SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2024

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001w1hh)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Food for Life by Tim Spector (m001w1b1)
Ep10 – Sweet Treats

Our sweet tooth comes from our ancestors seeking out honey and sweet berries to provide an instant energy boost that allowed survival against fast-moving predators. Modern diets contain refined sugar and syrups lurking in many foods, and we may not be able to tell just how much we are eating. 

From honey to highly processed chocolate, what is the impact of sugar on our bodies? How can we make food choices that support our health and the health of our planet?

Written by Tim Spector
Read by John Lightbody
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Naomi Walmsley


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001w1hk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001w1hm)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001w1hp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001w1hr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001w1ht)
New every morning

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Eleanor Jeans

New every morning

Good Morning,

We are already over a month into the new year. How is that even possible? I don’t know whether you are like me, but I didn’t make any official new year’s resolutions this year because I know I’m pretty useless at keeping them. In previous years my attempts to exercise or eat better have fallen almost at the first hurdle.

However, a new year is a good opportunity to take stock, to look back and to ponder what might be ahead.

Now you might be wondering why I am talking about new year when it’s February. Well, simply because today is Chinese New Year. Our Cantonese Fellowship at my church recently celebrated by teaching church members how to do Chinese paper cutting, a celebratory activity for the new year.

There was such beauty in the intricate designs, where light would shine through the spaces creating and producing not just a light, but the image from the paper cuts.

And that image reminds me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God, intricately created, where the light of Jesus can shine through in the way he has created me to be, like those pieces of paper.

Now there are times, like when I don’t keep my resolutions, or when I make mistakes, that I might well mess up that image, but I find such comfort in knowing that God’s mercies are new every morning. And that’s not a once a year thing, but every single day.

So today I pray, Lord God, for love and mercy this new day, to be the person I am created to be, to know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Amen


SAT 05:45 The Banksy Story (m001p1ld)
6. LA Story

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

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

In this episode - a new show in LA, Barely Legal, brings in huge celebrity names and, back in the UK, Steph's life at Pictures on Walls gets trickier.

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

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001w6lh)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001w12m)
Tales from the Quoile Riverbank

Over the centuries the River Quoile has carried Vikings, steam ships and cargoes of coal and timber from as far afield as the Baltic and Canada. Today it's a river for leisure pursuits – popular with canoeists, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts.

Cadogan Enright is a councillor, environmental campaigner and chairman of the local canoe club. He takes Helen Mark out on the river to sing its praises, but also to point out concerns. He tells her that Downpatrick and the surrounding countryside were prone to tidal flooding in the past, but now the threat comes from the land - with increasing winter storms leaving the land saturated. Helen meets Robert Gardiner, chairman of the railway museum, who shows her how the water flooded their exhibition gallery last year and has threatened the museum's financial future.

Back on the riverbank, Helen meets Stephen O'Hare, a member of the River Quoile Trust which campaigns for improvements to the river. He shows her the remains of quays along the riverbank, which were once busy dockside areas for cross channel steam ships during the industrial revolution. Trade died out because of the unpredictability of the tides and the difficulties of navigating Strangford Lough out to the Irish sea, and came to a halt in 1957 when a flood barrier was built at the mouth of the river.

As for the Vikings – they haven't quite disappeared. Viking historian Philip Campbell and a group of enthusiasts have built a re-enactment village and a replica longship which they sail on stretches of the Quoile. He tells Helen that, as its dragon head noses through the waters which wind around the gentle drumlin countryside, he is filled with appreciation for the beauty of the river and its importance through the centuries.

Produced by Kathleen Carragher


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001w6lk)
10/02/24 Farming Today This Week: Protests in Wales; Subsidies in Scotland; Anniversary of cockle pickers tragedy; Working dogs.

Farming leaders in Wales have warned of "huge unrest" over planned Welsh government reforms to farm support payments, claiming mass protests are now "more or less inevitable". The Welsh government has urged farmers to participate in a consultation on their plans - which would require farms to have 10% tree cover and manage a further 10% of their land as wildlife habitat in order to access funding in future. 

Scotland's farmers will continue receiving most of their existing subsidies for growing food. The Scottish First Minister Humuza Yousaf has announced that 70% of future support in Scotland will be direct payments. This is the Scottish post-Brexit system which will replace the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and is in marked contrast to the new systems being introduced in England and Wales where the vast majority of public money will be paid only for environmental work, and direct payments are phased out.

It's 20 years since the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. 23 people lost their lives after getting cut off by the Bay’s notoriously fast flowing tide while gathering cockles. Those who drowned were Chinese Migrants, illegally smuggled into the country and were working as forced labour for criminal gangmasters. The tragedy paved the way for the creation of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in 2005 and to this day, anyone supplying workers into the shellfish sector, and into agriculture and horticulture, requires a licence with what is now the GLAA.

We visit Glynhynod Farm, which means "Remarkable Valley" in Welsh - a family business making Caerphilly and Gouda and distilling Welsh whisky.

Also, what makes a champion sheepdog? We find out from a handler who's worked with dogs all his life.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001w6lm)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001w6lp)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001w6lr)
Joe Lycett, Alison Lapper, Russell T Davies, Richard Hammond

National sweetheart, and very silly boy, Joe Lycett adds some pizazz to proceedings...as he talks art, Queen's Heath and his special brand of public service vigilantism as he sets his sights on the water companies.

The writer, producer and creator behind landmark TV series; Queer as Folk, It’s A Sin, Years and Doctor Who, Russell T Davies, looks back on a ground-breaking career.

So much has happened in the life of Alison Lapper since that beautiful Mark Quinn sculpture, ‘Alison Lapper Pregnant’, sat proudly on The Fourth Plinth. She reveals how she processed the grief of the loss of her son into her latest exhibition.

And we have the Inheritance Tracks of The Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond as he embarks on the trios penultimate outing.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Greg James
Producer: Ben Mitchell

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we discuss in this programme – you can find links to organisations that can help here: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m001w6lt)
Simón Bolívar

In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr Francisco Eissa-Barroso and comedian Katie Green to learn all about the complicated life and legacy of nineteenth-century South American revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar. Bolívar liberated six modern countries from Spanish colonial rule, but also had himself appointed president for life, and argued that popular elections had led to the failure of earlier revolutions. Taking in Bolívar’s political philosophy, scandalous personal relationships, and constant military struggles to liberate and unify South America, this episode explores the life, times, and legend of this complex man.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Roxy Moore
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Caitlin Hobbs
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse


SAT 10:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m001pm85)
Series 2

Llandudno to Cardiff

Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his series of rail journeys with a north to south trip across Wales from Llandudno to Cardiff

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

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

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

In this programme, Alexei meets Mags, Karen, Anne and Nicky who call themselves the ‘cycling widows’ and are determined to enjoy themselves while their partners are off on two wheels somewhere; 16 year-olds Isaac and Finlay are aspiring footballers and share their dreams with Alexei of one day playing in the Premier League and for their country; Dewi is travelling to a retreat for help with his mental health problems; and Sarah and David surprise Alexei with their tales of long distance rail travel – including a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express fuelled only by pot noodles and vodka and thousands of miles in India in second class carriages meeting some of the 23 million people who take a train there every day.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m001w6lw)
Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001w6ly)
Who will govern Pakistan?

Kate Adie presents stories from Pakistan, Syria, Gaza, Trinidad and Tobago and Ivory Coast.

With most of the results now declared in Pakistan's general election, no political force has a clear majority. Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan is claiming victory, and another ex-PM, Nawaz Sharif, says his party has emerged the largest and is urging others to join his coalition. Caroline Davies reflects on how the vote has divided the nation.

Residents of the tightly-controlled rebel-held area of Idlib, in Syria's north-west, are struggling to survive as aid funding has been cut one year on from the quake which struck Syria and Turkey. Leila Molana Allen visits an orphanage where children try to imagine a better future.

Lucy Williamson follows the story of six-year-old Hind Rajab who was caught up in crossfire when she tried to leave Gaza City, following evacuation orders by Israel's military. She describes the efforts to stay in contact with her after her family died, and the perilous nature of rescue efforts that are replicated every day.

Trinidad and Tobago is one of the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean, thanks to significant oil and gas reserves. But Tobagans often complain that Trinidad has reaped the benefits at the expense of their own smaller island. Sara Wheeler paid the island a visit.

And finally, on Sunday Nigeria faces Ivory Coast in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. James Copnall was there for the tournament, twenty years after he worked there as a correspondent. He charts its transformation after years of civil war.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001w6m0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001w6m3)
Citizens Advice Closure and Investment Platforms

Dozens of Citizens Advice centres are at risk of closing because local councils which support them are running out of money. That warning came this week by the senior Labour MP Clive Betts in an exclusive interview with Money Box. He is also the Chair of Parliament's select committee on Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Dan Whitworth visits one of those citizens advice services at risk in Mansfield. The government says up to £64 billion has been made available to local authorities in England, an increase of 7.5% on the previous year which will allow local authorities to support communities and reform services to help them prepare for the future.

The cost of a comfortable retirement in Britain has jumped by nearly £6,000 to just over £43,000 a year for a single person and £59,000 for a couple. Every year the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association publishes figures worked out by Loughborough University for the amount of money you'd need to afford certain lifestyles in retirement. How is it calculated and how can you prepare for your retirement?

And, investment platforms and providers of personal pensions, have just a few weeks left to make sure the way they treat customers' cash balances fits in with new rules called their Consumer Duty. In December the Financial Conduct Authority wrote to 42 firms after concerns that some of them were keeping some or all of the interest they earn on customers’ cash balances. And with rates of 4% or more that's meant big returns. If you invest, what might that mean for you?

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

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 10th February 2024)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m001w1gj)
Series 113

Episode 6

Coming to you from Belfast this week, Andy Zaltzman quizzes the news with Zoe Lyons, Neil Delamere, Diona Doherty, and Alex Kane.

In this episode Andy and the panel will be asking if turning the Northern Ireland Assembly off and on has made it work again?

Why is Labour keeping the red flag flying?… a Formula 1-style red flag, that is, which they’re waving at their own environment policy to tell it it’s off.

And whose chopper has got them in trouble?

Written by Andy Zaltzman

With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Alison Spittle, John Meagher, and Claire Sullivan

Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001w6m7)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001w6mc)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001w1h0)
Dame Jackie Baillie MSP, Murdo Fraser MSP, Joyce McMillan, Alyn Smith MP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from St Matthew's Church in Perth with the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour party Dame Jackie Baillie MSP, the Conservative spokesperson for Business, Economic Growth and Tourism Murdo Fraser MSP, The Scotsman columnist and theatre critic Joyce McMillan and the SNP's Europe spokesperson Alyn Smyth MP.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead broadcast engineer: Kris McConnachie


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001w6mh)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week


SAT 14:45 The Banksy Story (m001p1ry)
7. A Nightmare on Oxford St

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

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

In this episode, a nightmare exhibition on Oxford Street sees Steph in big trouble with the big man.

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

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 15:00 Turning Point (m001w6ml)
Southall Uprising

Set in immigrant, working class Southall, West London during the highly charged racially divided climate of a late 1970s Britain, on the cusp of Thatcherism. 1976, the racist murder of teenager Gurdip Singh Chaggar led to escalating tensions between Black/Asian locals and the far right. On St. George’s Day, April 23rd 1979, Tory-run Ealing Council and the Labour government permit a National Front pre-election rally at the town hall, in the heart of Southall. In an act of determined resistance, the community peacefully sits down to stand up to racism, against ensuing police brutality that ultimately leads to the death of protesting New Zealand teacher Blair Peach.

2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the Southall Uprising, a turning point in the birth of an Asian/Black Britain. St. George’s Day 1979 is remembered for when this small, hard-working immigrant community fought back against the far-right and its calls for immigrant repatriation, forced to collectively defend and assert its right to live, work and exist in a new, emerging multicultural Britain.

Satinder Chohan's drama is based on the true events and testimonies of people who attended the protest in 1979 and was recorded on location in Southall.

RAMI….Gavi Singh Chera
KIYANA……….Grace Saif
BHUPI……Zainab Hasan
ASIM……Gurjeet Singh
DAD/ SHERA/ UNCLE MONU……Ameet Chana
MUM/ AUNTY……Manjinder Virk
POLICE OFFICER/PROTESTOR....John Lightbody
POLICE OFFICER/PROTESTOR.....Tyler Cameron
PROTESTORS......members of the Punjabi Theatre Academy Tajinder Pal Singh, Balvinder Kumar, Balwinder Jhim. Nahar Singh Gill and students from Praxis Performing Arts at Uxbridge College: Alannah Dolphin, Keira Doyle, Chiana Elliott, Rico Joseph, Jevounghn Gregg Fuller. Tay Furzer-Pickett, Ronan Kubilius. Peelo Mookodi, Quinn (Rebecca) Puse, Max Mcdermott, Jason O’Connor, Sienna O' Connor, Lilly Poore, Michael Stone, Hannah Williams, Natalie Young.

Production Co-ordinator: Lorna Newman
Technical Production, Location Recording and Sound Design: Sharon Hughes
Writer: Satinder Chohan
Director and Producer: Nadia Molinari
BBC Audio Drama North Production

Thanks to Janpal Basran and Southall Community Alliance; Robert Lane; Tajinder Pal Singh; Saravanaa Bhavan Southall.
Special thanks to all those who contributed their stories and experiences.

Guidance : the drama contains discriminatory language that may offend.

An EcoAudio certified production


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001w6mn)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Rhianon Bragg, Businesswoman and entrepreneur Emma Grede, Amelia Earhart’s legacy

Rhianon Bragg was held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-boyfriend, Gareth Wyn Jones, for eight hours. He was sentenced in 2020 for stalking, false imprisonment, making threats to kill and possession of a firearm. Now, despite a parole board panel saying they are not satisfied it would be safe, he is being released from prison. Rhianon tells us about how her relationship with Wyn Jones developed, what happened at the end, and how she feels about him coming out of prison.

Ambika Mod stars as Emma in the new Netflix adaptation of David Nicholls’ much-loved novel One Day. She acts opposite Leo Woodall as Dex, and their comedic romance plays out over 14 episodes and 20 years. You may have seen Ambika as Shruti, the junior doctor with a pivotal plot line in the BBC labour ward drama This is Going to Hurt. She tells us about taking on this lead role.

On Thursday Kate Garraway returned to Good Morning Britain following the death of her husband, Derek. She spoke about her reaction to being called a widow for the first time, by a delivery man, apologising for her loss. We hear from Poorna Bell, a journalist and author who lost her husband in 2015, and Karen Sutton, host of The Widow Podcast, who became a trained grief coach after her husband died in 2016.

New sonar images from deep in the Pacific Ocean might have located the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s missing plane. Has Earhart’s disappearance finally been solved, or has the obsession with this mystery distracted us from the pioneering woman herself? Pilot Katherine Moloney and historian Dr Darren Reid discuss Amelia Earhart, her legacy, and women in aviation today.

Emma Grede, a native East Londoner, now a thriving businesswoman in the US, is known for her entrepreneurial prowess and successful collaborations with the Kardashian sisters. Emma is a driving force behind iconic brands like Good American and Skims. She will soon be making her mark as a guest investor on an upcoming episode of BBC’s Dragon's Den.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed


SAT 17:00 PM (m001w6mq)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m001w6ms)
The Shabana Mahmood One

The Shadow Justice Secretary and Labour's most senior Muslim MP reflects on Gaza, her faith and campaigning for Rishi Sunak's "geek vote" when they were at university

Producer: Daniel Kraemer


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001w6mv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001w6mx)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001w6mz)
6-year old was fleeing with relatives when they appear to have come across Israeli forces. Allies of Pakistan's jailed former PM, Imran Khan, say they'll try to form a government.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001w6n1)
Andy Nyman, Stella Graham, Luisa Omielan and Bernie, Kavi Pujara, Liam Bailey, Ffion Rebecca, Richie Anderson, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Richie Anderson are joined by Andy Nyman, Stella Graham, Luisa Omielan and Bernie Kavi Pujara for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Liam Bailey and Ffion Rebecca, recorded live at Curve Theatre, Leicester.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m001w6n3)
Emma Little-Pengelly

With power sharing in Northern Ireland restored after a two year hiatus, the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly has landed herself a top job - Deputy First Minister. It’s the first time a unionist has been in the role.

Hailing from a border town in Northern Ireland, County Armagh, she grew up during the Troubles. Her house was damaged in a bomb attack. Having held several positions in Stormont and Westminster, Little-Pengelly has now taken up her new role opposite Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill.

Co-opted to the position, rather than elected, she is facing new scrutiny in Northern Ireland. Who is the trained barrister turned DUP rising star?

Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Ellie House and Madeleine Drury
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio Manager: James Beard


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m001w6n5)
Yorgos Lanthimos

Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos first emerged as part the so-called ‘weird wave’ of Greek cinema, and is known for unsettling themes and absurdist humour of his films. He made his mark internationally in 2009 with Dogtooth, which won a Cannes film festival prize and was nominated for an Oscar. Shifting into English language cinema with The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell and Olivia Colman, he continued to win awards and acclaim with The Killing Of A Sacred Deer and his historical comedy drama The Favourite. His most recent film Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, has been nominated for eleven Academy awards, including best film and best director.

Yorgos Lanthimos tells John Wilson about his upbringing in Athens, the son of a professional basketball player who was part of the Greek national team, and how, after graduating from film school, he began making commercials and pop videos. He reveals why the work of the American photographer Diane Arbus, renowned for the underlying psychological tension of her portraits, was a major inspiration on the mood of his films. He also cites the influences of the German choreographer Pina Bausch on visual elements in his films, including dance routines seen in The Favourite and Poor Things. The plays of the British writer Sarah Kane, including Blasted and Crave, were also influential on the tone of his darkly humorous films.

Producer: Edwina Pitman

Diane Arbus' quote is from the documentary film Going Where I've Never Been: The Photography of Diane Arbus (1972), voiced by Mariclare Costello.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0001zwz)
Chemists' Dirty Secret

For more than a hundred years chemical weapons have terrorised, maimed and killed soldiers and civilians alike. As a chemist, the part his profession has played in the development of these weapons has long concerned Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at University College London. In this programme he examines the motivation of chemists like Dr Fritz Haber, who first encouraged the German military to deploy chlorine gas in World War One for the sake of “The Fatherland” and of Dr Gerhard Schrader, who, in his hunt for an effective pesticide, accidentally discovered a new class of lethal nerve agents for Nazi Germany.
From chlorine, phosgene and the mustard gases, to tabun, sarin, soman, VX and the novichok agents used to target former Soviet agent Sergei Skripal in England, Andrea weaves archive with interviews with key figures in the ongoing campaign to control and ban the use of such weapons and he asks how science educators can prepare young chemists for the moral hazard posed by this particular class of weapon.

Producer: Fiona Hill


SAT 21:00 Drama on 4 (m0002rmp)
China Towns

Episode 4

Inspired by the novels of Arnold Bennett, an epic tale of money, passion and defiance set in the Staffordshire potteries. Dramatised for radio by Lin Coghlan and Shaun McKenna

Stranded in Paris, Sophia’s fate hangs in the balance. Back home, outspoken and fearless Hilda Lessways is breaking hearts and turning heads.

Ephraim Tellwright . . . Neil Dudgeon
Edwin . . . Cameron Percival
Sophia . . . Alexandra Constantinidi
Gerald Scales . . . Christopher Harper
Chirac . . . Charlie Anson
Madame Foucault . . . Caroline Loncq
Hilda Lessways . . . Lucy Doyle
George Cannon . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Sarah Gailey . . . Clare Corbett
Florrie . . . Helen Monks
Dayton . . . Don Gilet
Cassie . . . Jeanette Percival
Elliott . . . Paul Bown
Davis . . . Tony Turner

Incidental music arranged by Colin Guthrie and performed by Colin Guthrie, Peter Ringrose and Ian Conningham.

Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow


SAT 22:00 News (m001w6n7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Add to Playlist (m001w1gw)
Corinne Bailey Rae and Nicky Spence launch a brand new series

It's the start of a new playlist, and to get things going, singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae and the Scottish operatic tenor Nicky Spence join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the first five tracks.

As well as discussing the five compositions, the four are outnumbered by the London Bulgarian Choir who give a special live performance in the Add to Playlist studio. Also, producer Fraser T Smith sends a message about the recording of one of Adele's biggest hits.

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

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Povela E Yova / Dilmano Dilbero by The London Bulgarian Choir
Confrontation and Rescue from Satyagraha by Philip Glass
Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
Meditation (Meditação) by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Frank Sinatra
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

Other music in this episode:

A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band


SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (m001w0rp)
Series 37

Heat 9, 2024

(9/13)

Another three music enthusiasts from around the UK face Paul Gambaccini's questions in the latest contest from the BBC's studios in Salford. Whether it's chart music, classic rock, jazz, musical theatre, film and TV themes or the whole gamut of the classical repertoire, they'll have to prove the breadth of their knowledge if they're to win the last of the places up for grabs in the semi-finals.

Appearing today are
Andrew Fisher from Sheffield
Caroline McKay from Frodsham in Cheshire
Sarah Wade from Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire.

The contenders will also have to select a special musical category on which to answer their own individual questions, with no prior warning of the subject choices they'll be offered.

The semi-finals begin next week.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Offstage: Inside The X Factor (m001w22s)
3. The Biggest Opportunity

The contestants who make it through to the live shows live together in a shared house. Chi Chi hears tales of long days, press stories, painful teeth whitening, and a sense of nervous anticipation.
Join Chi Chi Izundu as she looks back on the world of The X Factor, where contestants perform in front of celebrity judges to realise their dream of becoming household names. It’s a world of glamour and excitement, but also of hard truths, hard words and hard work.
Offstage: Inside The X Factor captures the emotion, the excitement and the drama of the show and features some of the captivating characters that led to its enduring success. But it also looks beyond the glitz and glamour revealing how contestants and staff felt, the toll it took on some of them and what they say happened behind the scenes. 

Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu
Producers: Rob Brown, Jo Adnitt, Lucy Burns, Joe Kent
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Archive:
The X Factor series 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16 (Fremantle/Syco/ITV)
Youtube/wearebelleamie (2010)

SUNDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2024

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001w6n9)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Testament to Rose (m001w0v2)
When beatboxer and poet Testament discovers a mixed-race poet once lived and prospered 200 years ago in his hometown of Manchester, he’s captivated. He sets off to talk to historians, a librarian and even a descendant of one of Robert Rose’s friends to find out what he can about The Bard of Colour – Rose’s self-given title. In Britain’s oldest public library, Chetham’s Library, Testament handles one of Rose’s notebooks, marvelling at his beautiful handwriting.

What was the half-Guyanese Robert Rose doing here, in Victorian Manchester, on a generous private income, wining and dining with people of influence? Educated at public school, who were his patrons? Who were his parents? Why is he obscured from history? And is his poetry any good? A resounding "Yes!" from poet, novelist and fellow Guyanese David Dabydean who, like Testament, is excited to discover the work of Robert Rose.

A radical unafraid to speak up against slavery, a man with a vivid social life and many good friends, Rose was nevertheless far from home. Paterson Joseph brings Rose’s lyrical verse to life, some of it full of longing: "A wanderer here, O! Who for me would mourn/If the vast sea of life should o'er me close?"

Presented by Testament
Contributors: David Dabydeen, Lucy Evans, David Altson, Fergus Wilde, Michael Kelly, Jeanne Carmont
Voice of Robert Rose: Paterson Joseph
Research by Glynis Greenman
Additional recording: Ed Heaton
Produced by Nija Dalal-Small
Executive Producer: Mel Harris
Sound Design by Eloise Whitmore
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001w6nc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001w6nf)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001w6nh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001w6nk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001w6nm)
The church of St Mary’s, Bridgwater, Somerset

Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St Mary’s Bridgwater Somerset. The present church dates primarily from the 14th and 15th centuries and is notable for its Gothic architecture and unusually tall 53 metre spire. In 2020 Taylors of Loughborough augmented the previous ring of eight bells to a ring of twelve with a Tenor weighing 25 hundredweight and tuned to the note of D. We hear them ringing Zanussi Surprise Major.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m001w6n3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001w6xd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01886zz)
99 Words - Episode 2

When Liz Gray found herself forced into a strange period of enforced retreat by a whiplash injury, the following question came to her mind: if you had breath for no more than 99 words, what would they be?

She began asking friends, colleagues, artists and political figures she admired, gathering together a collection of 99 responses.

In the second of a pair of programmes, she introduces contributions from, among others, the artist Keith Critchlow, the human rights campaigner Helen Bamber, the writer Ariel Dorfman and film maker Sally Potter.

Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m001w6y3)
Tales from a Remarkable Valley

In 1981 a group of friends arrived at Glynhynod Farm in west Wales from Holland, armed with a dream of living a self-sufficient lifestyle. They brought with them, crucially, the know-how to make a special type of Dutch Gouda, based on a 500 year-old recipe. Soon after, Caws Teifi (Teifi Cheese) began, named after the river that marks the boundary between the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, a tributary of which runs through Glynhynod. Cheese-making is still going strong at the farm today. Producing organic gouda, halloumi and butter, all from raw milk, the team has recently been awarded protected status to make Welsh Caerphilly.

Verity Sharp meets brothers Robert and John-James Savage Onstwedder who, as the second generation, are increasingly taking the reins at Glynhynod and who very much have eyes on the future. A few years ago they diversified into organic spirits, installing a distillery to produce gin, whisky, rum and brandy, and building work is underway to expand cheese production - developments they are having to balance with the desire to keep the business ethical, sustainable and artisanal. Verity also meets Paula Van Werkhoven, one of the original founder members at Glynhynod Farm, who still sparkles with memories of those early, pioneering days, and deep Welsh snow.

Produced and presented by Verity Sharp


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001w6ym)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001w6z3)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001w6zk)
Asylum Conversions, the Power of Prayer, 'Sexualised' Jesus

Sunday's interview last week with Weymouth Baptist Church has led to a great deal of debate about whether church leaders are backing fraudulent asylum claims. The home secretary is now investigating how the asylum system deals with migrants who have converted to Christianity. We talk to the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani on the churches role in asylum.

Religious leaders across different faiths united to offer their prayers for King Charles following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis. How is personal faith challenged by a cancer diagnosis and how do different faiths and modern science approach the idea of praying for someone’s health in times of sickness? We hear US neuroscientist Joshua Brown and Kishori Jani, a teacher of Hindu scripture who runs popular social media channels featuring mantra chanting.

Spanish artist Salustiano García Cruz's depiction of a handsome, youthful Jesus on a poster in Seville has become the source of controversy. The painting, which shows a young and muscular Jesus in a loincloth, has critics – largely conservatives on social media – calling the image "offensive", "evil", and too "sexualised" for Holy Week. We take a look into how Jesus has been depicted in art over the centuries with Dr Siobhan Jolley, Art and Religion specialist at the National Gallery.

PRESENTER: EMILY BUCHANAN
PRODUCERS: ALEXA GOOD AND ROSIE DAWSON
EDITOR: DAN TIERNEY


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001w702)
Future Talent

Alexander Armstrong makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Future Talent.

To Give:
- UK Freephone 0800 404 8144
-You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That’s the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope ‘Future Talent’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Future Talent’.
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.

Charity number: 1183804


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001w70h)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001w70w)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001w719)
What am I made for?

Billie Eilish has dedicated an award for her Barbie film soundtrack song 'What am I made for' to 'anyone experiencing hopelessness'. At this time of year as millions of cards are sent and received marking St Valentine's Day, this Sunday Worship explores fascinating questions about identity and love raised in the blockbuster film. Theologians and Christian leaders have been busy drawing parallels between the film and biblical themes - which youth ministry specialist Rachel Gardner and theologian and founder of the Sanctuary Foundation Dr Krish Kandiah OBE discuss in this service. The programme includes hymns, worship songs, and the award winning music from the film, along with readings from 1 Corinthians 13 and Psalm 139. Producer: Philip Billson


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001w1h3)
Why is my handwriting so bad?

Tom Shakespeare reflects on the 'endangered skill of handwriting.'

'The most ambitious thing I author,' writes Tom, 'is the shopping list on my fridge. And several times a week I scrawl with my index finger when something is delivered'.

His handwriting, he says, has gone to pot. He knows he's not alone.

So he resolves to put that right and get more practice.

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


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378t4y)
Great Black-backed Gull

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

Michaela Strachan presents the great black-backed gull. These gulls are the largest in the world. They are quite common around our coasts and you can see them in summer perched on a crag watching for any signs of danger or potential prey. Although they are scavengers Great Black-Backs will attack and kill other birds.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001w71n)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001w720)
WRITER: Keri Davies
DIRECTOR: Peter Leslie Wild

Jolene Archer… Buffy Davis
Kenton Archer …. Richard Attlee
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Tom Archer …. William Troughton
Tony Archer …. David Troughton
Harrison Burns …. James Cartwright
Alice Carter …. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter …. Charlotte Martin
Eve Chilcott …. Juliet Aubrey
Harry Chilcott …. Jack Ashton
Clarrie Grundy …. Heather Bell
Adam Macy …. Andrew Wincott
Fallon Rogers …. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell …. Carole Boyd


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m001w72b)
Cillian Murphy, actor

Cillian Murphy has received global acclaim for his performance in the title role of Christopher Nolan’s epic film Oppenheimer. He has been nominated for an Oscar, which follows the best actor award he picked up at this year’s Golden Globes. On the small screen he played the Birmingham gangster Thomas Shelby for a decade in the BAFTA-winning Peaky Blinders, which made him a household name.

Cillian was born in Cork in 1976 and initially music was his creative outlet. His band Sons of Mr Green Genes, which he formed with his younger brother, was offered a five album record deal, but the boys’ parents thought his brother was too young and vetoed a career in music.

Cillian changed tack and in 1996 was cast as Pig in Enda Walsh’s play Disco Pigs, reprising the role in a film version in 2001. His breakthrough film role came playing Jim the bicycle courier in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later in 2002 which he followed up with a starring role in Ken Loach’s the Wind that Shakes the Barley.

In 2005 he played Dr Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow - in Christopher Nolan’s film Batman Begins, which was the start of their continuing creative collaboration.

Cillian lives in Ireland with his wife, the artist Yvonne McGuinness, and their two sons.

DISC ONE: The Boy in the Bubble - Paul Simon
DISC TWO: The Wandering Minstrel - Séamus Ennis
DISC THREE: Walter’s Trip - The Frank and Walters
DISC FOUR: Bullet the Blue Sky - U2
DISC FIVE: Somebody to Love - Queen
DISC SIX: Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead
DISC SEVEN: We Can Work it Out - The Beatles
DISC EIGHT: If I Was A Painter - Lisa O’Neill

BOOK CHOICE: Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works
LUXURY ITEM: An acoustic guitar and strings
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: We Can Work it Out - The Beatles

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001w72l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m001w0wb)
Series 92

5. Angela Barnes never scrimps on colonics

Sue Perkins challenges Paul Merton, Eshaan Akbar, Lucy Porter and Angela Barnes to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

The long-running Radio 4 panel game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from witches to paisley.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Rajiv Karia
An EcoAudio certified production.

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001w6yj)
Love on a Plate

From warming aphrodisiacs in the early modern period, to date-night oysters and champagne or a loving dish of hot macaroni cheese, sharing food has always been a way for people to connect, and in some cases it can make us feel loved or even in the mood for romance..

In this programme, Jaega Wise seeks to uncover some of the reasons why this connection between food and love exists, and asks whether it's what's on the plate that is doing something inside us, or if it's all placebo, and it’s the act and ritual around eating (the setting, the conversation etc..) that can give us these feelings of love.

Featuring aphrodisiac and absinthe pairing at The Last Tuesday Society (east London) with historian Dr Jennifer Evans (University of Hertfordshire); romantic dining at London Shell Co; chef José Pizarro and partner Peter Meades; food writers Clare Finney and Skye McAlpine; experimental psychologist Prof Charles Spence plus research from The Good Housekeeping Institute on the relatively modern Valentine's day institution of dine-in meals for two.

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


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001w730)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001w736)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 Gangster (p0h2qs3g)
Catching the Kingpins

Catching the Kingpins: 6. Final Reckoning

The EncroChat hack has given the police unprecedented access to the secrets of organised crime. Nearly four years on from the hack, the detective who led the Met’s EncroChat investigation, DCI Driss Hayoukane, reveals what the police have learnt about OCGs which they didn’t know before.

Presenter Mobeen Azhar hears about the impact of the EncroChat operation from Driss and from the National Crime Agency. There have been thousands of arrests, 200 threats to life averted and tonnes of drugs seized. But has taking out the kingpins cut crime?

Catching the Kingpins is a BBC Studios Production for BBC Sounds.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Series Producer: Andrew Hosken
Editor and Executive Producer: Innes Bowen
Sound designer: Peregrine Andrews
Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna
Commissioning Editor: Louise Kattenhorn
Production Executive: Laura Jordan-Rowell
Creative Director for BBC Studios: Georgia Moseley
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister
Production manager: Elaina Boateng
Production coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Development Executive: Anya Saunders
Editorial Policy Advice: Su Pennington
Legal advice: Hashim Mude and Andrew Downey
Consulting editor: Steve Boulton
Studio recording: Aaron Cazzola

Thanks also to Beena Khetani, Adele Humbert, Hugh Levinson, Ali Rezakhani, Rhiannon Cobb, and Jack Griffith.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001w1f6)
Pewsey

Which plants should I avoid that are prone to spreading across chalky grassland? Any tips on growing tropical canna plants in the warmest corner of my garden? What’s the panel’s oldest and favourite gardening garment?

Peter Gibbs and a panel of horticultural experts provide some much needed advice to an audience in Pewsey. On the panel this week are pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood, house plant specialist Anne Swithinbank and award winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw.

Later in the programme, regular panellist Kirsty Wilson explores the history of the thistle plant as well as its significance to Scotland's national rugby union team, as this year's Six Nations Championship continues.

Producer: Dominic Tyerman

Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Short Works (m001p7pf)
She Named Us

An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from Northern Irish writer Matthew McDevitt. Read by Nigel O’Neill.

Matthew McDevitt was the recent recipient of the Element Pictures NI Writer’s Award. He was a participant in the BBC Writersroom’s Drama Room and Belfast Voices schemes. His credits include BBC NI’s ‘Soft Border Patrol’, Radio Ulster’s ‘Lock In’ and the Radio 4 short story ‘Handy Number’. Matthew also has a series of failed musical projects behind him that may or may not have been "ahead of their time".

Writer: Matthew McDevitt
Reader: Nigel O’Neill
Producer: Michael Shannon
Editor: Andy Martin

A BBC Northern Ireland production.


SUN 15:00 The Medici (m001w73l)
Series 2: The Inheritors

Episode 3 - Blood on the Streets

By Mike Walker

Catherine de Medici, orphaned within weeks of her birth, was raised in a nunnery, then sold into a political marriage in the French House of Valois. Her husband is now King Henri II and Catherine has secured her position by producing an heir, but religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics is on the rise across Europe, and when Henri dies it is left to Catherine to try to hold together the bundle of sticks that is France.

CAST
Catherine de Medici - Catrin Aaron
Silvestri - Julian Lewis Jones
Diane de Poitiers - Juliette Aubrey
King Henri II - Arthur Hughes
Guise - Joel MacCormack
Nurse - Heather Craney
Isabelle - Nia Gandhi
Coligny - Ian Dunnett Jnr
Le Conde - Matthew Bulgo
Cardinal Guise - Tom Mumford
Margot - Poppy Almond

Series Creator: Mike Walker
Sound: Catherine Robinson
Director: John Norton
A BBC Audio Drama Wales Production


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m001w73w)
Madeleine Grey

Madeleine Grey speaks to Johny Pitts about her humorous and heart breaking debut novel, Green Dot, about a young millennial woman's ill-fated affair.

Plus 'romantasy' - combining fantasy and racy romance, it's the hot new genre sought after by publishers and readers alike, and dominated by female authors and readers. To discuss its huge growth in popularity, Johny is joined by: Saara El-Arifi – bestselling author of Faebound, the first in a three part trilogy, which went straight to number one on release last month; Natasha Bardon – publisher of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Harper Voyager, of romantasy-focussed imprint Magpie Books, and of the upcoming ‘spicy’ romantasy list, the Midnight Collection; and by Katie Fraser – journalist for The Bookseller who writes about SFF.

And romance author Freya North shares her Book I Would Never Lend - Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam.

Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Emma Wallace

Book List- Sunday 11 February and Thursday 15 February

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Games of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Green Dot by Madeleine Grey
Luster by Raven Leilani
Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardam
Chloe by Freya North
The Unfinished Business of Eadie Brown by Freya North


SUN 16:30 Romance Is Dead: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Romantic Comedy (m001w743)
Boy meets girl, boy meets boy, obstacles arise, hilarity ensues and finally after some suspense…romance endures.

That formula for one of the staples of cinema, the rom com, has made films such as When Harry Met Sally, Four Weddings and A Funeral and You've Got Mail; Hollywood classics.

There have been many arguments about what the first Rom Com was, but the consensus appears to be that it all started back in 1924 with one silent movie in particular Girl Shy starring Harold Lloyd.

This movie, along with another classic called Sherlock Jnr starring Buster Keaton were the precursors to the ones we know, love and can’t help but continue to quote today. Back then they were silent movies and dialogue was captured by sign cards, it was a lot harder to say, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

William Shakespeare and Jane Austen have given writers plenty of inspiration for romantic comedy but is it still happily ever after? We celebrate meet cute, screen chemistry, representation, and cinema versus TV. Romance is Dead explores the highs, lows and joys of Rom Coms with a reminder of some of the greats and why we so often watch on repeat.

Corin Throsby talks to some Rom Com experts who wear their hearts on their sleeve – writer Scott Meslow, Hollywood screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen, Tim Bevan, joint CEO of Working Title Films which has produced some of our most loved Rom Coms and Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia, the writers of BAFTA nominated hit Rye Lane.

Curl up, tune in and enjoy.

Presenter: Corin Throsby
Producer: Belinda Naylor

Romance is Dead – Film Credits

When Harry Met Sally directed by Rob Reiner
Castle Rock Entertainment

It Happened One Night directed by Frank Capra
Columbia Pictures

You’ve Got Mail directed by Nora Ephron
Warner Brothers

Two Weeks Notice directed by Marc Lawrence
Castle Rock Entertainment

Notting Hill directed by Roger Michell
Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Working Title Films

Bros directed by Nicholas Stoller
Universal Pictures

Holidate directed by John Whitesell
Wonderland Sound and Vision

Four Weddings and a Funeral directed by Mike Newell
Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Channel Four Films/Working Title Films

Pride and Prejudice directed by Joe Wright
Universal Pictures/Studio Canal/Working Title Films,

Some Like it Hot directed by Billy Wilder
Ashton Productions/The Mirisch Corporation

Rye Lane directed by Raine Allen Miller
BBC Films/DJ Films/BFI


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m001w180)
A Plan to Kill - The Murder of Brianna Ghey

File on 4 tells the story behind the brutal killing of schoolgirl Brianna Ghey. She was attacked in a park near Warrington in Cheshire on a Saturday afternoon in February 2023. Two teenagers - Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe - who were obsessed with murder and torture, have been convicted of her murder. In the build-up to the killing, they exchanged text messages outlining details of their plan. The girl even wrote a detailed plan of how they would go about the murder which was found by police in her bedroom. File on 4 has discovered how she had been part of a 'managed move' to Brianna's school after she poisoned a younger girl with a cannabis-infused 'gummy' and didn't tell her what was in it. The 13-year-old became very poorly and the police were alerted. The victim's family decided against further action and the matter was referred back to the school. Scarlett Jenkinson was suspended for five days and later transferred to Brianna's school where the two girls became friends. However, before accepting Jenkinson on their register, the school was not given all the details of the incident involving the cannabis sweet. Warrington Borough Council says a child safeguarding review is underway and it will examine all of the issues - including the circumstances surrounding the managed transfer.

Reporter: Katie Barnfield
Producer: Hayley Mortimer
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston


SUN 17:40 Profile (m001w6n3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001w74c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001w74m)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001w74w)
The head of NATO has issued a stern rebuke after Donald Trump suggested he might encourage Russia to attack Alliance members who didn't pay their dues.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001w754)
Jon Holmes

Where can you find hippies and witches, pips and pianos, sheep, smoke and sausages... and - of all things - a well-known broadcaster fending off mating foxes with a urine soaked newspaper? All nestling comfortably alongside very old jokes, rogue satnavs and a stupid boy. Of course, it can only be Jon's Pick of the Week...

Presenter: Jon Holmes
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinator: Lydia Depledge-Miller


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001w6xj)
David brings the Sunday papers to disconsolate Kenton, who’s depressed about pulling his stitches last week. All the usual bar staff are unavailable and Kenton has never felt so useless. David finds Jolene and Lilian run off their feet at The Bull and offers to help. He’ll cover for Kenton – Ruth and Pip can take care of the farm. But David is a little overconfident and it’s not long before Lilian takes him to task for gossiping with the locals instead of filling the dishwasher and changing a barrel. Then Kenton turns up for a change of scene and to prop up the bar. Jolene reacts badly when Derek Fletcher falls off his chair, still fearful that the thugs who attacked Kenton might return. Kenton is worried about Jolene, but Lilian and David promise to look out for her until he moves back in.
While out running together Alice tells Fallon that Harry’s mum, Eve, found out she is an alcoholic and has banned him from seeing her. Fallon is shocked. Alice then confides that one of Eve’s friends recognised her from a picture and revealed some grim details of Alice’s behaviour when she was drinking. Alice can understand Eve’s reaction, but Harry doesn’t care what his mum thinks and says he’s falling in love with her. Alice confesses she feels the same – but it’s messy. She doesn’t want Harry to have to choose between the two of them. Fallon thinks Alice should concentrate on having fun with Harry, proposing they all go on a double date at a new mini golf in Felpersham.


SUN 19:15 United Thingdom (m001w75c)
A knockout sketch show that truly covers all corners of the UK. Featuring a cracking team of comedy performers and writers drawn from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Showcasing recognisable comic characters navigating modern life and lampooning contemporary culture. Raising big laughs from what unites and divides us. Tackling universal issues and having great fun in all the nooks and crannies of the nations and regions.

Presented and narrated by four co-anchors from across the UK. Each one flying the flag for their bit of the flag. Mixing sketches, quickies, one-liners, songs, spoofs, skits and send-ups.

Mining material from shared UK lived experience and celebrating a proliferation of perspectives. Recorded before a live audience in Glasgow. Starring Diona Doherty, Paul G Raymond, Tudur Owen, Lana Pheutan and Karen Bartke. A British Lions of comic talent.

Hilarity comes with the territory. It’s a Thingdom thing.

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 The Song Thief by Colin Carberry (m001w75h)
Episode 1

An eerie tale of forgotten songs and vengeful spirits by Belfast author Colin Carberry (‘Good Vibrations.’) As read by Aoibhéann McCann ('Blue Lights.')

‘The Song Thief’ follows Harry Probyn on his journey across Ireland to find Aislinn Byrne, the woman who started his song-writing career. After recording her sing years before in Ireland, Harry stole her song ‘Bluebell Wood’. He shared it with the world and made his fortune. Now penniless and on the run from the violent Shanks family, Harry must return to Ireland and find a new hit song.

Song-collectors – hobbyists who collect sound recordings, usually of music, but sometimes poetry, readings, historical speeches, and ambient noises – are responsible for most of what we now know as traditional folk music that has been preserved down the years. However the practice has a darker legacy and is littered with examples of artists being exploited by unscrupulous recordists. While the ‘Folk Revival’ of the 1960s saw many artists from the traditional music communities become famous, most of them were men. Women artists were silenced at a time when men’s voices were encouraged to sing loudest.

Featuring traditional folk music from the BBC Archives recorded on location in Ireland and America in the 1950s.

Author
Colin Carberry is a writer of screenplays and fiction from Belfast. With Glenn Patterson he co-wrote the film ‘Good Vibrations’ for which the pair were nominated for Outstanding Debut at the 2014 BAFTA Film awards. ‘Good Vibrations’ has since been adapted into a stage musical. A frequent contributor of new fiction to BBC Radio 4’s Short Works series, he is currently working on a collection of short stories and developing a number of projects for film, television and theatre.

Reader: Aoibhéann McCann
Writer: Colin Carberry
Music: Gerard O'Kane
Music: Patrick O'Kane
Producer: Michael Shannon
Editor: Andy Martin

A BBC Northern Ireland production.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (m001vztb)
Council tax weirdness: Hartlepool vs Westminster

Do you really pay more in council tax on a semi in Hartlepool than a mansion in Westminster? How do the Office for National Statistics work out how much the UK population is going to grow by? How much do junior doctor strikes cost? Is home-grown veg worse for climate change than veg grown on a farm?

Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producers: Nathan Gower, Debbie Richford and Perisha Kudhail
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001w1fq)
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, Ian Lavender, Robie Harris, Barry John

Matthew Bannister on

Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue who overcame a traumatic childhood to become one of Australia’s leading campaigners for the rights of indigenous people.

Ian Lavender, the actor best known for playing Private Pike in Dad’s Army.

Robie Harris, whose book explaining sex to children made her one of America’s most banned authors.

Barry John, the Welsh and British and Irish Lions fly-half known simply as “The King”.

Interviewee: Stuart Rintoul
Interviewee: Paul Abbandonato
Interviewee: Hilary Gagan
Interviewee: Rick Wakeman
Interviewee: Michael Emberley

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive used:

Dr O’Donoghue speaking at the Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference 2016, Lowitja Institute International, YouTube upload 07/09/2023; Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue, Australian Biography Series 3, Film Australia Collection 1994, Director & Producer Frank Heimans, YouTube upload 01/06/2021; Native Title Act News Report, BBC News, BBC One, 22/12/1993 Barry John: The King, BBC One Wales, 08/032013; Barry John, Scotland v Wales, Five Nations, BBC One, 1971; Barry John, Cardiff v Wales, BBC One Wales, 1969; Barry John playing for Lions v New Zealand, BBC One Wales, 22/03/2013; Barry John, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 12/12/1978; Robie Harris On Kids' Right To Read, National Coalition Against Censorship, YouTube, 01/02/2014; Robie Harris on KidLit TV, 07/11/2014; Ian Lavender, Celebrity MasterMind, BBC One, 01/01/2009; , Dad's Army: Series 5, Asleep in the Deep, BBC One, 04/01/1977; Dads Army, Battle of the Giants!, BBC One, 26/08/1972; Dads Army, The Deadly Attachment, 31/10/1973; Ian Lavender interview, Today, BBC Radio 4, 14/11/2022; Ian Lavender interview, 5’s Company, 1997, Freemantle, YouTube upload 24/08/2018


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001w6m3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001w702)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Loose Ends (m001w6n1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001w75r)
Ben Wright is joined by the Conservative MP and former minister, Paul Scully; Labour's Deputy National Campaign Co-ordinator, Ellie Reeves; and Telegraph columnist and parliamentary sketch-writer, Madeline Grant. Politico's Rosa Prince brings expert insight and analysis, as the panel discusses the government's latest announcements on housing and the three upcoming by-election contests. Tory peer and polling expert Robert Hayward gives his view of the state of the main parties, and the programme also includes an interview with the Labour MP Charlotte Nichols, who's working with the family of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey on their Peace in Mind campaign, to help young people with their mental health.


SUN 23:00 Moral Maze (m001vzz6)
The morality of immigration

This week it emerged that Abdul Ezedi, hunted by police after an attack on a woman and her daughters with a corrosive liquid, was granted asylum after being convicted of sexual assault. He'd converted to Christianity, which could have put him at risk in his native Afghanistan. It’s just the latest story stirring debate about one of the most divisive issues of our times - immigration.

In 2022 net migration hit a record 745,000. That’s more people than live in many of Britain’s biggest cities. Last week the Office for National Statistics predicted that the population could rise by nearly 10% between 2021 and 2036. The overwhelming majority of immigrants are legal.

Economists are split on the costs and benefits of immigration. Some suggest that it could help tackle a demographic timebomb as our population ages. Britain also attracts some of the world’s most capable and highly qualified people, driving up our wealth-creating potential. National life is enriched culturally and socially. Isn’t there also a moral imperative to open our doors to people from countries troubled by war, oppression and climate change? But immigration has been high for decades without a clear electoral mandate. Some neighbourhoods have been transformed, raising concerns over social cohesion. It’s added to the pressure on housing and on creaking public services. Is it right that whole industries rely on immigrants willing to work for low pay – social care, health and hospitality?

What is a desirable level of immigration? How should the balance be struck between the demands of our economy and social cohesion? What’s the moral case for immigration?

Presenter: Michael Buerk
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Assistant Producer: Linda Walker
Editor: Tim Pemberton

MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2024

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001w75w)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m001vzyf)
Capitalism

Capitalism – what's the story behind the word and a cross cultural survey of peoples attitudes to it. Laurie Taylor talks to Michael Sonenscher, Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge about the evolution of a word which was first coined in France in the early 19th century. How has its meaning changed over time and how can a historical analysis shed light on political problems in the here and now? What’s at stake in our understanding or misunderstanding of the term?

They’re joined by the German sociologist and historian, Rainer Zitelmann, whose latest study argues that many people are buying into myths about Capitalism and includes the largest international survey of attitudes towards our economic system. He finds negative attitudes to be widespread, including in Great Britain, the motherland of Capitalism - only in 12 countries are attitudes more critical. What accounts for this disillusion?

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001w6nm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001w760)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001w764)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001w768)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001w76d)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001w76j)
Celebration

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Eleanor Jeans

Celebration

Good morning.

This year my church is celebrating 150 years since the first worship service took place in our building. We will have a year of activities, with all sorts of events happening. We will also be telling stories of those who have been part of St Paul’s over the years. It will be wonderful to celebrate with our church family and the local community. I’m personally looking forward to being reminded to celebrate this year when there are many difficult and challenging things going on in our world at this time.

Celebration is an important part of life, it helps us to focus on the positives and be reminded of all that has happened.

The people of Israel were encouraged to remember and to celebrate events in their history, not to look back and wish they were there again, but to be ever-mindful of where they had come from and where God had been at work in their lives. And this is my hope and prayer for our own celebrations. That we will be reminded in a similar way of our story, and all that is good which has happened.

If you drive, you will know the importance of looking in the rear view mirror, to help you gain a perspective of where you are now as you look through the much larger windscreen and move forward.

There is so much going on at this time that we can forget to look back, to be thankful and to celebrate. Let’s not forget to do so.

Dear God, in this fast-paced life, give me courage to look back, to reflect and celebrate as I move forward.

Amen


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001w76n)
12/02/24 Biodiversity Net Gain not ambitious enough, says Wildlife Trusts; the business of farming; Ashdown Forest

Today Biodiversity Net Gain becomes the law in England. It means that any developer building ten or more homes must not just replace the biodiversity they've destroyed, but have to show a 10% net gain over what was there before. The net gain can be on the housing estate, or builders can buy a biodiversity unit from a landowner. If that's not possible they can get a (more expensive) biodiversity credit from the Government, which will then invest in habitat projects across the nation.
Wherever it is, it must be managed for nature for 30 years. But the wildlife trusts say the BNG ambition is too low, and there should be a 20% net gain for nature.

Farming is going through a tough time; prices, the supermarkets, massive changes in public subsidy systems, endless rain, or drought. The word many use a lot is 'challenging' and this week we're going to look at the challenge of running a farming business. We start with an overview from Martin Hanson, Head of Agriculture at HSBC UK.

A rescue plan for nature is being drawn up in The Ashdown Forest in Sussex. The project could see rare plants and animals including nightingales, turtle doves, pine martens and beavers being restored to the landscape.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


MON 05:56 Weather (m001w76v)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09hw8jh)
Fyfe Dangerfield on the Pied Butcherbird

Having recorded a number of bird calls in Australia, back home musician Fyfe Dangerfield manipulates their speed and pitch to experiment in music and melody composition.

Producer : Mark Ward.


MON 06:00 Today (m001w6sh)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m001w6sn)
Global influences

Ancient Greece and Rome loom large in the understanding of the roots of Western Civilisation, but the Professor of Ancient History Josephine Quinn wants to challenge that simple narrative. In How The World Made The West – A 4,000 Year History she shows how western values were developed by long-standing links between a much larger group of cultures, from the Gobi Desert to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.

The British Museum’s major new exhibition Legion looks at life in the Roman army (on until 23rd June). This elite war machine was employed to protect and control around a quarter of the Earth’s population for over half a millennium. Recruits came from all walks of life, and from across the Empire. The archaeologist Carolina Rangel de Lima reveals the impact this extraordinary diversity of cultures and beliefs had on the imperial Roman army.

The writer Christopher Harding takes a closer look at the many ways in which Asia has influenced Europe and North America. In his book, The Light of Asia, he explores how Japan, China and India have often been sources of genuine fascination and artistic and intellectual inspiration, as well as confusion and misunderstanding.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Fire Weather by John Vaillant (m001w6t2)
Episode 1

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, Alberta, the hub of Canada’s oil industry, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs and drove 90,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon.

Through the story of this apocalyptic conflagration, John Vaillant explores the past and the future of our ever-hotter, more flammable world.

For hundreds of millennia, fire has been a partner in our evolution, shaping culture and civilization. Yet in our age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in ways never before witnessed by human beings.

John Vaillant delves into the intertwined histories of the oil industry and climate science, the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern wildfires, and the lives forever changed by these disasters.

Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

Abridged by Polly Coles
Read by Kerry Shale
Produced by Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001w6tt)
Bryony Gordon, Israel-Gaza war, Chief Constable Sarah Crew

Four years ago, Avon and Somerset Police offered Channel 4 unprecedented access to its Counter Corruption Unit, the people who police the police. The result is a three-part documentary series called To Catch A Copper. Emma Barnett speaks to Sarah Crew, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, about why she made the decision to let the cameras in, and the consequences of doing so.

Bryony Gordon is the bestselling author of The Wrong Knickers, You Got This and Mad Girl. She won the MIND Making a Difference Award for changing the perception of mental health in the media, and even ran the London Marathon in her underwear! She joins Emma to discuss binge eating, OCD, menopause and her new book - Mad Woman.

As the Israel-Gaza war enters its fifth month, we’re looking at what the impact is on women and children. Tomorrow, Emma will hear from women in Israel. Today, she speaks to BBC Arabic journalist Dalia Haidar and Frances Leach from ActionAid to hear more about what life is like at the moment for Palestinian women and children in Gaza.

The three-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has confirmed she will retire this year after the games in Paris. The 37-year-old, regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, won the 100m title in 2008 and 2012. Former Team GB sprinter Katherine Merry joins Emma to discuss the announcement.

Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Lottie Garton


MON 11:00 The Gatekeepers (m001w6vc)
2. Blitzscaling

From the rubble of the dot com crash, an ambitious young Harvard student with a passion for hacking and love of Roman emperors, sets up an exciting new website.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook is an instant hit on college campuses.

Soon it attracts the attention of Silicon Valley’s most successful - but controversial - venture capitalist, Peter Thiel.

The company starts to scale up. But there’s one problem - how is it going to make money?

Producer: Caitlin Smith
Researchers: Rachael Fulton, Elizabeth Ann Duffy and Juliet Conway
Executive Producer: Peter McManus
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Music: Jeremy Warmsley
Story Consultant: Kirsty Williams
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4

Archive: Bloomberg Quicktake, October 2019; C-Span, Telecommunications Bill signing, Feb 1996; Hoover Institute, Decemeber 2009; Startup Academy, March 2018; Makers, December 2012;

New episodes released on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest episodes of The Gatekeepers, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3Ui661u


MON 11:30 The Bottom Line (m001w136)
Feedback

It's useful to know how you're doing at work, but feedback from managers and colleagues can often be unhelpful, upsetting, or even non-existent. So what's the best way to give and receive it?

Evan Davis and guests discuss some top techniques, particularly in the tricky area of negative feedback, and the importance of training managers in how to have these conversations. But feedback isn't just about managers - we learn the best ways for employees to receive and act on it.

Plus, how frequently should an employee's performance be measured - we discuss the pros and cons of the annual appraisal - and whether technology helps or hinders.

Evan Davis is joined by:

Catherine Hearn, UK HR director, Amazon
Katie Obi, chief people officer, Advanced
Margaret Cheng, HR consultant, executive coach and author of 'Giving Good Feedback'

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Producer: Simon Tulett
Researcher: Paige Neal-Holder
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Graham Puddifoot and Hal Haines
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge

The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University.

(Picture: A woman and a man talking at a desk. Credit: Vladimir Vladimirov, Getty Images)


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001w6vw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001w6w8)
Landline overcharging, Water Bills & Gaming

A consumer group is taking BT to court saying it overcharged millions of landline customers. The firm denies the claim saying it was a "technical pricing issue".

Water bills are set to rise above inflation and two million people are struggling already. We find out what help is on offer.

The government has a new anti-fraud strategy. Shari Vahl finds out how it compares to the old one and puts the issues we've reported on to the government's new Anti-Fraud champion, Simon Fell.

Finally 9 out of 10 computer and video games are sold as digital downloads. Could this be the end of games in boxes and on discs? We explore the trend.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz


MON 12:57 Weather (m001w6wn)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001w6x2)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


MON 13:45 In the Loop (m001nghz)
1. Stone Circle

…a circle has no beginning and no end. It represents rebirth and regeneration, continuity and infinity. From wedding rings to stone circles, in poetry, music and the trajectories of the planets themselves, circles and loops are embedded in our imaginations.

In this five-part series poet Paul Farley goes walking in circles in five very different ‘loopy’ locations. He visits a traffic roundabout, a rollercoaster and a particle accelerator to ask why human beings find rings and circles so symbolic, significant and satisfying.

The earliest civilisations were drawn to the idea of closing a circle and creating a loop; in human relationships we’d all rather be within the circle of trust; and in arts and music our eyes, ears and minds are inexorably drawn towards – and rebel against - the ‘strange loops’ of Bach, Gödel and Escher.

As he puts himself in the loop – sometimes at the centre and sometimes on the circumference – Paul has circular conversations with mathematicians and physicists, composers and poets. Each one propels him into a new loop of enquiry. And that’s because a circle has no beginning and no end…
.
The first episode brings Paul around to the 5000 year-old stone circle at Castlerigg in Cumbria – a ring of stones within a ring of hills. With archaeologists Gill Hey and Richard Bradley he considers what circles represented to our Neolithic forebears and how sites like Castlerigg informed their view of the Universe. And, with Eugenia Cheng, he discovers what a circle actually means to a mathematician .

Producer: Jeremy Grange


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001w6xj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 This Cultural Life (m001w6n5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Saturday]


MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m001w6y0)
Series 37

Semi-final 1, 2024

(10/13)
Counterpoint's 37th season reaches the semi-final stage, with three competitors who've won their respective heats playing off for a place in the 2024 Final. Paul Gambaccini puts the questions on all aspects and genres of music.

The semi-finalists will also have to choose a special subject on which to choose their own individual questions, from a list of which they've had no prior warning. Will they go for Mozart or Northern Soul? Could a round on folk music tempt them more than one on the Bee Gees?

The competitors are:
Paddy Baker from Brighton
James Bingham from County Wicklow
Graham Jones from Milton Keynes.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m001w6yj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Gift (m001w6z0)
Bonus Episode: Hacked

Was a recent, unprecedented DNA data theft a racially motivated attack?

October 6th, 2023 - the day before Hamas launches its attack on Israel - a data set stolen from at-home DNA testing company 23andMe is posted on the dark web. A hacker under the username Golem claims it contains millions of data points relating to Ashkenazi Jews living globally. A vast repository of 23andMe account holder's personal information is then offered to anyone willing to pay for it - including names, birth dates, location and genetic ancestry details. Not only is it 23andMe's the biggest ever security breach but apparently it's been motivated by racism.

Jenny Kleeman recently confirmed her Ashkenazi Jewish identity through a 23andMe test. Her mum and dad had already done so a few years previously. In this bonus episode of The Gift, Jenny investigates the 23andMe breach to discover what happened, who was targeted and if information as sensitive as our genetic code can ever be stored safely.

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


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m001w6zh)
What's so funny about faith?

Is religion funny? Or are some subjects just too sacred for satire?

Religious institutions are large establishments, but does this give people the right to joke about them? And can religion itself be seen as funny?

Aleem Maqbool talks to Eman El Husseini, Muslim comedian, and wife of Jewish comic Jess Salomon who together hosted Comedians vs The News on BBC World Service, about her belief that religion itself is funny and how this influences her stand-up material.

Comedians Rachel Creeger, Paul Kerensa, and Aatif Nawaz join our panel to discuss when they started to joke about faith, whether they think religion is funny and whether we should draw a line between what we should and shouldn't joke about.

Producers: Katharine Longworth and Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser


MON 17:00 PM (m001w700)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001w70f)
More than a million people have fled to the area from their homes elsewhere in Gaza


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m001w70v)
Series 92

6. A Cat Called Hell

Sue Perkins challenges guests Tony Hawks, Eleanor Tiernan, Heidi Regan and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

The long-running Radio 4 panel game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from Graverobbing to Making Friends On The Internet.

Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Rajiv Karia
An EcoAudio certified production.

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001w718)
Clarrie tells Susan Tony wants a word and fears he’s going to read them the riot act about the incident with Hilda. When they tell Adam he suggests they’re going to have to face the music together. Unfortunately Tony’s dressing down proves even worse than feared. The incident with Hilda was bad enough, but what made it worse was being the result of a prank. Their actions have placed the family business in jeopardy. Susan and Clarrie should have known better, but as for Adam, Pat and Tony have no choice but to let him go! Susan and Clarrie are shocked and racked with guilt, before Adam reveals Tony was just pretending – he hasn’t been sacked. But the wind-up was so successful Susan and Clarrie don’t believe him. Adam then calls Tony, who confirms that Adam still has a job.
At Brookfield Pip tells Ruth she’s been up since five am and hasn’t had a break. They agree it’s a struggle coping, now David’s helping out at The Bull. Later, Tony arrives asking to borrow a telehandler, but Pip has her hands full with an early calf coming. He offers to help and they successfully deliver a new addition to the herd. Tony tells Pip a call he took is just a bit of fun back at Bridge Farm, before adding ruefully that they have seen their share of drama recently, thanks to Hilda. Pip suggests he take the cat to Denise’s Kitten Clinic. They admire the new calf with Ruth before agreeing it’s things like this that make all the hard work of farming worthwhile.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001w71p)
Reinaldo Marcus Green on One Love, Bryce Dessner of The National

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green talks to Tom Sutcliffe about One Love, his biopic about the legendary reggae singer-songwriter Bob Marley and his music.

Bryce Dessner, the guitarist of the award-winning rock band The National, discusses his other life in classical music and writing a new concerto for pianist Alice Sara Ott, which is having its UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall.

This week the liturgical calendar marks the moment when Joseph was warned by an angel of King Herod’s intent to harm Jesus, and told to flee with him and Mary to safety in Egypt. The painter Julian Bell and art historian Joanna Woodall consider how The Flight into Egypt has been the subject of great artists - Giotto, Gentileschi, Brueghel, Rembrandt - for centuries and shapes our perception of refugees to this day.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Olivia Skinner


MON 20:00 The Great PFI Debt (m001w71y)
New documentary for BBC Radio 4


MON 20:30 Analysis (m001w728)
What is 'British culture'?

'What is "British Culture?” I was born in the UK and have lived here for 40 years, and yet, as a British Asian person, I am constantly told “we are not integrating”. Not integrating into what culture exactly?'

Bushra Shaikh runs a charity, is a business-owner and is also a writer and commentator. When she posted this question on social media, two million people viewed it, she received thousands of replies, but no clear definition of British Culture. Some respondents mentioned the food, while others defined it by quoting literature or history. But those answers were often just lists; of meals. books, names and dates.

Is "culture" a synonym for race? How can British people of colour integrate, and what does that mean?

Americans put their hands on their hearts, gaze at the stars and stripes and identify with freedom, while the French look to liberty, equality, and fraternity, but is there a British equivalent? Bushra speaks to Historians, cultural commentators, as well as both the UK's newest citizens, and people who can trace their British family roots back hundreds of years, to try to find out what British culture means to them.

Presenter: Bushra Shaikh
Producers: Ravi Naik and Sean Johnson
Editor: Clare Fordham.

Contributors:
Robert Colls, emeritus professor of history at De Montfort University
Lionel Shriver, novelist and journalist
Pen Vogler, food historian and writer
Dr Bernard Trafford, retired headteacher and former member of the citizenship advisory group
Anton Dani, Conservative councillor and former mayor of Boston
Robert Owen, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside
Professor Alice Foucart, Principal Investigator, Psycholinguistics, Universidad Nebrija, Madrid
Dr Tessa Dunlop, historian and broadcaster
Keith Richardson, Author


MON 21:00 Wild Inside (m001w157)
The Sea Lion

Professor Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French get under the skin (and blubber) of the California sea lion, to crack the key to its success both on land and at sea. Its ability to dive hundreds of meters down, keep warm in icy waters, and run on land, can all be explained through its unique internal anatomy. They are joined by zookeeper and sea lion trainer Mae Betts, who adds insight into the intelligence of these sleek marine mammals.

Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French
Executive Producer: Adrian Washbourne
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m001w6sn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001w72t)
Labour withdrawing support for candidate in Rochdale by-election

Also:

President Biden says people in Rafah need protection.

And the 200th anniversary of Bryon’s death


MON 22:45 Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood (m001w731)
Episode 1

Written in 1935 and often paired with another book, Goodbye to Berlin, this evocative novel by Christopher Isherwood was one of the sources for the musical Cabaret.

Isherwood travelled to Berlin in 1929 with WH Auden, and his recollections of this sojourn doubtless inspired the book. It was a critical and popular success at the time of publication, but later Isherwood had problems with his own work and said it was "heartless". It remains an intriguing snapshot of Berlin as the Nazis slowly rose to power.

Abridged by Lucy Ellis
Read by Joseph Kloska
Produced by Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (m001w17b)
Are you different in another language?

Michael Rosen talks to neuroscientist Dr Julia Ravey about whether we think and act differently when speaking a non-native language.

More and more people are finding themselves speaking multiple languages in our cross-cultural societies. But when we communicate in a different tongue, do we become a different person? From the decisions we make to the memories we form, research in neuroscience and psychology has begun exploring this fascinating area, which not only offers insights into the linguistic brain, but also calls into question if our ‘core self’ is a as stable as we like to think it is…

Producer: Becky Ripley


MON 23:30 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001v3j8)
Be Kind

We could all use a little kindness in our lives. Surprisingly, a little altruism can actually have big benefits for our own health! Michael discovers that small acts of kindness can not only boost your mental health and improve your relationships but also boost the immune system. Dr Tristan Inagaki from the San Diego State University explains to Michael how her research has revealed that those performing acts of kindness had lower levels of systemic inflammation, which could reduce the risk of many major diseases. Meanwhile, our volunteer Sam enjoys finding ways to consciously incorporate kindness into his week.

Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Catherine Wyler
Researcher: Sophie Richardson
Researcher: Will Hornbrook
Production Manager: Maria Simons
Editor: Zoe Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:45 Today in Parliament (m001w73d)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament

TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2024

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001w73n)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Fire Weather by John Vaillant (m001w6t2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001w73x)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001w746)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001w74g)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001w74q)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001w74z)
Decluttering

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Eleanor Jeans

Decluttering

Good morning.

I moved house recently. I was very grateful for the removal company who packed for me. But one of the most useful things I found about moving house was the decluttering, working out what things I hadn’t used for 10 years, or that I had duplicate or even triplicate copies of certain books, or CDs.

When I moved, I had the help of my parents and a good friend. One day I tasked my dad with the job of unpacking my files and sheet music in an upstairs room. Needless to say, every now and then, all we could hear from that room was my father saying my name in an exasperated way ‘Eleanor Jeans’ when he unpacked a file I had kept from 30 or more years ago. He discovered tax returns from the early 2000s and notes from my A-levels.

These had all been hidden away in a cupboard I didn’t use in my old house. They were out of sight and out of mind. But they were there! I needed to declutter, although moving home to do so is a little excessive!

Today is Shrove Tuesday, a day in the Christian calendar which is a bit like a Spiritual decluttering. This is traditionally a day to confess sins and be absolved in preparation for Lent. It even becomes a time to declutter our fridges with the traditional pancakes. But like my hidden away clutter, I know that there are things I can’t hide from God. Yet, his love and forgiveness is so much more than I can imagine.

I pray that we may know love and forgiveness in every corner of our lives.

Amen


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001w757)
13/02/24 Northern Ireland's new DAERA minister; NI farmers' concerns about ammonia regulations; Farm paperwork.

After two years without a government, Northern Ireland's got a minister for agriculture and the environment again. We speak to Andrew Muir, who's just started his new job at DAERA - the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. His in-tray is bulging with a raft of issues: farming subsidy changes, environmental concerns and bovine TB, among other things. Anna Hill speaks to the Ulster Farmers' Union about what they want from the new minister, and also to Northern Ireland Environment Link - a coalition of conservation groups.

All week we’re looking at the business of farming. Paperwork is a big part of the job and one firm which was set up to assist farmers with their form-filling says it’s been inundated with requests for help. The Herefordshire-based company says many farmers feel burdened and isolated by the sheer amount of red tape involved in the modern farming industry.

Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkt5h)
Shore Lark

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

Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Shore Lark. Shore Larks are also known as horned larks because in the breeding season the male birds sprout a pair of black crown feathers which look like satanic horns, but at any time of year the adult larks are striking birds. They are slightly smaller than a skylark but with a yellow face, a black moustache and a black band on the chest.


TUE 06:00 Today (m001w6yd)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Things Fell Apart (p0h24j2t)
S2. Ep 6: A Hierarchy of Trauma

How a bestselling book about trauma - lockdown’s number one bestseller - helped the culture war over free speech burst out of colleges and into the workplace. A shift some people pejoratively call the Great Awokening.

Written and presented by Jon Ronson
Produced by Sarah Shebbeare
Original music by Phil Channell


TUE 09:30 The Miners' Strike: Return Journey (m001w6zp)
Edinburgh

Still seen as one of the most bitter and divisive industrial disputes in the UK, the year long miners' strike, that began in March 1984, dominated the news for 12 months. It’s been described as “a site of contested memories,” and it continues to evoke strong feelings in those who lived through the strike and had direct experience of it.

Chris Jackson, in his very first job as a young radio reporter in South Wales, found himself covering the dispute that scarred a generation and more. Now, 40 years after the start of the strike, he’s meeting people from different sides of the difficult and controversial industrial dispute, and together they return to a place that holds some very personal memories.

In this episode, Chris is in Edinburgh to meet Malcolm Dickson, now retired, who was a young sergeant tasked with policing the picket lines during the strike. Together they visit the site where so many confrontations took place and consider whether, looking back, things should have been done differently. Many years after the strike, Malcolm Dickson gave evidence to the Scottish government’s independent review into how it was policed. This led to the pardoning, in 2022, of more than 500 people who had been given strike-related convictions by Scottish courts.

Producer: Jo Dwyer
Presenter: Chris Jackson
Executive Producer: Rosamund Jones
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:45 Fire Weather by John Vaillant (m001w76c)
Episode 2

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, Alberta, the hub of Canada’s oil industry, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs and drove 90,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon.

Through the story of this apocalyptic conflagration, John Vaillant explores the past and the future of our ever-hotter, more flammable world.

For hundreds of millennia, fire has been a partner in our evolution, shaping culture and civilization. Yet in our age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in ways never before witnessed by human beings.

John Vaillant delves into the intertwined histories of the oil industry and climate science, the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern wildfires, and the lives forever changed by these disasters.

Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

Abridged by Polly Coles
Read by Kerry Shale
Produced by Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001w70l)
Joanne Froggatt and Dr Rachel Clarke, Minette Batters, NFU, Israel/Gaza war

A forthcoming three-part ITV drama Breathtaking, set in a fictionalised London hospital, tells the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic through the eyes of Acute Medical Consultant Dr Abbey Henderson. The series is based on Dr Rachel Clarke’s book of the same name. She worked on Covid wards and is also one of the writers on the series. Dr Henderson is played by Joanne Froggatt, known for many roles including Downton Abbey, Sherwood and Angela Black. They join Emma Barnett to discuss.

The "orange peel theory" is as trend where one person in a couple will ask their partner to peel an orange for them. As Valentine's Day approaches, what are the small gestures that mean so much? The ways you show your love?

Minette Batters is standing down as President of the National Farmers' Union after six years of leading the organisation. She joins Emma to talk about her tenure leading the farming world, and what it felt like to be the first woman to do so.

We've been looking at the experiences of women from both Israel and Gaza on the programme this week, asking what are the main issues facing women on each side as the war continues in to its fifth month. Today Emma speaks to Ayelet Razin Bet Or the Legal Adviser to the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel. Ayelet has been travelling the world in recent months highlighting the horrific evidence of rape, sexual violence and mutilation of women during the October 7 brutal attacks by Hamas that killed 1,200 people and says she feels hugely let down and even betrayed by the response she has seen, particularly from other women. She also talks about her concerns for the 14 female hostages still being held by Hamas. To listen to our discussion about women in Gaza, please head to BBC Sounds to find it in yesterday's episode.

Presented by Emma Barnett
Producer: Louise Corley
Studio Engineer: Giles Aspen


TUE 11:00 Young Again (m001w710)
7. Peter Capaldi

Kirsty Young talks to the actor Peter Capaldi about what he’s learned from his life so far. Celebrated for iconic TV roles as Doctor Who and as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick Of It, Capaldi’s 40-year career also includes an Oscar in 1995 for work behind the camera. He reflects on his journey from a Glasgow tenement block, how he owes his career to a lot of luck and why early failures have made him a better actor.

If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them? In Young Again Kirsty takes her guests back to the pivotal moments in their lives. Reflecting on what they wish they’d known at the time, and what they’ve learned along the way, she discovers the honest – and surprising – advice they’d give their younger selves.

Producer: Laura Northedge
Content Editor: Richard Hooper
Executive Editor: Alice Feinstein
Senior Technical Producer: Duncan Hannant
Presenter: Kirsty Young

A BBC Audio Production


TUE 11:30 Blasts from the Megaphone (m001w8zg)
It’s one of the most instinctive of human actions - to cup our hands around our mouths in order to amplify our voices - and the megaphone has been doing the same job for us for centuries.

The poet Paul Farley wants to listen back through history to the megaphone’s many and various echoes, finding out where and when it’s been put to use.

He starts out in Ancient Greece and the birth of theatre - where masks not only transformed the look of actors, they also served to raise the volume of their voices so audiences could get their full quota of catharsis. From there, Paul travels to the northern seas of pre-Viking Europe where megaphones appear to have been used to keep oarsmen in time with one another.

Engineers of the industrial revolution honed the shape and quality of the megaphone, allowing artists, musicians, film directors, avant-garde poets - and marchers and protestors as well as the authorities standing against them - to raise their lips to the mouthpiece and belt out their voices loud and proud ever since.

Are these simple instruments, Paul wants to know, chiefly instruments of power or resistance, and do they succeed in raising the voices of the oppressed or finally just add to the impenetrable cacophony of modern life?

With special thanks to film historian, Kevin Brownlow.

Presented by Paul Farley
Produced by Geoff Bird
Executive Producer: Eloise Whitmore
A Naked production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001w780)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001w722)
Call You and Yours: Are you getting good value for money from your water company?

On today's Call You and Yours we're talking about water. In England and Wales, water bills are rising by more than inflation. They'll go up by an average of six per cent in April - that's around £27 per bill. The water companies say that rising prices will help fund investment to stop raw sewage being dumped into rivers and seas.
Last year, bills increased by 7.5% so that brings the average bill per household up to £473. The price rises will put further pressure on households already struggling with the cost of living.
In Scotland, water and waste charges will go up by 8.8%, a rise of £36 for customers there. And in Northern Ireland, there is an ongoing consultation into water charges.
We'd like to hear about your experience where you live. Are you getting good value for money from your water company?
We want to hear your stories - both good and bad. Call us on 03700 100 444. Lines are open at 11 am on Tuesday February 13th. You can also email us now at youandyours@bbc.co.uk. Don't forget to include a phone number so we can call you back.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Tara Holmes


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001w72d)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001w72q)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


TUE 13:45 In the Loop (m001np4k)
2. Traffic Roundabout

…a circle has no beginning and no end. It represents rebirth and regeneration, continuity and infinity. From wedding rings to stone circles, in poetry, music and the trajectories of the planets themselves, circles and loops are embedded in our imaginations.

Poet Paul Farley goes walking in circles in five very different ‘loopy’ locations. He visits a stone circle, a rollercoaster and a particle accelerator to ask why human beings find rings and circles so symbolic, significant and satisfying.

The earliest civilisations were drawn to the idea of closing a circle and creating a loop; in human relationships we’d all rather be within the circle of trust; and in arts and music our eyes, ears and minds are inexorably drawn towards – and rebel against - the ‘strange loops’ of Bach, Gödel and Escher.

As he puts himself in the loop – sometimes at the centre and sometimes on the circumference – Paul has circular conversations with mathematicians and physicists, composers and poets. Each one propels him into a new loop of enquiry. And that’s because a circle has no beginning and no end…

Paul begins the second episode in orbit around one of the largest traffic roundabouts in Europe – the Coryton Interchange near Cardiff. He explores its interior with ecologist Elen Hall and roundabout enthusiast Kevin Beresford and discovers an island of the unexpected. Engineer John Parkin shares the secret of a good roundabout. And poet Paul Muldoon recalls a childhood memory of a special day out to visit the first one in Northern Ireland.

Producer: Jeremy Grange


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001w718)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001w72z)
The New Sugar

New drama by Ben Tagoe.

"Pirates used to arrive on boats. Now they arrive in private jets."

Set in a changing Barbados where big pharma and local Rastafarians fight over the right to grow recently-legalised cannabis.
Yorkshire-born Charlene has always felt torn between her roots in Barbados and her upbringing in Leeds. Her father was part of the Windrush generation, but Derek has recently retired to Barbados. To the envy of her friends, Charlene decides to follow him there, to see if she can settle in paradise too.

But the spectre of the country’s sugar industry—an industry grounded in slavery and oppression—looms large as tensions over Charlene's new job grow and her values come under scrutiny.

An EcoAudio certified production.

Charlene ..... Alexandra Mardell
Frank ..... Richard Laing
Richard ..... Kieran Smith
Derek ..... Everal A. Walsh
Ras Kwame ..... Don Gilet

Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m001w737)
Series 37

Hereafter

Chrononormativity, duppies and post-colonial thought. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures exploring beyond the past, present and futures.

Language in the Land of Duppies: Exploring the origins of Jamaican folklore as a gateway to understanding the legacy of slavery on the island.
Produced by Laura Carty
Special thanks to Alexander Powell, Carmen Johnson, Natalia Downer, Kandice Thompson and Jean Smart.

All my friends are turning into Stars
Written and performed by David Amber Devereux
With Dr Matthew Temple, Research Fellow,
Universidad Diego Portales
Additional voices by Lou Sutcliffe and Alessa Catterall
Featuring quotes from De Profundus by Oscar Wilde, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and In A Queer Time And Place by Jack Halberstam

Interjections on the future: There is not currently any obvious path to reconstructing a popular faith in political, economic and even some social institutions but while it might not always feel like it today, the unwinding of colonial modernity is underway and accelerating.
Produced by composer and researcher, Sara Rahman.
Featuring psychiatrist Isabel Valli and writers and artists Fer Boyd and Maedeline Stack.

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


TUE 15:30 A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand (m001w2b7)
Series 3: Exercise

S3. Ep 2 - The Scale of the Crisis

Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken investigate the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity.

Is modern exercise a wellness cult? Or is it a vital cure for a world that’s struggling with ill health and stuck on the sofa? Most of us might like to get a bit fitter, but how easy is it to actually start exercising and give up sedentary habits?

In this series Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken examine exercise and how best to do it. How much should we be doing? How does it help our bodies? And how does our surrounding environment stand in the way of us getting fitter? Chris is challenged to examine his scepticism towards exercise. Similarly, Xand is asked to look at his new-found exercise evangelism and see what he is really running from.

Recently Xand has discovered the joys of physical activity. He’s running, cycling, heading to the gym and playing ping pong like never before. It’s been a real transformation and a way to keep on top of things after years of unhealthy living.

His twin brother Chris, on the other hand, is really feeling the aches and pains of middle age. With a busy job and a young family, he has precious little spare time for exercise. After a very active period in his 20s and 30s, Chris is now embracing his ‘Dad bod’ and sliding into a creaky middle age. Xand wants to help him turn things around. Can he do it?

In Episode 2 - The Scale of the Crisis - the twins meet Dr Fiona Bull, head of the World Health Organization's Physical Activity Unit. She explains how the WHO is tackling the global inactivity crisis and how schools and cities need to change to meet this challenge. Meanwhile, Xand is still trying to inspire Chris to get more active, so has enlisted his help for a run around their local park. Things don’t quite go according to plan…

Presented by Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Sound Design: Dan King
Series Editor: Jo Rowntree
A Van Tulleken Brothers and Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m001w73h)
Family Sayings

Michael shares listeners' stories about the words and phrases passed down in their families that they keep using, and what they mean to them. With Rob Drummond, Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Met University, and author of You’re All Talk: why we are what we speak.
Producer Beth O'Dea, BBC Audio Bristol


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m001w73r)
Joe Talbot and Nancy Medina

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz (Faber), chosen by Nancy Medina
ALL ABOUT LOVE by bell hooks (William Morrow), chosen by Joe Talbot
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams (Pan), chosen by Harriett Gilbert

Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic Nancy Medina chooses a book that reminds her of growing up in the Dominican Republic. It's a funny, intense and often brutal tale of life under a dictatorship.

Joe Talbot from the band Idles selects bell hooks' essays on love which explores the act of loving and how it can be applied to relationships, parenting and what society chooses to prioritise.

Harriett's choice is Douglas Adams' story about Arthur Dent's journey through space with an alien called Ford Prefect after earth is demolished to make way for a bypass.

Presenter: Harriett Gilbert
Producer: Toby Field, for BBC Audio Bristol


TUE 17:00 PM (m001w740)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001w74k)
Azhar Ali has apologised for comments he made about the attacks in Israel on October 7th


TUE 18:30 ReincarNathan (m000kq0l)
Series 2

Cat

Nathan Blakely was a popstar. But he was useless, died, and was reincarnated. The comedy about Nathan’s adventures in the afterlife returns for a second series with Daniel Rigby and Diane Morgan, and guest-starring Vicki Pepperdine and Amy-Beth Hayes.

In the first episode of the new series, Nathan is brought back to life as a pet cat. But there’s a catch - he has to live in the home of his actual granny. Nathan was a terrible grandson when he was a human. But now he’s a cat, will he learn how to be loyal and kind? And will he ever it make it back to human again?

Cast:
Diane Morgan - Jenny
Daniel Rigby - Nathan
Tom Craine – Mr Johnson
Amy-Beth Hayes – Mrs Johnson
Freya Parker – Vortex, Jimmy Johnson, Pigeon, TV announcers
Vicki Pepperdine – Debbie, Nathan’s grandma
Mike Wozniak – Bert, Nathan’s granddad and Vin Diesel

Writers: Tom Craine and Henry Paker
Music Composed by Phil Lepherd

Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001w74s)
At the vets, Paul and Alistair are heading for a drink at The Bull, where Denise will join them. But first Paul wants Alistair to open an envelope that’s addressed to him. Alistair says it can wait, as Denise will be annoyed if they’re late. But Paul thinks she’ll be more annoyed about Alistair signing Hilda up for Kitten Club. Later, Denise enthuses about her plans for Kitten Club before Alistair produces a Valentine card, presuming she sent it. Denise is half-amused, half-annoyed he thinks it was her. Paul sees the card and starts playing detective, but Alistair’s in no mood to speculate. Denise spots a QR code and discovers the card is a promo from Countryside Courting, a dating app Alistair signed up to but never used.

Awkward Alistair says he lost his password. And anyway, he prefers the idea of getting to know someone in person. Paul scoffs, the only people Alistair ever sees are Jim, Jakob, Paul and Denise, then promises he’ll sign Alistair up again.

Despite Fallon’s enthusiasm Harrison’s downbeat at the prospect of playing mini golf with Harry and Alice. He reckons they move in different circles to ‘horsey types’ like Harry. Later, in the middle of their round, Harry clumsily asks whether Fallon and Harrison have children, then if Fallon is pregnant. Harrison walks off, irritated. When Fallon follows him, Harry worries that he hasn’t made a good impression. But in the end, he asserts, his relationship with Alice is what matters most. Alice agrees, before the others return, with Harrison apologising for walking off. They resume playing golf and harmony is restored.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001w751)
Stephen Sanchez, Godzilla turns 70

Stephen Sanchez found fame on Tik Tok, bringing his 1950s inspired music and style to an audience of young fans. At just 20 years old, he was Elton John’s guest on the main stage at Glastonbury. He talks to Samira Ahmed about his UK tour and performs two songs from his new album, Angel Face.

What do Gen Z’s viewing habits mean for the future of TV and film? Dr Antonia Ward, Chief Futurist at Stylus, and Entertainment Reporter Palmer Haasch explain how the preferences of younger viewers are shaping film and television.

In 1954 Ishiro Honda changed the monster movie forever when he introduced the world to Godzilla. Now 70 years and nearly 40 films later, Godzilla is the star of the world’s longest running film franchise. Author Graham Skipper and film distributor Andrew Partridge explain why Godzilla holds a unique place in cinema and pop culture.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Julian May


TUE 20:00 Today (m001w759)
The Today Debate: Is justice delayed justice denied?

The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we have in the morning.

Amid a significant backlog in crown courts in England and Wales and related problems in the system in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Today presenter Mishal Husain asks if justice delayed is justice denied?

Joining Mishal on the Today debate panel in the BBC's Radio Theatre are Claire Waxman, the Independent Victims' Commissioner for London; Charlie Taylor; His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales; Joanna Hardy-Susskind, a barrister at Red Lion Chambers; Lord Falconer, Labour Peer and former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Sir Max Hill, who was the director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales until October last year.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001w75g)
YouGov Poll on Employment

A recent YouGov poll, commissioned by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment, has found that many employers do not have inclusive employment practices. This may not come as a surprise to many blind and partially sighted people who have experienced employment or are seeking employment and so we assess what needs to happen in order to dispel the persistent misconceptions and to ensure more employment opportunities for visually impaired people.

To help us tackle this decade-long problem, we turned to Marsha De Cordova who is MP for Battersea and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment that commissioned the poll. Simon Hill is visually impaired and he describes the technological and attitudinal barriers he has faced. Martin O'Kane is the technology and employment lead for the RNIB and Eleanor Southwood is the Vision Foundation's Director of Social Impact.

To submit your evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment's inquiry, email: contact@eyehealthviappg.org.uk or call Marsha De Cordova's office to request assistance in submitting oral evidence: 0207 219 0209

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate 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 is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m001w75l)
Coffee, nap, rave, repeat...

Ever wondered how much caffeine is too much? Or whether you’d feel better off if you took an afternoon nap? And with the rise in ‘day raving’ we’ll be looking at whether it’s better for your health to have your night out at 2pm rather than 2am.

We’ll learn about the amount of caffeine in different drinks, looking at what it does to the body in the short-term and finding out more about what effects it can have when it comes to things like dementia and cardiovascular disease.

Then we’ll be following a strict scientifically-approved napping schedule and hearing what impact those bonus sleep sessions can have on brain function – while catching 40 winks in some unusual locations.

After that, we’ll take all that energy and party the afternoon (and early evening) away at a daytime rave to find out if that is better for our bodies than pulling an all-nighter.

Along the way we’ll be joined by people who know way more about these things than us, from a Spanish sleep whizz in Manchester to a body boffin in Barry Island.

Producer: Gerry Holt
Presenter: Laura Foster
Editor: Holly Squire
Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris


TUE 21:30 Things Fell Apart (p0h24j2t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001w75q)
President Biden: "History is watching" Republicans on Ukraine aid

Labour suspends second parliamentary candidate

How a California law designed to reduce plastic waste ended up increasing it


TUE 22:45 Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood (m001w75v)
Episode 2

Written in 1935 and often paired with another book, Goodbye to Berlin, this evocative novel by Christopher Isherwood was one of the sources for the musical Cabaret.

Isherwood travelled to Berlin in 1929 with WH Auden, and his recollections of this sojourn doubtless inspired the book. It was a critical and popular success at the time of publication, but later Isherwood had problems with his own work and said it was "heartless". It remains an intriguing snapshot of Berlin as the Nazis slowly rose to power.

Abridged by Lucy Ellis
Read by Joseph Kloska
Produced by Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:00 Icklewick FM (m001w75z)
4. The Fundraiser

Amy and Chris are leading a mammoth fundraising drive to help little Lottie Brisket, who’s been suffering from debilitating migraines as a result of living within the perimeter of Icklewick’s leading tourist attraction; the UK’s only inland lighthouse. Everyone’s doing their bit, including Mr Patel who’s somehow managed to wrangle an unbelievable collection of celebrity endorsements.

Chris’s suspicions are raised when an enigmatic stranger shows up at the IcklewickFM studios, claiming to be Amy’s long lost cousin from America. Summat smells fishy and it’s not just Cousin Dunc’s clearly Australian accent…

Mr Patel spends most of this episode faffing about on his phone like a teenager.

Created and written by Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill with additional material from the cast.

Starring:

Lucy Beaumont
Jen Brister
Tom Burgess
Tai Campbell
Janice Connolly
Colin Hoult
Em Humble
Alex Lowe
Nimisha Odedra
Steen Raskopoulos
Nicola Redman
Mark Silcox

Sound Design and Music by Jack Lewis Evans.
The Line Producer is Laura Shaw.

Produced by Benjamin Sutton.

Icklewick FM is A Daddy’s SuperYacht Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:30 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001vclt)
Take Vitamin D

During the winter months, here in the UK, days are short and there isn’t enough sunlight for most of us to make the vitamin D we need. Taking a tiny vitamin D supplement is a minute change that could have a huge impact on our health. Professor David Llewellyn from Exeter University explains to Michael that vitamin D helps clear abnormal proteins, such as amyloid plaques and tau, from the brain, which may help protect you from dementia. Having enough vitamin D can also boost your immune systems, making that common cold easier to recover from. It could even lift your mood! Volunteer Baljit tries making vitamin D a habit.

Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Catherine Wyler
Researcher: Sophie Richardson
Researcher: Will Hornbrook
Production Manager: Maria Simons
Editor: Zoe Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:45 Today in Parliament (m001w763)
Alicia McCarthy reports as peers question the foreign secretary.