SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2023

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001smwd)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 The Race to the Future: The Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St Clair (m001smwg)
Episode 5

Ostensibly about the world’s first car race, but really about the world at this decisive turning point at the beginning of the 20th century, this amazing tale is packed with fascinating characters while charting pan-continental technological progress.
 
More than its many adventures, the Peking to Paris race provided the impetus for profound change. The world of 1907 is poised between the old and the new: communist regimes will replace imperial ones in China and Russia; the telegraph is transforming modern communication and the car will soon displace the horse.

Author Kassia St Clair traces the fascinating stories of two interlocking races - setting the derring-do (and sometimes cheating) of one of the world's first car races against the backdrop of a larger geopolitical and technological rush to the future, as the rivalry grows between countries and empires, building up to the cataclysmic event that changed everything - the First World War.

Written by Kassia St Clair
Abridged by Polly Coles
Read by Adjoa Andoh

Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001smwj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001smwl)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001smwn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001smwq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001smws)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Quaker and writer, Alastair McIntosh.


SAT 05:45 Taking Issue with Shakespeare (m001l2j7)
Episode 5

Major public figures, in conversation with Professor Emma Smith, explore whether Shakespeare might help us resolve some challenging contemporary issues.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, talks about the fundamental sense of a shared humanity which King Lear’s suffering brings to him in this greatest of tragedies, set in a pagan world.

Emma, in turn, points out that the mockery of Malvolio’s aspirational attempts at social climbing in Twelfth Night, a play set in a world closer to that of Shakespeare himself, suggests that achieving the levelling up agenda may be harder than expected.

In spite of frequent claims that Shakespeare is a small-l liberal, Michael Gove makes a compelling case for Shakespeare as a small-c conservative.

With contributions from Professor Paul Prescott

Producer: Beaty Rubens
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001sth7)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001smnp)
Shaky Toun

The Highland Boundary Fault runs diagonally across Scotland, dividing the Highlands from the Lowlands. In this programme, Helen Mark finds out what impacts this geological feature has had on the landscape around it. She visits Comrie, which at one time had more earth tremors than anywhere else in the UK, earning it the nickname "Shaky Toun". On a tour of the Earthquake House - one of the smallest listed buildings in Europe and the first purpose-built seismological monitoring station in the world - she learns how earthquakes were measured and recorded in the 19th century and how technology has moved on since then.

The geology hasn't only affected the landscape, but also the wildlife within it. The Highland Boundary Fault is the frontline in the battle between red and grey squirrels in Scotland. South of the fault, greys have largely ousted the reds - but the area north of the line, with its more rocky and mountainous habitats, is still a haven for native reds. This is partly because of control work carried out by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, who trap and kill grey squirrels north of the line, to try and protect the population of reds. At the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve near Dunkeld Helen joins a red squirrel walk, hoping to catch a glimpse of this endangered species in the trees.

Further west at Conic Hill, Helen meets a geologist who explains how the Highland Boundary Fault was formed 400 million years ago and how it still has lasting cultural, agricultural and even linguistic effects today.

Produced by Emma Campbell


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001sth9)
25/11/23 Farming Today This Week: Regenerative farming

Regenerative agriculture is seen by some as the future of farming; we discuss the hope and the hype. Joining the discussion are regen Shropshire farmer Michael Kavanaugh, part of the Green Farm Collective which recently won the Farming for the Future category at the BBC Food and Farming Awards; Helen Browning, an organic farmer in Wiltshire and Chief Executive of the Soil Association which champions organic farming; and Professor Mario Caccamo, CEO and Director of NIAB, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, which describes itself as the UK’s fastest growing crop science organisation.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001sthc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001sthf)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001sthh)
Dan Snow, Marchelle Farrell, Rob Bugden, Adam Henson

Dan Snow, history conduit, broadcaster, podcaster and bestselling author grew up with two posters on his bedroom wall...one was of Kylie Minogue - the other was of the Duke of Wellington defeating Napoleon at Waterloo.

Corporal Rob Bugden is a former RAF parachute instructor whose career ended in an aerial collision which left him with life changing injuries. He now teaches the importance of resilience.

Psychiatrist, psychotherapist and gardener Marchelle Farrell has moved from the beaches and emerald hills of Trinidad to a country garden in Somerset - and her award-winning memoir, Uprooting, connects our external landscapes to the way we feel about ourselves

Plus, he moo-ves like Jagger - we have the Inheritance Tracks of farmer and broadcaster Adam Henson.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny (m001sthk)
Natalie Haynes: Paestum, Italy

Shaun is offered the chance to holiday with Hera and Athena in the ancient Greek city of Paestum, in southern Italy.

Will classicist Natalie Haynes be able to tempt him there with the promise of vast and beautifully preserved temples, chirping cicadas and delicious Italian carbohydrates? Resident geographer, historian and comedian Iszi Lawrence assures him there will also be plenty of opportunities to impersonate Russell Crowe.

Your Place Or Mine is the travel series that isn’t going anywhere. Join Shaun as his guests try to convince him that it’s worth getting up off the sofa and seeing the world, giving us a personal guide to their favourite place on the planet.

Producers: Beth O'Dea and Sarah Goodman

Your Place or Mine is a BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001sthm)
Series 42

Lewisham

Jay Rayner and his panel of food fanatics are in Lewisham, south east London for this week’s episode.

Joining Jay are food writers Tim Anderson, Melek Erdal and Melissa Thompson, and materials expert Dr Zoe Laughlin. In Lewisham’s Prendergast School, the panel discusses a variety of culinary conundrums, from cooking with coffee to the many uses of banana leaves. The panellists also ponder their desert island dish of choice, and their tips and tricks for cooking for one.

Jay chats to Sri Lankan chef and founder of Little Sambol supper club, Gabriella Suresh, about the ins and outs of Sri Lankan lamprais. He also invites Vietnamese food writer, Uyen Luu, to talk about the surprising link between Vietnamese coffee and cats.

Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock
Executive Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m001sthp)
Ben Riley-Smith and guests look back on a week in which the general election battle lines became clearer. Did the Chancellor's Autumn Statement give with one hand to take away with another? Are the UK's net migration figures unsustainably high? How are the main parties selecting candidates for the next election? And what's the point of state visits?

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001sthr)
Crime and Punishment in Putin's Russia

Kate Adie presents stories from Russia, the US, Argentina, Iraq and Iceland.

In the wake of President Putin's invasion of Ukraine, repressive laws were passed which effectively criminalise all anti-war activism. The recent trial of artist Sasha Skochilenko underscored the heavy-handed enforcement of these laws, as well as the inconsistent way in which justice is applied in Russia. Steve Rosenberg was in St Petersburg.

Democratic and Republican states are introducing radically different laws on issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to the teaching of black history. As a result, people on either side of the political divide are on the move – as they flee from one state to another more aligned with their politics. Lucy Proctor was in Chicago and Miami.

Argentina has elected far-right outsider Javier Milei as President, bringing an end to an era that has largely been dominated by left-leaning ‘Peronist’ parties. Mr Milei has pledged big spending cuts and low taxes alongside other more radical policies. Natalio Cosoy was in Buenos Aires to find out why voters backed Mr Milei.

While armed violence in Iraq has ebbed in recent years, hundreds of people are still dying in accidents caused by poorly enforced safety standards as the country struggles to recover from years of war. For Iraqis who have lived through decades of conflict, these incidents represent another awful failure, says Lizzie Porter.

In Iceland, residents of the fishing town of Grindavik have all been evacuated owing to warnings of an imminent volcanic eruption. Jessica Parker met locals recovering their belongings and saw the impact of the recent earthquakes first hand.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001stht)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001sthw)
Tax Cuts, Housing Costs and Paying at the Pump

We'll take a closer look at what the Autumn Statement means for your personal finances. On Wednesday the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, made announcements about tax, pensions and benefits. With his top takeaways, Paul Lewis talks tax cuts and the unfreezing of the local housing allowance.

A listener went into a filling station to put just enough petrol in her car to leave her enough money to buy food for the family dinner. Then, the petrol station ringfenced the cost of a full tank and although she spent a fraction of that, the rest was not released for two days. Why did that happen and what can she do?

And the new global report from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners which says reports of financial abuse of vulnerable clients is increasing.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Sandra Hardial
Researcher: Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast, 12noon Saturday 25th November 2023)


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (m001smvr)
Series 63

Episode 4

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches. They're joined by Ria Lina looking into changes in the NHS, Fin Taylor on the royals, and with an original song from Ed MacArthur.

The show was written by the cast with additional material from Rachel E Thorn, Aidan Fitzmaurice, Joe Bates and Cody Dahler.

Voice Actors: Joz Norris and Gemma Arrowsmith.

Producer: Rajiv Karia
Production Coordinator: Katie Baum

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001stj1)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001stj5)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001smvy)
Guto Harri, Nigel Huddleston MP, Delyth Jewell MS, Jo Stevens MP

Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon with the former Director of Communications at Downing Street Guto Harri, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Nigel Huddleston MP, Plaid Cymru's Delyth Jewell MS and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens MP.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001stjc)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week


SAT 14:45 The Planet Earth Podcast (m001stjp)
5. Tricks of the Trade

How have high-tech drones, digital cameras and slow-motion technology changed the way the Planet Earth team films the natural world? Mike Gunton speaks to Innovation Producer Colin Jackson about finding the right equipment for the right story, and filmmaker Theo Webb describes the difficulty of drone-flying in a cave system. Sir David Attenborough also reminisces about technology changes over the course of his own career.


SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000cpwq)
Spike Milligan - Puckoon

A madcap satire on the division of Ireland, by the godfather of British comedy, Spike Milligan.

Starring Ed Byrne, Pauline McLynn, Kate Harbour, Jane Milligan and featuring Barry Cryer as "The Author". Adapted from Spike Milligan's classic comic novel by Ian Billings.

Published in 1963, Puckoon became a publishing phenomenon, has never been out of print and has sold more than 6million copies. It's a satire on the futility of national borders and inadequacy of bureaucrats, filled with wonderful one-liners and madcap scenes which fall into one another, and remind us of the author’s great days writing the Goons.

In 1924, the Boundary Commission is tasked with creating the new official division between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Through incompetence, dereliction of duty and sheer perversity, the border ends up running through the middle of the small town of Puckoon.

Houses are divided from outhouses, husbands separated from wives, bars are cut off from their patrons, churches sundered from graveyards. And in the middle of it all is poor Dan Milligan, our feckless protagonist (played by Ed Byrne), who is taunted and manipulated by everyone to try and make some sense of this mess.

The division of the church from its cemetery makes it difficult for the Irish residents to bury their dead. "You intend to bury an Irish citizen in what is now British territory? He will require the following: an Irish passport stamped with a visa, to be renewed annually for the rest of his stay." The corpse of Dan Doonan is taken to a photographer to get his picture taken, as part of the formalities of getting his passport renewed.

Spike Milligan was one of the greatest and most influential comic writers and performers of the 20th century, with deep connections to the BBC. Born in India in 1918, he served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War in North Africa and Italy. At the end of the war, he forged a career as a jazz musician, sketch-show writer and performer, before joining forces with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe to form the legendary Goon Show. Until his death in 2002, he had success on stage and screen and as the author of over eighty books of fiction, memoir, poetry, plays, cartoons and children's stories.

Cast:
Ed Byrne
Barry Cryer
Pauline McLynn
Kate Harbour
Jane Milligan
Wilf Scolding
David Shaw-Parker
Colm Gleeson
Tom Alexander

Adapted by Ian Billings
Director: Dirk Maggs
Producer: David Morley

A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001stk2)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Sharon Osbourne, Jodie Whittaker and Outgoing Chief Inspectorate of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman

For more than two decades, Sharon Osbourne has been a regular feature on our screens. She came to prominence while appearing with her husband Ozzy on The Osbournes - a reality television show on MTV, which followed the family's daily life. She later became a talent show judge on television programmes such as the X Factor and America's Got Talent. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her forthcoming theatre show - Sharon Osbourne - Cut The Crap!

Actor Jodie Whittaker joins Woman’s Hour to talk about her role in a new Australian six part drama called One Night. Shot in New South Wales the story unfolds around three women from a coastal community whose reunion after many years apart is intensified by the publishing of a novel based on their lives. She joins Emma to discuss some of her other hard hitting roles post Doctor Who.

Amanda Spielman is coming to the end of an unprecedented seven year tenure at the helm of Ofsted. This year the organisation has come under intense scrutiny over its inspection regime and in particular the use of single-phrase judgments of schools, and the potential mental health impacts of those on school leaders and teachers. During the week Ofsted’s annual report is released, Amanda Spielman joins Emma for her only BBC interview.

Another Body is an award-winning documentary which follows US engineering student, 'Taylor', in her search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online. Ahead of its release in the UK, one of the documentary's directors, Sophie Compton joins Emma to discuss why she decided to make this documentary, what she found and why she used deepfake technology herself to anonymise the identities of the protagonists.

Coaching for sonographers, the professionals carrying out the scans, on how to deliver unexpected and potentially devastating pregnancy news has been successfully tested in new research from the University of Leeds. Emma speaks to the lead researcher, Dr Judith Johnson, and also Karen, who says she was left with PTSD after receiving unexpected news about the health of her baby during a scan.


SAT 17:00 PM (m001stkl)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m001stl0)
The Ben Wallace 2023 One

The former Defence Secretary opens up about the impact of high-pressure government jobs on family relations and tells the behind-the-scenes story of the lead-up to the Ukraine War and his take on the “poison” in British politics.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001stlk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001stlz)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001stmh)
Hamas' armed wing accuses Israel of failing to comply with ceasefire deal. Russia targets Kyiv in what Ukrainians say was the biggest drone attack of the war so far.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001stmz)
Madness, Daisy Haggard, Karen Gibson, Charlie Stemp, Soft Lad, Athena Kugblenu, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Athena Kugblenu are joined by Madness, Daisy Haggard, Karen Gibson and Charlie Stemp for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Madness and Soft Lad.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m001stnh)
Javier Milei

The new President of Argentina, Javier Milei swept into power winning fifty-five percent of the popular vote. He's threatened to take a chainsaw to the economy, replace the peso with the dollar and blow up the Central Bank.

With looks more reminiscent of a seventies rock star, will this unconventional economist be able to solve the hyperinflation that is crippling Argentina's economy once more. Or will his lack of experience and support in government cause this self-professed anarcho-capitalist to have to change tack?

Contributors
Juan Luis González, author, El Loco.
Lilia Lemoine, Vice president of the Libertarian Party in Argentina.
Ana Lankes, Latin America Correspondent, The Economist.
Ezequiel Gonzalez-Ocantos, Professor of Comparative and Judicial Politics, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford.


Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Diane Richardson, Julie Ball
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Bridget Harney


SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0gr7lx0)
Series 28

How I is AI?

Brian and Robin (the real ones) are joined by mathematician Prof Hannah Fry, compute scientist Dr Kate Devlin and comedian Rufus Hound to discuss the pros and cons of AI. Just how intelligent is the most intelligent AI? Will our phones soon be smarter than us – will we fail a Turing test while our phone passes it? Will we have AI therapists, doctors, lawyers, carers or even politicians? How will the increasing ubiquity of AI systems change our society and our relationships with each other? Could radio presenters of hit science/comedy shows soon be replaced with wittier, smarter AI versions that know more about particle physics... surely not!

New episodes released Wednesdays. If you're in the UK, listen to the newest episodes of The Infinite Monkey Cage first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF


Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m001stp9)
Speaking to the People

Cody Keenan wrote speeches with Barack Obama for fourteen years, including four years as Chief of Speechwriting at the White House. Now, along with a panel of expert scholars and fellow speechwriters, he's looking back over a century of broadcast presidential speeches.

On 6th December 1923, President Calvin Coolidge delivered an annual speech to congress that would come to be known as the 'State of the Union' address. The speech was broadcast across the country by radio, and the New York Times reported that Coolidge was ‘heard by more people than the voice of any man in history.’

Cody and his guests look into the story behind some of the most influential speeches in American history, what techniques are at play, what they tell us about the times they were delivered and the men who delivered them.

He's joined by Cara Finnegan, Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois, Dr Allison Prasch, a specialist in presidential rhetoric and foreign policy at the University of Wisconsin and Sara Peri, also a former speechwriter for Barack Obama.

Their selections include the inspiring, the revealing and the surprising. From Franklin Delano Roosevelts intimate Fireside Chats to John F Kennedy rallying the public around the new frontier of space, Dwight D Eisenhower warnings about a 'military industrial complex' to George W Bush making the case for action after 9/11. Cody and Sarada will share stories from their time in the White House and what it's like to write for a president. The panel will also look at speeches from our own era and what they think the future of presidential rhetoric might be.

Produced by Sam Peach


SAT 21:00 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000w335)
Series 6

Episode 7

It's now 2007 and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

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

In this final series, taking us to 2008, Joseph Olinska gets ever more involved in New Labour, while Brian Oldman becomes a vegan and studies law in jail in a bid to win justice for himself. Tony Wednesday continues to work behind the scenes for Sir Joseph at the same time as moving ever further up the ranks of the police force.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's the tale of a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th and 21st century greed, as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Whose fortunes will prosper? Who will get their just deserts?

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His first wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending Lord Goodman, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. Joseph now helps New Labour with their finances, while continuing to invest heavily in Russia, the US and a pharmaceutical company specialising in cancer drugs.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

Cast

Lord Olinska - Toby Jones
Brian - Joe Armstrong
Tony Wednesday - Alec Newman
Sonia Hope - Sarah Lambie
Dr Jordan - Nigel Cooke
Margaret - Flora Montgomery
Catherine - Isabella Urbanowicz
DCS Redvers - Arty Froushan
PO Rogers / Menachem Hyak - Paul Kemp
EXO Avedlund - Nigel Pivaro
Mrs Jinks - Suzan Sylvester
FBI Agent Pyke - Will Meredith
DAC Henderson - NicholasMurchie
Mr Kumar - Akbar Kurtha

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


SAT 21:45 The Skewer (m001slwg)
Series 10

Episode 7

Fresh from winning Gold for Best Comedy at the British Podcast Awards (and Highly Commended as Podcast of the Year), Jon Holmes's comedy current affairs concept album returns for its 10th series to remix the news into satirical shapes.

This week - Napoleon Braverman, the Time Team help the Israeli Defence Force dig for tunnels, and the BBC Autumnwatch team set up their cameras for Jeremy Hunt's statement.

Creator / Producer: Jon Holmes

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News (m001stpt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Add to Playlist (m001smvw)
Debbie Wiseman, Rhodri Marsden and Lang Lang enjoy a Beethoven classic

Composer Debbie Wiseman and the writer and multi-instrumentalist Rhodri Marsden join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add five more tracks, taking us from a Drifters' classic hit to one of Beethoven's most famous compositions.

For Add to Playlist, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang reflects on playing Beethoven, and percussionist Ruairi Glasheen is on hand to talk us through the finer elements of the popular instrument, the güiro.

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

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters
Für Elise: Bagatelle No 25 in A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Tchintchirote by Cesária Évora
Golden Birdies by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian

Other music in this episode:

Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Oye Como Va by Eliane Elias
Butt music from Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights
Supersonic by Oasis
Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing by Stevie Wonder
Hands Up by Cherry Bullet


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m001slmx)
Semi-Final 3, 2023

(15/17)
Another four contenders take a step closer to being named the 70th BBC Brain of Britain, as Russell Davies chairs the third semi-final at the Radio Theatre in London. To win through to the Final they'll have to know about Broadway musicals and medieval poetry, British wildlife and professional darts, the structure of the brain and the history of radio comedy. Not much to get your head around...

Taking part are:
Eleanor Ayres from Cambridge
Sue Brearley from South London
Jason Butler from Sittingbourne in Kent
John Esling from Suffolk.

A listener also stands to win a prize by suggesting questions that might outwit the panel's collective brainpower, in 'Beat the Brains'.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Uncanny (m001stq8)
Series 3

S3. Case 5: Double Trouble

An Uncanny double bill, featuring two cases that will chill and perplex. The first features a bizarre, impossible experience on a family day out in Newcastle, the second, a life-changing moment for an unwell woman in Coventry.

Written and presented by Danny Robins
Editing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme music by Lanterns on the Lake
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard

A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4

SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2023

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001stqm)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Doctor Who: The Wilderness Years (m001sljn)
In December 1989 - after 26 years on TV, 694 episodes and seven different Doctors - Doctor Who, the longest running series in the history of British television, was quietly exterminated by the BBC. It remained off air for 16 years until the series was revived in 2005, quite spectacularly under the auspices of Russell T Davies with Christopher Eccleston as the Time Lord.

But the period between 1989 and 2005 was a very special interregnum. Known as the Wilderness Years, they belonged to the true keepers of the flame, Doctor Who fans - and never had a wilderness proved so fertile.

Fans had campaigned to stop the show being cancelled by BBC1 controller Michael Grade as early as 1985, when it was first in peril. There was a song, Doctor in Distress, featuring Bobby G from Bucks Fizz and sponsored by The Sun, winning the show another four years of life. But, by the late 1980s, it had fallen from the heights of its 1970s popularity with Jon Pertwee and then Tom Baker playing the Time Lord. Ratings had been falling steadily and, for many viewers, the writing was becoming more improbable, culminating in a monster made of liquorice allsorts. It was widely felt the programme was unloved by the BBC.

