SATURDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2023

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001q6pw)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food by Fuchsia Dunlop (m001q6m4)
Delectable 'eels' and Chongqing chicken in a pile of chillies

Fuchsia Dunlop reads from her new book on Chinese gastronomy. Today, she takes us on a whistle stop tour across continental China to reveal a breathtaking tapestry of culinary wonders.

The award-winning cook and writer 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


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001q6q2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001q6q7)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001q6qc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001q6qk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001q6qr)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg

Good Morning.

As I’ve got older, I’ve become more of an early morning person. I love the hour when the blackbirds herald the coming day, and the finches and bluetits first flock to the feeders. I always start my morning prayers while filling them. Or perhaps giving food to the birds is my worship, an act of homage to the God of all creatures.

There’s a special harmony between the dawn light and dusk light and the timbre of the birdsong, as if the birds too are praying. As Ed Yong wrote in his bestseller "An Immense World", 'animals inhabit sensory realms we humans cannot fathom and apprehend life in wavelengths we scarcely hear. So this a special hour, when weariness morphs into wonder'.

But for many, dawn is very different. Perhaps it’s the end of a hospital night shift, and you’re going home exhausted to catch some sleep, still carrying worries over the man whose oxygen levels just weren’t right.

Or maybe you’ve already been up for hours, mopping the school corridors so that the teachers and children find them clean and tidy when they arrive. How easy it is for day people to take for granted the nightly work force they scarcely see and rarely acknowledge.

Or perhaps pain or worry has kept us awake all night in futile pursuit of elusive sleep, and first light brings us only further exhaustion.

Maybe that’s why the Jewish mystics saw dawn as an hour of potential mercy, when loving kindness hovers over the world waiting to be drawn down into life.

God, help us to bring that love down to earth, and make it real in the tasks that lie ahead of us today.


SAT 05:45 Witness (b01r95hn)
Lebanon hostage crisis

In 1991 Giandomenico Picco, a United Nations envoy, went to Beirut to try to free Western hostages. To talk to the kidnappers face to face, he had to allow himself to be abducted. His negotiations led to the release of 11 people, including John McCarthy and Terry Waite.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001qd8k)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001q6f2)
Fieldnotes from Eternity

Paul Evans explores the rich folklore and natural history of St Melangell church near Llangynog in Powys for a new piece of nature writing. Paul is one of our finest nature writers and in this episode of Open Country he talks us through his creative process, which he describes as "a kind of imaginative hunter-gathering”. Inspired by the ancient yew trees that grow in the churchyard, he listens to their stories, such as the science behind their great age and the legend of Saint Melangell, a nun who fled here from Ireland to avoid an arranged marriage. She protected a hare which was being chased by hounds from a royal hunting party, and was gifted the surrounding Pennant valley by the Prince of Powys who was impressed by her bravery. Here she founded a religious community and became known as the patron saint of hares. Immortal yews, magical hares and the mystic Melangell, there is so much rich material for Paul's next piece of writing, a short essay which he reads at the end of the programme.

Interviewees: Reverend Christine Browne, Priest Guardian of St. Melangell's Church; Professor Jane Cartwright of the University of Wales Trinity St David; Dr. Emma Gilmartin of the Woodland Trust; Lottie Glover of Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust.

Produced by Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001qd8m)
09/09/23 - Farming Today This Week: fruit and veg supply chains, agricultural science and hot weather impacts

Following Government reviews into the dairy and pig sectors, there will now be a new inquiry into the fruit and veg supply chain later this autumn. It follows salad shortages on supermarket shelves and complaints from growers that the price they're paid doesn't always cover the cost of production.

Agricultural research may be a little bit easier after the Government's announcement this week that the UK is to re-join the EU's flagship scientific research scheme, Horizon. We've been excluded from the scheme for the last 3 years because of disagreements with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol. For the agricultural research institute, Rothamsted Research, that's meant a 20% a drop in EU funding, so the latest news brings fresh hope.

And how do you keep a pig cool in this hot weather? The answer is - give it a bath.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001qd8p)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001qd8r)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001qd8t)
Johannes Radebe, Jason Byrne, Louise Boyce, Richard Osman

The sparkling South African Strictly star, Johannes Radebe, who was one half of the history-making same sex male couple, discusses a childhood of bullying, poverty and identity in his new memoir; 'Jojo: Finally Home'.

Louise Boyce, best known by her social-media handle 'Mama Still Got It', has vlogged her journey from model, to mum, to influencer to prove the industry wrong who had once told her that having children would end her career.

Plus, the multi-talented, multi-stented, outright king of live comedy Jason Byrne reveals how he turned his open heart surgery into comedy.

And the former Pointless star and now bestselling crime-writer Richard Osman shares his Inheritance Tracks.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (p09fgcnm)
P.T. Barnum

Greg Jenner is joined by historian Professor Benjamin Reiss and comedian Desiree Burch in the 19th century to meet self proclaimed showman P T Barnum.

A man famous for his museums and shows as well as ‘curiosities’ such as General Tom Thumb, Bearded Ladies, and The Fiji Mermaid. But take a deeper dive beyond Barnum’s infamous spin and you’ll find that, contrary to his pop culture image, this showman was far from the greatest.

Produced by Cornelius Mendez
Script by Greg Jenner and Emma Nagouse
Research by Charlotte Potter

The Athletic production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001qd8x)
Series 41

Postbag Edition

Jay Rayner and the panel take a break from the road to host a postbag edition of The Kitchen Cabinet from the comfort of the studio. Joining Jay are cooks and food writers Melek Erdal, Melissa Thompson and Tim Hayward, and food historian Dr Annie Gray.

The team have sorted through the cupboards of the TKC inbox to answer some of your culinary queries. They discuss everything from their go-to salad dressing recipes to various ways you can use tonka beans.

Also, they look back at a series full of controversy, revisiting the touchy subjects of sourdough and fish finger sandwiches.

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

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m001qd8z)
Sonia Sodha of The Observer analyses the latest developments at Westminster as politicians return from their summer break. Following the concrete crisis in schools she speaks to the Conservative chairman of the Education Select Committee and former education minister, Robin Walker, and Dame Meg Hillier, Labour chair of the Public Accounts Committee. To analyse the latest revisions in GDP data, which showed the UK had fared much better following the pandemic than previously thought, Sonia is joined by Professor of Economics at Cambridge University, Diane Coyle. As MPs debate the government's Energy Bill Sonia brings together the former Environment Secretary, George Eustice, and Parliament's only Green MP, Caroline Lucas, to discuss whether Tory factionalism is harming the transition to net zero. And, as Keir Starmer's shadow cabinet reshuffle prompts headlines about the 'return of the Blairites', she speaks to Tony Blair's former Chief Whip, Hilary Armstrong, and Times political correspondent, Patrick Maguire.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001qd91)
The parents suing over Gambia’s cough syrup scandal

Kate Adie introduces stories from The Gambia, Iran, the USA, Chile and Hungary.

Dozens of bereaved families in the Gambia are taking legal action against an Indian drug manufacturer and Gambian health authorities, after more than 70 infants died after taking apparently toxic cough remedies. Sam Bradpiece heard their stories and traces how these medicines came to market.

As Iran approaches the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the authorities are already cracking down on signs of public dissent. She was a young woman arrested for "incorrect hijab", whose fate triggered a wave of protest across Iran. Lois Pryce speaks to some of the generation of young women who took to the streets a year ago, and now say they're ready to do so again.

The Capitol riot on the 6th of January 2021 is still roiling American politics - as some high-profile Republican politicians say the people who were involved were patriots who shouldn't be punished. But the courts have issued verdict after verdict against the architects of the disorder. Mike Wendling reports from Washington DC on the sentencing of a leading figure in the chaos - Enrique Tarrio, former leader of activist group the Proud Boys.

In Chile there's been heated debate over how best to mark the fifty years since General Pinochet's military takeover. These days few people deny the killings, torture and disappearances were committed during his dictatorship - but up to a third of Chileans are willing to say the coup was necessary. Jane Chambers considers the nuances of a country torn between left and right.

It's been a terrible year for fruit in Hungary - so Nick Thorpe was prepared to go without his usual annual ritual of making his pear crop into homemade brandy. But as it turned out, an unexpected windfall of 200kilos of sour cherries would fuel an even more potent brew...

00:42 Gambia's cough-syrup scandal
06:29 The death of Mahsa Amini one year on
12:03 Proud Boys leader sentenced
17:14 Pinochet's coup: 50 years on
22:58 Our correspondent's homemade Hungarian brandy


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001qd95)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001qd99)
Saving for Retirement and Hollywood Strikes

This week there have been warnings that millions of people aren't saving enough for retirement and calls for pension contributions to be increased. One thinktank - New Financial - released a report saying that despite the success of auto-enrolment nearly a third of the UK workforce are not saving for a pension at all. Most aren't saving enough and will have smaller pensions in future. The government says auto-enrolment means billions more is being saved into pensions.

If you are one of the millions of people who own shares directly in a UK company then you may have to give them up. There are just two weeks left to have your say about the future of how those shares are held. It's because paper share certificates are on the way out to be replaced by digital versions. We'll discuss what this means. If want to have your say email "digitisationtaskforce@hmtreasury.gov.uk".

If you're wondering where your favourite show on Netflix or Paramount has gone it might be a victim of the strikes in Hollywood where 11,000 writers and more than 150,000 actors have been on strike for the last few months. It means a large number of productions being filmed or produced in the UK have been put on hold, leaving the mainly self-employed crew members with no work and no financial support. We'll hear from those affected.

