SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 2025

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0027531)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 The History Podcast (m001z6sh)
Shadow War: China and the West

Shadow War: 5. All That Glitters

Could growing tensions lead to conflict? The rise of China is the defining challenge of our times – how far to co-operate, compete or confront? But has the West taken its eye off the ball? BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera looks at the points of friction in recent history, from espionage to free speech, the battle over technology and claims of political interference. This is a story about the competition to shape the world order. He speaks to politicians, spies, dissidents and those who’ve been caught up in the growing tension between China and the West.

Presenter: Gordon Corera
Series Producer: John Murphy
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore (Naked Productions)
Programme Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Series Editor: Penny Murphy


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0027533)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0027535)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0027537)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0027539)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002753c)
Celebrating Trees

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rabbi Julia Neuberger

Good morning.

I was given a great honour this past New Year’s Day. A Roman Catholic friend was celebrating her 50th birthday in Ireland, and she asked me to plant a tree that day, shortly before dusk, to mark the occasion and to be there long after she, and I, have departed this life. We Jews have a special New Year for Trees, Tu Bishvat, which occurs in the middle of February this year. So it was a bit early for us, but the same principle applies. We plant trees, think about environmental issues, check any trees we already have growing for disease or infestation, and celebrate nature. And when we plant the trees, we say a blessing. Some Jews say this: Blessed are you, our God, ruler of the universe, whose world lacks nothing and who made wonderful creations and beautiful trees for human beings to enjoy.” But, typically amongst Jews, others disagree, and say: “Blessed are you, God, ruler of the universe, who makes all the works of creation,” a sort of catch all.

Everyone agrees that you finish with the blessing known as the shehecheyanu, which we say whenever reaching any special occasion. It goes like this. Baruch attah Adonai, eloheinu melech haolam, shehecheyanu, ve-kiyemanu ve-higianu lazman hazeh. “Blessed are you, O God, ruler of the universe, who has kept us alive, preserved us and allowed us to reach this season.” I love that blessing. It expresses both gratitude and hope, it celebrates something new- a birthday, a special occasion, a tree planting- and it echoes down the generations for us Jews, and it can be shared by everyone, of whatever faith. For we can all say thankyou to God, for allowing to reach this season.

Thankyou.

Amen.


SAT 05:45 Why Do We Do That? (m0027520)
Series 2

1. Why do we gossip?

It can be the source of drama that ruins reputations or simply keeps you entertained during your lunch break. But is gossip ingrained in our nature? Anthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi digs into our evolutionary history to uncover the truth behind this age-old human habit. Joining her are Kelsey McKinney from the Normal Gossip podcast and anthropologist Dr. Nicole Hagen Hess, as they unravel the origins of this sometimes controversial behaviour. Could gossip be the social glue that binds us together, or is it just another weapon in our ongoing competition for status?

BBC Studios Audio
Producer: Emily Bird
Additional production: Olivia Jani and Geraldine Fitzgerald
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0027cqn)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m00274yh)
60-60-60 in the Southern Pentlands

Clare Balding is celebrating a listener’s birthday today. Not something we’ve done before, but when we heard that Lynda Pettit was marking her 60th birthday by walking 60 different routes with 60 different people, and that the idea was partly inspired by Ramblings, well we just had to join in, especially as it’s Clare’s 25th year on Ramblings (double celebrations!). Lynda and several friends took Clare for a hike on the Stoney Path walk in the Pentland Hills near West Linton, about 20 miles south of Edinburgh.

They met outside The Gordon Arms Hotel on the A702 and went up into the southern Pentlands. It’s a route that takes in the Old Roman road that heads up to Edinburgh; Stoney Path, also known as Thieves Road, an ancient droving track used by cattle reivers herding stolen livestock through the hills; and Baddinsgill Reservoir. They also ascended Mount Maw, catching sight of a beautiful cloud inversion on the way. Views from the top stretched around 80 miles to a snow-capped Ben Lomond, Scotland's most southerly Munro.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0027cqq)
25/01/25 - Farming Today This Week: Inheritance tax, sheep scanning, neonics and US undocumented farmworkers

This week, the Government has refused emergency use of pesticides shown to harm pollinators for the first time.

What’s the future for US agriculture if farm workers with no documents are deported?

And will the collective voice of the supermarkets make a difference on inheritance tax for farmers?

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0027cqs)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m0027cqv)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0027cqx)
Nadiya Hussain, Dr Kate Hays, Tim Sullivan, DJ Spoony

Cook, author, broadcaster and former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain knows how to turn up the heat in the kitchen and how to quietly contemplate life. Her new book is a love letter to her food and her religion.

Dr Kate Hays helps us keep our cool under pressure, as the FA’s performance psychologist currently working with the Lionesses, she's seen the highs and lows that sport has to offer.

Tim Sullivan is the film and tv writer turned crime author who has swapped My Little Pony for the criminal underbelly in his DS Cross series.

All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Radio 2 star, The Good Groove’s DJ Spoony.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m0027cqz)
Catherine de’ Medici: the real Serpent Queen of France

Greg Jenner is joined in 16th-Century France by Dr Estelle Paranque and comedian Shaparak Khorsandi to learn all about controversial queen Catherine de’ Medici.

Catherine’s life was dramatic from the moment she was born: orphaned when she was just a few weeks old, she was brought up by her uncle the Pope, and her childhood was shaped by the tumultuous politics of Renaissance Florence. At fourteen, she was married to the son of the king of France and shipped off to the French court, only to find herself involved in a literal ménage à trois with her teenage husband’s older mistress. But after her husband became king – and even more so after he died and her sons ruled France – Catherine came into her power as queen and later queen mother. And through her children and the marriages she organised for them, Catherine’s influence was even felt beyond the borders of France. She even corresponded with Tudor queen Elizabeth I!

This episode traces Catherine’s tumultuous personal and political life from orphaned child to grandmother of Europe, exploring along the way the terror of the French Wars of Religion, and asking whether the dark legend of Catherine 'the serpent queen' is deserved, or whether she has been misunderstood by history.

If you’re a fan of scheming queens, scandalous royal love affairs and dramatic religious conflicts, you’ll love our episode on Catherine de’ Medici.

If you want more from Shaparak Khorsandi, check out our episodes on Justinian and Theodora and the Ancient Olympics. And for more quality queens, listen to our episodes on Emma of Normandy and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Hannah Cusworth
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 What's Funny About... (m0027cr1)
After Life

Peter Fincham and Jon Plowman are joined by Ricky Gervais to hear the inside story of how he made his hit sitcom, After Life.

Ricky talks about the decision to set a comedy against the backdrop of grief and loss, and how lucky he feels that audiences trust him to tell these difficult and complex stories. He tells us about the huge importance of music in After Life (and the equally huge line that was required in the budget to licence it all!). And he explains his decision to break with a habit of a lifetime and write a third series of one of his shows.

Producer: Owen Braben
An Expectation Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0027cr3)
George Parker of the Financial Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster

Following the inauguration of Donald Trump George is joined by Sir Simon Fraser, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office and Chair of the Foreign Affairs think tank Chatham House, and Michael Gove, the former Conservative cabinet minister and now editor of the Spectator. They discuss the impact of the Trump on international politics.

As Rachel Reeves visits Davos for the World Economic Forum, George discusses the Chancellor's efforts to win business confidence with the director general of the CBI, Rain Newton-Smith, and the Head of Bloomberg Economics, Stephanie Flanders.

The teenager who murdered 3 young girls in Southport was sentenced this week. The question for many is what - if anything - can be done to stop this kind of tragedy happening in future? George discusses this with former Labour MP John Woodcock, who is now the crossbench peer Lord Walney. He is also the government's independent adviser on political violence and disruption

Following the temporary closure of Strangers' Bar in Parliament over an alleged spiking incident, George is joined by Francis Elliott, the Editor of the House Magazine, and Cat Eccles, the newly elected Labour MP for Stourbridge, to discuss the drinking culture at Westminster.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0027chp)
Israel, Gaza and the ceasefire

Kate Adie present stories from Israel and Gaza, Syria, Denmark, Spain and Poland.

After a faltering start, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect last Sunday. Fergal Keane has been reporting on the conflict from the outset and was on Israel's border with Gaza last weekend – here he reflects on the human cost of the war and what the future might hold.

Syrians have been embracing their new found freedoms since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime last year. But, at the same time, the scale of Assad’s intelligence and surveillance operation is now coming to light. Lina Sinjab retraces her own experiences of being arrested by Syria’s secret police.

We visit the Danish town of Kalundborg – the main manufacturing centre for the weight loss drug Wegovy. Bob Howard paid a visit to find out more about life in a modern-day boom town

Climate change is posing a major challenge for wine producers across the world. Sophie Eastaugh travelled to Catalonia to find out how one of Spain’s oldest family-run wine companies is looking to the past for answers.

80 years ago, Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp. Events are being held this week to remember the 1.1m people, mainly Jews, who were murdered there. Amie Liebowitz, a descendant of two women held at the camp, reflects on a recent visit there.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Richard Fenton Smith
Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie HIll


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0027cr5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0027chm)
State Pension Tax and Debt Relief Orders

Over 1.4 million pensioners unexpectedly received a tax bill last year, according to exclusive data shared with Money Box. The mutual life, pensions and investment firm Royal London says its research suggests more than two thirds of those who'd retired paid tax on their pension income last year. But, also, that 1 in 7 of those didn't expect to do so. Pensioners can pay tax on anything that counts as income if it goes over the personal tax free allowance of £12,570 a year. We'll discuss how that works.

A record number of people in England and Wales who were overwhelmed by their debts took out what is called a debt relief order last year. DROs freeze people's debts for 12 months and then write them off. They're a cheaper, more straightforward alternative to bankruptcy although there are serious financial implications and strict criteria about who can apply for them. We'll find out more about what's behind that rise.

Savings rates are still high but there's £300 billion in bank accounts earning nothing, what's behind that?

And, unexpected mobile and broadband mid-contract price rises are now banned after a change by the regulator. What does that mean?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 25th January 2025)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m002752d)
Series 116

The Donald and The Dons

This week on The News Quiz, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Andrew Maxwell, Val McDermid, Jay Lafferty and Stuart Mitchell to unpack the week's new stories. Recorded from the Gardyne Theatre in Dundee, the panel look into Donald Trump's first week of his second term, Prince Harry's legal victories, Scottish Health Minister Neil Gray's sporting excursions, and the honour of the Glaswegian accent.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Rebecca Bain, Cody Dahler, Alexandra Haddow and Peter Tellouche.
Producer: Rajiv Karia
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
Sound Manager: Sean Kerwin
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An Eco-Audio certified Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0027cr7)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0027cr9)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002752l)
Mims Davies MP, Eluned Morgan MS, Rupert Soames, Sioned Williams MS

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from All Saints Church in Porthcawl with the shadow secretary of state for Wales, Mims Davies MP; Eluned Morgan MS, the First Minister of Wales; CBI chair Rupert Soames; and Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru's social justice and early years spokesperson.

Producer: Paul Martin
Lead broadcast engineer: Nick Ford


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0027crc)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002752g)
Ben apologises again to Zainab for last night’s takeaway incident. Zainab brushes it off – Ben should stop saying sorry all the time. Later Ben tries to track down Azra. He tells Zainab he’s worried he might have got something wrong at work, oversharing his own mental health experience with a patient. Zainab recommends he doesn’t beat himself up, but takes a step back. He did what he thought was right at the time, and no-one’s been harmed. Ben thanks her for her wise words.

Vince continues his campaign to move in to Lower Loxley. Contrary to Elizabeth’s claim that the private quarters are small, he reckons there’s tons of room. Elizabeth counters good naturedly that she thought they’d resolved this. Vince accepts it and they change the subject. Elizabeth remarks she thinks Joy sounds a bit low – she’s meeting her later for tea. As they banter contentedly Elizabeth admits to Vince that she loves him. Things are pretty near perfect right now and she doesn’t want to spoil it. To cheer him up she presents Vince with the gift of a signet ring she’d been saving for their anniversary. She’s very committed to him. Vince is delighted with it. Later, pleased for Elizabeth and Vince, Joy admits that she and Mick are struggling a bit. Having Rochelle around has changed the dynamic. But as Joy starts to open up her phone rings. The roof at the Felpersham panto venue has virtually collapsed. The show’s off. Joy despairs – everything she does turns to disaster, and Elizabeth doesn’t know the half of it.


SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000l7kf)
The Plague

The Plague was adapted from the globally renowned novel La Peste by Albert Camus, and directed for radio by Neil Bartlett, based on his 2017 Arcola Theatre production and script. A disturbing, deeply relevant listen.

Bartlett's adaptation is the English language world radio premiere production of The Plague and focuses the story on five characters, using only words contained in the novel.

It is often said of La Peste - written in 1947 by the Nobel Prize winner for literature, Albert Camus - that the plague and the rats in his novel are an allegory for the rise of fascism across Europe. He always denied this. For us today, The Plague will have uncanny echoes of the pandemic, the restrictions and the moral dilemmas we are living through, as well as the rise of extremist ideology in many countries today.

Just like our current crisis, the characters in The Plague comprise heroes, selfless and selfish acts, those who shame themselves into changing, and those who do not and suffer the consequences once the plague has been conquered. Hope surfaces when there is talk of a serum but, with the arrival of the first attempts at a cure, who should be selected as the guinea pigs ?

In an uncanny parallel, this drama about a community facing lockdown due to a deadly plague was recorded by actors, locked down in their own homes during our own pandemic. The scope of the production was not reduced as a result.

Cast:
Doctor Rieux ............ Sara Powell
Raymond Rambert .... Billy Postlethwaite
Mr Cottard ................ Joe Alessi
Jean Tarrou .............. Jude Aduwudike
Mr Grand .................. Colin Hurley

Adapted for radio and directed by Neil Bartlett

Producer: Turan Ali

A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0027crf)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Felicity Jones, Ukraine's Zla Mavka, Author Kate Fagan, Adult sons at home, WSL record signing

Felicity Jones has been nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for her role in The Brutalist, in which she plays Erzsébet, a Hungarian journalist who emigrates to the US in the late 1950s to join her architect husband. She joined Anita Rani to discuss her portrayal of this complex character and the other memorable roles she’s taken on, from Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Jane Wilde Hawking.

Zla Mavka is a non-violent all-female Ukrainian resistance group, fighting against Russian occupation. It spreads newsletters and shares experiences aiming to support others. Anita was joined by the Guardian's chief culture writer, Charlotte Higgins, who has spoken to some of the members and Tetyana Filevska, the curator at the Ukrainian Institute, to find out more.

Kate Fagan has been a US basketball player, an ESPN journalist and has written three non-fiction books. She joined Datshiane Navanayagam to discuss her first novel, The Three Lives of Cate Kay.

More people in their late 20s are still living with their parents – it's up by more than a third in nearly two decades according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Men are also more likely than women to stay in the family home, with 23% of 25-34 year old men living with their parents compared to 15% of women the same age. Anita spoke to writer and counsellor Lucy Cavendish who has two adult sons living at home, and Associate Professor and family therapist Dr Hannah Sherbersky.

It has been reported that USA women's footballer Naomi Girma has agreed terms to join Chelsea FC for a world record transfer fee of £900,000 or $1.1 million. Anita was joined by Tom Garry, Women’s Football writer at The Guardian.

Elise Downing is known for running 5,000 miles self-supported around the British coast over the course of 10 months. She was not only the youngest person, but also the only female to have completed the challenge. Along the way she saw Britain at its wild and wonderful best. She has now written Walk Britain, packed with inspiring car-free ideas on how to get out and explore stunning locations – from the Cornish coast to the Yorkshire Dales and the Isle of Arran. She joined Datshiane to talk about some of the 90 different routes that can be completed on foot, all accessible by public transport.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Sarah Jane Griffiths


SAT 17:00 PM (m0027crh)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0027crk)
The Kim Leadbeater One

The Labour MP sits down with Nick to reflect on how she went from selling beds in her Yorkshire hometown, to being at the forefront of political debate, as the face of the campaign to legalise assisted dying, and how the murder of her sister, Jo Cox, helps explain the journey.

Producer: Daniel Kraemer


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0027crm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0027crp)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0027crr)
Another four hostages released by Hamas as more Palestinian prisoners are freed.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0027m0v)
Susie McCabe, Peat and Diesel, Carina Contini, Meredith Brook, Paul Malgrati

Clive Anderson celebrates Scotland’s Bard with a special Loose Ends Burns Supper.

Comedian Susie McCabe is back with her new show Best Behaviour. The Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow award-winner and host of the smash-hit podcast Here Comes The Guillotine is headed for Glasgow Comedy Festival.

Meredith Brook stars in new BBC ALBA drama An t-Eilean (The Island), the UK’s first high-end Gaelic drama series which is set on the Isle of Harris.

Franco-Scot poet Paul Malgrati’s book Robert Burns and Scottish Cultural Politics – The Bard of Contention (1914-2014) explores Rabbie’s influences around the world. He shares why the poet still means so much to modern audiences across the world, and what it was like learning Scots as a French-speaker.

Carina Contini discusses cooking up the perfect Burns Supper and her showcase of the rich variety of Italian recipes The Contini Cookbook.

Plus Isle of Lewis trio Peat and Diesel bring a bit of island spirit to Glasgow.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0027cgq)
Poppy Gustafsson

A mathematician and cyber defence expert, Poppy Gustafsson has been handed an integral role within government, as the prime minister attempts to grow the economy and attract international investment.

She was born in 1982, to parents John and Gilly. Her father ran an agricultural sales business, while her mother was a journalist.

In her early career, Poppy Gustafsson worked for a venture capital firm before co-founding Darktrace, a cybersecurity company, in 2013. She would go on to take the role of co-CEO in 2016 and became the sole CEO in 2020.

Darktrace was among the first companies in its field to use artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning to improve cyber-security.

So, as ministers attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, what tricks does this one time CEO of the Year have in store?

Mark Coles has been taking a closer look.

Production Team

Producers: Sally Abrahams and Bethan Ashmead Latham
Editor: Ben Mundy
Sound: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele and Jack Young


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m00274xz)
Marin Alsop

American conductor Marin Alsop was the first woman to lead major orchestras in the UK, South America and in the United States, becoming principal conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2007. Nominated for Grammy Awards five times, in 2013 she became the first ever woman to lead the Last Night Of The Proms, and is now regarded as one of the greatest conductors in the world.

She talks to John Wilson about her professional musician parents who nurtured her love of music and supported her career choice from the age of 9 when she first revealed she wanted to be a conductor. Marin also talks about Leonard Bernstein, the great American composer and conductor, who inspired her ambitions and later became a mentor to her. She also chooses Carl Jung's work The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, and explains how his theories have helped her in leading orchestras around the world.

Producer: Edwina Pitman

Music and archive used:
Serenade in C major for String Orchestra, Op. 48; Valse, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, New York City Ballet Orchestra, 1986
Irish Spring commercial: "Clean as a Whistle" 1980
Leonard Bernstein, Young People's Concerts: "What is Classical Music?", CBS Television, 24 January 1959
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, BBC2, 10 May 1985
Archive of Leonard Bernstein and Marin Alsop at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, 1987
Leonard Bernstein, Young People's Concerts: "What Does Music Mean?", CBS Television, 18 January 1958
Archive of OrchKids concert, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 26 July, 2005
Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
Last Night of the Proms, BBC1, 7 September 2013
Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, "Resurrection", Gustav Mahler, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0027crw)
A Brief History of Bureaucracy

"Attacking bureaucracies is like attacking the Atlantic ocean. It's a waste of time."

In this new episode of Archive on Four, Joe Queenan dispenses with the standard approach to bureaucracy and looks for the good in what jobsworths achieve. From the Sumerians to the Chinese, he discovers early civilisations finessed efficient ways of getting things done. Yet now many leaders, including Donald Trump, view bureaucracy as the deep state, the enemy within.

"When he talks about the deep state obstructing his agenda, he's really talking about some 50,000 bureaucrats. I'm sure most bureaucrats would love to be buried deep in the state. It gives them mystery and allure. It's just weird how he's rebranded them in this way."

This is Joe Queenan's fifteenth Brief History for Radio 4 and this one includes special sections on the French and the BBC, plus the genesis of Parkinson's Law. There are contributions from Sir Robin Butler, Frances Wood, Sir Gus O'Donnell, business guru Guy Browning, classicist Professor Edith Hall, former BBC correspondent John Sergeant and ex-super-bureaucrat TJ Elliott. The key voice though is Rory Sutherland of the Spectator who explains the relevance of Pournelle's Iron Law:

"In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy always get in control. Those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and are sometimes eliminated entirely."

Joe Queenan is the author of Balsamic Dreams and Closing Time., His previous shows for Radio 4 include Postcard from Gotham, Wonderful Ways to Make a Living plus archive programmes on Irony, Failure, Cunning and Lust.

The producer for BBC Studios in Bristol is Miles Warde. Readings by Sarah Langan and Emily Knight.

Bureaucracy - what is it for? And who is it for?


SAT 21:00 The Poetry Detective (m0024ngw)
Wedding Poems

Weddings... finally! An all too rare moment for poems to shine! Time for all those neglected specks of verse to don their smart jackets and satin heels to help mark one of our most revered social rituals.

If you’ve ever been asked to read a poem at a wedding you’ll know that finding and reading the perfect verse is far from an easy task. The hunt for a poem befitting the occasion has unraveled many a wedding speaker, our Poetry Detective included. For those of us who don’t want to settle for one of the ‘top ten wedding poems’, where do we begin?

Vanessa Kisuule speaks to poets Caroline Bird and Rachel Long, who are compiling a new anthology of alternative wedding poems. Why is it so hard to choose a poem that works for a wedding ceremony, and how can people find a poem that really speaks to - and for - them?

"Yes, yours, my love, is the right human face / I in my mind had waited for so long". Stephen Walsh chose The Confirmation by Edwin Muir for both his first and second marriage, finding that the poem had changed for him over the decades and taken on new depth of meaning. Vanessa finds out how Muir's own love story informed the poem, speaking to writer Kenneth Steven about Muir's childhood on the Orcadian island of Wyre, and the huge losses he experienced as a young man before meeting his wife Willa.

'We two boys together clinging / One the other never leaving". In 1994, before same-sex marriage was recognised in UK law, Sarah Doyle was asked to read a Walt Whitman poem at the living room marriage ceremony of her friends Ford and Will. 25 years later she read the poem again at their anniversary party and wrote her own version of it specifically for the couple. Sam Magavern founded the Calamus Project in 2022 to celebrate the poems of Walt Whitman through film, song and live performance. He tells us about the moment in which Whitman was writing, with America on the brink of Civil War, and about the former Confederate soldier who became one of the great loves of Whitman's life.

Song version of "We Two Boys..." performed by Curtis Lovell accompanied by Luis Montijo; included with kind permission of Curtis and the Calamus Project.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio
Mixed by Ilse Lademann


SAT 21:30 The Bottom Line (m00274y3)
Unbossing: Can We Work Without Managers?

Can businesses operate without managers? It's an idea Amazon, Meta and Citigroup are exploring. Evan hears from the leaders of three companies who've already tried working that way, but with varying degrees of success.

Guests:
Chris May: Founder of Mayden
Hazel Brown: CEO of Cornerstone
Luke Kyte: Operations Director of Reddico

Presenter: Evan Davis
Producers: Nick Holland and Bob Howard
Sound: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Editor: Matt Willis


SAT 22:00 News (m0027cry)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002751k)
Food and Exercise: A Puzzle

Want to lose weight? How much can you achieve through exercise? Dan Saladino investigates with the help of Mike Keen, a chef and Arctic explorer.

Mike has had numerous adventures in Greenland, including kayaking thousands of miles, and sometimes doing nothing at all. What happened to his weight on this trips has left him puzzled.

They enlist the help three experts, Chris Van Tulleken, author of Ultra Processed People; Nigel Smith of the UK Sports Institute and Andrew Jenkinson, surgeon and author of Why We Eat too Much and How to Eat.

Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.


SAT 23:00 What? Seriously?? (m0027cs0)
4. Opera, Romance, and Nazis

In this episode, Dara and Isy are joined by the former Queen of the Jungle, Georgia Toffolo, to learn about the power of the written word - with some diverting conversations about the Taylor Swift of the 1920s, naughty novels, and drinking a bit too much at Glyndebourne.

What? Seriously?? is a new podcast which combines comedy with quirky history, hosted by Dara and Isy who unravel an extraordinary real-life tale each week with the help of a celebrity guest.

The stories are definitely true, but also kind of unbelievable at the same time - the sort of stories that make you go ‘What? Seriously??’ when you hear them, but you resolve to tell them in the pub the first chance you get.

Across the series, Dara and Isy will be joined by I’m A Celeb winner Georgia Toffolo, the Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson, the broadcaster Stuart Maconie, Master Chef star Louisa Ellis, Miles from The Traitors, the comedian Richard Herring, the astronaut Helen Sharman, and Slow Horses star Chris Chung.

‘What? Seriously??’ with Dara Ó Briain and Isy Suttie and special guest Georgia Toffolo
Format co-developed by Dan Page. Story compiled by Gareth Edwards and Dan Page.
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Executive Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:30 Counterpoint (m00274nt)
Series 38

Heat 4, 2025

(4/13)
Another three music lovers from around the UK compete for a place in the semi-finals, aiming to prove who's the musical mastermind of 2025. Along the way they face Paul Gambaccini's questions and will have to identify a wide variety of musical extracts, including a bossa nova adaptation of Mozart and an a cappella choir singing Depeche Mode. Each competitor will also have to pick a special subject on which to answer their own individual questions, with no advance warning of what the choice of categories will be.

Taking part today are
Jim Maginnis from Lurgan in County Armagh
Rob Mansfield from Brighton
Gill Morris from Eastbourne.

Counterpoint is a BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria

SUNDAY 26 JANUARY 2025

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0027cs2)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m00274nr)
Paul Theroux

The award-winning travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux talks to Take Four Books about his latest short story collection - The Vanishing Point - and explores three other works that have helped to shape his writing. Paul's choices were: A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert (1877); Two Brothers by V S Pritchett (1932); and Riders In The Chariot by Patrick White (1961).

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0027cs6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0027csb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0027csd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0027csg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0027chw)
St Mary’s Church in the village of Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk

Bells on Sunday comes from St Mary’s Church in the village of Stoke by Nayland, Suffolk. The church was rebuilt in the 15th century and renovated in 1865. It appears several times in John Constable's paintings. There are eight bells, the oldest of which dates from the late 14th century by an unknown founder. The Tenor weighs twenty two hundredweight and is tuned to the note of D. We hear them ringing Grandsire Triples.


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002750l)
SEND Crisis; Period Detection

In Touch assesses the findings of a report that looks at the ways special educational needs care is being delivered to the children who need it. The report gives little to no mention of the challenges of specific groups of pupils and so, with the help of Rachael Hewett of the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research at Birmingham University and the Thomas Pocklington Trust's Tara Chattaway, we review the implications of a system in crisis for visually impaired pupils.

When it is your time of the month and you're visually impaired, it can be tricky to know when your period has arrived. In Touch looks at an upcoming device that is aiming to provide women with information about their menstrual cycle in an accessible way. The device and corresponding app, is called FlowSense. Muna Daud is the founder and CEO and she provides information on how the device works. Leanne Best and Tassia Leefe, both describe the unique challenges they have with their periods as visually impaired women.
FlowSense are looking for more women to test out their prototypes. If you are interested, you can contact Muna Daud via email: Muna@flowsense.co. Or visit their website: flowsense.co

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 of 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 (m0027cfw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m0027507)
Playgrounds

After the Second World War, a vast experiment took place in which adventure playgrounds transformed bombsites and waste ground in the UK, creating opportunities for children, beyond the sanitised safety of more conventional play spaces with swings and see saws. Laurie Taylor talks to Ben Highmore, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex about the range of people whose celebration of children's imaginative capacities re-invented the notion of play, from Northern Europe to North America. Designers, social reformers, and even anarchists, saw these sites of fun as the foundation for the creation of citizens and agents of social change.

What remains of those post war playgrounds, in the here and now, and what can the astonishing ambition of those spaces tell us about the power of play in an age of risk aversion?

Producer: Jayne Egerton


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0027cfy)
The Romance of Apples

The apple of Karim Habibi's eye is, well, apple trees. In this programme Sarah Swadling visits his nursery, near Maidstone in Kent, where he has around a thousand different varieties of apple and other fruit trees.

Propagating new trees is a painstaking labour of love using a process known as Grafting, which begins in the summer. Wintertime is when the 18 month old trees are harvested and sent off to their new homes in gardens and historic properties around the country. Karim also creates new apple varieties from seed - he shows Sarah his fridge full of pips which he hopes will yield some exciting new varieties. He's already bred apples named after his wife, Bethan, and some of their children.

Presented and produced by Sarah Swadling


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0027cg0)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0027cg2)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0027cg4)
Trump & the Bishop; Kerouac's Buddhist years; Ceasefire latest

Emily Buchanan hears reaction from the US to the biggest religious news story of the week: Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and her sermon addressed to President Trump at the National Prayer Ceremony.

It's the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day and we're live at Auschwitz-Birkenau ahead at the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp.

A new book of previously unpublished work by Jack Kerouac chronicles 'The Buddhist Years' As the writer of On the Road and The Dharma Bums, which turned many people onto Buddhism, we'd love about a writer that got you interested in religion or spirituality. Email Sunday@bbc.co.uk

And we hear from George Antone, an aid worker from the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. He's been sheltering with 500 other members of the parish since the start of the war and keeping in touch with Sunday. Correspondent Nick Beake has the latest on the ceasefire.

PRESENTER: EMILY BUCHANAN
PRODUCERS: CATHERINE MURRAY & SABA ZAMAN
EDITOR: TIM PEMBERTON


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0027cg6)
Power for the People

Baroness Caroline Cox makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Power for the People. The charity provides sanitary packs for girls in Kenya and Uganda, educating them on menstrual health, and building washing facilities in schools.

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 ‘Power for the People’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Power for the People’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4

Registered Charity Number: 1162330. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.pfp.global/
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites

Producer: Katy Takatsuki


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0027cg8)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0027cgb)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0027cgd)
'Final Solution'

To mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Holocaust Memorial Day, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, together with his son Amos and his BBC journalist nephew Daniel retrace the final steps of three members of his family who perished in Auschwitz as part of the Nazi 'Final Solution'. The programme begins at the grave of Rabbi Jonathan’s great grandfather in Holesov (Czech Republic), who died at the end of 1937 and who therefore escaped the horrors that his wife and children went through. Revisiting the Old Synagogue where his great grandfather had been Rabbi, the sight of the New Synagogue (with film of it being blown up by the Nazis), the street where the family lived during their final days, and the railway station where they were herded onto a train for the death camps, the programme charts the way that the Final Solution closed in on three members of the family.
Readers: Soshana Hoffman and Susanna Gunner.
Producer: Philip Billson


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m002752n)
On Hyperbole

Remember the days, Howard Jacobson implores us, when we got on fine with 'very'?

Today, Howard argues, 'very’ is not ‘very’ enough for the times we live in.' In its place, 'incredible' and other supersized words, spreading 'verbal chaos.'

Howard reflects on the dangers of over-inflated language, 'where words prance about without their clothes, shouting obscenities.'

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


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0027cgg)
Iolo Williams on the Golden Plover

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

Few bird calls evoke wild, open spaces like that of the golden plover. Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams first encountered these birds was on the Elenydd, the empty heart of Wales in the Cambrian Mountains. That was more than 40 years ago when the Welsh uplands were home to around 300 breeding pairs of golden plover; today, fewer than 40 remain.

Producer : Andrew Dawes, BBC Audio, Bristol
Studio Engineer : Ilse Lademann


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0027cgj)
Reeves looks to EU in quest for growth

The Chancellor is "happy" to revamp EU ties to bolster the UK economy. What might change? Plus, Katie Amess on the parallels between the Southport killings and the murder of her father, the MP Sir David Amess, and Bristol's plan to cut bin collections.


SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0027cgl)
Nick Cave, singer and writer

Nick Cave is a singer and writer who, with his band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, has released emotionally intense and provocative music since the mid-Eighties. He is also a novelist, composer and has written film scripts and soundtracks along with his writing partner and Bad Seed Warren Ellis.

Nick grew up in Wangaratta, Australia the third of four children. He formed his first band, the Boys Next Door, in 1973 while he was at school. He studied fine art at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne but left to pursue music. In 1980 the band relocated to London, renaming themselves the Birthday Party on the flight over. In 1984 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ released their debut album, From Her to Eternity, and they have gone on to put out a further 17 albums.

In 2015 Nick lost his son Arthur who died after accidentally falling off a cliff and seven years later his eldest son Jethro died. In 2018 Nick started the Red Hand Files, an online blog in which he answers questions posed by his fans, to try and articulate his feelings about grief. He has described it as a “strange exercise in communal vulnerability and transparency.”

In 2017 he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia.

DISC ONE: Metal Guru - T. Rex
DISC TWO: My Father - Nina Simone
DISC THREE: (I’m) Stranded - The Saints
DISC FOUR: It Serves You Right to Suffer - John Lee Hooker
DISC FIVE: Something on Your Mind - Karen Dalton
DISC SIX: Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash West
DISC SEVEN: I Am a God – Kanye West
DISC EIGHT: Morning Dew - Tim Rose

BOOK CHOICE: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
LUXURY ITEM: A suit
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Am a God – Kanye West

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0027cgn)
Writer: Katie Hims
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
Josh Archer…. Angus Imrie
Pip Archer…. Daisy Badger
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Zainab Malik…. Priyasasha Kumari
Elizabeth Pargetter…. Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Stella Pryor…. Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Nelly…. Jill Baker


SUN 12:15 Profile (m0027cgq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 Just a Minute (m00274sz)
Series 94

1. A red phone called Kevin

Sue Perkins challenges Paul Merton, Laura Smyth, Julian Clary and Desiree Burch to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Subjects include shopping centres, snake oil, and a slip of the tongue.

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

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0027cgs)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0027cgv)
What does the Gaza ceasefire mean for the West Bank?

A week since the ceasefire in Gaza, we look at how it could impact the West Bank's future and how President Trump's words and actions could affect peace in the region.


SUN 13:30 The Documentary (w3ct7m66)
Israel's Unwra ban

What will it mean for Palestinians if Israel bans Unwra, the United Nations agency that provides vital aid and essential services to millions of refugees in Gaza and the West Bank? The proposals have drawn widespread condemnation and warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israeli politicians have accused Unrwa staff of taking part in the October 7 2023 attacks alongside Hamas, and have designated it a terror group. We visit refugee camps across the occupied territories to hear about the role Unrwa plays in education, health, and emergency food aid, and people’s despair about the prospect of it disappearing. The agency’s services and dependents have mushroomed over the last 75 years – we look at its origins and why it has long been controversial in Israel. Plus, an Israeli MP, who tells us Unrwa must go, says that his country will not stand by and see Palestinians suffer, but what, if anything, is capable of replacing the organisation?

Presenter: Reda El Mawy
Producers: Simon Tulett and Ziad Ghandour


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0027522)
Shepton Mallet: Garlic Rust, Mushroom Compost and Plant Renaissance

Any tips on combating garlic rust? How should I spread mushroom compost in my garden? Which plants do you predict will make a renaissance?

Peter Gibbs and a team of experts visit the market town of Shepton Mallet to solve gardening conundrums from an audience of gardeners. In the hot seats this week are house plant guru Anne Swithinbank, pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood, and garden designer Matthew Wilson.

Later in the programme, Matthew Wilson travels to Bath to meet with Britain In Bloom champions Steve Brook and Barry Cruz. He gathers some useful tips and tricks for snagging the title of champion.

Producer: Daniel Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m0027cgx)
The History of Mr Polly

Ian Sansom, sitting in for John Yorke, takes a look at The History of Mr Polly, the satirical novel by HG Wells. Published in 1910, it tells a story of one man’s comic, sometimes poignant struggle to find his place in the world.

Mr Polly is an ordinary man, with an irrepressible longing for the extraordinary - a man caught in a frustratingly mundane world who finally and magnificently rebels against it. The dreamer mired in the mundane world of a draper’s shop has become a classic, much-loved figure, and Ian explores his timeless appeal.

Ian Sansom is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the Mobile Library and the County Guides series of detective novels and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has worked as a columnist for The Guardian and The Spectator and currently writes for the TLS, The Irish Times and The Dublin Review. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. He was formerly the Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin and a Professor and Head of English at Queen’s University Belfast.

Contributors:
Dr Caroline Sumpter Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at Queen's University, Belfast
Stephen Mangan, actor, who narrates the Radio 4 adaptation of The History of Mr. Polly

Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Reader: Stephen Mangan
Programme Hub Co-ordinator: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m0027cgz)
The History of Mr Polly

Beginnings and the Bazaar

Alfred Polly is an ordinary middle-aged man who is tired of his wife’s nagging and his dreary job as a gentleman’s outfitter in a small town. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, he decides that the only way to escape his frustrating existence is to burn his shop to the ground and kill himself. Unexpected events, however, conspire at the last moment to lead the bewildered Mr Polly to a bright new future – after he saves a life, fakes his death and escapes to a world of heroism, hope and ultimate happiness.

A comic take on mid-life crisis, The History of Mr Polly (published in 1910) is generally considered H G Wells' funniest novel. But it’s not without serious purpose. Beneath the surface is an implicit criticism of a society that forces people to suppress their imaginations and lead lives of drab conformity.

In the first episode, Mr Polly – romantic, dreamer, and gentleman’s outfitter - takes stock of his life so far. He remembers his early years as an apprentice draper, and the fun he used to have with his friend, Parsons. He is saved from the drudgery of his apprenticeship when his father dies, leaving him an inheritance. This enables him to marry his cousin, Miriam, and buy a shop of his own. But 15 years on, he concludes he has wasted his life.

Episode 1: Beginnings and the Bazaar

Narrator ..... Stephen Mangan
Alfred Polly ..... Paul Ready
Miriam ..... Clare Corbett
Garvace /Penstemon ..... Trevor Littledale
Parsons ..... James Joyce
Harold Johnson ..... Nigel Anthony
Mrs Larkins ..... Rachel Atkins
Annie ..... Emma Kilbey
Christabel ..... Ela Chapman
Rumbold ..... Richard Attlee
Schoolmaster ..... Julian Parkin

Written by HG Wells
Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan
Producer / Director: David Blount

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 16:00 Take Four Books (m0027ch2)
Michelle de Kretser

This week Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, talks to the award-winning Australian writer Michelle de Kretser about her new novel - Theory & Practice - and its three key influences. Michelle's choices were: the diary of Virginia Woolf from 1932; Ali Smith’s The Accidental from 2005; and Shirley Hazzard’s The Transit of Venus, from 1980.

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was an BBC Audio Scotland production


SUN 16:30 Counterpoint (m0027ch4)
Series 38

Heat 5, 2025

(5/13)
Another three contenders face Paul Gambaccini's questions on the full spectrum of music, from the classical repertoire to musical theatre, jazz, folk, world music and sixty years of the pop charts.

Taking part today are:
Rosanne Jardine from Dorset
Clive Manning from London
Claire Sanderson from Cardiff.

Counterpoint is a BBC Studios Audio production.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct5yf6)
My dad created Dungeons & Dragons

In 1970, father of five Gary Gygax was fired from his job as an insurance underwriter in Chicago, in the United States of America. It may sound like a mundane event to read about but, believe it or not, this moment actually changed the gaming industry forever.

Gary is the creator of table-top roleplay game, Dungeons & Dragons. In the 50 years since its release, D&D has generated billions of dollars in sales and now boasts more than 50 million players worldwide.

However, Gary’s story is not one of riches and success. Luke Gygax witnessed the incredible highs and lows of his father’s life first hand. He shares his memories of that time with Matt Pintus.

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: Gary Gygax and Luke Gygax. Credit: Luke Gygax)


SUN 17:10 The Verb (m0027ch7)
Joelle Taylor, Anthony Joseph, Luke Wright, Accents

How does it feel to be adopted? How does naming things affect experience? Why does a mysterious sound make Ian want to get out of the studio in Salford? Is it ever a good idea to pretend to have a particular accent? Poems, questions and much more - on this week's Verb.

Ian McMillan is joined by poets Joelle Taylor, Anthony Joseph, Luke Wright, and sociolinguist Rob Drummond.

Joelle Taylor brings us a brand new commission inspired by the 50th anniversary of the BBC television series 'The Changes' - with its mysterious sound that transforms and challenges modern life. Does it still have resonance today? Joelle won the TS Eliot Prize for poetry in 2022, and her most recent book is a novel - 'The Night Alphabet', which has been described as 'relentlessly inventive.'

Anthony Joseph is a poet, musician and academic. He shares poetry of intimacy and intimacy with language - in work from his selected poems 'Precious and Impossible'. Anthony won the TS Eliot prize in 2023 with his 'luminous' collection 'Sonnets for Albert'.

Luke Wright is a ground-breaking performer and poet - currently touring with his show 'Joy'. He reads new poems which look at the power of early experiences: a book that helped him understand the experience of being adopted, and a poem which celebrates the beauty of the view from his window in Suffolk.

Did the contestant who faked a Welsh accent on 'The Traitors' TV series make a good decision? And what poetry was there to be found in the series? Ian talks to Rob Drummond, Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University.


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0027ch9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0027chc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0027chf)
President Trump is facing accusations of advocating ethnic cleansing, after he suggested relocating Palestinians in Gaza to nearby Arab countries.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0027chh)
Derek 'Pluto' Murray

This week, we hear about how buses ran by volunteers are bringing a community together in Perthshire. On the topic of transport - the I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue gang offer up some double entendres that will possibly earn you a parking ticket if you're not careful. Plus, Radio 4 has been offering up a Burns Night supper in audio form, where Michael Rosen discovers the influences of the Ploughman Poet on the former Makar Jackie Kay, followed by a dram of Stornoway's finest Peat & Diesel on Loose Ends.

Presenter: Derek 'Pluto' Murray
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Coordinator: Jack Ferrie

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0027bns)
Lilian does her best to pacify fretful Joy, who’s taking the cancellation of the Felpersham pantomime very hard. Lilian assures her all is well, and she’s not to blame. Lilian asks about Mick, and the real cause of Joy’s disquiet becomes apparent as she admits they’re not really speaking. Mick blames her for Rochelle leaving, and Joy doesn’t know where she stands with him now.

Tracy’s cross with Susan, who’s borrowed her best shoes and lost one of them. Later Susan and Joy share their angst over being got at by people.

Lynda enjoys a bit of an ‘I told you so’ moment with the panto cancellation; she feels Felpersham never really puts its heart into productions and that they could learn a lot from her, but they’ve missed their chance having turned down a proposition from her in the past. Vince disagrees that village productions are better, and he and Lynda have a spat. He’s annoyed with Joy for building up the excitement over the Felpersham show and now he has disappointed employees and families to deal with. Lynda takes issue with this and defends Joy. Moreover she declares she could do better than Felpersham in a fraction of the time, and finds herself betting five hundred pounds she can put on a panto by Friday. Later she quails a little, but Lilian buoys her up. Lynda will do a fine job – Lilian is right behind her. They suggest enlisting Joy’s help. Joy’s nervous initially but eventually agrees to find the star attraction for the panto.


SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m0027chk)
The Memory Catcher

Memory is fragile. We are driven to capture it. But is this possible when the memories of the person we love have fragmented?

Julian’s mother has no memory. Both her long and short term memory were destroyed by different viruses. His mother still has an emotional memory of Julian. She recognises him - his personality, his manner. But she doesn’t know how old he is, what he does for a living, or that he has a partner. And she doesn’t realise that she can’t remember. So their relationship is stuck in a loop, consisting of repeated conversations and activities.

But Julian’s found a way to connect with his mother. He is a photographer and he is constantly trying to capture his mother’s image. His sister thinks he’s trying to catch glimpses of their mum as she would have been had she not got ill. Julian isn’t so sure. For him, taking photographs of his mum is simply a way for them to pass time together - to connect.

Chatting in her care home, going to the café for tea and cake, listening to music in the car, celebrating a birthday - the lens of Julian’s camera brings us into the relationship between a mother and a son, divided by a loss but bound together by love.

The Memory Catcher takes us on a journey into their relationship but also our relationship with memory. Who are we when we cannot make memories, even as simple as who has just said hello? When memory is faulty, fading, or lost altogether, what can be captured by another?

Recorded by artist and writer Julian Lass
Produced by Maia Miller-Lewis and Jo Rowntree
Composer Maia Miller-Lewis
With thanks to Kirsten and Monika and the wonderful staff at Monika’s care home.

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001vclt)
Take Vitamin D

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

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


SUN 20:00 Word of Mouth (m00274yk)
Jackie Kay on the Scots language

Poet Jackie Kay has written a book in Scots: Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story. She joins presenter Michael Rosen to talk about her love of the language and what it meant to her growing up.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.
Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0027526)
Dame Joan Plowright, Sir Jim Walker, Barbara Clegg, Denis Law

Matthew Bannister on

Dame Joan Plowright, one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation who was married to Laurence Olivier. Dame Judi Dench pays tribute.

Sir Jim Walker, who built up his family business from a small bakery in the North of Scotland to become a global food exporter.

Barbara Clegg, the first woman to write a story for Dr Who.

Denis Law – the Scottish born footballer who was part of Manchester United’s “Holy Trinity” alongside Bobby Charlton and George Best.

Producer: Ed Prendiville

Archive:
Doctor Who : Season 20 : Enlightenment : Part 1, BBC1, 01.03.1983; Emergency Ward 10; 14.08.1959; THE DALES: BBC Radio, 27.10.1966; Jim Walker reflects on 125 years of Walker's Shortbread, Highlands News & Media, 2022; Nothing Like a Dame, BBC 2, 31.12.2021; In Touch : Dame Joan Plowright at Home, BBC Radio 4, 25.12.2018; Wogan, 10.12.1990; Private Passions : Sound Frontiers: Dame Joan Plowright, BBC Radio 3, 25.09.2016; Roots, BBC Radio 3, 29.02.1960; FOOTBALLERS LIVES, DENIS LAW, 21.03.2002; MORE THAN A GAME, BBC, 26.05.2001; MEMORY MATCHES: ENGLAND V SCOTLAND 1967; 15.04.1967; Sports Special, BBC,, 24.11.1979


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0027chm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0027cg6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0027chp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0027chr)
Ben Wright and guests discuss relations between Keir Starmer and President Trump, economic growth and assisted dying

Ben Wright's guests are the Labour MP Rachel Blake; Conservative frontbencher Saqib Bhatti, former Corbyn adviser turned political commentator, Andrew Fisher; and the Financial Times Whitehall Editor, Lucy Fisher. They discuss the relationship between Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump - after the Prime Minister and President had their first phone call since the inauguration. They also talk about deregulation and the expected government decision on the expansion of Heathrow Airport. Ben speaks to the former Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Heseltine about his ideas on devolution and urban regeneration. And the panel also look ahead to the Commons committee stage of the Bill to allow assisted dying for some terminally ill adults.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m00274xs)
Socrates in Prison

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Plato's Crito and Phaedo, his accounts of the last days of Socrates in prison in 399 BC as he waited to be executed by drinking hemlock. Both works show Socrates preparing to die in the way he had lived: doing philosophy. In the Crito, Plato shows Socrates arguing that he is duty bound not to escape from prison even though a bribe would open the door, while in the Phaedo his argument is for the immortality of the soul which, at the point of death, might leave uncorrupted from the 'prison' of his body, the one escape that truly mattered to Socrates. His example in his last days has proved an inspiration to thinkers over the centuries and in no small way has helped ensure the strength of his reputation.

With

Angie Hobbs
Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield

Fiona Leigh
Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at University College London

And

James Warren
Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Reading list:

David Ebrey, Plato’s Phaedo: Forms, Death and the Philosophical Life (Cambridge University Press, 2023)

Dorothea Frede, ‘The Final Proof of the Immortality of the Soul in Plato’s Phaedo 102a-107a’ (Phronesis 23, 1978)

W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. 4, Plato: The Man and his Dialogues, Earlier Period (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Verity Harte, ‘Conflicting Values in Plato’s Crito’ (Archiv. für Geschichte der Philosophie 81, 1999)

Angie Hobbs, Why Plato Matters Now (Bloomsbury, forthcoming 2025), especially chapter 5

Rachana Kamtekar (ed.), Plato’s Euthyphro, Apology and Crito: Critical Essays (Rowman and Littlefield, 2004)

Richard Kraut, Socrates and the State (Princeton University Press, 1984)

Melissa Lane, ‘Argument and Agreement in Plato’s Crito’ (History of Political Thought 19, 1998)

Plato (trans. Chris Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy), Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo and Phaedrus (Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 2017)

Plato (trans. G. M. A. Grube and John Cooper), The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro Apology, Crito, Phaedo (Hackett, 2001)

Plato (trans. Christopher Rowe), The Last Days of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (Penguin, 2010)

Donald R. Robinson (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Socrates (Cambridge University Press, 2011)

David Sedley and Alex Long (eds.), Plato: Meno and Phaedo (Cambridge University Press, 2010)

James Warren, ‘Forms of Agreement in Plato’s Crito’ (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 123, Issue 1, April 2023)

Robin Waterfield, Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths (Faber and Faber, 2010)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m0027524)
Feathertongue by Anthony Shapland

An original short story by Anthony Shapland. Two boys idle away the long days of late summer. Their games, dares and bets escalate and the power balance shifts as they lose control.

Anthony Shapland is from Bargoed, Wales. His short stories can be found in the anthologies (un)common, Lucent Dreaming and Cymru & I. Twice shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Short Story Award, he was chosen as one of the 2023 Hay Festival’s Writers at Work. His debut novel A Room Above a Shop will be published by Granta in 2025.

Reader - Nathan Sussex

Sound by Catherine Robinson
Directed by John Norton
A BBC Audio Wales Production

MONDAY 27 JANUARY 2025

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0027cht)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Crossing Continents (m002750n)
Death Marches: uncovering the truth beneath the soil

How a town in Poland – once in Germany - is discovering its troubling past.
80 years ago Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp. Over 1.1 million people, mainly Jews, were murdered there. However, there is an aspect of those terrible days which is less well known and which 80 years later is still being uncovered and still resonating: the death marches.
As Soviet troops approached, in January 1945, SS soldiers at Auschwitz-Birkenau forced some 60,000 prisoners to march west, in freezing temperatures. Weak with hunger and disease, those who fell behind were shot.
This is the story of how eight decades on the search for the truth behind one of those death marches is being uncovered. For years the history of a death march passing through the once proud German community of Schönwald was hidden.
It is also the story of how descendants of the original inhabitants of Schönwald are having to confront the role some of their relatives may have played in the Nazi project, and how today’s Polish inhabitants of the town, which is now called Bojków, are grappling with what happened on their streets.
Amie Liebowitz’s own great-grandmother was murdered Auschwitz-Birkenau, while her great-aunt was rescued by the Soviet forces. She speaks to those on both sides – German and Polish – who are uncovering this history.

Presenter: Amie Liebowitz
Producer: John Murphy
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy

Archive of Gita Stein © 1995 USC Shoah Foundation


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0027chw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0027chy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0027cj0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0027cj2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0027cj4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0027cj6)
Holocaust Memorial Day

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rabbi Julia Neuberger

Good morning.

It’s Holocaust Memorial Day today, when we remember the Nazi regime’s mass murder of six million Jews, along with Roma, homosexuals, communists, and others regarded as untermenschen- sub-humans. British intelligence actually learnt something of that murder from bugging the conversations of German officer Prisoners Of War held captive during World War II. The listeners were German refugees, mostly Jews.

One group of captured German generals thought they were being unbelievably well treated, held in a stately home, drinking wine and eating good food. They boasted about how stupid the British were, but failed to realise that British intelligence had bugged every part of their accommodation, in order to glean information.

The historian Helen Fry believes that what was learnt from these bugging operations was as significant to winning the war as the code-breaking work at Bletchley Park. British intelligence overheard admissions of the German army’s participation in atrocities and mass killings of Jews, something denied by the German army for 65 years until the bugging evidence was released.

The listeners faced a tough job. One, Fritz Lustig, said: "We felt no guilt - on the contrary, we felt proud to be able to contribute to the British war effort….." He died aged 98 in 2017, able to reflect on his proud record of helping the British win the war, by listening to Nazi officers giving away secrets, such as about weapons development at Peenemuende, which the British then destroyed. Today, of all days, we should be grateful to those ‘listeners’. They were fortunate in escaping the Nazis, and they made such an enormous contribution to their adopted country that they helped it win the war.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0027cj8)
27/01/25 - Crops in a new climate, International Barley Hub and agricultural transition

As the climate warms, UK farmers may be able to start growing new crops - from oranges to okra. That's according to a new study from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University of East Anglia which looks at the future suitability of more than 160 existing and new food crops in a warming climate.

We visit the new International Barley Hub in Dundee, where scientists are exploring the genetic diversity found in their collection of ancient barley varieties for traits that could be beneficial on modern farms.

And it’s five years since the UK left the EU. For farmers that meant leaving the EU Common Agricultural Policy and transitioning to new policies which are being drawn up by the different UK nations, since agriculture is devolved. We ask how it's going.

Presented by Caz Graham
Produced by Heather Simons


MON 05:57 Weather (m0027cjb)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m0027bn3)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0027bn5)
Climate Crisis: truth, lies and compromise

Every year world leaders gather at the United Nation’s COP (the Conference of Parties) to discuss how to work together on solutions to tackle climate change. And every year the wrangling lasts into the night as it becomes clear how difficult it is to achieve consensus. In Kyoto the playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson have recreated the drama, intrigue and power plays that resulted in one of COP’s greatest successes, the Kyoto Protocol from 1997. Kyoto is on at the Soho Place Theatre until May 2025.

Professor Mike Berners-Lee is an expert on the impact and footprint of carbon and has watched as countries see-saw on commitments to reduce the use of fossil fuels. In his latest book, A Climate of Truth he argues that we already have the technology to combat many of the problems, but what we’re lacking is the honesty – in our politics, our media, and our businesses – to make a real difference.

But how to save the planet is not necessarily straightforward. In The Shetland Way: Community and Climate Crisis on my Father’s Islands, Marianne Brown returns home after the death of her father. She finds the islanders at loggerheads over the construction of a huge windfarm: while some celebrate the production of sustainable energy, others argue the costs are too high for the environment and local wildlife.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Café Hope (m0027bn7)
Feeling safer on the streets

Co-founder of Strut Safe Rho Chung tells Rachel Burden how they set up the UK-wide phoneline to try to make people feel safer on the streets at night time.

Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip, and celebrating the people making the world a better place.

We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. And the key here is in the trying. This is real life. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it’s always worth a go.

You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0027bn9)
Mary Robinson, Holocaust Memorial Day, Catherine Airey

Mrs Robinson is a feature-length documentary about Ireland’s first female president. Telling her own story of her childhood and career for the first time on screen, it was filmed over three years, and takes a deep-dive into Mary Robinson’s career as she discusses the significant controversies throughout her tenure and her own professional regrets; and examines how her gift for bridging differences was instrumental in bringing about seismic change in Ireland. Mary Robinson joins Clare McDonnell live.

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and this year it marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Clare is joined by two women who reflect on their mothers’ experiences of surviving the Holocaust, the lasting impact and how it has shaped their own lives. Anita Peleg talks about her mother, Naomi Blake, who was sent first to Auschwitz and then to Brahnau Concentration Camp, before settling in the UK and becoming a sculptor. Noemie Lopian remembers her mother, Renee Bornstein BEM – a Holocaust survivor and educator.

The Welsh opera singer and presenter Wynne Evans has apologised for what he called 'an inappropriate and unacceptable' comment at the launch of the Strictly Come Dancing Live tour earlier this month, about the tour host Janette Manrara. Clare speaks to podcaster and comedian Helen Thorn and entertainment journalist Caroline Frost to get their reactions.

Confessions is the debut novel from Catherine Airey. The book follows three generations of women as they navigate love, trauma, family and tragedy. Catherine joins Clare and discusses quitting her job and moving to rural Ireland in 2021 to focus on her writing.


MON 11:00 The Body Politic (m0027bnc)
Assisted dying

The politics of the human body is at the centre of intense debate in the UK and beyond. Thanks to science, technology and a fast-moving political landscape, humans are increasingly able to intervene in the natural processes of life – how we are conceived, how we are born and how and when we die. But what are the limits to this intervention, how should we decide and who should decide?

Broadcaster and columnist Sonia Sodha gets behind divides and polarisation to discover nuance, complexity and compelling stories around the beginning and the end of human life.

In the final episode we delve deep into the complex and fascinating debate around assisted dying, which has moved to the front and centre of politics in Britain. We hear views from all sides, as well as powerful stories - a widow whose husband had an assisted death in Switzerland, a woman who recovered from anorexia who's joined the anti campaign, a retired high court judge who has a life-changing illness and a leading practitioner of assisted dying in Canada.

Sonia teases out the complexity in ideas of choice, coercion and capacity as the UK debate intensifies, showing how decisions made now will impact future views on the value of life and how society handles death.

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan
Sound design: Hal Haines
Credit: 'How to die: Simon's choice', Minnow Films, directed by Rowan Deacon, executive producer Colin Barr


MON 11:45 The History Podcast (m001zddx)
Shadow War: China and the West

Shadow War: 6. Under Pressure

Could growing tensions lead to conflict? The rise of China is the defining challenge of our times – how far to co-operate, compete or confront? But has the West taken its eye off the ball? BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera looks at the points of friction in recent history, from espionage to free speech, the battle over technology and claims of political interference. This is a story about the competition to shape the world order. He speaks to politicians, spies, dissidents and those who’ve been caught up in the growing tension between China and the West.

Presenter: Gordon Corera
Series Producer: John Murphy
Producer: Olivia Lace-Evans
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore (Naked Productions)
Programme Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Series Editor: Penny Murphy


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0027bnf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0027bnh)
Hospital Beds, Side Hustles and 20 MPH zones

Why cannot the NHS make use of spare capacity in the care sector to mitigate the beds crisis?

So many games, so little time! The huge increase in computer games on the market. If you are a gamer, can you see 'the woods for the trees'?

New tax rules come into force this year impacting people who sell online or have other side hustles.

What impact has the expansion of 20 mph zones in Wales had, a year on from implementation.

Debt counsellors say they have seen a large increase in the number of people seeking debt advice, how does that square with wags out-pacing inflation?


MON 12:57 Weather (m0027bnk)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m0027bnm)
Hundreds of thousands return home to north Gaza

Officials say 200,000 Palestinians have returned home to the north of the territory in the first hour since Israel opened routes through the Netzarim Corridor. We speak to UNRWA's acting director in Gaza and a former Jordanian foreign minister.


MON 13:45 The Prophets of Profit (m0027bnp)
The Business of Business

It’s been called the dumbest idea in the world. But many believe shareholder value is the most important, the most consequential idea of the last hundred years. In Prophets of Profit the BBC’s Business Editor Simon Jack discovers why so many believe the prime responsibility of business is to increase profits and maximise returns to shareholders.

Simon reveals how a few influential individuals propelled this idea from academic cloisters to dominate boardrooms across the world from the 1980s onwards. He shows how the consequences of this foresight have enriched many people but devastated many too. How the separation of the idea of money-making from other social obligations has led to severe social tensions and a profound misunderstanding of business within communities and governments alike.

Speaking to investors managing trillions, the most powerful union boss in Britain, and CEOs who’ve been at the very top of some of the world’s biggest companies, Simon tracks how a simple idea became so powerful and why it shapes all of our lives today.
Presenter: Simon Jack
Producer: Jonathan Brunert


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0027bns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 A Charles Paris Mystery (m0027bnv)
Charles Paris: Situation Tragedy

Episode 1

Bill Nighy returns as the loveably louche actor-cum-amateur sleuth, Charles Paris.
When Charles lands a role in a grimly unfunny sitcom the cast and crew begin to die in a series of grisly accidents and the situation comedy turns into a situation tragedy.
As the 'pound shop' Poirot goes on the hunt for the perpetrator, Frances (his semi-detached wife), and Maurice (his worse than useless agent), are furious. Maurice is also living with them following a skiing collision with George Clooney. Tensions were already running high in this unlikely ménage à trois and become even higher when Charles starts looking for clues from a cast of showbiz suspects.

Charles ...... Bill Nighy
Frances ...... Suzanne Burden
Maurice ..... Jon Glover
Ash Amos .... Phaldut Sharma
Judy Gilmore ...... Christine Kavanagh
Stevie Dean/Howard Langridge .... Tony Turner
Scott......Joseph Ayre
Sadie .... Maggie Service

Written by Jeremy Front from a story by Simon Brett
Technical Producers..... Peter Ringrose & Alison Craig
Director ..... Sally Avens


MON 14:45 Marple: Three New Stories (m001gjkn)
The Unravelling by Natalie Haynes

The Unravelling (Part 1)

Agatha Christie’s iconic detective is reimagined for a new generation with a murder, a theft and a mystery where nothing is quite what it seems.

The Unravelling by Natalie Haynes
When an itinerant farm hand is found dead outside Weaver’s Haberdashers it’s chalked up as a brawl gone tragically wrong - but Miss Marple refuses to accept this simple solution…

Read by Monica Dolan
Abridged and produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Almost 50 years since the publication of Agatha Christie's last Miss Marple novel, 'Marple: Twelve New Stories' is a collection of ingenious new stories by acclaimed authors and Christie devotees.


MON 15:00 Great Lives (m0027bny)
Ellen E Jones nominates Florynce Kennedy

One dubbed "the biggest, loudest and indisputably the rudest mouth on the battleground", Florynce Kennedy was a force to be reckoned with.

She was a lawyer, a vocal figure in the American civil rights and feminist movements of the 1960s and '70s, and a champion of numerous other causes besides; from legalising abortion to campaigning for sex-worker rights - proving that it was possible to care about and campaign for causes even if they didn't affect her directly.

Flo was famous in her own time, not only for her passionate commitment to fighting injustice and her incredible talent as a phrase-maker - delivering punchy comments peppered with colourful language - but also for her flamboyant style, notably her trademark Australian hat. And yet today Flo's reputation has dwindled; she's arguably far less well-known than she should be according to her nominator Ellen E Jones, a journalist and broadcaster focusing on film and television who co-hosts the Radio 4 programme 'Screenshot'.

Joining the discussion remotely from the United States, is Sheri Randolph, author of the biography ‘Florynce "Flo" Kennedy: The Life of a Black Feminist Radical’; also an associate professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and founder of the Black Feminist Think Tank.

Matthew and his guests also hear from Flo's friend and fellow activist Gloria Steinem, who says: "Wherever we went, somehow she created a community of our own by her presence. She was effervescent and smart and outgoing and irresistable... Flo, in her jodhurs and her Aussie hat, was just a symbol of all the movements together."

Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.


MON 15:30 History's Heroes (m0027bp0)
History's Youngest Heroes

History's Youngest Heroes: 8. Rani Lakshmi Bai: The Warrior Queen

When her kingdom is threatened, a 22-year-old Indian woman takes on the British Empire on horseback, with a sword in each hand.

Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.

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 16:00 The Documentary (w3ct7m34)
Songs from Auschwitz

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2025, a story of hope, music and survival from Auschwitz.

Professor Shirli Gilbert explores the life of Krystyna Żywulska, a Jewish political prisoner. Imprisoned in the most notorious camp in the Nazi system, Żywulska turned to poetry and music, offering tiny moments of resilience and optimisim for her fellow inmates and creating some of the most remarkable songs of this tragic era.

Born in Poland in 1914, Krystyna Żywulska was sent to Auschwitz in 1943. There she was given a very unusual job. She worked at the Effektenkammer, the storage facility for the personal items confiscated from arriving prisoners.

This role turned out to be a gift. Żywulska described the Effektenkammer as a ‘beautiful oasis’ in the middle of the horrors of Auschwitz. Into it came a bounty of treasures - fur coats, musical instruments, gold jewellery and countless suitcases stuffed with possessions.

At the Effektenkammer, Żywulska composed many poems and songs that spread rapidly through the camp. She also put on musical events to raise the spirits of the Auschwitz inmates.

Shirli Gilbert speaks to Żywulska’s son and to Holocaust historians to explore this remarkable story. She also visits the site of the Effektenkammer at Auschwitz, returning Żywulska’s music to the place where it began.

Presenter: Shirli Gilbert, Professor of Modern Jewish History at University College London

Historical consultant: Professor Barbara Milewski

Producer: Tom Woolfenden

Editor: Kirsten Lass

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


MON 16:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (m001sv5y)
Series 9

Martial

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

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

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

Spoiler: he can.

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

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery


MON 17:00 PM (m0027bp2)
Tech stocks plunge after launch of Chinese AI Chatbot

New Chinese AI chatbot 'Deepseek' sees $1 trillion of value wiped from tech stocks. Plus, thousands return to the north of Gaza.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0027bp4)
Survivors of the Nazi death camp lead commemorations to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0027bp6)
Series 94

2. Where they make cheese and milk out of butterflies

Sue Perkins challenges Tony Hawks, Ian Smith, Zoe Lyons and Charlotte Ritchie to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Subjects include Getting Butterflies, Bottling it, and a Desire for Revenge.

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

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0027bp8)
Lynda enthuses to Lilian about putting on Cinderella. She’s convinced it’s the right choice of panto. They just need a good script, and the star attraction, which is down to Joy.

Joy and Mick chat awkwardly about their future, and Mick wonders whether they should give themselves until the end of the week to decide whether their current living arrangement can continue. Joy talks about the panto and reveals that Berwick Kaler, the well know pantomime dame, is in town, and she wonders whether she might approach him. Mick warns Joy off of interfering, as she did with Rochelle. But Joy seeks out Berwick, and he turns down her request for him to perform for no money. Joy and Jazzer share some mutual frustration, as he’s caught between feuding Tracy and Susan; they should just have their scrap and get over themselves. Joy wonders if that would work for her and Mick. Later Mick confesses to Jazzer that Joy’s a mystery to him. In the spirit of helping, Mick organises a secret meeting with Berwick Kaler at the Bull, with Jazzer looking on intrigued. Berwick’s answer is still no, but Mick explains Joy’s motives. With some business over a piece of paper and mystery financial offer, Berwick seems ready to negotiate. Later, excited Joy informs Lynda and Lilian that Berwick has changed his mind; she has secured her star. Joy worries briefly that other potential cast members might be intimidated, but when news spreads they’re inundated with volunteers to play the other Ugly Sister – they’ll have to have a Dame-off!


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0027bpb)
25 Years of 21st Century: Music

Front Row looks at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of this century, starting with Music.

Samira is joined by Radio 4's Add to Playlist hosts Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe, music journalist Kitty Empire and former Spotify exec Will Page.

They discuss how transformations in technology have impacted what we listen to and what music is being written, and what genres of music have come to the forefront in the last 25 years.

Pete Waterman, one of the judges on the original Pop Idol, talks about the explosion of TV music competitions.

And the Master of the Kings Music, composer Errollyn Wallen, explores how classical music has changed and evolved.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Corinna Jones


MON 20:00 Rethink (m00274ym)
Rethink... museums

The UK has many world-leading museums that inspire wonder and fascination in their visitors. Many were originally created to display artefacts from empire or house the collections of their wealthy Victorian founders but recent decades have seen museums finding innovative ways to challenge what a modern museum can be. However, in tough economic times many museums are facing serious challenges. The sector is having to make the case for why museums should receive public money when there’s a lot less to go around. They are also facing criticism about who visits them, who curates them, and what objects they collect and display. What are museums for? Who are they for? And how can they teach us about our past whilst remaining relevant and exciting for today’s visitors?

Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Viv Jones
Editor: Clare Fordham
Contributors:
Sara Wajid, co-CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust
Tony Butler, Director of Derby Museums Trust
Stephen Bush, columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m00274yp)
Next-gen batteries and 'dark oxygen'

Following a devastating fire at the world’s largest lithium-ion battery plant, Inside Science probes the present and future of a technology we rely on every day.

Lithium-ion batteries were a technological breakthrough, powering everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles, but as funding is poured into researching alternatives, are we on the verge of something safer, faster, and more efficient?

Also this week, we learn about the “dark oxygen” potentially being produced in the deep ocean and friend of Inside Science, Anjana Ahuja, brings us her favourite science stories of the week, including a new material described as ‘chainmail on steroids’ and contagious urination.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.


MON 21:00 Start the Week (m0027bn5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:45 Café Hope (m0027bn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0027bpd)
Auschwitz survivors commemorate 80 years since liberation

Survivors of the Auschwitz extermination camp gathered there again to mark 80 years since it was liberated by Allied forces towards the end of WWII. World leaders and European royalty were present, but it was the 56 survivors of Hitler's genocide of European Jews that took centre-stage. We report from the camp and speak to survivors and guides about its horrors and the dwindling memories of them.

The bishop who urged newly-inaugurated President Trump to show mercy to illegal migrants and LGBT minorities told us his policies are "not in the best interests of... our survival as a species."

And could Britain's loneliest bat be about to find love?


MON 22:45 Rye by Alex Preston (m0027bpg)
Episode One

The novel Winchelsea - serialised on Radio 4 in 2022 - described the extraordinary life of smuggler and privateer Goody Brown and her dealings and struggles with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang.

Now it is 1804, and Goody is a grandmother.

Rye - an original commission by BBC Radio 4 - tells the story of her grandson, Zeke, a young man determined to prove his worth and free his father from a prison hulk at Sheerness.

Episode 1
Zeke Brown lives at the Hope Anchor inn, and watches the spring rains transform Rye into an island again.

Alex Preston is an author and journalist who lives in Kent. His personal anthology of nature writing, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, was published in 2017. His novels include In Love And War and Winchelsea.

Writer: Alex Preston
Reader: Karl Davies
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Limelight (p0ctyd5b)
Exemplar - Series 1

Exemplar - Episode 5

A modern day thriller set in the North East of England starring Gina McKee as a lone wolf audio forensic analyst with a troubled past. Jess races to find her mother, Judith. When the mystery of her father’s departure is solved, Jess is forced to reevaluate her childhood memories.

Exemplar: an audio recording made by a forensic analyst to recreate the precise audio conditions of a piece of evidence in a criminal or civil case.

Exemplar is based on an idea from Ben and Max Ringham, and written by Ben Ringham, Max Ringham and Dan Rebellato.

Jess ..... Gina McKee
Maya ..... Shvorne Marks
Sophie ..... Fenella Woolgar
Judith ..... Barbara Marten
Ajay ..... Asif Khan

Writers: Dan Rebellato with Ben and Max Ringham
Showrunner: Dan Rebellato
Audio forensic consultant: James Zjalić
Sound recordist: Alisdair McGregor
Studio assistant: Oyin Fowowe
Production coordinator: Darren Spruce
Sound design: Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton
Original music/Sound consultants: Ben and Max Ringham
Directors: Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis
Executive producer: Joby Waldman

A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0027bpk)
Susan Hulme reports on MPs questioning the government about defence spending.

TUESDAY 28 JANUARY 2025

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0027bpm)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 The History Podcast (m001zddx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0027bpp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0027bpr)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0027bpt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0027bpw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0027bpy)
Be Kind

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rabbi Julia Neuberger

Good morning.

On this day back in 1813, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was published. Amongst the most beloved books in English literature, it's sold well over 20 million copies. It begins with that memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” And so the story progresses, with the heroine, Elizabeth, eventually marrying the romantic Mr Darcy- and his fortune. Her wit, charm and honesty win him over- and Darcy is portrayed ever after as a romantic figure, haughty yes, but so handsome, and so very compelling.

But Pride and Prejudice is more than simply popular. It is also, as the writer Anna Quindlen suggests, the first modern novel that focuses on the search for self, “with this search (being) as surely undertaken in the drawing room making small talk as in the pursuit of a great white whale or the public punishment of adultery.” It's a novel of manners, about the search for husbands, about women’s inability to fully control their own destinies, and about their capacity- if bright- to shape their own futures. It allows us to look for meaning within a hemmed-in, genteel life, and then to find it in the courage, humour and generosity of some of the characters. It lets us find the profound in a seemingly constrained existence. And it teaches us that learning to control one’s feelings, and supporting others, brings its own reward. A simple message maybe, focusing on ‘be kind’, something we often forget, but as important for us to remember now when pursuing our own Mr Darcy, or in the rest of life, as it was back then.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0027bq0)
28/01/25 - Storm clear-up, agricultural valuers and Welsh farm policy update

A patch of commercial forest has been left "flattened" by Storm Eowyn and looking like "a bunch of giants have gone in there and played rugby" according to one farm manager in Scotland. We catch up on how the clear up is going.

Since the Budget in October, farmers have been coming to terms with the introduction of inheritance tax on their businesses. Many are now trying to work out how much money they might owe the Government when the changes come into force next year. So what does that mean for the agricultural valuers doing the sums?

And we catch up on progress towards the introduction of the Sustainable Farming Scheme - due to start being rolled out across Wales in 2026, after years of negotiation between farmers, environmentalists and the Welsh Government. This is the farming policy and payments that will replace old EU payments: to gain access to the funding under the new rules, farms will have to sign up to 12 so-called universal actions. These range from soil health planning and habitat maintenance, to "continuous professional development". 

Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Heather Simons


TUE 06:00 Today (m0027cl8)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Young Again (m0027clb)
23. Tanni Grey-Thompson

Kirsty Young asks Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson what advice she would give her younger self.

With 11 Paralympic gold medals and six London Marathon victories, Grey-Thompson reflects on a childhood in Wales, her extraordinary athletics career and her transition to becoming a campaigner and crossbench peer. She discusses the mindset of a champion, the importance of forward-looking goals, and her advocacy for disability rights.

A BBC Studios Audio production.


TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m0027cld)
Raw milk: What are the risks and why are people talking about it?

Pasteurising milk makes it safer, but are there any benefits to drinking it “raw”? James heads to a dairy farm to investigate the evidence and see if anything is lost in pasteurising milk.

Guests:
Professor Marion Nestle, food policy expert, New York University
Dr Ellen Evans, food safety expert at Cardiff Metropolitan University
Jonny Crickmore, Fen Farm Dairy and chairman of the Raw Milk Producers Association
Professor Markus Ege, researcher, University of Munich

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Tom Bonnett


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0027clg)
Vicki Pattison's deepfake doc, Kim Wilde, Misogyny, Football academies

Reality star turned documentary filmmaker Vicky Pattison joins Clare McDonnell to discuss her latest project, Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape. The documentary sees her exploring the proliferation of videos generated by AI whereby people’s faces are placed onto pornographic images and shared without their consent. Vicky talks about creating her own deepfake sex tape and looks at the impact the phenomenon is having on women and girls.

A rapid review commissioned by the government in response to the Southport attacks has been leaked, including suggestions that the definition of extremism should be widened to include men who are prejudiced against women, along with potentially violent environmentalists, the far left and conspiracy theorists. The BBC has been told Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, doesn't agree with the findings and will order the focus to remain on Islamist and far-right extremism. We're joined by BBC Political correspondent Tom Symonds, author and journalist Joan Smith and and Ian Corbett, Participation, Engagement and Policy Advisor for the Children and Young People's Centre for Justice.

Eighties pop legend Kim Wilde joins us to discuss her new album, Closer, her career and embracing her 60s.

We discuss football academies and the challenges they present for parents with Rachel Holmes, whose son Pete plays for Cambridge United's U18s team and Jorden Gibson, Academy Manager at Stevenage Football Club.

Presenter: Clare McDonnell

Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Editor: Karen Dalziel


TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m002752j)
Mike Leigh

Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the visionary world of veteran British filmmaker Mike Leigh, as he returns with Hard Truths - his first film in six years.

Born in 1943 and raised in Salford, Leigh started his career in the theatre, before moving to TV in the 1970s, making a string of plays and films for the BBC. 

Since his very first film Bleak Moments in 1971, Mike Leigh has been at the cutting edge of British screen culture, creating a diverse body of work which ranges from the exquisitely excruciating 1970s comedy of manners Abigail’s Party, to his epic biopic of the 19th century painter Mr Turner. 

Ellen attempts to get to grips with Leigh’s singular creative process - which involves assembling a group of actors and getting them to research and develop their characters in detail. She speaks to Mike Leigh himself about how he approaches each of his films, and about the unmade big budget project he’d still like to see realised.

Mark learns about an actor’s role on a Mike Leigh project - speaking to Hard Truths lead actor Marianne Jean Baptiste, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in Leigh’s 1996 film Secrets & Lies.

And Mark also speaks to American independent filmmaker Sean Baker - whose latest film Anora is shaping up as a major Oscar contender - about the profound impact Leigh's 1993 film Naked had on his career.

Produced by Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 11:45 The History Podcast (m001zg54)
Shadow War: China and the West

Shadow War: 7. The Abduction

Could growing tensions lead to conflict? The rise of China is the defining challenge of our times – how far to co-operate, compete or confront? But has the West taken its eye off the ball? BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera looks at the points of friction in recent history, from espionage to free speech, the battle over technology and claims of political interference. This is a story about the competition to shape the world order. He speaks to politicians, spies, dissidents and those who’ve been caught up in the growing tension between China and the West.

Presenter: Gordon Corera
Series Producer: John Murphy
Producer: Olivia Lace-Evans
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore (Naked Productions)
Programme Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Series Editor: Penny Murphy


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0027clj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0027cll)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0027cln)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0027cls)
Jordanian helicopters begin deliveries of aid to Gaza

We hear from Fergal Keane, who has just flown in to Gaza on a Jordanian helicopter delivering aid - the first such flights since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began. Plus, we speak to the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel D'Souza, about the sentences given to children who took part in last summer's riots.


TUE 13:45 The Prophets of Profit (m0027cly)
Creative Destruction

Simon Jack reveals what many believe to be the most important idea in business today, where it came from and how its consequences have shaped all our lives.

It’s been called the dumbest idea in the world. But many believe shareholder value is the most important, the most consequential idea of the last hundred years.

In Prophets of Profit the BBC’s Business Editor Simon Jack discovers why so many believe the prime responsibility of business is to increase profits and maximise returns to shareholders. He shows how the consequences have enriched many people but devastated many too. How the separation of the idea of money-making from other social obligations has led to severe social tensions and a profound misunderstanding of business within communities and governments alike.

Speaking to investors managing trillions, the most powerful union boss in Britain, and CEOs who’ve been at the very top of some of the world’s biggest companies, Simon tracks how a simple idea became so powerful and why it shapes all of our lives today. In this episode Simon reveals how this powerful idea was propelled by a few influential individuals from academic cloisters to dominate boardrooms across the world from the 1980s onwards.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0027bp8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 This Thing of Darkness (m001vcnw)
Series 3

A Pint with Pals

by Frances Poet with monologues by Eileen Horne

Part Three – A Pint with Pals

Dr Alex Bridges is an expert forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, assessing and treating perpetrators of serious crime.

This gripping drama explores the psychological impact of murder on teenage perpetrators and follows the fortunes of participants in a Long Sentence therapy group.

How do you cope with the extreme grief behind bars?

Dr Alex Bridges ….. Lolita Chakrabarti
Anthony ….. Lorn Macdonald
Finn ….. Reuben Joseph
Twitch …. Brian Ferguson
Simon ….. Shaun Mason
Dani ….. Elysia Welch
Dead Elvis….Andy Clark

‘Autopilot’ composed by Jill O'Sullivan & Lee and performed by Jill O'Sullivan & Louis Abbott as part of the Vox Liminis' Distant Voices project.

Sound Design: Fraser Jackson

Series Consultant: Dr Gwen Adshead

Series format created by Lucia Haynes, Audrey Gillan, Eileen Horne, Gaynor Macfarlane, Anita Vettesse and Kirsty Williams.

Thanks to Victoria Byrne, Barlinnie Prison, Vox Liminis Distant Voices Project and Prof Fergus McNeill.

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane and Kirsty Williams

A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams


TUE 15:00 The Gift (m0025475)
Series 2

3. Sold

A breast cancer survivor investigates her genes and uncovers a black market in human life.

It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.

In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths that can unravel when people take at-home DNA tests like Ancestry and 23andMe.

For the second series, Jenny is going deeper into the unintended consequences - the aftershocks - set in motion when people link up to the enormous global DNA database.

Reconnecting and rupturing families, uprooting identities, unearthing long-buried secrets - what happens after technology, genealogy and identity collide?

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett
Editor: Philip Sellars
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

The Gift is a BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m0027cm2)
Crime Stories

Laurie Taylor explores the fascination for true crime stories. He's joined by Jennifer Fleetwood, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at City, University of London, whose latest work considers the remarkable rise in the number of people who speak publicly about their experience of crime. Personal accounts used to be confined to the police station and the courtroom, but today bookshops heave with autobiographies by prisoners, criminals, police and barristers while streaming platforms host hours of interviews so how easy is it for the 'truth' to come out?

Louise Wattis, Assistant Professor in the Department: Social Sciences ·at Northumbria University, Newcastle looks at the skyrocketing interest in true crime as a form of popular entertainment. What do we know about the appeal of 'Hardman' biographies of violent criminals, a hugely popular subgenre, particularly for male readers?

Producer: Jayne Egerton


TUE 16:00 Moving Pictures (m0027cm6)
A Woman Bathing in a Stream by Rembrandt

Cathy FitzGerald invites you to discover new details in old masterpieces. Each episode of Moving Pictures is devoted to a single artwork – and you’re invited to look as well as listen, by following a link to a high-resolution image made by Google Arts & Culture. Zoom in and you can see the pores of the canvas, the sweep of individual brushstrokes, the shimmer of pointillist dots.

A young woman paddles in a stream, staring down with an enigmatic smile as the cool water plays about her legs. At first glance, it's a simple scene - and yet this small painting by Rembrandt mesmerises with its tender sensuality. Is it a portrait of his partner, Hendrickje? Or a biblical picture made for sale by an artist in serious financial difficulties? Take a closer look at Rembrandt's daringly intimate A Woman Bathing in a Stream and discover how he 'sculpts in paint'.

To see the high-resolution image of the painting made by Google Arts & Culture, visit www.bbc.co.uk/movingpictures. Scroll down and follow the link to explore A Woman Bathing in a Stream by Rembrandt.

Interviewees: Helen Hillyard, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper, Jonathan Bikker, Bart Cornelis, Pieter Roelofs.

Producer and presenter: Cathy FitzGerald

Executive producer: Sarah Cuddon
Mix engineer: Mike Woolley
Art history consultant: Leah Kharibian

A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4

NG54: Rembrandt, A Woman bathing in a Stream (Hendrickje Stoffels?), 1654. Oil on wood, 61.8 × 47 cm, © The National Gallery, London


TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m0027cmb)
Inside the Sun's historic apology to Prince Harry

In a rare, open and frank discussion, David Yelland and Simon Lewis go behind the scenes of The Sun newspaper's historic apology to Prince Harry, including for 'serious intrusion' by The Sun and unlawful activity by private investigators.

There's no suggestion that any Sun journalist broke the law. But as a former editor of the paper during this time, what light can David shed on practices at Rupert Murdoch's company then - the use of private investigators and oversight of this, questioning sources, as well as protecting the privacy of Prince William and Prince Harry while they were at Eton? Will this settlement draw a line under the hacking scandal and Harry’s crusade against the tabloid press?

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


TUE 17:00 PM (m0027cmg)
UK's population projected to rise to nearly 73 million by 2032

ONS projects the UK's population to hit nearly 73 million in 8 years time, with migration the main factor. Also on PM a report from inside Gaza, and who gets to name maps?


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0027cmk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 18:30 Janey Godley: The C Bomb (m001xmgs)
Series 2

4. Friends, Enemies and a Big Decision

Janey knows she’s got a big mouth – and sometimes that’s a great thing. She can talk to anyone, and often makes celebrity mates without even knowing who they are! But it’s also got her into trouble on many occasions.

In this episode, she tells us all about making friends and enemies - and the Hollywood star she’s making a surprise gift!

Things also take a surprising turn as Janey decides in the spur of the moment to make a big decision, and say goodbye to something that’s been a massive part of her life for years, but which has now become a toxic influence that needs to go.

Reflecting with rare candour on her life, as she continues to live with a terminal diagnosis, she still finds humour and insight in both the darkness and the ridiculous.

A mix of stories told onstage to a hometown audience, and intimate conversations with her daughter Ashely Storrie, recorded in the living room of the home they share.

Produced by Julia Sutherland
Featuring Ashley Storrie
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0027cmp)
Lynda’s delighted Berwick Kaler’s accepted her offer of accommodation. She and Lilian move on to the pressing matter of casting for the panto, using Lilian’s impressive availability chart. Kind-hearted Joy has put Mick forward for Buttons so that he can play alongside Berwick, and they’re hoping Alice will play Cinders. Vince accuses them of being unscrupulous, having cast a professional actor. He reckons it’s against the spirit of the thing – but not the law, declares Lilian. Vince bumps into Jazzer and quizzes him about the ‘ringer’ who’s been cast in the panto. Is he being paid? Jazzer reckons he might be – he saw Mick doing a deal with him yesterday. This gives Vince the ammunition he needs and he heads off.
When Leonard agrees to take on anything if he’s unsuccessful in the Dame-off later, Lynda pounces and puts him down for set building duties. Sure enough Leonard doesn’t pass the Ugly Sister test even with the help of Jill’s dressing gown, and Lynda consigns him to the under-stage store, where he finds Jazzer following instructions from costumier Paul to check for hats. Leonard becomes enthused when he finds an old Cinderella’s coach, however, and sets about planning a renovation. Meanwhile at the auditions Tony dons the discarded dressing gown and finds success as ‘Antonia’ – Lynda’s secured her second Ugly Sister. Vince puts in a cryptic appearance, claiming to suspicious Lynda and Lilian that he’s just passing. He heads off, commenting that he hopes it will all be worthwhile.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0027cmt)
Jane Austen's sister, artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman, football in fiction

As new BBC One drama adaptation, Miss Austen, shines fresh light on Jane Austen's sister Cassandra, Gill Hornby, who wrote the eponymous novel on which Miss Austen is based, and Claire Harman, author of Jane's Fame, How Jane Austen Conquered The World, discuss how perceptions of Cassandra's burning of her sister's letters have been changing.

Paris-based journalist and cultural critic Agnès Poirier reports on President Macron's announcement at the Louvre.

Artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman reflects on weaving together personal, historical, and social stories in her exhibition , Chila Welcomes You, at Imperial War Museum North in Manchester.

Alex Allison and George Harrison on their new novels which centre on football. Alex's Greatest of All Time is a tender gay love story set among a fictional premiership team in the North East while George Harrison's Season is a cross generational tale of two dedicated football fans that stretches over a season.

Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu


TUE 20:00 File on 4 Investigates (m0027cmy)
Abramovich, the Yachts and the Tax Dodge

With the billions he made at the expense of Russian taxpayers, Roman Abramovich bought six luxury superyachts over the years. Among them were the 162-metre-long Eclipse, with swimming pools, helipads and a missile defence system - and the Pelorus - sometimes lent to Chelsea footballers.

They could each cost up to one and a half million dollars just to re-fuel. If they’d been declared as being for his own personal use, VAT would have been payable on costs like that. Instead, for more than a decade, tax authorities were led to believe the superyachts were being rented out to commercial customers.

Financial investigations correspondent Andy Verity working with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Guardian discovers that the firms renting the boats ultimately belonged to a trust held by - Roman Abramovich. Under the scheme devised for him, the sanctioned oligarch was hiring out his superyachts - to himself. Mr Abramovich has denied either directing or knowing of any deception.

Reporter: Andy Verity
Producer: Paul Grant
Editor: Richard Vadon


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0027cn0)
Regulator rejects macular disease treatment; Optomap

The treatment of Geographic Atrophy (GA) or late stage dry age-related macular degeneration as it's also known, is proving to be a pretty tough nut to crack. Hopes had been high that a treatment available in the USA would also be approved for use here in the UK. However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has rejected the application. Ed Holloway, Chief Executive of the Macular Society and Bill Best who has lived with GA for many years join us to discuss the MHRA decision.

Optomap is an imaging system which produces significantly more detailed information about the retina than had been available before. This can lead to earlier diagnosis of many eye conditions and accordingly a better chance of preventing sight loss. Dr Peter Hampson, Policy and Clinical Director of the Association of Optometrists and John Hopcroft, Clinical Services Manager at Boots join us to discuss the system and how public access to it is being improved by bringing it to the high street.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Fern Lulham
Production Coordinator: David Baguley

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


TUE 21:00 World Of Secrets (m0026jxm)
The Bad Guru

The Bad Guru: 1. The Retreat

Miranda joins a yoga school in London. The classes make her feel amazing and the people make her feel loved. But at a weekend retreat in a country house, she gets a shock.

This series contains explicit sexual content, some strong language and allegations of sexual exploitation. This episode contains explicit sexual content.

Host: Cat McShane
Producers: Emma Weatherill and Cat McShane
Sound design: Melvin Rickarby
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Unit Manager: Lucy Bannister
Executive Producer: Innes Bowen
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams


TUE 21:30 Crossing Continents (m0027cn3)
Reel Revolution? The dramatic rise of Saudiwood

Saudi Arabia is rolling out the red carpet to filmmakers and foreign companies as it sets out to establish itself as a major player in the entertainment industry. After lifting a 35-year ban on cinemas in 2018, the Kingdom is now luring Hollywood with cash incentives to shoot in the desert, and playing host to a glitzy international film festival. The move is all part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's ‘Vision 2030’ - a grand blueprint to rewrite the Kingdom's script, diversify its economy away from oil, and expand its cultural influence though films, gaming and sport, all at the same time seeking to keep an overwhelming young population happy. It is a dramatic transformation with writers, directors and actors now prepared to test boundaries and break taboos on screen. But as Emily Wither finds out Saudi Arabia is still a country where not every story can be told.

Presenter: Emily Wither
Producers Emily Wither and Ben Carter
Editor: Penny Murphy
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill
Production manager: Gemma Ashman

Archive credits:

Fox News, The Bret Baier Podcast
Netflix, Masameer


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0027cn5)
Rebels edge closer to taking key city in Democratic Republic of Congo

As Rwanda is accused of aiding rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we look at what lies behind a decades-long conflict and why it has flared in recent days.

We speak to the MP who wants to tighten the language on mental capacity in the landmark Assisted Dying Bill.

And the man fitted with a new brain implant that has been so successful he sometimes forgets he has Parkinson's disease.


TUE 22:45 Rye by Alex Preston (m0027cn7)
Episode Two

The novel Winchelsea - serialised on Radio 4 in 2022 - described the extraordinary life of smuggler and privateer, Goody Brown, and her dealings and struggles with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang.

Now it is 1804, and Goody is a grandmother.

Rye - an original commission by BBC Radio 4 - tells the story of her grandson, Zeke, a young man determined to prove his worth and free his father from a prison hulk at Sheerness.

Episode 2
At Ypres Castle, Zeke meets the mysterious Frenchman M. Bihoreau, ‘The Heron’.

Alex Preston is an author and journalist who lives in Kent. His personal anthology of nature writing, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, was published in 2017. His novels include In Love And War and Winchelsea.

Writer: Alex Preston
Reader: Karl Davies
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m0013hb5)
Series 1

Case 13: The Return of Elizabeth Dacre

A young family moves into a historic seaside house converted from a once famous hotel, but when they start to see an apparition who resembles the former owner, they begin to wonder if they are really welcome. Does she want them out of her house?

Written and presented by Danny Robins
Editor and Sound Designer: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Lanterns on the Lake
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard

A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0027cnb)
Sean Curran reports on a row over the definition of extremism - and on calls for restrictions on newly-qualified drivers.