Doctor Who’s cancellation was monumentally traumatic for fans of the show. But this was no ordinary show, and Doctor Who fans are not ordinary fans. After the initial waves of disbelief and protest against the decision died down, a kind of creative and moral transfer of ownership took place - as one more militant Whovian put it, ‘If the BBC wouldn’t make Doctor Who… we would. We were not going to let it die’. Never give up, never give in.

What followed was an incredible period of invention, imagination, pathos, delusion, devotion and wish-fulfilment; a genuinely strange - but critical - period in Doctor Who’s history. There were new adventures in books published by Virgin, new video and audio from Big Finish, animation and computer games, even experiments in theatre. There were magazines and bulletins, fan-made documentaries, a proliferation of Doctor Who conventions and even a canonical 1996 TV movie pilot with a new Doctor, played by Paul McGann. Far from being a ‘wilderness’, this intensely creative period became a bridge between the original series and its 21st century comeback, the momentum behind the Doctor's triumphant return.

Writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet tells the story of the longest hiatus in one of TV's longest running series and the extraordinary willpower of a community who could not - would not - allow the flame to die. We hear from the writers and actors from multiple eras of the show, editors and architects of the 'Wilderness Years' - and also from the agitators, the fans who financed their own audio and video adventures of the Doctor, his companions and the TARDIS.

Rich with archive, this feature explores the love, pathos, occasionally unhinged devotion, creative endeavour and bloody-minded determination that made the 'Wilderness Years' some of the most inventive in Doctor Who's 60-year history.

Contributors include Paul McGann, Mark Gatiss, Sophie Aldred, Nick Briggs, Sylvester McCoy, Michael Grade, Graham Kibble-White, Paul Cornell, Ian Levine and Karen Davies.

Presenter: Matthew Sweet
Producer: Simon Hollis

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4

Image features Eighth Doctor Paul McGann with presenter Matthew Sweet

Clips from 'The Zero Imperative' and 'More than a Messiah' courtesy BBV productions.co.uk


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001str0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001strc)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001strt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001sts6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001stsn)
St. Leonard's Church in Streatham, Greater London

Bells on Sunday comes from St. Leonard's Church in Streatham, Greater London. Dating from about 1350, St Leonard's tower is the oldest structure in Streatham. An inventory compiled in 1547 listed three bells in the tower, by 1906 there were eight bells but these were destroyed by a fire in 1975. In 1981 a new ring of eight bells were cast and installed by the Whitechapel Foundry with a tenor weighing twelve and three quarter hundredweight and tuned to G. We hear them ringing Spliced Surprise Major.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m001stnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001stj0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b09rwsvs)
The Power of Memories

An exploration of great feats of recall, of the creative and imaginative pleasures of reminiscence and of the way memories help us tell our stories to ourselves.

In a journey that takes him from Mozart's prodigious memory to memories and the perception of time, Mark Tully tells stories by Dostoevsky, George Eliot, John Barry and The Kinks.

Mark also draws on contemporary poet Eilean Ni Chuilleanain and children's author Kenneth Grahame, the modernist composer Charles Ives and the choral work of Ralph Vaughan Williams to discuss interpretations of memory, time and immortality.

The readers are Jasper Britton and Grainne Keenan.

Presenter: Mark Tully
Producer: Frank Stirling

A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m001stj4)
Act, Dance, Farm, Repeat: Farming Fletcher Style

Caz Graham meets actors-turned-farmers Kelvin and Liz Fletcher on their family farm in the Peak District National Park. Kelvin played fictional farmer Andy Sugden in the soap opera Emmerdale for 20 years and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2019 with his dance partner Oti Mabuse.

By 2020 Kelvin and Liz were ready for their next adventure and were all set to move to California with their two children, when the Covid pandemic and lockdown scuppered their plans. After Kelvin spotted a farm for sale on the Derbyshire-Cheshire border, they decided to pursue a whole different kind of adventure and become first-time farmers. Three years on, the couple are running a 120-acre farm with sheep, pigs, goats, alpacas and horses - as well as filming their own television series, ITV's Fletcher's Family Farm. They're also now raising four children, after the arrival of twins in 2022.

Kelvin and Liz chat to Caz about leaving soap land, talk about how being new-entrants to agriculture makes it easier to focus on the positives rather than dwelling on the hardships, and explain how Strictly was good preparation for catching sheep.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Anna Jones.


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001stjb)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001stjl)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001stjy)
Same sex church blessings; Religion in Dr Who; Antonio Banderas on playing King Herod

As tension builds in the Middle East over the much anticipated truce between Israel and Gaza, we look at the latest in the developing situation. The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday it was delaying the handover of a second group of hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire deal until Israel “adheres to the terms of the agreement”.

We'll also hear from Rachel Goldberg, whose 23-year-old son Hersh Polin Goldberg was taken hostage from the Nova music festival on October 7. This week, Rachel was granted an audience with Pope Francis as one of 12 individuals whose family members are being held hostage by Hamas.

For award-winning actor Antonio Banderas, playing the evil King Herod in the nativity musical “Journey to Bethlehem” gave him an opportunity to explore his faith and find the joy of playing the bad guy, we hear about his experience in the film.

Jewish groups have criticised Pope Francis over his comments that they saw as accusing both Hamas and Israel of "terrorism". Francis made the comments on Wednesday, we'll look into the comments and the reaction to them.

At 5:15pm on 23 November 1963, the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast on BBC One. Exactly 60 years on, the show is celebrating its diamond anniversary with three new hour-long specials starting this weekend. We'll look behind the Tardis to explore the hidden spiritual meaning behind some of the stories with Dr Andrew Crome is a cultural historian at Manchester Metropolitan University.

We return to the continuing row in the Church of England over church blessings for same-sex couples -- and the fears raised by some that the church could be heading for a split, with the Church of England Evangelical Council now seeking to set up its own alternative leadership system for priests opposed to those blessing services.

The Christian season of Advent begins next Sunday, which means lots of people will be getting their Advent calendar ready to begin the annual countdown to Christmas. The Church of England is marketing its first ever printed Advent Calendar, complete with a fold-out, stand-up crib, we'll look at how it's set to compete in a very crowded market.

Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Linda Walker and Amanda Hancox
Editor: Helen Grady
Studio Managers: Colin Sutton and Michael Smith


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001stk9)
Pratham UK

Broadcaster Sangita Myska makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Pratham UK.

To Give:
- 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 ‘Pratham UK’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Pratham UK’.
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: 1099386


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001stkr)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001stl8)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001stls)
From King's College Chapel, Aberdeen University

From King’s College Chapel in the University of Aberdeen, drawing inspiration
from the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Led by Rev Marylee Anderson, Chaplain to the University,
and Christ’s College Lecturer in Practical Theology, Dr Katie Cross.
With music from the University of Aberdeen Chapel Choir,
directed by Stuart Muir and Allen Quinn, Hopkin Conducting Scholar.
Organ played by Kamil Mika and Stuart Muir.
Readings: Psalm 13, Luke Chapter 24.
Hymns: Come down, O love divine (Tune: Down Ampney)
I heard the voice of Jesus say (Tune: Rowan Tree)
Sing for God's glory (Tune: Lobe den Herren)
Introit: Christ is the morning star (Jakob)
Anthems: God be in my head (Wilby)
Prayer of St Francis (Sanders)


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001smw0)
10,000 Steps

Adam Gopnik tries to rationalise what lies behind his new obsession - of walking 10,000 steps every day.

With the help of his daughter, Darwin and the Cynics of ancient Greece, Adam concludes that, in our search for meaning in life, 'meaning bound around by a number is easier to grasp than meaning left to meander where it will.'

'The act of taking 10,000 steps a day,' he says, 'brings with it a sense of conscious accomplishment that the phrase "a good long walk" cannot'.

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


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qkbj)
Melodious Warbler

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

Brett Westwood presents the melodious warbler. A lemon-yellow warbler singing on a sunny Spanish hillside will be the well-named Melodious Warbler. They are slightly smaller than blackcaps, moss-green above and pale yellow below. You may occasionally see them in the UK in late summer or autumn. The song is melodious and the bird often includes nasal chattering phrases that sound like house sparrows.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001stm9)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001stms)
Contemporary drama in a rural setting


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m001stn6)
Dr Nicola Fox, head of science at Nasa

Dr Nicky Fox is only the second woman to hold the post of Head of Science at NASA since the agency was founded in 1958. She has responsibility for around a hundred missions which are investigating the mysteries of outer space. These missions are tackling questions such as how do hurricanes form and are we alone in the universe.

Nicky was born in Hitchin in Hertfordshire and her father introduced her to the wonders of space when she was just a few months old. In 1969 he lifted her out of her cot to watch the television coverage of the Apollo 11 mission when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Nicky’s enduring fascination with the cosmos led her to study physics at Imperial College in London.

After completing her PhD she took up a post-doctoral fellowship at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland. In 2010 she became the project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe, humanity’s first mission to a star, which launched in 2018 and is still flying through the sun’s atmosphere collecting data. Recently she oversaw the Osiris-Rex mission which brought back the first asteroid samples from deep space.

In 2021 Nicky was awarded the American Astronautical Society’s Carl Sagan Memorial Award for her leadership in the field of Heliophysics.

DISC ONE: The Best – Tina Turner
DISC TWO: Livin’ On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
DISC THREE: Lara’s Theme - MGM Studio Orchestra, composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre
DISC FOUR: Danny Boy - Andy Williams
DISC FIVE: When You Know - Shawn Colvin
DISC SIX: (Reach Up for the) Sunrise - Duran Duran
DISC SEVEN: Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
DISC EIGHT: Canyon Moon - Harry Styles

BOOK CHOICE: Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan
LUXURY ITEM: Lego
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001stnq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m001slqp)
Series 80

Episode 2

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

This week the programme pays a return visit to the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth where Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris are pitched against Tony Hawks and Miles Jupp, with Jack Dee in the chair. At the piano - Colin Sell.

Producer - Jon Naismith

It is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001stpb)
Food Under Siege in Gaza

Sheila Dillon looks at what the current conflict in Gaza has done to food supplies in one of the most densely populated places on earth. After Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, the Government of Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza, and launched a ground offensive. To date, more than 14,800 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run government. Hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced to the south of the territory, where vast numbers are living in make-shift camps. Aid agencies say hunger is spreading, as shops have been emptied of food, and a lack of fuel is restricting how much food can be distributed around.

In this programme, recorded while the situation in Gaza is still changing on a daily basis, Sheila Dillon seeks to find out how people are feeding themselves and their families, how resilient the population is given the uncertainties they face, and what long abandoned food ways can they fall back on as supplies run low.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Natalie Donovan


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001stps)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001stq7)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 Gangster (p0gjb9ms)
Killing Death Row

Killing Death Row: 6. Living and dying

An execution and the story of an exoneration. Livvy Haydock hears about the final moments of one life, and the relief and joy of release when a different case is overturned. In this final episode she considers the impact of a changing political landscape on the future of the death chamber.
Join Livvy as she takes us deep into Death Row in the USA. While support for the Death Penalty in the US remains at over 50 per cent, there’s been a steady decline in the number of executions – from the modern era peak of 98 in 1999 to just 20 in 2023 so far. Only a handful of states actually carry out the killings. It’s even become more difficult for executioners to get hold of the drugs used in lethal injections, which is what led Livvy Haydock to a surreal story about a man in Acton, West London, who was supplying these lethal drugs to state penitentiaries in the US, and on to the macabre world of Death Row – and the people who live, work, and die on it.

Whether it’s the bizarre hunt for new lethal injection supplies, or the tip of the glasses that mark an executioner’s signal, Livvy goes right behind the scenes into the chamber itself to examine the pressures on the system that have left just 5 US states actively carrying out executions this year and around 2,400 Death Row prisoners in limbo. We’ll hear from an inmate waiting to die, and one saved at the last moment. We’ll chat to the wardens who make it happen, and the campaigners who want to stop it. And throughout it all, we’ll discover the possible future for Death Row in the only western democracy still carrying out capital punishment.

New episodes released weekly. If you’re in the UK, listen to Gangster Presents… Killing Death Row first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/40W5Chz

Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Anna Meisel
Sounds design and mix: Richard Hannaford
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production coordinator: Janet Staples


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001smv9)
Wokingham

Could you suggest some bat friendly plants that will keep them happy? Is it too late to re-pot my five-year-old daffodils? How can I improve the quality of my clay soil and what can I grow on it?

Peter Gibbs and his team of horticultural experts are in the market town of Wokingham for this week's episode of Gardeners' Question Time.

Joining Peter to dig into the audience's queries are garden designer Matthew Wilson, proud plantswoman Christine Walkden and passionate plantsman Matthew Biggs.

Later in the show, Kirsty Wilson gets into the community spirit as she visits Greyfriars Biophilic Garden in Glasgow for a quick tour of their 56 show-stopping plots.

Producer: Bethany Hocken

Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Executive Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001stqt)
A Many-Splendoured Thing - Episode 1

The novel A Many-Splendoured Thing, by the Eurasian author and doctor Han Suyin, was an instant hit in Britain and the States on its publication in 1952. Set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950, it’s a lightly fictionalised account of the author’s own passionate and transformative love affair. The protagonist mirrors Han Suyin, herself – a Eurasian doctor originally from mainland China, born to a Chinese father and a Belgian mother. In real life Han Suyin fell in love with an Australian war correspondent who, in the novel, becomes an Englishman, Mark Elliott.

The book was quickly snapped up by Hollywood and released as Love is A Many Splendoured Thing in 1955.

In the first of two episodes, John Yorke urges us to read the book as, in his opinion, the film misses the nuance, subtlety and interest of the novel.

This, he says, is because the book, through a huge and complex array of secondary characters and vivid descriptions, reveals so much about a pivotal point in history – a time when scores of refugees were making their home in Hong Kong, leaving mainland China to escape the inevitable defeat of the national government by the communists. John also explores the way Han Suyin’s honest revelations about her contradictory feelings within the love affair give the novel a huge emotional charge and offer a window into her own journey towards self-determination.

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

Credits:
A Many-Splendoured Thing by Han Suyin, published by Jonathan Cape, 1952 (currently out of print)

Contributors:
Ming Ho, writer, who adapted the book for BBC Radio 4
Alex Tickell, Professor of Global literatures in English at the Open University

Reader: Chipo Chung

Producer: Penny Boreham
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Sound Engineer: Iain Hunter

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Love Stories (m001str6)
A Many-Splendoured Thing, Part 1

Part One of Ming Ho’s new dramatisation of Han Suyin’s landmark semi-autobiographical novel.

The story follows Suyin, a doctor and writer, living and working in late 1940s Hong Kong. When Suyin meets British war reporter Mark, she embarks on a secret love affair that tests her relationship to her own Eurasian identity and divided loyalties. With a fierce sense of duty to China, and a difficult past, Suyin is forced to ask if their relationship could really survive outside of Hong Kong. And at what cost?

Originally published in 1952, this is a story of two societies on the cusp of change - colonial Hong Kong and feudal, revolutionary China – in a fresh adaptation for BBC Radio 4.

CAST
Suyin ..... Chipo Chung
Mark ..... Billy Howle
Adeline Palmer-Jones ..... Sarah Lam
Humphrey Palmer Jones/Third Uncle ..... Paul Courtenay Hyu
Robert Hung/William Monk ..... Daniel York Loh
Nora Hung/Suchen ..... Jennifer Lim
Suzanne/ Martha Monk ..... Elizabeth Chan
John Tam/Ribiero ..... Jon Chew
Fiona Manton ..... Ruth Everett
James Manton ..... Dickon Farmar
Mei..... Ivy Wong

Dramatised by Ming Ho
Directed by Anne Isger
Sound by Andy Garrett and Pete Ringrose
Production Co-ordination by Ben Hollands
A BBC Audio Production


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m001strm)
Alexis Wright

Chris Power is joined by award-winning Australian writer Alexis Wright, whose new novel Praiseworthy, set in a small Aboriginal town, explores difficult ecological challenges.

Also on the programme, Roland Allen explores the history of writers and their notebooks; and Mark Blacklock and Toby Litt discuss J G Ballard's non-fiction.

Book List – Sunday 26 November and Thursday 30 November

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
Tracker by Alexis Wright
Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Empire of the Sun by J G Ballard
High Rise by J G Ballard
Selected Nonfiction, 1962–2007 by J. G. Ballard
Reports From The Deep End, stories inspired by J G Ballard


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m001sts1)
Benjamin Zephaniah

Roger McGough is joined in the studio by Benjamin Zephaniah, who shares a selection of favourite poems from listener requests.

These include classics by John Clare, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Spike Milligan; as well as a poem new to Roger, by the Chinese scholar Zhimo Xu written about Cambridge, newer works by Mary Jean Chan and Joelle Taylor, and one of Benjamin's own about his love of hedgehogs.

Benjamin Zephaniah is a dub poet and author who's written for children, teenagers and adults. His first poetry collection, Pen Rhythm, was published in 1980. Recent books include two volumes autobiography, Benjamin Zephaniah: My Story and The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m001sm8z)
Lost in Translation

When people who don't speak English, including refugees arriving in the UK after fleeing war, they are entitled to receive the support of interpreters when dealing with public sector organisations.
The service provides a lifeline for some of society's most vulnerable people to help them navigate places like hospitals, social services and courts.
But reporter Matthew Hill hears allegations the service is seriously failing those who need it most - with tragic consequences.
Data obtained exclusively by File on 4 has revealed over the past five years at least 80 babies have died or suffered serious brain injuries in NHS maternity units in England, where interpreting and communication problems due to language difficulties, were a contributing factor.
The programme also hears from an alleged victim of serious sexual abuse who says she was unable to give police an accurate account of her ordeal because the interpreter was so poor.
Campaigners claim huge disparities in the levels of qualifications required in public service organisations and poor rates of pay have caused an exodus of qualified interpreters, which they claim is putting some of society's most vulnerable people at risk of harm.

Reporter: Matthew Hill
Producers: Ben Robinson and Surya Elango
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Coordinators: Tim Fernley and Jordan King
Editor: Carl Johnston


SUN 17:40 Profile (m001stnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001stsj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001stsz)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001sttd)
Hamas has released another group of hostages being held in Gaza -- on the third day of a truce with Israel. The former England football manager, Terry Venables, has died.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001stty)
Rima Ahmed

From news fatigue to celeb fatigue, a trip to Ancient Rome and a trip across time and relative dimension in space - this episode of Pick of the Week is not one to miss. We also learn about the invention of Taiwanese bubble tea and whether cooking a steak in the microwave is okay. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

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


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001stv8)
Despite feeling nervous Alice enjoys watching the racehorses train on the gallops, with Harry. He’s pleased when she refers to their outing as a date and doesn’t register an issue when she tells him she doesn’t really drink, before they go in to lunch. Harry’s impressed by Alice’s obvious commitment to horses. She fills him in on her childhood experiences in the Pony Club, but points out that Harry’s the one with a glittering career in three-day eventing. He steers the conversation back to Alice, who reveals she has a daughter, Martha, who she co-parents with her ex. Harry is keen to see Alice’s pictures of Martha, laughing along at the ones of her with her face covered in food. Alice thanks Harry for an amazing day before he asks if she’s free for dinner on Wednesday. Flattered by how keen he is, Alice agrees to the date.
Lilian’s trying her best to put Justin off making a bid through BL for the Grange Farm land. Justin appears to take Lilian at her word, that it would be too risky an investment. But when he returns from The Bull later he says that Adam mentioned Lilian’s intention to purchase the land herself. Lilian comes clean about her plans to expand the Stables, before Justin outlines his objections as a fellow stakeholder. Justin then reveals Tom and Natasha’s plans to bid for the land too, before suggesting he and Lilian team up to beat off the opposition, then fight it out between themselves.


SUN 19:15 Loose Ends (m001stmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 19:45 The State of the Art (p0gm23r5)
5: Gallerina, Gallerina

Hayley Atwell reads the final story in William Boyd's savagely funny short story series skewering the art world.

Giles Flint-Greenfield, a St James' art dealer with a penchant for post-war British watercolours, is finding his world rather small. But when Ludo Abernathy, an old and far more successful art dealer friend, cuts him in on the mother of a deal, new and potentially terrifying horizons open up for him in East London. All too soon Giles has swapped his tweed for black leather, and St James’ for a car maintenance shop, and is feeling very much out of his depth among the art lovers of Leyton. Not least because he isn’t quite sure how Ludo is making him so much money….

In today's final story, Bethany is working at the achingly hip gallery Feuerstein & Grünesfeld out in East London. But is the art world beginning to feel more like the Wild West?

Reader: Hayley Atwell is an acclaimed stage and screen actor, known most recently for her roles in the Captain America and Mission Impossible series.
Writer: William Boyd
Producer: Justine Willett


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m001smvh)
Andrea Catherwood talks to Jon Kay about Fairy Meadow

Can True Crime podcasts ever do more than just tell a rollicking good story?

Andrea Catherwood talks to the presenter of the BBC’s Fairy Meadow Podcast, Jon Kay about the challenges and responsibilities of delving into personal family traumas after uncovering a potential new lead in a 50 year old case of a missing child.

Also, the BBC Audio’s Head of Drama, Art and Classical Music, Emma Harding discusses how to pick ‘A Good Read’.

And find out why an interview with a charity boss on Woman’s Hour provoked a furious debate among listeners.

Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Gerry Cassidy
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001smvf)
Captain Don Walsh, Dame A.S. Byatt, Rosalynn Carter, Dr Finlay Macleod

Matthew Bannister on

Captain Don Walsh, the American submariner who made the first descent to the deepest place in the ocean – the Mariana Trench. His friend and fellow deep sea explorer Victor Vescovo relives the experience for us.

Dame A.S. Byatt, the author best known for her Booker Prize winning novel “Possession”.

Rosalynn Carter, the former First Lady of the USA.

Dr Finlay Macleod, the historian from the Isle of Lewis who fought to preserve the Gaelic language. Robert Macfarlane pays tribute.

Interviewee: Rebecca Morelle
Interviewee: Victor Vescovo
Interviewee: Neil La Bute
Interviewee: Sam Leith
Interviewee: Kate Andersen Brower
Interviewee: Robert Macfarlane
Interviewee: Agnes Rennie

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive used:

Rebecca Morelle interviews Don Walsh, BBC News, 23/02/2012, They Dived 7 Miles, British Pathe News Reels, 08/02/1960; Witness History : The world's deepest dive 11km down, BBC World Service, 01/03/2021; Don Walsh interview, Short CUts 18, The Descent, BBC Radio 4, 05/03/2019;


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001sthw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001stk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Front Row (m001stvv)
The Booker Prize Ceremony 2023

A special edition of Front Row, live from the Booker Prize for Fiction.

Samira Ahmed is joined on stage by Booker Prize judges actor Adjoa Andoh and Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro to discuss this year’s shortlist, before the chair of judges, novelist Esi Edugyan, announces the winner live on air.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years in detention in Iran, gives the keynote speech about the power of literature to take us to another world.

Front Row will also hear from all this year’s shortlisted authors, whose novels cover climate change, a democracy sliding into extremism, prejudice, grief and the complexities of race in America.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Olivia Skinner


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001stw3)
Ben Wright is joined by the former Cabinet Minister, Damian Green and the Shadow Work and Pensions Minister, Alison McGovern, to discuss the latest net migration figures and to assess the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. Ben also interviews the Conservative MP Chris Skidmore - who chaired the government's Net Zero Review - about the forthcoming COP28 summit in Dubai. The Financial Times journalist Miranda Green and The Spectator's political editor Katy Balls bring additional insights and analysis.


SUN 23:00 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m001r2wr)
6. The Happiness Curve

Life has its ups and downs, its sudden successes and unexpected obstacles. But amongst all the unpredictable variation, two economists believe they have identified a deep and powerful influence on our happiness: age. Happiness, it turns out, is U shaped.

Hannah Fry tells a tale of orangutans, joy and misery…and joy!

Presenter: Hannah Fry
Executive Producer: Martin Smith
Series Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Episode Producer: Ilan Goodman

A series for Radio 4 by BBC Science in Cardiff.

MONDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2023

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001stwh)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Sideways (m001slv5)
54. Copy Cat

David Henty had a talent for art from a young age. He grew up poring over Hogarth drawings. For a long time, it didn’t feel like something that he could easily pursue. But after two prison sentences spent painting as much as he wanted, there was no looking back. David was set on making a living as an artist. The thing is… the only paintings he could manage to sell for any profit, were all forgeries of famous artists like Lowry, Bacon and Picasso.

Matthew Syed explores how David's copy cat approach to art allowed him to unlock his own creativity.

Matthew delves into the world of art forgery to explore how this practice blurs lines between creativity and imitation, and challenges notions of authenticity in the art world. He considers whether copying is actually a necessary step on the way to becoming skilled at a particular craft, and whether forgers - as pranksters - might even qualify as modern conceptual artists, and also ponders how the rise of artificial intelligence platforms might make forgers of us all.

Featuring:
David Henty, artist and writer, Austin Kleon, artist and philosopher, Jonathon Keats, and BBC journalist and AI expert Lara Lewington.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Nadia Mehdi
Series editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound design and mix: Naomi Clarke
Theme tune by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001stsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001stwt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001stx3)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001stxb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001stxh)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001stxp)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Quaker and writer, Alastair McIntosh.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001stxw)
27/11/23 - Commercial forestry, Landscape Recovery in the Lakes and UK food attaches

The UK has planted 13,000 hectares of trees this year - that's less than half of the annual target of 30,000 hectares, and 7,000 down on last year. The figures come in the latest annual 'UK Forest Market report' from Tilhill and Goldcrest - two companies which plant and manage woodlands. They say that for the first time in almost a decade the value of commercial forestry has dropped - by between 10 and 20% - and that while people value things made from wood they don't value commercial forestry.

We visit a Landscape Recovery Scheme in the Lake District. Landscape Recovery is part of the Environmental Land Management Schemes which are replacing the EU's Common Agriculture Policy in England. Other schemes are being designed by the devolved Governments. Landscape Recovery is work on a grand scale, giving farmers and land managers the opportunity to co-design a plan to provide environmental and climate benefits across a whole landscape.

And we hear from two of the UK's Food and Drink Attaches. A job selling British food and drink round the world might sound rather glamourous - in fact it's more about tackling trade barriers than wining and dining. The UK's has 11 agri-food attaches based in Embassies and Consulates around the world - 5 more will be added next year. These jobs were created after criticism of the UK's lack of emphasis on food exports. Other countries have had such roles for many years.

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


MON 05:56 Weather (m001sty2)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09rz2hf)
David Rothenberg on the Robin

David Rothenberg on the jazz artist of the bird world - the humble robin. David explains what the song of the robin has in common with experimental free form jazz, not dissimilar to the sound of saxophonist Eric Dolphy who spent a long time listening to birds.

Producer: Tim Dee
Photograph: Christine Sweet.


MON 06:00 Today (m001stwv)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m001stx5)
Space – the human story

Tim Peake was the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station, and is one of only 628 people in human history to have left the Earth’s atmosphere. In Space he tells the human story of space exploration – from launch to landing.

In Samantha Harvey’s latest novel Orbital six astronauts on a space station rotate above the Earth. While their waking lives are spent conducting scientific experiments and maintaining the spacecraft, their attention is constantly drawn back to the Earth – its beauty as they circle it, and the fragility of the human life on it.

The cosmologist Roberto Trotta stands on firm ground and gazes skyward. In Starborn he wonders how different our world would be if our ancestors had looked up and there were no stars. From navigation to time, gravity to the wonder of the universe, the cosmos has profoundly shaped our understanding of the world.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis (m001stxc)
The Tipping Floor

Oliver Franklin Wallis has not written a book about rubbish, but about the far bigger concerns around how much waste humans are producing and what we do with it.

Unexpected twists in the journey find a strange beauty in the movement of a recycling plant and the surprising legacy of our waste. Among the trash, there is treasure and hope for a better way of processing our waste and a better future.

Written by Oliver Franklin-Wallis
Read by Russ Bain
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Produced by Naomi Walmsley


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001stxm)
Dame Harriet Walter, Runner Eilish McColgan, Post-mastectomy bras

Award-winning actor Dame Harriet Walter is back on stage at the National Theatre in Federico Lorca’s newly-adapted The House of Bernada Alba. After a break of seven years playing assorted television roles including ‘difficult’ mothers in Succession and Ted Lasso, she’s back treading the boards and once again playing a formidable matriarch. She joins Clare McDonnell in the studio to talk about her career so far, as well as her newest role.

As of today, police in Northern Ireland can now charge people with upskirting, downblousing and cyber-flashing. At the same time, British Transport Police are encouraging women to lower their tolerance for sexual harassment during their commute and report minor offenders more often. So is recognition of so-called 'minor' sexual offences improving? Clare speaks to Naomi Long, Leader of the Alliance Party and former Northern Ireland Justice Minister, and to women's rights activist Zan Moon.

What do women look for in a bra after breast cancer surgery? Clare is joined by Katy Marks, an architect by trade, who discovered after her single mastectomy that there was no bra on the market that was flat on one side. She didn’t want to use a prosthetic and so designed her own, called Uno, which launches today. She’ll be joined on the programme by Asmaa Al-allak who won this year’s Great British Sewing Bee and is a consultant breast surgeon who has made post-surgery lingerie for her patients.

Runner Eilish McColgan follows in the footsteps of her mother Liz McColgan in the pursuit of sporting greatness. Now she’s made a documentary telling their story, looking at their relationship and charting the times Eilish has broken her mother’s records – all except the marathon. Eilish joins Clare to talk about making the documentary, as well as the pressures and benefits of following in the family business.


MON 11:00 Fed with Chris van Tulleken (m001stxt)
Series 1: Planet Chicken

5. Fine Print

Do YOU know what you're eating? Are you sure?

Dr Chris van Tulleken is keen to make good food choices, and buy the best chicken possible for his dinner. High welfare, tasty, and good for the environment, ideally. But it's not as easy as that. How CAN he make good food choices if he has no idea what he's buying?

Chris explores what we actually know about the food we buy, and to what extent we can trust what's on a label.

He also uncovers the startling truth about two very different ways that we buy chicken - lifting the lid on why sometimes, even the most moral meat shoppers turn a blind eye...

Produced by Lucy Taylor and Emily Knight.


MON 11:30 Analysis (m001r1gn)
The Democratic Brain

Our brain is a wonderful machine, but it can also short-circuit. What happens to us when emotions and politics intersect, when the democratic, listening brain is cut off, or when we succumb to ‘hate speech’? Research using the latest brain scanners shows that the older part of the brain called the amygdala is ‘triggered’ by emotional responses out of proportion to the impacting stimulus. So, perhaps are we after wolves in human clothing? Not necessarily; we have also developed the frontal cortex which the scans show is stimulated by rational argument. What can scanning the brain reveal about our political affiliations? Can the field of neuro-politics improve political discourse or leave us open to manipulation?

Presenter: Matt Qvortrup
Producer: Bob Howard
Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors:
Barbara Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge
Dr Darren Schreiber, Senior Lecturer at Exeter University
Skyler Cranmer, Associate Professor at Ohio State University
Dahlia Scheindlin, political consultant and public opinion researcher
Dr Liya Yu, Columbia University


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001sty0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001sty5)
Leasehold Reform, Luxury Brands and Parcel Deliveries

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill finally hits Parliament today. Housing Secretary, Michael Gove says it will fix a system that's "fundamentally unfair" before the next general election. We get reaction from campaigners.

Criminals have been using AI to create fake adverts for bogus investment schemes using fabricated footage of celebrities. Now, fraudsters are using AI to reproduce the voices of those of us who don't have a weekly show on national television to get money from their family and friends. We find out the scale of the problem and what's being done about it.

Just over a year ago, Scotland became the first UK nation to reintroduce rent controls for private tenants. In theory, the law is supposed to cap most private rent increases to 3% a year. However data from the ONS suggests private rents in Scotland rose by 6% over the last 12 months. We hear from two renters with different experiences of how the policy has affected them.

A short walk through Manchester city centre can tell you a surprising amount about how our spending has changed. We find out why people are spending less on luxury designer goods and more on getting their nails done.

Finally, its one of the busiest periods for big the parcel firms. But are they offering a better standard of service than last year? Citizens Advice has compiled its third annual league table of the major delivery companies. We get its verdict on how they're doing.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz


MON 12:57 Weather (m001sty9)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001styf)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


MON 13:45 Helen Lewis: Great Wives (m001pms3)
Series 2

Double Acts

What links the Krankies and two European performance artists who once tied themselves together by the hair? Both reveal the power - and passion - of creative couples.

For a time, Marina Abramoviç and Ulay were inseparable. These two performance artists breathed the same oxygen, got naked together and called each other “Glue.” But what should have been their greatest joint achievement - walking from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China to meet in the middle - ended up tearing them apart.

For two decades, Great Lives on Radio 4 has explored what it takes to change the world. But Helen Lewis wants to ask a different question: what does it take to live with someone who changes the world? In the second season of Great Wives, we’ll meet more fascinating women - and men - and uncover the relationships that created great art, started wars and changed history.

Written and performed by Helen Lewis with additional voices from Kudzanayi Chiwawa & Joshua Higgott
Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Design: Neil Goody

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001stv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001swm2)
London Particular

Episode 4

In Nick Perry's time travelling drama series, London is not one but many cities; a city of curious anomalies and dark secrets, of hidden portals to other dimensions. A city so vast and varied that the weird and the uncanny blend seamlessly with the ordinary, where the person sitting next to you on the bus, or walking beside you on the pavement, may in fact be a visitor from another time.

Previously, Alice travelled back through time to London in 1945 as she searched for her brother Alan who has been missing presumed dead for the past five years. With many questions still unanswered, Alice finds herself back in the present and determined to continue her search.

Alice . . . . . Scarlett Brookes
Alice's mother . . . . . Bríd Brennan
Jackie . . . . . Jessica Turner
Mike . . . . . Tyler Cameron
Simon . . . . . Joseph Ayre
Dorian . . . . . Michael Bertenshaw
Colin . . . . . John Lightbody
Receptionist . . . . . Kitty O’Sullivan

Production co-ordinator: Ben Hollands
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m001styk)
Semi-Final 4, 2023

(16/17)
Would you know who's depicted on the twenty-pound banknote, what number corresponds to neutral on the pH scale, or who's been on the cover of the Radio Times more often than anyone else? The competitors in Brain of Britain will have to dredge these facts from the recesses of their minds if they're to progress to the Final, in today's contest between returning winners from the heats stage.

Today's semi-finalists are:
Matt Barr from Bolton
Sue Brooks from Kent
Brian Leddy from Glasgow
George Scratcherd from Essex

A listener also stands a chance of winning a prize, if questions they have devised succeed in defeating the combined brain-power of the contestants.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m001stpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0gr7lx0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Saturday]


MON 16:30 Across the Divide (m001styt)
The West Bank

Families from the many sides of the Gaza/Israeli dispute share and reflect on their own personal histories and day-to-day existence.


MON 17:00 PM (m001styy)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001stz2)
The pause - which was due to end in the coming hours - has been extended for two days


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m001stz6)
Series 80

Episode 3

The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans take on Andy Hamilton and the Reverend Richard Coles with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment.

Producer - Jon Naismith.

It is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001stzb)
Last-minute replacement Jakob turns up to play the organ at Ted Barrett’s funeral, a former resident of The Laurels. Alan tells him Ted’s family requested an upbeat service with a funny eulogy, before Alan gently relieves Jakob of his duties helping organise this year’s Christmas Show. Sykesy arrives for the service, sharing some fond and funny memories of Ted. Alan’s eulogy then goes down really well, with lots of laughter. After the service Sykesy is full of praise for Alan’s delivery. It’s also given Jakob an idea for the Christmas Show: an evening of stand-up comedy delivered by local farmers. Sykesy thinks it’s a brilliant idea, his enthusiasm overwhelming any objections from Alan. It looks like they’ve got a Christmas Show!
Justin helps Natasha get her buggy out of the shop, then praises her and Tom on their plans to remodel the Tearoom, starting on Wednesday when they take over from Fallon. Justin feigns surprise when Natasha mentions their intention to bid for Oliver’s land, but quickly offers to run an eye over their proposal, if it would help. Natasha suspects there is more to Justin’s altruism than meets the eye, but goes along with it for now. Later in The Bull, once he’s had a look, Justin gravely informs Natasha that their figures simply don’t add up. In which case, Natasha responds, they could just aim to build a house on the land instead of trying to farm it. Canny Natasha thanks Justin for pushing her in the right direction and goes quickly, with her buggy, leaving Justin feeling frustrated.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001stzg)
Maria Callas, Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane, Rory Pilgrim

For what would have been the 100th birthday of soprano Maria Callas, Front Row brought together singer Dame Sarah Connolly and music critic Fiona Maddocks to reassess her achievements and influence in the world of opera.

After successfully teaming up during the pandemic to create the album, Lost in the Cedar Wood, musician and actor Johnny Flynn and nature writer and poet Robert Macfarlane talk to Tom about their second collaboration – The Moon Also Rises, and Johnny performs live in the Front Row studio.

Rory Pilgrim is one of the artists shortlisted for this year’s Turner Prize. He discusses his work which combines song writing, composition, films, texts, drawings, paintings and live performances.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham


MON 20:00 Waking Up to World Debt (m001styj)
Borrowing levels have soared during recent global crises. Author and financier Mike O’Sullivan asks if a reckoning is on the way. Have governments already accumulated so much debt that they won't have the resources left to handle the next big disaster - be it another pandemic, a war in Asia, or a global recession? And if so, which nations and regions are mostly likely to bear the brunt?

Contributors:
Joyce Chang: Chair of Global Research, JP Morgan
Barry Eichengreen: Professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley
Ruchir Sharma: Chief Investment Officer and founder, Breakout Capital
Raghuram Rajan: Professor of finance at the Chicago Booth School of Business

Presenter: Mike O’Sullivan, former chief investment officer for international wealth management at Credit Suisse and author of The Levelling: What’s Next after Globalisation?

Producer: Laurence Knight
Executive Producer: Rosamund Jones
A Whistledown production for Radio 4


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m001smlr)
Florida's political refugees

Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are escaping states they no longer feel comfortable in - they’re calling themselves ‘political refugees’. And the sunshine state of Florida is at the heart of this political sorting.

How can one US state be both a safe haven for Americans fleeing their homes in the north and a dangerous threat to liberal families?

From Miami to Chicago, Lucy Proctor traces the journeys of America’s homegrown refugees, meeting progressives and conservatives making their move. Through their crossing paths, she explores what is behind this new wave of domestic migration, and what it might mean for America’s future.

Presenter: Lucy Proctor
Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Penny Murphy
Studio Engineer: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman


MON 21:00 Seven Deadly Psychologies (m001sm82)
Pride

Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins. Rolling with the order established by Pope Gregory the Great, first up is pride, followed by greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and (finally) lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?

Pride - also known as the "original sin" - is now a bit of a double-edged word. The good side is motivating and self-affirming: to be proud of your work, your kids, or your identity. But then there’s the ugly side of pride: thinking you’re better than others. Arrogance, narcissism, an inflated sense of superiority. How can we have one without the other? Confidence without arrogance? Self-worth without self-aggrandisement?

To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Professor Ian Robertson from the Department of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, self-aware narcissist and motivational speaker Lee Hammock, Professor Jessica Tracy from the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, and a parade of people at a Pride march.

Producer: Becky Ripley


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m001stx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001stzn)
Gaza truce extended by two days

A fourth group of hostages held in Gaza has been released - and Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend their truce by a further two days. We hear from the family of two hostages yet to be released. And we discuss the longer-term prospects for peace with a former Israeli prime minister.

Also on the programme:

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart in a diplomatic row over the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles.

And the family-run pub whose Christmas advert is giving John Lewis a run for its money.


MON 22:45 Miss Buncle's Book by DE Stevenson (m001stzs)
Episode 1

As the ripples from the Great Depression reach a cosy English village, Barbara Buncle finds an inventive way to supplement her meagre income. Life in Silverstream will never be the same once her thinly fictionalised novel lays bare the life, loves and eccentricities of her neighbours.

Read by Madeleine Worrall
Written by D.E. Stevenson
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Scottish author D.E. Stevenson was a prolific name in the light romantic fiction genre, topping best seller lists from the 1930s to the 1960s. MISS BUNCLE’S BOOK, her best-known publication, is a delight; funny, engaging and well worth rediscovering 50 years after the author’s death.


MON 23:00 Don't Log Off (m001stzz)
Series 15

Voices from the Ether

Well over a century on since the first wireless radio transmission from the Isle of Wight, voices from the ether continue to inform, educate and entertain us, even sometimes to save our lives. Alan logs on to connect with three of them. In Kodiak, Alaska, Terry's public radio fisheries reports are at the cutting edge of climate change. In Sydney, Ben is embracing the podcast revolution. And in St Helena, Sharon hosts a local community radio show on this, one of the most isolated islands on earth.

Producer: Conor Garrett


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001sv05)
The new Home Secretary James Cleverly is under pressure on migration policy and his colourful use of language.

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2023

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001sv09)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis (m001stxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001sv0f)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001sv0m)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001sv0s)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001sv10)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001sv16)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Quaker and writer, Alastair McIntosh.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001sv1c)
28/11/23 - Swine flu in a human, a rural housing crisis and Brecklands landscape recovery

Swine flu has been diagnosed in pigs on 33 farms in the UK so far this year. But now, it's been diagnosed in a human. The person, in North Yorkshire, is now fully recovered after what's described as a 'mild illness', but the UK Health Security Agency is investigating. We ask what this means for pig farmers, and the rest of us.

The CPRE, the Countryside Charity, describes the shortage of affordable housing in the English countryside as "acute and overlooked" in a report out today. It says rural homelessness has risen by 40% in the last five years, driven by record house prices, long waiting lists for social housing and a proliferation of second and holiday homes.

And we visit the Brecklands in East Anglia. It's an unusual landscape covering 400 square miles across Norfolk and Suffolk which, despite having poor soil, is an growing veg, pigs, sheep and free range poultry - along side being home to 12,000 wild plants and rare birds like the nightjar and the stone curlew. Now, a group of more than 50 Breckland farmers have joined together to take part in a Government funded Landscape Recovery Scheme, to try and improve the habitats there.

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


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09sqvxm)
Helen Moncrieff on the Shag

Ever since her first encounter with a Scarf as they are known locally when she was a child and her Mum rescued a casualty of an oil spill, Helen Moncrieff, Shetland Manager for RSPB Scotland has had a particular fondness for these birds seeking them out in in the darkness of sea caves where they nest on ledges and fill the air with their strange sounds.

Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Paul Lee.


TUE 06:00 Today (m001sv2k)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m001sv33)
Cathie Sudlow on data in healthcare

“Big data” and “data science” are terms we hear more and more these days. The idea that we can use these vast amounts of information to understand and analyse phenomena, and find solutions to problems, is gaining prominence, both in business and academia.
Cathie Sudlow, Professor of Neurology and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, has been at the forefront of enabling health-related research using ever-increasing datasets. She tells presenter Jim Al-Khalili why this type of research matters, how the COVID-19 pandemic changed attitudes towards data in healthcare, and why the NHS gives the UK a big advantage when it comes to population-wide studies.
Over the course of her career, Cathie has held a variety of roles at different organisations, and she is currently Chief Scientist and Deputy Director at Health Data Research UK. She believes that there is no room for prima donnas in science, and wants her field to be open and collaborative, to have the most impact on patients’ lives.
Produced by Florian Bohr.


TUE 09:30 One to One (m001sv3n)
Nathan Filer talks to Erika Lust

Nathan Filer wants to know how to talk to his children about pornography, and in a frank discussion, consults Erika Lust, director and producer of ethical and feminist porn.

Produced in Bristol by Sally Heaven


TUE 09:45 Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis (m001sv46)
Used

'Fast fashion' is everywhere. From shops to charity shops to landfills thousands of miles from where they started, the unintended damage of well-intentioned donations is literally flooding parts of Ghana.

Oliver Franklin-Wallis traces the journey of a humble T-shirt and meets the stylish Ghanian innovators trying to change how the system works and look great while doing it.

Read by Russ Bain
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Produced by Naomi Walmsley


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001sv4s)
Parenting a child with a stammer, EHRC Chair Baroness Falkner, Ukrainian chess player Kamila Hryshchenko

Research by the charity Stamma shows that 8% of children will start stuttering at some point. Our listener Geri, a mother who’s son has a stammer, got in touch with Woman’s Hour and asked us to discuss the topic. Kirsten Howells from Stamma, Tiktokker Jessie Yendle and Geri join Claire McDonnell to share their own experiences and advice.

In 2013 Benita Alexander was working as a producer at NBC in New York. Tasked with putting a documentary together on renowned Swiss surgeon Dr Paolo Macchiarini, the pair soon grew close and started dating. However, not was all what it seemed with both their relationship and the success of his surgical invention. Benita joins Claire McDonnell to tell her story, as featured in the new Netflix documentary, Bad Surgeon: Love Under The Knife?

The UK’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission is being investigated by the UN over its position on “biological sex” and the provision of single-sex spaces. We talk to EHRC Chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner.

Kamila Hryshchenko is one of the highest chess ranked players in England however until very recently she represented a different nation. Kamila and her mother were forced to flee their home nation of Ukraine during the outbreak of war in 2022 and it was chess that proved instrumental to securing Kamila and her mother’s safety. Kamila has chosen to now play for England and she joins Clare McDonnell.

Presenter: Clare McDonnell
Producer: Emma Pearce


TUE 11:00 Seven Deadly Psychologies (m001sv5c)
Greed

Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?

Greed is in the spotlight today. And we're not talking food. (That’s gluttony, we come to that later in the series.) We're talking greed for money, for land, for material things – and ultimately for control, status, dominance, power. The kind of greed that separates the "haves" from the "have nots".

On one hand, greed is a great motivator, driving us all forward in our pursuit to get more of whatever it is we want. But at its ugliest, greed can come at a huge cost to other people, and to the planet. When does self-interested behaviour become selfish? And can we be greedy for the good?

To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, psychologist and social scientist Professor Paul Piff from the Department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Executive Director of the New Economy Organisers Network, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith, and a few wise words from Sir David Attenborough.

Producer: Becky Ripley


TUE 11:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (m001sv5y)
Series 9

Martial

Epigrams, jokes, highly-polished poems in praise of the emperor. Oh, and absolute filth. These are what made the name of the first-century Roman poet Martial.

It has taken nearly two thousand years for Martial's work to be considered a fit subject for study by classicists. His poems to the emperor may have been as highly crafted as a Fabergé egg, but nestled beside these jewels, in the same volume, were works of 'incomprehensible obscenity'. The Romans loved both, apparently. His work is still funny, and still shocking.

Natalie is joined by Professor Llewelyn Morgan and comedian Robin Ince to discover what we can learn about the poet and his readers from his work, and if he can still make us laugh.

Spoiler: he can.

‘Rock star mythologist’ and reformed stand-up Natalie Haynes is obsessed with the ancient world. She explores key stories from ancient Rome and Greece that still have resonance today. They might be biographical, topographical, mythological or epic, but they are always hilarious, magical and tragic, mystifying and revelatory. And they tell us more about ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of thousand years ago.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001sv6h)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001sv71)
Call You and Yours: Housing Market

Its been a turbulent time in the property market. House prices have been in decline during 2023 and the Office of Budget Responsibility predict they will continue to drop in 2024. There are more properties on the market. That's making it harder for those trying to sell but its a potentially good time for buyers. Are you saving for your first property? Are you trying to downsize? Have you had sales fall through?
Whatever your experience we're keen to hear from you.
Get in touch.
Email us now - you and yours @ bbc.co.uk or call us on Tuesday from 11am on 03700 100 444

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: CATHERINE EARLAM


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001sv7d)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001sv7p)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


TUE 13:45 Helen Lewis: Great Wives (m001ptmb)
Series 2

Rulers and Regents

From the murderous Wu Zetian to the Serpent Queen of France, what does it take for a royal wife to step out of the shadows and dare to wield power?

History is full of “humble” consorts who turned out to be steely leaders after their husbands died. Some governed on behalf of their young sons, while others ruled in their own right. Even queens with living partners could be called on to guard the country when the king was away at war. But not everyone was happy to have a woman in charge.

For two decades, Great Lives on Radio 4 has explored what it takes to change the world. But Helen Lewis wants to ask a different question: what does it take to live with someone who changes the world? In the second season of Great Wives, we’ll meet more fascinating women - and men - and uncover the relationships that created great art, started wars and changed history.

Written and performed by Helen Lewis with additional voices from Kudzanayi Chiwawa & Joshua Higgott
Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Design: Neil Goody

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001stzb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001swm5)
London Particular

Episode 5

In Nick Perry's time travelling drama series, London is not one but many cities; a city of curious anomalies and dark secrets, of hidden portals to other dimensions. A city so vast and varied that the weird and the uncanny blend seamlessly with the ordinary, where the person sitting next to you on the bus, or walking beside you on the pavement, may in fact be a visitor from another time.

Alice is convinced that her missing brother Alan is lost in time and is determined to rescue him and bring him back to the present. She manages to speak with Alan via an intermediary but many questions remain unanswered. So when she hears an account of a strange anomaly atop the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, Alice decides to take a leap of faith.

Alice . . . . . Scarlett Brookes
Sarah . . . . . Claire-Louise Cordwell
Deb . . . . . Lauren Cornelius
Francois . . . . . John Lightbody
Baglady . . . . . Jessica Turner
Church Warden . . . . . Michael Bertenshaw
Dan . . . . . Don Gilet
Man . . . . . Josh Bryant-Jones
Nurse . . . . . Kitty O’Sullivan
Kate . . . . . Mabel Cresswell
John . . . . . Bertie Cresswell

The song John Barleycorn performed by Ian Dunnett Jnr

Production co-ordinator: Ben Hollands
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001sthm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (p0c289ky)
9. Hannah Mary Tabbs

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.

This time, Lucy explores the case of Hannah Mary Tabbs, who was very good at being very bad.

An African-American woman living in Philadelphia in the 1880s, Hannah Mary was arrested after the discovery of the headless, limbless torso of her lover, Wakefield Gaines.

With the help of Philadelphian historian Annie Anderson, Lucy discovers what life was like for African-American women living in the city only two decades after the end of slavery. Social reformers, keen to promote their interests, encouraged black women to adopt high moral standards of temperance, modesty, deference, and strict sexual mores.

But as Lucy discovers with Professor Kali Nicole Gross who has written a book about the case, Hannah Mary Tabbs was having none of this. She lived life on her own terms, blurring her identity, lying when it suited her and intimidating others to turn a blind eye to her affair with a man 10 years her junior.

We hear Hannah Mary’s own words as she tried to talk her way out of trouble by attempting to shift blame to the man co-accused of killing her lover.

To gain a contemporary perspective, Lucy and Kali ask how reliable the confessions extracted from black suspects by white police officers are, even now. To what extent is racial profiling relevant to this case? And what does this case say about the relationship between the black and white communities in the US?

And, we find out what really happened to Wakefield Gaines at the hands of Hannah Mary Tabbs.

Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Moya Angela and Jonathan Keeble
Sound Design: Chris Maclean

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:00 The Bright Side of Life (m001sv7y)
Episode 2

Early in 2023, the sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby fell ‘flat on his face’ on a pavement in central London. Soon afterwards he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease: a progressive condition for which there is no known cure. Confronting the reality of this, Nicholas decided he wanted to share his thoughts and feelings about living with a terminal illness and asked his brother, Jonathan to record these, joking “I shall have to be called Dwindleby now”.

Over the following six months, the brothers sat and talked at Nicholas’s kitchen table in Devon. They recorded their conversations to the sound of a ticking clock and occasional interventions from the family kitten. Nicholas describes how he shared the news with the family; the strange feeling of knowing your ‘sell by date’; and yet the benefits of being able to say ‘goodbye’ properly. He also speaks about his urge to have some control over the manner and timing of his own death, feeling himself to be almost a ‘ghost person’, semi-removed from the world.

The second episode starts in the High Dependency Unit at hospital, where Nicholas is recovering from his operation to have a feeding tube, or PEG fitted. Nicholas’s voice is affected in the same way as his other facial muscles, which means communicating is exhausting; it becomes increasingly hard to articulate his thoughts. Nevertheless, Nicholas tries to rely on his ‘blithe spirit’ to keep living ‘in the moment’ as much as possible, relishing time spent with family around the dinner table and sitting in his beautiful garden watching the house martins. He says he has 37 medicines to take and countless appointments with various clinicians. He relies on the power of metaphor, and he is sustained by hugs from those he loves as life becomes more challenging by the day.

This pair of programmes form an intimate and moving record of how one man grapples with what it is like to live with a fatal disease, to face that approaching terminus, to seek control over how he dies – while reflecting on how hopes to be remembered by those he will leave behind.

Presented by Nicholas and Jonathan Dimbleby, with thanks to the family.

Produced by Catherine Carr and Jo Rowntree

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

Details of help and support with MND are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m001sv84)
Chantal Joffe and Séamas O'Reilly

The artist Chantal Joffe picks I Capture The Castle, the English classic by Dodie Smith. Set in 1930s rural England, it relates the adventures of an eccentric family over the course of about a year. It's a book Chantal has come back to again and again, ever since she was a teenager. Séamas O'Reilly champions the Irish novel, A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy, which he argues deserves to be more widely known. And Harriett Gilbert recommends a graphic memoir by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, called The Secret to Superhuman Strength.

Chantal Joffe is an artist known for her often larger-than-life-sized paintings, of women and children in particular, which have been shown in solo exhibitions around the world. Séamas O'Reilly is a columnist for the Observer whose memoir is Did Ye Hear Mammy Die.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc
Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio


TUE 17:00 PM (m001sv8b)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001sv8j)
The workers had been trapped in a collapsed tunnel for 17 days


TUE 18:30 Best Medicine (m001sv8q)
Series 1

8. Doing Less, Gardening, The Smartphone, Expertise

Joining Kiri are historian Dr Paul Craddock who talks about what gardening and skin grafting have in common, comedian Shaparak Khorsandi who tells us how doing less helps manage her ADHD, Professor Roger Kneebone who explains how puppeteers, fighter pilots and chefs can teach surgeons to become more skilful and Professor Jamie Ward, who reveals how the smartphone can allow people see through their tongues and hear colours.

Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by funny and fascinating comedians, doctors, scientists and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.

Each week, Kiri challenges her guests to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each of them champions anything from world-changing science to an obscure invention, an everyday treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.

Whether it’s micro-robotic surgery, virtual reality syringes, Victorian clockwork surgical saws, more than a few ingenious cures for cancer, world-first lifesaving heart operations, epidurals, therapy, dancing, faith or laughter - it’s always something worth celebrating.

Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Featuring: Dr Paul Craddock, Shaparak Khorsandi, Professor Roger Kneebone and Professor Jamie Ward

Written by Edward Easton, Pravanya Pillay, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse

Producer: Ben Worsfield

Assistant Producer: Tashi Radha

Executive Producer: Simon Nicholls

Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones

A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001stz9)
Fallon and Emma vent their frustrations about Tom and Natasha’s imminent takeover – Tom’s already started micro-managing them and they fear his meddling will only get worse. They feel completely undermined, despite creating the perfect cheese biscuit for Grey Gables. Predictably, Tom then badgers Fallon with some ludicrous suggestions for vegetable-based bakes, citing Heston Blumenthal’s experimental approach as inspiration. Tom keeps pushing until Fallon agrees to give his ideas a go. Later, reluctant Emma does a taste test of Tom’s suggestions: kale croissant and cauliflower éclair. But the croissant is too watery and has turned into mush. Then, when Emma pronounces the cauliflower éclair one of the most disgusting things she’s ever tasted, Tom suggests the problem is in the baking, not the concept. However, when Fallon brings out some delicious cauliflower and kale empanadas even Tom has to concede they work better than his ideas. But he still wants another dish for the new menu: how about sprout strudel?
Lynda has called Jakob in for a health check on her llamas, but really wants to tackle him about the Christmas comedy show. Jakob says the favourite title so far is ‘The Gagricultural Show’. Lynda offers to get involved, but Jakob turns her down – Kate’s already assisting him. Lynda corrects Jakob, she wants to perform, not help out. Jakob tries turning her down on the grounds that she is not a farmer, but Lynda persists with several examples of her humour until he gives in. He’ll put her down for the show – but not in the veterinarian sense!


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001sv8x)
AI and publishing, terrible record covers, Fred D'Aguiar

Michael Connelly is one of several authors suing the tech company OpenAI for "theft" of his work. Nicola Solomon, outgoing Society of Authors CEO, and Sean Michaels, one of the first novelists to use AI, discuss the challenges and opportunities facing writers on the cusp of a new technological era.

What makes a great piece of terrible album artwork? The Williamson Gallery & Museum in Birkenhead is currently displaying nearly 500 albums which have been collected over a seven year period by Steve Goldman from record fairs and online market places as part of their ‘Worst Record Covers’ exhibition. Samira is joined by the exhibition curator Niall Hodson and the writer, journalist and author of “The Sound of Being Human” Jude Rogers.

The most famous event in Los Angeles in 1852 was a horse race. Fortunes were won and lost on Pio Pico's horse Sarco and Jose Sepulveda's Black Swan. Widespread press reports included the horses’ names and the names of their owners - but not the name of the black jockey who won. Apart from his colour, we know nothing about him. Fred D’Aguiar talks to Samira Ahmed about his latest collection of poems, 'For the Unnamed', in which he recovers and re-imagines the story, giving the black jockey the presence today he was denied in his lifetime.


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001sv93)
Artificial Intelligence: The Criminal Threat

Artificial intelligence, or AI, makes it possible for machines to learn - and in the future it will perform many tasks now done by humans. But are criminals and bad actors ahead of the curve? AI is already being used to commit fraud and other crimes by generating fake videos and audio; fast emerging threats that form just part of a potential new crime wave. File on 4 investigates.

Reporter: Paul Connolly
Producer: Fergus Hewison
Editor: Carl Johnston


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001sv99)
Scotland's Train Ticket Offices; Awards for Service

A few weeks ago, many In Touch listeners would have given a huge sigh of relief when it was announced that the plans to close ticketing offices at England's train stations had been revised. That got us thinking about what is happening elsewhere in the UK. In Scotland, there are no plans to close any ticket offices but, following a consultation, ministers are yet to reach a decision on their opening hours. We delve into this with Alastair Dalton, who is the transport correspondent for The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday, along with two visually impaired train users, Melinda Hanvey and Janice Mitchell.

And it appears to be award season for the visual impairment charity sector, with two awards in one month! Tune in to find out who won.

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


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (m001stzk)
ADHD medication shortage, life after being a carer and the benefits of keeping positive secrets

This Autumn, the UK has seen a shortage of life-altering medication for people living with ADHD. Many have found themselves completely out of pills and are now having to deal with symptoms which made life so tough prior to their diagnosis. Claudia Hammond hears about this challenging situation from Steph, who was only diagnosed with ADHD in August but experienced life-altering benefits after taking medication. Now having run out, she's struggling, and worries that even if she gets her prescription soon, this might happen again. Claudia hears what's caused this shortage from Martin Sawer, executive director of the UK Healthcare Distribution Association, and what people living with ADHD can do in the meantime from psychiatrist, Uthish Sreedaran.

Caring for a relative in the final months of their life can be challenging and all consuming. And once they pass away, the carer can be left not only feeling bereaved but without a purpose. Nick contacted allinthemind@bbc.co.uk to explain how he struggled when he lost his wife following years of caring for her, and how - after a period of complete darkness - a new purpose emerged in his life.

Catherine Loveday, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Westminster, joins Claudia in the studio to discuss how different people assume distinct roles when caring for a relative with dementia, why keeping positive news a secret might bring us benefits and your experiences of forgetting 2021...

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Julia Ravey
Studio Manager: Tim Heffer
Editor: Holly Squire
Production Co-ordinator: Siobhan Maguire


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m001sv33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001sv9j)
Workers rescued from Indian tunnel

Some 41 construction workers have been rescued from a collapsed road tunnel in India after being trapped for 17 days. We hear from one of India's top tunnel engineers, who was on the rescue team, and ask whether the country's construction practices were partly to blame for the tunnel's collapse.

Also tonight:

Another 12 hostages have arrived in Israel after being freed from Gaza. As the heads of US and Israeli intelligence meet to discuss an extension to the truce - we speak to one of America's most experienced Middle East diplomats.

And - as "Now That's What I Call Music" celebrates its 40th anniversary... we called the man who had the idea for the world-beating musical compilation.


TUE 22:45 Miss Buncle's Book by DE Stevenson (m001sv9n)
Episode 2

As ripples from the Great Depression reach a cosy English village, Barbara Buncle finds an inventive way to supplement her meagre income. Life in Silverstream will never be the same once her thinly fictionalised novel has laid bare the life, loves and eccentricities of her neighbours.

With the rhythms of village life continuing as usual it becomes clear that Miss Buncle is not the only Silverstream resident to have money on her mind.

Read by Madeleine Worrall
Written by D.E. Stevenson
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Scottish author D.E. Stevenson was a prolific name in the light romantic fiction genre, topping best seller lists from the 1930s to the 1960s. MISS BUNCLE’S BOOK, her best-known publication, is a delight; funny, engaging and well worth rediscovering 50 years after the author’s death.


TUE 23:00 Now You're Asking with Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn (m001sv9s)
The Package Holiday Problem

Your new boyfriend wants to go on a package holiday by the sea, but you’d rather be hiking in the mountains – is it time to dump him? Your friends are telling you to make more of an effort but you’re happy in your old clothes – is it time to smarten up? And you’re a working mum of a toddler but you find yourself ‘zoning out’ when he’s in your care – is it time to worry?

All this and robbing a bank the middle-aged way are tackled by Marian and Tara.

Marian Keyes is a multi award-winning writer, with a total of over 30 million of her books sold to date in 33 languages. Her close friend Tara Flynn is an actress, comedian and writer. Together, these two friends have been through a lot, and now want to use their considerable life experience to help solve the biggest - and smallest - things that keep us awake at night.

Previous series were welcomed by listeners and critics:
"Both are warm and kind enough to not only be funny but also offer genuinely thoughtful, if left-field, advice." (Miranda Sawyer, The Observer)
"Keyes and Flynn are my new favourite double-act." (Jane Anderson - Radio Times)
"I found their compassion endlessly soothing." (Rachel Cunliffe - The New Statesman)

Recorded in Dublin with emails received from listeners around the world, the hosts invite you to pull up a chair at their virtual kitchen table as they read and digest their inbox.

Got a problem you want Marian and Tara to solve? Email: marianandtara@bbc.co.uk.

Producer: Steve Doherty.
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001sv9x)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament