SATURDAY 06 APRIL 2024

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001xvv4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 Cloistered by Catherine Coldstream (m001xvmp)
Episode 5

In an evocative memoir, Catherine Coldstream describes life as a contemplative nun in the 1990s, and the dramatic events which led to her flight from the monastery on the brink of the Millennium.

After the shock of her father’s death, and with her family scattered, 24 year-old Catherine was left grieving and alone. A search for meaning led her to Roman Catholicism and eventually to the Carmelite nuns of Akenside Priory.

Cloistered takes us beyond the grille of an enclosed monastic world with its tight-knit community of dedicated women. We see Catherine, praying in the sparseness of her simple cell, a novice who has found peace in an ancient way of life. But as she surrenders to her final vows, all is not as it seems behind the Priory’s closed doors. Power struggles erupt, and the hothouse atmosphere turns to conflict – with far-reaching consequences for those within. Catherine comes to realise that divine authority is mediated through flawed and all-too-human channels. She is faced with a dilemma - should she protect the serenity she has found, or speak out?

A vivid and sometimes painfully honest account of her twelve years in the Order, Cloistered is also a cautionary tale about what can happen when good people cut themselves off from the wider world.

The opening and closing music is Veni Creator Spiritus sung by Voces Poeticae

Note from the Publishers: This book is a work of non-fiction based on the life, experiences and recollections of the author. In some cases names of people and places, dates, sequences and the detail of events have been changed to protect the privacy of others.

Written by Catherine Coldstream
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001xvv6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001xvv8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001xvvb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001xvvd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001xvvg)
Writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson starts the day with reflection and prayer.


SAT 05:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001xvhl)
Get Fit with HIIT

There’s no question that exercise is important for our health, but many of us find it difficult to fit into our busy schedules. In this episode, Michael Mosley explores how high-intensity interval training, HIIT for short, might be the most time-efficient way to get fitter. It can also boost your cognitive performance, help you live longer, and improve your quality of life. Martin Gibala, Professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, reveals all about the beneficial impact of HIIT on your cardiorespiratory system, your ability to control your blood sugar levels, and your risk of chronic diseases. Meanwhile, busy mum and NHS worker Suzanne finds HIIT a great way to incorporate a workout into her hectic routine.

Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Editor: Zoë Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001y1zh)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001xvmk)
Field notes from Mars

Rose Ferraby joins geologist Dr Claire Cousins, visual artist Ilana Halperin and art historian Dr Catriona McAra as they explore the artistic and scientific terrains of both Orkney and the planet Mars. From the windswept Orcadian cliffs to the Martian landscape, they discover the surprising similarities of these two locations and explore how both science and art can interpret time, space and history in new and insightful ways.

Produced by Ruth Sanderson


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001y1zk)
06/04/24 Farming Today This Week: Import charges, wet weather, dogs

The Food and Drink Federation says new labelling rules will cost food companies million of pounds. From October dairy and meat products for sale in Great Britain will have to have "not for EU" on the packaging, just as products on sale in Northern Ireland have had since last year. The Government says the aim is to make sure that Northern Irish consumers have access to the same goods. The FDF says that's unnecessary could have "grave and unintended consequences" for the UK food and drink sector. We hear from the boss of a dairy company who says it will cost them at least £300,000 to make the change.

According to new figures from the insurers NFU Mutual, more than £900,000 worth of farm animals were injured or killed by dogs last year in Wales alone. It's not a new problem. So what's the solution?

At this time of year farmers should be putting their cattle out to graze, but in many parts of the UK it hasn't stopped raining long enough for the fields to dry out. Farmers trying to plant crops are also being delayed by the weather as it's too wet to get machinery onto the fields. We look at how much the wet weather is costing the industry.

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


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001y1zm)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001y1zp)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001y1zr)
Kate Silverton, Tom Shakespeare, Rebecca Ginger, John Robins

The irrepressible Tom Shakespeare shares how the boy nicknamed 'The Blob' at school went on to become a bioethicist, disability rights advocate, and now a debut novelist.

Kate Silverton has swapped the newsroom for the therapists couch having retrained as a child counsellor. She has also become a bestselling author and her latest book maintains that there's still no such thing as being naughty.

Did you struggle at maths with school? Having been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyscalculia as a child Rebecca Ginger did too. She has recently given up a successful career in the tv industry to create her own method of making learning maths fun after seeing her daughter struggle with the subject herself.

All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian, presenter and latest Taskmaster contestant, John Robins.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny (m001y1zt)
Stephen Mangan: Erris, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Stephen is determined to take Shaun back to their ancestral homeland, to experience the blanket bog of this bleak and beautiful area of the West of Ireland. Shaun feels the yearning in his blood but his blood also runs cold at the local weather forecasts. Resident geographer, historian and comedian Iszi Lawrence puts on her anorak to join them.

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

Producer: Beth O'Dea

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


SAT 10:30 Soul Music (m001y1yj)
Sweet Thing

Sweet Thing by Van Morrison has an atmosphere full of tenderness, wonder and joy. But underneath this there a feeling of transience, a melancholy sense of things coming to an end, and of inevitable change. It was written for his 1968 album Astral Weeks, at a time when the Northern Irish born Van had left his home country and was down-and-out in Boston, USA. We hear how the track has come to mean so much to so many.

Caroline Mellor from Brighton remembers an intense moment of hearing Sweet Thing whilst staying in the mountains of Andalucía, Spain.

Sammy Douglas, Councillor and current High Sheriff of Belfast, reflects on memories of the Troubles and how the song intertwines with the tale of his first love.

Ryan H. Walsh, Bostonian and author of Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968, explains how the seminal album Astral Weeks came about, and John Payne, flautist on Sweet Thing, shares memories of those extraordinary recording sessions with Van Morrison.

And singer-songwriter Alanna Joy from South Africa considers why she opens her live sets with her own rendition of Sweet Thing, and recalls hearing it for the first time through Jeff Buckley's cover.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol
Technical Producer: Ilse Lademann
Editor: Emma Harding.


SAT 11:00 The Great PFI Debt (m001w71y)
The Great PFI Debt: an investigation into why schools are having to pay tens of thousands of pounds extra from their budgets for what they say are inflexible and over-priced PFI maintenance contracts.
Reporter Rob Cave hears how some schools are paying as much as a fifth of their entire school budget on cleaning and repair services while the headteachers and governors can’t afford to replace staff.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001y1zw)
Returning to Rwanda

Kate Adie introduces stories from Rwanda, Estonia, St Helena and Puerto Rico.

This weekend marks the start of the genocide in Rwanda that led to the death of more than 800,000 people – most from the country’s Tutsi minority. Three decades on, Emma Ailes met those who, against the odds, survived the violence – but continue to live with the trauma to this day.

Among those who survived the genocide is the BBC’s Victoria Uwonkunda, who was just 12 years old at the time. She recently returned for the first time in three decades, where she retraced her journey to sanctuary, and spoke to genocide survivors - and perpetrators - about the difficult path towards reconciliation and forgiveness.

As a result of the conflict in Ukraine, NATO countries close to Russia, such as Norway, Latvia and Lithuania, are expanding their military conscription programmes. In Estonia - where military service is already mandatory – our correspondent Nick Beake met some of the country’s new recruits.

Coffee from Jamaica to Ethiopia to Guatemala is a common sight in high-street cafes, but a more rarified blend comes from the Atlantic Island of St Helena. It’s high-quality and short-supply means it fetches a high price – but as Mark Stratton discovered, that doesn’t mean locals are reaping the benefits.

It's hard to escape the Puerto Rican sound of reggaeton. Now a global phenomenon, it's created superstars in artists like Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee and Vico C. Jane Chambers went to find out how this multi-faceted music reflects both the island’s culture – and politics.

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


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001y1zy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001y200)
National Insurance Cut and Council Tax Debt

National Insurance - a tax millions of working age people pay on their wages - is being cut this weekend, for the second time this year. The main rate of National Insurance has now fallen by a third - from 12% last year to just 8%. The Treasury says combined with above-inflation increases to personal tax thresholds since 2010, this will save the average earner over £1,500 compared to what they would otherwise have paid. What difference will it make to your pay?

The debt charity StepChange has told Money Box a third of people they helped last year were behind on their Council Tax payments with an average debt of more than £1,700. What can you do if you're struggling to pay?

Plus, changes to Child Benefit mean it will become available to thousands more families from this weekend - how will that work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Sarah Rogers and Eimear Devlin
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Producer: Craig Henderson
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 6th April 2024)


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (m001xvt4)
Series 64

Episode 4

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches. Starring Jon Holmes on animals making headlines, Angela Barnes on theft and an original song from Jonny & the Baptists. With voices from Ed Jones and Roisin O’Mahony.

The show was written by the cast with additional material from Tasha Dhanraj, Mike Shephard, Alex Bertulis-Fernandes and Peter Tellouche.

Producer: Sasha Bobak
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Caroline Barlow

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001y202)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001y204)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001xvtm)
Sir Jake Berry MP, Baroness Chakrabarti, Inaya Folarin Iman, Richard Walker

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Enginuity at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in Shropshire with the former Conservative Party Chair Sir Jake Berry MP, the Labour peer Baroness Chakrabarti, Contributing Editor at the Daily Mail and Director of The Equiano Project Inaya Folarin Iman and the Managing Director of Iceland Richard Walker.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Simon Tindall


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001y206)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities.


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m001xvtc)
Fallon, dressed up, greets Harrison with a cocktail, after the week he's had she wants to pamper him with a romantic evening. They are interrupted by Robert who’s determined to update Harrison on community vigilance. Robert is oblivious to the atmosphere and Fallon and Harrison listen patiently as he drones on about people staying safe. He mentions that it's his birthday and he's been asked to make himself scarce while Linda cooks him a meal. A problem with the food means he has to stay out longer and Harrison and Fallon generously invite him to stay for a cocktail to celebrate.

Alice is dropping off some leaflets to Harry’s flat. She’s reluctant but Harry convinces her to go through the leaflets with him. She suggests he get a buddy when he tells her he can’t stop drinking on his own. He confesses his family have given up on him and Alice reveals she visited Eve. He guilts Alice, telling her that he should just drink till his liver fails. She urges him not to give up - he will have the confidence to manage his addiction soon. He pleads with her to be his mentor - he knows she can help him. Reluctantly she agrees until he can get someone else.

George is still annoyed about Chris winning the night at Grey Gables. Eddie suggests he jazz up his Bartleby videos with voiceover. Later Eddie tells George he has hit upon the perfect voice. Even George has to admit Eddie’s scandalous gossip - in a voice that sounds like Oliver Sterling - is pretty funny.


SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000hfwk)
RL Stevenson’s Weir of Hermiston Part 1

1/2. A powerful story of family rebellion and forbidden love - set in Edinburgh and the Borders in the early 19th century. Stevenson died halfway through writing the novel - but, using the author’s notes, Colin MacDonald’s dramatisation completes the tragic story of the conflicts within the Weir family. Eager young law student, Archie Weir, publicly denounces the capital punishment favoured by his father, “hanging judge”, Lord Hermiston.

Kirstie…………………………………..PHYLLIS LOGAN
Archie Weir………………………...JACK LOWDEN
Young Archie…………………….…BILLY THOMSON
Lord Hermiston …………………..PAUL YOUNG
Frank Innes ………………….……...FINN DEN HERTOG
Jean Weir.………………………….....KAREN BARTKE
Christina Elliot…..………………….HELEN MACKAY
Davie Leslie………………..……......SIMON TAIT
Glenalmond/Forbes……………..KENNY BLYTH
Miller/ Laidlaw .............................ALASDAIR HANKINSON
Pringle /Jopp ………………………..OWEN WHITELAW
Other parts played by the cast.

Producer/Director : Bruce Young


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001y208)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Pregnancy discrimination, Girls State and Carly Pearce

An employment tribunal has ruled that describing an expectant mother as 'emotional' at work was discrimination. Described as a David and Goliath case, Nicola Hinds, who had been an account manager at Mitie, a FTSE 250 company, represented herself. The judge upheld her claims of pregnancy discrimination and constructive dismissal saying she was 'inexcusably' ignored by her boss and portrayed as 'hormonal'. She is now in line to receive compensation.

A new documentary film, Girls State, spotlights the girls hoping they will become the first female President of the United States. It follows a real-life mock government programme attended by teenage girls in Missouri. The American Legion, who run the programmes, hold separate programmes for boys and girls in all fifty states in the US. Emma is joined by the film-maker Amanda McBain and Emily Worthmore, one of the girls who stands for Governor, the highest position in the mock government.

It’s almost the end of Ramadan 2024 – the month of fasting observed by Muslims all over the world. But what’s it like to be a modern woman, potentially on your period, and still going through Ramadan? We hear from Mehreen Baig from the podcast Not Even Water and Hodo Ibrahim, co-host of The Oversharers podcast, on the challenges and advantages of being a Muslim woman in Ramadan.

A new play at the Hampstead Theatre – The Divine Mrs S - explores the life of Sarah Siddons, who was the first truly respected female actor in theatre, achieving a huge level of celebrity at the end of the 18th century. April De Angelis’ backstage comedy explores the origins of celebrity culture and portrays Siddons, played by Rachael Stirling, as a pioneer in command of her own image and craft. We hear from April and Rachael about what inspired them to bring Siddons back to life.

And we have music and chat with one of Country Music’s biggest female stars, Carly Pearce, who went from working at Dollywood aged 16 to becoming a Grammy and three-time Country Music Association winner.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed


SAT 17:00 PM (m001y20b)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 Sliced Bread (m001xvkh)
Toast - Little Chef

Why did the restaurant chain, Little Chef, disappear from our roadsides?

Sean Farrington discovers what happened to the brand which brought us Jubilee Pancakes, Olympic Breakfasts and free lollies for the kids.

At its peak, Little Chef had over 400 restaurants on most of our major highways and a turnover well in excess of £100m.

So, how did such a successful business ultimately end up toast?

Sean speaks to Fiona Alper who was married to the Little Chef co-founder, Sam Alper; the entrepreneur, Lawrence Wosskow, who once owned Little Chef and Becky Parr-Phillips who started as a waitress but rose through the ranks to become Little Chef's head of operations.

Alongside them all to analyse Little Chef's fortunes is the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White.

Produced by Jon Douglas. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk

Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in May. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001y20d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001y20g)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001y20j)
Israel says the hostage, found in Gaza, had been murdered by the Islamic Jihad group.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001yb85)
Ruby Wax, Anuvab Pal, Paul Hartnoll, Jessica Gunning, Tiger Braun-White and Nerina Pallot

Ruby Wax defined an interview style which many of us now take for granted. She discusses her hugely popular books on mindfulness and her new book which sees her undertake a series of journeys designed to aid her recovery from depression.
Paul Hartnoll of the dance act Orbital is another genre definer, looking back at the history of electronic music - and his soundtrack work - ahead of a new tour marking three decades since the seminal "green album". Anuvab Pal is one of India's top English speaking comics and has some words for Brits who think the Indian language is complicated but have no problem saying Siobhan.
Jessica Gunning is known to a host of fans from the series The Outlaws, she talks to us about her role in the new, dark Netflix series Baby Reindeer.
We've music from Nerina Pallot ahead of her Palladium show and singer songwriter Tiger Braun-White performs, telling us how he's done with session work... aged 19.
Presented by Clive Anderson
Produced by Kevin Core


SAT 19:00 Profile (m001y20n)
Simon Harris

Although Simon Harris reportedly describes himself as an 'accidental politician', he has managed to make a career out of it. His interest in politics was sparked at the age of 15 when he set up a support group in his local town to campaign for better secondary education for autistic people after he saw his parents struggle to get help for his younger brother. From then on his path was set. After a brief dalliance with Fianna Fail he joined the youth wing of the Fine Gael party at 17. He gave up his degree studies in year three of a four year course to work as an assistant to the then leader of the opposition in the Irish Parliament. By the age of 24 he was elected to parliament with the nickname 'Baby of the Dail' and was a junior minister by the age of 27. Since then he's held two further ministerial posts.

Now, after the shock resignation of former Taioseach, Leo Varadkar in late March, he was elected unopposed as leader of the Fine Gael party and now is expected to be confirmed as the new Taoiseach when the parliament returns after the Easter break. With a new nickname, 'The Tik Tok Taoiseach' because of his use of social media he's on track to break another record, set by his predecessor as the youngest Taoiseach in history to date.

Kate Lamble finds out what makes him tick outside of Tik Tok and his rapid rise to the top job in Irish politics.

PRESENTER: Kate Lamble

CONTRIBUTORS

Frances Fitzgerald, MEP, Dublin, Ireland

Councillor Ray McAdam, Fine Gael

Alice O'Donnell, Triple A Alliance

Jennifer O'Leary, BBC Ireland Correspondent

Fionnan Sheahan, Ireland Editor, The Irish Independent

PRODUCTION TEAM

Producers: Julie Ball & Madeleine Drury
Researcher: Jay Gardner
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production Co-ordinators: Katie Morrison & Sabine Schereck
Sound: Nigel Appleton


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m001yb8n)
Michael Palin

John Wilson talks to actor, comedian, broadcaster and writer Sir Michael Palin. A founding member of the hugely influential comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus, he wrote and performed in its five television series and three feature films including The Life Of Brian. Other big screen credits include A Fish Called Wanda, Brazil, The Missionary and The Death of Stalin. Michael is also a globetrotting documentary presenter and bestselling author.

Michael recalls the early influence of listening to radio comedy as a child, especially the absurdist humour of The Goon Show devised by Spike Milligan. Meeting Terry Jones at Oxford University in 1962 proved to be a life-changing event as the two soon started working on sketches together and after graduating were hired for David Frost's satirical television show The Frost Report. It was on this programme that the duo first worked with future Python members John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle.

Starring in Alan Bleasdale's 1991 ground breaking television drama GBH allowed Michael a departure from comedy but also set the bar high for future acting roles which he increasingly forwent in favour of writing and presenting documentaries, including a particular favourite about the Danish Painter Vilhelm Hammershøi.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


Archive :

A Fish Called Wanda, Charles Crichton, 1988
Take It From Here, BBC Light Programme, 1954
The Goon Show, The Man Who Never Was, BBC Light Programme, 1958
Comic Roots, BBC1, 1983
That Was The Week That Was, BBC, 1963
The Frost Report, BBC1, 1966
Do Not Adjust Your Set, ITV, 1967
Monty Python’s Flying Circus, BBC1, 1969-1970
The Meaning of Life, Terry Jones, 1983
Friday Night, Saturday Morning, BBC2, 1979
The Life of Brian, Terry Jones, 1979
GBH, Alan Bleasdale, Channel 4, 1991
The Death of Stalin, Armando Iannucci, 2017
Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershøi, BBC4, 2008


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m001y20q)
ABBA: Inside the Music

On the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s legendry Eurovision win, this feature explores the group’s music from the inside out - their phenomenal songwriting skill, approach to melody and vocal harmony, the structure of their songs, their pioneering mixing and recording.

From Benny and Bjorn composing from piano on the tiny island of Viggsö in the Swedish archipelago to the myriad of ways in which the vocals of Agnetha (a soprano) and Frida (a mezzo) are blended together in the studio, ABBA’s writing, singing and production is opened up to illuminate their entire sound world.

ABBA - Inside the Music follows the evolution of their craft across all eight studio albums before the band separated, from the Schlager influenced folk of Ring Ring (1973) to the electronic soundscapes of The Visitors (1981) – a huge musical transformation worthy of comparison to The Beatles. Along the way, the group experimented with genres as diverse as reggae, glam rock, prog rock, disco and latterly musical theatre. But behind all of it is their signature, Nordic blend of melancholy and euphoria, the two moods – minor and major - running together across the whole of ABBA’s output.

The group weren’t always as beloved as they are today. ABBA faced huge derision from the serious music press both at home and abroad, which accused them of ignoring politics and disengaging pop music from the counter-culture. "We have met the enemy and they are them," wrote one critic for Rolling Stone. But even their fiercest opponents acknowledged ABBA’s compositional skill and the special dynamic of Frida and Agnetha’s vocals.

Hearing from songwriters, producers, composers, singers and critics, this programme goes inside ABBA’s score in search of their craft and their musical art.

Multiple Ivor Novello winner and Grammy-nominated songwriter Iain Archer presents.

Featuring music writers Jan Gradvall and Paul Morley, ABBA’s live concert engineer Claes af Geijerstam, singer and broadcaster Catherine Bott, jazz critic and author Kevin Le Gendre, songwriter Guy Chambers, classical singer Anne Sofie von Otter, ABBA historian Carl Magnus Palm, director of The Ivors Academy Tom Gray, composer and conductor Leo Geyer, singer songwriters Annika Kilkenny and Connie Talbot, author and artistic associate at the South Bank Gillian Moore and Dan Gillespie Sells, lead singer of The Feeling and composer of the musical ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’.

Producer and piano (except when it's Benny): Simon Hollis
Guitar: Iain Archer

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Legend (m001rypm)
The Joni Mitchell Story

1. Urge for Going

Joni Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever. Jesca Hoop explores her extraordinary story to reveal the life behind the legend.

In the first episode, we hear how young Joni loves to watch the trains go by from the window of her house in a Saskatchewan prairie town. Even as a child, there is a desire to see what's around the next bend. She's a tomboy and an athlete, until polio forces her into a period of convalescence; she's no longer picked first for sports teams but when she gets the use of her legs back she rock 'n' roll dances her way through her teens. Her childhood ambition is to be a painter, but when she finally makes it to art school everything changes....

“I’ve always been a creature of change” – Joni Mitchell

Through archive, fresh interviews, narration, immersive sound design and an original score, we trace the story of an extraordinary life and explore what makes Joni Mitchell a singular artist: the genius of her lyrics; her incredible talent as guitarist, painter and producer; and her restless drive for innovation.

In Legend, we follow Joni from her ‘flatlander’ childhood on the Canadian prairies, through the folk clubs of Toronto and Detroit, to a redwood cottage in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon, to a cave in Crete, to a deserted desert highway, to recording studios and stages around the world. From her earliest home recordings to masterpieces like Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira, we explore some of the stories behind her best-loved songs and celebrate her remarkable return to live performance in 2023: “like seeing, in the wild, a rare bird long feared extinct” (Lindsay Zoladz).

Our guide through the series is the California-born, Manchester-based musician, Jesca Hoop. Jesca speaks to musicians like Blake Mills, Allison Russell, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, who have played alongside Joni, and we hear tributes from those, like musician John Grant, who have been inspired and influenced by her music. We also hear from friends, including Larry Klein and Graham Nash; and from music critics and biographers, including Ann Powers, David Yaffe, Lindsay Zoladz, Kate Mossman, Barney Hoskyns, Miles Grier and Jenn Pelly.

The Joni Mitchell Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producers: Mair Bosworth and Eliza Lomas
Production Coordinator: Andrew Lewis
Editor: Chris Ledgard
Story Editor: Emma Harding
Story Consultant: John Yorke
Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown
Studio Engineers: Ilse Lademann and Michael Harrison
Commissioning Editor: Daniel Clarke


SAT 21:30 Influenced (m001xvdh)
Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat

Left the Chat: No 1. Whatsapp Mishaps

In 1998, Helen’s family got their first home computer - and she logged on to chat with existing friends and strangers she met online. Since then, instant messaging has taken over our lives, with an estimated 2.7 billion users on WhatsApp alone.

But what is happening in the secrecy of our direct message inboxes and neighbourhood group chats? Three stories of chaos, confusion - and comedy - highlight just how strange it can feel to make sense of the fast paced, casual world of instant messaging.

Producer: Tom Pooley
Assistant Producer: Orla O'Brien
Sound Design: Louis Blatherwick
Editor: Craig Templeton Smith
Original music: Coach Conrad

A Tempo & Talker production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News (m001y20s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m001xvm4)
Cooking at home with Gary Lineker

Footballing legend, broadcaster and our host for lunch… Gary Lineker makes his famous 'gambas al ajillo' for Leyla Kazim at his home as she hears how he learnt to cook nine years ago and never looked back. They also discuss food memories from his professional football career, from playing and eating around the world to unorthodox pre-match lunches, Spanish-style. Along the way, she hears stories from Gary’s friends and family as a little-known side to Gary’s character as a newly passionate cook and self-confessed foodie gradually takes shape.

Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.


SAT 23:00 You Heard It Here First (m001y1hr)
Series 2

Episode 1

Chris McCausland asks Iain Stirling and Su Pollard to take on Alasdair Beckett-King and Sophie Duker, deciphering brainteaser sound cues for points and pride whilst trying not to muck about too much along the way. The teams must figure out what on earth is being advertised on TV, guess what famous objects or locations children are trying to describe, and guess what sounds their teammates are trying to recreate.

Producer: Sasha Bobak
Assistant Producer: Becky Carewe-Jeffires
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Dan Marchini

A BBC Studios Production

An EcoAudio certified production


SAT 23:30 Round Britain Quiz (m001xwn7)
Programme 4, 2024

(4/12)
The regular teams from Northern Ireland and Wales, both with a victory under their belts already in the current series, face one another in the cryptic quiz contest.

Freya McClements and Paddy Duffy play for Northern Ireland, against Cariad Lloyd and Myfanwy Alexander for Wales.

Questions in today's programme:

Q1 Where in your house might you look for a Basque football manager, a novel by Patrick Suskind, Travolta as Turnblad, and P.Diddy?

Q2 (from Gerry O'Keeffe) In what way do these people differ: the author of Carrie's War, Bram's young female protagonist, an Italian actress who became a successful photojournalist, and the Queen of Rock 'n Roll?

Q3 Music: Place these titles in chronological order.

Q4 What extremities are linked by the 'last man in', Blackbeard's no.2, Shaw's story of love and war set in Bulgaria, and the A465 between Abergavenny and the Vale of Neath?

Q5 Why might you find Billy Casper's unforgiving teacher, the creator of Atlanta, and one for whom listening was a long-term project, in Yeovil Town?

Q6 (from Ivan Whetton) Music: Why, with these associations, would Galbraith's investigator be regarded as a success?

Q7 Explain why Daisy Jones's band, Poulenc and friends in Paris, a group of musical queens, and Martin Amis's 'murderee', could give you a perfect RBQ score.

Q8 (from Sally Heard) If a gang involved a handyman at a motel, a Cardiff brewery, two little French cakes, a Glenn Miller tune from Sun Valley Serenade and a ghost, who would be the leader and who was the policeman?

Producer: Paul Bajoria

SUNDAY 07 APRIL 2024

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001y20v)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Open Book (m001xwn3)
Andrew O'Hagan and Helen Garner

Alex Clark talks to Andrew O’Hagan about his new book Caledonian Road. Told over the course of a year, Caledonian Road follows art historian and public intellectual Campbell Flynn as a friendship with a young student calls into question the complacency of his much-cherished liberal credentials. With an epic Dickensian cast from drill artists to the wealthy Russian oligarchs in bed with British politicians, the book spools out to encompass a wide canvas of contemporary British life.

Alex also talks to the Australian writer Helen Garner as three books from her back catalogue have been reissued: The Monkey Grip, chronicling a young mother’s life in bohemian Melbourne in the 1970s; This House of Grief, a true crime story of a murderous father; and her most widely renowned novel, The Children’s Bach, which takes us into the lives of a family turned upside down by the forces of sexual desire and the impulse toward freedom.

And, DJ turned novelist, Annie Macmanus shares the Book She'd Never Lend

Book List – Sunday 31 March and Sunday 7 April

Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan
Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
Down All the Days by Christy Brown
The Mess We’re In by Annie Macmanus
The Monkey Grip by Helen Garner
This House of Grief by Helen Garner
The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner
The Season by Helen Garner (coming late 2024)


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001y20x)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001y20z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001y211)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001y213)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001y215)
The Abbey Church in Selby, North Yorkshire

Bells on Sunday, comes from the Abbey Church in Selby, North Yorkshire. The earliest record of bells at the abbey was of four bells in 1619. In the restoration following a disastrous fire in 1906 that gutted the entire Abbey a new ring of ten bells by John Taylor of Loughborough were installed. These bells were augmented to a ring of twelve for the millennium. The Tenor bell weighs twenty five and a half hundredweight and is tuned to the note of D. We hear them ringing Cambridge Surprise Maximus


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m001xvvj)
Should Blindness be Front and Centre?

In Touch discusses whether your blindness should be at the front and centre of your life. Perhaps an ambiguous question because it can depend on the environment you're in, the company that you share, whether you need help and many other factors. What is undoubtedly true though, is that it's not that easy to go completely under the radar with poor sight or none.

We tease this out with author Andrew Leland, who spent time researching visually impaired people and the way society interacts with us, Rachael Andrews, who is not afraid to campaign for herself, and other people at the same time, and stand-up comedian Jamie MacDonald, who uses his blindness as a tool to make other people laugh.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
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.


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001y217)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Beyond Belief (m001xwtj)
Interfaith: Can We Still Talk?

People of faith who have pro-actively built bridges with those from other religions say their work is the most difficult it's ever been. Since the Hamas attack of October 7th 2023 and the conflict in Gaza, previously friendly relations between British Jews and Muslims have been strained. Separately, the British government has withdrawn funding from one national network. Interfaith work can span gatherings in places of worship, sharing bagels and samosas to women's discussion groups, debates and shared charity work.

Giles Fraser asks if this effort is in crisis? And with many feeling disillusioned, is interfaith work worth saving?

Joining Giles to share their experiences and discuss is Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers, Dr Ed Kessler from the Woolf Institute, Julie Siddiqi and Professor Harriet Baber from the University of San Diego.

Presenter: Giles Fraser
Editor: Dan Tierney
Producers: Rebecca Maxted and Peter Everett
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m001y219)
Yarn on the Farm

Sarah Swadling visits a Dorset sheep farm with its own wool processing business. David and Ruth Wilkins turn fleeces into everything from cushion stuffing to knitting yarn, in a tiny factory next door to their lambing shed. Wool straight off the sheep's back is now worth relatively little but David and Ruth create higher value products for other farmers, who want to tap in to the growing demand for crafting materials. Sarah hears how the couple juggle working in the mill with springtime lambing for their rare breed Dorset Down sheep.

Produced and presented by Sarah Swadling


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001y21c)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001y21f)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001y21h)
Muslim Mental Health; Haredi Conscription; Multifaith choir

A new report has found that reticent therapists are avoiding the subject of faith and it's having a detrimental affect on Muslim mental health. The report, from the Wolf Institute, highlights the impact that stigma within the Muslim community has on people seeking help. We hear from Akeel Khalil who runs Icare, a charity working with people in the Muslim community suffering from mental health crises, and Jamilla Hekmoun the author of the Woolf Institute's report.

As the dispute over ultra-Orthodox military exemptions continues we explore Haredi conscription, following Israel's High Court order instructing a funding freeze for educational institutions whose students are eligible for conscription. British Rabbi Herschel Gluck and Professor Yossi Mekelberg, Professor of International Relations and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, discuss the response from the Haredi community and secular opposition to the exemptions.

Richard Dawkins has described himself as a "cultural Christian". He points out that he is still an atheist - but he'd find it problematic if Christianity became a minority religion in this country. We’ll explore what it means to be a cultural Christian with Chine McDonald, the Director of Theos, and Dr Joy Clarkson, a Research Associate in Theology and Literature at King's College London.

As tensions from the war in Gaza are felt across the world, we hear from a choir bringing women from Abrahamic faiths together. The choir brings Christian, Jewish and Muslim women together to sing and perform. Our reporter Emb Hashmi went to meet them and hear their thoughts on the war in the Middle East.

Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Alexa Good & Peter Everett
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001y21k)
Koestler Arts

Artist Gary Mansfield makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Koestler Arts.

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 ‘Koestler Arts’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Koestler Arts’.
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: 1105759


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001y3j8)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001y21m)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001y21p)
Rwanda Stories

Former BBC Religious and World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge leads today's Sunday Worship marking the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide and examining its spiritual legacy. The scale and brutality of the genocide, which began on this day thirty years ago, caused shock worldwide, but no country intervened to forcefully stop the killings. Up to one million perished across one hundred days. Mike reported from Rwanda as the response of churches in the highly Christianised country came under increasing scrutiny. In some cases they either stood aside or were even complicit. We hear the harrowing experiences of those who suffered in the genocide or witnessed the brutality. How could this have happened? It remains a profound question today, and one we hear reflected in our worship and in prayers offered in remembrance and in repentance. Producer: Philip Billson.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001xvtr)
Motherland

Zoe Strimpel reflects on the extraordinary experience of ‘crossing the rubicon separating non-motherhood from matrescence’.

‘I had never quite put aside an abiding ambivalence about having a baby, even during pregnancy,’ writes Zoe.

But in the space of thirty minutes - and the delivery of a baby girl by C-section - Zoe says, ‘my hop over the long-tended, long-contemplated border with motherland rapidly resolved as her tiny features came into focus and a sense of interestingness became a sense of desperate affection and even of familiarity.’

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m001y21r)
Anneka Rice on the Nightingale

A brand new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories from some fresh voices who have been inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.

Broadcaster and artist Anneka Rice spent a lot of time when the country was in Lockdown painting nightingales near her home on the Isle of Wight. Centuries before the poet John Keats heard nightingales in woods on the island. It was maybe this experience which inspired Keats to write his Ode to a Nightingale, singing in a landscape - of beechen green, and shadows numberless, a sentiment also loved by Anneka too.

A BBC Audio production from Bristol
Producer : Andrew Dawes
Studio Manager : Tim Allen


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001y21t)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Reunion (m001y21w)
That's Life!

That’s Life! was essential Sunday night viewing for much of the country in the 1970s and 1980s.

It ran on BBC1 for 21 years and, at its peak, pulled in audiences of over 22 million. The production team received over 15,000 letters a week which were placed in a giant mail bin in the centre of the office.

Throughout its 442 episodes, journalist Esther Rantzen was at the helm, surrounded by an ever-changing cast of mostly male co-presenters (or “Esther’s boys” as they were sometimes disparagingly called).

That’s Life was billed as a consumer rights show, but its brief ranged into all areas. There was Prince the talking terrier who said “sausages”, rudely shaped vegetables, and local authority “jobsworths” - but there were also serious campaigns that made us re-evaluate the society we lived in, such as the expose of sexual abuse at Crookham Court School in Newbury.

In 1988, the programme featured a number of people who were rescued as children from Czechoslovakia and brought to England at the start of World War II. Nicholas Winton, the man who organized their transit, was invited to the studio, and viewers saw the moving moment when Esther Rantzen invited “anyone in the audience who owed their life to the actions of Mr. Winton” to please stand up.

Alongside Esther Rantzen, Kirsty Wark is joined by original co-presenter George Layton, Chris Serle, Paul Heiney, Bill Buckley and Adrian Mills. Sir Peter Bazalgette (who went on to create Big Brother) was a researcher on That’s Life, and director Jane Elsdon Dew started on the show in 1979 and stayed through most of the 80s.

Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Howard Shannon
Additional Research: Michal Porecki

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


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001y21y)
Writer: Daniel Thurman
Director: Peter Leslie Wild

Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis
Kenton Archer …. Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Alice Carter …. Hollie Chapman
Eve Chilcott …. Juliet Aubrey
Harry Chilcott …. Jack Ashton
Justin Elliott …. Simon Williams
Miranda Elliott …. Lucy Fleming
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Dr Azra Malik…. Yasmin Wilde
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw
Odette Callander…. Christine Kavanagh
Mrs Cromwell…. Karen Bryson
Mr Murray …. Ian Dunnett Jr


SUN 12:15 Profile (m001y20n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 It's a Fair Cop (m001xws4)
Series 8

1. Bounty Hunter

In this week's case Alfie turns bounty hunter and goes on the hunt for a wanted man (an infamous bike thief).

Join Alfie and his audience of sworn-in deputies as they decide how to get their man.

Written and presented by Alfie Moore
Script Editor: Will Ing
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Baum
Producer: Sam Holmes

An EcoAudio Certified Production
A BBC Studios Audio Production


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001y220)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001y222)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.


SUN 13:30 The Electric Car Shock (m001y1yg)
How much of a shock will imports of affordable electric vehicles from China give to European car makers? China now exports more cars around the world than any other country. Automotive journalist Steve Fowler explores how their electric car industry got so big and what risks it poses to brands built in the West.

Presenter: Steve Fowler
Producer: Nick Holland
Editor: Bridget Harney
Sound: James Beard


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001xvrs)
Fulham

Is it possible to grow edible watermelons in the UK? How do revive my red Duke of York potatoes after over-chitting them? How can I continue growing leeks while protecting them from leaf miners?

Kathy Clugston and a panel of keen gardening experts are in Fulham, West London to unearth the answers to the audience's gardening conundrums. On the panel this week are organic gardener Bob Flowerdew, pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood, and curator of RHS Wisley Matthew Pottage.

Later, we immerse ourselves in the Sound of Blossom festival at Kew Gardens, where head kitchen gardener Helena Dove educates us on the life cycle of blossoms, and the benefits it has for insects and wildlife.

Senior Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001y224)
The Sportswriter

The Sportswriter, by the American novelist Richard Ford, is the first of what became a series of five novels following the life of Frank Bascombe – a failed writer of fiction who turns to writing about sport to make a living.

Frank’s marriage to a woman only referred to as X is over - although he wishes it wasn’t – and Ralph, one of their three children, has died.

Published in 1986, The Sportswriter was named one of Time magazine's five best books of the year and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. John looks at the reasons for its success.

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

Contributor:
Ian McGuire, Professor of American Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester. He is the author of three novels, Incredible Bodies (2006), The North Water (2016) and The Abstainer (2020), and one critical monograph, Richard Ford and the Ends of Realism (2015).

Credits:
Excerpts from The Sportswriter by Richard Ford, 1986.
Readings and interview clips of Richard Ford from World Book Club, BBC World Service, 12 June 2013.

Researcher: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Producer: Jack Soper
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Production Manager: Sarah Wright

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Frank Bascombe: An American Life (m001y226)
The Sportswriter

The Sportswriter in the first episode in the series, Frank Bascombe: An American Life, playing out over this coming year on BBC Radio 4. Starring Kyle Soller as Frank Bascombe.

Richard Ford’s Frank Bascombe books are a remarkable literary phenomenon, , following the fortunes of his hapless but ever-hopeful hero Frank, and giving us a unique portrait of contemporary American life. Over the year, we will check in on Frank for four weekends of his life, over four decades, stretching from the early 80s to the present day, in dramatistions of four Frank Bascombe books - The Sportswriter, Independence Day, The Lay of the Land, and Let Me Be Frank With You.

Episode One - The Sportswriter
Frank Bascombe is a man in crisis trying to make sense of divorce, bereavement and a new girlfriend while, over one Easter weekend, his life takes an unexpected turn.

Cast
FRANK BASCOMBE: Kyle Soller
ANN (FRANK'S EX-WIFE): Lydia Wilson
WALTER LUCKETT: Martin T Sherman
VICKI ARCENAULT: Yolanda Kettle
LYNETTE ARCENAULT: Laurel Lefkow
WADE ARCENAULT: Brandon Burke
HERB WALLAGHER / BENIVALLE: William Hope
FINCHER / CADE ARCENAULT: Eric Stroud
CATHERINE FLAHERTY: Georgia Brown

Dramatised by Robin Brooks from the Bascombe novels by Richard Ford
Sound Design: Joseff Harris and Alisdair McGregor
Broadcast Assistant: Hermione Sylvester

Directed and Produced by Fiona McAlpine
An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4

Picture credit: © Roy Lichtenstein, In the Car, National Galleries of Scotland


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m001y229)
Clare Chambers: Small Pleasures

Clare Chambers talks to James Naughtie and readers about her bestselling novel, Small Pleasures. Set in the London suburbs in the 1950s, it tells the story of Jean Swinney, a journalist who is asked to investigate a letter sent to her paper, from a mother claiming her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. Jean meets the mother, Gretchen; her husband, Howard and daughter Margaret and is drawn into their family life. Her investigations soon expand both her world, and her heart.


Upcoming recordings, at BBC Broadcasting House in London:

Wednesday 24 April at 1800 - Nicholas Shakespeare on Six Minutes In May

Wednesday 15 May at 1300 - Lucy Caldwell on These Days.

Thursday 6 June at 1245 - Marlon James on A Brief History of Seven Killings

Wednesday 10 July at 1830 - Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ on Stay With Me

Email bookclub@bbc.co.uk to take part. Over 18s only.


SUN 16:30 Round Britain Quiz (m001yjnt)
Programme 5, 2024

(5/12)

Kirsty Lang chairs another closely-contested battle of wits between Marcus Berkmann and Paul Sinha for the South of England, and Frankie Fanko and Stephen Maddock for the Midlands.

Today's questions are:

Q1 Explain why you might be spellbound by a group of male strippers, the Beatles' parasitic friend and one of the all-time NBA greats?

Q2 What do the Maid of Buttermere, William Bloke and (doubly so) the recipients of the 1915 Nobel Prize for Physics have to boast about?

Q3 Music: Which titular Oscar Wilde character might you add to this collection?

Q4 How might you help a day in Spain to become a baker from Llareggub, a Gilbertian Princess, a German cobbler and an airport in Washington?

Q5 By adding nothing, turn an Arsenal manager into a Long Day's Journeyman, two World Snooker champions into a liberator of South America, the father and murderer of twins in a classic horror film into Lily Savage, and one half of a Trollope novel into the other half.

Q6 Music: Why are we playing you these in this order?

Q7 (from Simon Meara) If an ornithological orb scores 50,000, Highlands headwear 300,000 and a Charleston cropper two million, which social media site out-performs them all?

Q8 A board game in Japan, a device for moving fluids in Wales, a guinea-pig in the Balkans and the capital of Peru in the Pacific: is this the right number of clues?

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct3bxv)
When the Queen 'jumped out of a helicopter'

How did an estimated 900 million people come to witness Her Majesty the Queen apparently parachuting from a helicopter with James Bond?

Frank Cottrell-Boyce who wrote the scene for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games explains how it came about.

Josephine McDermott hears how corgis, a clothes line and the Queen’s dresser all played important parts.

(Photo: The moment the Queen and James Bond appeared to jump out of a helicopter above the Olympic Stadium in London. Credit: Getty Images)


SUN 17:10 The Patch (m001xwr5)
Prestatyn

One random postcode, and a story you probably haven't heard before.

Today, Prestatyn, North Wales. Famous for its beaches and holiday parks, this is where Fred Pontin established the Pontins self-catered British holiday experience. When producer Polly arrives in October, the gates are locked shut, so she goes in search of another starting point. She discovers another camp called The Salford Children's Holiday Camp. Founded in the 1920s, Salford's mayor at the time bought a plot of land here, just so the city's most deprived children could get away to experience the seaside. Nearly a century on, here it still stands. Primary schools from across the city bring children here every year. "If you grew up in Salford, there's a very good chance you've visited the site."

The children have all left for the season, so Jo and Doug, the site managers, introduce Polly to the other residents - a few hundred rabbits and two families of gulls who live on the dormitory roofs. But there's drama outside the camp, and the gulls have become very controversial. The council can issue fines for feeding them, and there have been a spate of gull against human and human against gull attacks.

Polly searches for the roots of Prestatyn's human/herring gull conflict. The journey takes her on a tour through one hundred years of childhood memories at the holiday camp, and leads her right back to where she began... at the gates of Pontins, where something earth-shattering unfolds. Pontins announces its permanent closure. And the gulls have an important, untold role in that drama, too.

Thanks to Peter Rock, Matthew Chandler from the Rhyl Journal, Paul Blain, and Jo and Doug Walsh.

Produced and Presented by Polly Weston
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
Editor: Chris Ledgard


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001y22h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001y22k)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001y22m)
Israel's Prime Minister says there'll be no ceasefire until all hostages are released. And, police are searching for a man suspected of killing a woman in Bradford yesterday.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001y22p)
Peter Curran

In our world of withering optimism, let Peter bring you the standout moments of radio and podcasts that will quench your thirst for wonder, delight, deep humanity, discovery, creative glories and....dare he say it…joy.
An angry Michael Palin, a clever Dr Seuss, Johnny Cash, seductive Soca rhythms, plastic as food, Religion versus Science - and The Female Gaze. That’s just the half of it...

Presenter: Peter Curran
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinators: Paul Holloway & Lola Grieve


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001y1y8)
Harry calls Alice in the middle of the night, telling her he wants to drink. He apologises - he has been staring at a bottle of whisky he bought at the all-night garage. She talks him through pouring it away. He couldn’t have done it without her, he says. He hasn’t been able to sleep, he doesn’t think he can do it. But Alice reassures him he’s not alone. He needs to get to an AA meeting and cultivate healthy habits that might distract him from drinking. She suggests they do a crossword together. Later when they speak on the phone, Harry is euphoric – he hasn’t wanted a drink all day and he has Alice to thank for that. But it’s clear Alice is hiding something: she hasn’t told her sobriety buddy Lisa about Harry. It’s obvious he’s still hoping they’ll get back together.

Kate is up early to run her inner child retreat so she’ll be out all day. Brian confirms Miranda is coming over and Kate wants to meet her properly. Later Miranda has some suggestions after riding the cross-country course. She heads off for lunch with Brian. Over lunch Miranda jokes about Susan’s mission to collect video testimonials for the shop. She has no interest in that but is a good deal keener to meet Kate. The discovery of Miranda’s hairbrush sets Kate off - Brian is whisking her away before she has the chance to meet her. Brian says Miranda also wants to meet, suggesting Tuesday evening, but he doesn’t want Miranda grilled. Kate promises to be charm personified.


SUN 19:15 Gegs (9,4)* - A Cryptic History (m001y22r)
James Peak, and his mate Tony from the antiques shop, embark on an odyssey into the peculiar realm of the cryptic crossword, that most fiendish and fearsome of puzzles.

The cryptic crossword is 100 years old this year, and over the turbulent past century, a complicated mechanism of snares and trips has built up to confound even the most diligent of solvers. James and Tony - who certainly aren't the most diligent of solvers - need schooling. Luckily, some brilliant setters and cryptic enthusiasts roll up their sleeves to help.

With thanks to The Everyman at The Observer Newspaper, Eddie Lawson, Dagenham Dave, Carmen Tarry and Julian Weenen.

Starring Tony Lombardelli, Victoria Godfrey and Alan Connor.

Music Composition & Production: Lilium
Sound Design & Mixing: Neil Churchill
Assistant Producer: Ruby Churchill
Written, Presented & Produced by James Peak

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Why Do We Do That? (m001dgcr)
Why Is Heartbreak So Painful?

In this episode, Ella Al-Shamahi delves into the origins of a broken heart. Words or phrases that use ‘heart pain’ to describe emotional pain appear in many languages, suggesting it is present in many cultures. Studies show that looking at photos of ex-partners within six months of a break-up triggers the same areas of the brain as physical pain. And as odd as it sounds, just like with physical pain, painkillers can act on feelings of a broken heart. So why is it so painful? TV and Radio Presenter Clara Amfo comes on to talk about love, break-ups and heartbreak. Dr Freddy van der Veen, Associate Professor of Psychology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam reveals the very real signals that travel from our brain to our heart, which may have served an evolutionary purpose.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m001xvnp)
The Future of the BBC, Radio 4 Audience Research and Miners’ Strike Series

Are the days of the BBC licence fee numbered and, if so, what might replace it? In the week that the licence fee goes up by £10, we’re asking you to give us your views on the corporation’s future funding model. Matt Walsh, Head of Cardiff University’s Journalism School gives us his take.

The Radio 4 Schedule changes have now kicked in, but what research were the decisions based on? Andrea puts your questions to Alison Winter, Head of Audiences, Radio and Education at the BBC.

And Strike Boy is a 10-part series which follows the son of a striking Nottinghamshire miner as he uncovers the motivations and memories of some of those involved in the 1984 miners’ strike. For this week’s Vox Box, two listeners who have their own personal connections to the strikes, cast an ear over the Radio 4 series - and the producer responds to their comments.

Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Leeanne Coyle
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001xvsc)
Joe Lieberman, Diana Baring, Lynn Kinnear, Kay Benbow

Matthew Bannister on

Joe Lieberman, the US Democrat politician who fell out with his party over the Iraq War.

Diana Baring, the respected literary agent. We have a tribute from her client Frederick Forsyth.

Lynn Kinnear, who was one of the most influential landscape architects of her generation.

Kay Benbow, who commissioned and made many acclaimed TV shows for children.

Interviewee: Matt Lieberman
Interviewee: Frederick Forsyth
Interviewee: Caroline Dawnay
Interviewee: Sean Griffiths
Interviewee: Kim Tserkezie

Producer: Catherine Powell

Archive used:
Joe Lieberman addresses the Senate floor, 04/09/1998, AP Archive, YouTube upload, 21/07/2015; Joe Lieberman interview, The Mehdi Hasan Show, MSNBC, YouTube Upload, 27/10/2021; Joe Lieberman interview, HardTalk, BBC News, 29/06/2017; Joe Lieberman interview, All things considered, NPR, 12/10/2015; Late Night with Conan O'Brien 15/01/2003 Show Executive Producers Lorne Michaels Jeff Ross; The Day of the Jackal trailer, Universal City Studios LLC, IMDb, 1973; Walthamstow Wetlands, London Wildlife Trust, YouTube upload 04/2021; Lynn Kinnear interviewed by Hattie Hartman, 01/07/2022; Balamory Theme Song – BBC Foster Paterson; Woman's Hour : Children's Television; 12/09/2014; Nina and the Neurons BBC Series 2 “Nina’s Cake Bakes” 02/04/2008; The Clangers, Smallfilms for the BBC, 31/10/08


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001y200)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001y21k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001y1zw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001y22t)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m001xvhb)
Nikola Tesla

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) and his role in the development of electrical systems towards the end of the nineteenth century. He made his name in New York in the contest over which current should flow into homes and factories in America. Some such as Edison backed direct current or DC while others such as Westinghouse backed alternating current or AC and Nikola Tesla’s invention of a motor that worked on AC swung it for the alternating system that went on to power the modern age. He ensured his reputation and ideas burnt brightly for the next decades, making him synonymous with the lone, genius inventor of the new science fiction.

With

Simon Schaffer
Emeritus Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge

Jill Jonnes
Historian and author of “Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse and the Race to Electrify the World”

And

Iwan Morus
Professor of History at Aberystwyth University

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Reading list:

W. Bernard Carlson, Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age (Princeton University Press, 2013)

Margaret Cheney and Robert Uth, Tesla: Master of Lightning (Barnes & Noble Books, 1999)

Thomas P. Hughes, Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983)

Carolyn Marvin, When Old Technologies Were New (Open University Press, 1988)

Iwan Rhys Morus, Nikola Tesla and the Electrical Future (Icon Books, 2019)

Iwan Rhys Morus, How The Victorians Took Us To The Moon (Icon, 2022)

David E. Nye, Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology (MIT Press, 1991)

John J. O’Neill, Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla (first published 1944; Cosimo Classics, 2006)

Marc J. Seifer, Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla, Biography of a Genius (first published 1996; Citadel Press, 2016)

Nikola Tesla, My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla (first published 1919; Martino Fine Books, 2011)

Nikola Tesla, My Inventions and other Writings (Penguin, 2012)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio production


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m001xvs2)
La Scala Sauchiehall Street

"The barrier between this world and the next is thin in La Scala."
Louise Welsh's short story celebrates Glasgow of the 1930s, when the city boasted more cinema screens per person than anywhere else in the UK.
Read by Elysia Welch
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

MONDAY 08 APRIL 2024

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001y22w)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Crossing Continents (m001xwtx)
Secret Sisters. Political prisoners in Belarus

Belarus has huge numbers of political prisoners - around three times as many as in Russia, in a far smaller country.
Almost industrial scale arrests began after huge, peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations swept the country in 2020 after Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in presidential elections. Mr Lukashenko has been in power for 30 years. Protestors said the result was a fraud, and that they’d been cheated of their vote.
Almost four years on, the authorities are still making mass arrests.

Many of those detained are women. The most prominent woman prisoner, Maria Kolesnikova, a professional flute player, has been incommunicado for over a year, with no word at all reaching her family or lawyers.

Political prisoners are made to wear a yellow patch on their clothes. The women say they kept short of food and made to sew uniforms for the security forces, to clean the prison yard with rags and shovel snow. They speak of undergoing humiliating punishments such as standing in parade grounds under the sun for hours.
Yet they also tell us of camaraderie and warmth in their tiny cells as they try to keep one other going. And women on the outside continue to take personal risks to help the prisoners by sending in food, warm clothes and letters.

Presented by Monica Whitlock
Producers Monica Whitlock and Albina Kovalyova
Sound mix Neil Churchill
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001y215)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001y22y)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001y230)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001y232)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001y234)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001y236)
Writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson starts the day with reflection and prayer.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001y3jj)
08/04/24 Caged hens, young rangers and pig week.

Should cages for laying hens be banned? The Scottish Government is consulting on phasing them out, in order, it says, 'to improve their welfare by allowing birds to exhibit their normal behaviours.' Egg producers warn it would mean Scottish consumers paying more for eggs - or potentially being offered English imports - and say the ban is being proposed without a full understanding of the larger enriched cages currently used. Farming Today hears from one producer who says the ban will hurt the industry, and from Scotland’s Farming Minister Jim Fairlie.

We visit a farm in Cheshire which is training vulnerable young adults to become "farm rangers". Let’s Farm was set up as a community project for people aged 18 to 35 with learning disabilities and difficulties. They take part in all aspects of farming life which the organisers say brings huge benefits and could lead to a future career.

All this week we're talking about pigs. There has been somewhat of a crisis in the industry over the last two years, with falling prices, high feed costs, delays at abattoirs and as a result, there has been a reduction in the breeding herd. But things are starting to look up.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Marie Lennon


MON 05:57 Weather (m001y238)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m001y1xb)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m001y1xd)
Music and poetry

Humankind’s relationship with music can be traced back millions of years and across continents. In Sound Tracks the archaeologist Graeme Lawson unearths some of the oldest instruments, from water-filled pots in Peru from AD700 that chirp like a bird, to bells from a tomb in 5th century China. He argues that music is part of what makes us human.

An ancient horn, played from a watchtower on Hadrian's Wall, is a far cry from the modern version the award-winning trumpeter Alison Balsom plays. She is giving the UK premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra (Barbican on the 11th April; Bristol Beacon on the 12th). This is a contemporary piece that showcases the huge versatility of the trumpet, from the opening pre-historic-sounding wild elephant call to ceremonial fanfare and New Orleans jazz.

The celebrated poet John Burnside’s new collection, Ruin, Blossom explores what it is to be human as we contemplate our mortality. But even amidst the ruin and death and decay, his words reveal the beauty and hope in the everyday natural world: ‘first sun streaming through the trees … a skylark in the near field, flush with song’.

(Extract from Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto, played by Alison Balsom with the Swedish Radio Orchestra in a concert from 17th February 2024, with permission from the Swedish Radio Orchestra )

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Café Hope (m001y1xg)
Carrying on the kindness

Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop with Rachel Burden, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make the world a better place in big and small ways. We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. Trying is key; this is real life after all and not everything works – but it’s worth a go. What’s different about Café Hope is we hear what was a real struggle along the way as well.

Debbie Meade-Mcloughlin speaks to Rachel about her mission to find positivity after her daughter Jade took her own life. Debbie created the charity Jade’s Bag which continues Jade’s kindness by providing support, food and help to locals.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001y1xj)
Westminster honeytrap scam, What we can learn from toddlers, Saudi Arabia

Dame Andrea Jenkyns MP has become the first woman to publicly speak about being a victim to the suspected Westminster honeytrap scam. What does the scam mean for politics? And what do we mean by honeytrap? Former deputy chief whip Anne Milton joins Emma Barnett to discuss, along with political correspondent at The Sun, Noa Hoffman.

During the late 90s and the early 2000s, belly button piercings were everywhere. They were made popular by celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Britney Spears and Beyoncé. The trend slowly faded away in the 2010s, but with 90s and Y2K fashion back in style - so is the belly button piercing. Fashion Director at The Sunday Times, Karen Dacre, got one the first time around, and Dr Helge Gillmeister, Reader of Psychology at the University of Essex, has studied the appeal of the belly button piercing. They join Emma to discuss naval piercings.

Could we be happier and more successful if we acted like toddlers? Dr Hasan Merali, Paediatric emergency medicine physician, Associate Professor at McMaster University and author of Sleep Well, Take Risks, Squish the Peas, tells Emma what we can learn about self-improvement from toddlers.

The WTA Finals this year will be held in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. The decision has drawn criticism from female tennis legends such as Martina Navratilova, because of the state of women’s rights in the country, but others including Billie Jean King support the move. What is life like for women in Saudia Arabia today? And why has the WTA chosen them to host the finals? Emma speaks to sports journalist Molly McElwee and Professor at the LSE Middle East Centre, Madawi Al-Rasheed.

Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Lottie Garton


MON 11:00 The Patch (m001y1xl)
St Mary Cray

One random postcode, and a story you probably haven't heard before.

When producer Polly Weston arrives, she is met by a blocked road. Storms have brought down an enormous tree in the cemetery and taken out a wall, blocking her way into the postcode. A small crowd had gathered. It turns out, the cemetery is known locally as the travellers' resting place. St Mary Cray is thought to have one of the largest settled communities of Romani travellers in the UK.

Social media is full of disparaging comments about the road which the cemetery sits on, but conversations with locals tell a very different story. Initially struck by how the cemetery is cared for by the local community, Polly discovers a hidden history, and a culture around death and bereavement which is thought provoking and unique.

Produced and Presented in Bristol by Polly Weston
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
Editor: Chris Ledgard
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke


MON 11:45 The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (b0b0prnw)
1. Childhood

The celebrated poet Benjamin Zephaniah died in December 2023. As a tribute, Radio 4 is broadcasting the 2018 Book of the Week recording of his autobiography The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, which begins with his childhood growing up in Birmingham.

It was a childhood coloured with love and violence, but it was also where his love of poetry first evolved and his relationship with his parents go in two very different directions.

Written and read by Benjamin Zephaniah
Abridged by Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001y1xn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001y1xq)
Buy Now Pay Later; White goods repairs; Luxury fashion sites

New data from the buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna suggests 95% of purchases were paid off on time. It comes as concerns remain that shoppers are getting into debt by using BNPL borrowing arrangements to pay for goods. The Government has promised to regulate the BNPL industry – but three years on there’s still no sign of it. Even some of the companies themselves say they’d welcome the transparency the regulations will bring; both for them and the consumer.
We also examine whether modern appliances are not built to last as much as they used to. It’s the focus of a new study which is examining whether household appliances such as washing-machines and microwaves have a shorter life expectancy than they did 10 years ago. We talk to the man behind the research, a listener whose three-year-old washing-machine has just packed in, and the trade body representing the appliances industry in the UK.
And – they proved immensely popular just a few years ago…so why have online marketplace sites for luxury fashion brands suddenly fallen on hard times? We get the perspective of two people who should know…Paris Correspondent from the Financial Times Adrienne Klasa, and the head of global luxury goods at the consultancy firm Bain & Company, Claudia D’Arpizio.
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: CRAIG HENDERSON


MON 12:57 Weather (m001y1xt)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001y1xy)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


MON 13:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y1y3)
1. Reaching the Summit

Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993.
In this episode, she shares her summit story and hears the experiences of Sir Chris Bonington, Lakpa Rita Sherpa and Margaret Watroba.

Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001y1y8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama on 4 (m000t6lf)
Another Place

By Siân Owen

One mum’s struggle to connect to her severely deaf baby son.

Lizzy finds out that Charlie might have a problem with his ears when he's three weeks old, after a routine neonatal screening. It could just be gunk. It could just be newborn gunk. That often happens. So they send him to get tested further. And it's at this test, when Charlie's six weeks old, wires stuck to his little head, that Lizzy sees the machine draw lines that make the audiologist stop smiling.

This is the story of a mum’s quest to understand what being deaf means. Lizzy attempts to fill in the gaps for her son, not realising that he is already filling so many gaps for her - gaps she never even knew she had.

‘Another Place’ is the second audio drama for Radio 4 by writer Siân Owen, whose own son was born with a major permanent hearing loss.

Lizzy…. Alexandria Riley
Joel…. Matthew Gravelle
Seren…. Carys Eleri
Natasha…. Eiry Thomas
Charlie…. Zachary Cox

Directed by Carl Prekopp
Produced by James Robinson

A BBC Cymru Wales Production


MON 15:00 Great Lives (m001y1yb)
Sir Bruce Forsyth

The political writer and broadcaster Steve Richards remembers the 1970s as a “dark decade.” But one shining light for the teenage Steve was Saturday evening telly, especially the Generation Game on BBC One. He was captivated by the performance of the show’s host, Bruce Forsyth. Brucie was in his pomp, with the programme getting audiences of up to 19 million. Steve thought his performances were comedic genius, especially his interaction with contestants. And he came to appreciate Sir Bruce’s other talents too, like his singing and dancing abilities.
As well as the Generation Game, his seven-decade career took in Sunday Night at The London Palladium, one-man stage shows, Play Your Cards Right and Strictly Come Dancing. Indeed, it has been said that the story of Sir Bruce Forsyth is the story of modern entertainment television in Britain.
That’s why Steve has nominated Sir Bruce as a Great Life. And joining him and host Matthew Parris to discuss Brucie’s life and career are his widow Lady Forsyth and his long-time manager Ian Wilson.
Producer: Paul Martin for BBC Studios Audio


MON 15:30 History's Secret Heroes (m001y1yd)
12. Flying High with Johnny Smythe

In Sierra Leone, navigator Johnny Smythe becomes one of the first West African airmen to join the Royal Air Force. His fellow crew consider him as a lucky charm, but as he faces a series of terrifying flights, will his good fortune run out?

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

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

Producers: Suniti Somaiya and Elaina Boateng
Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby
Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts


MON 16:00 The Electric Car Shock (m001y1yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Soul Music (m001y1yj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m001y1yl)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001y1yn)
Benjamin Netanyahu is also facing calls to mount a major assault on Rafah in Gaza


MON 18:30 It's a Fair Cop (m001y1yq)
Series 8

2. Anger Management

How does a Police Officer deal with anger?

Have you ever let your anger get the better of you? In today's case Alfie is sent to a neighbour dispute only to arrive to find a crazed man wielding a fencing post...

Join Alfie and his audience cops as they decided the best course of action to deal with a man who might be a danger to himself and others.

Written and presented by Alfie Moore
Script Editor: Will Ing
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Baum
Producer: Sam Holmes

An EcoAudio Certified Production
A BBC Studios Audio Production


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001y1ys)
Chris is catching up with Susan in the shop and asks about her testimonial videos. She says Brian did one yesterday and that he and Miranda now appear to be an item. Chris mentions George’s Bartleby videos. She plays the latest, and is horrified at gossip about Derek Fletcher’s fling with Jean Harvey. Harrison says Derek has collared him about the video, but it would only be libellous if untrue. Chris offers Susan his prize of a night at Grey Gables but she suggests he give it to Ed and Emma. Chris offers to buy Harrison a drink to celebrate keeping his job and thanks him, saying that his actions – while not by the book - probably saved Martha and Alice’s lives. Chris admits he is still in love with Alice but telling her would be too difficult and might upset arrangements with Martha. He offers his prize of a night at Grey Gables to Harrison, who is delighted.

George and Eddie comment on how well Bartleby is looking – the new diet and medication seem to be working well. Eddie complains how expensive it all is but George hopes his social media channel will make enough money to pay for it. They start recording the next video and it’s obvious the target is Susan. The pair are chatting about how well the videos are doing when Susan storms in, furious. She demands they take the latest down. When George refuses she demands recompense: George will have to edit together all of her shop testimonials, complete with backing music and captions – a proper, professional job.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001y1yv)
Yinka Shonibare, Sean Shibe, cinema and digital decay

Artist Yinka Shonibare talks about his new exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, which explores the legacy of Imperialism.

Guitarist Sean Shibe performs early Scottish lute music and previews a new classical guitar concerto live in the Front Row studio.

And film experts Stephen McConnachie and Inés Toharia explain how fast changing technology and digital decay is putting preserving cinema under threat.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Olivia Skinner


MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m001xvp8)
What's the future of the state pension?

The state pension system relies on the workers of today paying the pensions of current retirees. But does an aging population and rising costs threaten that model continuing?

David Aaronovitch talks to:

Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Paul Lewis, financial journalist and presenter of Radio 4’s Money Box programme
Claer Barrett, consumer editor at the Financial Times and presenter of the FT's Money Clinic podcast
Sir Steve Webb, formerly Minister for Pensions and current partner at Lane Clark & Peacock

Production team: Drew Hyndman, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m001xvpt)
200 years of dinosaur science

In 1824, 200 years ago, Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur to ever be described in a scientific paper. William Buckland studied fossils from Stonesfield in Oxfordshire in order to describe the animal.

In this episode, Victoria Gill visits palaeontologist Dr Emma Nicholls at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, who shows her those very fossils that launched the new science of palaeontology. Danielle Czerkaszyn then opens the archives to reveal the scientific illustrations of Megalosaurus by Mary Morland, which helped shape Buckland's description.

But this was just the beginning. Over the coming decades, remains kept being discovered and scientists were gripped with dinosaur mania, racing to find species. Now, in 2024, we're finding new dinosaurs all the time. Victoria travels to the University of Edinburgh to meet Professor Steve Brusatte and Dr Tom Challands as they start extracting a dinosaur bone from a piece of Jurassic rock - could this be a new species? Together, they reflect on how palaeontology has changed over the last 200 years and ponder the ongoing mysteries of these charismatic animals.

Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Hannah Robins
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth 
Editor: Martin Smith


MON 21:00 Start the Week (m001y1xd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:45 Café Hope (m001y1xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001y1yx)
What is Israel's next move in Gaza?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a date has been set for an invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza - despite fresh global pressure against proceeding with an attack. An ally of Mr Netanyahu tells us he's ready to ignore the warnings.

Also on the programme:

Millions of people across North America have turned their faces to the sky to experience the most-viewed total solar eclipse in history. We hear from two of them - including one who's visually impaired.

And why all songs faster than 116 beats per minute are being banned in Chechnya.


MON 22:45 Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (m001y1yz)
Episode 1

The explosive literary sensation and winner of the 2023 Booker Prize. As read by Clare Dunne (‘Kin.’)

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB – the Garda National Service Bureau – on her step. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police are here to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart. The country is in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny and Eilish finds herself caught within the nightmare logic of a society that is quickly unravelling.

How far will she go to save her family? And what – or who – is she willing to leave behind?

The Author
Paul Lynch is the prize-winning author of five novels: ‘Prophet Song’, ‘Beyond the Sea’, ‘Grace’, ‘The Black Snow’, and ‘Red Sky in Morning’. He was awarded The Booker Prize 2023 for his esteemed novel ‘Prophet Song’. He has won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and the French booksellers’ prize Prix Libr’à Nous for best foreign novel. He has also been shortlisted for UK’s Walter Scott Prize, the US’s William Saroyan International Prize, and France’s Prix Jean Monnet for European Literature and the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, among other prizes. Libération has called Lynch “one of today’s greatest Irish writers”. He lives in Dublin with his wife and two children.

Reader: Clare Dunne
Author: Paul Lynch
Abridger: Rowan Routh
Producer: Michael Shannon

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Limelight (m000wdh0)
The System - Series 1

The System - Level 1: Get Naked

By Ben Lewis

A propulsive thriller starring Siena Kelly, Jack Rowan and Iain de Caestecker.

Level 1: Get Naked.

When Jake signs up to a personal training programme that promises to turn the meekest man-boy into an alpha male, he doesn’t have a clue what he’s getting himself into. Two years later, his sister Maya sets out to uncover the truth.

Cast:
Alex … Iain de Caestecker
Jerome… Don Gilét
Maya … Siena Kelly
Beau…Matthew Needham
DI Cohen …Chloe Pirrie
Jake …Jack Rowan

Original music and sound design by Danny Krass
Featuring tracks from Equiknoxx music collective

With thanks to Dr Joel Busher at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, University of Coventry.

A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams


MON 23:30 Between Ourselves With Marian Keyes (m000s9s0)
Adventure

Back for a second series, Marian Keyes continues to be a publishing sensation. Her works of fiction - Rachel's Holiday, The Break and her latest, Grown Ups, among many others - have sold in their millions across the globe.

Marian reads selections from her non-fiction writing in conversation with her friend, the actor Tara Flynn.

With the on-going international unpleasantness – and in the brief respite between lockdowns - this series was recorded without a studio audience at Marian’s home in County Dublin, Ireland. If you listen carefully you might hear the number 96A bus rumbling past, outside.

What we might lack in a studio audience reaction we hope to make up for in warmth and witty, good-natured companionship. The first series was described in The Observer as “a laugh out loud hoot” and the Daily Mail called it “bright, funny and clever”.

This week's theme is adventure. Alongside the craic, Marian recounts her experiences travelling in Patagonia and an unforgettable encounter with rock legend Robert Plant.

Presenters: Tara Flynn and Marian Keyes
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4

TUESDAY 09 APRIL 2024

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001y1z1)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (b0b0prnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001y1z3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001y1z5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001y1z7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001y1z9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001y1zc)
Writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson starts the day with reflection and prayer.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001y1zf)
09/04/24 - Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice, farrowing crates

The relationship between landowners and tenant farmers can be a difficult one - but it’s hoped a new Code of Practice could help improve things. It was one of the key recommendations of the Rock Review into tenant farming in England. The Tenant Farmers Association has called it a “major step forward”, saying “for too long tenants have felt marginalised and mistreated.”

And we visit a state of the art pig farm to find out about a replacement for ‘farrowing crates’. These are the small pens where sows are confined by rails while, and after, giving birth to stop them lying on and smothering their piglets. Sows can get up and lie down, but not turn around or move about until the piglets are weaned when they’re about a month old. The use of these crates is banned in Sweden, Norway and Switzerland and they may also be phased out in the UK.

Presented by Caz Graham
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons


TUE 06:00 Today (m001y26f)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m001y26h)
Fiona Rayment on the applications of nuclear for net zero and beyond

The reputation of the nuclear industry has had highs and lows during the career of Dr Fiona Rayment, the President of the Nuclear Institute. But nowadays the role of nuclear science and engineering has become more widely accepted in the quest for carbon net zero.

Growing up in Hamilton, Scotland during a time of energy insecurity, Fiona was determined to understand more about why her school lacked the energy to heat up all of the classrooms or why there were power cuts causing her to have to do her homework by candlelight - and in nuclear she knew there was a possible solution.

But it’s not just in clean energy that Fiona has spent her career, she’s also been involved in investigating how nuclear science can be used in treating cancer and space travel, as well as promoting gender diversity in the nuclear industry.

Speaking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Fiona discusses how she’s always tried to keep close to the science during her career in order to keep her ‘spark’!

Produced by Jonathan Blackwell


TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m001y26k)
Is intermittent fasting good for you?

Have you ever tried intermittent fasting? As the month of Ramadan comes to an end, many Muslims are concluding several weeks of time-restricted eating. But outside of religion, many of us are now choosing to eat this way for health reasons – even UK PM Rishi Sunak does a weekly fast. Claimed benefits of intermittent fasting range from weight loss to improved immune function to maybe even living longer, but do these stack up?

James Gallagher gives one of these popular diets a go whilst trying to answer if restricting when we eat our food is good for us. He chats to Colin Selman from the University of Glasgow about the animal studies which inspired these claims, Claudia Langenberg from Queen Mary University on what happens in our bodies when fasting, and Lucy Serpell from UCL on the potential dangers these types of diets can pose. Plus, we visit AFC Wimbledon for an Iftar event to hear if people fasting during Ramadan experience any changes to their health.

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Julia Ravey
Editor: Holly Squire
Studio Manager: Giles Aspen


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001y26m)
Vogue's Chioma Nnadi, Life in a women’s refuge, Parents jailed after son’s mass shooting

Emma Barnett talks to the new head of British Vogue Chioma Nnadi, a London born, fashion journalist, podcaster and the first black woman to lead the title.
Forensic psychologist Jillian Peterson and legal expert Tim Carey on the sentencing of Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents convicted of manslaughter after their 15-year-old son brought a gun to school in Michigan and killed four of his classmates.
We hear the stories of women living in a women’s refuge in London.
And the latest on the stabbing of a Bradford mum at the weekend.

Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Studio Manager: Phil Lander


TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m001xvth)
Censorship

As the British Board of Film Classification publishes its new guidelines, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode delve into the long, chequered history of film censorship and classification in the UK.

Mark speaks to BBFC President (and original Strictly Come Dancing winner) Natasha Kaplinsky about her role, and about her reaction to the new guidelines. And he discusses the Board's controversial history, and some of its most notorious decisions, with ex-BBFC Head of Compliance Craig Lapper.

Ellen talks to director Prano Bailey-Bond about her debut film Censor, which was inspired by the 'video nasty' moral panic of the 1980s. And pop culture critic Kayleigh Donaldson talks her through some of the differences between the BBFC and its US equivalent, the MPA Ratings Board.

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


TUE 11:45 The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (b0b17fcx)
2. Hustle

The celebrated poet Benjamin Zephaniah died in December 2023. As a tribute, Radio 4 is broadcasting the 2018 Book of the Week recording of his autobiography The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah.

Growing up in Birmingham with a violent father and a loving mother, Zephaniah, now a teenager, escapes the family home with his mother and starts a new life. Church becomes an even greater part of their lives, but it's not long before he finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

Written and read by Benjamin Zephaniah
Abridged by Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001y26p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001y26r)
Call You and Yours: Can You Afford to Retire?

The state pension has increased by 8.5 percent this week. That equates to around £220 a week or £11,500 a year. Research suggests that the amount needed to support a just the 'minimum' retirement living standard has increased to £14,400 for a single person. Meanwhile record numbers of people are delaying retirement or returning to work to supplement income.

So in our phone-in this week we're asking: Can you afford to retire?

Do you have enough to get by? Are you delaying retirement or returning to work because of your living costs?

Whether you've saved toward your pension your whole working life or not, whether its next year, in the next decade or many decades down the track, can you afford to retire comfortably when you hope?

Call us from 11am on Tuesday on 03700 100 444

PRODUCER: CATHERINE EARLAM
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001y26t)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001y26w)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


TUE 13:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y26y)
2. Disaster on the mountain

Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit in 1993.
She hears how the deadly avalanche unfolded, plus the role sherpas play on Everest, and the risks they have to take.

Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001y1ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001yb6t)
Master Mason

The master mason is dead; long live the master mason. Lizzy Mansfield's comedy takes us back to the golden age of cathedral building and the moment humble stonemason Bill Mason gets the call. When the Bishop asks, you don't say no. But is he the one really calling the shots?

Bill ..... Edward Hogg
Penelope ..... Laura Elphinstone
Eliza ..... Kathryn Drysdale
Bishop ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Messenger ...... Aaron Gelkoff
Tom Farmer ..... John Lightbody

Sound Designer ... Peter Ringrose
Production Coordinator ..... Jenny Mendez

Directed by Toby Swift

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:00 Don't Log Off (m001t34r)
Series 15

Global Village

Alan Dein scours the internet to find the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. In this edition he logs on to find people who have swapped their back yard for somewhere completely different – including Lisa who moved from Perth Australia to Christmas Island, Yury who has switched Russia for Switzerland and he also catches up with Marion from Uganda who has left her home, husband and job in the city for an idyllic life on a farmstead in the country.

Produced by Emma Betteridge


TUE 15:30 Beyond Belief (m001y272)
Assisted Dying

Giles Fraser hears about Alison Davis, who was in pain, very unwell and wanted to die. Her friend and carer Colin Harte describes how she changed her mind and went on to campaign against euthanasia, or assisted dying, and also developed a Catholic faith.

The debate about assisted dying, the right to choose when and how we die if we're terminally ill, is back in the political spotlight. Life, death and attitudes to suffering are at the heart of all religions. After hearing Alison's story, a panel of people of faith discuss how their beliefs shape their views on this fundamental question.

With Rabbi Jonathan Romain, Canon Rosie Harper, Rev Katie Tupling and Baljit Singh.

Presenter: Giles Fraser
Editor: Dan Tierney
Producers: Ruth Purser and Rebecca Maxted


TUE 16:00 Percy Shelley, Reformer and Radical (m0018wy2)
The Original Dub Poet

We think we know Shelley. It is safe to say that we do not.

He comes to most of us in neatly packaged school anthologies which safely repeat the classics (Ozymandias, To a Skylark, and Ode to the West Wind), but Shelley's verse like The Masque of Anarchy shaped the world. Shelley and his two companions drowned off the coast of Italy after their boat ran into difficulties and sank. He was only 29 but he left a body of work which endures. With the bicentenary of his premature death in July 2022, there has never been a better time to re-examine Shelley's enduring legacy.

Benjamin Zephaniah is a huge admirer of Shelley. After a terrible start with the poet at school when the teacher told him he was stupid for not fully understanding what he was reading, Benjamin was turned on to Shelley in his early 20s when he stumbled on a copy of Paul Foot’s 'Red Shelley'. Paul Foot put Shelley’s works into the historical context in which they were written, in the early 19th century, at a time of profound social and political instability.

Understanding the context enabled Benjamin to connect with the radical nature of Shelley and his work. He says, "As a young, angry black man in the 1980s, it was a revelation to find a dead white poet that made sense to me. Good poetry has no age, and no colour." What he found in Shelley changed his life. Benjamin discovered that the poem he had first encountered at school, The Mask of Anarchy, was an angry ballad written by Shelley in response to the Peterloo massacre, and he now has a lifelong attachment to that poem.

Benjamin takes us on his journey from his first encounters with Shelley all the way up to the present: as he looks at a small keepsake of Shelley’s ashes, alleged to have been collected from the beach near Viareggio where Shelley's body was cremated, now held at the British Library, Benjamin says it's the closest he will get to a 'spiritual experience'.

Along the way, Benjamin meets experts and enthusiasts to discover more about what made Shelley tick and to breathe life into his poetry, showing that it's as relevant now as it was when Shelley died 200 years ago.

With Ben Okri, Nora Crook; Richard Holmes; Bysshe Coffey; Will Bowers, Alexander Lock and John Webster.

Featured Poems: The Masque of Anarchy; Ode to the West Wind

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
Sound Design: David Thomas
Series Consultant: Bysshe Coffey (author of Shelley's Broken World, 2021)

A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m001y8tv)
Mick Lynch special

In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis talk to Mick Lynch, the leader of the RMT, about how to get your point across.

We seem to be living through a time when words too often fail us. But there are some people in our body politic whose words cut through - regardless of our own thoughts on their views. Many of Mick Lynch's head-to-heads with journalists and politicians have gone viral. Like - when speaking directly to a government minister - “He’s lying… you are telling lies.” To a journalist: "You do come up with the most remarkable twaddle,” and, during a speech, his rallying call: "We refuse to be poor anymore.” He even managed to win public sympathy for that most unpopular of disruptions – a nationwide train strike.

How does he do it?

Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 17:00 PM (m001y274)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001y276)
A group of more than 2000 older women won the first climate change case at the ECHR


TUE 18:30 Tim Key's Poetry Programme (m001y278)
4. Wild West

The team hit the road in an Americana special, with guest stars Morgana Robinson and Simon Armstrong.

A poetry show like no other – over the course of six series, Key has performed magic, music, cookery and witchcraft; he’s delivered a baby, gone underground, up the Shard and into space.

And sometimes he finds time to read poems.

This series, regulars Tom Basden and Katy Wix are joined by guest stars Stephen Merchant, Lolly Adefope, Mike Wozniak, Sam Campbell, Simon Armstrong and Morgana Robinson.

Written and presented by Tim Key

Produced by James Robinson
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An EcoAudio certified production


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001y27b)
Lilian is concerned after she hears Alice being brusque during a riding lesson. Alice admits being tired but is evasive. When Lilian asks about Martha, Alice claims she has a bit of a cold. Lilian suggests she take the rest of the day off. Alice is reluctant initially but agrees. Later, when Chris pops into The Bull looking for a lost knife, Lilian mentions about Martha keeping Alice up during the night. Chris tells her that Martha was with him all weekend and seemed fine. Lilian wonders if Alice was confused because she so tired. Later, Chris quizzes Alice about Martha. Flustered, she claims Lilian was confused: Alice is fine, Martha’s fine so there’s nothing to worry about.

There’s no love lost between Lilian and Miranda when she turns up at The Bull with Brian for their dinner with Kate. Once they’re at their table, Kate grills Miranda about how she sees their relationship progressing. Miranda is happy to answer questions and says it would be unusual if the family didn’t have them. She tells Kate she isn’t thinking much further than the next rendezvous with Brian. Miranda turns the tables, asking about Kate’s business and how many children she has on how many continents. Kate apologises. Miranda tells her that she has no intention of replacing Jennifer and is only there for Brian.

Will’s concerns about buying second-hand equipment for the tree surgery business are allayed when Ed and Emma show him some barely-used chainsaws on sale on the internet. They want to launch the business properly but need to be cautious with cash.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001y27d)
Nathan Hill, Maggie Rogers, International Booker shortlist

Nathan Hill talks about his new novel Wellness, the follow-up to his acclaimed debut The Nix.

Maggie Rogers, the singer-songwriter whose career was launched by a student performance for Pharrell Williams that went viral, talks about her latest album Don't Forget Me.

Romesh Gunasekera discusses the novels on the International Booker Prize Shortlist, announced today.

And Melanie Abbott reports on how the BBC and Netflix’s disability partnership is progressing over two years on from its much heralded launch.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001y27g)
Slimming Groups and Eating Disorders

Slimming World is the leading diet organisation in the UK. It has 700,000 members and, at a time when obesity is spiralling in the UK, it has helped millions lose weight. It has contracts with the NHS and local government. If you meet the criteria, your doctor can sign you up for free. But could the Slimming World diet be encouraging disordered eating by some members?

File on 4 hears from people who believe that Slimming World has seriously damaged their health and destroyed their relationship with food.

Reporter: Jo Casserly
Producer: Immy Rhodes
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston

Image Credit: Kseniya Ovchinnikova\Getty


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001y27j)
Hotel Stays with a Guide Dog; The Great Escape

A new hotel in London, that belongs to a big-name franchise, initially declared on their website that service dogs are not welcome. Dave and Karen Cloherty were left in shock when they came to book a room for them and their guide dog for an annual appointment at Moorfield's Eye Hospital, given that the hotel in question is just a few minutes walk from the hospital. The hotel have since amended their website, but we hear about the case from the Clohertys and about the equality law that relates to services such as hotels, from disability rights lawyer Chris Fry.

The 1963 film The Great Escape is based on the famous prison break, where imprisoned allied soldiers escape from a Nazi camp during World War Two. Sangeeta Uppaladinni had an instant fascination with the film and the original story and so travelled to Poland with her guide dog, to mark the 80th anniversary of the original story.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
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 Crossing Continents (m001y27l)
Mexico - Coyotes and Kidnap

Thousands of people every day are on the move across Mexico towards the border with the US. But for migrants, this is one of the most perilous journeys in the world: land routes are dominated by powerful drug cartels and organised crime groups.

In this episode of Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly hears terrifying stories of kidnap and extortion from those who have risked everything to enter the United States.

The US/Mexico border has become the most important battleground for Americans in this year’s presidential election, but it seems no one can stop the men with guns who operate with impunity south of the border in Mexico.

Producer/presenter: Linda Pressly
Producer: Tim Mansel
Producer in Mexico: Ulises Escamilla
Sound: Neil Churchill
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy


TUE 21:30 Three Million (m001wy93)
2. The Cigarette Tin

A boy decides how much rice he can give from a cigarette tin to hungry people. A Christian missionary sets up a makeshift relief hospital. A small child watches through the gates of his house in Calcutta as emaciated women clutching children ask for food.

As the food crisis deepens, shocking testimonies from the countryside show the extent of starvation. Many thousands of hungry people begin moving from the rural areas towards the cities.

Indians - including children - are forced into life-or-death decisions

Presenter Kavita Puri
Series Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Emma Rippon
Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
Original music: Felix Taylor

With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta.

Interviews with Damodar Ramchandra Gole and Alan McLeod courtesy of the University of Cambridge


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001y27n)
Cameron urges US to unblock aid to Ukraine

The Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has made an emotional plea in Washington to unblock more aid to Ukraine, as he bids to win over sceptical Republicans. We get a response from a leading Republican congressman.

Also on the programme:

In a legal first, the parents of a teenager who shot and killed four classmates in Michigan three years ago have each been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison. We hear from the father of one victim. We'll also explore the legal implications of the sentence.

And as a new study suggests cars have now outgrown parking spaces - we'll discuss whether bigger really is better - with the help of James May.


TUE 22:45 Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (m001y27q)
Episode 2

The explosive literary sensation and winner of the 2023 Booker Prize. As read by Clare Dunne (‘Kin.’)

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB – the Garda National Service Bureau – on her step. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police are here to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.

Ireland is falling apart. The country is in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny and Eilish finds herself caught within the nightmare logic of a society that is quickly unravelling.

How far will she go to save her family? And what – or who – is she willing to leave behind?

The Author
Paul Lynch is the prize-winning author of five novels: ‘Prophet Song’, ‘Beyond the Sea’, ‘Grace’, ‘The Black Snow’, and ‘Red Sky in Morning’. He was awarded The Booker Prize 2023 for his esteemed novel ‘Prophet Song’. He has won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and the French booksellers’ prize Prix Libr’à Nous for best foreign novel. He has also been shortlisted for UK’s Walter Scott Prize, the US’s William Saroyan International Prize, and France’s Prix Jean Monnet for European Literature and the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, among other prizes. Libération has called Lynch “one of today’s greatest Irish writers”. He lives in Dublin with his wife and two children.

Reader: Clare Dunne
Author: Paul Lynch
Abridger: Rowan Routh
Producer: Michael Shannon

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 The Confessional (m001gjj4)
Series 3

The Confession of Maisie Adam

Each week Stephen Mangan invites another distinguished guest into his virtual confessional box to make three ‘confessions’ to him. An antidote to conventional talk shows, their stories do not reflect their proudest moments. Stephen could not be less interested in those. He wants them to open up about their darker side. Settle back for stimulating journeys through shame, regret and toe-curling embarrassment.

This time the penitent taking the hot seat is comedian Maisie Adam. The 'So You Think You're Funny?' winner discusses a new-found tendency to lie, nefarious uses for soggy paper and whether she has the makings of a psychopath.

Presenter: Stephen Mangan
Additional material: Nick Doody
Producer: Frank Stirling

a 7digital production


TUE 23:30 Between Ourselves With Marian Keyes (m000sjyz)
Shame

Back for a second series, Marian Keyes continues to be a publishing sensation. Her works of fiction - Rachel's Holiday, The Break and her latest, Grown Ups, among many others - have sold in their millions across the globe.

Marian reads selections from her non-fiction writing in conversation with her friend, the actor Tara Flynn.

With the on-going international unpleasantness – and in the brief respite between lockdowns - this series was recorded without a studio audience at Marian’s home in County Dublin, Ireland. If you listen carefully you might hear the number 96A bus rumbling past, outside.

What we might lack in a studio audience reaction we hope to make up for in warmth and witty, good-natured companionship. The first series was described in The Observer as “a laugh out loud hoot” and the Daily Mail called it “bright, funny and clever”.

This week's theme is shame. Alongside the craic, Marian tells the stories of her Bono Boots and an embarrassing experience in London involving Joan of Arc.

Presenters: Tara Flynn and Marian Keyes
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4