5. The Four Brilliant Friends & Their Legacy
Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot and Elizabeth Anscombe, the quartet of brilliant thinkers and friends left behind enduring philosophical legacies. Here we find out how their work and theories shape and illuminate today's ethical thinking.
The life-long friends first met at Oxford University during WWII when many male students and tutors were conscripted. Taught by refugee scholars, conscientious objectors and a number of women tutors the four friends were profoundly affected by the unprecedented horrors of war, especially the Holocaust, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In response they set out to make sense of the disorder and despair that followed, and developed a philosophy relevant to every day life, which went on to shape contemporary ethical thinking.
We meet the quartet at the start of their friendship, as they embark on their lives as undergraduates, and later as they take up jobs in the post war period. We encounter the philosophers who inspired their thinking from the brilliant but chaotic, Ludwig Wittgenstein to the superstar thinker, Jean-Paul Sartre. Later, we witness their theorising and thought as it evolved over the decades. All the while, we are with them as they go about the stuff of everyday living, including the sometimes emotional and unconventional turmoil of their love lives.
Metaphysical Animals is vividly and expertly written by philosophy lecturers, Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman who took their inspiration from their own friendship with one of the key players in this remarkable and little known story, Mary Midgley.
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the environmentalist and theologian Dr Ruth Valerio
This weekend fifty years ago, Chicory Tip was number 1 with ‘son of my father’. Watching the video is definitely a ‘blast from the past’ with their seventies hair and clothing, and music that could only have come from that time. This is also when the very first scientific hand-held calculator was introduced, and when the British Parliament voted to join the European Communities, as it was then known. How much change we have gone through in fifty years!
This weekend fifty years ago is also when I was born. Looking back at pictures of when I was a baby, it’s clear that I have changed a lot in fifty years too. I have grown and changed physically of course, but also as a person, learning, making mistakes, forming relationships, growing into a sense of purpose, with all the struggles and challenges those changes bring as well as the joys.
Change happens all the time and can be both thrilling and unsettling, but there is one thing that the Hebrew and Christian scriptures tell us doesn’t change: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end - they are new every morning’.
This weekend gives me an opportunity to reflect on how God has walked with me through every stage of my life, in all the changes, and to be thankful for his constant love and mercies. As we start this weekend, what are you grateful for when you look back on your life? Are you aware of the divine presence with you?
Loving God, at the start of this morning, I thank you that your mercies are new again to me. May I live today in the knowledge of your steadfast love, and may I too show love and mercy to those I meet.
When Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Iran in 1980, he said his war would be over in days or weeks. But the Iran-Iraq War lasted for almost 8 years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Ahmad al-Mushatat was a young medic who served in front line trenches during the last months of that war. Hear his story.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Starting by the village of Burwell Clare and Ajay set off around Wicken Fen. As part of its rewilding vision the National Trust have created wetlands for birds and introduced Highland cattle and Konik ponies to graze the grassland. Ajay Tegala is a warden with the Trust and takes people on guided walks around the fen. He has also done some work with the BBC Natural History Unit and has featured in Springwatch. It's a perfect bright January morning as they set off on the paths around the fen spotting birds and animals along the way.
We investigate how much fruit and veg pickers on seasonal worker visas will have to be paid this year. The topic has caused confusion among farmers and labour providers this week after it appeared the Home Office said one thing while the Secretary of State for DEFRA said another.
We hear about the law of unintended consequences - as some farmers choose not to sign up to the new Environmental Land Management Schemes in England.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is already had an impact on the price of farm commodities: grain prices are up, as are the price of oilseeds and fuel. Russia and Ukraine provide about a third of the world’s wheat exports and 15% of global vegetable oil as well as being important fertiliser producers.
And after a week of violent winds and heavy rain, farmers across the UK are clearing up. But that job can take a LONG time; the clear up from Storm Arwen three months ago is still ongoing. It’s estimated that a million trees fell in Northumberland alone and many popular woodlands there are still closed to the public.
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Anoushka Shankar who started playing the Sitar when she was 9, secured a recording contract aged sixteen and has been nominated for 7 Grammy awards. She is the musical successor to her father the world renowned musician Ravi Shankar, and is celebrating his life and achievements.
Harry Parker's life changed overnight when he lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan. He talks rebuilding his life, identity and the impact of technology.
Maddy Lucy Dann is a junior doctor who turned to social media platform, TikTok to cheer herself up during the pandemic. Her self-deprecating manner, quick wit and resemblance to the comic character Miranda earned her legions of followers and has led to a fledgling parallel career as a stand-up.
Giles Kristian is now a writer but during the 90s he auditioned and won the role of lead singer of pop group Upside Down, achieving four top twenty hit records, performing on Top of the Pops as well as at the Royal Albert Hall, N.E.C. and Wembley Arena, and playing concerts on the same bill as such artists as The Spice Girls, Take That, The Backstreet Boys and Eric Clapton.
We also have the inheritance tracks from actor Paterson Joseph who chooses In Loving You Junior English and Better Get it in Your Soul by Charles Mingus
Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show and self-confessed 'proud radio nerd', uses his access-all-areas pass to the BBC Archives to track down audio gems, using listener requests, overlooked anniversaries and current stories as a springboard into the vast vaults of past programmes.
This week, as a new Batman film hits the cinemas, Greg hunts the Caped Crusader in the archives. He finds Adam West, who recalls acting with a mask for most of the time, a man called Mr Batman, and a bizarre experiment on Blue Peter in 1966.
To celebrate the centenary of Judy Garland's birth, Greg tracks down interviews with the elusive star, and also finds memories of her from her daughter Liza Minnelli.
A hunt for one listener's grandad leads Greg to a programme about stunt performers, and following a query about the soothing voice heard at the start of every edition of Rewinder, he looks into the life of Patricia Driscoll, presenter of Picture Book on Watch With Mother.
And - who's in Greg's envelope? We have the hugely anticipated results of last week's telepathy experiment... but you knew that already.
Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union three decades ago, Russia has been grappling with how to keep its old empire close to it, using a variety of tactics. This week, Russia stunned Nato member states when it embarked on a full scale invasion of Ukraine. Andrew Harding spent the 1990s reporting on the aftermath of the Soviet collapse and reflects on current events.
Russia's attack on Georgia in 2008 also came in response to the NATO alliance promising membership to both states. And ever since that war, Russia has occupied two separate regions of Georgia. Experts call it a frozen conflict, which Russia can stir up at any time -- as Andrew North found when he visited a village on the boundary between areas under Georgian and Russian control.
Iceland has a strong track record for championing women’s rights and gender equality policies. Yet, despite this, the country still sees persistently high cases of domestic violence. Maddy Savage followed a police project in Reykjavik that’s trying to tackle the problem.
Zimbabwe’s healthcare system was once viewed as one of the best in sub-Saharan Africa. After independence, the majority of Zimbabweans gained access to education and health care. Now, the health system is collapsing and the nurses and doctors are leaving the country in ever higher numbers. Shingai Nyoka visited two clinics in Harare.
The Philippines is holding elections in May and the son of the late military dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Jr has taken a strong lead in the polls. Sarah Duterte, the daughter of the country’s incumbent authoritarian leader, is his running mate, and the two of them have embarked on a fervent campaign to re-brand their respective family’s legacies. Howard Johnson reports from a rally.
The telecoms watchdog Ofcom has drawn up proposals to make it harder for criminals to fake caller ID when they phone people. It’s called number spoofing and happens when crooks use technology to make the number that comes up on your phone appear as though the call is coming from a legitimate organisation like your bank or the police. We hear from Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Group Director for Networks and Communications.
Big changes to the way student loans are repaid in England could change the balance for parents who can afford to pay for their education. The government's plans would extend the repayment period for the loans from 30 to 40 years before any balance is written off and reduce the earnings threshold at which the extra 9% tax kicks in. We hear from Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
A listener who pays for energy via prepayment meters asks if it's worth topping up ahead of prices rises in April. We hear from energy suppliers and the regulator, Ofgem.
Plus a David and Goliath story. Money Box listener David takes on HMRC over self-assessment tax return financial penalties. Listen to find out who wins this time - and how.
Recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre, this week Andy Zaltzman is joined by Angela Barnes, Ian Smith, Desiree Burch and Geoff Norcott to discuss Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the reaction at home and abroad. The team also look at the end of COVID restrictions in England, Johnson's questionnaire from the Met, and Trump's new social media venture.
Additional Material from Alice Fraser, Suchandrika Chakrabarti, Sean Stoakes and Cameron Loxdale.
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from Parklands High School, Chorley, with the Labour MP and member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Chris Bryant, the Columnist and former Moscow Correspondent Mary Dejevsky, the Conservative MP and former Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox and the Director of the Institute for Government and former Foreign Editor at The Times Bronwen Maddox.
The UK government is betting big on offshore wind to provide a huge percentage of our electricity by 2030. The turbines are certainly efficient, low carbon energy producers but they have one Achilles heel. They're expensive to maintain and repair. Boats or helicopters have to be sent out with a maintenance crew- it's dangerous and costly work. Developers in robotics and artificial intelligence have got together to come up with a solution. If an offshore turbine needs checking an unmanned boat will head out to sea. Once in position it will launch a drone which can inspect the turbine. If a closer look is needed then the drone can launch its secret weapon- the BladeBUG. It's a suitcase-sized robot which can cling to the huge turbine blades, check them and even clean or repair them. They should make new offshore wind development cheaper and safer.
Tom Heap meets the experts behind the robots - BladeBUG CEO Chris Cieslak; Professor Sara Bernardini from Royal Holloway, University of London - and works out the carbon impact of offshore wind expansion with climate scientist, Tamsin Edwards of King's College London.
Produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society. Special thanks for this episode to Professor Stephen Peake from the Open University and Rob Maynard from Ocean Resource Engineers Ltd.
When in 1922, junior producer Cedric Maud and his pushy assistant Grace Wise first proposed the idea of a play to be performed on the newly available wireless sets, the idea was immediately trashed as being at best impracticable and at worst impossible to execute.
Leading theatrical impresario Nigel Playfair demanded to know how one could possibly concentrate on such a play with one’s servants rushing in and out and the doorbell constantly clanging with tradesmen and nannies. The idea was, to his mind, a non starter.
But when it was suggested that the job might instead be offered to the precocious and rival talent that was Noel Coward, Playfair quickly shifted his stance. A radical young writer, Richard Hughes was commissioned to write a piece which would challenge perceptions and exploit the potential of the new fangled and now widely available domestic wireless set.
For its part, the BBC, following the revolution in Russia and the imminent break up of the Empire, was more concerned that some bearded intellectuals would use the opening to promote Bolshevism and class warfare, than the fact that this had never been done before and that the listeners might be utterly baffled as to what was going on.
To celebrate the approaching centenary of the UK’s first ever radio play, Ron Hutchinson’s A Leap in the Dark takes a comedic look how the first drama producers tackled these challenges and invented the wheel that was soon to become a flourishing new art form.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Diana Parkes, Ukraine, Unmodified bodies, Joanna Scanlan, Margaret Atwood
In an exclusive interview, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and future Queen Consort talks to Emma about her work with domestic abuse survivors. They are joined by Diana Parkes whose daughter Joanna Simpson was battered to death by her estranged husband in 2010.
Olena Symonenko tells us about her escape to a safer part of Ukraine only to find out that her apartment that she had lived in all her life had been hit by a bomb.
The actress and writer Joanna Scanlan known for her many roles in TV shows such as Getting On and The Thick of It, talks about her BAFTA nominated film After Love.
Do we change our bodies because we want to or because we are being pressured to conform by society? Cambridge Professor of Political Philosophy Clare Chambers considers this question and concludes that the unmodified body is under attack, particularly for women, who are constantly given the message that their body is not good enough just as it is. Her new book is Intact – A Defence of the Unmodified Body.
Margaret Atwood's latest collection of essays, Burning Questions, gathers together her essays and other occasional non-fiction pieces from 2004 to 2021. The literary legend talks culture wars, feminism and grief.
Fighting continues across country with reports of Russian saboteurs in capital
Jim Broadbent, Mark Thomas, Gráinne Maguire, Tim Firth, Jamie Webster, John Shuttleworth, Athena Kugblenu, Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson and Athena Kugblenu are joined by Jim Broadbent, Mark Thomas, Gráinne Maguire and Tim Firth for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Jamie Webster and John Shuttleworth.
He’s gone into business with Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg, but this isn’t Nick Clegg’s first leadership coalition.
He was nicknamed Calamity Clegg but now the papers are calling him Master of the Metaverse. The former deputy prime minister has turned his fortunes around from a bashing at the ballot box, to becoming Silicon valley’s latest top dog.
Dancer and choreographer Akram Khan is one of the world’s most acclaimed and influential figures working in contemporary dance today. Born in London to Bangladeshi parents, Akram is renowned for his radical productions in which classical Asian music and movement is fused with modern styles. He’s won many awards, was made an MBE in 2005, and choreographed and performed in the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.
He tells John Wilson about his teenage role in Peter Brook's epic production of The Mahabharata, which toured the world; the importance of collaborating with with leading creative figures from outside the world of dance including Anish Kapoor and Juliette Binoche; and reveals how an extraordinary chance encounter changed his artistic outlook.
Telegraph film Critic Robbie Collin has committed a mortal sin against the gods of cinema themselves. Instead of brushing up on film history during the pandemic, he spent hours on the end on his phone, scrolling through TikTok.
But the more he watched, the more patterns began to emerge, with the popular skits and dances of TikTok echoing the earliest days of silent film. Robbie believes it was the narrow vertical frame of the smartphone screen that made for such sharp creativity and compelling viewing, much like the boxy constraints of early film shaped the work of the first filmmakers.
These screen shapes and sizes have been stretched and squeezed into a range of different standards since the inception of film in the late 1800s, shaping our understanding of the images we watch.
From the Victorian viral hits to the trending TikToks of the present day,the evolution of the closeup, the jostling technologies of widescreen cinema and television and the rise of film streaming, as the pictures got smaller, cosying into our smartphone screens, Robbie argues they’ve found new and enthralling ways to make us look at them.
With film critic Hanna Flint, BFI silent film curator Bryony Dixon, BFI Head of Technical Services Dominic Simmons, filmmaker and TikTokker Madelaine Turner, journalist and author Chris Stokel-Walker, film historian Dr Sheldon Hall, Professor Tim Smith, cognitive psychologist at Birkbeck University and filmmaker Charlie Shackleton.
The Grand Budapest Hotel / Fox Searchlight Pictures / TSG Entertainment / Wes Anderson
A Star is Born (1937) / United Artists / Selznick International Pictures / William A. Wellman
The Bridge on the River Kwai / Columbia Pictures / Horizon Pictures / David Lean
Ben Hur / Loew’s Inc. / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / William Wyler
Star Wars: A New Hope / 20th Century Fox / Lucasfilm LTd. / George Lucas
The Door in the Wall / British Film Institute / Glenn H. Alvey Jr.
The Hateful Eight / The Weinstein Company / Shiny Penny and FilmColony / Quentin Tarantino
Back to the Future / Universal Pictures / Amblin Entertainment / Robert Zemeckis
The Dark Knight / Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures / Christopher Nolan
The eighth and final episode of series three. Matilla, having murdered her abusive husband returns with Frog to her family home to try to rescue her brother and escape the city.
Meanwhile the treacherous Cadali (Matthew Marsh), now a captive of the priest-like Balarac, is returned to Tumanbay as a gift. As the city welcomes the Balarac in, a new uncomfortable alliance seems to be forming. Or is it a deadly game of deception?
Grand Master, Amalric........ Anton Lesser
Tumanbay is created by John Scott Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.
Louise meets Dave when she's out walking on Dartmoor one day. He asks her out for a drink and they begin dating. But the eccentric man whose mood can influence rivers is not quite of this world and the relationship soon becomes strained.
Tom Cox lives on Dartmoor. He is the author of several books including Help The Witch, Ring The Hill and 21st Century Yokel. His next book is Villager.
We should all have a legal right to nature, according to a group of more than 60 campaigning charities who say we need better access to the countryside. They have written to the government, complaining that one in three of us lives more than 15 minutes’ walk from the nearest green space. But is nature there for our enjoyment? Is the countryside just a recreational resource, to be exploited by anyone in possession of a pair of wellies? If we are entitled to delight in the landscape, don’t we also share the moral responsibility for looking after it? Maybe that means leaving it alone. Or should we be doing more to encourage our city-dwellers and minority ethnic communities to feel included there?
The UK’s countryside is about to live through enormous change, with farmers to be given taxpayer cash to ‘rewild’ some of their land. But what should rewilding mean to them and to the rest of us? Bees and butterflies are lovely, but is it worth the loss of a few lambs to see eagles back in our skies? How about a few hundred lambs? Maybe the countryside really belongs to those who for generations have worked it for a hard-earned living; and maybe they have a perfect right to sell some of it to developers who want to build much-needed housing estates. We want the countryside to be richly stocked with exciting animals and beautiful woodlands. We want badgers and beavers and some of us (not the shepherds) want wolves and wildcats. We can't have everything, so what should we do? With Dr Sue Young of The Willdlife Trusts; Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones; Director of Rewilding Britain Alistair Driver and Property Analyst Kate Faulkner.
Competitors from the West Midlands and the north of England face Paul Gambaccini's questions in the last of the 2022 heats, recorded at MediaCityUK in Salford. The winner will take the sole remaining spot in the semi-final line-up. To do so they'll need to prove the breadth of their musical knowledge, with Dizzy Gillespie, Puccini, Radiohead, Blondie, Shostakovich and R.E.M. all in the mix. The competitors will also be asked to choose a musical category or theme on which to answer an individual round, with no warning of what the choice of topics is going to be.
Last year, poet Helen Mort discovered that images taken from her social media page had been uploaded to a porn website.
Users of the site were invited to edit the photos, merging Helen's face with explicit and violent sexual images. This is deepfake pornography.
In I see You: Poetry Porn and Me, Helen reclaims her voice as she reflects on this experience and charts the journey she has taken to come to terms with being a victim.
Unable to get support from the law - as deepfakes are not illegal - Helen navigates a new path for herself.
She speaks to storytellers, vocal coaches, tattooists and others on this journey, which interrogates how we look at women’s bodies, and the way women are valued and in turn, value themselves.
Weaving between poetry and interviews, the programme follows Helen through the different stages of letting go, rediscovering her voice and restoring some control over what happened to her.
SUNDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2022
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0014wnn)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Athena's Cancel Culture (m000vh6n)
Episode 4
Over the last few years, if a celebrity has ever said or done anything remotely controversial, then they've probably been cancelled. Largely performed through social media, some describe it as necessary evil to help democratise the internet and reflect the expectancy of an artist’s audience, for others it’s just a chance to shut up gobby celebs!
Whatever your view, it certainly helps empower fans by diminishing celebrity cultural capital and helping keep their egos and opinions in check. It's a growing phenomenon that's left almost no one unscathed, from comedians and actors to musicians and TV hosts. It’s also happening to the not so famous - remember the bin cat lady?
With stand up and sketch comedy, Athena explores cancel culture and the world of offence in modern times. Over four episodes, Athena will help explain the phenomenon of cancel culture among celebrities, look at the history of offence, and offer up some cancel rules for guidance. Athena then puts all that cancel knowledge to the test on her own social media activity from 10 years ago. There’s just no escape from cancel culture justice, even for Athena!
Writer and Performer: Athena Kugblenu.
Support cast: James McNicholas and Jamie-Rose Monk.
Production Assistant: Sadia Azmat
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Gusman production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:30 Short Works (m0014qdj)
Tattletale by Ruqaya Izzidien
Short stories from leading Welsh writers. Richard Elfyn reads an original story by Ruqaya Izzidien. Someone is watching over Sofie...
Sound by Catherine Robinson
Produced by Emma Harding
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0014wnq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0014wns)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0014wnv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0014wnx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0014wnz)
The parish church of St Mary’s Bishopstoke in Hampshire
Bells on Sunday comes from the parish church of St Mary’s Bishopstoke in Hampshire The present bells were cast in 1995 and replaced a previous octave from a combination of founders. They are one of the few complete post-war peals of 10 bells to come from the now closed Whitechapel foundry. The tenor weighs eleven hundredweight and is tuned to G. We hear them ringing Stedman Caters.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m0014wnd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0014wy0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b015bqb5)
Jump!
Cathy Fitzgerald explores the terror, bliss and sheer delight of taking a leap.
With readings from Jeanette Winterson, Maud Parrish and Hermann Hesse and music from Rodrigo y Gabriela, Harry Belafonte and Bernard Hermann, Cathy reflects on our fear of jumping into the unknown - and examines the strange and wonderful places we can land when we do decide to take the plunge.
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0014wy3)
Middle Ground Growers
Anna Louise Claydon visits the Middle Ground Growers in the village of Bathampton near Bath - four friends who set out on a mission to create an ecological farm on their two-acre market garden. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, which raised over £100,000, they’ve just realised their dream of expanding onto a new 16-acre plot, enabling them to supply vegetables to hundreds of families and local outlets. Anna meets Hamish, one of the founding members, to explore the original site where the journey began. She also takes a look at the brand new farm, Weston Spring Park, to see how the team are settling in. She meets their new apprentices, and gets stuck into the jobs list for the day. The funds have been raised, they've got the keys to the new farm, but the real work starts now.
Produced and presented by Anna Louise Claydon.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0014wy5)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0014wy7)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0014wy9)
Special programme on the faith response to Ukraine
As Russia invades Ukraine and the country’s government and citizens weigh up the value of continuing resistance, we’ll ask whether Just War theory can offer them any guidance.
We speak to church leaders including the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who joins us to discuss the unfolding crisis as well as Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, who is the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in this country.
Ukraine also has a significant Jewish minority and a deep history in Ukraine and Europe. We speak to Volodymyr Vysotsky, from the Jewish Ukrainian Social Initiative who is in Kyiv and providing humanitarian aid to the Jewish community. We also speak to Paul Anticoni, the Chief Executive of World Jewish Relief about the the humanitarian aid that he and other faith organisations are delivering to those in need.
Produced by: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham and Jill Collins
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0014wyc)
Rio Ferdinand Foundation
TV pundit and former professional footballer Rio Ferdinand makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation.
To Give:
- UK Freephone 0800 404 8144
-You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That’s the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope
'Rio Ferdinand Foundation’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Rio Ferdinand Foundation’.
Please note that Freephone and online donations for this charity close at
23.59 on the Saturday after the Appeal is first broadcast. However the Freepost option can be used at any time.
Charity number: 1151127
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0014wyf)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0014wyh)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0015dd4)
A prayer for Ukraine
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Ukrainian Catholic Church preaches at this special service from St Martin-in-the-Fields led by the Vicar, the Revd Dr Sam Wells. Bishop Nowakowski speaks of the distressing spiritual impact of the Russian invasion at home and in Ukraine - and of the Christian hope to which Ukrainian believers cling. Ukrainian Catholic seminarians sing an extract from the liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Other music in the service includes: Lead, Kindly Light; O God of all salvation; Da Pacem (Arvo Pärt); Ukrainian Kyrie; O God our help in Ages Past. St Martin’s Voices are directed by Andrew Earis with organist Polina Sosnina. Readings: Psalm 27; John 12: 23-26. Producer: Philip Billson
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0014qf1)
It's Not Their War
Sara Wheeler reflects that the attack on Ukraine is not the war of the Russian people she has known.
"The calamitous news eroding any remote sense we might have nurtured of peace in our time is, we now know, not going to cease any time soon. Yet while the image of a villainous Russia dominates the news agenda, I remember Russians I have met over the years on my travels in their land. This is not their war."
Producer: Sheila Cook
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound: Peter Bosher
Editor: Penny Murphy
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zr00f)
Bittern
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Kate Humble presents the bittern. As the first shoots of spring appear in the reed-beds, you might hear the booming sound of a bittern. The bittern's boom is lower pitched than any other UK bird and sounds more like a distant foghorn than a bird. Today these birds are on the increase, thanks to the creation of large reed-beds.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0014wym)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0014wyp)
Writer, Sarah Hehir
Directors, Kim Greengrass & Dave Payne
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Alice Carter ….. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter ….. Brian Hewlett
Justin Elliott ….. Simon Williams
Rex Fairbrother ….. Nick Barber
Amy Franks ….. Jennifer Daley
Martyn Gibson ….. Jon Glover
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Hannah Riley ….. Helen Longworth
Stella ….. Lucy Speed
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs (m0014wyr)
Professor Nick Webborn, Chair of the British Paralympic Association
Professor Nick Webborn has chaired the British Paralympic Association since 2017. He is a world-leading expert on Paralympic sports medicine and the most widely-published author on the subject. He has attended 11 Paralympic and one Olympic Games.
He was born in Swansea in 1956, trained as a doctor in London and joined the RAF as a junior medical officer. In 1981 he was playing in an RAF rugby match when a mistimed opposition tackle left him with a severe spinal injury. After many months of treatment and rehabilitation, which he now describes as 'long and tortuous,' he wanted to return to work in medicine, but found that there was a reluctance to employ a doctor with a disability.
He worked as a GP and also pursued an interest in sports medicine, leading to research in this area and an academic role. When he saw the medical support available for Olympic athletes, he felt strongly that para-athletes deserved the same level of specialist help - especially as many also had to deal with underlying problems that their Olympic peers did not face. His pioneering research has made Paralympic sport safer for athletes, and has driven the development of sports medicine in areas such as rehabilitation. He also represented Great Britain in wheelchair tennis in 2005.
Nick is Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Brighton.
DISC ONE: Heroes by David Bowie
DISC TWO: Hallelujah, composed by George Frideric Handel, performed by London Musici Chamber Choir and London Musici Orchestra, conducted by Mark Stephenson
DISC THREE: Jamaica Farewell by Nina and Frederik
DISC FOUR: Will Ye Go Lassie Go by The Corries
DISC FIVE: For Crying out Loud by Meat Loaf
DISC SIX: This is Me by Keala Settle
DISC SEVEN: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
DISC EIGHT: You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry & the Pacemakers
BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Works of Charles Dickens
LUXURY ITEM: Nick’s adapted Segway, with a built-in espresso machine
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: This is Me by Keala Settle
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
SUN 11:45 The Art and Science of Blending (m0004cq0)
Champagne
Blending is a distinctly human act: other creatures don’t experiment in this way. So in this series we’re looking at four blended products – whisky, tea, perfume and champagne – to find out why we blend things, and why some blends work when others don’t. What do we hope to gain? What do we fear losing? And is blending an art … or a science? Barry Smith, a philosopher, tries to answer these questions by consuming rare teas, fine whiskies and perfect champagnes … so that you don’t have to.
Today, the art and science of blending champagne.
Producer David Edmonds
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0014x4n)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m0014ptg)
Series 88
Episode 1
Sue Perkins challenges Dane Baptiste, Stephen Fry, Sheila Hancock and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.
The long running Radio 4 national treasure of a parlour game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from sausages to submarines.
Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0014wyw)
Scotland, a Good Food Nation?
Can Scotland become a nation where people from every walk of life ‘take pride and pleasure in the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day’?
Sheila Dillon and her Scottish producer Robbie Armstrong assess the country’s health and food system, and find out what opportunities and hurdles lie ahead as the Good Food Nation Bill is introduced to the Scottish Parliament.
Sheila speaks to Scotland’s national chef Gary Maclean about the past, present and future of Scottish cuisine, while Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands Mairi Gougeon sets out what she hopes to achieve with the bill.
She meets Pete Ritchie from the food policy NGO Nourish to hear why he believes the bill does not go far enough and should include a ‘right to food’. She visits social enterprise food business Locavore to speak to its founder Reuben Chesters, before exploring the complexities of food poverty with author of Feed Your Family for £20 a Week, Lorna Cooper.
Robbie heads to his home town in the Scottish Borders to speak to Bosco Santimano from a social enterprise teaching basic cooking skills, and visits Food Punks, a project run by young chefs in the town of Peebles.
Produced by Robbie Armstrong in Glasgow.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m0014wyy)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0014wz0)
Radio 4’s look at the week’s big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0014qdg)
GQT at Home: Biodiversity Starters and Tips from The Archers
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts. Peter Gibbs is in the chair, with Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood, and Matt Biggs answering questions from a virtual audience across the country.
This week, the panellists get excited about the growing seasons ahead, discussing their top tips for cultivating healthy coriander and gooseberry plants, when to cut back a buddleia to maximise its butterfly potential for the summer, and what "to chit your potatoes" means.
Also, Claire Ratinon goes in search of a lesser known community garden in Southwark, the Crossbones Garden, and Bob Flowerdew shares his advice on growing the juiciest strawberries.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Bethany Hocken
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 The Seventh Test by Vikas Swarup (b044h9bf)
Acid Rain
Sapna Sinha works as a sales assistant in a TV showroom in New Delhi. Being the only bread-winner in the family she works long hours to provide for her widowed mother and younger sister. But then a man walks into her life with an extraordinary proposition: pass seven "life" tests of his choosing and she will have wealth and power. At first the tests seem easy, but things are not quite as they seem. Dramatised by Ayeesha Menon and John Dryden from Vikas Swarup's best-selling novel "The Accidental Apprentice".
8) Acid Rain
A thriller set in India from the author of "Slumdog Millionaire". Having passed six of the "life tests", Sapna is within reach of changing her life forever - but not in the way she had anticipated. As the consequences of her Faustian pact become apparent, she realizes there is no escape. Dramatised from Vikas Swarup's best-selling novel "The Accidental Apprentice".
Writers:
Vikas Swarup is an Indian diplomat and a best-selling novelist. His first novel "Q & A" was made into the Oscar winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" as well as Sony Award winning radio drama serial for BBC Radio .
Ayeesha Menon dramatized Vikas Swarup's other novels SIX SUSPECTS and Q & A, which won a Sony Award for Best Drama. She also wrote for Radio 4 THE MUMBAI CHUZZLEWITS, UNDERCOVER MUMBAI, THE CAIRO TRILOGY and MY NAME IS RED. Her stage play PEREIRA'S BAKERY AT 76 CHAPEL ROAD, which was developed with the Royal Court Theatre, was recently staged by the Curve Theatre, Leicester.
John Dryden wrote the original three-part dramas series SEVERED THREADS, THE RELUCTANT SPY and PANDEMIC, which won the Writer's Guild Award for best radio drama script. His dramatisation of BLEAK HOUSE won a Sony Award for Best Drama. Other dramatisations include A SUITABLE BOY, A HANDMAID'S TALE and FATHERLAND one of the most repeated dramas on R4 Extra.
Cast:
Sapna ... Rasika Dugal
Acharya ... Vijay Chrishna
Karan ... Neil Bhoopalam
Nirmila Ben / Rosie ... Radhika Mittal
Sapna's Mother ... Shernaz Patel
Raja - Sumeet Vyas
Kuldeep Singh / Roaji ... Rajit Kapur
Neha ... Amrita Puri
Priya Capoor / Pushpa / Female Judge ... Ayesha Raza
Badan Singh / Politician / Constable ... Kenny Desai
Madan ... Vivek Mada
Neelam / Babli ... Prerna Chawla
Rent Collector ... Satchit Puranik
Production:
Sound Design - Steve Bond
Editing Assistant - Varun Bangera
Script Editor - Mike Walker
Assistant Producer - Toral Shah
Music - Sacha Putnam
Dramatised by Ayeesha Menon and John Dryden from the novel "ACCIDENTAL APPRENTICE" by Vikas Swarup.
Director - John Dryden
Producer - Nadir Khan
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 15:00 Drama (m0014wz4)
White Debt (Part 1)
Written and presented by Thomas Harding
Dramatised by Patricia Cumper
Based on the book White Debt by Thomas Harding
The author and journalist Thomas Harding tells the story of the Demerara Uprising in 1823 that he argues had a decisive effect on Britain’s own attitude to slavery. This piece of history is brought to life with actors as audio drama, written by Patricia Cumper.
But the programme also contains a contemporary strand. In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd and the increased attention being paid to Britain's colonial past, this two-part programme explores the legacy of Britain’s slavery today and asks the question, what, if anything should we do about it?
For Thomas Harding, this is more than a question of national history. It’s personal.
Harding has written books about his father’s German Jewish family. These books explored how his family fled the Nazis to Britain, how he lost family members in the Holocaust and how he personally received financial compensation from the German government, what some call reparations.
Then, a few years ago, he discovered that his family, on his mother’s side, made money from slavery. They ran a large business in the 19th century selling tobacco that came from plantations in Virginia, and later Cuba, which were worked by enslaved people.
The shoe was now firmly on the other foot. If he accepted reparations from the German government for what the Nazis did to his family, what should he do about the other side of his family benefitting from slavery?
To explore these complex questions, Thomas Harding begins by travelling to Guyana (formerly Demerara, site of the 1823 uprising) and then back to the UK, where he speaks with leading thinkers on the subject of personal and national responsibility.
Jack . . . . . Martins Imhangbe
Quamina . . . . . Cyril Nri
John . . . . . Mark Edel-Hunt
Jane . . . . . Grace Cooper Milton
Gracy . . . . . Kemi Durosinmi
Daniel . . . . . Justice Ritchie
Seaton . . . . . Chris Jack
Governor . . . . . Sam Dale
Stewart . . . . . Michael Begley
Captain . . . . . Joseph Ayre
M’Turk . . . . . Ben Crowe
Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0014wz6)
The Power of Language; The Colony, Afghan Writers and Dalit Short Stories
Elizabeth Day talks to the author of the Women's Prize shortlisted, The Undertaking, Audrey Magee. Her latest novel, The Colony, is a powerful exploration of the Anglo-Irish relationship and a meditation on the legacy of colonisation on ordinary people. It’s 1979, and two foreigners arrive for the summer on a remote island off the West Coast. There’s Lloyd, an English painter, and Masson, a French linguist, both of whom seek, with varying degrees of success, to capture the essence of the place and its Irish-speaking people.
And two collections of short stories giving the unheard a voice. My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird is an anthology of fiction from Afghan women. Lucy Hannah of Untold Narratives is the project's Director and joins Elizabeth to talk about its conception. We also hear from two of the writers, Marie Bamyani and Masouma Kawsari about their creative inspiration.
And we hear from Gurnaik Johal, author and editor, about his recommended read for next month. Father May Be an Elephant and Mother Only a Small Basket, But… by Gogu Shyamala is a collection of Dalit feminist stories of a south Indian village that dissolve the borders of realism, allegory and political fable.
Book List - Sunday 27 February and Thursday 3 March
The Colony by Audrey Magee
The Undertaking by Audrey Magee
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: Anthology of 18 women writers from Afghanistan
Father May be an Elephant and Mother Only a Small Basket, But … by Gogu Shyamala
We Move by Gurnaik Johal
SUN 16:30 Art of Now (m000d70k)
The Last Exposure
Photographer Garry Fabian-Miller has spent much of the last 30 years either in his dark room, or out walking on Dartmoor. That is about to end.
Fabian-Miller began his career in the 1960’s but quickly tired of the typical black and white verite’ style that was then so much in vogue.
Rejecting both the city streets, black and white film, and eventually the camera itself - his camera-less photography gives his work an utterly unique and other worldly quality - light pulses from deep yellow circles; the flicker of a naked flame peers through a slashed curtain of deep blue. His inspiration the moors he walks twice daily, passing through his eyes, his imagination and onto the photosensitive paper.
The result is a body of work which plays with light and dark, exposure and developing – producing an acclaimed body of work recognised by both buyers and museums as like no other - collectors range from Sir Elton John to the V & A.
But the onslaught of digital has signaled to him that things are changing – both the resources, and the techniques he has developed over time, are threatened, and with the near disappearance of dark rooms, he feels it time to make his last print and close his dark room for ever.
His photographs are unconventional, dazzling, and use techniques honed over decades. He abandoned using cameras long ago, opting instead to use techniques based on early 19th century prints - long exposures, tone, and images funneled into shapes made by the sun. Always dazzlingly coloured, he uses a developing substance which is no longer in production.
Occasionally he gets a phone call from a dealer in London…. “Garry, I’ve just been offered 11 litres of CibaChrome, you want it?
We join him as he uses up the very last of the chemistry which enable him to use the techniques he has spent a lifetime perfecting, before his dark room is closed forever. Reflecting a change out of his studio and in the world - in 2007 there were 204 professional dark rooms in London, by 2010 there were 8. We hear his story of printing - a physical, technical skill, as well as a dangerous and smelly one. We envisage the end of the analogue era of photography, and celebrate the alchemical eclipse.
Curator of photography from the V&A Martin Barnes salutes his work, and how it harks back to the very start of photography, just as this chapter is coming to an end.
From the spooky mists of Hound Tor to making pictures in the dark, Fabian-Miller takes us one step closer to the end of an era.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m0014p99)
Subscription Scams
From pills that resolve chronic pain issues overnight to diet supplements which promise to help shed pounds in days, the internet is awash with adverts making bold claims. Some come with a celebrity endorsement, where household names appear to give their personal stamp of approval to a product. But many of these are scams, with customers tricked into parting with more money than they realise ever intended.
File on 4 investigates the growth of online subscription scams, where customers are unwittingly signed up to schemes which hit them with hidden charges, unexpected monthly fees and products which are made deliberately difficult to cancel. We hear from victims with chronic illnesses desperately searching for a solution to their ailments, who are instead left out of pocket and we speak to the celebrities furious their names are being used to endorse such products. The programme goes in search of those running these schemes online and exposes the tools and tricks designed to scam unwitting customers and sheds light on the creation of a global multi-million pound industry.
Reporter: Athar Ahmad
Producer: Anna Meisel
Editor: Carl Johnston
SUN 17:40 Profile (m0014wnd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0014wz8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0014wzb)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0014wzd)
The US strongly condemns the move, describing it as "unacceptable"
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0014wzg)
Barnie Choudhury
This week, we will of course feature the war in Ukraine. Discover how a doctor forgave the young man who almost stabbed him to death. We then travel to Shropshire and learn of conspiracy theories which may have cost the life of a talented artist and photographer; staying in Shropshire we will also hear the tale of a baby born 20 years ago with the help of a curry and canoe. We have the Archbishop talking about faith and free will and a certain southern presenter who has a go at speaking Brummie.
Presenter: Barnie Choudhury
Producer: Emmie Hume
Production Coordinator: Brigid Harrison-Draper
Studio Manager: Phillip Halliwell
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0014wzj)
Roy and Tracy discuss where Rex’s housewarming party might be – the only clue is to wear sensible shoes.
When Roy says he’s not free to come to the cricket meeting on Wednesday, Tracy admits she’s getting a bit desperate - no-one has agreed to come yet.
Phoebe tells Roy that although she’ll miss Ambridge, she’ll be doing her dream job in Scotland. They muse over why Kirsty chose Bulgaria when Phoebe thinks the rewilding job would’ve been a perfect fit. Roy agrees but says Kirsty has too many bad memories here and Lexi can be very persuasive!
Rex invites Amy to his party. Although initially awkward after their ‘date’ Rex breaks the ice saying they can still be friends even if they don’t fancy each other. When Rex asks if Amy had someone else, Amy says there was, but not anymore; it’s complicated. Rex admits to knowing all about complicated – he wasted years being in love with someone who didn’t want to know. But he won’t be drawn when Amy asks if it was someone in Ambridge.
Later, as everyone gathers together to walk to Rex’s new abode, there’s much speculation about where it is – Kate’s yurts? The cricket pavilion? When they arrive at the river they discover it’s a narrowboat called ‘Serendipity’, covered in fairy lights and moored by the country park. Rex explains that it’s much cheaper than buying a house. In lieu of champagne, everyone cheers when Jazzer smashes a bottle on the boat and makes a speech.
SUN 19:15 Now You're Asking with Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn (m0014wzl)
The Co-dependency Problem
Marian and Tara tackle the stresses of IVF, co-dependent relationships, red necks on Zoom and "window shopping" (not the good kind) with trademark kindness and good humour.
Marian Keyes is a multi award-winning writer, with a total of over 30 million of her books sold to date in 33 languages. Her close friend Tara Flynn is an actress, comedian and writer. Together, these two friends have been through a lot, and now want to use their considerable life experience to help solve your biggest - and smallest - problems.
From dilemmas about life, love and grief, to the perils of laundry or knowing what to say at a boring dinner, we’ll find out what Marian and Tara would recommend…which might not solve the problem exactly, but will make us all feel a bit better.
Recorded in Dublin with emails received from listeners around the world, the hosts invite you to pull up a chair at their virtual kitchen table as they read and digest their inbox.
Got a problem you want Marian and Tara to solve? Email: marianandtara@bbc.co.uk.
Producer: Steve Doherty.
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
SUN 19:45 Bright Lights, Dead City (m0014wzn)
Episode 8. Night Out
An American film crew descends on a Northern Irish city to make a lavish prestige drama series about the Troubles called ‘Dead City’, inspiring the locals to get involved in the production, only for filming to be halted by the mysterious disappearance of the lead actress.
The Writer
Séamas O'Reilly is a columnist for the Observer and has written about media and politics for the Irish Times, New Statesman, Guts, and VICE. His memoir 'Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?' was an Irish Times Number One Bestseller and was awarded the Dubray Biography of the Year Award at the 2021 An Post Irish Book Awards.
Reader: Dearbháile McKinney
Writer: Séamas O'Reilly
Producer: Michael Shannon
Exec Editor: Andy Martin
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (m0014pc3)
Vaccinating children, lockdowns, and ebikes
Jabs for five to 11-year-olds, lockdown effectiveness, and being green on two wheels.
Governments across the UK have decided to offer Covid vaccinations to primary school-aged children. What was the data behind this decision?
What effect did lockdowns have on preventing deaths from Covid? We look at a research paper that says almost none. Plus, is Elon Musk right to warn of a global population collapse? And can it really be greener to ride an e-bike than a good old-fashioned push bike?
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0014qdl)
Jamal Edwards MBE, P.J. O'Rourke (pictured), Romaine Hart OBE, Ronnie Campbell
Matthew Bannister on
Jamal Edwards, the young music entrepreneur whose YouTube channel supported the careers of grime and rap stars like Dave, Skepta and Stormzy.
P.J. O’Rourke, the conservative American satirist who applied his barbed wit to reporting from the world’s trouble spots.
Romaine Hart, whose Screen on the Green cinema gave a platform to art house films and was described by Quentin Tarantino as “the coolest cinema in London”.
Ronnie Campbell, the Scottish crofter and land rights campaigner who is thought to have been the last Highland drover, taking flocks of sheep on long distance journeys by foot.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Crystal Mahey-Morgan
Interviewed guest: Michael Goldfarb
Interviewed guest: Nicola Hart
Interviewed guest: Kenny Mackintosh
Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4: Bookclub, TX 5.
2.2006; BBC Radio 4: The Report, TX 11.
2.2016
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0014wmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0014wyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 The Archbishop Interviews (m0014wz2)
Susan Blackmore
In this series, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has conversations with public figures whose work engages with big questions about humankind, and who have an interesting relationship with religion and spirituality. What do they believe and how does that shape their values and actions?
This week's guest is the psychologist Dr Susan Blackmore. She’s spent five decades studying, thinking and writing about consciousness. Her captivation with the subject began when she had an out-of-body experience at the age 19. It was to change the course of her life as she set out to prove the existence of the paranormal. Her academic journey ultimately led her personally to scepticism. She’s an atheist who is fascinated by beliefs. She’s well known for her contribution to meme theory, which examines how habits and beliefs are passed on from one person to another. She continues to explore consciousness through the practice of Zen meditation.
Producer: Dan Tierney for BBC Audio North.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0014wzq)
Carolyn Quinn analyses the Ukraine crisis with former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland; Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry; and Baroness Cathy Ashton - former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security. The political editor of the Daily Mirror, Pippa Crerar, brings additional insight and previews the week ahead at Westminster.
SUN 23:00 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m0014pgk)
Series 19
The Weird Waves of Wi-Fi
We use Wi-Fi every day, but do you know how it works? “Is it waves and science or just some mystical magical force?” wonders listener Abby.
Well, our science sleuths are on the case. To help them navigate the strange realm of electromagnetic waves they are joined by Andrew Nix, Professor of Wireless Communication Systems from the University of Bristol. He explains why your wi-fi router won’t heat up your baked beans, but your microwave will.
Andrea Goldsmith, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University, also joins to reveal how these waves are crammed full of 0s and 1s- whether that's a pic of your pets or a video chat with pals.
And finally, how do you get the best Wi-Fi at home? Dr Rutherford, it turns out, has made some rookie errors... Listen out for our top tips so you don't make them too!
Presenters: Hannah Fry and Adam Rutherford
Producer: Ilan Goodman
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b015bqb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2022
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0014wzs)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 The Backlog (m0014pcr)
Episode 3 - Future
As we emerge from one of the worst winters in NHS history and with record numbers of people waiting for treatment, what does the future hold for our health service? To help clear the backlog do we need to radically reform the institution? Could technology be the cure-all for the NHS's ills? Or is it just a funding issue?
In this final episode of The Backlog, the Economist’s Health Policy Editor, Natasha Loder, goes in search of some big ideas to help get us out of this current crisis and reshape the NHS so it's fit for 21st century health provision.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0014wnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0014wzv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0014wzx)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0014wzz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0014x01)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0014x03)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the environmentalist and theologian Dr Ruth Valerio
Good morning.
Today sees the launch of the latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (known as the IPCC): the world’s leading authority on climate science.
Since its inception in 1988, the IPCC has issued a series of comprehensive reports; this latest update reminds us of the consequences of our rapidly changing climate, for the communities least responsible for this crisis. The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, has described the report as ‘Code Red for humanity’.
Through my work for a Christian relief and development charity, I hear how the climate crisis is devastating the lives of people living in poverty through increasing droughts and floods, hunger, wildfires and loss of homes. In Zimbabwe, the impact of extreme weather is ruining harvests, meaning many parents are finding it difficult to send their children to school. Years of drought also bring about increased rates of child marriage in the country, as desperate families seek ways to make a little income and have one fewer mouth to feed. And the wider natural world is suffering too, with species pushed to the brink of extinction as stable ecosystems collapse.
This is a hard message for us to hear as we start the day, but we are not helpless; we can respond and it is right that we bring these issues to God in prayer.
God who made and loves this world, we pray today that our governments and business leaders would act urgently to avert a climate catastrophe and that you would show each of us what we can do to respond.
Amen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0014x05)
Brexit and Covid are being blamed for a big fall in the number of European vets registering to work in the UK over the past two years. The British Veterinary Association says that’s contributing to what it calls a ‘crisis in the workforce’ . The annual number of registrants coming to work in the UK has fallen by 68 per cent, from 1132 in 2019 to 364 in 2021. The BVA says this, coupled with more demand for vets to complete post-Brexit checks and certifications, and a rise in pet ownership under lockdown, is causing problems.
A herd of dairy cows in Staffordshire has been connected to the internet. Every animal has swallowed a sensor which continually updates the farmer on their health. Sick animals can be spotted before they actually get ill, saving on medicine and vet bills.
A new artisan food centre has recently opened in a derelict warehouse in the former Strand Mill in East Belfast. It already houses a mushroom-growing and cheese-making business, but it's called, the Banana Block - we find out why.
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
MON 05:56 Weather (m0014x07)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03szrzm)
Mallard
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Chris Packham presents the mallard. Mallards are our commonest ducks. In winter, mallards from Continental Europe join our resident birds. Some may have flown from as far away as Russia and many infiltrate local flocks, so the bills which snatch your bread may have been born hundreds, if not thousands of kilometres away.
MON 06:00 Today (m0014x6m)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0014x6p)
Post-war/post-Covid
The historian Peter Hennessy asks whether post-Covid Britain needs to set out a new social contract, comparable to the Beveridge report after WWII. In A Duty of Care, he looks back to the foundations of the modern welfare state and the ‘five giants’ against which society had to battle – want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. He tells Helen Lewis that after the effects of the pandemic, it’s time to be ambitious and try and work together to tackle today’s comparable giants.
In a damning report commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory earlier this month, it was revealed that minority ethnic patients suffered overwhelming inequalities. If a new Beveridge is to be conceived diversity will need to be at its heart, but the anthropologist Farhan Samanani is concerned that increasingly ‘difference’ is being seen as a threat to societal cohesion. He has undertaken field research in the north London area of Kilburn – one of the most diverse in the UK. In How To Live With Each Other he explores the capacity of people to connect across divides and cultivate common ground.
While post-war governments looked to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and create a new welfare state in the aftermath of the trauma of war, the arts and education in Britain were also viewed as vital to the economy and to reuniting the nation. Jane Alison is the curator of the Barbican’s new exhibition, Postwar Modern: New Art in Britain, 1945–1965 (opening on 3rd March). She says that artists at the time – both home grown and refugees – sought to find meaning and purpose in a changed world. And she argues that artists today are asking similar probing questions about what kind of society we want and need.
Producer: Katy Hickman
Image credit: Eva Frankfurther, West Indian Waitresses, c.1955 Ben Uri Collection, presented by the artist’s sister, Beate Planskoy, 2015,© The Estate of Eva Frankfurther, photograph by Justin P (from the exhibition, 'Postwar Modern: New Art in Britain 1945-1965' Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK)
MON 09:45 Death by Conspiracy? (p0bq63bk)
1. A Magical Town
Gary Matthews was into conspiracy theories - until he caught Covid and died. What role did falsehoods play in his death? BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates.
Gary was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the virus, and died.
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, travels to the serene medieval Shropshire town that Gary Matthews called home to investigate what happened to him - and why. While delving into the conspiracy underbelly of this picturesque town, she finds out more about Gary's life - and discovers a story that's been repeated across the country, and around the world.
Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Mike Wendling
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0014x6r)
Ukrainian women on the front line, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Dangerous women and I, Mona Lisa
As the conflict continues in Ukraine, we've seen footage of predominately women and children fleeing the country. But that is just one aspect of this conflict. There are also many women who have stayed in Ukraine and signed up to fight. Back in December, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence expanded the number of women who are eligible for mandatory service in the armed forces. They will be joining the 57,000 or so women, aged 18 to 60, already serving. But is there an appetite for more women to sign up? And what roles are they likely to play? Jessica Creighton hears from Lesia Vasylenko, a Ukrainian MP who describes her new reality of being trained to use an assault rifle to defend her family and her country and Dr. Olesya Khromeychuk, Director of the Ukrainian Institute, London.
President Joe Biden has nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, calling her "one of the nation's brightest legal minds". She will be the first black woman to serve in the court's 232-year history if confirmed and would mean four women may sit together on the nine-member court for the first time. Kimberly Peeler-Allen the co-founder of Higher Heights, an organisation that builds the collective political power of Black women, discusses the significance of her nomination.
If the Mona Lisa could speak what would she say? A new novel by Natasha Solomons gives voice to the painting and lets her tell her own story. Natasha and the Da Vinci expert Professor Martin Kemp join Jessica.
What does it mean to be a “dangerous woman”? That is something Dr Jo Shaw of the University of Edinburgh has been studying and has led to a new book with fifty essays from different women reflecting on the topic from around the world. The idea that women are dangerous individually or collectively permeates many historical periods, cultures and areas of contemporary life. It has been used to describe the Labour MP and human rights activist Shami Chakrabarti, and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was labelled by the Daily Mail as “the most dangerous woman in the UK”. But what lies behind this label and what does it say about the power dynamics with which women live with today? Jessica speaks to Dr Jo Shaw of the University of Edinburgh and the journalist Bidisha, whose essay is part of the collection.
MON 11:00 My Name Is... (m0014x6t)
My Name Is Haroon
Haroon Mota aims to encourage, coax and cajole others in his community when it comes to getting fit and he's a man who doesn't easily take no for an answer!
In this edition of My Name Is, Haroon tackles the reasons why there is such a big gulf when it comes to fitness levels in the UK's South Asian community and he tackles the issue with those in a position to act, including Government and religious leaders who he believes could do more.
The inspiration for his approach has its seeds in his own sporting background: he was the European kickboxing champion at 17 and has a long history in sport and fitness, which he says is rooted in his DNA. Whilst at university he began volunteering for Islamic Relief and raised thousands of pounds through his first charity hike to the Everest base camp. He's gone on to lead many other charity hikes in recent years, including one to Peru.
The need to encourage greater uptake in his community when it comes to accessing outside pursuits was underlined in last year’s countryside charity CPRE data, which showed that ethnic minorities have, on average, 11 times less access to green spaces than their white counterparts. It also found that only 20 per cent of BAME children who visit natural environments go to the countryside, compared with 40 per cent of white children.
Haroon takes this issue up with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - their recent report highlighted the level of exclusion people from ethnic minorities feel when it comes to natural environments, with some saying they felt hyper-visible in what they see as an 'exclusively English environment.'
In conversations with some of the women now involved in one of his many hiking groups, Haroon discusses what impact they feel has come from their greater fitness levels. They talk about attitudes towards them and hurtful online attacks which followed a recent walk in the Peak District: one white woman wrote underneath the images they'd posted that it was akin to the 'migration of the wildebeests in the Serengeti.'
There is a lot of work to do when it comes to changing attitudes and Haroon is tackling things one day at a time: "When I started running marathons, I automatically became the 'Muslim marathon man,' When I started climbing mountains, I automatically became the 'Muslim mountain man,' I want to change attitudes so that Muslim people doing physical activities becomes the new norm and not a cause for comment at all."
Producer: Sue Mitchell
MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m0014wnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0014x6x)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 12:04 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014x6z)
Episode 1
In Algiers, in 1936, the young Edmond Charlot fulfilled his dream of setting up Les Vraies Richesses: “… a library, a bookstore, a publishing house, but above all a place for friends who love the literature of the Mediterranean.”
Throughout the turbulent history of 20th century Algeria, Les Vraies Richesses remained. But now, in 2017, it has closed for good, destined to be turned into a beignet shop.
A young student, Ryad, has arrived to clear out the shop, but he is keenly watched by Abdullah, an old man and former employee of Les Vraies Richesses …
Episode One
On Rue Charras, the bookshop Les Vraies Richesses is finally closed, mourned by an old man, Abdallah.
Kaouther Adimi was born in Algeria and lives in France. A Bookshop in Algiers is her third novel and was published in France in 2017, where it got the trifecta of major French award nominations (the Goncourt, Renaudot and Médicis prizes).
Writer: Kaouther Adimi
Translator: Chris Andrews
Reader: Raad Rawi
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:18 You and Yours (m0014x71)
Kickstart Scheme, Wedding Costs, Social Media ID.
A petition aimed at tackling abusive anonymous online trolls is being debated in parliament today.
The petition, started by former model Katie Price, after her son Harvey was verbally abused online, goes further - it says that ID should be a legal requirement when someone is opening up a social media account.
As it stands, it has just under 700,000 signatures and received an increased wave of support following racial abuse of three England players at last summers Euros final.
With some 350,000 weddings expected to take place in 2022, it's set to be a bumper year for the industry.
But with 400,000 hospitality vacancies in the UK, increased costs, paperwork and border delays as a result of Brexit, and the impact of the pandemic - some wedding suppliers are feeling the pinch and are raising prices. We hear from a bride to be about how big day has gone up in cost, by 40%.
It shouldn't be difficult to your home, particularly when there's a government scheme designed to help. The Green Homes Grant promised to pay for measures like that, and protect consumers from things going wrong. But we hear from one couple who have faced no end of trouble ever since they got their roof done.
One report called the work on their home 'the worst job ever seen.'
The government Kickstart scheme aimed at getting young people into jobs and designed to combat unemployment has been described as "chaotic" and has failed to support far fewer workers than it predicted. That's according to a new report by MP's.
We hear a young man and an employer who both feel, based on their experiences, it is more trouble than it was worth.
PRODUCER: JAY UNGER
PRESENTER: NICOLA BECKFORD
MON 12:57 Weather (m0014x73)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0014x75)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
MON 13:45 The Lowball Tapes (m0014x77)
Arrested
The secret tapes the authorities, on both sides of the Atlantic, wouldn’t want you to hear.
Andy Verity, the BBC’s Economics Correspondent has audio recordings, kept secret for years, which reveal evidence that could upend the received version of the biggest scandal since the financial crash.
We might have thought that the rate-rigging bankers, ‘the LIBOR manipulators’ were justly jailed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, but over 5 episodes, Andy questions the traditional narrative.
The Lowball Tapes exposes evidence, much of it kept out of the trials, to show how they were instructed to give a falsely low LIBOR rate, ‘to lowball.’ Outraged, some of the traders turn whistle-blowers; but rather than stopping the deception, the whistle-blowers find themselves pursued.
In interviews with convicted traders, including one on the run, Andy hears how it appears blame for manipulating LIBOR was shifted onto junior traders, while those higher up escaped prosecution.
Did the world fail to see the truth at the time? We’ve acquired a huge cache of exclusive evidence - recorded phone calls, confidential internal emails and witness statements - which suggest maybe it wasn’t just the market that was rigged.
Can he find out who was pulling the strings and where the instructions ultimately came from?
Producer: Sarah Bowen
Music: Oskar Jones
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0014wzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (m0014x79)
The Breach
Owen Whitelaw’s thriller is set on a remote Scottish island and spans two time zones 4000 years apart. In the present day the discovery of several bodies in a peat bog is connected to a calamitous event that sparked the destruction of an ancient religion in 2000BC. Two archaeologists try to unravel the mystery of the bodies preserved in the bog but a 21st century catastrophe looms as rising sea levels threaten to engulf the island.
Gwen/Rachel ..... Hannah Donaldson
Mara/ Ellen ..... Isabelle Joss
Peter/Mike ..... Robert Jack
Caden ..... Owen Whitelaw
Onora ..... Anne Lacey
Adriana ..... Louise Ludgate
Producer/director: Bruce Young
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m0014x7c)
Series 35
Semi-Final 1, 2022
(10/13)
The music quiz tournament reaches the semi-final stage, with three of the competitors who won their heats vying for a place in the 2022 Final. As the competition goes up a notch, the players may find the questions getting tougher and they'll certainly find it harder to be first on the buzzer. As always they'll be asked to choose a special theme or musical topic on which to answer questions of their own, with no prior warning of the categories on offer.
Taking part today are
Andy Cormican from Sheffield
Damian Evans from West London
Frankie Fanko from Leicestershire
Producer: Paul Bajoria
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m0014wyw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 The Trainspotter's Guide to Dracula (b09byr3c)
“3 May. Bistritz. Left Munich at
8:35 P. M, on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at
6:46, but train was an hour late.”
The first line of Bram Stoker’s Dracula makes it clear what the novel will be about: trains. As the book begins, the English solicitor Jonathan Harker is travelling across Europe by train, en route to meet his mysterious new Transylvanian client, complaining all the way about the late running of the service. “It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains. What ought they to be in China?”
In the Trainspotter’s Guide to Dracula, Miles Jupp uses Bram Stoker's novel as it has never been used before, as a train timetable, following its references to plot a route across Europe by rail to Dracula’s castle in Transylvania.
Will Miles be able to reach Dracula’s castle more quickly than Harker did, or will his journey be dogged by discontinued services, closed lines and delays?
Produced by David Stenhouse
Readings by David Jackson Young
MON 16:30 The Digital Human (m0014x7g)
Series 25
Collapse
Offline, we as individuals present different sides of ourselves in different situations. We behave very differently with friends, employers, parents, lovers and strangers. But as Social Media Giants like Facebook and Twitter became ubiquitous, suddenly all those different facets of our lives and personalities were compressed into a single space - this has become known as Context Collapse.
Aleks Krotoski explores how Context Collapse came to be, the impact it has had on our behaviour and well being, and finds out what it could mean for a potential Metaverse. When the final barrier between offline and online life could be broken down for good, how do we create spaces where we are free to express the different parts of ourselves safely?
MON 17:00 PM (m0014x7j)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0014x7l)
More details emerge of the human cost of Russia's decision to launch all-out assault on Ukraine five days ago. Eyewitnesses spoke of neighbourhoods devastated by prolonged attacks
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0014x7n)
Series 88
Episode 2
Sue Perkins challenges Zoe Lyons, Gyles Brandreth, Shazia Mirza and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.
The long running Radio 4 national treasure of a parlour game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from Stephen Sondheim to My Favourite Kardashian.
Production co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Sound editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Hayley Sterling
A BBC Studios Production
MON 19:00 The Archers (m0014wtq)
Neil returns from his mini break with Susan, to hear from Hannah about the potential plans to shut Berrow and Brian appearing to ‘accidentally’ leave behind a confidential document. Shocked Neil says at least that shows Brian’s on their side. Later Neil relays that cagey Brian didn’t deny that Berrow may close and there’ll be an emergency board meeting soon. Brian’s asked for a secret meeting with them tomorrow.
Amy admits to Fallon that although she got on really well with Rex on their date, there wasn’t a spark. Fallon moans that having already planned the buffet menu for Harrison’s forthcoming baptism, he’s now given up meat for lent! Later Fallon asks Amy to visit Alice with her - she thinks Alice is struggling a bit and Amy always knows how to make Alice feel better. But Amy’s adamant; she’s busy.
Phoebe wonders how Kirsty will cope away from the countryside in Plovdiv. But Kirsty says although she loves Ambridge, it’s time to move on and that Phoebe must feel the same. But Phoebe is clear that although she’s ready for a new challenge, she thinks Kirsty isn’t in the same boat; she’s part of the fibre of Ambridge and she’ll miss out on the chance to follow her passion by not taking the rewilding job. Kirsty’s insistent that she can’t stay in Ambridge after all that’s happened. Unconvinced, Phoebe’s says that she’s leaving Ambridge because it isn’t her home anymore. Can Kirsty, hand on heart, honestly say the same thing? Isn’t she already home?
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0014x7q)
Ali & Ava reviewed, Cultural Responses to Ukraine, Cherry Jezebel
On tonight’s Front Row, we take a look at the cultural responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the BBC’s Culture Editor, Katie Razzall.
Clio Barnard’s latest film, Ali &Ava, is a love story between two care-worn middle-aged people, set in Bradford. Syima Aslam, co-founder and Director of the Bradford Literature Festival, and Lisa Holdsworth, Chair of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain, review.
Cherry Jezebel is the title of a new play which opens at the Liverpool Everyman next week. At its heart are three drag queens with funny one-liners faster and sharper than a Federer forehand. But it’s also a play about ageing, family, and intimacy. The playwright Jonathan Larkin joins Front Row to discuss his new work.
With the launch on BBC Three of Nicole Lecky's new drama Mood, critics Imriel Morgan and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discuss the depiction of social media in TV dramas.
Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu
MON 20:00 Whipped (m0014x7s)
The role of the Government Whips’ Office has been at the centre of the recent storm engulfing Boris Johnson. The Whips have traditionally provided a vital link between the Prime Minister and the backbenches, but that relationship has been tested to breaking point. Ben Wright looks at whether the system of whipping in Parliament can endure and whether there are now too many conflicting loyalties for MPs. Will the combination of Brexit divisions, the pandemic and a crisis of leadership change the way the Whips operate on both sides of the House of Commons?
Contributors include William Wragg MP, Caroline Nokes MP, Mark Harper MP, Mark Tami MP, Lord McLoughlin, Miriam Cates MP and Bronwen Maddox.
Producer: Peter Snowdon
MON 20:30 Analysis (m0014x7v)
The case for public service reform
Chris Naylor asks if there's a better way to deliver public services. Many of these were designed nearly a century ago to address the challenges of that time; from cradle to grave, offering help and support during times of need - just enough to get you back on your feet. But as we approach the quarter-way mark in the 21st century, our context today is radically different to that of 100 years ago. Dig a little deeper and some of the other assumptions that underpinned Beveridge’s vision of a welfare state no longer hold either: full employment; economic and fiscal growth; the presumption of unpaid domestic care (then done by women) and of affordable housing. Little wonder that services designed to respond to momentary problems in a person or household life can’t cope with the tsunami of demand that comes when those problems last for decades. And if our public services can’t cope with collective demand, the worry is this is contributing to a collapse in the trust we place in our public institutions and therefore in our politics too. As the years go by, as trust declines, so the problems get harder and harder to resolve.
So what are we going to do about this? Is there a better way to deliver public services? Chris Naylor, the former Chief Executive of Barking and Dagenham Council assesses the need for public service reform, meeting innovators and talking to those who design and use public services. Is it time for a radical rethink?
Producer: Jim Frank
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Jacqui Johnson
Editor: Hugh Levinson
MON 21:00 The Coming Storm (m0014p7b)
8. Epilogue
QAnon and the plot to break reality...
Gabriel Gatehouse has something to confess. Throughout the making of the series he’s been developing his own conspiracy theory. It’s about a book, called The Sovereign Individual, written by two men who were also pushing stories about the Clintons in the 1990s.
Were the people who seeded the myths that led to QAnon involved in a vast conspiracy to break reality, to divide and conquer and divvy up the spoils?
Gabriel seeks to understand the book, a favourite amongst the tech billionaires of Silicon Valley. They think a new version of the web, based on crypto and blockchain, will bring about the next step in the societal shift driven by the internet. What would that mean for democracy?
Producer: Lucy Proctor
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m0014x6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0014x7y)
Intense fighting around Ukraine's second city Kharkiv
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014x6z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (m0014p8c)
Talking to Computers
Will machine translation ever be as good as human translation? How do services like Google Translate actually work? How does Alexa or Siri know what I'm saying? And will I ever be able to have a true conversation with my virtual assistant? Michael Rosen explores new developments in speech recognition, machine translation and speech synthesis with journalist and author Lane Greene.
Lane Greene is the language columnist and Spain correspondent at The Economist. He’s the author of two books about language: 'Talk on the Wild Side' and 'You Are What you Speak'.
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio in Bristol
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0014x80)
Sean Curran reports on measures to sanction the Russian regime and tackle dirty money in London.
TUESDAY 01 MARCH 2022
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0014x82)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 Death by Conspiracy? (p0bq63bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0014x84)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0014x86)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0014x88)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0014x8b)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0014x8d)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the environmentalist and theologian Dr Ruth Valerio
Good Morning.
Are you the sort of person who likes to be in good time for things or are you a last minute person, always arriving late and hassled, trying to pack in too much and forgetting things in your hurry?
Today is Shrove Tuesday; the day before the start of Lent, the six week period leading up to the Easter weekend. It is, of course, also Pancake Day. Because people traditionally fasted foods such as eggs, milk and sugar that were considered rich, pancakes were a good way to use up those ingredients.
The traditional pancake races are thought to have begun because of a woman who was in a hurry. In 1445 a woman had lost track of the time on Shrove Tuesday and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bell ringing to call the faithful to church for confession. The woman raced out of her house and ran all the way to church, still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron!
Shrove Tuesday and the start of Lent can take me by surprise and come earlier than I’m expecting. I’m often so focused on my work and other things in my life that I get to Shrove Tuesday all in a hurry and not prepared, either spiritually or with the necessary ingredients to make a good pancake supper for the family.
Shrove Tuesday asks us to stop and prepare ourselves for how we want to approach Lent. Are there particular things you want to give up or rhythms you want to put in place for these next six weeks? Now is a good time for us to settle those decisions in our hearts.
Lord of all time, I bring you my busyness today. May I not hurry so much that I forget your presence with me.
Amen
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0014x8g)
01/03/22 - Trade deal with New Zealand, aid for Ukraine and the singing dairy worker
A Trade Deal with New Zealand has been signed which includes phasing out all tariffs on imports of beef, dairy and lamb. The Government says the deal will bring new opportunities for British businesses - but the National Farmers Union say they will have to go “toe-to-toe with some of the most export-orientated farmers in the world, without the serious, long-term and properly funded investment…. that can enable them to do so”. Under the deal, all tariffs will be removed after 15 yrs for beef and lamb and 6 years for dairy.
Farmers across the UK are trying to help those fleeing the violence in Ukraine by providing empty farm buildings for the storage of food donations. But sending the goods on to Eastern Europe is proving more difficult than expected.
Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thwm0)
Golden Pheasant
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
John Aitchison presents the golden pheasant. Golden pheasants are native to the mountains of China where they live in thick bamboo forest. The males are brightly-coloured; gold and scarlet, with a long tail and a cape of black and orange which they use to woo the much duller brown females. From the late 1800's Golden Pheasants were introduced to many bird collections and shooting estates around the UK. Today the strongest colonies are in East Anglia.
TUE 06:00 Today (m0014wsy)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 Ukraine: How Did We Get Here? (m0015bgf)
The invasion of Ukraine is, according to the man behind it, a war all about history. President Putin has been explicit in his - highly contested - view that Ukraine is, and has always been, part of the Russian nation. So ideas about the past are crucial to what happens on the ground. As Europe endures its first major war of the millennium, Edward Stourton and a panel of guests explain the steps that have led to the conflict. They explore the deep history of the origins of the Slavic nations and the myth-making around it. They follow through to the present day, charting the emergence of a distinctive Ukrainian identity - amidst fierce opposition from those Russians who believe the spiritual and religious heart of their nation still lies across the Ukrainian border.
The panel:
Liudmyla Sharipova: Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham
Timothy Garton Ash: Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford
Anna Reid: Author of Borderland: A Journey Through The History of Ukraine.
Producers: Sandra Kanthal and Jim Booth
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Hugh Levinson
TUE 09:30 The Political Butterfly Effect (m00081wn)
Did Bovril keep us out of the euro?
When James Goldmsith bought the parent company of meaty drink Bovril in 1971 he finally hit the big time. He described the deal as 'the most important of his career' and it made him a small fortune - which he would then use to build the early Eurosceptic movement.
Jim Waterson takes us back to the start of James Goldsmith's singular career and follows a series of events that ends with New Labour ruling out the UK's membership of the single currency.
Presenter: Jim Waterson
Producer: Robbie MacInnes
An SPG production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 09:45 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014ywz)
2. Fleeing a Virus
Two of Gary’s closest friends give us the inside story of his journey towards conspiracy theories.
Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the virus, and died.
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, travels to the serene medieval Shropshire town that Gary Matthews called home to investigate what happened to him - and why. While delving into the conspiracy underbelly of this picturesque town, she finds out more about Gary's life - and discovers a story that's been repeated across the country, and around the world.
Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Mike Wendling
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0014wt2)
Lucy Cooke on the female of the species, Furniture poverty, Threads
You might be forgiven for thinking that the females of most animal species are passive, maternal and monogamous – because that’s been the long-standing scientific consensus. But now the zoologist and broadcaster Lucy Cooke wants to expose the stereotypes and bias that lie beneath our common understanding of how the sexes work in the wild. Her new book is called Bitch - A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal. You may also have heard her presenting a current Radio 4 series called Political Animals. Lucy joins Jessica to discuss redefining the female of the species.
Furniture poverty is when someone is unable to afford or access essential items. including white goods, beds, and carpets and curtains. In 2017 around 400,000 children in the UK didn’t have their own bed to sleep on, and in 2020 at least 4.8m people were living without at least one essential household appliance. These figures are expected to have risen during the pandemic, and expected to rise further with the cost of living crisis - with soaring inflation and household bills. Jessica speaks to a woman we are calling April - who tells us about her experience of furniture poverty, and Claire Donovan from End Furniture Poverty.
Following a trend across South America, last week Colombia decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. It means increased abortion access for women in the largely Catholic country. Jessica speaks to Marge Berer, the Co-ordinator of the International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion and to Marianna Romero from the Centre for Study of State and Society in Argentina, about the change in Colombia.
Jessica speaks to Lana Kozak, a 20 year old journalism student in the UK, about wanting her mum to be able to join her here.
We start a new series ‘Threads’ exploring the significance of old clothes. What is the oldest piece of clothing in your wardrobe? Do you have something that doesn’t fit anymore, but you just can’t bear to throw away? Why do clothes hold such strong memories and nostalgia? Today we meet listener Emma Nabarro-Steel, who contacted us with a song she wrote about this same topic, and the dress that means a lot to her.
TUE 11:00 Soccer Mums (m0014wt4)
When journalist and broadcaster Rosemary Laryea’s son tells her he has dreams of playing professional football, she soon learns that this involves a lot more than cheering supportively from the touchline.
The role of an aspiring footballer’s parent – and increasingly it’s the mums who take it on – is multi-faceted. She finds herself learning about diet and wellbeing strategies, coordinating travel arrangements, and dealing with clubs, coaches and potential agents. Crucially, it also involves making sure schoolwork continues to be done, especially if, like her son Rahman, the A-levels are looming.
We follow Rosemary over a six-month period as Rahman aims to make the step up from boys’ football to the world of under-23s and seniors. The early signs are positive. Impressive performances get Rahman noticed and the signs are that, like fellow Wembley boy Raheem Sterling, now an England star, Rahman many be on the road to a pro contract.
Along the way Rosemary shares stories of maternal highs and lows with other dedicated soccer mums. She meets Jennifer, who spends so much time driving her two sons to matches that “I basically live in the car”. Toni, a PE teacher, tells us how the determination of her 13-year-old daughter to make the grade has seen the family’s routine re-jigged in support of the cause. And Pam, from a football-mad household, describes how she's taken on the role of post-match critic and analyst for her son's games.
For all these mums, supporting their kids’ dreams is a job well worth doing. But it comes at the cost of sleepless nights as they worry about the all-too-real possibilities of injury setbacks and eventual disappointment.
Picture Credit: Inigo Laguda
Producers: Rosemary Laryea and Hugh Costello
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:30 Behind the Scenes (m0014wt6)
Afro-Futurist Shakespeare
What is Afro-Futurism and what does it bring to the Bard? Radio 4 follows the creative team in the build-up to the first performances of director Roy Alexander-Weise's RSC debut with Shakespeare’s beloved comedy Much Ado About Nothing, in the first shows with a live audience at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon since the pandemic began.
Two very different couples fall in love in Much Ado About Nothing, amidst a maze of misunderstandings and deception. In this ground-breaking production, Beatrice and Benedick bicker on an Afro-Futurist stage. “Shakespeare knew the creative potential that came with setting his plays in imagined worlds… or at least worlds unfamiliar to his audience at the time,” Roy says. “I wanted to explore what a futuristic vision of society might look like; what has the potential to be different... and equally what fundamental aspects of the human condition remain unchanged.”
To realise his vision, the co-Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre has assembled a largely Black cast and team of creatives. With contributions from MOBO nominee Femi Tomowo who's composing the music, and costume designer and Beyonce favourite Melissa Simon-Hartman, we follow the team as they draw on their African heritage, projecting it forward to opening night and beyond.
Producer: Marilyn Rust for BBC Wales
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0014wt8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:04 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014wtb)
Episode 2
In Algiers, in 1936, the young Edmond Charlot fulfilled his dream of setting up Les Vraies Richesses: “… a library, a bookstore, a publishing house, but above all a place for friends who love the literature of the Mediterranean.”
Throughout the turbulent history of 20th century Algeria, Les Vraies Richesses remained. But now, in 2017, it has closed for good, destined to be turned into a beignet shop.
A young student, Ryad, has arrived to clear out the shop, but he is keenly watched by Abdullah, an old man and former employee of Les Vraies Richesses …
Episode Two
Ryad has arrived in Algiers and meets Abdallah outside the bookshop.
Kaouther Adimi was born in Algeria and lives in France A Bookshop in Algiers is her third novel and was published in France in 2017, where it got the trifecta of major French award nominations (the Goncourt, Renaudot and Médicis prizes).
Writer: Kaouther Adimi
Translator: Chris Andrews
Readers: Raad Rawi and Ferdinand Kingsley
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m0014wtf)
Call You & Yours: How is the situation in Ukraine affecting you and your loved ones?
On Call You & Yours today we want to know - how is the situation in Ukraine affecting you and your loved ones?
The United Nations says that over half a million Ukrainians have fled their homes to escape fighting in the country so far.
The United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said millions of civilians were being forced to huddle in makeshift bomb shelters such as underground rail stations to escape explosions.
This morning the world woke to news of satellite images revealed a huge convoy of Russian armoured vehicles around 40 miles long, advancing on Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
Are you a Ukrainian living in the UK? Do you have family, friends or colleagues in the country?
Are you listening to the news wondering what you can do to help people affected?
Email the programme at youandyours@bbc.co.uk and please leave a phone number so we can call you back. From
11:00am on Tuesday 1st March, you can call us direct on 03700 100 444.
Presented by Nicola Beckford.
Produced by Beatrice Pickup.
TUE 12:57 Weather (m0014wth)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m0014wtk)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
TUE 13:45 The Lowball Tapes (m0014wtm)
The Trials
Andy Verity investigates the secret history of Libor, asking did the right people go to jail? Were the rate rigging trials about law and the evidence, or were they show trials to appease public anger towards banks?
Producer: Sarah Bowen
Music: Oskar Jones
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0014wtq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Broken Colours (m0014wts)
Episode 2
When aspiring artist, Jess, is injured during an environmental protest, she’s taken to hospital by a kind stranger. And then the stranger becomes her boyfriend. And then he disappears. Holli Dempsey and Josef Altin star in a new thriller of conflicting perception from Matthew Broughton (the creator of Tracks).
Jess.....Holli Dempsey
Dan.....Josef Altin
Melissa.....Alexandria Riley
Clem......Francois Pandolfo
Desk Sergeant.....Chris Jack
Security Guard.....Jasmine Hyde
Mark.....Neil McCaul
Daisy.....Grace Cooper Milton
Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, directed by John Norton and Emma Harding
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m0014wtv)
In Other Words
Josie Long presents audio adventures and short documentaries on the words we use to express ourselves. An artist explores new ways to talk about pain, an activist tries to live authentically in a language that feels like it wasn’t made for them, and a son connects to his parents through an Urdu love poem.
Makeshift
Featuring Laura Pejak
Produced by Nada Smiljanic and Jesse Lawson
A fragment between two
Produced by Raheel Khan
Featuring Vada/ Promise - a poem by Rukhsana Nazi - from the collection Rutth Juggeh/The Night Awakes.
With thanks to Imtiaz Ahmed Qureshi from Intesaab Kahaani.
Perceptions of Pain
Featuring Matilda Glen
Produced by Phoebe McIndoe and Redzi Bernard
Producer: Andrea Rangecroft
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (m0014wtx)
The Right to Swim
On a hot summer's day the River Wharfe in Ilkley in West Yorkshire is a tempting place to swim. In 2020 it was designated as the first inland waterway to be safe for bathing. Just over a year later the water was found to be polluted by animal and human faeces and locals and tourists were advised to stay out of the river.
The River Wharfe certainly isn't unique, Britain's rivers are taking the brunt of rising populations, antiquated sewage treatment and intensive agriculture. Too much waste- human, animal and chemical- is entering our rivers, exposing swimmers and wildlife to infection. Extreme weather as experienced in February is only making matters worse.
Charlotte Smith and Caz Graham search for solutions to Britain's polluted rivers.
Producer: Hermeet Chadha
TUE 16:00 Law in Action (m0014wtz)
Ukraine: war and law
How does international criminal law regard Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Joshua Rozenberg speaks to Professor Philippe Sands QC, whose grandfather was forced to flee the Ukrainian city of Lviv over a century ago .
Is our democracy being eroded by the government, by reducing parliament’s opportunities for scrutiny? Two reports from the House of Lords Select Committees, titled "Government by Diktat" and "Democracy Denied", say there is an urgent need to return power to parliament. They worry about power grabs and an increased use of secondary legislation - ie laws made by ministers, that can’t be amended by MPs or peers. One recent piece of secondary legislation made it legal in England for children in care aged 16 and above to be housed in unsupervised adult accommodation such as hostels. Joshua hears from a care-experienced writer what that was like, and the risks that vulnerable children might face in such housing. The law is now being challenged in the courts.
Producer: Arlene Gregorius
Researchers: Octavia Woodward and Matt Toulson
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Jacqui Johnson
Editor: Hugh Levinson
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m0014wv1)
Katie Thistleton and Suzannah Lipscomb
Radio 1 and CBBC presenter Katie Thistleton and historian and author Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books. Suzannah's choice is Nicci Gerrard's 'What Dementia Teaches Us about Love". Harriett opts for 'The Good Doctor' by Damon Galgut, and Katie's pick is 'And Now for the Good News' by Ruby Wax.
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Toby Field
TUE 17:00 PM (m0014wv3)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0014wv5)
Ukraine says Russia has attacked a TV tower in Kyiv as fighting continues in the country.
TUE 18:30 Please Use Other Door (m0014wv7)
Series 1
Episode 4
From Bill Dare (Dead Ringers, The Secret World), sketches satirising life as we know it. Naturalistic sketches taking a sometimes dark look at the world of work, relationships, institutions and families.
Performed by: Gabby Best, Will Hartley, Chris Ryman, Rebecca Shorrocks, Witney White and Toby Williams
The series of four is written by; Kat Butterfield and Dan Audritt, Sophie Dickson, Laura Major, Rob Darke, Alex Nash and Sam South, Ed Amsden and Tom Coles, Cody Dahler, Toby Williams, Ed Tew, Anna Goodman, Imogen Andrews, Matt Harrison, Carwyn Blayney, Natasha Dhanraj, Alice Etches and Nathalie Antonia, Chris Ryman, Simon Alcock, Leigh Douglas, Chazz Redhead, Paul F Taylor, Jo Wiggins, Cameron Loxdale, Lewis Cook, Owen Petty, Tom Oxenham, Rebecca Heitlinger and Bill Dare.
Production Co-ordinators Beverly Tagg and Sarah Sharpe
Sound Design Rich Evans
Music composed by Bill Dare and produced by Iona C Vallance
Artwork Lucy Jagger
Produced and created by Bill Dare
BBC Studios Production
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0014wv9)
When Lilian and Justin discuss the forthcoming extraordinary meeting of the BL board, Justin says it can’t come soon enough; Berrow’s been haemorrhaging money for too long. However, the site has a lot going for it with the access road – he can think of several possible alternative uses.
Brian, Neil and Hannah have a furtive meeting. When Neil asks whether it’s Justin’s idea to get the unit closed down, Brian can’t comment. But he admits that certain members of the board are threatening to withdraw investment from BL if they don’t get their way. He asks Neil and Hannah for a detailed plan for the future - examples of where they can cut back and economise, so that they can keep going for the coming months. They discuss cutting back staff and worry that might mean Jazzer losing his job. However, if Berrow closes he won’t have one anyway.
Amy and Chris meet up while he’s fixing the churchyard gate. Guilty Amy says they need to stop seeing each other. But Chris says that as he’s no longer Alice’s husband, it’s up to him what he does. Amy worries that if they tell Alice, she might start drinking again. She’s clear they shouldn’t have spent the night together. Struggling to contain their feelings, they kiss but are disturbed by a noise close by and worry they might’ve been seen. When they spot Roy in the distance, Chris says he’ll have a word with him tomorrow. Anyway, he’s sure no-one saw them.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0014wvc)
Tears for Fears, English Heritage, Unboxed Festival, Welsh poetry on St. David's Day
Tears For Fears, the duo who sound-tracked the 1980s with songs such as Shout, Mad World and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, have just released a new album, their first for 17 years. Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal tell Samira Ahmed about The Tipping Point and how they reached it.
Kate Mavor, CEO of English Heritage discusses the challenges facing English Heritage in 2022.
Unboxed, the festival billed as a celebration of UK creativity, has kicked off in in Paisley, Scotland with About Us, an event charting one hundred and thirty years of history, from the “Big Bang” to the present. Samira is joined by arts journalist Jan Patience to review what was once dubbed the Festival of Brexit.
And on St. David's Day, the poet, playwright, and writer, Menna Elfyn shares her choice of poem for the feast day of the patron saint of Wales.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Jodie Keane
Photo: Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears Photo credit: Frank Ockenfels
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0014wvf)
The Paedophile Preacher
File on 4 tells the story of a charismatic preacher on the run from British police for child sex offences. Three years ago, File on 4 tracked him down to an impoverished Roma community in Bulgaria where he was sexually abusing boys as young as 10. Daniel Erickson-Hull was arrested and charged by the Bulgarian authorities after he was confronted by File on 4 but has since been released and continues to offend. Yet despite overwhelming evidence, the self-styled preacher from London has been left alone. Paul Kenyon asks why the Metropolitan Police has failed to use its powers to bring him to justice and stop boys being sexually abused.
Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Ben Robinson
Editor: Carl Johnston
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0014wvh)
Tactile Paving Updates; Accessible Lateral Flow Tests
Last weekend marked two years since the tragic death of blind rail user Cleveland Gervais, due to him falling off a train platform's edge in South East London. Since then, the UK's train network operators have been coming up with ways to make train stations a safer place for visually impaired travellers; including the pledge to install tactile paving to all train station platforms by 2029. Now, the Office of Rail and Road, who are the railways regulator, has submitted its responses to the Government's Rail Accident and Investigation Branch’s report about Cleveland Gervais’ death. Within the report, it mentions that train operators have an ambition to get a lot of their tactile paving installation work done by 2024 to 2025 - but with no guarantee. We speak to the regulator about their recommendations and also to Network Rail about their ambitions to speed up their installation work and we ask for any further updates on their progress.
And last year, the Be My Eyes app made taking Covid-19 PCR tests more accessible to those with some remaining vision. Now, they have teamed up with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS Test and Trace to make Lateral Flow Tests more accessible too. We speak to someone who has tried out the service and who was involved in the pilot and to Will Butler, who is the chief experience officer at Be My Eyes.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
Website image description: the picture shows a pair of hands, with a Covid-19 Lateral Flow Test swab in the right hand. The swab is being put into the Extraction tube. In the background to the left, is a blue medical mask and the Lateral Flow Test itself is resting on the table below.
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m0014wvk)
Cervical screening, blood donation & measles
How often do we need a smear test? It’s become controversial now as a new test means women and people with a cervix need checking less often. But in the future the answer might be only once a lifetime!
We hunt for the special blood that's in high demand, yet in short supply, for people with sickle cell disease. And could the disruption from the Covid pandemic be setting the stage for a large outbreak of measles?
PRESENTER: James Gallagher
PRODUCER: Beth Eastwood
Credit Image: NHS Blood & Transplant
TUE 21:30 Ukraine: How Did We Get Here? (m0015bgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0014wvm)
Russian missiles and rockets pound Kharkiv
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014wtb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
TUE 23:00 Fortunately... with Fi and Jane (m0014wvp)
224. Between Two Lamp Posts with Jill Halfpenny
This week on Fortunately, Fi and Jane chat to actor Jill Halfpenny. Jill discusser her new Channel 5 drama The Holiday. She also shares some of her preferences for an actual holiday, offers her tips on line learning and does an impression of Harry Hill doing an impression of her. Before Jill's arrival there's a rushed full English and an Anglo-Saxon rent break.
Recorded Tuesday 22nd February.
Get in touch: fortunately.podcast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0014wvr)
All the news from Westminster with Susan Hulme, including the latest plans to help the people of Ukraine.
WEDNESDAY 02 MARCH 2022
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0014wvt)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014ywz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0014wvw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0014wvy)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0014ww0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0014ww2)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0014ww4)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the environmentalist and theologian Dr Ruth Valerio
Good morning,
The world is reeling from the horror of an unprovoked invasion in Europe: President Putin has unleashed full scale war on Ukraine, and its people are now looking at the prospect of unknown suffering and conflict. The whole world is facing a destabilised and dangerous new world order. Thoughts are with the Ukrainian people.
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day for sober reflection, and this year the occasion feels particularly sombre as we watch the war unfold. People around the world are heeding Pope Francis’ call today for a day of prayer and fasting for peace. God is a God of peace who grieves at the hatred and injustice on display in Ukraine. Ash Wednesday acknowledges the brokenness of this world while also pointing us to the ultimate reconciliation and peace that we can all experience with God through his son Jesus.
We’ve seen glimmers of hope in recent days: Global leaders have demonstrated rare unity in sanctioning Putin’s Russia, while ordinary people around the world have rallied together to protest and donate. But I also agree with the Church of England’s Bishop in Europe, Robert Innes when, commenting on Ukraine, he said: “In the face of military action and aggression, we feel powerless. What can we do? One thing that we can do is pray.”
Holy God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine and for an immediate end to the conflict. Please bring comfort, safety and provision for those fleeing the war or trapped in their homes. We pray for wisdom for political leaders, and we pray that in this darkness you would shine a light.
Amen
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0014ww6)
02/03/22 - Early asparagus harvest, storm damage and wildlife, new potato body and returning yellowhammers.
Fruit farmers often have sophisticated techniques for lengthening their harvest seasons and making plants bare fruit earlier in the year. Now, one strawberry grower has applied that skill to asparagus to start his harvest nearly 2 months early. At New Forest Fruit in Hampshire, coconut coir from old strawberry growing bags is re-purposed to build up the soil around the asparagus plants, allowing them to warm up faster in the spring.
Nearly a year ago potato farmers and processors voted to stop paying their levy to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. The AHDB was set up to instigate research projects to improve agriculture and to market British produce - every potato farmer paid it a levy based on their turnover. Potato growers felt they were paying too much for the services they were receiving. We hear from a group of nine farmers are now looking into setting up a new group called GB Potatoes, to represent growers across the country.
And we visit a group of potato farmers in Pembrokeshire who are trying to produce environmentally sustainable potatoes. They're minimizing carbon emissions and offsetting those that are unavoidable. They're also feeding farmland birds and have already seen an increase in yellowhammer numbers in the area.
Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03ws7gc)
Nuthatch
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the nuthatch. Nuthatches are the only UK birds that can climb down a tree as fast they can go up and you'll often see them descending a trunk or hanging beneath a branch. Nuthatches are unmistakable: blue-grey above, chestnut under the tail and with a black highwayman's mask.
WED 06:00 Today (m0014x09)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m0014x0f)
Troop and Casualty Numbers in Ukraine
How reliable are the figures coming out of the conflict in Ukraine?
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we consider claims about the numbers of troops involved, people killed, and planes downed.
Also: are the prime minister’s parliamentary claims about growing numbers of NHS staff backed up by data? We investigate the perplexing claim that the Chagos Islands are 100 metres below sea level. How long do you have to drive an electric car to offset the pollution from making the battery? And do we really make 35,000 decisions a day?
WED 09:30 Witness (b01qldlt)
The fall of Singapore
In February 1942 when Singapore fell to Japanese forces, tens of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers became prisoners of war. They were sent to work in prison camps across South East Asia. Maurice Naylor was put to work building a railway bridge over a river in Thailand - the River Kwai. After World War Two ended, he typed up his memories of internment.
WED 09:45 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014yxy)
3. The Protest
Marianna goes to a rally on the invitation of a man who believes strange things about Covid.
Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the virus, and died.
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, travels to the serene medieval Shropshire town that Gary Matthews called home to investigate what happened to him - and why. While delving into the conspiracy underbelly of this picturesque town, she finds out more about Gary's life - and discovers a story that's been repeated across the country, and around the world.
Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Mike Wendling
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0014x0k)
Dr Suzanne Simard & plant intelligence, Refugee women, Scottish govt & GRC, Inheritance laws & abusers, Sexist uniforms
For over thirty years Dr Suzanne Simard has done ground-breaking research on plant communication and intelligence. She is Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia and the author of a gripping scientific memoir, Finding the Mother Tree, in which she reveals the highly complex ways trees interact and communicate. Suzanne joins Jessica in the studio.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, around 660,000 refugees, most of whom are women and children, have now fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries in the past six days. That's according to the latest data from the UN Refugee Agency. They say Europe could face it’s largest refugee crisis this century. Many have fled to Poland where they have been welcomed in cities like Warsaw. But while many countries are opening their arms to refugees, the charity CARE International UK is warning that women and girls can be particularly at risk during widespread displacement in war situations, as they can face exploitation while trying to reach safety.
Suzy Madigan is the charity’s Senior Humanitarian Advisor on Gender and Protection.
The Scottish Government is expected to introduce its long-awaited Gender Reform Bill at Holyrood tomorrow - a law that would make it easier for transgender people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate. The BBC's Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon joins us to discuss.
A person guilty of manslaughter or murder is already prevented from inheriting their victim’s estate by what’s known as the Forfeiture Rule. But should that law be extended to somebody guilty of domestic abuse? MP Florence Eshalomi is attempting to change the law after one of her constituents wrote to her. Tom Guha has had to deal with exactly this since his mother died and his stepfather’s behaviour was found to have a direct link to her death. Tom clarifies the circumstances and Florence Eshalomi explains why she wants to alter the inheritance rules.
Last month a new high-end sushi restaurant in Surrey came under scrutiny for publishing a dress code that asked women to wear “sexy black ankle-strap heels with a form-fitting top” or “bodycon dresses”. The restaurant has since apologised and changed the “sexist” uniform requests. Anna Sebastian is a Hospitality Consultant who has experience with hotels, bars and restaurants. Claire Curzon is the Managing Director of Brighter Directions – a marketing and communications agency. Both Anna and Claire discuss how attitudes towards women and dress codes have changed.
Presenter: Jessica Creighton
Producer: Kirsty Starkey
Interviewed Guest: Dr Suzanne Simard
Photographer: Diana Markosian
Interviewed Guest: Suzy Madigan
Interviewed Guest: Lorna Gordon
Interviewed Guest: Florence Eshalomi
Interviewed Guest: Tom Guha
Interviewed Guest: Anne Sebastian
Interviewed Guest: Clare Curzon
WED 11:00 The Case of the Brillante Virtuoso (m0014x0m)
Episode 2
When the Brillante Virtuoso, a massive, decrepit oil tanker, was attacked and badly damaged off the coast of Yemen in 2011, it seemed at first like just the latest in a spate of daring raids launched by Somali pirates in an increasingly lawless region. On the surface it was a shocking but straightforward crime. In reality, it was anything but.
Over the next decade, the scandal swirling around the ship would come to involve lies on an industrial scale, corruption, violent threats, Greek Shipowners, Yemeni power brokers, British lawyers, Filipino sailors, the murder of a British man that remains tragically unsolved, and his family's fight to unravel a web of organised crime.
Journalist Nick Wallis follows a story that goes all the way from the bleeding edge of the Arab Spring to the heart of the City of London.
Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design: Leonie Thomas
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
WED 11:30 Angstrom (b09nxsc4)
Series 1
Into the Mad Mind of Madness
Matthew Holness stars as Knut Ångström, a brooding, alcoholic, maverick Swedish detective from the tough streets of Oslo, in a Scandinavian detective yarn adapted from the bestselling Ångström trilogy by Martin English (writing as Bjorgen Swedenssonsson).
Following the death of his wife, Ångström is posted to the Njalsland peninsula where he becomes embroiled in a labyrinthine murder (or possibly not-murder) case which bears an eerie similarity to the Askeladden killings - a case from his distant past.
In episode 3, a clue left by the killer leads Ångström and Mina to the Schmilsson novelty troll factory, where Ångström's brooding threatens to get out of control.
A new comedy series by writers of the Ladybird Books for Grown Ups, Charlie Brooker's ...Wipe, That Mitchell and Webb Look and A Touch of Cloth.
Written by Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley
Cast: Matthew Holness, Nadia Kamil, Simon Kane, Kevin Eldon, Anna Crilly, David Reed, Freya Parker.
Production Co-ordinator: Tamara Shilham
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner
A BBC Studios production.
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0014x3k)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 12:04 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014x0r)
Episode 3
In Algiers, in 1936, the young Edmond Charlot fulfilled his dream of setting up Les Vraies Richesses: “… a library, a bookstore, a publishing house, but above all a place for friends who love the literature of the Mediterranean.”
Throughout the turbulent history of 20th century Algeria, Les Vraies Richesses remained. But now, in 2017, it has closed for good, destined to be turned into a beignet shop.
A young student, Ryad, has arrived to clear out the shop, but he is keenly watched by Abdullah, an old man and former employee of Les Vraies Richesses …
Episode Three
Over coffee, Ryad learns more about Les Vraies Richesses from Abdallah.
Kaouther Adimi was born in Algeria and lives in France A Bookshop in Algiers is her third novel and was published in France in 2017, where it got the trifecta of major French award nominations (the Goncourt, Renaudot and Médicis prizes).
Writer: Kaouther Adimi
Translator: Chris Andrews
Readers: Raad Rawi and Ferdinand Kingsley
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:18 You and Yours (m0014x0t)
Shopping Basket, House Plants, Pet Friendly Rentals
We have an update on supermarket prices with our You and Yours Shopping Basket. We re-launched it in January - we used to have one in the 70's, and we're tracking 10 basic food items each month. They're all own brands from the five main supermarkets, the cheapest options for pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, butter, baked beans, beef mince, tinned tuna, apples and squash. Three out of the five baskets have decreased, one has increased and one has stayed the same.
Traditionally it can be difficult and expensive to find rented accommodation that allows pets. But there's been a 120% increase in demand for animal friendly properties due to the post lockdown increase in pet ownership. And some landlords and developers are taking notice - we hear from James Hardern from Ascend's Build to Rent team who are developing pet friendly flats across the UK.
Has the love for house plants continued now we're going out more? The Royal Horticultural Society says they've seen sales of houseplants go up 28 per cent compared to this time last year - but do people have as much time to look after them? Let us know if you're still tending to your house plants.
Let us know - email us at youandyours@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Nicola Beckford
Producer: Miriam Williamson
WED 12:57 Weather (m0014x0w)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m0014x0y)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
WED 13:45 The Lowball Tapes (m0014x10)
The Whistleblower
Pressure is put on a reluctant trader to manipulate interest rates. But where are his instructions coming from?
As Libor begins to feel like a lie, Andy is given a flash drive with some incendiary audio recordings.
Presenter: Andy Verity
Producer: Sarah Bowen
Music: Oskar Jones
WED 14:00 The Archers (m0014wv9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 From Fact to Fiction (m0007scn)
Twelve Weeks
A weekend away for college friends turns sour when a deeply personal secret is uncovered.
Jen, Caroline and Sorcha are in their early 40s and have been friends since they met at University 25 years ago. Jen has had a successful but hard-fought career as an architect, married with two children. Caroline is a finance director who has not had the personal life she would have wanted and has a history of expensive failed IVF, while Sorcha is a stay at home mother of three who has not had the career she wanted.
Despite their differences, their friendship is strong. They are funny, clever, sweet women, aware of their privilege and - mostly - good fortune. They come together for a long weekend in Suffolk but, very quickly, an aside causes a huge rift.
Sorcha and Jen, it turns out, went away together for a weekend six months ago without inviting Caroline. Jen was recovering from a termination and needed some time out with a friend. The weekend was a secret as the two knew Caroline would disapprove of Jen’s actions.
The drama examines the abortion debate from all angles, arguing ultimately that choice matters — but that all choices have consequences. Underneath the surface, it’s a story about the intensity and allegiances of female friendships and how they charge over time, about jealousy and maternal identity and the tensions between women who appear to have had the family life they wanted and those who feel they haven’t. And it’s about whether a lifelong friendship can survive a lie — even if it was a lie designed to protect you.
It also poses the question as to whether, long-term, we can be friends with people who fundamentally disagree with us or even disapprove of us.
Cast:
Jen........................Flora Montgomery
Caroline..............Jane Slavin
Sorcha.................Nimmy March
Anne....................Barbara Flynn
Alex......................Oliver Le Sueur
Doctor.................Viv Groskop
Writer: Viv Groskop
Directed by Eoin O’Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4
WED 15:00 Money Box (m0014x12)
Surviving Debt
As the cost of living rises, more people are facing going into debt. Whether it’s your rent, mortgage, utility bills or credit cards, breaking the cycle of debt isn’t easy.
Who can you go to when you’re struggling to pay your debts? How do you prioritise your spending? Can you even negotiate your debts down? And how can you avoid debt altogether?
Felicity Hannah talks to Chloe, Chris, Manga, Christine and James about their debt woes and wins.
And to help advise and guide us through the world of debt they are joined by:
Amy Taylor, Chair of the Greater Manchester Money Advice Group.
Jayashri Lowe, Money Advice Manager at Citizens Advice Stafford North and Stoke On Trent.
Bola Sol, financial coach and the author of How to Save It: Fix your Finances.
Producers: Drew Hyndman and Sylvie Carlos
Editor: Emma Rippon
WED 15:30 Inside Health (m0014wvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Frontline (m0014ptm)
What’s it like to be a Catholic police officer in Northern Ireland? And why aren’t more Catholics joining?
Ophelia Byrne sets out to discover, twenty years after policing in Northern Ireland was transformed. On 4 November 2001, the Royal Ulster Constabulary became the Police Service of Northern Ireland, with a new uniform, badge, and flag, and the ambition to be fully reflective of the society it served.
This followed decades of controversy around policing in Northern Ireland. The RUC was a predominantly Protestant force, which, especially during the Northern Ireland Troubles, was proud of its service in the line of duty - and of its sacrifice, seeing hundreds of its members killed and thousands injured by republican paramilitaries.
But it was often accused by members of the Catholic community of discriminating against them, as the defenders of a highly contested state. In some quarters, a deep distrust of policing was reinforced over decades of conflict, and by the time of the transition to the PSNI, Catholics comprised only an estimated 8% of the RUC.
Following the Good Friday Agreement, the PSNI came into being as a fresh start for policing. With a contentious affirmative action programme in place for the first decade, the numbers of PSNI officers from a Catholic background soared to almost 30%. But it has since plateaued at around 31%, though the last Census (2011) put the Catholic population of Northern Ireland at 45%. Why?
Gaining rare access to serving Catholic officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Ophelia finds out about their backgrounds, experiences, what attracted them to policing – and whether widely-held perceptions of what it takes for them to put on the police uniform are actually part of their lives.
Those perceptions range from issues of security and dissident republican threat, to where you live, possible family rejection and/or having to leave communities behind, as well as keeping what you do largely a secret.
But some of those issues, like security, it’s argued, are faced by all police officers in Northern Ireland. So Ophelia asks young people why they feel more people from a Catholic background are not taking up a policing career today.
This matters, because representative policing was viewed as a cornerstone of the Northern Ireland peace process. And now, even as these long-standing issues of representation remain unresolved, new and very different ones are fast emerging from an upcoming generation eager for change.
Presenter/ Producer: Ophelia Byrne
Executive Editor: Andy Martin
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m0014x14)
The Information War in Ukraine
Alongside fighting in Ukraine, an "information war" is playing out. While Western media on the ground are describing a brutal war, Russian media offers a very different narrative. Journalists are not even allowed to describe the situation in Ukraine as a "war". So how will the latest crackdown on independent Russian media affect what people in the country see? And what does that mean for the future of this conflict?
Guests: Ivan Kolpakov, Editor-in-Chief at Meduza; Olga Malchevska, Journalist at the BBC Ukrainian service; Professor Samuel Greene, Director of the Russia Institute at King’s College, London; Luke Harding, Senior International Correspondent at The Guardian; Roland Oliphant, Senior Foreign Correspondent at The Telegraph; Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor at Channel 4 News.
Producer: Hannah Sander
Studio Engineer: Tim Heffer
Presenter: Ros Atkins
WED 17:00 PM (m0014x16)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0014x1b)
Russian troops have launched devastating attacks on several cities in Ukraine - on day 7 of their invasion of the country. The city of Kharkiv has come under sustained attack.
WED 18:30 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m0014x1d)
Series 3
Birthday Blues
Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam return with the third series of Jan Etherington’s award-winning comedy about a long-married couple in love with life and each other. Most of the time. This week, it’s a big birthday for Roger. But he doesn’t want a party and he doesn’t like his present - an electric bike - which he believes is for ‘old geezers’. However, when he starts a healthy diet, whitens his teeth and she catches him using her face cream, Joanna wonders if it is just a big birthday life crisis – or could it be an affair?
Conversations from a Long Marriage won the Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Best Radio Comedy in 2020.
‘Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam have had illustrious acting careers but can they ever have done anything better than Jan Etherington’s two hander? This is a work of supreme craftsmanship.’ RADIO TIMES
‘Peppered with nostalgic 60s hits and especially written for the pair, it’s an endearing portrait of exasperation, laced with hard won tolerance – and something like love.’ THE GUARDIAN
‘The delicious fruit of the writer, Jan Etherington’s experience of writing lots of TV and radio, blessed by being acted by Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam. Treasure this one, produced by Claire Jones. Unlike many a current Radio 4 ‘comedy’, this series makes people laugh’ GILLIAN REYNOLDS. SUNDAY TIMES
‘You’ve been listening at my window, Jan’. JOANNA LUMLEY
‘The writing is spot on and Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam exquisite. So real, so entertaining. Please never stop making such terrific radio’. BBC DUTY LOG
‘Absolutely brilliant!! May it never end!’ BBC DUTY LOG
Conversations from a Long Marriage is written by Jan Etherington and produced by Claire Jones. It is a BBC Studios Production.
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0014x1h)
Tracy despairs when Toby backs out of the cricket meeting; he was the only person coming from the cricket team. When Leonard’s at a loose end and mentions he played cricket years ago, Jazzer invites him to the meeting for moral support. Later when only Tracy, Jazzer and Leonard turn up, Tracy’s inspired when Leonard chats about Tony’s enthusiasm for cricket and Jazzer adds that Jim loves being the scorer. If the only people keen on reviving cricket are the ‘oldies’, then Tracy thinks they need to get able-bodied older people in the village – male and female - to form an OAP team. Leonard suggests the more palatable name of ‘veterans’.
Chris and Amy talk on the phone. He comforts her when she continues to worry that they were seen kissing in the churchyard last night. Amy agrees to go round to Chris’s later.
Chris visits Roy on the pretext of making something for Grey Gables’ garden. He works his way round to asking Roy whether he was at the churchyard yesterday evening as Chris thought he saw him. But Roy says he wasn’t.
Amy and Chris are wrong-footed by a surprise visit from angry Fallon who saw them last night in the churchyard. She’s been worrying all day about what to do. She turns on Amy, asking her how she could do that to Alice, when she’s supposed to be her friend? Chris defends Amy, maintaining she hasn’t done anything wrong. But Fallon won’t be appeased – she’s going to tell Alice.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0014x1k)
Jane Campion on The Power of the Dog, Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov
Filmmaker Jane Campion is the first woman to be nominated twice for the Oscar for Best Director and the first woman to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival. Known for her female-centred work such as The Piano, she tells Tom Sutcliffe why she decided to focus on toxic masculinity in The Power of the Dog, her first feature film in ten years.
The acclaimed Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov, who was due to be representing his country at next month’s Venice Art Biennale, talks from Kharhiv, where he is sheltering from the bombing.
JN Benjamin reviews the play Mugabe, My Dad & Me, a one man show from Tonderai Munyevu which charts the rise and fall of Robert Mugabe through the personal story of the playwright’s family.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Julian May
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m0014x1m)
Putin - did we help create a war criminal?
We don't know how the Ukrainian conflict will end. But how did it begin? The responsibility for the Ukraine conflict lies squarely with Vladimir Putin - described by some as cunning and crazy by others - this is his war. But was there a chance to prevent it? Would he have done this if the West behaved differently after the collapse of the Soviet Union when the new Ukraine was born? In these last decades, Russia built up its military strength while the European democracies made every effort to disarm. NATO might have trained Ukrainian troops and sent supplies right up to the invasion, but it repeatedly said it wouldn’t get directly involved. And now we have sanctions that could take years to act. Are the democracies weak? Or is despotism always doomed to fail in the end?
What happens if, as seems likely, Putin takes Kyiv and installs a puppet regime. There will be a Resistance and our own Prime Minister is committed to helping it. How far should we go with that – food and medicine, of course, but will we potentially fund fighters who, to us, will be patriots but to the Kremlin will be terrorists? Russia is already waging “hybrid war” against the democratic nations. Should we try to beat Putin at his own game of cyber-attacks and deniable operations? To defeat a monster, must we become monstrous ourselves? With Alan Mendoza, Director of the right leaning think tank, The Henry Jackson Society; Political Scientist Yascha Mounk; Former MI6 officer Christopher Steele and Professor Janina Dill who researches the role of law and morality in International Relations.
Produced by Olive Clancy
WED 20:45 Witness (b01qldlt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (m0014wtx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m0014x14)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0014x1p)
Day of intense attacks on Ukrainian cities
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014x0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m0014x1r)
Series 9
Episode 8
Bed-bound wit and story telling from Patrick Marber and Peter Curran.
Their special guest is chef, broadcaster and host of The Great British Menu, Andi Oliver. She sings an ancient lullaby and the trio discuss a shared mistrust of dolphins.
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 Chris Neill: Raging Enigma (m0014ytk)
Visits To The Pearly Gates
At the funeral of a dear neighbour, Chris Neill is joined by Isy Suttie and Martin Hyder, hacking back the undergrowth of his life for the comedy stories buried within.
“A rapid-fire English David Sedaris. Every word is perfectly chosen and perfectly used.” - Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
After ten episodes of Woof, in Raging Enigma Chris Neill continues to reveal the unvarnished realities of being a really quite mediocre man. Memoir continues to underpin these illustrated stand-up shows, and the subject matter will be as varied as before. But this time without the studio audience.
“Chris Neill’s show is a consummate masterpiece” - Susan Nickson
“Blissfully well written. Neill may be first and foremost a comedian, but his observations are as acute as any novelist’s. Sweet, sharp and very funny.” - The Times
Written by Chris Neill
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0014x1t)
Sean Curran reports as Boris Johnson updates the Commons on the situation in Ukraine and responds to MPs at Prime Minister's Questions.
THURSDAY 03 MARCH 2022
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0014x1w)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014yxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0014x1y)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0014x20)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0014x22)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0014x24)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0014x26)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the environmentalist and theologian Dr Ruth Valerio
Good morning.
The period of Lent is often a time of looking inwards: a season of fasting and reflection on our wrongdoing and a time to focus on a more simple life. But that confession is done communally too and Lent can also be a time to remember that we are communal beings and to consider the health of the relationships in our communities.
In Pakistan a new inter-faith practice is emerging in some communities during Lent and Ramadan where Muslims and Christians are sharing their breaking-the-fast meals (known as Iftars) together. One such meal was held last year on Palm Sunday in Punjab province. Around twenty people gathered including young people, Muslim clerics and church leaders. Similar meals were then held during Ramadan.
In my work for a Christian relief and development charity, I see how religion can be used to incite social division, discrimination, and even violence, resulting in poverty and suffering. We work around the world to promote freedom of religion and belief and reconcile divided communities.
That work is needed closer to home too and many of us will live in communities where we keep within our social and ethnic groupings. But Jesus showed us a different way. Through his miracles, his words and his acts of love and compassion, he reached out across the boundaries and broke down the barriers. It can be easier to live in fear of the other, but Jesus calls us to live instead for peace and reconciliation.
God of all, I repent of where I caricature and disregard those who are different to me. Give me an opportunity today to go beyond my borders and meet you in the face of another.
Amen
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0014x28)
03/03/22 - Isle of Man medicinal cannabis, QR codes for walkers and "community supported agriculture".
A huge cannabis farm could be built in the middle of the Irish Sea. The £100 million pound production plant - growing medicinal cannabis - is being planned for land on the outskirts of Douglas on the Isle of Man. The Tynwald - the Isle of Man Parliament - changed the law last year to allow the production of medical grade cannabis for export to places like Europe and North America.
We hear from the ex-deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union, Stuart Roberts, who hung up his badge of office last week and this week has been busy putting up new QR code signs all over his farm. He wants to harness new technology to share what he does on the land with the thousands of walkers who stroll the footpaths on his 300 acre mixed farm.
And the number of Community Supported Agriculture projects in the UK has more than tripled since 2019. These partnerships work in many different ways - sometimes it’s a straightforward financial investment, or it can be customers getting food in exchange for labour in the fields - but the key point is a firm link between the farm and the people who eat the food. We visit a CSA in Devon.
Presented by Sybil Ruscoe
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zbtzz)
Black Grouse
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Kate Humble presents the story of the black grouse. A black grouse lek is one of Nature's spectacles. Charged with testosterone, the males, known as 'black cocks', compete on 'jousting lawns' for the females or grey hens. Fanning their lyre-shaped tails and displaying a flurry of white undertail feathers, the males rush towards their rivals with harsh scouring sneezes and bubbling cries, known as 'roo-kooing'.
THU 06:00 Today (m0014xt2)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 08:57 DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal (m0015h64)
Matthew Bannister makes the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0014xt4)
The Arthashastra
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ancient Sanskrit text the Arthashastra, regarded as one of the major works of Indian literature. Written in the style of a scientific treatise, it provides rulers with a guide on how to govern their territory and sets out what the structure, economic policy and foreign affairs of the ideal state should be. According to legend, it was written by Chanakya, a political advisor to the ruler Chandragupta Maurya (reigned 321 – 297 BC) who founded the Mauryan Empire, the first great Empire in the Indian subcontinent. As the Arthashastra asserts that a ruler should pursue his goals ruthlessly by whatever means is required, it has been compared with the 16th-century work The Prince by Machiavelli. Today, it is widely viewed as presenting a sophisticated and refined analysis of the nature, dynamics and challenges of rulership, and scholars value it partly because it undermines colonial stereotypes of what early South Asian society was like.
With
Jessica Frazier
Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
James Hegarty
Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions at Cardiff University
And
Deven Patel
Associate Professor of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
Producer: Simon Tillotson
THU 09:45 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014yx1)
4. Charlie
Marianna meets Charlie Parker, the man who ran the Facebook group Gary was in before he died.
Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the virus, and died.
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, travels to the serene medieval Shropshire town that Gary Matthews called home to investigate what happened to him - and why. While delving into the conspiracy underbelly of this picturesque town, she finds out more about Gary's life - and discovers a story that's been repeated across the country, and around the world.
Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Mike Wendling
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0014xt6)
Women's safety, Paralympics
'Enough'. That’s the name of a new communication campaign launched by the Home Office this week to tackle violence against women and girls. It comes in the week of the anniversary of the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard in London, by a serving police officer. So one year on, where are we in the fight to deal with violence against women and girls? We speak to Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson who is the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, and to Woman's Hour listeners Polly and Rebecca about their concerns.
The Winter Paralympics begin tomorrow in Beijing and ParalympicsGB are sending 24 athletes to compete - the biggest British Winter Paralympic team in nearly thirty years. There are five female athletes including alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, who won four medals in Pyeongchang four years ago. Jessica discusses our medal prospects with Andy Stevenson, 5 Live’s Paralympic Winter Games reporter; and the International Paralympic Committee's decision not to allow Russian or Belarussian athletes to take part with Rebecca Myers, journalist at The Sunday Times.
On Sunday the BAFTAs red carpet rolls out to recognise the very best in British film. One of the nominees in the short film category is about a small and unique community in the heart of South London - locals at the London Palace Bingo Club. Their beloved club is being forced to close down, and the film follows the regulars who have depended on it for years. Jessica speaks to the director Jo Prichard. The film is available to stream on the Bertha DocHouse website this weekend.
Danielle Marin is the author of Top Girl, a book exploring her first-hand experiences with drug dealing, gangs and violent crimes. Danielle wants people to know about young women who get caught up in this kind of lifestyle, and how she found a way out. She joins Jessica.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m0014xt8)
Shock and anger in Eastern Siberia
Ukrainians have mounted a defiant response since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of their country began. But scores of lives have nonetheless been lost. Moscow’s propaganda machine has been in full swing domestically, trying to conceal any Russian casualties from the outside world.
Caroline Davies visited went to a village in Eastern Siberia to speak to the families and friends of one of the Russian soldiers in Ukraine – who’s believed to have been captured.
Finland once signed a treaty which ensured it would not face a Soviet invasion, providing it stayed out of Nato and gave Moscow to influence its domestic and foreign policy. To date, Finland has remained outside Nato but a debate is now underway as to whether it should eventually join following threats from Vladimir Putin this week. Emilia Jansson reports that attitudes on the ground are beginning to shift.
For the majority of those attending the annual Republican Conference in Florida, the crisis in Ukraine was a subject best avoided. Instead, President Joe Biden was cast as their greatest threat. Anthony Zurcher reports on the conference.
Thousands of miles off the coast of Chile, sits the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. The islanders are eagerly anticipating the return of one of their beloved Moai – figures carved out of rock. It was first brought to Chile in 1870. Jane Chambers has been following the twists and turns of the great home coming of its return.
Copenhagen is home to one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid warehouses. The warehouse can store more than 36 000 pallets of life-saving equipment. It’s sorted and packed by robots, humans and mechanised wheelbarrows. Sandra Kanthal has been to the warehouse, run by Unicef, to meet the people who work there.
THU 11:30 Banding: Love, Spit and Valve Oil (m0014xtb)
The mines are dead, but the music and the people are not.
Folk musician Martin Green explores the phenomenon that is modern brass banding. After following a poster at the National Mining Museum Scotland that said “brass in the park, this Saturday”, Martin discovered one of the most inspiring social music making acts he’d ever witnessed. If the mines are dead, the music and the people most definitely are not.
Determined to find out what continues to draw people into brass banding, both musically and socially, Martin decides to write a piece of music for brass band and seek advice from those in the community. He finds a series of interesting juxtapositions and discovers the important role brass banding has in people's lives.
Produced by Rebecca Gaskell and Martin Green
A Sparklab and Lepus co-production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0014xtf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 12:04 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014xth)
Episode 4
In Algiers, in 1936, the young Edmond Charlot fulfilled his dream of setting up Les Vraies Richesses: “… a library, a bookstore, a publishing house, but above all a place for friends who love the literature of the Mediterranean.”
Throughout the turbulent history of 20th century Algeria, Les Vraies Richesses remained. But now, in 2017, it has closed for good, destined to be turned into a beignet shop.
A young student, Ryad, has arrived to clear out the shop, but he is keenly watched by Abdullah, an old man and former employee of Les Vraies Richesses …
Episode Four
Ryad meets Moussa and discovers more about Abdallah’s past.
Kaouther Adimi was born in Algeria and lives in France A Bookshop in Algiers is her third novel and was published in France in 2017, where it got the trifecta of major French award nominations (the Goncourt, Renaudot and Médicis prizes).
Writer: Kaouther Adimi
Translator: Chris Andrews
Readers: Raad Rawi and Ferdinand Kingsley
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:18 You and Yours (m0014xtk)
HGV Drivers, Storm Damage and Standing Charges
The logistics crisis is becoming less acute as more young people choose to become HGV drivers and outrage as home owners face big increase in power bill standing charges.
THU 12:57 Weather (m0014xtm)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0014xtp)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.
THU 13:45 The Lowball Tapes (m0014xtr)
The Overseers
Who was responsible for Libor? It was hailed as the world’s most important number, but who was looking after it and were the custodians behaving with integrity? While traders went to prison for rigging interest rates, were there orchestrated manipulations of Libor by far bigger players?
Presenter: Andy Verity
Producer: Sarah Bowen
Music: Oskar Jones
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0014x1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m0014xtt)
Series 3
Gloria and Clement
By Rex Obano
Gloria’s ultimatum to Clement that he find work or leave their home goes awry when their daughter Joy runs away. Clement must choose between his activism against racist attacks on the streets and repairing the family he and Gloria have built.
Gloria ..... Pippa Bennett-Warner
Clement ..... Stefan Adegbola
Ida ..... Emma Handy
Caleb ..... Don Gilet
Mabel ..... Dorothea Myer-Bennett
Man 3 ..... Chris Jack
Guard ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Benny ..... Neil McCaul
Directed by Pat Cumper
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m0014xtw)
After Eunice - Guarlford, Worcestershire
Clare explores a rural route near the Worcestershire village of Guarlford. Storm Eunice has just left, Franklin is underway and the River Severn is up so this is a last-minute change to the planned walk. Originally Clare and her guest, poet Catherine Swire, had planned to hike the first stretch of the Monarch's Way which runs along the banks of the Rivers Teme and Severn in Worcester but flooding has pushed them a little further south.
Catherine has recently published her first book of poetry, 'Soil', which takes the theme of historic trauma and explores how it is etched on our landscape. Worcester was the site of the first proper skirmish, and the last battle, of the English Civil War, something featured within Catherine's work.
The Monarch's Way is a long distance path which traces the very indirect escape route - from Worcester to Suffolk - of Charles II after his loss at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
Guarlford (not on the Monarch's Way) is about two miles east of Great Malvern, and a good mile and a half west of the River Severn - hopefully far enough to keep their feet dry.
The grid reference for their starting point in Guarlford is SO 813 453. The map is OS Explorer 190 Malvern Hills and Bredon Hill
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0014wyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m0014wz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m0014xty)
Series 19
Surprising Symmetries
Two eyes, two arms, two legs - we’re roughly symmetrical on the outside, but inside we’re all over the place! We just have one heart, which is usually on the left, one liver on the right, one spleen and one appendix….‘Why is that?’ wonders listener Joanne.
Our science sleuths discover that being symmetrical down the middle - at least on the outside - is by far the most common body plan across the animal kingdom. Professor Sebastian Shimeld from the University of Oxford takes us on a journey into the deep evolutionary past, to uncover how two-sided body structures first emerged in ancient worm-like creatures, and why this layout eventually proved so useful for swimming, walking and flying.
Garden snails turn out to be a surprising exception – their shells coil in one direction and on just one side of their body. Professor Angus Davison from the University of Nottingham tells the tale of his international quest to find a romantic partner for Jeremy – a rare left-coiling snail who could only mate with another left-coiling snail!
Dr Daniel Grimes from the University of Oregon unfolds the delicate mechanisms by which an initally symmetrical embryo starts to develop differently down one side, and everyone puzzles over the mystery of the left-handed 'mirror molecules' - so called L-amino acids - which turn out to be the building blocks of every living organism. A curious case indeed!
Presenters: Hannah Fry and Adam Rutherford
Producer: Ilan Goodman
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0014xv0)
Cyber frontlines in Ukraine
As conflict continues in Ukraine, there are invisible ‘cyber frontlines’ running in parallel to the physical fighting. We hear how the country’s tech scene is responding to the Russian invasion, as Mike Sapiton, Tech Editor at Forbes Ukraine gives us a view from the ground, and Professor Madeline Carr explains why cyber warfare can be particularly dangerous.
A major report published this week speaks to a different kind of crisis: climate change. There are stark warnings for humanity and the planet, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessing the impacts of global heating on people and places, as well as how we can adapt to a drastically changed world. One of its lead authors, Professor Richard Betts, reflects on the report.
Russia is one of the world's biggest producers of coal, gas and oil, so what might their invasion of Ukraine, and the ensuing sanctions, mean for global energy supplies? Simon Evans, deputy editor of the climate website Carbon Brief, discusses whether we're more likely to see a push towards renewables and energy efficiency, or further reliance on fossil fuels.
THU 17:00 PM (m0014xv2)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0014xv4)
Mariupol, a city of nearly half a million people in southeastern Ukraine, is under siege from Russian invaders.
THU 18:27 DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal (m0015h64)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:57 today]
THU 18:30 Plum House (b0b89kbv)
Series 2
Wedding Bells
Comedy about the inept staff at a historic house.
Every year, thousands of tourists flock to the Lake District. But one place they never go is Plum House - the former country home of terrible poet George Pudding (1779-1848).
Now a crumbling museum, losing money hand over fist, it struggles to stay open under its eccentric curator Peter Knight (Simon Callow). Tom Collyer (Tom Bell) tries and fails to get the museum back on track, alongside the hopelessly out of touch deputy Julian (Miles Jupp), corner-cutting gift shop manager Maureen (Jane Horrocks), put-upon education officer Emma (Louise Ford), and enthusiastic but dim-witted caretaker Alan (Pearce Quigley).
This week, the team are preparing to host their first wedding at the museum. With a journalist coming to cover the event, it’s a publicity coup for Plum House. But the groom has cold feet. Can they carry on regardless with a fake wedding? Tom is dubious - until Julian suggests he might pretend to marry Emma.
Cast:
Peter ..... Simon Callow
Julian ..... Miles Jupp
Maureen ..... Jane Horrocks
Tom ..... Tom Bell
Alan ..... Pearce Quigley
Emma ..... Louise Ford
Sophie ..... Jo Enright
Joe the Groom ..... Nico Tatarowicz
Amy / Wedding Shop Assistant ..... Maya Sondhi
Written by Ben Cottam and Paul McKenna
Produced by Sarah Cartwright
Directed by Paul Schlesinger
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m0014xv6)
Lynda’s asked Kirsty over for cake and stern talking to about her decision to leave Ambridge. Kirsty says staying reminds her about the mess she’s made of her life. Lynda asserts she belongs in Ambridge, and the rewilding job is made for her. She and Kirsty are very similar; they’re both inspired by the village and are there to make a difference. Kirsty needs to make it impossible for the rewilders to say no to her.
Harrison tells Fallon he doesn’t want a baptism party – it something that’s very personal to him.
Exasperated Chris has it out with Fallon, saying if she tells Alice about him and Amy it could set Alice back. Fallon’s furious – he should have thought of that before jumping into bed with Amy. When things escalate, Harrison asks Chris to leave. Later Fallon admits she shouldn’t have lost her temper. Harrison reminds her that Chris and Amy love Alice too and want what’s best for her. But you don’t choose who you fall for. If Chris and Amy stay together, it’s their decision to tell Alice.
Later Fallon visits Chris and explains that Harrison’s convinced her not to mention anything to Alice. Chris says he’s been lonely and that he and Amy really tried to stay apart. Amy was trying to finish with Chris when Fallon saw them. Fallon’s unconvinced. She wonders what she’ll do when she and Amy are helping with Martha’s party next week. She won’t be able to look Amy in the face.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0014xv8)
The 50 year anniversary of The Godfather, Our Generation reviewed, Paul Dano on his role in the new Batman
It’s 50 years since The Godfather was released, the first of three films that have had a huge impact in their own right and on so much that followed them, from The Sopranos to The Simpsons. Christina Newland and Carl Anka discuss the power of the films and their legacy as Godfather II joins The Godfather on cinematic re-release.
Our Generation is a new play by Alecky Blythe, the author of London Road, whose particular technique of verbatim theatre this time involved following a group of young people in the secondary school years and just beyond for five years. The snapshot of exams, phones, relationships, dreams and aspirations that’s resulted is at the National Theatre and then Chichester. It’s reviewed by poet Anthony Anaxagorou and critic Susannah Clapp.
Paul Dano discusses his role as The Riddler in new film The Batman, and reflects on the particular quality shared by many of the characters he has played.
And Anthony Anaxagorou and fellow poet Hannah Lowe, who’s just won the Costa Book of the Year Award for her collection The Kids, each recommend a new poetry collection.
THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0015f20)
Russia's invasion: what's the military strategy?
The war in Ukraine is a week old. What have we learned about the military strength - and tactics - on both sides? And what might that tell us about how the conflict might play out?
David Aaronovitch is joined in The Briefing Room by:
Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russian editor at BBC Monitoring.
Colonel Liam Collins, founding director of the Modern War Institute in New York.
Ed Arnold, Research Fellow in European security at RUSI and an ex British Army officer who was posted to NATOs Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in 2014 during the Russian annexation of Crimea.
Kataryna Wolczuk, Professor of East European Politics at the University of Birmingham.
Bettina Renz, Professor of International Security at the University of Nottingham.
Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Studio manager: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m0014xvb)
Russia and the global economy
What will the consequences of the invasion of Ukraine be for the world's economy - and for us? From the effects on the energy markets to the tough sanctions regime, we can already see ripple effects across Europe and the rest of the globe, at a time when the world's economy is still in a febrile post-Covid state. Evan Davis and guests discuss the likely and immediate picture for business, growth and incomes.
Guests:
Duncan Weldon, economist and author of the Value Added newsletter on Substack.
Anna Leach, deputy chief economist at the CBI
Chris Rogers, supply chain economist for Flexport
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy
Producer: Julie Ball
Research: Johnny I'Anson
Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Produced in association with The Open University.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m0014xv0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m0014xt4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0014xvf)
Second week of Russia's invasion
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014xth)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
THU 23:00 Gaby's Talking Pictures (b0b6fbvn)
Series 1
Episode 2
Gaby Roslin hosts the funny, entertaining film quiz with impressions by Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona. This week, team captains John Thomson and Ellie Taylor are joined by special guests Sarah Hadland and Marcus Brigstocke.
Presented by Gaby Roslin
Team Captains: John Thomson and Ellie Taylor
Impressionists: Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona
Created by Gaby Roslin
Written by Carrie Quinlan and Barney Newman
Produced by Gordon Kennedy, Gaby Roslin and Barney Newman
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0014xvk)
Susan Hulme reports on Russia, Ukraine and sport.
FRIDAY 04 MARCH 2022
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0014xvn)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014yx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0014xvs)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0014xvx)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0014xw1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0014xw5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0014xw8)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the environmentalist and theologian Dr Ruth Valerio
Good morning.
In 2020 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made the single-largest charitable contribution when he pledged $10 billion to set up a fund to help fight the climate crisis.
A very different charitable gift was noticed one day when Jesus was sitting with his disciples in the temple courts, teaching the people who had gathered around. Milling about were teachers of the law in flowing garments, wanting to be noticed and honoured, and a steady stream of wealthy people putting their gifts into the temple treasury. But then Jesus saw a woman, who he knew to be a widow living in poverty, putting in two very small copper coins.
I wonder how she approached the treasury. Was she embarrassed? Did she hope to slip in and put in her coins quickly so no one would see how little she was giving? She certainly wasn’t wanting to attract any attention.
But Jesus notices and draws a stunning conclusion: ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on’.
We tend to see Lent as a time of giving things up, but it is also a time of giving. Alongside prayer and fasting, a third and often neglected pillar is that of ‘almsgiving’: giving our money to help those in need.
Jesus is adamant that it’s not about quantity but quality. God looks for a cheerful and generous giver who gives not just out of a sense of duty, but from a sacrificial heart that wants to bless others in the way that we have been blessed.
Generous God, show me where I can be generous today. Whether I have a little or a lot, help me to use my money to help others.
Amen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0014xwc)
04/03/20 - Farming in Ukraine, the future of horticulture and milk contracts
Farm workers have left to fight, supply chains are stalling, but crops still need tending. Just over a week ago people in Ukraine were plunged into a war zone as Russia invaded - but amidst the fighting and bombing, farming continues. We hear from Kees Huizinga, whose been farming in Ukraine for 20 years.
What does the future of British horticulture look like? The Government is interested in supporting an expansion in the sector growing under glass. Meanwhile the confusion continues over how much foreign pickers will have to be paid.
And we meet Barbara Griffiths, who has set up a business uniting dairy farmers, small scale dairies and traditional milk rounds with local council contracts.
Presented by Sybil Ruscoe
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378sqk)
Stonechat
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Michaela Strachan presents the Stonechat. Stonechats are well named: their call sounds just like two pebbles being struck together. The males are striking birds with a black head, white collar and orange chest and are about the size of a plump robin.
FRI 06:00 Today (m0014xx7)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0014wyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Death by Conspiracy? (m0014yx3)
5. Reflections in the Glass
Gary’s death is covered in the local media – and online, the information battle heats up.
Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the virus, and died.
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, travels to the serene medieval Shropshire town that Gary Matthews called home to investigate what happened to him - and why. While delving into the conspiracy underbelly of this picturesque town, she finds out more about Gary's life - and discovers a story that's been repeated across the country, and around the world.
Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Mike Wendling
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0014xx9)
Priya Ragu, Olena Symonenko, Mountain climbing
We have music and chat from the Swiss-Tamil singer Priya Ragu who has been shortlisted in the BBC Sound of 2022 Poll – joining Adele, Jessie J and Celeste. She tells us how her music plays homage to her heritage and is a fusion of traditional Tamil music, RnB and Soul, which she uniquely calls ‘Ragu Wavy’.
The number of refugees leaving Ukraine has reached a million. If you were listening last week you'll remember the heart-breaking interview we did with Olena Symonenko. She had decided to flee Kyiv, and was down in a bunker with her 6 year old son. She had left her flat, which she had lived in as a child and all her adult life: and just as well she did, because her block of flats had been bombed and was on fire. She sent us a picture. We've been keeping in touch with Olena all week, tracking her journey and she's now in Poland.
Sharmadean Reid is the Founder and CEO of The Stack World. Her mission is to create economic and social empowerment for women through technology and media. She has been building Women's communities for 16 years, starting with a print magazine called WAH which she created while at university. She tells us about The Stack World, and how the platform helps women entrepreneurs to monetise their micro communities through buying and selling from each other.
We celebrate the emotional power of old clothes and today we hear from Sarah who tells us about the Janet Reger frilly knickers she received from her friend Ruth on her 21st birthday nearly 40 years ago.
Mountains have long inspired climbers to write about their adventures. It’s been a male dominated field but we hear from two women who are inspiring the next generation of climbers. The author and poet Helen Mort tells us about her memoir ‘A Line Above the Sky’ and author Amy McCulloch talks about her adult fiction debut ‘Breathless’.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
FRI 11:00 Political Animals (m0014xxc)
Sex-Switching Fish and Non-Binary Brains
Zoologist Lucy Cooke is on a mission: to break down the 'sexist stereotype' she believes has permeated our understanding of the natural world.
In Political Animals, she sets out to prove that females of the species can be just as fiesty, ardent, manipulative, aggressive, strategic, varied and political as males - questioning some of the theories laid out by the 'father of evolution', Charles Darwin, and hearing from pioneering scientists moving evolutionary biology beyond a male-centric narrative.
In the final episode of the series, Lucy considers the latest research into sex, sexuality and sexed behaviour in animals, and what that can tell us about purported differences between male and female brains.
On a twilight trip into the jungle, Brian Kubicki of the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center explains why some male frogs could arguably be nature's best dads; Lindsay Young from Pacific Rim Conservation shows Lucy round an albatross colony at Kaena Point in Hawaii, where she discovered a trend of female-female life-long partnerships; and Justin Rhodes from the University of Illinois takes us on a remote tour of his lab, where he studies the sex-changing anemone fish.
Lucy also speaks to scientists Lauren O’Connell, Malin Ah-King and Rebecca Kilner; and considers how everyone engaged in evolutionary biology, from researchers to educators, can help build a better understanding of female experiences - and indeed all experiences - in the natural world.
Featuring excerpts from ‘The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex’ by Charles Darwin, read by Derek Frood.
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Lucy Taylor.
FRI 11:30 Ankle Tag (b091w4cx)
The Beginning
Career fraudster Bob has been away at Her Majesty's pleasure for the last 5 years. But he's just been released on licence with an Ankle Tag registered to his estranged son's address.
Gruff isn't happy about it, but Bob is a charming man who manages to persuade other people in Gruff's life that his heart is in the right place.
Pilot episode ahead of three series.
Elis James and Katy Wix star as new parents Gruff and Alice, whose lives are disrupted when Bob moves in.
Written by Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge.
Gruff ...... Elis James
Alice ...... Katy Wix
Bob ...... Steve Speirs
Linda ...... Gemma Whelan
David ...... Oliver Maltman
Pam ...... Vivienne Acheampong
Chris ...... Jason Forbes
Trevor ...... Jason Forbes
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2017.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0014xxf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:04 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014xxh)
Episode 5
In Algiers, in 1936, the young Edmond Charlot fulfilled his dream of setting up Les Vraies Richesses: “… a library, a bookstore, a publishing house, but above all a place for friends who love the literature of the Mediterranean.”
Throughout the turbulent history of 20th century Algeria, Les Vraies Richesses remained. But now, in 2017, it has closed for good, destined to be turned into a beignet shop.
A young student, Ryad, has arrived to clear out the shop, but he is keenly watched by Abdullah, an old man and former employee of Les Vraies Richesses …
Episode Five
Before he returns to Paris, Ryad tries to find new homes for some of Les Vraies Richesses’ books.
Kaouther Adimi was born in Algeria and lives in France A Bookshop in Algiers is her third novel and was published in France in 2017, where it got the trifecta of major French award nominations (the Goncourt, Renaudot and Médicis prizes).
Writer: Kaouther Adimi
Translator: Chris Andrews
Readers: Raad Rawi and Ferdinand Kingsley
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m0014xxk)
Covid care complaints, Wordle fashion, Flood insurance
We examine the human cost of some councils ignoring complaints about very poor care during the pandemic. A new report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman exposes serious flaws in how some councils handled complaints. In some cases, failure to act led to appalling end of life care and even contributed to deaths. We speak to Alan Park from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Councillor David Fothergill from the Local Government Association, which represents councils.
The online word game, Wordle, was a surprise hit during the pandemic after a Brooklyn-based software engineer created it for his wife to help kill time during lockdowns. Josh Wordle released it for free on his website in October 2021. Since then it's gone global and now has 2.5 million daily users across the world. It's popularity has soared so much that the game is now influencing the catwalk with Wordle not only just taking over our time, but also our wardrobe. We hear from celebrity fans and speak to the technology journalist, Louise Blain, and the colour consultant and stylist, Jules Standish.
An industry wide initiative means that people living in flood risk properties should now be able to find affordable insurance. Firms are expected to signpost customers living in flood risk areas to a new directory of specialist flood insurance providers. The move follows an independent review of flood insurance commissioned by the Government after hundreds of homes were flooded in Doncaster in 2019. We hear from a listener who has struggled to find cover at an affordable price. We also speak to Graeme Trudgill, Executive Director of the British Insurers Brokers Association.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Tara Holmes
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0014xxm)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0014xxp)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Jonny Dymond.
FRI 13:45 The Lowball Tapes (m0014xxr)
Hunting the Truth
The public had a chance to find out the truth about the Libor scandal in 2012 – but somehow they didn’t. Andy finds secrets kept from MPs and even the juries in the rate rigging trials. Can he find out where the instructions to lowball really came from?
Presenter: Andy Verity
Producer: Sarah Bowen
Music: Oskar Jones
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0014xv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m0014xxt)
Who Is Aldrich Kemp?
Who is Aldrich Kemp? - Chapter Three: The Black Windmill
In Chapter Three, Clara and Kennedy find some parallels in their quests and a new name crops up - Conrad Spijker. But whose side is he on?
Cast:
Clara Page ...............................Phoebe Fox
Mister Bartholomew ...........Tim McInnerny
Aldrich Kemp ........................ Ferdinand Kingsley
Mrs Boone/Eleanor Peck....Nicola Walker
Sebastian Harcourt ..............Kyle Soller
Nakesha Kemp ......................Karla Crome
Aunt Lily ...................................Susan Jameson
Kennedy Fisher.......................Jana Carpenter
Conrad Spijker........................Steven Mackintosh
Created and written by Julian Simpson
Recorded on location in Hove, London and at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton
Music composed by Tim Elsenburg
Sound Design: David Thomas
Director: Julian Simpson
Producer: Sarah Tombling
Executive Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:45 The Art and Science of Blending (m0004f65)
Art or Science?
Blending is a distinctly human act: other creatures don’t experiment in this way. So in this series we’re looking at four blended products – whisky, tea, perfume and champagne – to find out why we blend things, and why some blends work when others don’t. What do we hope to gain? What do we fear losing? And is blending an art … or a science? Barry Smith, a philosopher, tries to answer these questions by consuming rare teas, fine whiskies and perfect champagnes … so that you don’t have to.
Today Barry talks to three blending experts about the art and science of blending.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0014xxw)
GQT at Home: Unseasonal Flowers and Leaves with Power
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts. Kathy Clugston is joined by Kirsty Wilson, Matthew Pottage, and Anne Swithinbank. Together, they answer your gardening queries.
As the climate warms, more and more plants are flowering unseasonably early or else staying in flower for much longer. This week the panel tackles all sorts of untimely blooms, from a climbing rose to a woody rosemary plant.
To investigate the issue further, Peter Gibbs speaks to University of Cambridge researcher Ulf Büntgen who explains why the climate crisis is having this effect on plants.
Meanwhile at Oxford Botanic Garden, Chris Thorogood and a team of researchers have uncovered the secrets of the Giant Amazonian Waterlily, and Chris explains how important this knowledge will be for the future of construction and design.
Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Aniya Das
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0014xxy)
Soft Boiled Eggs by Jane Fraser
Food and farming seem to have become the heart of Megan and Gordon's long marriage. But is that enough? Sharon Morgan reads an original story by Welsh writer Jane Fraser set on the Gower peninsula.
Sound design by Catherine Robinson
Produced by Emma Harding
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0014xy0)
Sonny Ramadhin (pictured), Sister Catherine Wybourne, Captain Raymond Savage, Anna Karen
Matthew Bannister on
Sonny Ramadhin, the West Indian bowler who was one of the heroes of the side that scored a famous victory over England in 1950.
Sister Catherine Wybourne, who was known as the 'digital nun' for her use of blogs and social media to communicate the messages of her order.
Captain Raymond Savage, one of the last surviving prisoners of war who worked on the notorious Burma railway in the 1940s.
Anna Karen, the actor best known for her appearances in the TV sitcom 'On The Buses' and the 'Carry On' films.
Producer: Neil George
Interviewed guest: Kenneth Ramchand
Interviewed guest: Joshua Surtees
Interviewed guest: Eric Southworth
Interviewed guest: Caroline Aston
Interviewed guest: Linda Regan
Archive clips used: YouTube, Melbourne 1960 - The Tied Test; British Pathé, West Indies Cricketers Look 'Aussie' Class (1950); Joshua Surtees, Interview with Sonny Ramadhin; BBC SOUND ARCHIVE, ENGLAND V WEST INDIES 29/06/1950; Imperial War Museum, IWM 4823 Interview with Raymond Savage; British Pathé/ Reuters, The Fall of Singapore 1942; London Weekend Television, On The Buses TV Show 1971; Rabbit and Snail / Morris Bright MBE Interview with Anna Karen; Hammer Films/EMI, Holiday on The Buses (1973); The Rank Organization, Carry on Camping (1969); BBC One, Eastenders 20/01/1997; BBC Radio 4, Listening Corner - Sally's Secret by Shirley Hughes 04/04/1983.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m0014x0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m0014xy2)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0014xy4)
Moscow faces worldwide condemnation for attacking a nuclear power station in Ukraine. One of the greatest cricketers of all time -- Shane Warne -- has died at the age of 52.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0014xy6)
Series 107
Episode 10
Recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre, this week Andy Zaltzman is joined by Mark Steel, Sindhu Vee, Daniel Finkelstein and Lucy Porter to discuss war in Ukraine and the international reaction. Last in the series.
Hosted by Andy Zaltzman
Chairs script by Andy Zaltzman
Additional Material from Alice Fraser, Mike Shephard, Cameron Loxdale, Jade Gebbie and Peter Tellouche.
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Baum
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
The Producer is James Robinson, and it is a BBC Studios Production.
FRI 19:00 Letter from Ukraine (m0015h6b)
The day the world changed
Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov reflects on the tumultuous events of the last few days and his family's flight from their home in Kyiv.
Written and read by Andrey Kurkov
Translated by Elizabeth Sharp
Produced by Emma Harding
Production co-ordinator Eleri McAuliffe
Technical producer Catherine Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m0014xy8)
Gillian Moore and Bogdan Văcărescu with ragas and folk tales
Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye are joined this week by Gillian Moore, Director of Music at London's Southbank Centre, and Romanian concert violinist Bogdan Văcărescu, to add the next five tracks to the playlist.
The studio guests serve up their usual eclectic mix, and from Mumbai we hear from one of the great voices of a classical Indian music tradition.
Presenters Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
Producer Jerome Weatherald
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Infernal Dance from The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky
The Sea and Sinbad's Ship: Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Toxic by Britney Spears
Raga Madhuvanti by Hariprasad Chaurasia
You're the Voice by John Farnham
Other music in this episode:
Scherzo Fantastique, Op 25 by Antonio Bazzini, performed by Bogdan Văcărescu and Julian Jacobson
Thunderball by Tom Jones
Tere Mere Beech Mein by Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Venus in Furs by The Velvet Underground
400 Lux by Lorde
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0014xyb)
Katy Clark MSP, Alister Jack MP, Angus Robertson MSP, Angus Roxburgh
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from The Moredun Foundation, Penicuik, with a panel which includes the Scottish Labour MSP Katy Clark, Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Angus Robertson MSP, the Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack MP and the former BBC Moscow Correspondent, author and former adviser to the Kremlin Angus Roxburgh.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Ken Garden
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0014xyd)
Return of the Bomb
Will Self tells the story of Vasily Arkhipov, the commander of a Soviet nuclear-armed submarine, who during the Cuban Missile Crisis refused to fire his vessel's nuclear weapon and averted, many believe, a Third World War.
In the light of President Putin's actions this week, Will argues that the threat of nuclear apocalypse has never really gone away, however much we've tried to convince ourselves otherwise.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Hugh Levinson
FRI 21:00 The Reith Lectures (m0012q21)
Stuart Russell - Living With Artificial Intelligence
AI: A Future for Humans
Stuart Russell suggests a way forward for human control over super-powerful artificial intelligence. He argues for the abandonment of the current “standard model” of AI, proposing instead a new model based on three principles - chief among them the idea that machines should know that they don’t know what humans’ true objectives are. Echoes of the new model are already found in phenomena as diverse as menus, market research, and democracy. Machines designed according to the new model would be, Russell suggests, deferential to humans, cautious and minimally invasive in their behaviour and, crucially, willing to be switched off. He will conclude by exploring further the consequences of success in AI for our future as a species.
Stuart Russell is Professor of Computer Science and founder of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at the University of California, Berkeley.
The programme and question-and-answer session was recorded at the National Innovation Centre for Data in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Presenter: Anita Anand
Producer: Jim Frank
Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Editor: Hugh Levinson.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0014xyg)
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi (m0014xxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 today]
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (m0014wv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0014xyj)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament