SATURDAY 27 JULY 2024

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0021bht)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 Child (p0h6wfb1)
10. Due Date

At the end of a pregnancy, a lot is going on. The baby might be descending and moving into place, and the pregnant body is changing every day. It’s the baby’s time to arrive and it’s going to happen, one way or another. But what is a due date?

India speaks to Holly Dunsworth, a biological anthropologist who’s challenging the obstetrical dilemma. Exploring the idea of why the due dates exist, India looks at the inaccuracies of how they are measured whilst questioning - how does labour begin? Midwife and author Leah Hazard provides insights into what we do know, and the possible influence of full moons.

Presented by India Rakusen.
Producer: Lucy Hunt.
Series Producer: Ellie Sans.
Executive Producer: Suzy Grant.
Commissioning Editor Rhian Roberts.
Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon.
Mix and Mastering by Olga Reed.

A Listen production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021bhw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021bhy)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021bj0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0021bj2)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021bj4)
Travelling at the speed of God

A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Revd Dr Craig Gardiner, a tutor and chaplain at Cardiff Baptist College.

Good morning.

Well, what a sight that was last night - the amazing opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. For the first time ever, the celebrations moved out of the stadium and over 10,000 athletes sailed six kilometres down the River Seine, right through the heart of the city.

And everywhere you looked were the Paris Phryges: those little red hats have been a longstanding of symbol of freedom and change ever since the Revolution, and they’ve have been adopted as the mascots for the Olympic and Paralympic games. They’re already bringing some important changes not least the Paralympian Phryge, with their running blade, is the first mascot with a visible disability. Together the Paris hats share one challenging motto. “Alone we go faster, but together we go further.”

Most of us will know the truth of this from some experience in life. We might make fast progress on some project by ourselves, but sooner or later we need a team, a family or a community to keep us going. As the biblical writer of Ecclesiastes once wrote, “Two are better than one, because if one falls down then the other gets you back up. It’s tough if there’s no one there to walk alongside you.’

Maybe that’s why one Christian writer talks about God as the three mile an hour God. That’s our average walking speed and Kosuke Koyama thinks that this is the speed of God. Of course, God could go much faster, but chooses to walk much slower, because God is love. Someone who loves us, walks beside us, at our pace, ready to help every step of the way, because they know together, we go further.

God of the journey
Walk beside us today;
If we needlessly dally by ourselves,
Urge us on:
If we rush too quickly on our own,
Slow our feet,
Our hearts,
Our soul,
That together we might travel all the way.
Amen.


SAT 05:45 Frontlines of Journalism (m001jkrn)
3. All for nothing

Journalism can mean pushing your way into peoples’ lives at their worst moments.

Without a good a reason, it’s tourism. Or war porn. People disagree on what that reason is.

Reflecting on his reports from the Siege of Sarajevo, BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen asks if it is enough to just report it straight.

Jeremy speaks with: journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot; Nikole Hannah-Jones, whose 1619 project won the Pulitzer Prize; former BBC correspondent Michael Buerk who speaks of his concerns following his coverage of the Ethiopia famine and two journalists Jeremy was with in Sarajevo: former Reuters journalist Sabina Cosic, and CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour.

Presenter: Jeremy Bowen
Producer: Georgia Catt
Assistant Producer: Sam Peach
Additional research: Rob Byrne
Series mixing: Jackie Margerum
Series Editor: Philip Sellars


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0021h3j)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m0021bdg)
Surrey - from Oaks Park to Kingswood

Clare meets the founders of Walking Post on a hike from Oaks Park to Kingswood in Surrey. Walking Post is a not-for-profit website run by friends who have designed, mapped and now share multiple walking routes around London, Surrey, Kent, Essex and beyond. Every walk is accessible by public transport, something key to web-designer Lucy Maddison who doesn’t own a car.

The project has expanded from a personal project into what is now a free public resource, and even though Lucy and her friend, Emily Morrison, both have ‘proper’ jobs they even offer monthly walks to anyone who wants to come along.

Find them at walkingpost.co.uk

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0021h3l)
27/07/24 Farming Today This Week: what next for agriculture in Wales?

A special panel programme recorded in front of an audience at the Royal Welsh Show. Charlotte Smith discusses the future of agriculture in Wales with Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy president of NFU Cymru, Abi Reader and Rachel Sharp, director of Wildlife Trusts Wales.

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0021h3n)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m0021h3q)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0021h3s)
Carol Kirkwood, Clive Bailey, Michelle Braiser, Nicola Adams

Carol Kirkwood shares the secret behind not only being the UK's favourite weather presenter, but a bestselling author as well - and reveals where her lifelong love of fast cars comes from.

The Antipodean singing-comedian Michelle Brasier reveals how she survived a house fire, grieved for the loss of her father and brother to cancer, befriended her scammer...and turned it all on it's head for comedic purposes.

Clive and Jo Bailey, the married balloonists who have seen just about everything in their airborne basket, and Olympic torch balloons aside - there's a good chance they'll have been had a hand in pretty much any other hot-air balloon you'll have seen on screen.

All that plus...as the Olympics get underway in Paris, we’ll get your blood pumping with the Inheritance Tracks of our double-gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m0021h3v)
Minoan Civilisation

In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined in Bronze Age Crete by Dr Stephen Kershaw and comedian Josie Long to learn all about the ancient Minoan civilisation. Many of us know the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur: King Minos of Crete feeds young men and women to the half-human beast in the labyrinth under his palace until the brave Theseus kills the monster. At the end of the 19th Century, a Cretan archaeologist discovered a palace that many believed had belonged to Minos himself. Not only that, but experts soon found traces of an entire Bronze Age civilisation on the island. But what was this Minoan society really like? From the palaces of the mighty, through the daily lives of ordinary people and their religious beliefs, this episode explores the Minoans and the archaeological work that has uncovered the truth behind the myths.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Anna McCully Stewart
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: James Cook


SAT 10:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0021h3x)
Series 3

London to Hereford

Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his rail journeys across the country with a trip from London to the ancient cathedral city of Hereford.

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

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

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

In this programme, Alexei by chance bumps into his old friend, comedian and author David Baddiel who is off to the Hay Festival. He also meets: Deborah and David who are psychologists from San Antonio in Texas on a walking holiday; Stewart, who teaches computer science in a London school and is on his way to a tech festival; Kashmini and Lara, who met on the internet and decided to meet up in real life; ‘Collie’ from Australia who travels the world under the alias Collie – short for ‘Cauliflower’ – the name he is known by on Twitter; author James who has become something of an expert on fermented food and is travelling with a very large and slightly smelly container of Kimchi; and Angela and her mother Kathleen who surprises Alexei with her stories of life on the road with her Harley Davidson motorcycle.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m00201vm)
Is the new Labour government right to claim it's inherited the worse public finances since the second world war? How can regional mayors help in the mission to train and skill up the British workforce? Can a new Conservative leader rebuild the party after its catastrophic defeat at the election? And how are sketchwriters, addicted to rollercoaster politics, adapting to a new era of political civility?


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0021h3z)
Fears of a wider war between Hezbollah and Israel

Kate Adie presents stories from Lebanon, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bali and Spain.

In Lebanon, the risk of a wider war between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah remains an ever-present danger. Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel since the Hamas attacks last October, devastating communities on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border. Orla Guerin reports from southern Lebanon.

Drone warfare has transformed the frontline in Ukraine’s east, making it more dangerous for those fighting. Russians have also used these to target civilians in the city of Kharkiv. Yana Lyushnevskaya fled Ukraine early in the war. She recounts the experience of returning to her life in Ukraine.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, hundreds of thousands of people are staying in overcrowded camps around the city of Goma that has been under siege by the rebel group known as the M23. The Congolese army has struggled to push back the militia’s advance. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham spoke to some of the people trying to flee to safety.

The Indonesian Island of Bali is a rich cultural heritage, with its spectacular religious festivals and traditional craftsmanship. But there are concerns that such traditions such as mask-making are being lost with international visitors spending their money elsewhere. Michelle Jana Chan discovers one artisan persisting with his craft.

And finally, back in Europe, thousands of people have been protesting in Spain against a surge in tourism that’s being blamed for plummeting living standards among locals. Majorca has been at the centre of the protests. Nick Beake spoke to islanders who feel their way of life is being threatened.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0021h41)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0021h43)
Benefit Overpayments and Travel Money

Nearly 10,000 people have needed free debt advice because of accidental overpayments by the Department for Work and Pensions in the past 12 months. That's according to figures from Money Wellness, a debt advice company which is funded by the government's Money and Pension Service. It says because most of its clients are low income households these debts can have significant knock-on impacts on the rest of their finances. The DWP says its staff work hard to support customers, and it's important to explore ways to reduce fraud and error so it can support the most vulnerable in society.

What will the new Pensions Bill announced by the Labour government in the King's Speech mean for your finances? We'll discuss plans to bring small pension pots, which people get after short term jobs, together.

Campaigners are calling for bereavement support payments to be extended for longer and for the amount given to families to rise with inflation. At the moment parents under pension age whose partner dies are entitled to bereavement benefits - as much £3,500 followed by 18 monthly payments of up to £350. The charity Widowed and Young would like those payments to be in place for longer. The Department for Work and Pensions told us that it knows losing a loved one is devastating and that it's committed to supporting those most in need through the welfare system.

And what's the best way to pay while you’re on holiday abroad?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth, Sarah Rogers and Jo Krasner
Researchers: Immie Rhodes
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 27th July 2024)


SAT 12:30 Catherine Bohart: TL;DR (m0021b6z)
Series 1

We Need To Talk About Kamala

Columns. Analysis. The Guardian's Long Read. Who has time? Catherine Bohart, that's who, and she's going beyond the headlines to give you the lowdown on one of the biggest stories this week, alongside a guest journalist and roving correspondent Sunil Patel.

This week: Biden steps down, Kamala steps up, but what's going to happen next? Puzzled by US politics? We've got you, babes.

Katy Balls, political editor of The Spectator, and US politics junkie, is our guide through it all; and Professor Sarah Churchwell joins to look deeper into how a younger candidate might affect the vote.

Meanwhile, in the TL;DR Sidebar, comedian Sunil Patel throws his hat in the ring to be the Vice Presidential nominee. For both Trump and Harris.

Written by Catherine Bohart, with Madeleine Brettingham, Sarah Campbell and Ellen Robertson.

Produced by Victoria Lloyd & Lyndsay Fenner

Recorded at the Museum of Comedy, and Edited by David Thomas

Production Coordinators - Beverly Tagg & Katie Sayer

A Mighty Bunny production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0021h45)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0021h47)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0021bhh)
Douglas Alexander MP, Angela Haggerty, Lord Offord, Pete Wishart MP

Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine with the Trade Minister Douglas Alexander MP, the journalist Angela Haggerty, the Conservative peer Lord Malcolm Offord and the Deputy Leader of the SNP in Westminster Pete Wishart MP.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Joanne Willott


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0021h49)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m0021bhc)
Worried Susan grills hungover George about last night’s drinking. What got into him – was it about the car accident? She knows that George was saying strange things. Pat can tell that George is hungover, and Susan thinks George is worried about going to court. Pat goes to George and shares how awful it was when she was in court for Helen’s hearing. George simply needs to say what happened, exactly as he remembers it. It won’t be pleasant, but if he tells the truth he’ll be fine.

Alistair feels optimistic that things seem to be improving with Paul at work, but Denise fears losing Paul forever and feels so alone. Alistair tells her to go and talk to Paul – he’ll hold the fort at the Vets’.

After a tense confrontation on the doorstep, Paul allows Denise in and demands all the details. Denise admits the affair started when Paul and his Dad were away in St Lucia. As pieces fall into place, Paul realises that Jakob knew, and learns about Jim and Jazzer knowing as well. There was no injured sheep on the night of the crash, as Denise admits she had a night in a hotel with Alistair planned, so even Mick lied too. Denise begs Paul not to resign from the Practice. But Paul comes in to the Vets’ and has made a decision – he’s not going anywhere. He’s done nothing wrong – so the deal is, they will be professional, and he’ll only communicate with them about work matters. If they can’t deal with that than they can find somewhere else to work. Agreed?


SAT 15:00 Breaking the Rules (m0021h4c)
A House Called Insanity

Anne-Marie Duff stars as Elsy Borders, the working-class heroine whose remarkable true story deserves to be far better known. Even though she became a national figure in the late 1930s, no play celebrating her achievements has ever been written - until now.

The wife of a South London cabby (played by Karl Davies), Elsy did something a working-class woman was not supposed to do. She broke the rules and conventions of acceptable behaviour. Determined to expose the poor quality of workmanship in house-building which continues to resonate today with scandals such as Grenfell Tower, she took the unprecedented step of refusing to pay her mortgage owing to the dire state of their new, but poorly-built, house on an estate in Kent. When the building society responded by suing for repossession of the house which the family had by now christened Insanity, Elsy counter-claimed for damages.

The fight was on…

With contributions from Stella Etheridge, Jeremy Tagg and Phillipa Tagg who are current residents of the Coney Hall Estate where Elsy lived.

Cast:
Elsy Borders....................Anne-Marie Duff
Jim Borders.....................Karl Davies
Roxburgh.........................Sam Dale
Librarian...........................Jenny Funnell
Judge.................................Nigel Anthony
Agent................................Andrew Branch
Michael............................Harry Myers
Pamela ............................Betsy Horsfall

Written by Stephen Wyatt
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Sound Design by David Thomas
Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Tombling
Production Manager: Sarah Wright

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0021h4f)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Olympics preview, Holocaust documentary, Poet Zara Sehar, Sculptor Dominique White, Comedian Sashi Perera

The Paris 2024 Olympics start this evening with the opening ceremony. It's the first time an equal number of men and women will compete in a summer Games. To discuss the sportswomen you should keep an eye out for, Anita Rani is joined by Jeanette Kwakye, a former Olympian herself and now BBC pundit, and also BBC Sport reporter Laura Scott.

A new film, The Commandant’s Shadow, follows Hans Jürgen Höss, the 87-year-old son of Rudolf Höss, the camp commandant of Auschwitz who masterminded the murder of more than a million Jews. While Hans enjoyed a happy childhood playing with many toys in the family villa, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch played cello in the orchestra to survive the notorious concentration camp. Eight decades later, the two come face-to-face, together with their children, Kai Höss and Maya Lasker-Wallfisch. Anita and Maya join Nuala to tell their story.

Zara Sehar recently won the audience vote at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam competition, and joins Anita to talk about her work and perform from one of her poems, (Hon)our Killings. In it she mentions spoons in knickers, a tactic suggested to young girls being taken out of the country who are at airports and at risk of forced marriage. Natasha Rattu, Executive Director at Karma Nirvana explains why they give this advice to British-Asian girls.

The sculptor Dominique White has a new exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. It is four large sculptures made of iron, driftwood and detritus from the sea, lit in such a way to suggest that you are submerged, or looking at a shipwreck on the seabed. It was created during Dominique’s six-month residency in Italy, the time granted to her when she won the Max Mara art prize for women in 2023.

Former refugee lawyer turned comedian Sashi Perera joins Nuala to discuss who we choose as our emergency contacts and her new stand-up show, Boundaries.

When is it socially acceptable to bring your partner to hang out with your friends? According to academic and writer Kate Lister the answer is never. In her recent i Paper column, Kate explains that the presence of a partner alters the dynamic, and that friendships ought to be safe havens from romantic relationships. While some couples prefer to socialise together, Kate argues that time and effort should be invested into individual friendships. Kate joins Nuala for a frank discussion on the murky friendship politics of bringing your partner to lunch.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Rebecca Myatt


SAT 17:00 PM (m0021h4h)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0021h4k)
The Liz Kendall One

Nick Robinson talks to the new Work and Pensions secretary about being at the centre of the Labour government's first row, taking on the scourge of worklessness and how her 2-year-old son is a cure for stress.

Producer: Daniel Kraemer


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0021h4m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0021h4p)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021h4r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0021h4t)
Damian Lewis; Elf Lyons; Gareth Malone; Rachel Ramsay; Gia Ford; Esme Emerson; Clive Anderson; Emma Freud

Clive Anderson and Emma Freud present Loose Ends from Latitude Festival in Suffolk. They'll talk to the actor-turned-musician Damian Lewis who will discuss his latest album Mission Creep and why he's chosen to go back to his musical roots when he could have rested on his Hollywood laurels as the star of Homeland and Billions. The UK's favourite choirmaster Gareth Malone on a new tour of Sing-Along-A-Gareth and his special connection to Latitude. The director Rachel Ramsay on her Grierson award shortlisted documentary - The Lost Lionesses - about the 1971 unofficial Women's World Cup which was watched by record audiences but subsequently largely erased from sporting history. And the comic Elf Lyons who studied at a Parisian clown school where she learnt the fine art of "bouffon" - a performance style based around mockery - that she works into stand up shows that have been hailed as "unhinged brilliance".
Plus, as we're recording at the BBC Introducing stage, we have fresh new music from Indie pop sibling duo Esme Emerson and from Americana led singer-songwriter Gia Ford.

Presented by Clive Anderson
Produced by Olive Clancy


SAT 19:00 Growing Solo (m001yhhy)
One Million Calories

Max Cotton, a retired political journalist, leaves behind the weekly shop, supermarkets and the modern world to find out if he can grow and produce 100% of his food on a smallholding near Glastonbury. His only import for a year is salt.

This first episode sees him prepare for the challenge. Why is he doing this? What has inspired him, and how much food does one person need for a year? He is helped and ridiculed in equal measure by his family. We hear from them, from Guy Singh Watson, the founder of Riverford, and Max’s farming friend Tommy Allen. And we're introduced to the star of this series - Max’s cow, Brenda.

Presenter: Max Cotton
Producer: Tessa Browne
Executive Producer: Kate Dixon

A Good Egg production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m0021bcy)
Series 30

'Beastly Bodies' Kids Special - Steve Backshall, Jess French and Adam Kay

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall, veterinarian Jess French, and comedian and former doctor Adam Kay, as they are put to the test by an audience of curious children at Cheltenham Science Festival. We find out who would win in a battle between a shark and a crocodile (the answer involves a tennis court), why dogs don’t sweat like humans, whether macrophages might help us overcome antibiotic resistance and if AI might one day enable us to understand and directly communicate with animals.

Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0021h4w)
The Vet with Two Brains on Tour

In 2017, Adam Tjolle accidentally discovered he had a brain tumour. At the time, presenter and close friend Claudia Hammond followed him on his journey before, during and after undergoing life-changing surgery in two programmes for Radio 4: The Vet with Two Brains and The Vet with a New Brain. Meeting up now in Malawi, Adam and Claudia listen back to the archive, and reflect on what has changed for him since those original programmes.

Prior to surgery, Adam’s prognosis was a life expectancy of seven years. That time period has now passed. So what does life mean to Adam now? And today, as one in two people born after 1960 will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point, what can the rest of us learn from Adam’s experience of living with uncertainty?

Adam still lives in Scotland, but his new life after brain surgery sometimes brings him to Malawi, where he works with the Lilongwe Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (LSPCA). Claudia joins Adam and Dr Tino Razemba at one of the LSPCA’s ‘spay days’, neutering local dogs in underserved communities. As well as getting involved, Claudia has a chance to see first-hand Adam’s passion not just for his past career, but for life.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Sophie Ormiston
Archive Producer: Paula McGrath
Editors: Martin Smith and Holly Squire
Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire


SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m0021b02)
The Modern Olympics were founded in 1896 by a Parisian with serious moral principles . Pierre De Coubertin even made up a word for it: Olympism: ‘a way of life based on the joy of effort ..and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. He thought that sports at an international level could foster respect and peace between nations. This week as the Games get underway in De Coubertin’s city, athletes have been meeting to do just that, talk about the role that sport plays in building bridges. But how much does the modern games live up to these highminded ideals? For detractors, it’s a bloated megagames, always billions over overbudget that displaces communities and marginalises the excluded.
What about nationalism and the place of the politics in the competition? The way De Coubertin conceived the idea with nations competing for international glory, means it’s impossible to put nationalism and politics aside. He insisted it was individuals, not countries in competition but the medal tables tell a different story. And the Olympics has often been the battleground to show the triumph of one ideology over another, particularly during the Cold War. Does the Olympics really promote peace as it’s goals suggest or is just ‘war minus the shooting’ as George Orwell wrote. Do the Olympics cause more harm than good?
WITNESSES: Dr Shakiba Moghadam, Dora Pallis, Prof David Case Large, Prof David Papineau
PANELLISTS:Giles Fraser, Anne McElvoy,Ash Sarkar, Mona Siddiqui
Presenter: Michael Buerk
Producer: Catherine Murray
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser
Editor Tim Pemberton


SAT 22:00 News (m0021h4y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m0021bgn)
Becoming Michelin

A meeting with top chef Hélène Darroze at Mayfair's Connaught Hotel leads Sheila Dillon to ask the question, why aren't there more female Michelin starred chefs?

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics suggest 37% of all chefs working in the UK are female, but when you look at the numbers leading Michelin starred restaurants, the number drops to around 8% (according to analysis by Chefs Pencil, 2022).

Includes interviews with Nigerian-born chef Adejoké Bakare, who in February, became the first Black woman in Britain to earn a Michelin star; chef Sally Abé who has recently published her first book, "A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen" and Sarah Francis who returned her Michelin star after 8 years running The Checkers (a restaurant in Montgomery, Powys).

Plus we hear from young upcoming female fine-dining chefs about how they feel the industry is set up for women wanting to reach the top jobs.

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


SAT 23:00 Time of the Week (m002194c)
4. Plastic Surgery, Inducing Childbirth, Sabotage

Can a song induce labour? Chloe Slack finds out. Also: women in art, plastic surgery, and industrial sabotage.

Sian Clifford stars as self-important journalist Chloe Slack in this comedy series parodying women’s current affairs and talk shows, surrounded by an ensemble cast of character comedians.

Chloe Slack - Sian Clifford

Ensemble cast:
Ada Player
Alice Cockayne
Aruhan Galieva
Em Prendergast
Jodie Mitchell
Jonathan Oldfield
Lorna Rose Treen
Mofé Akàndé
Sara Segovia

Created by Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield

Writing team:
Alice Cockayne
Catherine Brinkworth
Jodie Mitchell
Jonathan Oldfield
Lorna Rose Treen
Priya Hall
Will Hughes

Script Editor - Catherine Brinkworth
Photographer - Will Hearle
Production Coordinator - Katie Sayer
Producer - Ben Walker

A DLT Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:30 The 3rd Degree (m00219d1)
Series 13

2. University of St Andrews

This episode coming from the University of St Andrews, The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.

The specialist subjects this week are English, Computer Science and Philosophy so we’ll be meeting a glistering goldfish, a Belgian biscuit, a Peruvian bird and Nietzsche. Oh, plus Bambi and a Japanese Water Zither.

The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The general knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow & Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three specialist subject rounds, in which students take on their professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.

In this series, the show goes to Leicester, St Andrews, Loughborough, Falmouth, the University of East Anglia and Robinson College, Cambridge.

Producer: David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4

SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0021h50)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Open Book (m00219cz)
Irenosen Okojie

Irenosen Okojie talks to Johny Pitts about her new book, Curandera.

Plus summer reading: Irenosen and critic Max Liu share a wide range of book recommendations for the coming weeks.

And EM Forster's secret stories. Historian Diarmuid Hester tells us all about Forster's secret gay fiction.

Book List – Sunday 21 July
Curandera by Irenosen Okojie
The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter
The Light Between Us by Elaine Chiew
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing
I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson
Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin. Translated by Roger Keys and Angela Keys.
Living Things by Manuir Hacheim trans Julia Sanchez
The Life To Come And Other Stories by E. M. Forster ; Introduced by Diarmuid Hester
Nothing Ever Just Disappears: Seven Hidden Histories - An Investigation Into Place And The Queer Imagination by Diarmuid Hester

Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Emma Wallace


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021h52)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021h54)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021h56)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0021h58)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0021h5b)
The church of St Mary Barham in Suffolk

Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St Mary Barham in Suffolk. The grade one listed church building is medieval in origins with mid-19th century alterations. Until recently the tower housed four bells from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, two of which were cracked and all of which were un-ringable. In 2020 the bells were restored and augmented to a ring of six with a tenor weighing eleven and three quarter hundredweight and tuned to the note of A flat. We hear them ringing London Surprise Minor.


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m0021b8w)
New Glaucoma Research; Artificial Intelligence in Eye Care

Researchers from Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London (UCL) have identified markers in the blood that may predict which Glaucoma patients are likely to continue losing vision despite treatment that aims to lower the pressure that causes their sight loss. Professor Ted Garway-Heath tells In Touch more about their clinical trial.

On In Touch, we've always tried to be careful not to raise false hopes about new eye treatments, but occasionally its too irresistible to not take a peek into the future and look at how modern technology might help us. Developments such as Artificial Intelligence are happening so rapidly, even in the world of eye care. Pete Thomas is the Executive Director of Digital Development at Moorfield's Eye Hospital and he tells In Touch about the application of AI which is already having an effect on the rate of diagnosis of eye conditions, and therefore the speed with which they can be treated.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
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 (m0021hzb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Beyond Belief (m0021b8g)
Poetry: Reaching for Divine Heights

Recorded live at the Bradford Literature Festival three poets join Giles Fraser to consider the relationship between poetry and the divine.

Some of our most feted poets, from Rumi to John Donne, Tagore to William Blake – have found that poetry opens up a space to explore the divine. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare praised the poet’s eye, glancing ‘from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven’ as ‘imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown’.

In front of a live audience, a fascinating panel of contemporary poets and wordsmiths join Giles to discuss whether poetry can help bridge the gap between the physical and metaphysical worlds. Camille Ralphs, Testament and Kate Fox consider how their forebears have used words to try and climb spiritual ascents. Reading some of their own work, they’ll also share their own relationships between art and faith.

Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producers: James Leesley and Ruth Purser
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0021hzd)
Shearing Day

It’s every professional sheep shearer’s dream to hold a world record for speed shearing. So says Una Cameron, who’s been shearing on the international circuit for the last thirty years. This summer she’s hoping to become one herself, by shearing more than 458 sheep in nine hours. It’s a gruelling physical challenge and she’s being coached by a specialist trainer who’s worked with ten shearing world record holders in recent years.

Caz Graham joins Una and her team as they shear a flock of ewes at Michael Kerr’s farm in East Lothian. She hears about Una’s life on the road as a shearer in New Zealand and Australia, the thrill of international shearing competitions, and the skill involved in cleanly removing a fleece from a reluctant sheep. She also finds out how the preparation’s going for this summer’s word record challenge.

Produced and presented by Caz Graham


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0021hzg)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0021hzj)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0021hzl)
Paris Olympics; Kamala Harris; Living Funerals

As athletes compete during the first weekend of the Paris Olympics, we speak to the BBC's Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield about the interplay between politics and religions at this year's games. Lina Boussaha is a French Algerian footballer who now plays for the Saudi Arabian team, Al Nassr, in order to be able to wear a hijab. She tells us how she's feeling watching the Olympics from afar.

The new Democratic Presidential candidate has a mixed religious background - as a child Kamala Harris worshipped in both church and Hindu temples, her husband is Jewish and she regularly attends Baptist services. We explore how her faith will play with voters, with the American theologian Dr Kelly Brown Douglas.

The practice of holding ‘living funerals’ for the terminally ill has become widespread in this country. We hear from bereaved father Nigel Hale, hospice counsellor Jane Murray, Rev’d Canon Yvonne Tulloch- who runs a grief-counselling charity and Amanda McDonald, who attended her own funeral and then recovered.

Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Robert Cave
Production Coordinator: Paul Holloway
Editor: Miriam Williamson


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0021hzn)
Women and Children First UK

Comedian Sara Pascoe makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Women and Children First UK. The charity sets up health groups and trains community leaders in countries including Ethiopia and Malawi, where women may not always have access to doctors during pregnancy and childbirth.

To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- 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 ‘Women and Children First UK’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Women and Children First UK’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4

Registered Charity Number: 1085096


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0021hzq)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0021hzs)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0021hzv)
Paris Olympics 2024

A service marking the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics from St George’s Anglican Church in Paris. St George’s is part of the Church of England’s Diocese in Europe and is an international community, with congregations worshiping in English, French and Madagascan. The service is led by the Chaplain, Fr Mark Osborne, and the preacher is the Assistant Priest, Fr Jeffrey John. The Choir of St George’s is directed by Peter Hicks and the organist is Malcolm Wisener. The service includes reflections from members of the church community as well as from Rev Ben Harding, Chaplain of Trinity Church, Lyon, who will be part of the chaplaincy team at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Producer: Andrew Earis


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0021bhk)
Olympics Now and Then

As the Olympics gets underway, Michael Morpurgo says we need to take care that the event doesn't stray too far from the ideals of the Olympics and the Paralympics.

'The announcement this year,' writes Michael, 'that athletes at the Olympics will, for the first time, be awarded prize money - $50,000 for each gold medal - sets a precedent in the Games' 128 year history.'

But, he says, 'over the next two weeks, I should like to think that the Olympics will uphold the spirit that has sustained the Games for so long... that the glory is in the laurel wreath or the medal, that the heroism is in the triumphs and disasters.'

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Tom Bigwood


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0021hzx)
Megan McCubbin on the Eider

A new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.

Do you ever walk along a busy street and overhear snippets of talk and wonder what the rest of the conversation discussed? Well for zoologist and wildlife TV presenter Megan McCubbin listening to eider ducks on a visit to the coast brings about a similar experience. Eider ducks are a sea duck, both the heaviest and the fastest flying duck in the British Isles, they also spend a lot of their time in communal groups resting on the sea. No wonder then they have a lot to talk about.

Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio in Bristol
Studio Engineer : Nick Ford.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0021hzz)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0021j01)
Sarah Raven, gardener and writer

Sarah Raven is one of Britain’s best known gardeners. Since her debut book, The Cutting Garden in 1996 she has written for national newspapers and magazines and shared her gardening knowledge as a broadcaster.

Sarah’s love for gardening started with her family. Her father John was a Classics scholar at Cambridge and a keen amateur botanist and her mother Faith introduced Sarah to the joys of cutting and arranging flowers.

Following her father’s death when she was just seventeen, Sarah read History at the University of Edinburgh before deciding to pursue a career as a doctor. It was whilst she was on maternity leave from her medical training that Sarah began to cultivate her own garden which led to her first book, The Cutting Garden.

After the success of her first book, Sarah set up her eponymous business which has evolved from a kitchen table start-up to successful global brand. Sarah continues to write, her latest book, A Year Full of Pots was published earlier this year.

Sarah lives in East Sussex with her husband, the writer Adam Nicholson. She has three stepsons and two daughters.

DISC ONE: See My Baby Jive - Wizzard
DISC TWO: Dashing White Sergeant - Jimmy Shand
DISC THREE: Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
DISC FOUR: You Can Dance (If You Want To) - Go Go Lorenzo & The Davis Pinckney Project
DISC FIVE: September - Earth, Wind and Fire
DISC SIX: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams
DISC SEVEN: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) - Elton John
DISC EIGHT: Spring 1. Composed by Antonio Vivaldi, recomposed by Max Richter and performed by Daniel Hope (violin) with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, conducted by André de Ridder

Luxury: An ever-cleaning linen sheet bed with a hot (and cold) water bottle
Book: The Flowers of Crete by John Fielding & Nicholas Turland
Castaway’s Favourite: September - Earth, Wind and Fire

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Mugabi Turya


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0021j03)
Writer: Tim Stimpson
Director: Mel Ward
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
Pat Archer…. Pat Gallimore
Pip Archer…. Daisy Badger
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Paul Mack…. Joshua Riley
Denise Metcalf…. Clare Perkins
Elizabeth Pargetter…. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd


SUN 12:15 Growing Solo (m001yhhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0021b1s)
Series 13

Nether Edge

Mark Steel's In Town - Nether Edge

“...a place where all the baristas know your name..."

This week, Mark is in Nether Edge, a leafy suburb of Sheffield which wants to become a village. Here he samples the local honey, visits the local shops and cafes, a rum keg, the bowls club that once threw out Ronnie Wood for inappropriate behaviour, and he talks to the passionate locals about a campaign by the council to make the area less leafy by cutting down half of the trees.

This is the 13th series of Mark's award-winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.

As well as Nether Edge, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Margate, Malvern, East Grinstead, Stoke-on-Trent and Coleraine in Northern Ireland.

There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0021j05)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0021j07)
Can Kamala Harris win over swing voters?

An update on the US election: will Kamala Harris be able to get crucial swing voters on board? Plus, we hear the latest from Jerusalem as fears of an Israel-Hezbollah war grow.


SUN 13:30 Loving, Living and Dying Together in the Netherlands (m0021rnj)
Els and Jan have fewer than three days left on Earth. Childhood sweethearts who met in kindergarten more than six decades ago, they know precisely when they will die. And how. On an early summer's Monday morning they will travel to a nearby hospice. Some of their family and friends will accompany them. And then precisely at 10.30am - holding hands, they hope - two doctors will administer lethal medication to each of them.

In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal if someone is suffering unbearably with no prospect of getting better. The suffering can be physical or psychological. Els was diagnosed with dementia. Jan lived with pain 24/7.

Last year, 33 Dutch couples chose to die like Els and Jan. And in February, one of the Netherlands' former Prime Ministers ended his life by euthanasia together with his wife.

Linda Pressly meets Els and Jan as they prepare for the end. And she explores the complex issue of allowing euthanasia in cases of dementia. A warning: some listeners might find the content of this documentary upsetting.

Producer and presenter: Linda Pressly
Editor: Penny Murphy
Sound engineer: Neva Missirian
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0021bh1)
Hexham

How wide should a garden path be? How do I get rid of bindweed? Should I be concerned by my garden soil's high lead content?

Peter Gibbs and his team of horticultural heroes are on hand to tackle the gardening queries of a hopeful audience in Hexham. The panellists are garden designers Matthew Wilson and Bunny Guinness, and house plants expert Anne Swithinbank.

Later in the programme, Matthew Wilson shares some of his garden designing expertise by providing a plant structuring masterclass to aid your next garden design project.

Producer: Dan Cocker

Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Short Works (m001wrk1)
The Death of Wildflowers

A woman in search of escape finds the primal rhythms of the natural world carry on with scant regard for human interference.
Read by Nicola Ferguson.

Helen McClory is a writer from Scotland who grew up between Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye. She has lived in Sydney, Australia and New York City. While in NYC, she worked as a dog walker and had the distinction of walking Lou Reed’s dog. Her books include the Saltire First Book Award-winning On the Edges of Vision, Flesh of the Peach, Mayhem & Death and The Goldblum Variations, a book of microfictions on Jeff Goldblum. Her interests include cooking and absurdism.


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m0021j09)
Moscow Notebooks

Moscow Notebooks by Michael Symmons Roberts.

Poet Osip Mandelstam is a celebrated poet in Stalin's Russia. The trouble is he's written a poem that makes fun of the leader, and he's not careful about who hears him recite it. So when the poem comes to its subject's attention, Mandelstam's journey of persecution begins. A drama about how an artist stands up to dictatorship. With new versions of Mandelstam's poems by Michael Symmons Roberts.

Mandelstam.............................Jonathan Tafler
Nadezhda.................................Clare Lawrence Moody
Goldfinch/Akhmatova.........Erin Shanagher
Christophorovich...................Jonathan Keeble
Pasternak..................................Jack Wagman

Production Co-ordinator - Pippa Day
Studio Manager - Amy Brennan
Sound Design- Steve Brooke
Producer/Director - Gary Brown

A BBC Studios Audio Production

Osip Mandelstam's 'Moscow Notebooks' contain poems written during the early 1930s as Stalin tightened his grip on dissidents. These poems are varied and visionary lyrics, from love poems to portraits of corruption and suffering in a great historic city. Stalin knew what he was up against, saying in a phone call to Boris Pasternak in 1934 'He's a genius, isn't he?'. But when Mandelstam's poem 'Stalin Epigram' came to its subject's attention - despite the poet's insistence that it was memorised but never written down - persecution turned to exile resulting in Mandelstam's death in the winter of 1938 on his way to a Siberian labour camp. Mandelstam's poems and his story of artistic defiance were suppressed in Russia for decades, only rehabilitated in 1987 under Gorbachev. He is now recognised as one of the key poets of the twentieth century.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0021j0c)
Benjamin Myers

Benjamin Myers talks to Horatio Clare about his new novel Rare Singles, which tells the story of Bucky Bronco, an elderly one-and-a-half-hit soul singer, grieving for his dead wife, surviving on low paid, hard graft jobs and struggling with an opioid addiction to dull the pain... when he's invited to Scarborough for a Northern Soul weekender that could just prove to be his salvation. Ben's 25 years as a music journalist feed into his storytelling.

Professional musician turned novelist Claire Kohda joins Horatio along with newly announced Children's Laureate and award-winning screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce (who wrote 24 Hour Party People and Hilary and Jackie) to discuss connections between music and writing.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce shares his plans for the role of Children's Laureate focussing on accessible literacy for children.

And for our monthly Editor's Pick - where we ask a Commissioning Editor to recommend us a great read from a rival publishing house - Rose Green from Doubleday UK has chosen Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa translated by Stephen Snyder.

Presented by Horatio Clare
Produced by Allegra McIlroy

Book List – Sunday 28 July

Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers
The Offing by Benjamin Myers
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Woman Eating by Claire Kohda
Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis
Twenty Four Hour Party People by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa: Translated by Stephen Snyder


SUN 16:30 The 3rd Degree (m0021j0f)
Series 13

3. Loughborough University

This episode coming from Loughborough University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.

The specialist subjects this week are Construction Management, Maths and Sport & Society with Sport Exercise & Psychology, so you’ll discover how to luff a jib, deconstruct a dodecagon and demonstrate a quadruped superman. All this plus darts and D’Urbervilles too.

The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The general knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow & Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three specialist subject rounds, in which students take on their professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.

In this series, the show goes to Leicester, St Andrews, Loughborough, Falmouth, the University of East Anglia and Robinson College, Cambridge.

Producer: David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct5ymj)
Cyprus 1974: The Final Landing

On the 20 July 1974, a young pilot was preparing to land passenger flight CY317 into Nicosia Airport in Cyprus, amidst the threat of an imminent Turkish invasion. From the air, he could see warships approaching the island.

Little did he know that his aircraft would be the final one to land there, it would be destroyed within hours, and the airport remains frozen in time to this day.  

Fifty years later, Captain Adamos Marneros tells Amelia Parker about that fear-filled final flight, on a pivotal day in 1974, and the airport, which he revisited a few years ago.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Captain Adamos Marneros outside the derelict Nicosia Airport in 2017. Credit: Leon Dimitrios)


SUN 17:10 The Verb (m0021kg1)
Why does 'mean' have so many meanings? Why do poets take metaphor so seriously? Why do objects like pink ghetto blasters make poems live? And why are the filaments of our eyes in the edges of the snow?

To answer these surreal, and not so surreal questions - Ian McMillan is joined by Alistair McGowan, Caroline Bird, and Toria Garbutt, and presents an 'eartoon' - a cartoon for the ear, from Richard Poynton (otherwise known as Stagedoor Johnny).

Alistair McGowan is an impressionist, actor, writer, pianist, and now - poet. He joins Ian McMillan in a pun-off - the first time such an event has ever been staged on national radio (probably). Alistair's collection of poems is called 'Not what we were expecting' (Flapjack Press).

Toria Garbutt is a spoken word artist, poet and educator from Knottingley. She shares tender, funny poems from 'The Universe and Me' (Wrecking Ball Press) many of which take us into her relationship with her sister when they were young, and reveal how much poetry there is in the objects of childhood.

Caroline Bird's new poetry collection is called 'Ambush at Still Lake' (Carcanet). She reads poems of motherhood which are like 'upside down jokes' and take 'toddler logic' (like the idea that imaginary carrots have completely run out) to surreal and sinister conclusions.
Caroline also presents us with our neon line, a stand-out line from a classic poem, and explores why it works so well. It's this mystery poem which proposes that there are 'filaments of our eyes' in the 'edges of the snow'.

Richard Poynton is a writer and performer (also known as Stagedoor Johnny). He stars in his own invention, a backstory for the origin of the English language, which explains why it has so many words with multiple meanings. In this week's Eartoon Richard introduces us to a 'mean' lasagne. (you won't want to meet it down a dark alley).


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0021j0j)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0021j0l)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021j0n)
Western powers have called for restraint after 12 children and teenagers were killed by a rocket which struck the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0021j0q)
Rima Ahmed

This week, the question that is on everyone’s minds: what is ‘brat summer’ and what does it have to do with Kamala Harris? Here’s another one - if God was on earth right now, would he be called James and living in Manchester? Apparently that’s the case - we hear more about him and his followers. Plus, we get to experience the audible energy of a bustling marketplace in the Italian town of Modena, courtesy of self-described pasta artisan, Massimo Bottura. Just another example of how BBC radio is everywhere; it’s so Julia.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Co-ordinator: Jack Ferrie

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0021j0s)
At Brookfield, Ruth finds Jill looking at a video Leonard’s sent from the Lake District, but in denial about missing him. David’s been chatting to Alistair, but neither mentioned Alistair and Denise’s affair. Later, David worries about the weather, litter on the farm and the threat to Jill’s bees from Asian hornets. Pip adds to the gloom by telling everyone her upcoming hen-do venue has fallen through. David reminds Pip of their own events barn and when the booking is confirmed Pip tells Jill she’s been invited, in place of the bride’s Grans, who can’t make it. Surprisingly Jill agrees to go, persuaded by the thought of sending Leonard pictures of her exciting social life in return.

Emma and Susan are searching Ambridge View for Martha’s missing toy giraffe. Martha’s clearly distressed by Alice’s absence, but at least Alice will be coming home from Rehab tomorrow. Emma thinks Alice won’t be around for long though, with her court case coming up. When George slopes out Susan and Emma worry how changeable his mood is. They agree it’s hard at his age, still figuring out how to be grown-up. Later, Emma manages to distract guilt-ridden George, but he’s still determined to find Martha’s toy. Emma compares Alice and Martha’s situation to how things were between her and Susan, when Susan went to prison, before finally spotting the missing giraffe. After George returns it, Martha makes him a thank you card. Emma gushes that George is Martha’s hero – and hers too. Once Emma’s gone, upset George wishes she would stop saying “hero”.


SUN 19:15 50/50 Vision (m0021j0v)
After half a century presenting Radio 4’s programme for blind people, Peter White looks back, and forwards, to examine how a rapidly changing world has altered the experience for blind and partially sighted people – although not always for the better.

Throughout Peter's 50 years, a lot has changed for disabled people. Namely: the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation in the UK in the 1990s, becoming the BBC's first disability affairs correspondent, right through to the invention of the smart phone. Technology lies at the heart of many, though not all, of the dramatic changes for visually impaired people. It has enabled once unimagined job prospects to blind people, it has offered equal opportunities to access to information and social connection, but for others, it's also meant frustration, isolation and trepidation. For some, this has been a result of how technology is woven into most everyday aspects of our lives, which can pose specific challenges to those with sight problems.

In this documentary, Peter looks back over his career and explores some of the significant societal changes that have happened over the past 50 years, with the people they have affected. He will also gaze 50 years into our technological future and ask what Artificial Intelligence could offer visually people and how it can be applied to eye care and treatment and ask whether it has the potential to prevent sight loss.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Executive Producer: Pete Wilson


SUN 19:45 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m0020z5k)
6. Isabella Greenan, teacher

Ros talks to teacher Isabella Greenan. We all communicate multiple times a day but could we be getting better results? From a simple text or phone call, to a job interview or big presentation, the way we express ourselves and get our point across can really matter. Ros Atkins and his fascinating guests reveal the best ways to communicate and how simple changes in the way we make our point can be really effective.

In this episode, Ros and Isabella explore how to react when someone isn’t listening and why it’s important not to take things personally.

Series Producer: Hannah Newton
Production Support: Olivia Cope
Executive Producer: Zoë Edwards
Mix Engineer: Jonathan Last
Original Music Composed by: Tom Wrankmore / Eliphino
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts

A Listen production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m0021bdj)
Behind the Crime, World Service and Any Answers

Andrea Catherwood gets under the skin of Radio 4's Behind the Crime, putting listeners' views to Dr Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken, the forensic psychologists who devote each programme to interviewing one former criminal in depth, to unpick how their life experiences contributed to their decisions to offend.

The Director of the World Service recently resigned from her post. Liliane Landor talks about the challenges of budget cuts and her concerns for the station's future, while World Service listeners say what the World Service means to them.

Feedback is always keen to hear listeners' nominations for the programme's Interview of the Year - anything that made you stop in your tracks, cry, laugh-out-loud, or completely change your thinking on a subject. The latest nomination comes for a chat between Alex Hartley, Kate Cross and Olivia Thomas - all members of the Lancashire Thunder Cricket team - on the No Balls Podcast on BBC Sounds.

And listeners have been in touch about the unflappable Any Answers presenter Anita Anand and the technical issues she dealt with on last weekend's programme. It was every live broadcasters' nightmare - a phone in with no phones!

Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Pauline Moore
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0021bh5)
Dr Mildred Stahlman, Ray Reardon, Val McIver, Eddie Spence

Matthew Bannister on Dr Mildred Stahlman, the American paediatrician whose discovery helped to improve the outcomes of premature babies around the world.

Ray Reardon, the former miner and police officer who was a World Snooker Champion six times.

Val McIver, the Scottish local councillor who campaigned to set up the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Eddie Spence, who decorated elaborate wedding cakes for members of the royal family for decades.

Interviewee: Dr Meg Rush
Interviewee: Martha Lott
Interviewee: Ken Doherty
Interviewee: Jen Mackenzie
Interviewee: Dawn Pennington

Producer: Catherine Powell

Archive used:
Great Welsh Sporting Moments, BBC 2 Wales 17/12/2008; Ray Reardon: The Welsh Master, BBC 1 Wales 01/03/2022; Ray Reardon at 80, BBC 1 Wales,29/04/2012; Ray Reardon, BBC Two 19/04/1984; Highland University, Reporting Scotland, 19/04/1996; Insiders Inverness, BBC One Scotland, 18/10/1991; Radio Scotland News, 09/09/92; Installation of the first Chancellor of the University of the Highlands and Islands, music by students of the university and members of the Highland Youth Orchestra, via YouTube uploaded 27 /6/2012; The Royal Wedding, BBC Television, 20/11/1947; On the Eve of the Royal Wedding, BBC, Richard Dimbleby Thu 05 May 1960; Wedding of HRH The Prince of Wales & Lady Diana Spencer, BBC 29/07/1981; Silver Jubilee: A day of Celebration, BBC 2, 07/06/1977; Vic Minett BBC Radio CWR 23/02/2018


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0021h43)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0021hzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0021h3z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0021j0x)
Ben Wright is joined by three new MPs: Labour's Rachel Blake, Conservative Harriet Cross and Liberal Democrat Victoria Collins. They discuss the public finances and spending decisions, ahead of the Chancellor's big statement to the Commons. Journalist Adam Payne from PoliticsHome brings additional insight and analysis. Ben also talks to the historian Sir Anthony Seldon - who offers his verdict on Sir Keir Starmer's first few weeks in power.


SUN 23:00 The Human Subject (m0021j0z)
The Children Whose Teeth Were Destroyed

In The Human Subject, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins. With every episode they explore some of that dark history and ask - is our present day knowledge worth the suffering it took to get us here?

This is the story of the more than 600 patients at Vipeholm Hospital in Sweden who, in 1946, were enrolled in a set of unexpectedly dark studies now known as the ‘sugar experiments’.

They were devised and run by the Board of Medicine - without government knowledge or approval - and led to immeasurable pain for all those who took part, all in the name of public health.

Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw
Producer: Simona Rata
Assistant Producer: Mansi Vithlani
Executive Producer: Jo Meek
Sound Design: Craig Edmondson
Commissioner: Dan Clarke

An Audio Always production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 23:30 Frontlines of Journalism (m001jkrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 on Saturday]


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m0021bh3)
Everlasting Light

In this new short work by Victoria MacKenzie, a physics teacher at the end of her long career considers time, light and memory.
Read by Anne Lacey
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Victoria MacKenzie is a fiction writer, poet and essayist whose debut novel was published in 2023. "For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain" explores the lives of two medieval mystics, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, who wrote the first known books in English by women.

MONDAY 29 JULY 2024

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0021j11)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Crossing Continents (m0021b8y)
A Slogan and a Land (Part 1)

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last year, the cry “From the River to the Sea” has been heard more and more as a pro-Palestinian slogan. But what river? What sea? And what exactly does the phrase mean? It’s the subject of intense controversy. In this two-part series, reporter Tim Whewell travels from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, across a tiny stretch of land that’s perhaps the most argued-over in the world.

Along the way, he meets shepherds and teachers, soldiers and gardeners, artists and activists - Palestinians and Israelis of many different views and backgrounds. The shortest line from the River to the Sea doesn’t pass through Gaza. But everyone Tim meets on his journey across the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the River, and in Israel, is living in the shadow of the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and the war that’s followed. The future of the often-beautiful, fast-changing, overcrowded region he crosses will be at the heart of any solution to the Middle East conflict. In this first programme, he goes from the Jordan, through the Israeli settlement of Argaman, the Palestinian herding community of al-Farisiyah and the Palestinian village of Duma, ending up at the Israeli settlement of Shilo. What do people in those places think now – and do they have any hope for the future?
(In Part 2, Tim leaves the West Bank and travels through Israel.)

Presenter/producer: Tim Whewell
Sound mixing: Andy Fell and Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy
(Photo: Some people Tim meets in the series. Clockwise from top left: Ben Levy, Israeli nature ranger; Sulieman Mleahat, Palestinian development worker; Susie Becher, Israeli political activist; Okayla Shehadi, retired Palestinian citizen of Israel.)


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0021h5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021j13)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021j15)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021j17)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0021j19)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021j1c)
Painting with God

A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Revd Dr Craig Gardiner, a tutor and chaplain at Cardiff Baptist College.

Good morning.

Today in 1890, the artist Vincent Van Gogh died, aged just 37. He remains once of the most significant and instantly recognisable of painters, famous for his post-impressionist renderings of Sunflowers, Café Terraces and Starry Nights. His art saw the world in a very different way and his expression of it often draws us in to a shared sense of beauty and wonder.

In a way, this is what all good artists do: it is the poet’s craft and the musician’s skill, it is the vocation of dancers, potters, novelists, actors and painters, to beckon us through their work, to stop and pay attention to the splendour and mystery of our living – but also to be sensitive to the harsher realities of its brokenness and suffering.

Van Gogh was no stranger to such struggles. Famously he cut off his ear during a time when his physical and mental health were deteriorating. He wrestled too with the place of faith and prayer between the beauty and the pain. In later life he was more circumspect about religion than his youthful ambitions to be a priest and his time spent as zealous a missionary among impoverished coal miners. And yet those early experiences led him to affirm that Christ lived ‘as an artist greater than all other artists, scorning marble and clay and paint, working in the living flesh.’

Van Gogh is only echoing what the ancient Psalmist wrote on some other starry night: When I consider the heavens I see it as the handiwork of God’s fingers, and then I think about us human beings, and realise that we have such an awesome part to play in it all.

We are all artists of one kind or another, so:

Thank you, Creator God,
For the splendour of your creation;
and the chance to add our own brushstrokes of beauty
to the world of our living today.
Amen.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0021j1f)
Campaigners are calling on the Welsh Government to do more to clean up the River Wye, after people were warned not to swim in a section of the river - which was only recently named the first official river bathing area in Wales.

An expert outlines the challenges of providing rural renewable energy infrastructure without upsetting the people who live there.

And a game processing facility in Berkshire, reported to be the first butchery to open in 40 years, is about to process its first venison.

Presented by Charlotte Smith

Produced by Alun Beach


MON 05:57 Weather (m0021j1h)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m0021j1k)
29/07/24 - Chancellor to set out spending cuts

Rachel Reeves is set to axe projects to plug a reported £20bn budget "black hole". Justin Webb interviews senior Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden on what might be cut.

Adam Peaty's mother speaks to Mishal Husain after the swimmer narrowly misses out on a historic third Olympic gold. And the Today summer book club kicks off with a search for funny books for children.


MON 09:00 Orwell vs Kafka (m00201sl)
Ep 4: Uneasy Dreams

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” - Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, 1915.

In this episode Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop talk anxiety and alienation. From Gregor Samsa being transformed into a giant insect, to shouting at a telescreen in 1984's Two Minutes Hate - Ian and Helen discover why these anxiety ridden images still connect with readers today.

Guests:
Dr Karolina Watroba of All Souls College, Oxford
Dr Nathan Waddell of the University of Birmingham
Wolfgang Hantel-Quitmann, Professor of Clinical and Family Psychology.

Producer: Sarah Shebbeare


MON 09:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (m0021j1m)
Artemis

Natalie stands up for the goddess Artemis. She's a predator, a hunter, an archer. Goddess of wild creatures, the moon to her brother Apollo's sun, she's not averse to the odd human sacrifice. And if you forget her in your prayers, she's liable to send a really big pig to dig up your orchards.

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

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0021j1p)
Edna O'Brien obit, SEND education, Republicans and women, Aigul Akhmetshina

The Irish novelist Edna O'Brien has died aged 93. President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said she was "one of the outstanding writers of modern times". She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of women's lives against repressive expectations in Irish society. Her first novel, The Country Girls, was published in 1960 and became part of a trilogy that was banned in Ireland for their references to sexual expression and social issues. Nuala McGovern speaks to Irish novelist Eimear McBride, who knew Edna.

Parents, children and politicians all agree that the SEND education system for children with special educational needs and disabilities is 'broken'. How can it be fixed? The Local Government Association and the County Councils Network have published a 'landmark' report which warns that the current system is failing children and too adversarial. Reporter Carolyn Atkinson investigates.
The Government accepts educational outcomes are 'flatlining', as parents and local authorities are pitted against each other. But 12 chief executives of leading childrens' charities are warning that some of the suggestions in the report won't work. Katie Ghose, CEO of Kids, joins Nuala in the studio to discuss.

The US presidential election race now looks set, with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris attempting to win the confidence of US voters. Today, we're taking a closer look at the Republicans and how their policies might shape women's rights in America. Nuala speaks to the BBC US Special Correspondent Katty Kay, who's also written four New York Times bestselling books on women and work. 

Hailed as the 'Carmen of our time', mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina was chosen to lead the cast of Bizet’s immortal masterpiece in eight international productions in one season. At the age of 27, Aigul has made history as the youngest artist ever to take on the title role at both the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her debut album features a portrait of her famed Carmen and other operatic arias, including a Bashkort folk song. She joins Nuala to discuss her music, and perform live in the studio.

Presented by Nuala McGovern
Producer: Louise Corley


MON 11:00 Policing Protest (m0021j1s)
Tactics and Crowds

The story of policing is bound up with the history of protest. Far more than dealing with demonstrations on the street, policing owes its very existence to fears of political unrest and to help protect the state from public disorder. In this wide-ranging three-part series, BBC Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton, with the help of former Police Assistant Commissioner Rob Beckley, tells the story of policing protest in the UK from Peterloo to the present - and beyond.

Episode 2: Tactics and Crowds

In the wake of extremely tough sentencing for Just Stop Oil campaigners and their direct action protests on the M25, this episode explores the ongoing, tactical arms race between protestors and police. Given new powers to curb the duration of protests and set the limit of what counts as unreasonable public disturbance, the police are also conscious of human rights legislation that protects our freedom to protest. But do the radical tactics of organisations like JSO make it harder for other, less militant groups - or is the new legislation part of a wider political clampdown on protest? Police training around public order is focused on protest and the threat of disorder turning into riot. This episode examines the 19th century crowd psychology that underlies modern policing – a fear of the power of the multitude, and the need to contain it.

Modern policing in Britain has its origins in protest. The Metropolitan Police was founded by Robert Peel in 1829 in the shadow of the Peterloo massacre ten years earlier where, under instruction from the government, local militia fired directly into the crowd gathered in Manchester in support of voting rights for working men. Peel devised the notion of ‘policing by consent’ as a way of securing support for police within communities, as opposed to using coercive force from without. So simultaneously a police force, an arm of the state tasked with controlling public order and crowd control, that would also be a community service - sensitive and responsive to citizens - was formed. This tension lies at the heart of policing even today and is part of a deeper story of how society contains and manages dissent.

Today, policing protest and the control of public order remain at the heart of modern policing. Every week in the capital and cities around the UK the sheer scale, diversity and number of protests is increasing - from domestic issues to climate change and international affairs, with large protests on events in the Middle East. There are huge variations in tactics and the use of social media by different groups – from marching and procession to occupation and ‘static’ protest, direct action and disinformation. And all of this requires policing.

In an era of what police are calling ‘chronic’ protest, resources are being stretched to breaking point. Live social media means the police are under more scrutiny and pressure than ever. Organisations like Extinction Rebellion have brought the capital to a standstill while other groups, like Black Lives Matter, have targeted policing itself as an object of protest.

Hearing from police officers of all ranks, activists and agitators from across the protest spectrum, historians, political thinkers, lawyers and journalists – and rich with archives - this series goes deep into the philosophical foundations and real tactics of public order policing. It explores the future of AI in policing protest and new technologies deployed by protestors, the police’s use of crowd psychology, the testing of ‘operational independence’ in the face of political pressure and the regulation of what spaces may or may not be used for public dissent today – the erosion of the protest space, reclaiming our political commons.

Where does the future of protest lie - and with new powers at their disposal, how will it be policed?

Contributors include criminologist Alex Vitale; XR activist Sarah; Rick Muir, director of the Police Foundation; Melissa Carrington from Just Stop Oil; Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner for Met Operations; Graham Smith, CEO of Republic; Superintendent Oliver Cosgrove, Avon Somerset Police; Kerry Reece, a public order trainer from Gloucestershire Constabulary; Tony Blatchford, a Silver Public Order Commander; Police Support Unit instructor Jim Hill; group psychologist Clifford Stott; historian Katrina Navikas; author and Black Lives Matter activist Adam Elliott-Cooper; justice campaigner and creator of the 4Front project Temi Mwale; Chief Executive Officer of the College of Policing Andy Marsh; new correspondent and filmmaker Greg McKenzie, Detective Inspector and protest liaison Upile Mtitimila and ecological activist Dan Hooper, aka ‘Swampy’.

Presented by Mark Easton, with reporting by Rob Beckley

Produced by Simon Hollis

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4


MON 11:45 Status by Carl Honoré (m0021j1x)
Episode 1

It shapes every social interaction. But we’d rather not talk about it. It’s shameful to seek it. But we want it.

Status has always been the elephant in the room, our dirty little secret. Now Carl Honoré is going to bring it out into the open. He argues that status is changing in the modern world and not always for the better. Can we use it as a force for good?

When asked to explain what drove us to achieve a particular feat, we talk of our desire to change the world, help others, learn something new, overcome a challenge, have fun, make money or simply gain more control over our lives. No one ever says: "I did it to enhance my status."

This reticence is hardly surprising. Status cuts to the core of who we are and our place in the world. Of how others see us and how we see ourselves.

Talking about this feels awkward, messy, exposing, embarrassing. Like sharing a sexual problem. So status remains the driver that dare not speak its name.

This series will break that taboo and ask the big questions: Why is status so important? How does it work? How can we harness it to live better lives? Could a new approach to status help us tackle the epic challenges facing humankind at the start of the 21st century?

Written and Presented by Carl Honoré
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0021j21)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0021j25)
Access to Cash, Cost of Retirement, Wowcher

More than 60% of banks have closed in the last nine years. In an attempt to stem the tide, the Financial Conduct Authority is putting obligations on banks and building societies to ensure that every community has access to cash and banking services, even if local branches close.
According to Creditspring, one in seven parents say they won't be able to afford any activities for their children during the summer holidays. With more parents worried about their financial situation, we look at what help is available.
New data from pension provider Scottish Widows suggests a quarter of people in the UK are worried they may never be able to retire, with the average person expected to complete seven extra years of work after retirement age.
The Competition and Markets Authority has ordered online deals website Wowcher to refund £4 million to its customers. The company has also been asked to change some of its marketing practices, including the use of countdown timers, which may be putting pressure on shoppers.

PRODUCER: CHARLIE FILMER-COURT

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON


MON 12:57 Weather (m0021j29)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m0021j2f)
Junior doctors offered 22% pay deal to end strikes

The government and the BMA have struck a deal of a 22% pay rise for junior doctors. Also on the programme, Tom Daley's mentor reacts to the Olympian's silver medal win.


MON 13:45 Naturebang (m0021j2k)
Rainbowfish and the Mysteries of Memory

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight dive into the watery world of rainbowfish to confront the age-old myth that fish have bad memories. In actual fact, they are much more intelligent than we like to think, with an incredible capacity for learning and memory, as seen in almost all fish species. Their ability to remember complex things over a long period of time means they can build social relationships, navigate huge distances, and even form cultures, as knowledge is passed down over generations.

So, the science has spoken: fish have way better memories than we like to think. But what about us humans? Well, turns out our memories are way worse than we like to think. From the very first perceptual moment when you experience something, your brain is constantly filtering your memories so that it only keeps the information that it thinks you need. And the more you recount a memory, the more it deviates from "the truth". Which means, in reality, we forget most of our lives, and we misremember most of the rest! Begging the question: are we who we think we are?

Featuring Professor Culum Brown, head of The Fish Lab at Macquarie University, and Dr Julia Shaw, criminal psychologist at UCL and author of 'The Memory Illusion'. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0021j0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Ed Reardon's Week (m001p24r)
Series 15

3. The Bromance

Ed’s ‘Soapbox Corner’ is now entering its third successful week with a gratifying nine complaints thus far. Garnering inspiration for these weekly observations can often be had at the local swimming pool, which also has the benefit of cost-efficient radiators on which to dry one’s washing. Thus, Ed heads to the pool where he soon strikes up a friendship with a likeminded chap in the form of Derek, who is not only a big fan of Ed’s work, but a keen writer. With a warning from Ping ringing in his ears, Ed decides it’s time to collaborate, something he hasn’t done since the early 80‘s.

Ed Reardon - Christopher Douglas
Ping - Barunka O’Shaughnessy
Derek - Robert Powell
Jake - Sam Pamphilon
Stan - Geoffrey Whitehead
Olive - Sally Grace
Winnie - Ellen Thomas
Pool Tannoy - Nicola Sanderson

Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
Production Co-ordinator - Katie Baum
Sound - Jon Calver

This programme was first broadcast in July 2023.


MON 14:45 Gambits (m0012rjn)
9: The Knight

Susannah Fielding continues Eley Williams' short story series set in an Essex village gripped by chess, and where dark secrets lurk behind its closed doors. Today, in 'The Knight', a woman finds herself in the home of the parents of the village's chess prodigy, and finds herself she enacting some revenge of her own...

Reader: Susannah Fielding
Writer: Eley Williams
Producer: Justine Willett


MON 15:00 A Good Read (m0021j2q)
Rachel Parris and Sonali Shah

DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver, chosen by Rachel Parris
DID YE HEAR MAMMY DIED? by Séamas O'Reilly, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
BOTH NOT HALF by Jassa Ahluwalia, chosen by Sonali Shah

Comedian and musician Rachel Parris and broadcaster and presenter Sonali Shah join Harriett Gilbert to read each other's favourite books.

Rachel Parris (Late Night Mash, Austentatious) chooses Barbara Kingsolver's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead, which is based on David Copperfield and boldly takes on America's opioid crisis.

Sonali Shah (Escape to the Country, Pilgrimage, Magic FM) picks Both Not Half: A Radical New Approach to Mixed Heritage Identity by the actor Jassa Ahluwalia, who had always described himself as 'half Indian, half English'. So he decided to come up with a new way of thinking about all kinds of individuality.

Harriett brings a wonderfully funny and loving memoir by the Irish writer Séamas O'Reilly: Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?

Producer: Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol
Join the conversation @agoodreadbbc Instagram


MON 15:30 Extreme: Muscle Men (m0021j2s)
Muscle Men

1. All That Glitters

Meet William Dillon. A young amateur bodybuilder from small-town Illinois, who dreams of getting ripped.

It’s the early 1980s and across the USA a fitness revolution is underway. Exercise has become a national pastime and Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking the jacked-up physique mainstream. Dillon is one of many young men with a new kind of American dream - big muscles, and big money.

In 1984, a lucky break transports Dillon to star-studded LA, and the world’s most iconic bodybuilding gym, Gold’s Gym. There, to the sound of clanking steel weights and a pumping disco beat, a new physical ideal is being forged that’s changing the way Americans look in the mirror.

But Dillon’s about to learn that, beneath the glittering surface of this world, there’s a secret. And when he discovers the chemical key to how many of the guys get BIG, it will set him on a path that will change his life - and many others - forever.

In the first episode of Extreme: Muscle Men, historian, podcaster and fitness expert Natalia Mehlman Petrzela - presenter of hit podcast Welcome To Your Fantasy (Gimlet) - reveals how the California beach body became an iconic symbol of the 80s fitness boom. When that boom collided with anabolic steroids, it sparked a chemical and criminal revolution that would transform bodies all across America.

Featuring William Dillon, former bodybuilders Joe Troccoli, Sandra Blackie and Dr Jeff Golini, and former co-owner of Gold’s Gym, Ed Connors.

Presenter and Executive Producer: Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Producer: Caroline Thornham
Assistant Producer: Mohamed Ahmed
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Production Manager: Cheree Houston
Sound Design and Mix by Nicholas Alexander
Original Music by SilverHawk, aka Cyrille Poirier
Executive Producer: Max O’Brien
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

Episodes are released weekly on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode, a week early, first on BBC Sounds https://bbc.in/3ybDcHO


MON 16:00 Loving, Living and Dying Together in the Netherlands (m0021rnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0021h3x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m0021j2x)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021j2z)
A teenage boy has been arrested and the incident is not being treated as terror-related


MON 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0021j31)
Series 13

Coleraine

Mark Steel's In Town - Coleraine

"...Coleraine is a big town and is ready for City status..."

This week Mark visits the town of Coleraine in Northern Ireland.

This is the 13th series of Mark's award-winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.

As well as Coleraine, in this series Mark be will also be popping to Margate, Malvern, East Grinstead, Stoke-on-Trent, and Nether Edge in Sheffield.

There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0021hcj)
Jakob confirms to Paul that The Stables is all clear for re-opening. Lilian wants to mark the occasion with an event the same day as the Fete – and she’s expecting the vet team to choose her over the Fete. When Alistair enters with a tin of posh biscuits from Lilian, Paul quickly makes an excuse to go out. It’s clear that Paul is still freezing Alistair and Denise out. Later, Alistair lets off steam to Jakob about just how difficult things are for him and Denise. They’re barely able to have any time together at all. Jakob though is pretty unsympathetic. Doesn’t Alistair realise it’s making his life intolerable too? When Jakob then comes across Paul and Alistair mid-blazing row, he takes Alistair to one side and outlines his own situation with Kate. He feels completely incapable of supporting her as he knows he should with the whole Alice situation. Sympathetic Alistair offers to chat through the problem with Jakob over tea and posh biscuits.
On their way to the Rehab centre to pick up Alice, Chris and Brian discuss their hopes of some real progress. Brian thinks that Alice should change her plea to guilty as part of that process and when they pick her up tells Alice that he’s already arranged an appointment with a solicitor for tomorrow. Alice is surprisingly phlegmatic, telling Chris later, after they’ve dropped Brian off, that she’s fine about it. She suggests Chris come in with her to see Martha, but he reckons she’ll be fine on her own, then wishes her luck as she goes.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0021j33)
James Baldwin Centenary Special

Colm Toibin, Bonnie Greer and Mendez join Samira Ahmed to celebrate the life and work of the American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, author of the landmark gay novel Giovanni's Room, as part of a series of programmes on BBC Radio 4 and 3 marking the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Colm Toibin is author of the book On James Baldwin
Bonnie Greer is writing a memoir of her own personal encounter with James Baldwin
Mendez is author of the autobiographical novel Rainbow Milk

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Eliane Glaser, Ciaran Bermingham and Robyn Read

Other programmes marking the centenary:

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin is this week's Book at Bedtime on BBC Radio 4
The Lost Archives of James Baldwin - about how and why his personal effects ended up in a village in France - is on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 30 July at 4pm
James Baldwin's Words and Music is on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 4 August at 5.30pm and features special readings recorded by Adrian Lester set alongside music


MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0021bdl)
Health special 3: How far could artificial intelligence transform medicine?

Machine learning has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Bigger, more powerful computers can crunch ever more amounts of data, analysing complex information just as accurately, it’s claimed, as the best specialists and at speeds humans can never achieve. With the potential to make a significant difference to healthcare - helping to diagnose disease, summarise patients’ medical notes, even predict health conditions years before any symptoms appear. But how long before the potential benefits become a reality? And what are the possible pitfalls? Join David Aaronovitch and a panel of guests to find out.

Guests:
Madhumita Murgia, Artificial Intelligence Editor, Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI
Mihaela van der Schaar, Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine at Cambridge University
Pearse Keane, Consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and a Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL
Dr Jessica Morley, Post-doctoral researcher at the Digital Ethics Centre, Yale University

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Sally Abrahams and Rosamund Jones
Sound engineers: Dafydd Evans and Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m0021bdn)
CERN’s Supercollider Plan

CERN’s plans to build a bigger, faster particle collider, with a hefty 17 billion Euro price tag, are in question. Physicists Andrew Pontzen and Harry Cliff discuss if the new machine is really worth it.

A place on the podium or disappointment in the Olympics can come down to the precise position of a foot or angle of the hips. Science reporter Ella Hubber visits the University of Bath to check out the motion capture tech that makes these measurements.

New research suggests our close cousins, the chimpanzees, chat just as fast as humans. Professor Cat Hobaiter from the University of St Andrews tells us what chimp chats can teach us about the evolution of language.

75 years after making a groundbreaking discovery, Rosemary Fowler has finally been awarded with an honorary doctorate. University of Bristol chancellor, Sir Paul Nurse, shares how important it is to celebrate and recognise Rosemary’s achievements.

Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Ella Hubber and Sophie Ormiston
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


MON 21:00 History's Secret Heroes (m001y3v8)
14. The Unbreakable Navajo Code

A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war?

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.

Producer: Suniti Somaiya
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 21:30 Intrigue (m001z75g)
To Catch a Scorpion

To Catch a Scorpion: 3. Satisfaction Guaranteed

It's already late when the BBC team get a tip off that Scorpion's network of complicit lorry drivers might be operating from a new pick-up point. They stay hidden as events unfold.

Barzan Majeed - codenamed Scorpion - leads the Scorpion gang. He's on international most-wanted lists. He started his criminal career in Britain and went on to build a smuggling empire which now spans the globe.

An international police surveillance operation trapped more than 20 of his gang and almost netted Scorpion himself, but he was tipped off and escaped. BBC journalist, Sue Mitchell, and former soldier and aid worker, Rob Lawrie, team up to try to do what the police have been unable to achieve: to find Scorpion, to speak to him, to ask him to account for his crimes and to seek justice to those families he has harmed.

Their investigation takes them to the heart of an organised criminal gang making millions from transporting thousands of migrants on boat and lorry crossings that in some cases have gone dangerously wrong, causing serious injury and putting lives at risk. They witness his operation in action and record as intense situations unfold, where vulnerable people desperate for a better future, put their lives in the hands of ruthless and dangerous criminals.

To Catch a Scorpion is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4 and is presented and recorded by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie.
The series is produced by Sue Mitchell, Winifred Robinson and Joel Moors
The Editor is Philip Sellars
Commissioning Editor is Daniel Clarke
Commissioning Exec Tracy Williams
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts/Digital, Will Drysdale
Original music is by Mom Tudie
and Sound Design is by Tom Brignell


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021j35)
Mass stabbling in Southport leaves two children dead

Two children have been killed and nine injured, six critically, in a "ferocious" knife attack at a children's dance workshop. Two adults are also in a critical condition after being stabbed as they tried to protect children at the Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside Police said. A 17-year-old boy, from Banks in Lancashire, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

The Chancellor lambasted her predecessor over what she called a "cover-up" of the state of public finances, with projected overspends in multiple departments. Rachel Reeves announced billions of pounds of spending cuts to tackle the deficits, but also committed to above inflation pay rises for public sector workers.

And are high-production airline safety videos effective? We speak to a former flight attendant turned actor.


MON 22:45 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (m0021j37)
Episode One

2024 marks the centenary of the birth of the American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, one of the most important literary minds of the 20th century. For BBC Radio 4, Kyle Soller reads his groundbreaking 1956 novel of love and desire, repression and shame.

David, a young American expat in Paris, has proposed to his girlfriend Hella and she's promised to give him her answer when she returns from vacation in Spain. While she's away, David meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, and the two men begin a passionate affair. As the date of Hella's return approaches David wrestles with the choice he must make; a choice that will have devastating consequences.

Produced by Mair Bosworth and Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio
Abridged by Sara Davies
Read by Kyle Soller


MON 23:00 Limelight (m001dg51)
Harland - Series 2

Harland - 1. Mōnandæg

Lucy Catherine's supernatural thriller returns to the new town of Harland. 16 months have passed and no trace has been found of Detective Inspector Sarah Ward. She was last seen disappearing into the brooding sinkhole that swallowed a housing estate. Tyger Drew Honey stars as Dan, the lowly CCTV operative determined to solve the mystery.

Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey
Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde
Morris ..... Rupert Holliday Evans
Serena ..... Chloë Sommer
Bob ..... David Hounslow
Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine
Janice ..... Fiona Skinner
Other parts played by Joanna Monro, Jonathan Forbes and Tom Kiteley

Sound Design by Caleb Knightley
Directed by Toby Swift

A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0021j39)
Sean Curran reports as Chancellor Rachel Reeves reveals her financial plans - and clashes with her predecessor Jeremy Hunt over the state of the economy. Also, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper promises to tackle violence against women and girls - and the Lords debate the horseracing industry.

TUESDAY 30 JULY 2024

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0021j3c)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 Status by Carl Honoré (m0021j1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021j3f)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021j3h)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021j3k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0021j3m)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021j3p)
Better Looking at It than for It

A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Revd Dr Craig Gardiner, a tutor and chaplain at Cardiff Baptist College.

Good morning.

Today my family will be packing up the car in readiness for our holidays. The dog takes up most of the boot, so our stuff is going in the roof-box or squeezed in underneath our seats. This always reminds me of my childhood, when our family would cram into a Mini-Traveller with our cases strapped to the roof rack and wrapped in polythene. My father never knowingly left anything behind that might be useful for the journey. His motto was ‘We’re better looking at it than ever looking for it.’

It's not bad advice, as long as you’ve got some capacious and preferably mechanised transportation. But as long-distance walkers and hitchhikers would tell us, if we’re carrying everything in a rucksack, we need to travel light.

Of course, while this is true for the physical journeys we take, it’s also true for our spiritual travels too. The heavier our burdens, the more worries we carry in our heart and the heavier fears weigh on our mind, then the more difficult it can be to make good progress.

Perhaps this is why some of the most encouraging words that Jesus ever spoke come in Matthew’s gospel. There he offers the invitation, ‘Come to me if you’re weary and worn out and I will give you rest. My burden is light, and I will teach you how to walk the unforced rhythms of grace.’

This is good news to the many of us who will start our days feeling tired; physically perhaps, but also weary in our minds or lacking a vitality in our spirit. God offers us a deeper rest than we have ever known and shares with us the possibility of new and unrushed patterns for progress. Surely this is something worth taking on whatever journey we will take today.

Dear God
who walks with every traveller,
teach us today
to live freely,
and step lightly,
carrying only your promises of rest and rejuvenation in our heart.
Amen.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0021j3r)
A survey by the NFU has shown that while there has been some improvement in the provision of superfast broadband, only 34% of farmers who responded have a fibre connection.

A farmer in the depths of his harvest has his fingers crossed that this spell of hot sunny weather will continue.

Solar farms built on farmland are an increasingly controversial topic, one farmer is looking to expand his by over 80 acres.

Presented by Caz Graham

Produced by Alun Beach


TUE 06:00 Today (m0021hbv)
30/07/24 - Chancellor defends spending cuts

Chancellor Rachel Reeves defends her decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and a planned cap on social care. The chancellor was speaking to Today's Mishal Husain after setting out a series of spending cuts, which she argued were a result of a £22bn 'black hole' under the previous Conservative government. In an interview with Today, her predecessor Jeremy Hunt defends his record and says the move is a 'political exercise'.

A stabbing attack at a summer holiday dance event in Southport has seen two children killed and eight people in a critical condition. Today speaks to the local MP, residents and the police and crime commissioner about the worst attack on children in the UK for decades.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0021hbx)
Vicky Tolfrey on parasport research and childhood dreams of the Olympics

It's summer - no really - and although the weather might have been mixed, the sporting line-up has been undeniably scorching - from the back-and-forth of Wimbledon, to the nail-biting Euros, to the current pageantry of the Summer Olympics.

Next month the 2024 Paralympic Games get underway in Paris, involving the world’s very best para athletes; and Professor Vicky Tolfrey is at the forefront of the science that makes their sporting dreams a reality.

Vicky is the Director of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University, a hub for elite para-sport research. She’s worked with stars from the worlds of wheelchair athletics, basketball, rugby and tennis, amongst others – and in 2017, became the first European recipient of the International Paralympic Committee’s prestigious Scientific Award.

She tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili about her work with elite para athletes, her experiences at major international sporting events, and her childhood dreams of becoming an Olympian herself.

Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Lucy Taylor


TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m0021hbz)
How can we age well?

From the Hay Festival, James and a panel of experts explain what we can all do to help ourselves age well.

We discover what’s going on in our bodies when we age, the difference between biological and chronological age, as well as getting the audience moving for a physical test.

James is joined by gerontologist Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford, biomedical scientist Georgina Ellison-Hughes from King’s College London, and doctor Norman Lazarus to understand how exercise, diet, and mental health all have a part to play in how we age.

Presenter: James Gallagher 
Producer: Gerry Holt
Editor: Holly Squire


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0021hc1)
Southport attack, Sexism in Olympics coverage, Female auctioneer

A stabbing attack in the Southport area of Merseyside has, at the time of going to air, killed a number of children and critically injured others. Nuala McGovern is joined by BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Lauren Moss to give us the latest. She also hears from the Labour and Cooperative Party Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, Emily Spurrell, and the Reverend Marie-Anne Kent on how the community are coming together to support each other. NB. The number of fatalities and injured was correct at the time of broadcast. For full updates head to the BBC News website.

Irita Marriott says she is one of very few women in the UK to own an auction house. She’s the subject of a new documentary that follows her setting up her business and discovering personal stories along with antiques. She joins Nuala to talk about what it’s like to be a woman in the industry and why she loves it so much.

Many of us will have been enjoying watching some coverage of the Olympics in Paris. But is that coverage occasionally sexist? The head of the Olympic Broadcasting Service has asked that camera operators avoid sexist filming of sporting events. This comes as a commentator for the channel Eurosport has been removed after making sexist remarks about Australia’s female swimmers. Dr Andrea Geurin, Professor of sport business, marketing and communication at Loughborough University, joins Nuala to discuss.

In the last of our series on the hobbies that you’ve taken up again after years, our reporter Sarah Swadling speaks to a woman who rediscovered her passion for drama and joined the village panto.

Have you seen a lot of orange around recently? The fake tan is back – but it’s apparently now better than before - more sophisticated. Celebrities are sporting the bronzed look, and sales of fake tan are up – but why has it returned? And is it actually good for you? Nuala is joined by Assistant Editor of Femail Jessica Taylor to discuss.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Lottie Garton


TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m0021bhf)
Pop Idols

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at how popstars - and their fans - have been depicted in film and TV over the years.

Mark speaks to record producer and documentary director Jeremy Dylan about some of the most memorable pop idols on screen, from A Hard Day’s Night to Spice World.

And he talks to legendary songwriter Paul Williams about his dual role as both star actor and music composer on Brian DePalma’s prescient 1974 pop fable Phantom of the Paradise.

Meanwhile, Ellen looks at portrayals of pop fans on screen with critic Kayleigh Donaldson, and screenwriter Janine Nabers, who co-created the recent Beyonce-inspired satirical comedy-horror TV miniseries Swarm.

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


TUE 11:45 Status by Carl Honoré (m0021hc3)
Episode 2

It shapes every social interaction. But we’d rather not talk about it. It’s shameful to seek it. But we want it.

Status has always been the elephant in the room, our dirty little secret. Now Carl Honoré is going to bring it out into the open. He argues that status is changing in the modern world and not always for the better. Can we use it as a force for good?

When asked to explain what drove us to achieve a particular feat, we talk of our desire to change the world, help others, learn something new, overcome a challenge, have fun, make money or simply gain more control over our lives. No one ever says: "I did it to enhance my status."

This reticence is hardly surprising. Status cuts to the core of who we are and our place in the world. Of how others see us and how we see ourselves.

Talking about this feels awkward, messy, exposing, embarrassing. Like sharing a sexual problem. So status remains the driver that dare not speak its name.

This series will break that taboo and ask the big questions: Why is status so important? How does it work? How can we harness it to live better lives? Could a new approach to status help us tackle the epic challenges facing humankind at the start of the 21st century?

Written and Presented by Carl Honoré
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0021hc6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0021hc8)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0021hcb)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0021hcd)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


TUE 13:45 Naturebang (m0021hcg)
Dr Orangutan and the Evolution of Medicine

Becky Ripley and Emily Knight explore the art and science of medicine: What makes you sick? What makes you well again? And how on earth do we (and animals) tell the difference?

Deep in the rainforest of Sumatra, one clever orangutan called Rakus has pretty much got it figured out. Astonished researchers spotted him making and then applying a sophisticated plant-based medicinal paste to a painful wound. It was anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and it numbed his pain, helping him to heal in record time. This might be one of the more sophisticated examples out there, but Rakus is far from the only one; lots of animals are incredibly skilled at using the plants and minerals around them to heal wounds, treat infection, or stave off nasty bugs. It's called, wait for it... zoopharmacognosy.

In the human world, we've honed our own medicinal skills into something slick, sterile and very high-tech, but you might be surprised how many of the medicines we use today have natural origins. The age-old skills of the shamans and herbalists of the past are still extremely relevant, and we have yet to fully unlock all the healing secrets of the plants around us.

Featuring Dr Isabelle Laumer, cognitive biologist and primatologist at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour, and Sarah Edwards, Plant Records Officer from Oxford Botanic Gardens and an ethnobotanist from the University of Oxford. Produced and presented by Emily Knight and Becky Ripley.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0021hcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m000s191)
Who Cares

Matt Woodhead's verbatim drama tells the story of 3 young carers in Salford, who had no choice but to become the adult in their families. Based on over a hundred hours of interviews, this play premiered at the Lowry Theatre before touring the UK and prompting many 'hidden' young carers to come forward and receive support.

Nicole ..... Lizzie Mounter
Jade ..... Jessica Temple
Connor ..... Luke Grant

Produced by Toby Swift

Who Cares began life as a theatre project and was created to provide a rare insight into a day in the lives of young carers from Salford. The original production was co-produced by The Lowry and LUNG in partnership with Gaddum, a charity providing health and wellbeing support across Greater Manchester.

For information and support for young carers:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1rsZS8dzkkVSqQhJXHY67kj/information-and-support-carers


TUE 15:00 The Gatekeepers (m001xlsl)
8. I Sung of Chaos

On 30th September 2022 a coroner in London finds that Molly Russell "...died from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content."

The finding is a global first. Social media is ruled to have contributed to the death of a child.

In San Francisco, around the same time, a strange story is unfolding inside Twitter HQ.

Ever since Donald Trump's account was suspended on Twitter, tensions have been building around what is and isn't allowed on platforms.

Elon Musk shares internal staff documents with a hand-picked group of journalists. One of those journalists suspects these documents show collusion between tech platforms and the US government.

Politicians and civil groups on both the left and right from across the world, want the power and influence of these companies to be reigned in.

There's even talk of repealing section 230 - the law that created modern social media.

In this final episode, Jamie Bartlett asks if Silicon Valley's radical experiment is about to implode? And if the online world is chaotic now, what will advances in artificial intelligence mean for us all?


Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Producer: Caitlin Smith
Sound design: Eloise Whitmore
Story Consultant: Kirsty Williams
Senior Producer: Peter McManus
Composer: Jeremy Warmsley
Commissioned by Dan Clarke
A BBC Scotland Production

Reading by John Lightbody

Archive credits: BBC News, September 2022; CNN, 2022; C-Span, Jan 2024; BBC Archive, 1967

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

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline


TUE 15:30 Beyond Belief (m0021hcl)
Wine of the Gods

Giles Fraser explores the place of wine in some religious traditions, as the blood of Christ, the nectar of the Greek Gods or Persian poets, to something forbidden or proscribed.

We start on a balmy evening in Napa Valley, with a sea breeze blowing through the vines at Marinda Kruger's vineyard. For her, life as a viticulturalist has an intimate connection to her faith.

Gisela H Kreglinger, theologian from a wine-making family, Catholic Priest, Father Marc Lyden-Smith and Muhammad Ali Mojaradi, translator of the Persian Sufi poets under the moniker Persian Poetics on social media, join Giles to consider the pleasures and prohibition of wine.

Many scriptures and religious poetry are awash with the stuff. Wine flows in heaven, goblets elicit a kind of spiritual ecstasy and Noah's first act after the flood? To plant a vineyard. What has been wine's significance in different religious traditions, and what does our relationship to it reveal about our earthly selves?

Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producer: James Leesley
Editor: Tim Pemberton

This programme includes a short clip of Silvestre Le Trouzel reading from Babette's Feast, recorded for BBC Radio 4's Bedtime Stories and first broadcast in 2016. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.


TUE 16:00 The Lost Archives of James Baldwin (m0021vyz)
When James Baldwin died at his home in the South of France in December 1987, the world lost a towering intellect and one of America’s literary giants. He was buried in New York a few weeks later. But what remained in France, and still to this day, are thousands of personal and professional effects connected to Baldwin. Journalist Tony Phillips travels to Provence to discover why these items are stored in an Englishwoman’s home on the Côte d’Azur.

Producer Tony Phillips


TUE 16:30 You're Dead to Me (m0021h3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]


TUE 17:00 PM (m0021hcn)
Three girls killed in Southport yesterday are named by police

Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021hcq)
They were named as Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9.


TUE 18:30 Do Gooders (m0021b8q)
1. The Team Player

Garrett Millerick’s Do Gooders is a new ensemble sitcom that takes us behind the charity curtain and mines the numerous frustrations that come with trying to ‘do good’ on an industrial scale. With Frank Skinner, Fay Ripley, Lisa McGrillis, Ahir Shah and Ania Magliano.

The series follows the exploits of the fundraising events team at a fictional mid-level charity, The Alzheimers Alliance. Fundraising for this kind of mid-table organisation comes with its own unique set of challenges, be it setting up eye catching events, courting celebrity endorsement or juggling the inter charity politics.

And while certainly not languishing on the lowest rungs of the charity league table, Alzheimers hasn’t got the dazzling sheen or the pulling power of a cancer charity, nor does it capture the public’s sympathies in the way lifeboats or guide dogs do.

If Cancer Research is Coca-Cola, Alzheimers Alliance is Lilt. A cracking drink, but they’ve got to work hard to remind people they exist - or face total extinction.

Episode One - The Team Player
Clive has one day to prove to Harriett that he can be a team player, or risk losing his status as a manager. Lauren and Ken battle it out over the new hot desking arrangements and Gladys introduces the new hire Achi to the peculiarities of life at The Alzheimers Alliance.

Cast:
Lauren – Ania Magliano
Gladys – Lisa McGrillis
Clive – Garrett Millerick
Harriett – Fay Ripley
Achi – Ahir Shah
Ken – Frank Skinner

Writer – Garrett Millerick
Sound Engineer – David Thomas
Editor – David Thomas
Production Assistant – Jenny Recaldin
Producer – Jules Lom
Executive Producers – Richard Allen-Turner, Daisy Knight, Julien Matthews, Jon Thoday

An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0021hcv)
George has forgotten he’s taking Brad for a drink tonight to celebrate Brad’s 18th birthday, until Chelsea reminds him while cutting his hair. Chelsea then sets George up for a date with Tilly Button. Later on, though, at The Bull, Chelsea wonders why George has turned Tilly down. He can’t explain why, just that he has a problem. Chelsea assumes it’s an embarrassing one, and he frustratedly heads off – just as Jazzer approaches, leaving Chelsea to cover for his absence.
The mood is tense as Brian and Alice drive back from the solicitor’s, with Alice still not having agreed to change her plea. Then, when Brian bumps into Jazzer at a petrol station, Jazzer makes his feelings clear about Alice. Fallon could have died - and her baby did. Brian retorts that Jazzer’s own past is hardly spotless when it comes to reckless behaviour. But what Alice did affected people Jazzer cares about and now she’s dragging them all into court to re-live that night. That’s the truth, Jazzer insists.
Later, Brian tells Chris about the encounter. He thinks they need to protect Alice from hearing such opinions. Alice then reveals she heard every word. Brian still wants her to change her mind about her plea, but Alice says she can’t and Chris surprises Brian by backing Alice. Brian leaves in high dudgeon before Chris admits he thinks Brian’s right. But Alice’s fragmented memories are telling her something different. She appreciates Chris’s support, but needs him to focus on Martha, while Alice sorts out her own mess.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0021hcz)
Deadpool v Wolverine, Cherry Jones, Leyla McCalla

A new production of The Grapes of Wrath opens at the National Theatre with Cherry Jones taking on the role of matriarch Ma Joad. She joins Samira to talk about Steinbeck's tale of poverty and the hostility the poor face in America - plus her thoughts on art, violence and America today. Deadpool & Wolverine is the new Marvel film, its director Shawn Levy discusses the latest in the superhero film franchise. Plus, we have music from Haitian-American folk musician and multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla. And, Alex Clark takes a look at the longlist for the Booker Prize published today.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Ruth Watts


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0021hd3)
Something in the Water: The Secrets of Camp Lejeune

Camp Lejeune is a vast US Marine Corps base in North Carolina. It’s been in operation since the 1940s and covers a massive 240 square miles. But for years it hid a secret. For decades, its water supply was contaminated with harmful chemicals found to increase the risk of some cancers. It’s estimated that one million people might have been exposed to the toxic water.

But it wasn’t just American personnel who were based at Camp Lejeune. Soldiers from all over the world - including from the UK - also spent time there on training exercises and exchange programmes.

Emma Forde hears from the British veterans and their families who lived and worked on the base and have since suffered serious health problems or seen loved ones die from conditions associated with exposure to the water. But despite a compensation scheme for victims being widely reported in the US, there are concerns that those from the UK are still unaware of the serious health risks they were exposed to. And time is running out.

Reporter: Emma Forde
Producer: Andrew Picken
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Coordinators: Ellie Dover & Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston

Image: Royal Marine Captain Joe House and Captain Jonathan Lear handing over to each other at Camp Lejeune.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0021hd7)
Technology for Life; The First Blind Barbie

In Touch has learnt about changes happening to the RNIB's Technology for Life service that will result in major changes to how the service is delivered, and may result in staff redundancies amongst the team that has many visually impaired employees. This change is separate from a ten-year proposed plan of changes that we recently spoke to the charity's Chief Executive Matt Stringer about. These included a need for cost savings of around £10 million and may also result in redundancies for staff.

The world now has a blind Barbie doll. Influencer, broadcaster and model Lucy Edwards brought her into the studio to be introduced to the In Touch team and to tell us what she means for representation. We analyse more widely whether representation of this form is of benefit to disabled children with Rebecca Atkinson, who founded the Toy Like Me campaign. The campaign began as a call on toy companies globally to become more inclusive of disability within their products. Rebecca also began her own disabled-led children's brand, with her Channel 5 pre-school children's programme 'Mixmups', which has disabled characters.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Brigid Harrison-Draper
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 (m0021hdc)
A Slogan and a Land (Part 2)

In this second part of his journey from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel, reporter Tim Whewell continues his exploration of the physical and human reality behind the slogan “From the River to the Sea”, a phrase which creates intense controversy.

In this podcast he descends from the high ridge of the West Bank hills to the Israeli Mediterranean coast at Herzlia, known for its beaches and high-tech industry – and then continues along the sea, to end his journey at the ruined ancient city of Caesarea. Along the way, on the West Bank, he encounters a Palestinian dry stone waller and an Israeli hairdresser – and then, crossing into Israel, he talks to Jewish Israelis including teachers, activists and a journalist – and to Palestinian citizens of Israel. Finally, he meets a group of young Israelis who have recently finished their military service. Some of them have been fighting in Gaza. What future do all these people hope for, in the 90 kilometres between the River and the Sea?

Presenter/producer: Tim Whewell
Sound mixing: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy
(Photo shows some of the people Tim meets in the two parts of the series. Clockwise from top left: Ben Levy, Israeli nature ranger; Sulieman Mleahat, Palestinian development worker; Susie Becher, Israeli political activist; Okayla Shehadi, retired Palestinian citizen of Israel.)


TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m0021bd2)
The Bottom Line (unofficial) Business Awards

Every year has its business highs and lows which we don't often get an opportunity to chew over on The Bottom Line.

This year is different.

To mark our end of term, we thought we’d reflect on the business year and look at some of the highs and lows across the business landscape, creating our very own (and very unofficial) Bottom Line Business Awards.

Three panellists, three categories, three nominations.

Joining Evan are:
JESSICA SPUNGIN, Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School
SIR KEN OLISSA, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London and Chair and founder of Restoration Partners, a bank for entrepreneurs
And NISHMA PATEL ROBB, current Executive Member of Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership, founder and CEO of The Glittersphere and formerly Marketing Director at Google UK

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Producers: Drew Hyndman and Alex Lewis
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021hdj)
Violence breaks out in Southport day after knife attack

Several officers have been injured and a police van set on fire during a protest just hours after a vigil took place to remember the victims of a knife attack in which three children were killed. We hear the latest on the ground.

Also on the programme:

Angela Rayner has unveiled an overhaul of England's planning rules to help deliver Labour's promise of 1.5 million new homes by 2029. We discuss with two young renters, and get political reaction from the constituencies of Milton Keynes North and South Cambridgeshire.

And with Kamala Harris about to choose her running mate, we ask what the vice-presidential vetters will be looking for…


TUE 22:45 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (m0021hdm)
Episode Two

2024 marks the centenary of the birth of the American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, one of the most important literary minds of the 20th century. For BBC Radio 4, Kyle Soller reads his groundbreaking 1956 novel of love and desire, repression and shame.

David, a young American expat in Paris, has proposed to his girlfriend Hella and she's promised to give him her answer when she returns from vacation in Spain. While she's away, David meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, and the two men begin a passionate affair. As the date of Hella's return approaches David wrestles with the choice he must make; a choice that will have devastating consequences.

Produced by Mair Bosworth and Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio
Abridged by Sara Davies
Read by Kyle Soller


TUE 23:00 Jon Holmes Says the C-Word (m0021hdv)
4. Am I Now ‘That Cancer Guy’?

In episode four, Jon and his guests discuss Going Public, telling family and friends, and perusing and ordering from the menu of treatment options.

In 2023, Jon Holmes was diagnosed with cancer – which came as a bit of a surprise because, quite frankly, he was far too busy for all of that nonsense. After a very odd, intense, unexpected, ridiculous year, Jon realised that men don’t tend to talk openly about the preposterous indignity of dealing with cancer. So he decided he would, with other men who are going through it, or who’ve been through it.

Here – inevitably – comes his new chatty podcast.

Across the series, Jon will be joined by the comedians Stephen Fry, Mark Steel, Richard Herring, Matt Forde and Eric Idle, actors Colin McFarlane and Ben Richards, rock star and The Alarm frontman Mike Peters, and journalists Jeremy Langmead, Nick Owen and Jeremy Bowen. Jon and his guests will demystify all things cancer in raw, honest, difficult, often absurd and – yes – funny detail, from fingers up the bum to blood tests via biopsies, surgery, catheters, stomas, feeding tubes, penis pumps (no, really) and incontinence pads.

Jon wants to stop the stigma and embarrassment associated with these issues (and by "issues", we mean "body parts and what happens to them"), to raise awareness and encourage listeners to ‘get checked’ as he aims to remove the fear from the whole diagnosis and treatment process in an accessible, honest and entertaining way.

Throughout the series, Jon will also be encouraging listeners to get involved and share their own experiences, whether it's something they have been through themselves or are supporting someone with cancer.

Jon Holmes Says The C-Word aims to humanise what is often a completely de-humanising process, because, honestly, the cancer road is paved with frequently hilarious unexpected moments - and Jon maintains that retaining a sense of humour is all important.

As Jon says: “If there had been a podcast like this when I was diagnosed - one full of other people’s stories, advice and light moments to illuminate the darkness of the whole sorry process - I’d have lapped it up. But there wasn’t, so I spoke to Radio 4, and now there is.”

In Jon Holmes Says The C-Word Jon will be wearing his heart - and, quite frankly, all of his body parts - on his sleeve.

Written and presented by Jon Holmes
Produced by Laura Grimshaw
Commissioning Editor for the BBC - Rhian Roberts
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


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