interviews (m001mt03)
Shirine Khoury-Haq

In this series, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has conversations with public figures about their inner lives. What do they believe? How does that shape their values and actions?

This week's guest is the Chief Executive of the Co-op, Shirine Khoury-Haq.

Producer: Dan Tierney.


MON 21:30 Is Psychiatry Working? (m001j4hm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001q656)
Is UK property still being used to launder illegal wealth?

MPs seek amendments to the Economic Crime Bill

Did Rishi Sunak cut capital spending on England's schools when chancellor?

Google's place in the AI race


MON 22:45 The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson (m001q65f)
Episode 1

Set in London over a weekend in 2010, this is a darkly humorous book about a bohemian middle class family with a patriarchal monster at its centre.

A lot is riding on Ray Hanrahan's art exhibition, the first for a decade. He summons his family and friends to the decaying family home to celebrate the occasion, starting with a dinner on the Friday evening. His wife, Lucia, an artist in her own right, has sidelined her own career to allow her husband's to flourish and to bring up their three children, Leah, Jess and Patrick.

Leah has not yet left home and devotedly looks after her ailing father. Her younger sister, Jess is a teacher and has flown the nest to Scotland where she lives with her boyfriend Martyn. Patrick, Lucia's son from a previous relationship, lives in a caravan at the bottom of the garden, struggling with his mental health and dreaming of becoming a chef.

As the family gathers, Lucia is consumed by thoughts of someone new and exciting in her life and wondering anxiously why her gallery manager is so persistently trying to get hold of her. Ray will not be happy if it is news of her success. Meanwhile, Jess is also harbouring a secret which means that she too will be facing some life changing decisions.

Charlotte Mendelson is an award- winning author and The Exhibitionist was long listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022. Her other works include Daughters of Jerusalem, When We Were Bad and Almost English.

Written by Charlotte Mendelson
Reader: Tracy-Ann Oberman
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
Sound Designers: Sean Kerwin and Iain Hunter
Music: Autumn Leaves by The Bill Evans Trio

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001ngjx)
Food Special with Tim Spector

Professor Tim Spector, a leading expert on nutrition and gut health, takes Michael Mosley through his top food and nutrition tips, sharing stories from his life and research along the way. Joined by an audience at the Hay Festival, Michael learns what happened the time Tim convinced his son to eat an ultra-processed food diet for two weeks and the surprising ways your gut influences your immune system. Tim, who is professor in epidemiology at King's College London, shares the shocking moment he realised that even as a doctor, he was on track for major health problems, and how he took control over his diet and his health - and how you can, too. Tim also reveals what cutting edge science shows about how you should be eating to benefit your health and wellbeing.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001q65t)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament

TUESDAY 05 SEPTEMBER 2023

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001q662)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food by Fuchsia Dunlop (m001q66f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001q66y)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001q67b)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001q67p)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001q686)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001q68n)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Canon Simon Doogan


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001q695)
05/09/23 Invasive species report, herbs grown in the field and indoors

Thousands of invasive species around the world are a major part of biodiversity loss; a new report says the evidence is being ignored.
This week we're exploring farming herbs in the UK. Today Anna Hill visits a farm growing chives out in the field, and hears how basil can been produced indoors all year round in a vertical farm.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b08tcnmh)
Will Young on the Woodland Kingfisher

Singer Will Young dates his love of birds from this encounter with the woodland kingfisher.

Producer Miles Warde.


TUE 06:00 Today (m001q66p)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m001q670)
Bahija Jallal on the biotech revolution in cancer therapies

Some of the most complex medicines available today are made from living cells or organisms - these treatments are called biopharmaceuticals and in this episode of The Life Scientific Dr Bahija Jallal, CEO of Immunocore, shares her story of leaving her home in Casablanca, Morocco to become a world leader in developing biopharmaceutical cancer treatments.

She tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili that she has always found herself ahead of the curve. When she began in oncology, the study of cancer, the common treatment was chemotherapy which attacked all the cells in an affected area. Her first studies into cancer treatments were looking at how certain therapies could focus in on the cancerous cells and move away from what she describes as the 'sledgehammer' of traditional chemotherapy.

It was an early step in what became known as targeted cancer therapies, and it set Bahjia on course for a career dedicated to developing innovative drugs to improve cancer patients' lives. Through a deep understanding of the science and a resolute commitment to putting treatments in the hands of people who need them, she has produced astonishing results. Bahija has brought drugs to market faster than many believed was possible, and she has managed it by being an inspirational leader and encouraging her teams to think differently. How has she done it? Part of the secret, she says, is diversity of thought.

Presented by Professor Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Tom Bonnett


TUE 09:30 One to One (m001q67d)
Aleighcia Scott's Reggae Heroes: Benji Webbe

Benji Webbe's memories of Reggae began with his parents' record collection and the 'blues' parties his brother held when their Dad was away, when the furniture in the front room was replaced with huge wardrobe speakers and curried goat would be cooking in the kitchen. After several attempts to forge a career in Reggae, Benji started writing rock songs with a friend in what became the band Dub War, and the blend of heavy metal riffs with Benji's roots in Reggae and dance hall started opening doors. It's an ethos that's continued with the band Skindred and Benji maintains it's about spreading those same positive messages of peace, love and unity.

Aleighcia and Benji talk about the culture of Reggae in South Wales, and how coachloads of people used to come to Cardiff and Newport to listen to the music and see live bands. They talk about Benji's relationship with the genre and how it has come full-circle again with the band Skindred, and why when they go further afield some people are surprised to find out there is any Reggae music (and black people) in Wales.

Presenter: Aleighcia Scott
Produced by Toby Field for BBC Audio Bristol


TUE 09:45 Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food by Fuchsia Dunlop (m001q67t)
Mrs Song's fish stew & The Miraculous Bean

Fuchsia Dunlop, the award winning cook and food writer, continues her culinary journey through China. Today, she presents us with a selection of richly flavoured delights conjured from the humble soybean.

Fuchsia tells the story of China's gastronomic culture through a selection of classic dishes. She challenges western pre-conceptions of simplified Cantonese cooking that first took hold when Chinese labourers left their homeland and settled abroad. Instead, she reveals is a sophisticated gastronomy that is finding across the globe. From roasted meats, to the versatility of the soybean, braised pomelo pith, noodles and dim sum, Fuchsia takes us on a mouth-watering journey which explores the history, philosophy and techniques of China's diverse and ingenious food heritage.

Fuchsia was the first westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, and has been travelling around China, researching and cooking food for 30 years. She has written a number of best-selling books on Chinese food, several of which are now published in translation in China.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001q68b)
Nick Fletcher MP, Rebuilding my life: Martine Wright, Food writer Bee Wilson, Filmmaker Celine Song

Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska, has given a very personal interview to the BBC 18 months after the Russian invasion and subsequent war in her country. In it, she speaks about having to live in a different location to her husband, President Zelensky, and her fears for her children's future. The BBC's Yalda Hakim joins Nuala McGovern.

A male politician is calling for a Minister for Men. Nick Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Don Valley, believes that men face such serious difficulties in today’s society that they need a specific champion.

The second in our Rebuilding My Life series. When Martine Wright was rescued from the wreckage of a bombed Tube train on what became known as 7/7, her injuries were so severe that she could not be identified. Both her legs were amputated above the knee. Eighteen years on, Martine speaks to Nuala about her road to recovery, physically and emotionally.

Past Lives is the directorial debut from the New York playwright turned filmmaker Celine Song. She tells the story of Nora and her childhood sweetheart, Hae Sung, who she left behind in Seoul when her family immigrated to Canada. But they reconnect years later in New York, when Nora is happily married - and grapple with what they are to each other now… and whether they missed their chance.

Do you wish you cooked more but don't know where to start? Yotam Ottolenghi called Bee Wilson 'the ultimate food scholar'. She's the author of six books on food-related subjects. Now she's written her first cookbook, The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Opener 00:00
Olena Zelenska 01:40
Nick Fletcher 09:10
Rebuilding My Life - Martine Wright 24:29
Past Lives 37:35
Bee Wilson 45:51


TUE 11:00 The Archbishop Interviews (m001n1vs)
Zarifa Ghafari

In this series, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has conversations with public figures about their inner lives. What do they believe? How does that shape their values and actions?

This week's guest is the Afghan human rights campaigner, Zarifa Ghafari.

Producer: Dan Tierney.


TUE 11:30 The Chinese Reader (m001q68r)
Chinese literature is a landscape populated by everything from monkey kings, to modernist madmen and imagined future technologies.

Fiction in China has always been political. Classical novels guided readers on appropriate Buddhist conduct, or cunning military strategies. In the modern day, all creative works are expected to contribute positively to the "main melody" - a harmonious and healthy narrative about the nation.

Twentieth century authors like Lu Xun wrote works that precipitated key historical moments. He critiqued centuries of Confucian thought in his psychological short fiction and inadvertently found himself a figurehead of the 1949 Socialist Revolution.

Following years of upheaval, like those of the Cultural Revolution, access to literature was limited, and sometimes even banned. Authors have had to adapt to self-censorship - toeing the line while exploring difficult topics through metaphors and humour.

In a culture that is at the technological cutting edge, Chinese language science fiction has flourished. Titles have travelled far, going on to win international recognition. Online, netizens pore over sprawling libraries of web fiction, written to order by authors finding a way around traditional publishing routes to promote their works.

And where do we draw the line when designating literature as "Chinese"? The Chinese-speaking world extends far beyond the mainland. How much do we limit ourselves when we focus solely on mainland China?

Julie Tsang dives head first into a reading list that explores how the personal relationship between writer and reader can challenge our understanding of Chinese culture.

With contributions from: Ted Hui, Letty Chen, Jing Tsu, Xueting C. Ni, Jung Chang, Megan Walsh, and Xiaolu Guo.

Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer Mark Rickards

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001q696)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001q69m)
Call You and Yours: What's your experience of vaping?

On today's Call You and Yours we want to hear about your experience of vaping. The government encourages adult smokers to switch to vapes as they are substantially less harmful than smoking. But new figures show that increasing number of young people who have never smoked are vaping with concerns about the impact.

Are you a parent concerned about the growth of teen vaping or a young person who has experienced it for yourself?

Or are you one of the many people who've used vapes to quit smoking?

What’s your experience of vapes – for good and bad? You can call our phone room at 03700 100 44 after 11am on Tuesday

Or email youandyours@bbc.co.uk

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: CATHERINE EARLAM


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001q69y)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001q6b9)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 Intrigue (m001q6bl)
The Immortals – Ep 2: The Experiment

Mike and Irina Conboy are a couple of tie-dye clad scientists in the bio-engineering department at the University of Berkeley. When they started researching ageing more than 20 years ago at Stanford, the field was nothing more than a spin-off from geroscience - most of their time at the lab bench was spent documenting signs and signals that our bodies are reaching their ends.

But in 2005, they published an article in Science that suggested there is hope for reversing ageing our tired old bodies. And the best bit of their study was that they proved there’s ample supply of the base material to do it - young blood. Using a revolutionary but ancient technique, their results re-ignited the millennia-old search for life everlasting.

In this series, technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski explores the frontiers of the extreme longevity pioneers. They've made their money in Silicon Valley. And with their technology solutions - PayPal, Facebook, cryptocurrencies - they've ushered in the world that we live in today, with all its unintended consequences. Some of them now want to solve the "problem" of aging, or even death, and they are making bigger strides than we may think.

Can they? Should they?

A Pillowfort production for BBC Radio 4

New episodes released Mondays. If you're in the UK, listen to the full series of Intrigue: The Immortals first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3WEQS5W


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001q64h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 This Thing of Darkness (p0b22rf2)
Series 2

Part 4

The winner of the British Podcast Award for Best Fiction 2021 returns with a gripping drama about trauma, obsession and why we harm the things we love.

Part 4 of 7

Written by Anita Vettesse with monologues by Eileen Horne.

Dr Alex Bridges is an expert forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, assessing and treating perpetrators of violent crime.

Paul and Sarah discover that the past still exerts enormous power in the present. How far will they go?

Alex … Lolita Chakrabarti
Sarah ….. Melody Grove
Paul ….. Robert Jack
Kelly ….. Veronica Leer
Malcolm ….. Michael Nardone
Rowena ….. Wendy Seager

Series created by Lucia Haynes, Eileen Horne, Gaynor Macfarlane, Anita Vettesse and Kirsty Williams.
Series consultant: Dr Gwen Adshead
Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane and Kirsty Williams

A BBC Scotland Production directed by Gaynor Macfarlane


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001q5yl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand (m001pf9l)
Live at Hay

Chris and Xand van Tulleken recorded live at the Hay Festival. They’re reflecting on how much their lives have changed since they started recording their podcast, A Thorough Examination.

Xand has lost almost three stone and Chris has written a book about ultra processed food, which was the cause of Xand’s weight gain. They’ve navigated serious health concerns, major bust-ups in their working and personal life and are continuing to challenge their scepticism about each other’s ability to change and improve.

In front of a live audience at the Hay Festival, Chris and Xand choose the most memorable moments from series one and two of A Thorough Examination. They revisit Xand’s lowest moments with his weight struggles, Chris’ misguided nagging and reflect on the most useful advice they’ve received from experts.

All of this is in the hope that, as they embark on recording series 3 of A Thorough Examination, things will go as smoothly as possible…

Recorded live at the Hay Festival, 28th May 2023
Presented by Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Produced by Alexandra Quinn
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds


TUE 16:00 Moving Pictures (m001dx3z)
The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio

Cathy FitzGerald invites you to discover new details in old masterpieces.

Each episode of Moving Pictures is devoted to a single artwork - and you're invited to look as well as listen, by following a link to a high-resolution image made by Google Arts & Culture. Zoom in and you can see the pores of the canvas, the sweep of individual brushstrokes, the shimmer of pointillist dots.

In this episode, we explore The Flagellation of Christ, now held in the collection of the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples.

Out of the darkness - Christ tied to a black marble column, surrounded by three men, who prepare to whip him. It's a violent, intense, yet deeply intimate scene, carefully choreographed by the great artist, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, to stop us looking away.

To see the super high-resolution image of the work made by Google Arts & Culture, visit www.bbc.co.uk/movingpictures. Scroll down and follow the link to explore the high-resolution image of The Flagellation of Christ.

Interviewees: Caroline Paganussi, Sylvain Bellenger, Ben Quash, Jennifer Sliwka and Letizia Treves.

Producer and Presenter: Cathy FitzGerald

Executive Producer: Sarah Cuddon
Mix Engineer: Mike Woolley
Art History Consultant: Leah Kharibian

A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4

Picture credit: Caravaggio, Flagellation of Christ,1607. © Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples. On long-term loan from the Church of San Domenico Maggiore, property of the Fund for Ecclesiastical Buildings, 1972.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m001q69s)
Ninette de Valois

The Godmother of English - and Irish - ballet, Dame Ninette De Valois or ‘Madam’ as she was known to those around her. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of ballet. She established the Royal Ballet School, the Royal Ballet and the UK’s premiere touring ballet company, which went on to become the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Under the guidance of ‘Madam’, these institutions grew and became celebrated around the world, with post WWII Ballet tours generating much needed funds for the British Treasury and company members, including Margot Fonteyn and Robert (Bobby) Helpmann, becoming international celebrities. Madam was also instrumental in the development of National Ballets in Turkey, Iran and Canada. She achieved all of this despite a childhood diagnosis of polio and was dedicated to ballet right up until her 102nd year.
She is nominated by choreographer Sir David Bintley. He met Madam while studying at the Royal Ballet School in the mid 70’s. To David, who was originally from Huddersfield, ‘Madam’ was his ‘Southern Grandmother’. David is joined by Anna Meadmore – dance historian and curator of the Royal Ballet Schools Special Collections Archive. Together they reflect also on Madam's formidable character, her unprecedented contribution to English Ballet and her legacy as an adventurous traditionalist.

Presented by Matthew Parris
Produced in Bristol by Nicola Humphries


TUE 17:00 PM (m001q6bz)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001q6cc)
Europe's biggest local authority has said all but essential spending will stop


TUE 18:30 Suggs: Love Letters to London (m00051gz)
Shoreditch and Spitalfields

A side of London you’ve never heard before, seen through the eyes of a national treasure.

In this opening episode, Suggs gives us his unique view of Spitalfields and Shoreditch - or, as he likes to call it, the Liberty of Norton Folgate. With a couple of songs, a few surprising stories and a loving view of one of most vibrant cities on the planet.

Performed by Suggs
Written by Suggs with Owen Lewis
Directed by Owen Lewis
Musical Director: Owen Parker
Executive Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001q6b0)
Pat’s looking after Henry, who’s less than forthcoming about his school day. As they chat Henry receives a text. He assures Pat it’s just a mate – he’s blocked Rob and will never be in touch with him again. Pat assures Henry she trusts him. But his mum doesn’t, counters Henry. He feels bad about the trouble he’s caused, and goes over some of the things Helen said to him in her anger. Pat explains Helen spoke out of turn because she was under pressure. She adores Henry. Henry acknowledges this. Helen returns and is pleased to see Henry happier. She admits she hasn’t told Lee about the incident with Henry and Rob. She’ll tell him when he’s back from America. Pat’s doubtful, but Helen asserts there’s no need to involve Lee until he’s back. Pat concedes that Helen needs to do what she thinks is best. Pat reports her conversation with Henry, and Helen chats with him. She apologises for her harsh words. Henry says he’d never seen her so angry. Helen explains she just wants to keep him, and Jack, safe. Henry gets it, and they hug, bonding over a video game.
Unhappy Sykesy tells Ben that Jill’s been to see him and bawled him out for being ungrateful and upsetting Ben. Ben can’t understand how she knew about the situation, but it occurs to Sykesy that he might have told her himself. Contrite, he offers Ben a cheque. Ben thanks him but explains he can’t accept it. Sykesy doesn’t like rules, and tries to give Ben the cheque. But to Ben’s horror he falls and hurts himself.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001q6cr)
Stephen Lawrence anniversary drama; small publishers; Pablo Larrain on his film El Conde; RAAC in theatres

The Architect - a play marking the 30th anniversary of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence - will take place on a double-decker bus travelling the route on which Stephen was attacked in 1993. Presenter Allan Little speaks to the director Matthew Xia and one of the playwrights, Bola Agbaje.

Small independent publishers appear to be on a winning streak - last year several prestigious literary prizes were won by small presses, despite the inflationary pressures that have put some out of business. To discuss what’s behind the rise - and fall - of small publishers, Allan is joined by Natania Jansz of Sort of Books, Valerie Brandes of Jacaranda Books, and Kevin Duffy of Bluemoose Books.

Chilean film director Pablo Larrain has switched from biopics on Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana to create a world in which dictator General Pinochet is a vampire - he talks to Alan about his new film, El Conde.

Schools are being closed because of the discovery in their buildings of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), which can crumble and cause sudden collapse. It was used from the 1950s to the 1980s, not only in schools and hospitals, but also in theatres and venues. Already, two theatres and a concert hall have had to close. Matthew Hemley of The Stage newspaper has been investigating and discusses the implications.

Presenter: Allan Little
Producer: Julian May

The Architect 05:59
Small Publishers 14:56
El Conde 29:50


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001q6d4)
The Crooked House

The Crooked House: One summer’s night the Crooked House, known as Britain’s wonkiest pub, caught fire. Less than 48 hours later the ruins were knocked to the ground, completely destroying an iconic symbol of the Black Country. The pub gained its name, and worldwide fame, from its crazy angles caused by mining subsidence. But its loss is now being mourned amid calls for it to be rebuilt brick by brick. File on 4 tells the story behind the destruction of the Crooked House.

Presenter: Adrian Goldberg
Producers: Fergus Hewison, Emma Forde and Phil Marzouk
Assistant Producers: Ella Rule and Patrick Kiteley
Production Coordinators: Tim Fernley and Jordan King
Technical Producer: Kelly Young
Editor: Carl Johnston


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001q6dk)
STEP Training with Guide Dogs

Since 2017, the charity Guide Dogs have adopted a new way of training their dogs. It's called the STEP method, standing for Standardised Training for Excellent Partnerships. The method has received a lot of criticism, with people believing it is the cause of long waiting lists for new and replacement dogs, and so we paid a visit to a training centre in Atherton, Greater Manchester, to find out more about how it works and ask why their previous method of training was scrapped.

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 Political Animals (m0014xxc)
Sex-Switching Fish and Non-Binary Brains

Zoologist Lucy Cooke is on a mission: to break down the 'sexist stereotype' she believes has permeated our understanding of the natural world.

In Political Animals, she sets out to prove that females of the species can be just as fiesty, ardent, manipulative, aggressive, strategic, varied and political as males - questioning some of the theories laid out by the 'father of evolution', Charles Darwin, and hearing from pioneering scientists moving evolutionary biology beyond a male-centric narrative.

In the final episode of the series, Lucy considers the latest research into sex, sexuality and sexed behaviour in animals, and what that can tell us about purported differences between male and female brains.

On a twilight trip into the jungle, Brian Kubicki of the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center explains why some male frogs could arguably be nature's best dads; Lindsay Young from Pacific Rim Conservation shows Lucy round an albatross colony at Kaena Point in Hawaii, where she discovered a trend of female-female life-long partnerships; and Justin Rhodes from the University of Illinois takes us on a remote tour of his lab, where he studies the sex-changing anemone fish.

Lucy also speaks to scientists Lauren O’Connell, Malin Ah-King and Rebecca Kilner; and considers how everyone engaged in evolutionary biology, from researchers to educators, can help build a better understanding of female experiences - and indeed all experiences - in the natural world.

Featuring excerpts from ‘The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex’ by Charles Darwin, read by Derek Frood.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Lucy Taylor.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m001q670)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001q6dv)
China's troubled economy

China's economic strengths and weaknesses

The UK government to designate the Wagner group as a terrorist organisation

Police Scotland to pilot not investigating some crimes


TUE 22:45 The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson (m001q6f5)
Episode 2

Set in London over a weekend in 2010, this is a darkly humorous book about a bohemian middle class family with a patriarchal monster at its centre.

A lot is riding on Ray Hanrahan's art exhibition, the first for a decade. He summons his family and friends to the decaying family home to celebrate the occasion, starting with a dinner on the Friday evening. His wife, Lucia, an artist in her own right, has sidelined her own career to allow her husband's to flourish and to bring up their three children, Leah, Jess and Patrick.

Leah has not yet left home and devotedly looks after her ailing father. Her younger sister, Jess is a teacher and has flown the nest to Scotland where she lives with her boyfriend Martyn. Patrick, Lucia's son from a previous relationship, lives in a caravan at the bottom of the garden, struggling with his mental health and dreaming of becoming a chef.

As the family gathers, Lucia is consumed by thoughts of someone new and exciting in her life and wondering anxiously why her gallery manager is so persistently trying to get hold of her. Ray will not be happy if it is news of her success. Meanwhile, Jess is also harbouring a secret which means that she too will be facing some life changing decisions.

Charlotte Mendelson is an award- winning author and The Exhibitionist was long listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022. Her other works include Daughters of Jerusalem, When We Were Bad and Almost English.

Written by Charlotte Mendelson
Reader: Tracy-Ann Oberman
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
Sound Designers: Sean Kerwin and Iain Hunter
Music: Autumn Leaves by The Bill Evans Trio

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:00 Call Jonathan Pie (m001q6fh)
Episode 3: Brexit

Much to Pie’s horror it has been decided that the opening show should be about Brexit. Pie has, quite frankly had it up to the back teeth with Brexit. He has a go at callers from both sides of the debate but Jules suspects something fishy and confronts Pie about his voting history. This does not go down well! Gauntlet thrown down, Pie takes to the airwaves to deliver an epic rant about Brexit that will end them all. He sincerely hopes.

Jonathan Pie ..... Tom Walker

Jules ..... Lucy Pearman

Sam ..... Aqib Khan

Roger ..... Nick Revell

Agent ..... Daniel Abelson
Voiceovers ..... Bob Sinfield and Rob Curling


Callers ... .Daniel Abelson, Adam Byron, Emma Thornett and Liz White
Writer ..... Tom Walker

Script Editor ..... Nick Revell

Producers ..... Alison Vernon-Smith
 and Julian Mayers
Production Coordinator ..... Ellie Dobing


Original music composed by Jason Read



Additional music Leighton James House

A Yada-Yada Audio Production.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001q6fv)
Ministers relax onshore wind rules as Tory MPs threaten to revolt. Sean Curran reports.