Plus Royal Mail has announced that the price of posting a letter will rise in October for the second time this year. We'll have the details on that.

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

(First broadcast 12pm, Saturday 9th September 2023)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m001q6p4)
Series 112

Episode 1

Andy Zaltzman quizzes the week's news. Providing the answers, hopefully, are, Ian Smith, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind and Zoe Lyons.

In this episode Andy and the panel test the state of schools, the resilience of a reshuffle, and value of vets.

Written by Andy Zaltzman

With additional material by
Cody Dahler
Mike Shephard
and Eleri Morgan

Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001qd9f)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001qd9k)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001q6pc)
Sir John Hayes MP, Dame Diana Johnson MP, Christina McAnea and Anne McElvoy

Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from Skegness Grammar School in Lincolnshire with a panel including the Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, the Labour MP and chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Dame Diana Johnson MP, the General Secretary of UNISON Christina McAnea and the journalist Anne McElvoy.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead broadcast engineer: Chris Hardman


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001qd9p)
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 (m001kx98)
Dave

Neurologist Jules Montague and William Miller explore cases of rare dementias to reveal dementia is not what we think it is.

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 Dave and his wife Gill. In 2020 Dave was diagnosed with Dementia with Lewy Bodies - or DLB. This dementia is commonly misdiagnosed at first because of its unusual symptoms. Hallucinations are a typical feature of this condition and cause Dave to see rabbits and cats in his living room, even though he knows they aren’t there.

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 (m0014p3r)
Episode 2: Dance of Dice

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.

As one faction is revealed to have loaded the dice and cheated, the oligarch’s family is plunged into a fresh crisis fuelled by jealousy and lust, ending in humiliation and exile.

Dhruv makes a simple offer to Yash - double or quits. The entire business empire will be put on the table in a ‘winner takes all’ roll of the dice. But Dhruv is no longer content to just win, he wants to completely humiliate his opponent.

Now people are starting to question Dhruv’s fitness to run Hasta Enterprises. The different family factions pray to the Gods for guidance. The bankers, lawyers and accountants broker a more pragmatic solution - one final game must be played with a new set of perfect, neutral dice. The stakes couldn’t be simpler - Winner. Takes. All.

The stage is set for an epic conflict.

Written by Ayeesha Menon

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
Lawyer: Devika Shahani Punjabi
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 (m001qd9t)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Economic Abuse, Should there be a Minister for Men? Rebuilding my life: Martine Wright

Economic abuse was officially recognised under the Domestic Abuse Act in 2021, yet a new study from the charity Surviving Economic Abuse suggests victims are still being let down by the police and the courts. Their CEO Nicola Sharp-Jeffs joins to tell us more about their findings, alongside ITV broadcaster Ruth Dodsworth who shares her own personal experience.

On Tuesday’s programme, the Conservative MP for Don Valley, Nick Fletcher, championed the idea of a Minister for Men. He says statistics show that 75% of people taking their lives are men, that the life expectancy of men is 3.7 years lower than it is for women, that 83% of rough sleepers are men. On Wednesday we heard your views - could a Minister help tackle some of the issues many young men seem to be struggling with, such as masculinity, pornography, consent and their role in society? Could a Minister for Men also make life better for women? And could it be a way to tackle the rise of influencers such as Andrew Tate – a self-declared misogynist?

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.

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. 18 years on, Martine speaks about her road to recovery, physically and emotionally.

Is Belfast the new city of love? Well, it’s the backdrop to new Sky Atlantic romcom The Lovers, which follows local supermarket worker Janet and her love affair with English TV presenter, Seamus O’Hannigan who has a whole other life, and a girlfriend, back in London. Roisin Gallagher, who plays Janet, talks about filming in her hometown and the changing perceptions of Northern Ireland’s capital.

Presenter; Anita Rani
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Sarah Crawley


SAT 17:00 PM (m001qd9y)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m001qdb2)
The Paul Nowak One

Nick Robinson talks to the boss of the TUC ahead of hosting his first Congress in his hometown of Liverpool, what it was like working with ministers during Covid and why we need a national conversation on tax


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001qdb6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001qdb8)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001qdbb)
Terror suspect who fled Wandsworth prison is pulled off bike by plain clothes officer.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001q6c8)
Jason Donovan, Sara Pascoe, Amy Trigg, Phil Wang, Mega, CMAT, Athena Kugnlenu, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Athena Kugblenu are joined by Jason Donovan, Sara Pascoe, Amy Trigg and Phil Wang for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from CMAT and Mega.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m001qdbf)
Grant Shapps

The recently appointed defence secretary Grant Shapps is no stranger to getting his teeth into a new job, it’s his fifth cabinet role in less than a year. He's widely seen as a safe pair of hands and an effective communicator but has received criticism over his latest appointment because of his lack of military experience.

A married father of three and a cousin of The Clash guitarist Mick Jones, he survived a car crash at the age of 20, which put him in a coma for a week, and also made a full recovery after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Mark Coles looks at the life and career of the cabinet veteran who is a spreadsheet whizz, enthusiastic TikToker and licensed pilot.

Presenter: Mark Coles
Production: Alix Pickles, Diane Richardson
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m001qdbh)
Edmund de Waal

One of the world’s most acclaimed ceramicists, Edmund de Waal is renowned for simple, hand-made porcelain pots and bowls which are usually displayed in meticulously arranged groups. His work has been shown in museums and galleries including the V&A, the British Museum, the Frick in New York, and at the Venice Biennale. In 2010 Edmund de Waal became widely known as a bestselling author, after the publication of his family memoir The Hare With Amber Eyes which retraced his Jewish European heritage. A dramatic and tragic story about art, exile and survival, it led him on a journey from Tokyo to Odessa via 19th century Paris and Nazi occupied Vienna.

On This Cultural Life, Edmund de Waal tells John Wilson about being taken to a pottery class at the age of five by his father, an Anglican cleric who worked at Lincoln Cathedral. He immediately fell in love with the process of moulding wet clay into vessels and was determined to become a potter. After leaving school he spent five months in Japan studying the ancient traditions of pottery with various master ceramicists. He remembers how a visit to the Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto had a huge impact on his understanding of space, contemplation and spirituality. During his first visit to Japan he also met his great uncle Ignatius Ephrussi from whom Edmund first learned about his European Jewish heritage, his family’s exile from Vienna in the face of Nazi terror, and the collection of small Japanese figurines, known as netsuke, whose story was told in The Hare With Amber Eyes.

Edmund chooses the ceramicist Lucie Rie, another Viennese exile in London, as a major influence on his practise. He describes his working routine in the ceramics studio, and how his pots are often made in response to poetry, citing the work of Romanian-born Paul Celan an American poet Emily Dickinson as particular influences.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m001qdbl)
Bryan Magee - Man of Ideas

Philosophy is often thought of as being abstract, difficult and, well, ‘dead’.

Few people in the UK have ever managed to help philosophers reach a wider audience than Bryan Magee, whose BBC interviews with leading philosophers were primetime in the 1970s and 80s. For Magee, far from being a fusty academic discipline with no real world relevance, philosophy was an existential matter of immediate importance.

Magee’s was a life rich with ideas and impact, including nine years as an MP. His legacy and reputation has, however, largely been forgotten today. This edition of Archive On 4 will examine the life and legacy of a man who helped philosophy onto British TV and radio. And, importantly, it will ask what place popular philosophy and public intellectualism occupies in today’s culture, in an age of fragmented, divisive, and discombobulating media discourse.

Presenter Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, receives expert analysis and remembrance from a range of contributors:
- Simon Callow, a fan and then friend of Magee’s.
- Henry Hardy, Magee’s executor.
- Barry Lam, the host of Hi-Phi Nation, a popular podcast about philosophy.
- MM McCabe, a professor who’s getting philosophy into prisons.
- Mark Nayler, who is working on a biography of Magee.
- Lord David Owen, a colleague of Magee’s in politics.
- Peter Singer, a philosopher who famously was interviewed by Magee.

We hear Magee in his own words too. Archive material is drawn extensively from his BBC output, including Conversations With Philosophers, Men Of Ideas, and The Great Philosophers, featuring philosophical debates with the likes of Noam Chomsky, Sir Karl Popper, and Iris Murdoch.

With thanks to Hay Festival for additional archive material.

Producers: Jude Shapiro
Executive Producer: Jack Howson
Mix Engineer: Mike Woolley

A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Stone (m000rtym)
Protection

Dad

Detective Series created by Danny Brocklehurst.

Series 9: Protection. Episode 1 'Dad' written by Vivienne Harvey.

DCI Stone's investigation into the tragic stabbing of a teenager comes dangerously close to home.

DCI JOHN STONE....Hugo Speer
DS SUE KELLY....Deborah McAndrew
DI MIKE TANNER....Craig Cheetham
ALICE....Sydney Wade
JOLENE/KAREN/VALERIE.....Angela Lonsdale
YUSEF /SECURITY GUARD.....Eddie Capli
RUBY / FI.....Lucy Dixon
TOLGA / JO JO.....James Cooney

Produced and directed by Nadia Molinari

BBC Audio Drama North


SAT 21:45 Short Works (m001q6nr)
Still Life With Fruit by Jon McGregor

Penelope Wilton reads a new and specially commissioned short story by the multi-award winning writer, Jon McGregor. A bowl of fruit and the story of a life unfold in this delicate portrait.

Radio 4's celebration of the short story continues with the announcement of the 2023 BBC National Short Story Award, and with a new, specially commissioned by one of the nation's foremost writers. Jon McGregor is an award-winning novelist and short story writer. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize for three of his novels, including his 2002 debut If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which also went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and for the BBC National Short Story Award. His third novel, Even the Dogs (2010), earned McGregor the International Dublin Literary Award in 2012, whilst his 2017 work Reservoir 13 scooped up the Costa Book Award.

The shortlisted stories are broadcast from the 11th to the 15th September at 3.30 in the afternoon, and the winner is announced live on Front Row on Tuesday, 26th September. Still Life with Fruit and the shortlisted stories for the his years BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University are all available to listen to on BBC Sounds.

The producers are Elizabeth Allard and Di Speirs.


SAT 22:00 News (m001qdbp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Screenshot (m001q6p9)
Lovers on the run

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode hit the road to explore the lovers on the run genre, and celebrate 50 years of Terrence Malick's film debut, Badlands. Since the film’s arrival in 1973, this dreamy and twisted fairy tale has inspired countless tales of lovers escaping dead end towns for the endless road - but it wasn't the first time this story had graced the silver screen.

Mark enlists the help of a friend of the show, film critic Christina Newland. They discuss the hallmarks of the genre, its film noir beginnings, and why cinema is obsessed with tales of lawless lovers.

Ellen then speaks to New Queer Cinema icon, Gregg Araki, who shares his subversive and anarchic take on the genre - and his theory as to why it is a staple of American cinema. Ellen also chats to director,Jonathan Entwistle to discuss relocating his TV show End of The F***ing World to this side of the Atlantic, and whether the genre is intrinsically American.

Producer: Mae-Li Evans
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:00 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


SAT 23:30 Seek the Light (m001q0l4)
I'm Not Who You Think

Singer, story teller and seven-times Radio 2 Folk Awards winner, Karine Polwart brings together her love of science, history and the natural world.

She begins the series with the story of the Sabal Bermudana. This rare palm tree was the pride of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic gardens and the oldest specimen in their living collection. Sadly the plant’s own desire to seek the light sealed its fate, as its growth threatened to push through the dome of the garden’s iconic Victorian glass house. On the eve of its cutting down, Karine and fellow artist-in-residence Pippa Murphy, hosted a living wake: acknowledging the grief of the gardeners who tended the tree.
But it turns out the Sabal Bermudana had been carrying a secret for all of its 200 year plus life, one which speaks of colonialism’s history of plundering the natural botanical wealth of former colonies. It would seem the palm tree will have the last laugh over those who venerated its rarity. As Karine discovers, the natural world resists being forced into the boxes we try to create for it.

Through song and narration, Karine gives voice to the palm tree, charting its long history and relationship with those who’ve watered, fed and pruned it over the centuries. And she reveals its true identify.

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

Vocals - Karine Polwart
Piano - Dave Milligan
Small pipes - Gary West
Additional recording - Mattie Foulds

With thanks to Simon Allen, Emma Nicholson, Amy Porteous, Alan Elliot, Shauna Hay, and Ian Edwards of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh.

SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2023

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001qdbr)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 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 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001qdbt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001qdbw)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001qdby)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001qdc0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001qdc2)
Lincoln Cathedral

Bells on Sunday comes from Lincoln Cathedral. There are two bells in the north west tower and five in the central tower, including Great Tom of Lincoln weighing just over five tons. The south west tower contains a peal of twelve bells cast and hung by John Taylor and Company in 1913 plus a Flat 6th added in 1948. The tenor weighs just under twenty four hundredweight and is tuned to D. We hear them ringing Lincolnshire Surprise Maximus.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m001qdbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001qdfg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b08q30lx)
The Fifth Element

Academic Dr Sarah Goldingay examines the elements and explores the spiritual significance of the idea of a 'fifth element' which appears in a wide range of faith traditions.

The four elements - earth, air, fire and water - were established in classical Greece in the west and are mirrored in the beliefs of many other ancient cultures around the world. These material elements are at the core of many creation myths. In Genesis, the spirit of God moves upon the face of the water, makes Adam from water and earth, uses wind to clear the land after the great flood and rains fire of destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sarah notes that, in most of the stories surrounding the four elements, there is another presence, an ethereal force that somehow blends and animates the material four - a fifth element.

Investigating this notion of a metaphysical power that transforms the physical and sparks creativity, Sarah draws upon biblical descriptions of the Holy Spirit, the writings of the first documented alchemist and the differing approaches to improvisation adopted by jazz legends John Coltrane and Keith Jarrett.

Presenter: Sarah Goldingay
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production of BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 Natural Histories (b07kpfh9)
Fox

Brett Westwood investigates the biology and culture of the Fox - a creature long believed to be the devil in disguise. With poetry by Ted Hughes and Simon Armitage, the rollocking medieval bestseller Reynard the Fox, a fox seduction in an abandoned ruin, and a stakeout in a Bristol back garden with urban fox expert Professor Stephen Harris.

First broadcast in a longer form on 19th July 2016
Original Producer (2016): Melvin Rickarby
Archive Producer (2023) : Andrew Dawes


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001qdfk)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001qdfm)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001qdfp)
British Imams "whitewashing" the actions of the Taliban

Former diplomats and politicians from Afghanistan are among around 900 people who've signed an open letter calling on British authorities to investigate what they call a "propaganda" and "whitewashing" campaign by UK Muslim scholars on behalf of the Taliban. William Crawley speaks to one of the signatories of the letter.

Pope Francis is planning to publish a sequel to Laudato Si', his encyclical, or papal teaching letter, on the climate crisis. One of his closest advisers, Cardinal Michael Czerny, explains why.

And the extraordinary story of an Irish Catholic priest who, for many years, secretly worked for the IRA, earning himself a place on the UK's most wanted list.

Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Dan Tierney and Peter Everett
Editor: Helen Grady


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001qdfr)
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society

Kirsty Young makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society

To Give:
- UK Freephone 0800 404 8144
-You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That’s the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope ‘The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society’.
Please note that Freephone and online donations for this charity close at 23.59 on the Saturday after the Appeal is first broadcast. However the Freepost option can be used at any time.

Registered charity number: 1134859


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001qdft)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001qdfw)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001qdfy)
A fine disregard for the rules

A service from the Chapel of Rugby School to mark both the bicentenary of the invention of the game of rugby, and the start of the Rugby World Cup in France. The readings are taken from the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and all 850 pupils of the school join together in singing the hymns I vow to thee my country, and Guide me, O thou great redeemer. There's also music performed by the current BBC Young Chorister who is a pupil at the school. The service is led by the Assistant Chaplains Lisa Greatwood and Dan Shaw, and the preacher is the Chaplain, Richard Horner.

Director of Music: Richard Tanner
Organist: James Williams
Producer: Ben Collingwood.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001q6pf)
My Love Affair with the Mysterious

Zoe Strimpel discusses the thrills and psychic satisfactions of the spooky.

She argues that the disorientating nature of contemporary society creates the ideal breeding ground for our resurgent interest in things supernatural.

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound; Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Bridget Harney


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b020tr6m)
Cormorant

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

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Cormorant. Although cormorants are common on rocky and estuarine shores, increasingly they are breeding inland in tree colonies - where branches whitened by their droppings are a giveaway in summer.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001qdg0)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Katie Razzall


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001qdg2)
Writer, Katie Hims
Director, Rosemary Watts
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Ben Archer ..... Ben Norris
Pip Archer ..... Daisy Badger
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer ..... Blayke Darby
Natasha Archer ..... Mali Harries
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
George Grundy ..... Angus Stobie
Mia Grundy ..... Molly Pipe
Brad Horrobin ..... Taylor Uttley
Chelsea Horrobin ..... Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin ..... Susie Riddell
Stella Pryor ..... Lucy Speed
Sykesy ..... Jasper Carrott


SUN 11:15 The Reunion (m001qdg4)
The BLK Art Group

In 1979, a group of young black British artists broke onto the British art scene. Collectively, they called themselves the BLK Art Group and, together with other artists like Tam Joseph, they made work that challenged ideas of race and society in Britain in the 80s and early 90s.

It all began when artist Eddie Chambers founded a group known as the Wolverhampton Young Black Artists. The group then later re-branded as the BLK Art Group and included Keith Piper, Marlene Smith, Eddie Chambers and Donald Rodney, all based in the Midlands.

They took their inspiration from a variety of sources, including the American Black Arts Movement of the 60s and 70s, which included artists and writers like Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde, Larry Neal and Maya Angelou.

The group were all from the British African-Caribbean community and exhibited at a number of galleries across the country. For almost 20 years, they collectively and individually pursued themes of politics, gender, class and race.

Their work has been cited as an inspiration by many black artists that followed, including Chris Ofili and Steve McQueen, both of whom went on to win Turner Prizes.

Joining Kirsty Wark are: artist and curator, Marlene Smith and Wenda Leslie, both founding members of the BLK Art Group, and Eugene Palmer, best known for creating archival and multi-textured pieces, who was also a member of the group; Tam Joseph, whose best-known work Spirit of the Carnival portrayed a traditionally exuberant carnival figure penned in by police wielding riot shields, explored similar themes and was closely associated with the BLK Art Group; and Pogus Caesar who observed and photographed many of the artists and their work.

Producer: Rema Mukena
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001qdg6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 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.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001qdg8)
The Food Innovators: Radical Thinkers, Big Ideas.

Dan Saladino judges the The Food Innovation Award part of the BBC Food & Farming Awards. He is searching for big ideas that can change the food system. In this programme he meets the three finalists:

Wildfarmed grow cereals, alongside farmers that share their values, using a regenerative farming method that prioritises the health of the soil. They are aiming to create an alternative to industrial farming.

Too Good To Go is an app that lets you rescue unsold food from bakeries, cafes and supermarkets that would have otherwise been thrown away, at a much lower cost.

The Alexandra Rose Charity aims to support low-income families by providing fresh fruit and veg through a voucher scheme and prescription scheme through GPs. The vouchers can be spent in local markets, helping the local economy.


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001qdgb)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001qdgd)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 Seek the Light (m001qdgg)
Out of the Shadows

Singer, story teller and seven-times Radio 2 Folk Awards winner, Karine Polwart brings together her love of science, history and the natural world.

Karine looks up into the dark for a story of discovery, diversity and the righting of a historical wrong.

When young geologist turned planetary scientist Annie Lennox surveyed the night sky of her Aberdeenshire home, little did she realise that one day she'd be giving names to landmarks on our closest neighbours in the solar system. In 2021, while studying for her PhD, Annie discovered an enormous 50km wide crater near Mercury's southern pole. An area that had never been seen in sunlight until until the Messenger mission of 2015.

The crater's distinctive spectral colour and shape caught her eye. As the first person to see it, Annie has the honour of naming it. An accomplished singer and harpist, Annie named it 'Nairne' after the 17th-century Scottish poet and songwriter Lady Carolina Nairne.

All the craters of Mercury are named after famous artists, Burns and Pushkin are there along with Bach and Boccaccio. And it was this dominance of white men that Annie wanted to challenge. The International Atstonomical Union's naming conventions around new discoveries have proven themselves inherently sexist and exclusionary and Annie felt compelled to do waht she could to rebalance it. In her lifetime, Lady Carolina Nairne was responsible for such staples of Scottish folk singing as 'Charlie is my darlin' and 'Caller Herrin', yet she's largely unknown, publishing much of her work anonymously or under pseudonyms. Now there is a corner of the universe that will forever be a testament to her talents.

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 (m001q6nl)
Charlton Adam

How should I integrate grasses into herbaceous borders? Should I persevere with my blueberry plant? How can we make our allotment open day a great success?

This week, Peter Gibbs is in Charlton Adam to answer all these questions and more. Joining him are grow-your-own guru Bob Flowerdew, horticulturist Anne Swithinbank, and plantswoman Christine Walkden.

Alongside the horticultural Q and A, we hear from GQT regular Pippa Greenwood who visits Fairweather’s Nursery to tell us all we need to know about growing agapanthus.

Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock
Producer: Dom Tyerman
Executive Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001qdgj)
The Three Musketeers - Episode 2

The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke considers Alexander Dumas' great swashbuckler, The Three Musketeers, and his creation of a classic hero in D'Artagnan and an unforgettable villain in Milady de Winter.

In the second of two episodes about the book, John examines how Dumas created this enduring page-turner. He also looks at aspects of the novel that are sometimes overlooked - its wit and humour as well as some very dark passages.

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 of 'The Musketeers' BBC TV 2014
Maimie McCoy – actor and 'Milady' in 'The Musketeers'
Reading by Matthew Gravelle

Credits:
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 (m001qdgl)
Milady - Part 2

By Lucy Catherine

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

Created by Alexandre Dumas, Milady is Cardinal Richelieu's deadly, venemous spy in The Three Musketeers.

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

In the previous episode, Milady's husband attempted to murder her after he discovered that she was branded with the fleur-de-lys, a symbol marking her as a convicted criminal. Now Milady drifts to Paris and is about to come under the influence of the most powerful man in France.

Milady . . . . . Anjana Vasan
Cardinal Richelieu . . . . . Carl Prekopp
Athos . . . . . Sam Troughton
De Winter . . . . . Joe Kloska
Felton . . . . . Gavi Singh Chera
D’Artagnan . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr
Buckingham . . . . . Ryan Whittle
Rochefort . . . . . Don Gilet
Father Laurent . . . . . Luke Nunn
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 Open Book (m001qdgn)
Zadie Smith

In an extended interview Elizabeth Day talks to the novelist Zadie Smith about the richly imagined canvas of her new novel, The Fraud.
Despite once decreeing that she left London for New York in order to avoid writing a historical novel, Zadie Smith has now embraced the art. The Fraud comes almost two and a half decades after the literary sensation of her debut, White Teeth, both are set in Smith’s home turf of North West London. This time she brings to life the 19th century Kilburn of fields and country pubs, weaving together the lives of a Scottish housekeeper with her cousin, a popular but talentless writer, and a former slave who is a star witness in a real life court case, "The Tichbourne Claimant". Zadie Smith talks to Elizabeth about her writing of the novel’s intricate backdrop, her charismatic characters, the nature of truth, and her enduring impatience with the first person novel.

Book List – Sunday 10 September and Thursday 14 September

The Fraud by Zadie Smith
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
NW by Zadie Smith
The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald


SUN 16:30 Four Sides of Seamus Heaney (m001qdgq)
Seamus Heaney - The Translator

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize winner and one of the best loved poets writing in English, died in August 2013. 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 one thing in common - they knew the poet well.

Seamus Heaney was a prolific poet but, as he said, 'lyric poetry isn't a full-time job; you wait for the surges and hope that they will come.' So, from his schooldays until his death, to keep his hand in, Heaney engaged in translation. When The Translations of Seamus Heaney was published late last year readers were amazed by its size, more than 600 pages.

Theo Dorgan, poet, novelist, translator and Irish speaker surveys the range and depth of the translations and discovers these excursions into around forty languages are an interrogation of Heaney's own. Irish English is inflected by the syntax of Irish - he translates the medieval poem Buile Shuibhne, Sweeney Astray. There is a good deal of Scots in the speech of Northern Ireland - Heaney translates the makar Robert Henryson. He takes on the founding text of English - Beowulf - and the foundations of European literature - Sophocles' Philoctetes as The Cure at Troy (interpolating the much quoted by US Presidents lines about hope and history rhyming) and Virgil's Aeneid.

Seamus Heaney, like James Joyce, translated himself out of Ireland and into the wider world. He travelled, befriended and was influenced by Derek Walcott, from St Lucia, Russian exile Joseph Brodsky and Czeslaw Milosz, from Poland.

Theo Dorgan hears from Marco Sonzoghni, editor of the monumental Translations, from Colm Toibin, and there are readings of his translations by the poet himself.

Presenter: Theo Dorgan
Producer: Julian May


SUN 17:00 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


SUN 17:40 Profile (m001qdbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001qdgs)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001qdgw)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001qdh0)
Rishi Sunak raises concerns with China after arrest of Commons staff suspected of spying


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001qdh3)
Amber Haque

It's the first week back to reality in September and we'll talk crumbling schools…and crumbling politicians. Are single people being discriminated against? Will Manchester United ever be sold? How do we talk to terrorists? How do we talk to our parents? And what’s the best prank you’ve ever played? Join Amber to find out hers…

Presenter: Amber Haque
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinator: Lydia Depledge-Miller
Studio Manager: Sue Stonestreet


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001qdh5)
When Pip pops into Brookfield, Ruth suggests she changes her plan of a picnic with Stella and Rosie and joins them for lunch. Pip turns the offer down but then worries to Stella – she’s paranoid they gave away their new relationship on Friday. Pip would hate Ruth to find out before they tell her, but at the same time isn’t ready to tell her mum. Stella makes clear what makes it tricky is that Ruth is Pip’s mum and Stella’s friend. They’re not concerned about Ruth’s attitude to them being in a gay relationship.
Over lunch at Brookfield, Paul is stunned to learn that it’s Josh’s birthday this week. He can’t believe Josh hasn’t told him already. Josh insists to Paul and his parents that he has no plans to mark the occasion. Later, as they drive home, Josh complains about Paul showing him up by being the perfect guest. Paul asks Josh why he’s so miserable and Josh admits he’s not looking forward to turning twenty-six. Paul insists that Josh makes a plan and invites people to celebrate.
Back from their picnic, Pip panics that Rosie saw her and Stella kissing. Stella’s sure that Rosie’s eyes were closed before she kissed Pip, but Pip’s not so sure. Stella encourages her to try to find out from Rosie what she saw. Pip says she’s never considered how she would talk to her daughter about her meeting someone; she’d just cross that bridge when she came to it. Maybe you’re now at that bridge, replies Stella.


SUN 19:15 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Austen? (m0016hgz)
Series 1

Episode 3

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.

Selina’s close personal ex-husband Andrew has died and – much to Florence’s rage and fury - left her a small Picasso. Meanwhile the murky waters of daughter Lucy’s parentage are stirred as Florence’s PA Mrs Ragnarrok has a mysterious meeting with Jonathan, who happens to be Lucy’s father. Unaware of any of this, Lucy continues to plan the round-the-world yacht voyage that everyone has completely forgotten she is about to undertake.

Critical reaction to the first episode, 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 (m001qdh7)
Episode 4

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

The knotweed outbreak has affected almost everyone in the village, and Fran's increasingly wild theories about the spread put her at odds with her neighbours.
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 (m001q66q)
Covid deaths, North Sea gas and Chloe Kelly's World Cup penalty

Covid related deaths are rising in England and Wales - but what do the figures really tell us? Also the UK's GDP during the pandemic has been revised upwards. Tim Harford and team ask why and discuss what it tells us about the UK's economic performance compared to other countries. Is North Sea gas really four times cleaner than gas from abroad? It's a claim recently made by the government. And we ask whether Chloe Kelly's penalty shot at the World Cup was really faster than the Premier League's fastest goal last season.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Reporters: Nathan Gower, Natasha Fernandes
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001q6nw)
Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dorothy Goodman, Professor Anthony Bryceson, Denyse Plummer

Matthew Bannister on

Mohamed Al-Fayed, the controversial businessman who owned Harrods department store and Fulham Football Club. His son Dodi died in the car crash that killed Princess Diana.

Dorothy Goodman, the educationalist who helped to found the consumer affairs magazine that became known as “Which?”.

Professor Anthony Bryceson, the tropical medicine expert who was kidnapped by guerrilla forces in Laos.

Denyse Plummer, the singer who overcame prejudice to be crowned Calypso Monarch in her home islands of Trinidad and Tobago

Interviewee: Tom Bower
Interviewee: Harriet Goodman
Interviewee: Professor Sir David Warrell
Interviewee: Carl 'Beaver' Henderson

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive Used:
Mohamed AL Fayed, Press Interview, BBC News, 01/03/1990; Mohamed Al Fayed refused British Passport, BBC News, 06/05/1999; The death of Princess Dianna and Dodi Al Fayed, BBC Radio, 31/08/1997; Mohamed Al Fayed interview, Tabloid Tales: Mohamed Al Fayed, BBC ONE, 31/03/2004; Inquest into the death of Princess Diana, BBC News, 04/2008; Dorothy Goodman interview, Which? 60 Years of Which, Source: which.co.uk, 08/07/2022; Kitchen Gadget (1950), Pathe News, 16/10/1950 ; Denyse Plummer interview, Woman Making A Difference, TT Online, YouTube uploaded 17 /05/2020


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001qd99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001qdfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Loose Ends (m001q6c8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001qdhd)
Have "Chinese spies" infiltrated Westminster? Leila Nathoo discusses the latest allegations with her panel: former Justice Secretary, Sir Robert Buckland; Labour peer Jenny Chapman; and the former government special adviser, Mo Hussein. They also talk about the forthcoming by-elections and the challenges facing both main parties, and consider whether the prison system is in crisis. The programme also includes an interview with Baroness Verma, President of the all-party group on India, reflecting on the recent G20 summit. Journalist Hugo Gye - political editor of the "i" newspaper - brings additional insight and analysis.


SUN 23:00 Life Changing (m001lrcq)
Speechless

Being a TV news anchor was everything to Polly Evans until she was forced to re-evaulate her identity. Her turning point happened in the spotlight – in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands – when she felt deeply exposed and humiliated. It was caused by a physical condition called Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia, but Polly’s journey since then has been one of self-knowledge and finding fulfilment in other ways, including a new career.

She braves the studio for the first time to tell this story to Dr Sian Williams.


SUN 23:30 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

MONDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2023

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001qdhh)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m001q6c0)
Boxing and Kickboxing

BOXING AND KICKBOXING: Can they transform lives? Boxing has long been cited as a potential cure for a range of social ills, including criminal justice failures, poor mental health and childhood trauma, yet little research has been carried out into how and why such claims exist. Laurie Taylor talks to Deborah Jump, Reader in Criminology at the Manchester Metropolitan University, about the potential of boxing as a mechanism for change among vulnerable groups.

Also, Amit Singh, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Sociology Department at the University of Manchester discusses his study of a kickboxing gym in East London where people struggle to gain an identity as a ‘fighter’, one that transcends race, class, sexuality and gender.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001qdc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001qdhl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001qdhq)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001qdhs)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001qdhv)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001qdhx)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg

Good Morning.

I can’t help thinking of this day in 2001, which we’ve come to know simply as nine / eleven. I remember exactly how I learnt what was happening.

I answered the phone. ‘Have you spoken to my son,’ said my friend in a panicked voice.

‘Why, what’s up?’ I innocently asked.

‘He’s in New York. Haven’t you seen?’ Realising I’d no idea, she told me to switch on the television and hung up.

A lot of people alive that day knows precisely where they were when they heard about the twin towers. We watched, transfixed, in horror. When the second tower collapsed it felt as if the entire earth was trembling.

The graph of a shock flattens, but in some corner the nerves still hold the trauma of the first impact. Grief changes, reconfiguring the soul, but it doesn’t go away.

My heart goes out to those whose lives were shattered that day. I’ve stood at the memorial at Ground Zero, silent and overawed.

It doesn’t feel as if the wounds of which those appalling attacks were both symptom and cause have truly healed. Some notion, fictional perhaps, of a world largely at peace, perished that day.

But the vision hasn’t died. John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, with its famous line telling us that we may all be dreamers was a much played song in the aftermath of the terror and we still pray that the world will one day be as one.

In the Jewish year this is a season of reflection and reparation, leading up to the New Year. I hope that in some way, all of us can be healers amidst the world’s great wounds.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001qdhz)
11/09/23 Sustainable supply chains for top fruit growers; Scotland's 'outcomes for farming'; pine martens spotted in Yorkshire

Top fruit farmers say they're not being paid enough by retailers for their crop, and lose money on fruit which doesn't reach the top specifications.

Scottish farmers press for food production to be higher up the government's agenda when it comes to the First Minister's 'programme for government'.

And why a rare pine martin was spotted in Yorkshire, miles from where it would usually be spotted.

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


MON 05:56 Weather (m001qdj1)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378xsn)
Common Gull

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

Michaela Strachan presents the common gull. In spite of their name Common Gulls aren't as common or widespread as some of our other gulls. Most of the breeding colonies in the UK are in Scotland. In North America their alternative name is Mew gull because of their mewing cat-like cries.


MON 06:00 Today (m001qdlm)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Is Psychiatry Working? (m001jcbd)
Healing and Recovery

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 look at healing and recovery.

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
Assistant Producer: Lucinda Borrell
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound Mix: James Beard


MON 09:30 Shock and War: Iraq 20 Years On (m001k83m)
10. Legacy

Have new generations of Iraqis got the freedom they were promised? What is the legacy within Iraq today particularly for a new generation seeking democracy? And how do those directly involved in events reflect on the legacy of war twenty years on?

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 Adam Smith: What He Thought and Why It Matters by Jesse Norman (m001qdlt)
Episode 1

On the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, author Jesse Norman explores his life and captures the febrile surroundings of Enlightenment Edinburgh. Considering Smith’s legacy, he dispels the myths and debunks the caricatures that have grown around the economist in the centuries since he first presented his ideas.

Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Robin Laing
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Jesse Norman is the Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire and Minister of State in the Department for Transport. Previous publications include a celebrated study of Edmund Burke, and his debut novel 'The Winding Stair', a historical thriller set in the Elizabethan court, was published in the summer.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001qdm1)
Millie Bobby Brown, Arlo Parks, Martha's Rule

Millie Bobby Brown is a 19-year-old actress best known for her award-nominated performance as Eleven in Stranger Things, and for producing and starring in Enola Holmes. Now she has written a debut novel, Nineteen Steps, based on her grandmother’s life in the East End of London during the Second World War. She joins Nuala to talk about why she wanted to write the novel and why it’s so personal for her.

In recent months there’s been increasing momentum for what has been called Martha’s rule which would give patients the power to get an automatic second medical opinion from other experts. This comes after the death of 13-year-old Martha Mills who died in hospital. An inquest concluded that her death had been preventable. So what difference could Martha’s Rule make to how much say patients have to question the decisions made by doctors? Paediatrician and health campaigner Dr Guddi Singh wants to empower people so that medical care works in their best interests and joins Nuala.

Three quarters of police officers and staff accused of violence against women are not suspended by their force. That’s according to a joint investigation by the Independent newspaper and Refuge Charity. Nuala is joined by Ellie Butt, Head of Policy at Refuge.

Mercury Prize Winning Musician Arlo Parks has turned her hand to poetry with her debut book, The Magic Border. It combines original poetry, song lyrics and images and she joins Nuala for an interview and live reading of one of the poems.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Emma Pearce

Opener 00:00
Martha’s Rule 01:23
Police accused of violence against women 12:50
Millie Bobby Brown 23:49
Arlo Parks 42:48


MON 11:00 The Gift (m001qdm5)
1. Fraud

It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.

Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.

Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.

Episode 1: Fraud

A scandal deep in the heart of London's Harley Street is exposed when a man in his eighties receives a DNA test Christmas present from his daughter.

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett


MON 11:30 Analysis (m001nglr)
Does work have to be miserable?

How can employers in all sectors of the UK economy get the best out of their workers, retain experienced staff, improve productivity and increase profits at the same time?

The principles of "Job Design" seem to promise all of these benefits. It's a process of work innovation which focuses on people, their skills, their knowledge and how they interact with each other and technology, in every workplace, in every sector of the economy.

Proponents claim it gives workers a voice in their workplace, allows them to balance their work and home lives, stops burnout and could get more of the economically inactive back in employment. But what evidence is there that it works - and how difficult would it be to implement changes in the workplace?

Presenter: Pauline Mason
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors:
Patricia Findlay, Professor of Work and Employment Relations, University of Strathclyde and Director of the Scottish Centre for Employment Research.
Kate Bennett, Labour ward coordinator at Liverpool Women's Hospital.
Damian Grimshaw, Professor of Employment Studies, King's College London, and former head of research at the International Labour Organisation.
Dame Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor, University of Cambridge and a director of the Productivity Institute.
Rachel London, Deputy Chief People Officer at Liverpool Women's Hospital.
Jenna Brimble. Midwife in the continuity of care team at Liverpool Women's Hospital.
Heejung Chung, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Kent.
Emma Stewart, Flexible working consultant and co-founder, Timewise.
Dr Charlotte Gascoine independent researcher and consultant on flexible and part-time working
Paul Dennett, Mayor of the City of Salford
Jim Liptrot, Managing director, Howorth Air Tech.
Stacey Bridge, Financial accounting assistant, Howorth Air Tech.


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001qdmr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001qdn7)
UK Holidays, Wilko and Octopus buys Shell

What's the latest with Wilko? A big deal to save the stores seems to have collapsed...so what happens next?

Staying with the high street - shoppers still seem to be turning to discount stores - so is that good news for pound shops?

Summer's the most important time of year for UK holiday destinations - so how did the sector cope with the cost of living crisis and July's rain? We'll get a view from two tourist hotspots.

You might have seen social media posts advertising short-term sublets of people's rentals properties - we'll find out what's going on.

Also on the programme - we ask Octopus what its acquisition of Shell Energy means for customers and find out how Chinese electric car companies are faring in the UK market.

PRESENTER: RIMA AHMED

PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY


MON 12:57 Weather (m001qdnw)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001qdpc)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 Intrigue (m001qdpr)
The Immortals - Ep 6: Longevity Escape Velocity

Many of the longevity innovators in the Valley want to extend human life. But there are others who are trying to eliminate death. A lot of them.

The tech billionaires who have never been told ‘no’ are driven to tackle the most insurmountable problems. They believe they can solve death by re-engineering the human in code. Problem is, it’s unlikely to happen in their natural lifetime.

But technology is on their side. Every year, computing power doubles. Once a decade, the amount of change produces a whole new paradigm. And that is what they’re banking on.

Science, combined with the rapid acceleration of technological change will keep them alive decade on decade until such time as they can achieve ‘longevity escape velocity’ - eternal life.

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


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001qdh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 This Cultural Life (m001qdbh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Saturday]


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m001qdq5)
Heat 5, 2023

(5/17)
Another four contenders join Russell Davies for the first of the northern-based contests in this year's Brain of Britain season. An enthusiastic audience at the BBC's Salford studios will find out who's going through to the semi-finals and taking a step closer to the title.

What are the five colours of the Olympic rings? What's the first of the Ten Commandments? What was the protest group The Anti-Heptagonists opposed to? The Brains today will have to grapple with these and many more questions from all fields of knowledge, as well as tackling questions from a listener hoping to Beat the Brains with questions he or she has supplied.

Taking part are:
Jean Burtonwood from Huddersfield
Brian Craythorne from Belfast
Rob Greenhill from Leicester
Gill Hollis from Lichfield.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m001qdqm)
BBC National Short Story Award 2023

Comorbidities by Naomi Wood

Charlotte Ritchie reads the first story in this year's BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University.

After the realisation that heir sex life isn’t exactly on fire, a couple with two young children decide they must take action. But how to spice things up?

Reader: Charlotte Ritchie is an acclaimed stage and TV actor, known most recently for her roles in Ghosts, Call the Midwife and Fresh Meat.

Writer: Naomi Wood is the author of The Godless Boys and the award-winning Mrs. Hemingway, which won the British Library Writer’s Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Award. She teaches at the University of East Anglia and lives in Norwich.

Producer: Justine Willett


MON 16:00 History's Secret Heroes (p0fqng2f)
4. Claude, Marcel and the Soldier with No Name

Two eccentric French artists, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, risk their lives to perform an extraordinary act of resistance on the island of Jersey.

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 (m001qdr3)
Ashes to Ashes

‘We always put our hand on the coffin and use their name, tell them how loved they were. And then just as the door opens, we wish them well on their journey.”

Crematorium Manager Jenny Hamilton tells Aleem Maqbool how she and her team approach their work with the deceased at the Clyde Coast and Garnock Valley Crematorium on the West Coast of Scotland, and how her profession connects to her Christian faith.

Aleem is joined by a panel to discuss how the different ways we process the body after death, has been informed by faith, and what the human body represents within different religions.

How will religions respond to new ways of human decomposition that are being explored, such as alkaline hydrolysis or water cremation, which is being piloted in the UK later this year, and terramation or human composting?

Sally Berkovic, author and a volunteer for a Chevra Kadisha, a group that helps prepare Jewish bodies for funeral, joins Aleem to share her experiences. She's joined by Reverend Andrew Dotchin, who is looking into the theology of alkaline hydrolysis for the Church of England, and Hindu teacher Seeta Lakani.

The discussion raises the question, who is our death rites and rituals for: the deceased, or those left behind?

Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Series Producer: Katharine Longworth
Editor: Tim Pemberton


MON 17:00 PM (m001qdrd)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001qdrr)
The Government is facing calls to declare China a threat to the UK's democracy


MON 18:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m001qds4)
Series 2

Episode 2

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 week's show comes from Manchester, and is packed full of facts that may surprise you, just as they surprised a room full of Mancunians.

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

Original music: Tim Sutton

Sound engineer: Jerry Peal

Producer: Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001qdqh)
Helen collects Lee from the airport. He’s full of enthusiasm for California. His spirits quickly sink as Helen fills him in on what happened in his absence. Lee is angry that Helen didn’t tell him over the phone at the time. She explains she wanted to protect him. While stuck in traffic, Helen apologises to Lee, admitting withholding information from him was a mistake. Lee offers Helen an American sweet but she refuses and admits she’s lost her appetite recently. When she realises Pat hasn’t spoken to Lee, Helen says there is something else she needs to tell him.
Jim recommends Lark Rise to Candleford to David, but David’s too busy to fit in time to read. He’s feeling overwhelmed by the extra things they’ve taken on. When Jim hears they’re in need of entertainment for the Harvest Supper, he recommends his piano teacher who has an excellent repertoire.
On his way out of the shop, David almost knocks over a woman who’s coming in. She confidently warns him to not rush about otherwise he could cause an injury. Jim’s impressed by the woman who just says she’s a bossy type. Jim lends her cutlery and a plate so she can eat the lunch things she’s bought. Later, as he’s closing up, Jim overhears her leaving a cross voicemail. She reveals it’s for her brother to whom she is like a second mother. She returns the plate and cutlery and also advises that Jim goes to the GP to have a mole on his hand checked.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001qdsg)
The British Museum’s missing gems, a drinking game drama, National Short Story Award

Front Row gets an exclusive look at some of the treasures confirmed as missing by the British Museum, as art dealer, academic and whistleblower Dr Ittai Gradel, who says he bought them in good faith on eBay, returns them.

Deborah Frances White, the comedian and writer behind the hit podcast The Guilty Feminist, joins Samira to discuss her debut play, Never Have I Ever. Named after the confessional drinking game, at its heart is an explosive dinner party dissecting identity politics and infidelity, running at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester.

And we hear how writer Cherise Saywell transformed the making of a cup of coffee by a refugee neighbour into a special act of hospitality in her shortlisted National Short Story Award tale, Guests.

Missing Treasures 1:22
Deborah Frances White 16:05
Cherise Saywell 28:47
Fake Encores 37:29


MON 20:00 Lego Overboard (m001qdsv)
In 1997 a freak wave washed 62 containers into the sea off a cargo ship near the coast of Cornwall. Inside one were five million pieces of Lego. By a strange quirk of fate, many of the Lego pieces had a sea theme. This is the story of the community of beachcombers trying to track down the miniature octopuses, scuba tanks, life rafts, flippers, sharks and some very rare green dragons still washing ashore today. Beachcomber Tracey Williams set up the social media account Lego Lost At Sea, allowing people to share their finds. She leads BBC reporter Robin Markwell on a journey around the Cornish coastline looking for the tiny toys. On the way they meet fishermen still bringing up Lego in their nets, families brought together by dragon-hunting and an artist making sculptures out of millions of pieces of microplastic. Lego Overboard is a tale about the joys of treasure-hunting with a serious message about the long-lasting legacy of plastic pollution in our seas.

Producer: Robin Markwell for BBC Audio in Bristol


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m001q69h)
Surviving Greece's migrant boat disaster

In the early hours of 14th June, a heavily overcrowded, rusty fishing trawler carrying as many as 750 migrants capsized off the coast of Greece. The passengers - men, women and children from countries including Pakistan, Egypt and Syria - were fleeing conflict and poverty, hoping to start safer and more prosperous lives in Europe.

After its engine broke down, the boat drifted for several hours while desperate passengers made distress calls and waited for rescue. Only 104 people survived the sinking. More than 600 may have drowned, making this one of the deadliest disasters in Europe’s ongoing migration crisis.

For Crossing Continents, Nick Beake travels to Greece to meet survivors of the sinking, who are now living in a refugee camp outside Athens. He hears how they endured a four-day voyage, during which several passengers died due to a lack of food, water and ventilation on board. Brutal smugglers forced them to board the dangerous boat, and confiscated water bottles and life jackets to make room for extra passengers.

Many of the survivors have accused the Greek coastguard of causing the sinking by attempting to tow the heavily overloaded vessel. Greek authorities have denied these claims. Nick meets a Greek activist who volunteers for an emergency hotline that received distress calls from passengers on the ship. She explains that the June 14th disaster is not the first time the Greek coastguard has come under scrutiny, and it has previously been accused of using aggressive and illegal tactics to deter migration.

Presented by Nick Beake
Producer: Viv Jones
Studio mix: Graham Puddifoot
Series Editor: Penny Murphy


MON 21:00 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.


MON 21:30 Is Psychiatry Working? (m001jcbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001qdt5)
Morocco earthquake: death toll continues to rise

It’s been three days since the 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco. We hear more about the response to the disaster from a former Moroccan Tourism Minister.

Also on the programme: the arrest of a researcher in Parliament accused of spying for the Chinese Communist Party reignites the debate about how the UK handles relations with Beijing; and we remember Professor Sir Ian Wilmut – one of the leaders of the team that created the world’s first cloned mammal – Dolly the sheep.


MON 22:45 The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson (m001qdth)
Episode 6

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 The Food Programme (m001qdg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001qdty)
All the news from Westminster with Sean Curran, as the Prime Minister reports back on the G20 summit.

TUESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2023

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001qdv8)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Adam Smith: What He Thought and Why It Matters by Jesse Norman (m001qdlt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001qdvn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001qdw2)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001qdwh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001qdwx)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001qdx8)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg

Good Morning.

In our previous home we had Jewish neighbours on one side, and, on the other, a Christian lady. Soon after we moved in, she commented to the Jewish couple that the new resident – meaning me - had taken up the French horn, but wasn’t very good at it. ‘Don’t worry,’ they replied, as they told us later, ‘He’ll soon give it up.’

They were right. I was practicing blowing the shofar, the ram’s horn, in preparation for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year which begins this coming weekend, when the shofar’s cry will punctuate our prayers.

But for whom does the shofar sound?

The instrument has a history. It recalls the ram offered by Abraham, when, at the last moment, God told him not to sacrifice his son. Thereafter it came to represent all the sacrifices the Jewish People were forced to make through many exiles and persecutions, when no voice from heaven intervened hence the shofar’s call became a cry for life, all and every life. I remember saying, before blowing the shofar days after 9/11, ‘This is for all human sorrow, all loss, and all hope.’

But a shofar is not a human artefact. It comes from the world of nature, and it calls out for the animals too. I hear in it the curlew’s cry and the sharp retorts of seabirds at dusk. It’s an articulation of the deep togetherness of all life.

The shofar’s most tender sound is like weeping; its longest note expresses the indestructibility of hope.

May it sound for all life, heralding a year which carries us from sorrow to joy.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001qdxq)
12/09/23 Bird flu and game; Dolly the sheep creator dies; giving away apple crop; Colorado potato beetle.

Two cases of avian flu have been confirmed on game farms in Cheshire and Staffordshire, where pheasant and partridge are produced for shooting. Every year more than 40 million partridge and pheasant are released into the wild from game farms, to populate land for shooting. In May the RSPB called for more restrictions on releasing game birds into the countryside, to reduce the risk of new strains of avian flu, but the British Association for Shooting and Conservation says a ban on releases of game birds is not the answer.

Sir Ian Wilmut who led the research team that produced Dolly the cloned sheep at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, has died at the age of 79. The team used a cell from the mammary gland of a dead adult sheep to create a living animal that was genetically identical to the donor. The work laid the foundations for stem cell research, a technology which aims to cure many of the diseases of ageing by enabling the body to regenerate damaged tissue.

All week we're picking out the stories from top-fruit farming - that's apples, pears, plums and cherries. One fruit grower in Kent says he is giving away all his crop to charity, because he says he can’t make any money selling it.

The Canary Islands have banned imports of UK seed and eating potatoes to their Islands after Colorado beetles were found in potatoes in Kent and Hampshire in July. Each year, the UK exports 50 thousand tonnes of potatoes to Spain, and the Canary Islands are the fourth largest export market for seed potatoes from Scotland. The government's Animal and Plant Health Agency says the Spanish National Plant Protection Organisation has agreed to import potatoes again under new criteria and the APHA is discussing this with the sector.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qj2c)
Roseate Tern

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

Brett Westwood presents the Roseate Tern. One of the rarest of the UK's breeding seabirds, the Roseate Tern is exquisitely graceful. Roseate means flushed with pink and seen close this bird does have a faint pinkish wash on its chest in summer, but from a distance, it's the brilliant-white freshly-laundered look of its back and wings that distinguishes a Roseate Tern from its greyer relatives, the Common and Arctic Terns.


TUE 06:00 Today (m001qdlb)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m001qdln)
Paul Murdin on the first ever identification of a black hole

Astronomer Paul Murdin believes a good imagination is vital for scientists, since they're so often dealing with subjects outside the visible realm.

Indeed, over a long and successful career his imagination has taken him on a journey through space, discovering various new and unusual celestial occurrences - notably the first successful identification of a black hole, Cygnus X-1.

Paul tells Jim Al-Khalili how he spent much of his career at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, working with astronomers around the world on some of the most advanced telescopes ever built. He headed up the Astronomy section of the UK’s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, was Director of Science for the British National Space Centre and even has an asteroid named after him.

This list of achievements is testament to the fact that Paul has never let his disability hold him back; a leg brace and walking sticks have been part of his life since contracting polio in childhood. But he maintains that as long as you have curiosity and a vibrant imagination, nothing should stand in your way.

Produced by Lucy Taylor.


TUE 09:30 One to One (m001qdlv)
Nikki Bedi and Lauren Zalaznick

'The Real Housewives...' is a reality TV series that follows groups of successful glamorous women as they go about their daily lives. The series began in Orange County in 2006 but quickly spread to other cities in the USA and even further afield, and radio and TV presenter Nikki Bedi absolutely loves them. She is drawn in by the drama of these women as they navigate work and relationships, friendships and family,

For this first programme Nikki speaks to Lauren Zalaznick, a former TV executive who helped devise and develop many of the early series.

Lauren and Nikki discuss how the women are chosen, what factors shape what we want to see on our screens, just how 'real' these Real Housewives are, and why some of the criticism aimed at the series is anti-woman.

Presenter: Nikki Bedi
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Toby Field


TUE 09:45 Adam Smith: What He Thought and Why It Matters by Jesse Norman (m001qdm0)
Episode 2

On the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, author Jesse Norman explores his life and captures the febrile surroundings of Enlightenment Edinburgh. Considering Smith’s legacy, he dispels the myths and debunks the caricatures that have grown around the economist in the centuries since he first presented his ideas.

In 1746 Smith returns home from Oxford inspired by dazzling and subversive texts - such as Hume’s ‘Treatise of Human Nature’ - to reflect on human nature and wider society.

Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Robin Laing
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Jesse Norman is the Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire and Minister of State in the Department for Transport. Previous publications include a celebrated study of Edmund Burke, and his debut novel The Winding Stair, a historical thriller set in the Elizabethan court, was published in the summer.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001qdm4)
Dr Shazia Malik, Charlotte Regan, Female surgeons, Poison pen letters, The Knock special series

They say current disparities in women’s health across England mean there are far too many cases where women’s voices are not being heard. But the decision to only speak to women up to the age of 55 has provoked a backlash. Nuala McGovern is joined by consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Shazia Malik, a sub-specialist in reproductive medicine.

The film Scrapper follows 12-year-old Georgie living happily alone in a council house in London following the death of her mum. But when her absent father Jason turns up out of the blue, her world is disrupted. We talk to director Charlotte Regan about her debut feature film who says she wanted to show British working class life as something that can be joyful and fun.

A new survey shows that nearly a third of female NHS surgeons have been sexually assaulted by a colleague over the past five years. Nuala speak to Tamzin Cuming, a consultant surgeon and chair of the Women in Surgery forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, who says it’s a #MeToo moment for surgery.

Before the age of social media, there was still plenty of trolling in written form. Emily Cockayne, author of the new book Penning Poison, joins Nuala to discuss her research into the history of poison pen letters; that is, messages sent anonymously, seemingly with the intention to unsettle the recipient. Emily has traced the stories of such missives to all corners of English society from 1760 to 1939.

We start our new series 'The Knock' which details the stories of two women whose lives were changed when they were told that a loved one had been arrested for sexual offences against children.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Studio Manager: Tim Heffer
Reporter Jo Morris


TUE 11:00 The Archbishop Interviews (m001n8dv)
Nick Cave

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 songwriter, poet and author, Nick Cave.

Producer: Dan Tierney.


TUE 11:30 Three Faces of WH Auden (m001qdmc)
Episode 1

It starts with that face - a wedding cake left out in the rain, as he himself described it. WH Auden was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most recognisable poets of the Twentieth Century, and one of the things that made him stand out was the strength of his work across different subjects. Most poets would be thrilled to be remembered for their love poetry, their metaphysical poetry, or their political poetry - Auden was an exceptional exponent of all three.

In this new three-part series marking 50 years since Auden’s death, Michael Symmons Roberts sets out to consider those three different aspects of Auden’s massive body of work, beginning with a look at the political poet who in his early years was perhaps the leading voice of the British cultural left.

As a young man in the 1930s Auden wrote powerful works such as ‘Spain’ that served as an ideological call to arms. Going on to witness the reality of battle in both Spain and China, he distanced himself from such poems and from the very idea that verse could make any practical political difference at all - “for poetry makes nothing happen” as he wrote in his elegy to W.B. Yeats.

Michael travels to Austria, where Auden spent his summers for the last fifteen years of his life and hears how the older poet remained politically active through helping writers in the Communist bloc in spite of this aversion to directly engaged verse. He also looks at those great poems of Auden’s later career, including ‘The Fall of Rome’, that offer a more mythological reading of political events than the works of the 1930s that made him such a dominant figure in the cultural landscape.

Contributors include Alan Bennett, Katherine Bucknell, Carl Phillips, Zaffar Kunial, Timo Frühwirth, Sandra Mayer.

Producer: Geoff Bird

Poems referenced in this episode include:

As I Walked Out One Evening
Spain
September 1st 1939
The Shield Of Achilles
The Fall Of Rome
Night Mail
Funeral Blues

All published by Faber & Faber


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001qdn2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001qdnn)
Call You and Yours: The cost of vets.

Call You & Yours wants to hear from listeners about the cost of taking a pet to the vet.

The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating vets' charges and want the public to get in touch.

And we want to hear from you too .

When you took your pet to the vet, did you get a good service; was it value for money; were charges clear? If you are a vet tell us what you think.

Email us at youandyours@bbc.co.uk and leave us a phone number where we can call you back or after 11am on Tuesday call us on 03700 100 444.

PRESENTER: RIMA AHMED

PRODUCER: KEVIN MOUSLEY


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001qdp7)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001qdpp)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 Intrigue (m001qdq3)
The Immortals - Ep 7: Vitalik

Vitalek Buterin is the billionaire founder of Ethereum, one of the most successful blockchains and cryptocurrencies in the world. With his fortune, he is attempting to solve the problem of death by creating a longevity state - which will fast track life everlasting, without the need for regulation.

They will crowdsource their longevity solutions and organise them through the blockchain. His north star is the Fable of the Dragon Tyrant.

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 (m001qdqh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 This Thing of Darkness (p0b22s80)
Series 2

Part 5

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 5 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. She also runs a trauma therapy group.

When her professional worlds come dangerously close, Alex is faced with a dilemma: what if the only way to protect someone from harm is to betray their trust?

Dark secrets are revealed as Sarah and Paul’s lives collide. And the lies we tell our loved ones to get their attention are exposed as the Lotus Group continue to work through their various traumas.

Alex … Lolita Chakrabarti
Ros ….. Lois Chimimba
Sarah ….. Melody Grove
Paul ….. Robert Jack
Dawn ….. Neshla Caplan
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 Kirsty Williams and Gaynor Macfarlane

A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001qd8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m001qdqw)
BBC National Short Story Award 2023

Guests by Cherise Saywell

Natalie is a young Australian woman, carefree and adrift. A mother, Bilen is a similarly young Eritrean woman, less carefree and adrift in a different way. The two neighbours live in close physical proximity, kept apart by a contested swimming pool. They are brought together by a shared coffee ceremony, but wider tensions percolate underneath the surface…

Reader: Nahel Tzegai has starred in Miracle Workers, The Swimmers and Cold Storage (forthcoming). Most recently she appeared at the National Theatre in Grenfell: in the words of survivors.

Writer: Cherise Saywell is author of two novels, Desert Fish and Twitcher. Her short stories have previously won the Pindrop, Mslexia and V.S. Pritchett prizes She currently works for the Royal Literary Fund's Bridge Project and lives in Edinburgh.

Producer: Ciaran Bermingham


TUE 16:00 Moving Pictures (m001f4tq)
The Campo Santo, Venice by Turner

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.

This episode takes a closer look at a masterpiece in the collection of The Toledo Museum of Art. In The Campo Santo, Venice, JMW Turner gives us a warm day on the Venetian lagoon, where fishing boats bob and the city shimmers in the sun's glare. It's beautiful - somehow lit from within - and full of rewarding details, from a mysterious gondola passenger to Turner's ridiculously audacious, playful use of paint.

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 Campo Santo, Venice.

Interviewees: Ian Warrell, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper, Franny Moyle, Christine Riding and Larry Nichols.

Producer and Presenter: Cathy FitzGerald

Executive Producer: Sarah Cuddon
Mix Engineer: Mike Woolley
Art History Consultants: Leah Kharibian and Robert Schindler

A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4

Picture credit: J.M.W. Turner, The Campo Santo, Venice detail, 1842, Toledo Museum of Art, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1926.63


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m001qdr8)
Lady Eve Balfour

An aristocrat in an eye patch, a jazz saxophonist, a crime novelist and a pioneering organic farmer.

Lady Eve Balfour was born in 1898 into the political elite - her uncle was A J Balfour, who was Prime Minister from 1902-05. But from the age of 12 she wanted to be a farmer and, after studying at agricultural college, made her dream a reality.

She started experimenting with organic farming, and eventually published a book called The Living Soil, which lead to her founding the organic farming body, the Soil Association. Seen as somewhat of a crank, she faced opposition from fellow farmers and politicians alike.

Meanwhile, her personal life was as fascinating as her agricultural life. She lived in a run-down farmhouse with her female partner, played saxophone in a jazz band and co-authored a series of best-selling crime novels.

Presenter, Matthew Parris, is joined by former Director of the Soil Association, Patrick Holden, and Sarah Langford, a farmer and author who claims a "borderline obsession" with Lady Eve.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons


TUE 17:00 PM (m001qdrm)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001qds5)
But figures from the Office for National Statistics show the rate of unemployment rose


TUE 18:30 Suggs: Love Letters to London (m000570j)
Soho

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

Soho is, and always has been, a haven for society’s misfits and non-conformists. But like most parts of London, Soho doesn’t sit still – it’s always changing and shifting.
But there are constants – its multiculturalism. It’s multi-racial, stylish and tolerant.

At its heart, Soho is still a place where you can be free from judgement. Join Suggs, with special guest Paul Weller, as they sing, chat and joke about Soho.

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


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001qdsj)
As they score their sheep, Ruth asks David if he thinks Pip’s OK. She’s noticed she’s a bit on edge. David puts Pip’s behaviour down to just being busy. Ruth wonders if Pip has had a row with the woman she’s involved with. Later, after thinking back to Friday at the pub, Ruth wonders if Pip’s new girlfriend is Stella. David isn’t convinced and suggests that Stella is simply supporting Pip. They wonder instead if it could be a mum Pip has met at the school gates.
Natasha outlines her and Tom’s proposal for the Tearoom. In order to cash in on Grey Gables making Ambridge more of a destination she thinks it needs to be more aspirational. When Helen’s hesitant about chasing confirmation of Grey Gables using Bridge Farm cheese, Natasha tells her she shouldn’t feel like she’s hassling – it’s just business. Natasha suggests that Fallon and Emma both become Bridge Farm employees rather being independent. Natasha’s confident she can break this news to Fallon.
Helen and Pat mull over Natasha’s proposal. Pat understands that change has to happen to not get stuck in the past. Helen doesn’t think Fallon will be happy about it but first they need to know if the proposal is realistic. Pat asks about Helen’s GP appointment. Helen says she plans to cancel it as her usual GP is away and she thinks Pat and Lee are enough support for her. Pat pleads for Helen to get professional help and Helen agrees to go the appointment on Friday.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001qdsw)
The impact of the Hollywood strikes, author K Patrick, the iconic chant from the Halo video game

Front Row looks at the impact of the Hollywood strikes. Film critic Leila Latif, Equity UK’s Secretary General Paul Fleming, and Lisa Holdsworth, screenwriter and Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain explain the impact and the knock on effect on UK film and TV.

The theme to the video game Halo has become one of the best known pieces of game music ever released. Earlier this year fans from around the world were invited to join a virtual choir of thousands to sing the iconic chant. The BBC's Will Chalk signed up to take part.

Author K Patrick, talks about their short story, It’s Me, which has been nominated for this year’s BBC National Short Story Award.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Julian May

Hollywood Strikes 01:09
Halo Chant 19:56
K Patrick 34:16


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001qdt6)
The Dark Side of Ballet

Hayley Hassall investigates accusations of bullying and body-shaming at some of the UK’s elite ballet schools. File on 4 and Panorama have spoken to more than 50 ex-students of the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School who attended between 2004 and 2022. Many described developing eating disorders, while some said they had been left with mental health problems. One retired ballerina File on 4 has spoken to has begun legal action against the Royal Ballet School for the treatment she says she suffered there. The two ballet schools dispute the accounts given to the BBC and say they are working hard to change the culture, and put health and wellbeing at the forefront of their priorities

Reporter: Hayley Hassall
Producer: Paul Grant
Editors: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001qdtj)
Guide Dogs Q&A

We are hosting a question and answer session with the charity Guide Dogs. Many of you have been sending us your very considered questions and concerns about various aspects of how the organisation operates; including waiting lists, training methods, eligibility for new and replacement guide dogs and more. Answering these questions is Pete Osborne, who is is Guide Dogs' Chief Operations Officer.

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 a lighter blue.


TUE 21:00 Is Psychiatry Working? (m001qdtv)
Live from Hay Festival

This is a special edition of the series - Is Psychiatry Working - from The Hay Festival. Presented by writer Horatio Clare and psychiatrist Femi Oyebode and featuring special guest Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist and writer, Dr Chloe Beale.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m001qdln)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001qdv5)
Thousands feared dead in Libya floods

Thousands may have died after storm waters swept through parts of north eastern Libya. We hear from those caught up in the deluge.

Also on the programme:

The Government is reportedly poised to ban single-use vapes. We hear about their impact on one family - from the father of two teenage daughters who've become addicted to e-cigarettes.

And the man who identified a stolen Van Gogh painting when it resufaced in an IKEA bag.


TUE 22:45 The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson (m001qdvj)
Episode 7

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 (m001qdvx)
Episode 4: Race

After a night of riots in Sam’s home town, Pie makes a stupid remark and Sam takes umbrage. Pie takes to the airwaves to prove his non-racist credentials, but ends up looking like a slice of Gammon on the side of the road. Sam and Pie make up and soon Jules is thinking that she herself might be a bit racist because she didn’t like a film that Sam likes. It's all gets a bit silly really.

Jonathan Pie ..... Tom Walker

Jules ..... Lucy Pearman

Sam ..... Aqib Khan

Roger ..... Nick Revell

Agent ..... Daniel Abelson

Voiceovers ..... Bob Sinfield and Rob Curling


Callers ... Cole Anderson-James, Ellie Dobing, Sarah Gabriel, Ed Kear, Hope Leslie, Thanyia Moore and Jonathan Tafler


Writer ..... Tom Walker

Script Editor ..... Nick Revell
Additional Material ..... Daniel Abelson

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 (m001qdwb)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament