SATURDAY 09 MARCH 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001wy5g)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 00:30 The Price of Life by Jenny Kleeman (m001wxsj)
$368,901: The Average Ransom Demand
In a world in thrall to data, it’s possible to run a cost-benefit analysis on anything – including life itself. Journalist, broadcaster and documentary-maker Jenny Kleeman takes us on a journey to meet some of the people who decide what we're worth, exploring what we lose and gain by leaving the judgements that matter up to cold logic.
Kleeman meets an unlikely hostage negotiator and relates the tense tale of a modern-day kidnap.
An EcoAudio certified production.
Abridged by Laurence Wareing
Read by the author
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001wy5l)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001wy5q)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001wy5v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001wy5z)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001wy63)
Time Flying By
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Kate Wharton.
Good morning.
As I get older, I increasingly find myself using some of those phrases that, as a young person, seemed so annoying when I heard them. The one of which I am currently most guilty is “gosh, isn’t this year flying by?” I simply cannot believe that tomorrow is the fourth Sunday of Lent, that Easter is only 3 weeks away. “But surely it’s only just been Christmas?” I want to sigh.
But maybe this is just what we need, what our year needs, what our lives need – milestones along the way to help us to navigate along our journeys. I’ve got a reasonably good sense of direction – I was a Girl Guide after all – and so I’m not bad at finding my way around with a map and a compass, even if these days I tend to rely mostly on my phone’s GPS.
But signposts and waymarkers also help me in my spiritual life. The seasons of the Christian year, the festivals we celebrate, the special days of fasting and feasting, all of these help me in my walk of faith. They connect me to the past, to the saints who have gone before me, who also celebrated these same special days. They connect me to my sisters and brothers around the world, who celebrate the same festivals in their own way. And they can help us all, through their rhythm and their pattern, to navigate our journey with God, so that we now find ourselves once more in the preparation time of Lent.
Loving Lord Jesus, help us to meet with you in the twists and turns of our daily journeys, and to know your loving presence in every season of life.
Amen.
SAT 05:45 Lent Talks (m001wxw1)
Betrayal
Lent Talks - Betrayal
Written and presented by Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James’s Piccadilly
At the heart of the story of Jesus’s final weeks is betrayal. He is handed over to the authorities for execution by a friend and a follower - Judas. The sign of betrayal is normally the sign of trust: a kiss. Other friends betray him by leaving him or saying they don’t know him. Betrayal is at the heart of the story of Holy Week.
Betrayal is a thoroughly human thing. It can be in the heat of the moment or after cool consideration. We often would rather think of ourselves as the betrayed rather than the betrayer – but part of the meaning of the season of Lent is that we take time to dare to face our capacity for betrayal, cruelty, selfishness. It’s hard to accept that we can betray one another because that makes us untrustworthy and capable of great harm.
But understanding our own capacity for betrayal is key to deepening our experience of life and faith, confronting our fears and acknowledging our culpability in the spirit not just of remorse but repentance: I.E. changing our minds and changing behaviour not just feeling sorry for letting someone down.
It’s a fruitful, creative process to face our own identity as a perpetrator rather than as a victim as it addresses us at a point of power (we can act for good or ill) and need (our need for mercy or forgiveness from God or one another). The combination of being powerful and needy is not attractive to us usually, and so we avoid this whole subject. It’s time we didn’t.
Producer: Carmel Lonergan
Editor: Tim Pemberton
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001x474)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m001wyp9)
Kingfishers on the River Frome with Nadeem Perera
Nadeem Perera is not your conventional image of a birdwatcher. In fact growing up in inner city London he was not raised as or encouraged to be a 'nature boy'. But dropping out of school as a troubled teen he had a revelation. One day he was sitting in woodland and saw a green spotted woodpecker in front of him and his passion for birds was born. Now he can be seen on BBC 1 on the One Show talking about birds and has moved to Bristol to further his career in wildlife presenting. He takes Clare for a walk along the River Frome starting in Eastville Park. It's a grey Winter's day but they are overjoyed to be accompanied along the river by kingfishers lighting up the landscape. Along the way he talks about the project he runs called Flock Together and about his passion for combining young people of colour with the outdoors and nature.
They walk from Eastville Park to Snuff Mills and the Stoke Park Estate
Producer: Maggie Ayre
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001x476)
Lambing, hedgerow cutting, new farming entrants
We look at lambing, the most important time of the year for sheep farmers, with visits to farms in Cumbria and Yorkshire. This week the Government confirmed that hedgerows will continue to be protected, even through the old EU rules governing this aspect of farming lapsed at the end of last year. Legislation will mean no cutting of hedges between the first of March and the end of August, to protect nesting birds, and the fruit and berries they feed on. It'll include a two metre protective 'buffer strip' each side of the hedgerows. Some farmers growing oilseed rape or temporary grass can apply for an exemption though. And we hear from witnesses to an inquiry by the cross party Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee into the future of education and recruitment into agriculture related jobs. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.
SAT 06:57 Weather (m001x478)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m001x47b)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001x47l)
Adam Richman, Christie Watson, Dereck Gow, Karen Hauer
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m001x47q)
Emma of Normandy
In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Elizabeth Tyler and comedian Jen Brister in early medieval England to learn all about Queen Emma of Normandy. Emma was wife to two English kings – Aethelred and Cnut – and mother to two more, Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor. She was a key player in the complex politics of eleventh-century England, and symbolised the overlapping English, Norman and Scandinavian identities at play in England even before the Norman conquest of 1066. This episode traces Emma’s life from her childhood in Normandy, through her marriages to the English Aethelred and Danish Cnut, and into her final years as mother to the king. Along the way, it explores Emma’s political savvy, and the messy family relationships that shaped early medieval English history.
Research by: Josh Rice
Written by: Josh Rice, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001x47v)
Series 43
Newcastle
Jay Rayner and his panel of food experts are in Newcastle for this week’s episode of The Kitchen Cabinet. Joining Jay are chef Rob Owen-Brown, food writers Paula McIntyre and Rachel McCormack, and food historian Dr Annie Gray.
In Newcastle’s Live Theatre, the panel discusses everything from basic tips for cracking an egg, to the more complex of questions - is there anything that can’t be improved by nduja? Meanwhile, Dr Annie Gray takes us through the changing sounds of the kitchen over the years, as the panel discuss the worst noises to hear while cooking.
Alongside the panel debate, local culinary hero Adam Riley of Riley’s Fish Shack talks the panel through the history, preparation and recipes for kippers.
Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m001x47y)
Pippa Crerar, political editor at The Guardian, dicusses the Budget with Dame Angela Eagle, Labour MP on the treasury Select Committee and
Stephen Hammond, Conservative MP on the treasury Select Committee.
She then discusses the Rwanda legislation in the House of Lords with Baroness Shami Chakrabarti and Baroness Catherine Meyer.
There's an interview with Mark Drakeford, first minister of Wales who will step down later this month.
Plus, what if the US and UK election campaigns coincide? With Lord Kim Darroch, former UK ambassador to USA and Lord Daniel Finkelstein, former national security adviser.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001x482)
Haiti: 'There's no one but the gangs.'
Kate Adie presents stories from Haiti, South Korea, the US, Senegal and the Vatican City
Haiti's government has declared a state of emergency after armed criminal gangs attacked the country's airport and stormed two of its main prisons, releasing thousands of inmates. Harold Isaac gives a first-hand account of the chaos that unfolded and how the capital went into full lockdown.
South Korean women are increasingly shunning the dating scene and choosing not to have children. And the country's birth rate recently fell again, to just
0.72. This poses a serious problem for South Korea's economy and its security, with politicians describing it as a national emergency. But, as Jean MacKenzie finds, they've been unable to reverse the trend.
Mouse Green travels on the freight trains criss-crossing the US, some of which stretch over two miles long. He meets members of the counter-culture community who call the rail cars home and uncovers a hidden world.
Senegal has been a beacon of stability in the Sahel region, which has seen a series of coups over recent years. But, as Beverly Ochieng reports, the move by the West African country's outgoing president, Macky Sall, to delay elections sparked major protests.
Sara Monetta goes on an exclusive tour of the Sistine Chapel to see how technology is being used to maintain Michelangelo's famous frescoes, as millions of people visit the museum every year. She describes the painstaking process of identifying any signs of deterioration and meets the experts involved.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001x4yp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001x48c)
Frozen Tax Thresholds and Bailiffs
The Chancellor has delivered his Spring Budget for 2024 announcing a 2p National Insurance cut for millions of working people under the age of 66. Jeremy Hunt says this will save the average worker £450 a year.
But, analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility says maintaining a freeze on the personal tax allowance - the amount earned before tax is paid - will mean 3.7 million extra people paying income tax by 2028, when the freeze comes to an end. So will you be better or worse off? We'll be looking at the numbers.
What would you do if you got a letter through your door asking for almost £2000 owed by a complete stranger? That's what happened to one of our listeners who spent weeks trying to sort it out with a debt recovery company. We hear from a senior MP calling for tougher regulation.
And an investigation into car finance agreements taken out before February 2021 could eventually lead to compensation for millions of motorists. Discretionary commission agreements meant some lenders allowed car dealers to adjust interest rates on finance deals. The Finance and Leasing Association told us: "In practice, having discretion to move the interest rate often meant that dealers lowered it to be more competitive."
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Jo Krasner
Editor: Sarah Rogers
(First broadcast
12pm Saturday 9th March 2024)
SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m001wy2d)
Series 113
Episode 10
Mark Steel, Marie Le Conte, Simon Evans and Zoe Lyons join Andy Zaltzman for the last episode in the present series.
This week the panel give their 2p on the budget, the battle for the White House and what it might sound like if George Galloway joined the News Quiz.
Written by Andy Zaltzman
With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Meryl O'Rourke, Molly McGuinness, Peter Tellouche and Christina Riggs.
Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Recorded by Marc Willcox and Neva Missirian
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
SAT 12:57 Weather (m001x48g)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001x48l)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001wy3v)
Simon Boyd, Nigel Huddleston MP, Sarah Jones MP, Soumaya Keynes
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage, Dorset with the Managing Director of Reid Steel Simon Boyd, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury Nigel Huddleston MP, the Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation Sarah Jones MP and the Financial Times columnist and economist Soumaya Keynes.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen
SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001x48q)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week
SAT 14:45 Short Works (m001wxzy)
Stew Woman
Stew believes that the world is his oyster. He has large appetites for food and women. And his wife is planning a very unusual dinner for him.
Hannah Vincent lives in Brighton. She began her writing life as a playwright and her first radio play Come to Grief was a re-working of one of her stage plays. It won the BBC 2015 Audio Award for Best Adaptation. She is the author of the novels Alarm Girl and The Weaning and the collection She-Clown, And Other Stories.
Writer: Hannah Vincent
Reader: Arthur Darvill
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 15:00 Turning Point (m001x48v)
This Is for Everyone
Entertaining drama from award-winning writer Matthew Broughton exploring probably the biggest turning point in recent history: the creation of the World Wide Web, and its impact on one family in the decades that follow.
In August 1991, the first website goes live. At exactly the same time, a baby is born...
Julie....Claudie Blakley
Vic....Dana Haqjoo
Young Lucy...Astrid le Fleming
Lucy....Katie Redford
Young Ben....Bertie Creswell
Ben....Luke Nunn
Narrator....Peter Marinker
With the voices of Josh Bryant-Jones, Jessica Enemokwu, Laura Power, Maxim Reston.
Technical producers...Keith Graham, Andy Garratt, Peter Ringrose
Production co-ordinator...Jonathan Powell
Written by Matthew Broughton
Directed by Abigail le Fleming
A BBC Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
Extract from 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, BBC audio, © International Olympic Committee.
Extracts of Sir Tim Berners-Lee from an interview with CNBC, and The Richard Dimbleby Lecture: The World Wide Web - A Mid-Course Correction, BBC
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001x48z)
Weekend Woman’s Hour – Music artist Raye, COPA 71 and Imelda May on the Yeats sisters
The South London singer-songwriter Raye joins Emma Barnett following her record-breaking six wins at the Brit awards last weekend. Raye tells us about her grandma Agatha who joined her on stage after winning Best Album for My 21st Century Blues. She also talks about being a woman in the music industry and the strength she has found from fellow female musician Charli XCX.
A new documentary, Copa 71, follows the trailblazing women who headed to Mexico for an unofficial Women's World Cup in 1971. Woman's football had been banned in many countries including the UK for 50 years. Unperturbed 6 teams gathered and played in front of crowds of 100,000 fans. One of those players, Chris Lockwood joins Anita Rani alongside co-director of the film Rachel Ramsay.
On the 3rd March 2021, Sarah Everard was murdered by Wayne Couzens, an off-duty police officer. The incident sparked national outrage and a surge in fighting violence against women and girls. Three years on, how much has changed? Emma Barnett speaks to the Detective Inspector who interviewed Wayne Couzens, Nick Harvey.
Imelda May talks about her new documentary Lily and Lolly: The Forgotten Yeats Sisters, on Sky Arts. Elizabeth and Susan Yeats (also known as Lolly and Lily) founded a women-only arts and crafts guild to promote women’s economic and cultural independence. Overshadowed by their famous brothers, W.B Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats…until now.
The author Liz Jensen’s son Raphael was a wildlife biologist, an environmental activist, and a prominent member of Extinction Rebellion. In 2020, at the age of 25, he unexpectedly collapsed and died due to an unknown heart condition. Liz speaks to Emma about her new memoir, Your Wild and Previous Life, about her process of grief, hope and rebellion.
SAT 17:00 PM (m001x493)
Full coverage of the day's news
SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m001x497)
The Emma Little-Pengelly One
Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister talks to Nick Robinson.
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001x49c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m001x49h)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x49m)
The ship carrying desperately needed food and relief supplies is preparing to set sail
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001x49r)
Armistead Maupin, Ophelia Lovibond, Toheeb Jimoh, Emmanuel Sonubi, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Amelia Coburn, Arthur Smith
Clive Anderson and Arthur Smith are joined by Armistead Maupin, Ophelia Lovibond, Toheeb Jimoh and Emmanuel Sonubi for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Amelia Coburn.
SAT 19:00 Profile (m001x49w)
Sir Paul Marshall
The millionaire hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall has recently hit the headlines, both for his growing media portfolio and controversy over his social media activity.
After an eclectic career spent mostly in the background, from philanthropic work to high-powered finance, Sir Paul seems to be increasingly exerting his influence on the media and politics. He already backs GB News and UnHerd and is reported to be preparing a bid for the Telegraph and Spectator.
Stephen Smith asks what shaped and drives Paul Marshall, by talking to those who know him best.
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producer: Nathan Gower
Assistant Producer: Debbie Richford
Editor: Matt Willis
Programme Coordinator: Sabine Schereck
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Archive:
Speech by Paul Marshall to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference 2023
Citizen Kane, RKO Radio Pictures
SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0hbmm0p)
Series 29
Poison
Brian Cox and Robin Ince delve into the murky world of historical poisonings. Joining them to add their drops of killer insight are comedian Hugh Dennis, chemist Andrea Sella and Agatha Christie aficionado and former chemist Kathryn Harkup. They find out just how easy poison was to get your hands on and how people literally got away with murder until chemists developed tests for substances like arsenic. Bottles of deadly substances are passed around our expert panel with some trepidation and we learn how seemingly innocuous garden plants can be deadly in the wrong hands.
Producer: Melanie Brown
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0007452)
The Upside of Anxiety
Anxiety has become one of the defining characteristics of our modern age, with millions of us suffering from its various damaging effects. It comes in many shapes and sizes - status anxiety, social anxiety, and more recently Brexit and Eco-anxiety. Figures indicate a big rise in its prevalence, particularly among young people and members of minority groups. In this edition of 'Archive on Four' Professor Andrew Hussey how this new age of anxiety has come about, how it compares with previous moments of national stress, and also why he believes it to be a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Hussey makes the case that while pathological forms of anxiety can be crippling, anxiety can also bring with it positive benefits - and rather than attempt to destroy it we should attempt to make it a useful ally.
Producer - Geoff Bird
SAT 21:00 Drama on 4 (m000363n)
China Towns
Episode 8
Inspired by the novels of Arnold Bennett, an epic tale of money, passion and daring to dream set in the Staffordshire potteries. Dramatised for radio by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan.
Anna Tellwright is the daughter of the most feared man in the Five Towns. She receives life-changing news on her 21st birthday.
Ephraim Tellwright . . . Neil Dudgeon
Darius Clayhanger . . . Tim McInnerny
Edwin . . . Cameron Percival
Anna . . . Kate O’Flynn
Agnes . . . Amy-Jayne Leigh
Henry Mynors . . . Joseph Kloska
Beatrice Sutton . . . Isabella Inchbald
Janet . . . Saffron Coomber
Hilda . . . Lucy Doyle
George . . . Oliver Zetterstrom
Will Price . . . Joseph Ayre
Titus Price. . . Michael Bertenshaw
Aunty Hamps . . . Carolyn Pickles
Ingpen . . . Don Gilet
Mr Salt . . . Christopher Harper
Incidental music arranged by Colin Guthrie and performed by Colin Guthrie, Peter Ringrose and Ian Conningham.
Produced and directed by Gemma Jenkins.
SAT 22:00 News (m001x4b2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 Add to Playlist (m001wy3f)
Anna Meredith and Joe Stilgoe head for South Africa
Anna Meredith - composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music - and singer, songwriter and pianist Joe Stilgoe join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks. The journey takes them from Hugh Masekela's South Africa to a masked ball in Brazil, and ending up at arguably the most famous notes ever played on the saxophone.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela
You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon
My End is My Beginning by Guillaume de Machaut
Baile De Máscaras by Bala Desejo
The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini
Other music in this episode:
Titanium by David Guetta feat. Sia
Nautilus by Anna Meredith
Lazarus by David Bowie
Mr Bull No. 4 by Freddie Gumbi
In My Solitude by Branford Marsalis
Old Landmark by Aretha Franklin
Padam Padam by Kylie Minogue
SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (m001wxpc)
Series 37
The Final, 2024
(13/13)
Paul Gambaccini welcomes the three competitors who've won through heats and semi-finals to make it to the final hurdle in this year's tournament. At the Radio Theatre in London, one of them will lift the trophy as Radio 4's musical mastermind of 2024.
Paul's questions cover the usual wide range, from Rachmaninov to the Kinks, Bernstein, the Wonka soundtrack and Mark Ronson. The Finalists will have to choose, as usual, from a list of special topics on which to answer their own individual questions, with no warning of what the categories are.
Contesting the title are:
James Bingham from County Wicklow
Annie Hodkinson from the West Midlands
Anju Sharda from Hertfordshire
The winner will become the 37th BBC Counterpoint champion.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria
SAT 23:30 Uncanny (p0hbh0sj)
Series 3
Bonus Episode: Uncanny S3 Case Update
Danny Robins looks back at Season 3 and answers your questions and theories, and we hear some incredible new evidence and witness testimony.
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Editor and Sound Designer: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme Music by Lanterns on the Lake
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUNDAY 10 MARCH 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001x4b8)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 The Poetry Detective (m001wy9c)
In Memoriam
Vanessa Kisuule returns with a new series of The Poetry Detective, a radio show about the poems that go with us through life.
Vanessa meets people with a poem that is precious to them, and unfolds the history of the poem. Why does it mean so much to them? Who wrote it and how? What's the story behind how it came to be written? How does it work on us?
In this episode, poems to remember the departed and console the living.
Vanessa investigates the surprising history of one of our best known poems of consolation for the bereaved, 'Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep'. At various times it has been attributed to 'Anonymous' or believed to be a Native American burial prayer. And then for many years, people thought it had been written by a Baltimore housewife in the 1930s - Mary Elizabeth Frye. The story went that she had been inspired by a friend's sorrow at not being able to attend her mother's funeral in Germany, due to the rise of the Nazis. But did Frye really write the poem? Literary sleuth Scott Norsworthy has new evidence that points to an alternative author.
We hear from musician and podcaster Robin Allender about a poem he has come to treasure - 'Going Without Saying' by the Irish poet and academic Bernard O'Donoghue. How did the poem come to be written? We speak the poet about how he went about crafting it, and who it was written for.
And Vanessa speaks to American poet Saeed Jones about his remarkable poem 'A Stranger', written about his late mother.
Produced in Bristol by Mair Bosworth and Alice McKee for BBC Audio
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001x4bd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001x4bj)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001x4bn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001x4bs)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001x4bx)
St Andrew’s church in Weybread, Suffolk
Bells on Sunday comes from St Andrew’s church in Weybread, Suffolk. It has a 12th century round tower with a 14th century belfry stage. This houses a ring of sixbells that were cast in 1879 by the short-lived Redenhall foundry of Norfolk. The Tenor weighs nine hundredweight and is tuned to the note of A flat. We hear them ringing Cambridge and Norwich Surprise Minor.
SUN 05:45 Profile (m001x49w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001x47f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0105r7h)
Colours of Religion
Mark Tully attends the Hindu festival of Holi in Delhi, gets covered with dye, and asks what is the significance of colour, in religion and in spring festivals.
Recorded partly on location in Mark Tully's home town of Delhi, this programme charts the run up to the festival, with the singing of traditional songs, and the lighting of bonfires. On the special day itself, coloured dyes and waters are thrown as the city erupts in an explosion of colour, noise and sometimes lusty humour. Speaking to locals and visitors alike, Tully gets a sense of the importance of colour to this festival, his city and to Hinduism. Looking to other traditions he asks what different colours mean to different faiths.
And as the rumbustuossness of Holi subsides, Tully is left to consider what parallels he can find in western festivals, music and writing, which might first appear more solemn, but can have their own undercurrents of bawdiness and abandon.
Presented by Mark Tully
Produced by Adam Fowler
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 Natural Histories (b07wbtsx)
Elephant
Humans' have had a long and complex relationship with elephants. The elephant's huge size has allowed us to load it with attributes like supernatural strength, great wisdom, phenomenal memory. And we've always wanted to be close to it, to harness the power, to use it, to destroy it.
Brett Westwood tracks our cultural relationship with the elephant, from battlefield to big top, via Swahili proverbs, artworks on the streets of Sheffield,. Jumbo and the festivities for Lord Ganesha at the Hounslow Ganeshotsav Mandal in West London.
First broadcast in a longer form on 27th September 2016
Original Producer [ 2016] : Melvin Rickarby
Archive Producer [2024] : Andrew Dawes
SUN 06:57 Weather (m001x47p)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001x47t)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001x47z)
Ramadan in Gaza, Leaving Faith Helpline, Alternative Mothering Sunday
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is normally a time of fasting, family and prayer for Muslims around the world. How can the people of Gaza observe Ramadan in the middle of conflict, displacement and desperate food shortages? Ghada Ouda, a journalist in Rafah in the south of Gaza, tells us about her preparations.
The first ever helpline in the UK dedicated to people leaving controlling groups or experiencing religious trauma has just been set up. Terri O'Sullivan, Apostate Services Development Officer, at Humanists UK explains who is using the service.
As Christians mark the fourth Sunday in Lent, Mothering Sunday, we ask is it ok to avoid church? Lizzie Lowrie discusses the alternative liturgy she helped create for those who find the day difficult.
Editor: Dan Tierney
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Alexa Good and James Leesley
Studio Managers: Simon Highfield and Kelly Young
Production Coordinator: Pete Liggins
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001x483)
Surviving Economic Abuse
Ruth Dodsworth makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Surviving Economic Abuse.
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 ‘Surviving Economic Abuse’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Surviving Economic Abuse’.
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: 1173256
SUN 07:57 Weather (m001x487)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001x48b)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001x48h)
Mothering Sunday
The Bishop of Lancaster Jill Duff preaches from the Chapel of Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy, Lancaster in a service for Mothering Sunday. She is joined by the Vicar of Lancaster Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders, School Chaplain Michael Reynolds and pupils from the school who help lead the service; with music from the school choirs and the choir from St Luke’s Church of England Primary School, Slyne-with Hest.
Christ be with Me (Oliver Tarney); Sing we of the blessed Mother (t: Abbot’s Leigh); Kyrie (St Anne’s Mass – James Macmillan); Psalm 34 vv11-20 (t: Mawby); In the silence and the darkness (t: Garnett); 1 Samuel 2.1-10; Magnificat (t: Owen Alstott); John
19.16-27; Lord of all hopefulness (t: Slane); Upon your heart (Eleanor Daley); Tell out my soul, (t: Woodlands); Gigue (Jacquet de la Guerre).
Conductor: Don Gillthorpe, Organist: Ian Pattinson. Producer: James Mountford.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001wy47)
Peak Envy
Will Self believes we are reaching a state of 'peak envy'.
'Is it any surprise,' Will writes, 'that in this, arguably the second century of self, when for the most part humans see nothing around them but images of those better off than themselves, envy should be quite so epidemic: a greenish toxin - the very mustard gas of modernity.'
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0000sst)
James Henry: Yellowhammer and Beethoven
Detective Jack Frost prequel author James Henry picks the yellowhammer, whose song is believed to have influenced one of the world’s greatest composers Ludwig Van Beethoven..
Although many think the yellowhammer is a symbol of English farmland, it is in reality very much a European bird, famous for it's song. The natural world provided Ludwig Van Beethoven with a constant source of ideas and a number of his works are often attributed to the yellowhammer’s song. Many critics cite the dramatic first four bars of Beethoven's fifth symphony but for James and many others the more gentle first movement of Beethoven's fourth piano concerto is a more fitting celebration and for James it is that which he listens to during the winter months to remind him of the summer, and his favourite farmland bird.
Producer Andrew Dawes
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001x48m)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Anita Anand sits in.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001x48r)
WRITER: Katie Hims
DIRECTOR: Mel Ward
Brian Aldridge … Charles Collingwood
Harrison Burns …..James Cartwright
Alice Carter ….. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Harry Chilcott ….. Jack Ashton
Emma Grundy…… Emerald O'Hanrahan
Jakob Hakansson …. Paul Venables
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd ……. John Rowe
Paul Mack …… Joshua Riley
Denise Metcalf ……. Clare Perkins
Jazzer McCreary ….Ryan McCreary
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m001x48w)
James Graham, playwright
James Graham is an award-winning dramatist whose plays include This House, Ink and Dear England starring Joseph Fiennes as the England football manager Gareth Southgate. His acclaimed television productions include Sherwood and Quiz, based on the story of the so-called coughing Major Charles Ingram who was found guilty of cheating on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
James was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire in 1982. He was a shy boy who was encouraged to perform in school plays by his teachers. He went on to study drama at Hull University where he wrote his first play Coal Not Dole! He took the play to the Edinburgh fringe and the reception it received from audiences encouraged him to carry on writing.
After graduating he worked as a stage doorkeeper at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham where one of his personal highlights was looking after Danny La Rue, the star of the Christmas panto. His first London premiere came in 2005 at the Finborough Theatre in London with Albert’s Boy, which explored the arguments for and against nuclear weapons.
In 2020 James was awarded an OBE for services to drama and young people in British theatre.
DISC ONE: Disco 2000 - Pulp
DISC TWO: Chatanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller
DISC THREE: Up In Arms - Foo Fighters
DISC FOUR: Syncopes - Gabriel Yared
DISC FIVE: Your Disco Needs You - Kylie Minogue
DISC SIX: Where Are We Now? - David Bowie
DISC SEVEN: If You Came To See Me Cry - Katie Brayben (from Tammy Faye: The Musical)
DISC EIGHT: Going To A Town - Rufus Wainwright
BOOK CHOICE: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
LUXURY ITEM: A keg of Single Malt Scotch Whisky
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Where Are We Now? - David Bowie
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001x490)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:04 One Person Found This Helpful (m001wxrg)
Series 1
3. Hot Lava Blomps
Frank & guests Sara Barron, Marcus Brigstocke, Pierre Novellie and Laura Smyth find out what you think about Mrs. Tiggywinkle, the M1 and the difference between a blomp and a bloop.
This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad and the baffling.
Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche
Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001x494)
The herb and spice scam?
What’s really in your spice rack? In this exclusive investigation by The Food Programme, Jaega Wise investigates the authenticity of spices sold by a number of high street, online and health food chains. Using brand new technology outside of the lab for the first time, she will test herbs and spices from some of the biggest household names and retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Amazon and more. Plus, we hear from leading experts on the UK’s food defence frontline to find out just how challenging it is to detect fraud and police this lucrative area. Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m001x498)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001x49d)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world
SUN 13:30 Three Million (p0hcrs0r)
3. The F-Word
Colonial authorities wanted to censor the famine. They were worried that Britain’s wartime enemies - the Germans and the Japanese - would use it as propaganda against them.
But as more and more starving people arrive in cities across Bengal, it becomes harder to suppress. Indian writers, photographers and artists document the humanitarian catastrophe, but it was risky as the censor forbade mention of the word famine. A British journalist and editor of the English language Statesman newspaper, in Calcutta, decides to challenge the censor and begins publishing photographs and then scathing editorials about what is really going on in Bengal. It shocks the world. In London, the BBC reports on “famine conditions” and, as we uncover, the British government tries to pressurize the broadcaster to tone down its coverage.
Presenter Kavita Puri
Series Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Emma Rippon
Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
Original music: Felix Taylor
With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001wxzf)
Vale of Pewsey
Can a mixture of coca-cola and milk help revive a neglected plant? When should I start feeding my germinated seedling compost? How do you protect salvias during the winter?
Peter Gibbs and a panel of horticultural experts provide some much-needed advice to an audience in the Vale of Pewsey. On the panel are pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood, house plant specialist Anne Swithinbank, and award-winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw.
Later in the programme, regular panellist Dr Chis Thorogood takes us on an adventure deep into the jungle searching for a wild jade plant.
Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001x49l)
& Other Stories: Daphne du Maurier - Episode 2
John Yorke digs under the surface of two more of Daphne du Maurier’s short stories, both of which once again reveal how deftly she marries psychological understanding with compelling narratives.
The Blue Lenses, published in 1959, and The Little Photographer (1952) are both preoccupied with ‘seeing’ and how a lens can reveal a truth that might have otherwise been hidden. Du Maurier’s characteristic themes of truth, deception, jealousy and obsession thread themselves through these stories and John teases out the experiences in du Maurier’s own life that underpinned her writing.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods’. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone.
Contributors:
Justine Picardie – author and biographer who has written extensively about Daphne du Maurier.
Sarah Dunant – best-selling author of thrillers and historical novels.
Credits:
(The Blue Lenses) The Breaking Point 1959 collection (published by Virago Classics 2009)
(The Little Photographer) The Birds and Other Stories first published as The Apple Tree by Victor Gollancz 1952
Archive BBC 7 reading of The Blue Lenses by Emma Fielding, originally recorded in 2007.
Archive clip of 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation of The Little Photographer. Sian Thomas plays the Marquise and John McAndrew the photographer.
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Producer: Julian Wilkinson
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Sound by Sean Kerwin
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m001x49q)
The Blue Lenses and The Little Photographer
Two unnerving dramas mining the dark side of human nature by Daphne du Maurier.
1. An eye operation changes how Marda West sees the world and the people in it.
Marda ….. Bethany Muir
Jim ….. Oliver Chris
Nurse Ansel ….. Rhiannon Neads
The Surgeon ….. Michael Bertenshaw
Nurse Brand ….. Anna Spearpoint
Eric ….. Ian Dunnett Junior
Writer ..... Daphne du Maurier
Dramatist ..... Anna Linstrum
Director .... Gemma Jenkins
Starring Bethany Muir (The Killing Kind, Dark Harbour, Dickensian) and Oliver Chris (Rivals, Trying, A Very British Scandal).
2. The beautiful but bored Madame la Marquise is on holiday in the South of France. One day she meets the local photographer. As Monsieur Paul studies her she feels the thrill of being looked at and wants something momentous to happen.
Madame la Marquise ..... Lucy Boynton
Monsieur Paul ..... Ian Dunnett Junior
Edouard ..... John Lightbody
Miss Clay ..... Jessica Turner
Celeste ..... Rosie Coleman
Helene ..... Maisie Avis
Mademoiselle Paul ..... Rhiannon Neads
Writer ..... Daphne du Maurier
Dramatist ..... Vivienne Allen
Director ..... Tracey Neale
Starring Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Ipcress File, Why Didn't They Ask Evans and will be appearing as Ruth Ellis in an upcoming four part TV drama).
The Blue Lenses and The Little Photographer are part of a collection of dramas in Daphne du Maurier: Double Exposure, a celebration of the imaginative variety and power of one of the underestimated but prolific and radical female writers. These two short stories follow on from Don’t Look Now and they have all been selected for their extraordinary taboo-busting excursions into dark unvisited realms of inner life. Beside Myself, a biographical Afternoon Drama about Daphne, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy, accompanies the three dramatisations.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m001x49v)
Daphne du Maurier
"Last night I dreamt of Manderley again..." begins Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier one of the most well-loved novels of the 20th century. As part of the Daphne du Maurier: Double Exposure season on Radio 4, Open Book looks again at her hugely popular novels to reveal the enduring qualities and appeal of her writing.
From the pirates, smugglers and bewitching Cornish wilds of Jamaica Inn and Frenchman’s Creek, to the gender politics and class commentary of Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, du Maurier’s reputation as a romance novelist misrepresented the true breadth of her work. Octavia Bright is joined by Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City, Funny Weather and Crudo; novelist, short story writer and Cornish resident Wyl Menmuir and Dr Laura Varnam of Oxford University, an expert on du Maurier’s life and work, to strip away some of the undermining labels she struggled to shake in her lifetime.
Book List – Sunday 10 March and Thursday 14 March
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Don’t Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
The Birds by Daphne du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne de Maurier
The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier
The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë by Daphne du Maurier
The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier
Vanishing Cornwall by Daphne du Maurier
Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
The Lonely City by Olivia Laing
Funny Weather by Olivia Laing
Crudo by Olivia Laing
The Draw of the Sea by Wyl Menmuir
SUN 16:30 Tremolo (m001x49y)
Songwriter Justin Currie reflects on the impact of a recent Parkinson's diagnosis, and the effects of the disease on his work as a performer.
As the front man in Glasgow band Del Amitri, Currie came to fame in 1990 when the group's Nothing Ever Happens reached number 11 in the UK singles chart. The song - a comment on political inertia and social apathy amidst the inequality of late '80s British society - is one that Currie performs regularly, though the tremors he now experiences in his right hand make playing the guitar part an impossibility.
Bringing together extracts from his written journal with backstage scenes, conversations with friends, and interview material, this radio portrait - in which Currie speaks at length publicly for the first time about how the illness is affecting him, physically and cognitively - was recorded over a weekend of rehearsals and gigs in Glasgow in January, 2024.
Produced by Phil Smith
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4
Photo credit: Seán Purser
Details of organisations offering information and support with Parkinson's Disease are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m001wxqb)
The Trouble with Parenting
"Maria" ended up in A and E after being assaulted by her 11-year-old child. There’s nothing unusual about children being rude or sometimes abusive to their parents, particularly when they’re adolescents. But some parents are attacked and abused by their children on a regular basis. It’s a pattern of behaviour that can begin as young as three years old and become unmanageable by teenage years.
Many parents remain silent out of shame and out of fear of the consequences if they seek help, worried that their child may be taken into care or criminalised. So it’s a hidden problem. The issue is now on the government’s agenda with a consultation that’s aiming to find a common definition for the issue. Jo Glanville talks to parents, practitioners and researchers about what happens in families when a child becomes violent, what should be done to support them and what lies behind this kind of behaviour.
Presented and Produced by Jo Glanville
Executive Editor: Bridget Harney
Research: Maia Miller-Lewis
Studio Manager: Jon Calver
Actors: Jayne Ashbourne and Juliet Cowan
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
Organisations in the programme offering information or support on child to parent violence:
Family Lives
Parentline family support and bullying helpline | Family Lives
https://www.familylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/confidential-helpline
CAPA First Response
Capa First Response | You are not alone - Capa First Response
https://capafirstresponse.org/
Talk Listen Change
Young People’s Programmes - TLC: Talk, Listen, Change (talklistenchange.org.uk)
https://talklistenchange.org.uk/project/young-peoples-programmes/
Holes in the Wall
HOLES IN THE WALL | documenting parent abuse
https://holesinthewall.co.uk/
SUN 17:40 Profile (m001x49w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001x4b3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m001x4b7)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x4bc)
Security has been tightened in Jerusalem, but officials say worshippers heading to the city's Al Aqsa mosque will not face restrictions.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001x4bh)
Chris Hawkins
This week’s jam-packed audio capture will include a bathtub boat, a rock star on a train, pixelated body parts, notable napkins, life stats, five candles and a donkey shanty. And, on Mothering Sunday, a beautiful letter from a mother to her daughter.
Presenter: Chris Hawkins
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinator: Paul Holloway
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001x4bm)
Alice is enjoying Mother’s Day morning with Chris and Martha. Her gift is a charity shop teacup. Chris jokes she might have had a ceramic wellie boot with a face. She is delighted but concerned something seems off. She asks Chris if he is OK but he says he wants to talk about that tomorrow. She won’t let it go and he reveals angrily that he knows about Harry. Alice says Harrison shouldn’t have told him. She had planned to but the time wasn’t right: if anyone should be angry it should be her. He counters, that as an addict, she must have seen the signs in Harry.
Tony and George are hanging cow hides at the tearoom. Fallon is unsure, commenting they may make the place look darker. Tony is enthusiastic but George is torn, saying although they are nice Fallon might have a point. She is impatient for them to finish as customers for her Mothering Sunday afternoon tea will be arriving soon. Kate is horrified by the hide, saying she can’t eat a vegan cream tea under an animal’s skin. It’s bad enough to eat it, without displaying it like a trophy.
Alice arrives and has an awkward conversation with Fallon about Harrison and his generous gift for Martha. She wishes Fallon luck with her police interview later this week. Alice is reluctant to discuss the matter with Kate but after some prodding, reveals that she and Chris had a horrible row over Harry and what happened with Harrison. Kate is sympathetic but says Alice needs to prioritise her own wellbeing.
SUN 19:15 Jokes (p0hc1z5d)
Stuart Mitchell's Cost of Living
3. Stuart Is a Total Banker
Comedian Stuart Mitchell examines his own cost of living crisis with a move into the high flying world of banking - and just when he thinks he has it all, the world crashes around him.
Each episode, Stuart looks at a chapter of his own unbelievable, but absolutely true, life story.
A working class boy, with huge aspirations, Stuart achieved everything he dreamed of and more. However, he soon came to realise that the cost of having everything was more than he was willing to pay. A morality tale featuring his time working in Westminster, moving to a highly paid job in banking and willingly losing it all to find happiness; Stuart will make us all question the true cost of living.
Written and performed by Stuart Mitchell
Produced by Lauren Mackay
SUN 19:30 Jokes (p0hbp22v)
Jazz Emu: The Sound of Us
3. The Sound of Man
After being diagnosed with below average testosterone levels (which was probably the error of the thicko lady doctor) Jazz decides to assert his dominance. With the help of the macho social media influencer Aidan Tugg, Jazz learns the art of being a Proper Man. No cucks allowed.
Jazz Emu: musician, 70s lothario-type, ex-Hollywood foley artist and internationally renowned idiot. After a long career in (and often out) of the spotlight, he has decided to present a radio show in order to connect with the average Joes (and Janes, and other boring names) and bestow his expert knowledge of Sound upon the universe.
Written by Archie Henderson and Adrian Gray
Starring: Archie Henderson, Adrian Gray, Emmanuel Sonubi, Lorna Rose Treen, Cody Dahler
Produced by Sasha Bobak
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
SUN 19:45 The Song Thief by Colin Carberry (m001x4bw)
Episode 5
An eerie tale of forgotten songs and vengeful spirits by Belfast author Colin Carberry (‘Good Vibrations.’) As read by Aoibhéann McCann ('Blue Lights.')
‘The Song Thief’ follows Harry Probyn on his journey across Ireland to find Aislinn Byrne, the woman who started his song-writing career. After recording her sing years before in Ireland, Harry stole her song ‘Bluebell Wood’. He shared it with the world and made his fortune. Now penniless and on the run from the violent Shanks family, Harry must return to Ireland and find a new hit song.
Song-collectors – hobbyists who collect sound recordings, usually of music, but sometimes poetry, readings, historical speeches, and ambient noises – are responsible for most of what we now know as traditional folk music that has been preserved down the years. However the practice has a darker legacy and is littered with examples of artists being exploited by unscrupulous recordists. While the ‘Folk Revival’ of the 1960s saw many artists from the traditional music communities become famous, most of them were men. Women artists were silenced at a time when men’s voices were encouraged to sing loudest.
Featuring traditional folk music from the BBC Archives recorded on location in Ireland and America in the 1950s.
Author
Colin Carberry is a writer of screenplays and fiction from Belfast. With Glenn Patterson he co-wrote the film ‘Good Vibrations’ for which the pair were nominated for Outstanding Debut at the 2014 BAFTA Film awards. ‘Good Vibrations’ has since been adapted into a stage musical. A frequent contributor of new fiction to BBC Radio 4’s Short Works series, he is currently working on a collection of short stories and developing a number of projects for film, television and theatre.
Reader: Aoibhéann McCann
Writer: Colin Carberry
Music: Alabama Sacred Heart Singers
Music: Gerard O'Kane
Music: Patrick O'Kane
Producer: Michael Shannon
Editor: Andy Martin
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m001wy0z)
Schedule Shake-up, Moral Maze and Singers Saved
Schedule changes, Moral Maze and Singers Saved.
As Radio 3 and 4 prepare to shake-up their schedules, you’ve been getting in touch with your views. Archers fans and Record Review regulars have been quick to air their concerns. Also, Andrea Catherwood looks back at some more memorable schedule change moments with former Radio 4 controller, Mark Damazer.
Moral Maze listeners vent their feelings on the recent debate on veganism where all four of the panellists were meat eaters.
The BBC Singers have been saved - again! Andrea asks Paul Hughes, former Director of the Singers, if they really are safe this time.
And it’s never too early to start thinking about your Interview Of The Year nomination.
Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Leeanne Coyle
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001wy0h)
Iris Apfel, Colin Murray Parkes, Baroness Henig, Jim Lawrence
Matthew Bannister on
Iris Apfel the colourful fashion and interior designer whose own dress sense made an impact until her death aged 102.
Dr Colin Murray Parkes, the psychiatrist once described as “the David Attenborough of the bereavement world.”
Baroness Henig, the deputy House of Lords Speaker who was a historian and expert on the security industry.
Jim Lawrence who became skipper of a Thames sailing barge aged eighteen and went on to set up a successful sail making business in Essex.
Interviewee: Dame Zandra Rhodes
Interviewee: Laura Higginson
Interviewee: Debbie Kerslake
Interviewee: David Henig
Interviewee: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
Interviewee: Simon Devonshire KC
Producer: Catherine Powell
Archive used:
Iris Apfel on BBC Radio 4 “Woman's Hour” 31/07/2015; Colin Murray Parkes on BBC Radio 4 “Word of Mouth - The Language of Bereavement and Grief” 14/01/23; BBC Wales “Aberfan 2 days after the disaster” 24/10/1966; BBC News 20/09/2001; St Thomas Church Memorial Service, BBC New Special, BBC, 20/09/2001; Colin Murray Parkes courtesy: Cruse Bereavement Support, YouTube 23/09/2019; Baroness Henig on Woman's Hour - 20/10/2011; House of Lords 08/11/23; Parliamentlive.tv. BBC Parliament “Levelling up and Regeneration” 6/9/24; Jim Lawrence: Jim Lawrence singing, “The Singing Bargee”, Paul Desmond, YouTube 14/11/2012; Jim Lawrence Recalls His Early Days, Paul Desmond, YouTube uploaded 14 Nov 2012
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001x48c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001x483)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 Loose Ends (m001x49r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001x4c0)
Ben Wright is joined by the Conservative MP Danny Kruger, Labour's Dame Siobhain McDonagh and the historian Sir Anthony Seldon. They discuss the fallout from the Chancellor's Budget and proposals for a new official definition of extremism. Rosa Prince - deputy editor of Politico UK - brings expert insight and analysis. The panellists also talk about Sir Anthony's latest book, on the history of the office of Prime Minister.
SUN 23:00 Moral Maze (m001wxwt)
The morality of forgiveness
The Legacy Act in Northern Ireland provides a conditional amnesty for people who committed crimes during the Troubles, as part of a broader process of reconciliation. It’s an attempt to draw a line under events of the past, but it’s generated anger among the families of some victims, who feel they’ll be denied justice.
When things go wrong, we need to find people to blame. Who’s responsible? Who should be punished? But might we do better if we were prepared to blame less – prioritising the truth, and forgive more? It's been proposed that the NHS adopts a no-blame system where staff don’t lose their jobs if they admit a failure, so the NHS learns quickly from its mistakes. The “no-blame culture” idea already exists in parts of the US aviation industry where people are encouraged, even praised, for owning up to mistakes that could cost lives.
If blame means disgrace and the end of a career, it’s hardly surprising that people hide the truth about their own failure. How many of us would admit it quickly, if we discovered that a mistake at work had led to terrible consequences? More forgiveness might lead to greater openness and honesty. It could make it easier to avoid mistakes being repeated. But is it moral to forgive serious wrongdoing? Where is the justice in that? Surely the fear of blame is a powerful incentive for us all to do our jobs properly and avoid mistakes. Do we need more forgiveness – or less?
Presenter: Michael Buerk
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser
Editor: Tim Pemberton
MONDAY 11 MARCH 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001x4c2)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Sideways (m001wxr0)
59. What's Your Name?
What's your name? You might think you know, but in this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed discovers the answer could be more complicated than you first assume.
That's what Hajar found out, after spending her whole life searching for a name to truly call her own.
This is the story of our names, and the influence they have over who we are and who we choose to become.
With Hajar Woodland, Eva Echo, Emilia Aldrin, David Zhu and Arjee Restar.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Leigh Meyer
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound design and mix by Daniel Kempson
Theme tune by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001x4bx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001x4c4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001x4c6)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001x4c8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001x4cb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001x4cd)
Mothering Sunday
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Kate Wharton
Good morning.
Yesterday was Mothering Sunday, or Mothers’ Day as it’s generally known these days outside of church circles. Unlike many special celebratory days, we mark our UK Mothers’ Day at a different time from our American cousins. For us, because of its origins as Mothering Sunday, it falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Some Christians get annoyed that one of ‘our’ festivals has been commercialised and changed its meaning. Personally I don’t mind at all, I like to remember the history of the day, but recognise that inevitably things change their emphasis over time (though I do have strong opinions about where the apostrophe in ‘mothers’ should go!). For some of us, Mothers’ Day is a day of joy, fun and celebration. For others, for many different, complicated reasons, it’s a day of pain, hurt and sorrow.
Where that’s the case, maybe remembering the origins of Mothering Sunday can help us. In the distant past, this day was about ‘mother church’ rather than our mums. Domestic servants would have the day off, and many people would return to visit their ‘mother’ (that is, their home) church. So maybe there’s an opportunity here for us to honour and give thanks for our ‘mother church’ (or equivalent) – perhaps a church, or another place of worship, or a family or community, the place where we were loved and nurtured and encouraged in our faith journey in our formative years.
Loving Lord Jesus, we give thanks today for the people and places who have loved and nurtured us, encouraged and challenged us.
Amen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001x4cg)
11/03/24 Tree planting and agroforestry; Pesticides report; Fertiliser from byproducts.
The writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare have long been advocates for helping young people learn more about farming and the countryside, so much so, that they set up Farms for City Children nearly 50 years ago. Young people help run the farm and learn about both farming and nature. For one of their latest projects in Devon, they’ve teamed up with the Woodland Trust to involve primary school children, planting trees inside what they call roundels - a protective barrier, which keeps out livestock until the trees are big enough to become part of an agroforestry grazing system.
MPs on The Science and Technology Committee have called on the government to publish its National Plan for Sustainable Pesticide Use which has been been delayed by six years. The report on insect decline and pesticide use says insects are vital for food security and describes government targets to reduce pesticide use by at least half by 2030 as ambitious and welcome, but also narrow and incomplete. The Royal Entomological Society, which gave evidence to the committee, says the decline in insects has serious implication for ecosystems - including agricultural ones
We hear a lot about waste in food and farming and this week we are going to look at ways of using by products or waste products from agriculture as something useful. The Blenheim estate in Oxfordshire is in the middle of a trial to turn all its organic waste, including livestock manure and sheep wool, into a material that can be used to boost soil quality or as part of an organic fertiliser.
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
MON 05:56 Weather (m001x4cj)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09k8qz7)
Doug Allan on the Giant Petrel
Wildlife cameraman Doug Allan recalls his encounters with Giant Petrels in Antarctica with mixed feelings as he recalls their baleful stare, steely grey blue eyes and predatory intent!
Producer: Sarah Blunt
MON 06:00 Today (m001x4n5)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m001x4nm)
Time passing: ageing, memory and nostalgia
The Nobel prize winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan explores how time affects our bodies, brains and emotions in his new book, Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality. As he explains the recent scientific breakthroughs to extend lifespan by altering our biology, he also considers the ethical questions such efforts raise.
The neuroscientist Charan Ranganath asks a different question in his book, Why We Remember. Using case studies he unveils the principles behind how the brain retains information, and what and why we forget so much. He also looks at what happens to our memories as we age.
In her new book, Nostalgia, the historian Agnes Arnold-Forster blends social history and psychology in a quest to understand this complex emotion. While it was thought of as an illness in the 17th century, it is now used as a widespread marketing tool impacting our choices from politics to food. But if nostalgia prompts us to glorify the past, Arnold-Foster asks how that impacts the present, and future.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x4p2)
Book of the Week: Ep 1 - A portentous comet marks the dawn of the industrial revolution
In Brian Merchant's acclaimed account it's 1811. The rise of the machine threatens the craftsmanship and the livelihoods of traditional cloth workers and they take action. Hugo Speer reads.
In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the cloth trade was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. As machines were brought in traditional skills, acquired by cloth workers over years of hard graft, became obsolete. Working men and women were left without the means to feed their families, and without purpose or pride in their identities as workers.
Meanwhile, around them they could see that a handful of entrepreneurs, the first tech titans, were accumulating wealth by replacing them with machines. The response was the Luddites.
Blood in the Machine draws on a number of primary sources, as well as historical accounts based on interviews recorded later on in the nineteenth century with those who participated in and had first hand knowledge of the rebellion.
In his book, Brian Merchant finds parallels between technology's impact on today's workforce and the first time machines replaced the jobs done by human beings.
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and author of the bestseller, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone. His writing appears in the New York Times, Wired, The Atlantic and Harper's Magazine. He is also the founder of Gizmodo's Automaton project examining AI and the future of work.
Hugo Speer known for playing DI David Bradford in London Kills, Lucius in Britannia, Captain Treville in The Musketeers and Guy in The Full Monty. He also plays DCI Stone in the acclaimed Radio 4 series, Stone.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001x4pm)
The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax, Jennie Lee MP, England Rugby player Meg Jones
For the first time, four mums are speaking out about what it was like to be at the centre of a conspiracy that went viral, even reaching the USA. Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax is a new documentary that looks at what happened to them. Director Emily Turner and mum ‘Anna’ (not her real name) join Emma Barnett to talk about why they wanted to speak out and share this story.
The photograph gracing the front pages this morning of the Princess of Wales with her children, reportedly taken by Prince William - was the first image of Kate to be released by Kensington Palace since her planned abdominal surgery in January. Photo agencies, including Reuters and Associated Press, have retracted the photo over concerns it has been "manipulated". Emma speaks to Alexandra Shulman - Former Editor of British Vogue and journalist - who knows Catherine, the Princess of Wales - from having advised her about designers for her wedding dress through to their work together when she placed her on the front cover of British Vogue's centerary issue.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales later released a statement apologising "for any confusion" the photograph caused. It continued: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing".
In 1929 Jennie Lee, a miner’s daughter from Scotland, became a socialist MP at the age of only 24 – at a time when she wasn’t even legally old enough to vote. Married to the Welsh Labour politician Aneurin “Nye” Bevan, founder of the NHS, his life and their relationship is currently on stage at the National Theatre in London in a new play called Nye. Actor Sharon Small, who plays the woman considered by many a pioneer for women in politics, is in the Woman’s Hour studio. She and Emma are joined by historian, Lyndsey Jenkins, lecturer in modern history at Oxford University.
The Women's Six Nations begins later this month. Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy are taking part as well as England who are looking to build on the glory of 2023, when they sealed the grand slam in front of nearly 60,000 spectators at Twickenham, a record crowd for a women’s game. We'll continue to cover the Six Nations as it gets underway but to kick us off Emma is joined by England Rugby player Meg Jones.
Presented by Emma Barnett
Producer: Louise Corley
Studio Engingeer: Donald MacDonald
MON 11:00 The Gatekeepers (m001x4q5)
6. Arbiters of Truth
In 2018, the CEOs of our most popular social media companies are standing at a crossroad.
After political outcry over Russian interference in the 2016 election and fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, tech leaders have a decision to make.
They need to come up with ways of making their platforms safer.
One route is a radical overhaul of the entire business model. The other is the biggest digital clean-up operation ever attempted, spanning hundreds of langauges and countries.
Which path will they take?
Producer: Caitlin Smith
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Story Consultant: Kirsty Williams
Composer: Jeremy Warmsley
Executive Producer: Peter McManus
Commissioned by Dan Clarke
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4.
Archive: C-Net, April 2018; CBS News, 2020; Tucker Carlson on Fox News; BBC News 2021; EU Debates Tv, 2021
New episodes released on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest episodes of The Gatekeepers, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3Ui661u
MON 11:30 The Bottom Line (m001wypt)
In the eye of a crisis
Evan Davis makes up crisis management scenarios to see how three CEOs handle a business emergency. To make it more realistic none of the guests know what the predicaments are before speaking to Evan.
Guests:
Kathryn Jacob, CEO of Pearl and Dean
Dame Inga Beale, former CEO of Lloyd's of London
Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury's
Production Team:
Presenter: Evan Davis
Editor: Matt Willis
Producer: Simon Tulet & Paige Neal-Holder
Sound: Sarah Hockley & Rod Farquhar
MON 12:00 News Summary (m001x4qq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001x4r8)
Companies House Crackdown; Skincare Trends; Garden Offices
Companies House is clamping down on criminals who've been using other people’s names and addresses to register fake companies. For years now, we've been reporting on how thousands of households have had their details unknowingly used by criminal gangs. An investigation by You and Yours in 2022 found that 150,000 had been registered and in some streets, every home had been targeted. Until last week, Companies House had no legal powers to verify or validate a firm's details. We speak to Graham Barrow from the Dark Money Files who advises financial crime investigators. We also hear from the Government Minister for Enterprise Markets and Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake, who is behind the change in the law.
More than two thirds of people in the UK want beauty brands to prove the science behind their product claims. That’s according to the consumer analysts, Mintel.
Their research shows people are becoming more savvy about the skincare products they’re buying as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze budgets. We speak to Dionne Officer from Mintel's Beauty and Care Innovation team and Dr Natalia Spierings, a consultant dermatologist, and author of a book called "What you really need to know to get great skin."
During the pandemic we saw a huge increase in the number of garden rooms being built as work from home offices. The average cost of installing one can be anything between £9,500 and £30,000. But does installing a garden office really add value to your home? We speak to journalist and author Oliver Franklin-Wallis who tried to buy a property with one of these offices. We also hear from Simon Gerrard, an estate agent and Paula Higgins from the Homeowners Alliance.
Presenter: Shari Vahl
Producer: Tara Holmes
MON 12:57 Weather (m001x4rq)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m001x4sf)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
MON 13:45 Strike Boy (m001x4sz)
6. Policing Pickets
"I weren't right happy. I mean, they threw bottles and stuff and bricks at us."
There was a lot of mistrust of the police among striking miners and their families in 1984, but what was it like for the police, bused across the country to protect the working miners who crossed picket lines?
When Mark was 11, he remembers a BBC crew coming to his Nottinghamshire pit village to report on the miners' strike that had taken over his life. With a striking miner for a dad, Mark felt like he was part of it. But the police were there too, and he’s never forgotten what happened when he got too close to the action.
Mark travels to West Yorkshire to meet a retired PC who spent the whole year policing the strike and was at the Orgreave coking plant near Sheffield, where the most violent clashes took place. He hears tales of shared pork pies, trousers-down sunbathing, and potatoes with six-inch nails in.
Archive: BBC.
Presenter: Mark Watson
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
MON 14:00 The Archers (m001x4bm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Limelight (m001wnst)
Sabine
Sabine - Episode 4
Elly’s found a USB drive of Sabine’s secret recordings, meant for Elly’s eyes only. A dangerous side of Sabine’s hidden life is revealed, in the weeks leading up to her death. In this episode, Sabine tells her own story.
When Sabine’s body is found beneath the cliffs in an apparent suicide, her sister Elly is convinced she was murdered. Elly's hunt for the killer takes her deep into the life in Brighton her sister kept secret. Sabine is a new five-part murder mystery by Mark Healy.
CAST
Sabine ..... Freya Mavor
Oakley ..... Rupert Evans
Daniel ..... Ivanno Jeremiah
Becca ..... Rhiannon Neads
Ziggy ..... Ian Dunnett Jr
Rutherford ..... Jessica Turner
Written by Mark Healy
Directed by Anne Isger
Sound by Keith Graham, Ali Craig and Pete Ringrose
Production Co-ordination by Gaelan Davis-Connolly
Sabine is a BBC Audio Production for Radio 4
MON 14:45 The Chronicles of Burke Street (m000xlkk)
The Chronicles of Burke Street
4: Bacca's Story
The next in the brilliantly funny short story series by the award-winning author of 'Love After Love', Ingrid Persaud.
Set on an everyday street in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 'The Chronicles of Burke Street' follows the lives and loves of its colourful residents. Burke Street might seem like an ordinary street, but behind its closed doors lurk secrets, superstitions and barely concealed lies.
Today, in 'Bacca's Story', a Burke Street maid suspects foul play when a much younger woman is taken on to help out...
Writer: Ingrid Persaud is the winner of the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award, and her novel Love After Love won the 2020 Costa First Novel Award.
Reader: Martina Laird
Producer: Justine Willett
MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz (m001x4tk)
Programme 1, 2024
Teams from all over the UK will face Kirsty Lang's cryptic questions across the series, with Kirsty offering support and the odd hint where it might be needed. First up are the pairs from Wales and the South of England.
Comedian, actor and writer Cariad Lloyd makes her Round Britain Quiz debut this season, alongside writer Myfanwy Alexander on the Welsh team. They face Marcus Berkmann and Paul Sinha who are the regulars for the South of England. The rivalry promises to be fierce.
As always, they'll drop points every time they need a clue from the chair to steer them towards the right solution.
Questions in today's edition:
Q1 Why might a red precious stone, the father of Henry IV, the Iraqi capital and an optimistic flower be keeping it all in the family?
Q2 (from Richard Saunders) How might four stations on the District Line, a Swedish university city, and a dual winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, all lead you in the same direction as Carl Fredericksen?
Q3 Music: Who might be scared of these?
Q4 (from Ivan Whetton) The Nubian and Libyan deserts; Kenroku-en, Koraku-en and Kairaku-en; the Danum Valley in Malaysia; quays in a notorious area of Cardiff; en route to where flying fishes play; and Mumbai in former times. Who might have taken a beating in these locations?
Q5 (from Mickie Wynne Davies) Where could you find in close proximity: a female Womble, the aft portion of a tea clipper, an epistolary novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrow; and a hit musical with a tenuous link to Vivaldi?
Q6 (from Mick Lee) Music: What links these songs?
Q7 (from Michael Hipkins) On which table might you find Napoleon's 1800 Piedmont victory; Annapolis, capitally; a Gallic huntsman; a blue ribbon; and royalty (twice)?
Q8 (from Lyneve Kimber) Meeting a cold ocean current, a fashionable 18th century fellow and some components of a drum kit might make you shiver; but using a Japanese ATM might take you somewhere warmer. Can you explain?
Producer: Paul Bajoria
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m001x494)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0hbmm0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:15 on Saturday]
MON 16:30 The Artificial Human (m001x4vn)
Could AI win an Oscar?
AI art has been evolving at a rapid pace. In a few short months images, sound and increasingly video have all become so realistic it’s hard to tell what’s created by humans verses machines.
The release of SORA, Open AI’s text to video model, has sent shockwaves through the film industry. Movie mogul Tyler Perry reportedly halted an $800 million studio expansion because he saw what SORA was capable of. He feared he was wasting his money. He thinks that AI will, ‘touch every corner of our industry”. He’s not the only one…
People are worried. Aleks and Kevin speak to some of them. They ask - will actors become obsolete? Will we create every location against a greenscreen? And if these elements go, what next? The whole ecosystem of filmmaking suddenly feels very fragile. Could this be the biggest change the industry has seen since it’s inception? The thing is, film can often represent the most human of moments and interactions, and the bottom line is that audience. Will people want to watch movies that have been mostly generated by AI?
In this episode, Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong want to know: 'Could AI win an Oscar?'
MON 17:00 PM (m001x4w8)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x4wv)
Princess Catherine said she was the person who digitally altered the image
MON 18:30 One Person Found This Helpful (m001x4xg)
Series 1
4. Crouching Chicken Hidden Ladder
Frank and guests Catherine Bohart, Daliso Chaponda, Shaparak Khorsandi and Ian Smith find out what you think about lemons, sharks and a very painful ladder.
This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad and the baffling.
Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche
Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m001x4l1)
Emma and Ed tell Will they’ve discussed his offer of finance for the tree surgery business and want to take him up on it. All three are excited but George is less than impressed. He asks if Will has lost his mind remortgaging their home, saying that if Ed and Emma mess up the family be out on the street. Later Will says he listened to George and has asked Brian Aldridge to look at their business plan. He adds the Grundys have always lived hand to mouth and he doesn’t want to be like that. Later, while drinking a toast, Will tells Ed and Emma he has concerns about their business plan and doesn’t want to sign anything until it is watertight. He leaves them with a list of notes for ways they need to improve it. Annoyed, Ed wonders whether their partnership is going to work.
Alice and Chris have an angry and emotional exchange. She can’t understand what he is so wound up about. He reveals that finding out about Harry from Harrison reminded him of all of Alice’s lies when she was drinking. Distraught, Alice says she would never have started a relationship with Harry had she known. Later he apologises to Alice – he didn’t want to make her feel she’s not a good mother but he doesn’t know how to get rid of the fear she’ll relapse. She worries things will always be difficult between them because he will never completely trust her. But to Alice, Martha is all that matters.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m001x4y1)
Beth Ditto of Gossip, Ethan Coen on Drive-Away Dolls, Michael Donkor
Beth Ditto talks to Tom Sutcliffe about reuniting with her band Gossip for their first new album in nearly a decade.
Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke discuss collaborating as a husband and wife team on their new film, Drive Away Dolls.
Michael Donkor discusses his new novel Grow Where They Fall, about a young British Ghanian teacher exploring his sexuality, heritage and past.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Paula McGrath
MON 20:00 Home Fires (m001x4x3)
Richard King explores the past and present of the second homes debate in Wales, revisiting the story of Meibion Glyndwr – active terrorists on British soil for almost 15 years.
The proliferation of second homes is a problem in many parts of the UK. They contribute to pushing up house prices, often in low-income areas, effectively locking young people out of the housing market. It’s a problem with different characteristics in different places.
In Wales it is compounded by the fate of Cymraeg, the Welsh language.
It is felt by many that second homes contribute to the fragmentation of Welsh-speaking communities and pose a threat to the survival of the language.
It's nothing new. Beginning in 1979, Meibion Glyndwr – Sons of Glyndwr (Owain Glyndwr being a soldier who led a revolt against English rule in the 1400s) – responded to this threat by carrying out hundreds of arson attacks and fire-bombings. Initially targeting second homes and holiday cottages in Welsh-speaking areas, the campaign later expanded to target estate agents, English-owned businesses and the offices of police and politicians, accompanied by stencilled letters containing extravagant nativist threats. Hundreds of properties were damaged and destroyed. It lasted until 1994 and only one person was ever convicted of a related offence.
The Meibion Glyndwr campaign was audacious and shocking – and utterly ineffective.
In the thirty years since the last attack Wales has gained its own parliament and with it a measure of power to decide its own fate. And as elsewhere in the UK, the issues around second homes have only become more urgent. One of the newer policies enacted by the Welsh government is a council tax premium on second homes, with local authorities able to decide how much of a levy to apply, up to a possible 300%.
Writer Richard King visits Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula, a village very much at the sharp end of the current situation and hears from some of those who lived through the Meibion Glyndwr campaign.
Featuring Robat Gruffudd, Amanda Jones, Richard Wyn Jones, Alun Lenny, Louise Overfield and Eifiona Wood.
With grateful thanks to Sian Howys, Meic Parry and Dylan Roberts.
(The programme contains an archive recording which refers to RS Thomas as a non-conformist minister. RS Thomas was a priest in the Anglican Church in Wales.)
MON 20:30 Analysis (m001x4yf)
What would Isambard Kingdom Brunel have done?
It's 2024, and the Manchester extension of HS2 has been cancelled. The leg to Leeds was cancelled in 2021. The remaining line to Birmingham is now less than half the initial planned route, and will cost over double the initial budget. This is not exclusive to HS2; Sprialling costs and missed deadlines have become commonplace in big engineering projects, the UK is now one of the most expensive places in the world to build infrastructure, but Britain has a proud history of engineering, and one name in particular looms large - Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Ruthless, bloody minded and notoriously driven - what could he do about the current state of UK infrastructure?
Presenter: Neil Maggs
Producer: Johnny I'Anson
Editor: Clare Fordham
MON 21:00 Young Again (m001wxj9)
10. Alastair Campbell
Kirsty Young talks to the former spin doctor Alastair Campbell about what he’s learned from his life so far. From the bagpipes to New Labour, geopolitics to Burnley FC, Alastair Campbell is passionate about his interests and deeply tribal in his allegiances. But does he ever allow these passions to cloud his judgement? Having been a key figure in Tony Blair’s government and now the co-host of a hit podcast, Alastair explores how events in his childhood have shaped his outlook on the world and whether he regrets any of the tough decisions he has taken.
If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them? In Young Again Kirsty takes her guests back to the pivotal moments in their lives. Reflecting on what they wish they’d known at the time, and what they’ve learned along the way, she discovers the honest – and surprising – advice they’d give their younger selves.
Producer: Laura Northedge
Content Editor: Richard Hooper
Executive Editor: Alice Feinstein
Senior Technical Producer: Duncan Hannant
Presenter: Kirsty Young
A BBC Audio Production
MON 21:30 Start the Week (m001x4nm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001x4z1)
US wants a multi national police force in Haiti
Also:
A new report finds that some vital medical devices are less accurate for people with darker skin.
and 2 pilots fall asleep on the same flight - how worried should we be ?
MON 22:45 Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (m001x4zg)
Episode 6
Emma Fielding reads Daphne Du Maurier's enduring and much loved classic - a story of love, daring and a painted pirate ship in a secret Cornish creek, and of the beautiful, roistering Lady Dona St Columb, who, fleeing her vacuous life in London in search of escape and her better self, has met her match at last.
Today: The Merry Fortune. In the teeth of a summer gale, the Frenchman is carrying out his most audacious act of piracy yet, seizing a merchant ship in front of her owner. Dona has played her part but can she reach the ship and will she win her wager with her pirate?
Set on Du Maurier's beloved South Cornwall coast, in the secret creeks and inlets of the Helford river, where the curlews wade on the mud flats and the night jars churr at midnight, Frenchman's Creek is a song to another age where a traveller might just glimpse a figure in the shadows, the moonlight glinting on his buckled shoe or the cutlass in his hand, and a cloaked woman might slip silently through the woods to meet her lover.
Reader Emma Fielding
Abridger Julian Wilkinson
Producer Di Speirs
MON 23:00 Lent Talks (m001x500)
Mary's Pain
Lent Talks - Mary's Pain
Written and presented by Dr Selina Stone, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Theological Education , Durham University and author ‘Tarry Awhile’ – the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lent book.
The story of Jesus' suffering and death is also the story of the pain experienced by those who loved him, particularly his mother Mary. We think of her often as a privileged woman, "blessed among women" and the mother of God in flesh. And yet this calling also involved great suffering and pain as she watches her son suffer and then be murdered. What do we learn about our human experience and the Christian life when we pay attention to Mary in this way? In a world in which so many experience the pain of seeing their loved ones suffer, how might we reflect and respond?
Producer: Carmel Lonergan
Editor: Dan Tierney
Opening and closing music: Stabat Mater
“Details of organisations offering information and support with bereavement, or if you’ve been a victim of crime are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.”
MON 23:15 The Kids Are Alt Right? (m001vbsn)
The Marketplace of Politics
How do parties succeed with the young? Or attract older voters?
The answer lies in the methods politicians use to gain attention. It's a political marketplace, and key to understanding the appeal of radical parties is Sara Hobolt's idea of the political entrepreneurs - groups who disrupt the landscape and exploit a gap in the electoral market.
How do these newer challenger parties upend the status quo and win our votes?
The series considers the popular misconception that young people enter the political world automatically left wing.
And there's a similar belief that as we age, we will become increasingly right wing.
But Professor James Tilley is on hand to reveal that the relationship between age and how we vote is not straightforward.
Across five episodes he investigates how young people become attached to particular political parties, how ageing affects our political views - and how the choices made by political parties play out among the young and the old.
Presented by Professor James Tilley.
Produced by Kevin Core.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001x50l)
Susan Hulme reports as MPs continue to question the government about the Budget.
TUESDAY 12 MARCH 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001x513)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 00:30 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x4p2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001x51k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001x522)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001x52h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001x52x)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001x539)
Baking
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Kate Wharton
Good morning.
I absolutely love baking. I like all types of cooking, but I particularly enjoy baking cakes. During the pandemic I also enjoyed learning to bake bread, although I’ve still never quite jumped onto the sourdough bandwagon. Because I live on my own, it’s a bit dangerous to do too much baking at home, so I jump at every opportunity to bake for other people and events. One thing that means is that our church meetings often have a very good selection of cakes available.
I was taught to bake by my grandma when I was very young. I’d go and stay with my grandparents for a week from time to time, and one of my favourite things to do was to bake with my grandma. She’d had two sons, and gender expectations being what they were at that time, it hadn’t occurred to her to teach them to bake, but she enjoyed teaching me, and I enjoyed learning. There’s something about baking that feels to me like a very spiritual practice. Maybe it’s the time needed to mix and stir and knead, and then wait.
Maybe it’s the fact that regular practice means you get better at it. Maybe it’s because it’s a wonderful way of bringing people together, sharing something, enjoying it with others. Maybe it’s because even though it can be familiar, it’s also a little bit different each time. Maybe it’s because something wonderful can be created.
Loving Lord Jesus, help us to encounter you in the ordinary things of life, to see and feel and know you day by day.
Amen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001x53m)
12/03/24 River pollution from poultry farming; Chicken litter used to generate power; Ramadan lamb
The Soil Association, has called for a ban on any new intensive broiler farms being set up in the UK. The organic farming group has published a new report called "Stop Killing Our Rivers" which says it's impossible to manage chicken meat production without harming the environment, especially rivers. The report says the chicken meat sector has been expanding at a rate of one million birds per month, since 2014 and has now reached more than a billion birds per year.
All week we're looking into the many - often imaginative - ways byproducts and waste from agriculture are turned into something useful. A renewable energy company is using poultry litter to generate electricity at their five power stations in England and Scotland. We visit their station at Thetford, in the heart of chicken farming in East Anglia where every week 11 thousand tonnes of poultry waste are delivered and used to generate electricity.
Sheep farmers are benefiting from a spike in prices as Ramadan and Easter are both celebrated this month. Both events traditionally look to lamb as their meat of choice on these occasions, farmers, processors and retailers, have all geared up for a busy time.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mzty6)
Black-necked Grebe
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
David Attenborough presents the story of the Black-Necked Grebe. In winter, the black-necked grebe is largely grey and white with a dark cap and eyes like rubies. You'll need to seek out Black-necked grebes in their favourite spots, which include large London reservoirs and shallow seas along the south coast.
Producer: Sarah Pitt
TUE 06:00 Today (m001x4jy)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m001x4k4)
Jonathan Van-Tam on Covid communication and the power of football analogies
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, or ‘JVT’ as he's arguably better known, first came to widespread public attention in his role as Deputy Chief Medical Officer during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But even before that, Jonathan had built an impressive career based on a long-held fascination with respiratory illness and infectious diseases. He’s worked across the public and private sectors, contributing significantly to improving our understanding of influenza and treatments to address such viruses.
It’s hard to believe that back in his teens, JVT – the man who advised the nation on pandemic precautions and helped make the UK’s vaccine roll-out possible – nearly didn’t get the grades he needed to go to medical school. But early challenges aside, Jonathan went on to discover a love for both medical research and public speaking: making complex public health messages easier to digest – not least by using analogies relating to his beloved football.
Speaking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili in the first episode of a new series of The Life Scientific, Jonathan discusses his life and career: from academic emphasis in childhood and imposter syndrome at medical school, to pandemic pressures around Covid-19 and big birthday celebrations.
Produced by Lucy Taylor.
TUE 09:30 One to One (m001x4k9)
Psychedelics and Mental Health: Rose Cartwright meets Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner
In recent years there’s been a renaissance of interest in psychedelics in the West, on a scale not seen since the first wave of medical research in the 1950s and 60s. Drugs like DMT, ketamine and psilocybin (that’s the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms), are now being researched as medications to take alongside therapy for the treatment of various mental health problems. Across this series of interviews, Rose Cartwright explores so-called ‘psychedelic assisted psychotherapy’. What is it? Can it help tackle our mental health crisis? And what are the risks?
Her first guest is clinical psychologist Ashleigh Murphy-Beiner from the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College, which is working on medical trials with psilocybin and MDMA for the treatment of depression and complex trauma. What is complex trauma and how might psychedelic drugs help to make sense of it? What can we learn from indigenous healers when trialling these drugs within a western clinical framework? And how could psychedelic-assisted therapy play out within the NHS if these drugs become legalised for medical use?
Producer: Becky Ripley
TUE 09:45 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x4kd)
Book of the Week: Ep 2 - The Luddite movement is born
In Brian Merchant's telling of the Luddite rebellion it's 1811 and poverty stalks the land. Workers across the textile industry are being displaced by machines and the consequences are felt by all. Hugo Speer reads.
In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the cloth trade was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. As machines were brought in traditional skills, acquired by cloth workers over years of hard graft, became obsolete. Working men and women were left without the means to feed their families, and without purpose or pride in their identities as workers.
Meanwhile, around them they could see that a handful of entrepreneurs, the first tech titans, were accumulating wealth by replacing them with machines. The response was the Luddites.
Blood in the Machine draws on a number of primary sources, as well as historical accounts based on interviews recorded later on in the nineteenth century with those who participated in and had first hand knowledge of the rebellion.
In his book, Brian Merchant finds parallels between technology's impact on today's workforce and the first time machines replaced the jobs done by human beings.
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and author of the bestseller, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone. His writing appears in the New York Times, Wired, The Atlantic and Harper's Magazine. He is also the founder of Gizmodo's Automaton project examining AI and the future of work.
Hugo Speer known for playing DI David Bradford in London Kills, Lucius in Britannia, Captain Treville in The Musketeers and Guy in The Full Monty. He also plays DCI Stone in the acclaimed Radio 4 series, Stone.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001x4kj)
Body shaming in dance, Author Charlotte Wood, Mothers’ Manifesto
A group of mums called Mothers' Manifesto are on day three of a five-day hunger strike in front of Parliament. They’re trying to draw attention to food insecurity and the plight of mums who have to go without food to ensure their children can eat. Today they’re meeting MPs to campaign for universal free school meals. Organiser Emma Hopkins tells Emma Barnett what they’ll be asking for.
A former dancer has brought a legal case against her performing arts school alleging verbal and emotional abuse in the form of body shaming, along with allegations that the school had failed in its duty of care to her as a pupil. Last month, the case was settled out of court, and she received a pay-out, although the school did not admit liability. Her lawyer believes this successful claim is the first time a dancer has taken a dance school to court over body shaming. The woman and her lawyer speak to Emma about what happened. The woman has a court order in place to keep her anonymous, so we are not naming her.
In recent years, maximalism has been all the rage in the interior design world. Patterns on patterns and riotous colours. But what are the pros and cons of adding personality to your home? Pottery artist, Mary Rose Young and Kate Sandhu, interiors influencer and founder of Kate Sandhu Renovation, join Emma to discuss.
Charlotte Wood’s latest novel, Stone Yard Devotional, is set in a small convent hidden in the stark plains of the Australian outback. The main character is a middle-aged woman who takes refuge with the nuns as she grieves the loss of her parents. Charlotte joins Emma to talk about the inspiration for this book and what happened when, as she was writing it, she and her two sisters were all diagnosed with breast cancer.
Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Lottie Garton
TUE 11:00 Young Again (m001x4kl)
11. Mel B
Kirsty Young talks to the pop star Melanie Brown about what she’s learned from her life so far.
Mel B is the girl from Leeds who became a global superstar with the Spice Girls. Glamour, fortune, drugs, violence, redemption and healing, her life has an air of make believe - except, of course, she has actually lived it.
If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them? In Young Again Kirsty takes her guests back to the pivotal moments in their lives. Reflecting on what they wish they’d known at the time, and what they’ve learned along the way, she discovers the honest – and surprising – advice they’d give their younger selves.
Producer: Laura Northedge
Content Editor: Richard Hooper
Executive Editor: Alice Feinstein
Senior Technical Producer: Duncan Hannant
Presenter: Kirsty Young
A BBC Audio Production
TUE 11:30 Dead Famous (m001x4kn)
Episode Two - Van Gogh
In the second episode of this series, we look at the work of Vincent Van Gogh. He died having famously sold only one canvas. Defeated, he took his own life in 1890. Since then, of course, his fame has grown and grown. His work now inspires immersive digital exhibitions, virtual reality experiences and even AI chatbots.
Rosie Millard traces the story of Van Gogh’s posthumous fame - from Kirk Douglas’ doomed hero in the 1956 Hollywood biopic Lust for Life to the thrilling sale of Sunflowers in 1987. Rosie also explores the quiet determination of Vincent’s sister in law Jo van Gogh-Bonger who championed his work.
Vermeer. Van Gogh. Frida Kahlo. Three of the best-known artists in the world. Their work is reproduced on everything from umbrellas to jigsaw puzzles to fridge magnets. They command record prices in the auction houses and deliver blockbuster shows which sell out immediately.
It wasn’t always this way, however. Each died with no idea that their work would become so hugely valuable or that it would inspire Hollywood movies and many future generations of artists and fans. Their work was not globally renowned when they were alive. How did they manage to market themselves so well after death? How did their status rise from zero to hero?
In this three-part series, Rosie Millard analyses the legacy of these three artists, all of whom rose to global fame many years after they died. Stepping back in time, she finds the key moments in history that transformed these artists from just dead to Dead Famous.
Presented by Rosie Millard
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001x4kq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001x4ks)
Call You and Yours: Do you get value for money from your vet?
After an 'unprecedented response' to its review into the veterinary sector, the CMA has provisionally decided to launch an investigation in to the vets market.
Lack of information for consumers, concentrated local markets, weak competition and pet owners overpaying for medicines or prescriptions are among the concerns raised in the review.
So what's your experience of vets in your area and do you get value for money from yours?
Call us on 03700 100 444. Lines are open at 11 am on Tuesday 27th February. You can also email us now at youandyours@bbc.co.uk. Don't forget to include a phone number so we can call you back.
PRODUCER: CATHERINE EARLAM
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
TUE 12:57 Weather (m001x4kv)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m001x4kx)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
TUE 13:45 Strike Boy (m001x4kz)
7. Battle-Weary
"He fetched truncheon down on the lad's top of his head. He went, whack! I witnessed that and it haunts you."
The son of a striking Nottinghamshire miner, Mark is meeting people from all sides of the 1984-5 strike, trying to make sense of Britain’s longest and bitterest industrial dispute.
On 18 June 1984, clashes between police and striking miners at the Orgreave coking plant near Sheffield became the most violent flashpoint of the strike. Mark hears from a picket who was there that day about how much was planned, what they did to try to scupper the police and the coal lorries - and the violence on both sides.
Archive: BBC.
Presenter: Mark Watson
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001x4l1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001x4l3)
Hello, I Appear to Have Killed My Husband
By Eugene O’Hare.
A tense and powerful psychological drama about a woman in a controlling marriage who finally snaps.
It’s New Year’s Day. Jane is serving the lunch. Roger is reading the newspaper. But very soon everything in their world will be turned upside down.
Cast:
Jane … Michelle Fairley
Roger … Patrick O’Kane
Gina … Laura Dos Santos
Lindy … Rosie Smith
Marianna…Kathy Kiera Clarke
Dáithí ... Eugene O’Hare
Sound Design by Fraser Jackson
Directed by Kirsty Williams
Details of support for domestic abuse are available at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001x47v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand (m001w968)
Series 3: Exercise
S3. Ep 6 - Overcoming Barriers
Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken investigate the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity.
Is modern exercise a wellness cult? Or is it a vital cure for a world that’s struggling with ill health and stuck on the sofa? Most of us might like to get a bit fitter, but how easy is it to actually start exercising and give up sedentary habits?
In this series Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken examine exercise and how best to do it. How much should we be doing? How does it help our bodies? And how does our surrounding environment stand in the way of us getting fitter? Chris is challenged to examine his scepticism towards exercise. Similarly, Xand is asked to look at his new-found exercise evangelism and see what he is really running from.
Recently Xand has discovered the joys of physical activity. He’s running, cycling, heading to the gym and playing ping pong like never before. It’s been a real transformation and a way to keep on top of things after years of unhealthy living.
His twin brother Chris, on the other hand, is really feeling the aches and pains of middle age. With a busy job and a young family, he has precious little spare time for exercise. After a very active period in his 20s and 30s, Chris is now embracing his ‘Dad bod’ and sliding into a creaky middle age. Xand wants to help him turn things around. Can he do it?
In Episode 6 - Overcoming Barriers - the twins meet Dee Johnson, a therapist experienced in treating addiction disorders, including exercise addiction. She speaks with Xand about how his use of exercise might be straying over into addictive behaviour. Chris is then prompted to examine his own behaviour. What’s really lying behind his reluctance to try and get a bit fitter? We also hear from Xand and his new bride Dolly as they go out cycling on their tandem.
Presented by Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Sound Design: Dan King
Series Editor: Jo Rowntree
A Van Tulleken Brothers and Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 16:00 Law in Action (m001x4l5)
Fighting Knife Crime
How do we prevent young people from becoming involved in knife crime? Joshua speaks to 'Jay' who began carrying a knife in his early teens before being helped to change his perspective, and his life.
We explore the link between school exclusions and crime, and hear that workshops using graphic evidence to deter young people from carrying a knife can be counterproductive.
We also find out about innovative policing methods to deter young people from carrying knives, or, if they've been caught already, try and get them back onto the right track without prosecuting them in court or sending them to prison. Can treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy and mentoring, as well as help with education or employment, help young people turn their lives round?
Contributors:
'Jay' who carried knives as a young person
Robin Lockhart, Director of Development, Catalyst in Communities
Dr Charlotte Coleman, Deputy Head of Psychology, Sheffield Hallam University
Aika Stephenson, Co-Founder and Legal Director, Just for Kids Law
Dr Peter Neyroud, Associate Professor, Cambridge University Institute of Criminology
Bruce Houlder KC, founder, Fighting Knife Crime London
Producer: Arlene Gregorius
Researchers: Marianna Brain and Diane Richardson
Editor: Tara McDermott
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m001x4l7)
Katy Hessel and Amy Blakemore
CHESS by Stefan Zweig (Faber), chosen by Katy Hessel
MAUD MARTHA by Gwendolyn Brooks (Penguin), chosen by Amy Blakemore
THE PIER FALLS by Mark Haddon (Vintage), chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Art historian Katy Hessel chooses a book that she read in one sitting because she couldn't put it down: Chess by Stefan Zweig. A novella about the limitless possibilities of the game, and of the human mind.
Author Amy Blakemore chooses Maud Martha by the American poet Gwendolyn Brookes, a story of a life told with such a brevity and beauty of prose that it is almost poetry.
Harriett's choice is a collection of short stories called The Pier Falls by the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon, who is not afraid to disturb.
Photo credit: Lily Bertrand Webb
Presenter: Harriett Gilbert
Producer: Becky Ripley
TUE 17:00 PM (m001x4l9)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x4lc)
Frank Hester reportedly said the MP Diane Abbott made him "want to hate all black women"
TUE 18:30 ReincarNathan (m000ln01)
Series 2
Max
Nathan Blakely was a popstar, but he died and was reincarnated. The last in the current series of the comedy starring Daniel Rigby and Diane Morgan. Daniel Lawrence Taylor guests.
In this final episode, Nathan has sacked Jenny and now has a brand new spiritual advisor, Max (Daniel Lawrence Taylor), who promises to get him straight up the reincarnation ladder and back up to human again. And sure enough, Nathan races from dung beetle to pig to penguin in no time. But it soon becomes clear that Max’s methods are morally dubious, and Nathan must reunite with Jenny if he is to save himself. And the world!
Cast:
Diane Morgan - Jenny
Daniel Rigby - Nathan
Daniel Lawrence Taylor - Max
Freya Parker - Dung Beetle, Warthog, Stick Insect, Farmer's Wife, Vortex
Tom Craine - Farmer, Stick Insect
Henry Paker - Pig, Airport Security
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001x4lf)
Jakob is agitated as he gets ready to leave home for an appointment. He doesn’t want to face Paul at the practice where the atmosphere is terrible after their row last week. He recounts his outburst to Kate who tells him he must apologise today. At the practice he tries some awkward compliments before telling Paul he is sorry for his outburst. Paul apologises in turn and Jakob confesses that he is grateful for Paul’s gift of the gab when it relieves him of the burden of making small talk or being sympathetic to clients.
Kate meets Paul for lunch at the tearoom, noting a lift in his spirits. Paul says he might try to be less full on. Kate responds that she knows she annoys people – but this is her, take it or leave it. Now she needs to find a way to make life better for Alice. Paul suggests a fab day out and Kate knows exactly who to speak to.
Ed is annoyed and distracted by Will’s notes on their tree surgery business plan. Emma says they should focus on the important thing which is getting their business off the ground. They have to rise above and stay positive. George appears, offering them the benefit of his business expertise. While talking them through the jargon, he reveals that Will’s notes are actually based on comments from Brian Aldridge. Emma suggests that they seek advice from their own business guru – Justin Elliott. Then they can focus on positive ways forward.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001x4lh)
Philippa Gregory on Richard III, Blackpool's Showtown, has the superhero franchise bubble burst?
Historical novelist Philippa Gregory talks to Nick Ahad about writing her first stage play, Richard, My Richard, for Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot. Unlike Shakespeare's, Gregory's play is a tender, passionate, portrait of man in his time, surrounded by the women who influence his fate.
With Marvel, DC and Sony superhero films boring fans and the box office, Nick speaks with Comic Crush editor Paul Dunne and film journalist Feyi Adebanjo about what's gone wrong and if these billion dollar blockbusters can get their mojo back.
Showtown, Blackpool’s new museum of fun and entertainment opens on Friday. Liz Moss, the museum’s Chief Executive and journalist and former circus elephant girl Dea Birkett reflect on the museum’s ambitions.
Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001x4lk)
Investigating Employee Assistance Programmes
‘Employee Assistance Programmes’ - almost 25 million workers in the UK have access to one through their employer. They’re designed to help people deal with personal problems that might affect their performance at work by offering advice, support or counselling sessions. But are all providers offering a good service? File on 4 investigates.
Reporter: Alys Harte
Producers: Vicky Carter and Ella Rule
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Coordinators: Jordan King and Tim Fernley
Editors: Clare Fordham and Carl Johnston
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001x4lm)
The Impacts of an Inactive Government - Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Assembly, the country's devolved legislature, have recently reformed after years of political stalemate. In Touch investigates the issues that arose during the Assembly's years of inactivity and that will have potential long-term impacts for visually impaired people. Some of the changes to the UK's benefit system uniquely impacts people in Northern Ireland because it has meant that many are no longer automatically entitled to free eye tests. This is something that many fear could lead to early signs of conditions that can cause blindness, being missed. And we investigate the impacts to transport services; particularly community transport, as many visually impaired people across Northern Ireland heavily rely on it to continue to live full and independent lives.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (m001x4lp)
How nightmares link to real-life fears, and new research tackling post-cardiac arrest PTSD
If you've been cured of a phobia, say of spiders, and finally made your peace with the hairy-legged beasties in real life - why might you then start having vivid nightmares about them?
Following an email plea for an explanation of this mystery Claudia Hammond enlists Dr Lampros Perogamvros, a psychiatrist from the University of Geneva who’s done extensive research around dreams and nightmares, to help answer listener Lesley's query.
Meanwhile a new study by researchers at the USA's Columbia University is looking into the benefits of treating post-cardiac arrest PTSD with mindfulness. Claudia speaks to research scientist Dr Maja Bergman about how she was motivated to start the project by her own experience of a sudden cardiac arrest, in her thirties. We also hear from survivors via the support group Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK, about their experiences and recoveries.
Joining Claudia in the studio to discuss these stories and more is Dr Peter Olusoga, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University - who also has thoughts to share on new research into athletes shouting at umpires, and what affects our levels of impatience.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Lucy Taylor
Studio Manager: Tim Heffer
Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire
Editor: Holly Squire
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m001x4k4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001x4lr)
Downing Street admits comments by Conservative donor were racist
Also:
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry announces he will resign.
And we hear from black voters ahead of the Republican and Democrat primaries in Georgia.
TUE 22:45 Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (m001x4lt)
Episode 7
Emma Fielding reads Daphne Du Maurier's enduring and much loved classic - a story of love, daring and a painted pirate ship in a secret Cornish creek, and of the beautiful, roistering Lady Dona St Columb, who, fleeing her vacuous life in London in search of escape and her better self, meets her match at last.
Today: Unwelcome Arrivals. The Frenchman has carried out his most audacious act of piracy yet. Returning to Helford with Dona, the lovers plan more quiet pleasure in the creek, but their happiness is threatened.
Set on Du Maurier's beloved South Cornwall coast, in the secret creeks and inlets of the Helford river, where the curlews wade on the mud flats and the night jars churr at midnight, Frenchman's Creek is a song to another age where a traveller might glimpse a figure in the shadows, the moonlight glinting on his buckled shoe or the cutlass in his hand, and a cloaked woman might slip silently through the woods to meet her lover. And where a Frenchman, captain of a pirate vessel La Mouette, is terrorising the local aristocracy with his daring and bravado.
Reader Emma Fielding
Abridger Julian Wilkinson
Producer Di Speirs
TUE 23:00 Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian (m0019467)
Series 3
Chinese Boyfriend
Radio 4 favourite Ken Cheng concludes the third series of his brilliant show Chinese Comedian. In this episode, titled "Chinese Boyfriend", Ken talks about romantic endeavours and finding love in lockdown.
Written by Ken Cheng
Produced by Rajiv Karia
A BBC Studios Production first broadcast on 13th July 2022.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001x4lw)
Alicia McCarthy reports on plans to release some prisoners early to ease overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales.
WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m001x4ly)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x4kd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001x4m4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001x4mb)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001x4mj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m001x4mr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001x4n2)
Appreciation
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rev Kate Wharton
Good morning.
I was thinking recently about how fascinating and fun it is that we all like such very different things. Personally, I love watching football, going to the cinema and theatre by myself, travelling to new cities that I’ve never been to before, and enjoying long country walks followed by long pub lunches. I have friends who love gardening, watching superhero films, going on beach holidays, and playing golf – but I don’t understand why they find any of those things fun!
It’s much more interesting that we all enjoy different things, but I also believe that it reflects the creativity and ingenuity of our Creator God. In the Bible, the letters St. Paul wrote to the church in Rome, and in Corinth, both speak about how God created different people with different gifts. Some people are good at some things, others something very different. Some people enjoy one pastime, others something very different. I really notice this in church each Sunday. We have an excellent drummer, but his wife makes better tea than he does. We have one person who’s very good at fixing things that break, and someone else who’s very good at gardening. But neither of them are any good at designing the posters we need when we put on special events.
We all need each other for church to do all of the things it’s supposed to do. What are your gifts, interests and skills? What did God make you to do? Is there anything you might need to recognise and appreciate and use in a new way?
Loving Lord Jesus, thank you for the gifts you give to each one of us, and thank you that when we all use them together we can create something beautiful.
Amen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m001x4ng)
13/03/24 Vet shortage, brewing by-product, lamb virus
A shortage of vets is currently affecting services across all aspects of public and private animal health and biosecurity. In 2018 the gap in the veterinary workforce was put at 11%. At a hearing yesterday in Westminster the Chief Vet, Christine Middlemiss, told the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee that that shortage had not improved.
All week we're exploring how by-products from farming can be put to use on farm or elsewhere. Today, beer and Marmite.
A virus which causes birth defects in unborn lambs has returned. Schmallenberg disease has been reported since Autumn last year, and now sheep farmers are reporting that some have lost 40% of their new-crop lambs.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b02tyfr0)
Kestrel
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. Steve Backshall presents the kestrel.
The kestrel is widely distributed throughout the UK and, when hovering, is our most recognisable bird of prey. Their chestnut back and wings, and habit of holding themselves stationary in mid-air, are a unique combination; small wonder that an old name for kestrels is windhover.
Produced by Brett Westwood and Sarah Blunt
WED 06:00 Today (m001x4sm)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 The Briefing Room (m001x4tr)
Election special 2. Elections without democracy
2024 is the year of elections. According to one estimate just under 50% of all the people on earth live in countries where by December 31st there will have been a national vote. To mark this phenomenon we are broadcasting three special programmes.
David Aaronovitch and guests discuss why do some countries bother holding elections if the outcomes are pre-determined and they also ask why the public bother voting in them?
Guests:
Naomi Hossain, Professor of Development Studies at SOAS
Katerina Tertychnaya, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics in the Department of Politics & International Relations at the University of Oxford
Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Erica Frantz, Associate Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University
Production team: Ellie House, Ajai Singh and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineer: James Beard
WED 09:30 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001x4v8)
Get Gardening
Michael dons some gardening gloves and gets grubby. It’s no surprise that digging, hoeing and heaving bags of soil around is great for our physical fitness. But Michael learns how gardening can also impact our microbiome from Dr Hannah Holscher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She explores how gardening can boost the gut microbiome, benefitting our health and wellness. Our volunteer Caspar, tests his green fingers by growing some kitchen herbs and visiting a community garden.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Catherine Wyler
Researcher: Sophie Richardson
Researcher: Will Hornbrook
Production Manager: Maria Simons
Editor: Zoe Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.
WED 09:45 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x554)
Book of the Week: Ep 3 - The Luddites find an unlikely ally
In Brian Merchant's acclaimed account of the Luddite rebellion it is now 1812 and textile workers continue to protest their displacement by machines in the name of General Ludd. Meanwhile, they find an unlikely ally. Hugo Speer reads.
In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the cloth trade was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. As machines were brought in traditional skills, acquired by cloth workers over years of hard graft, became obsolete. Working men and women were left without the means to feed their families, and without purpose or pride in their identities as workers.
Meanwhile, around them they could see that a handful of entrepreneurs, the first tech titans, were accumulating wealth by replacing them with machines. The response was the Luddites.
Blood in the Machine draws on a number of primary sources, as well as historical accounts based on interviews recorded later on in the nineteenth century with those who participated in and had first hand knowledge of the rebellion.
In his book, Brian Merchant finds parallels between technology's impact on today's workforce and the first time machines replaced the jobs done by human beings.
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and author of the bestseller, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone. His writing appears in the New York Times, Wired, The Atlantic and Harper's Magazine. He is also the founder of Gizmodo's Automaton project examining AI and the future of work.
Hugo Speer known for playing DI David Bradford in London Kills, Captain Treville in The Musketeers and Guy in The Full Monty. He also plays DCI Stone in the acclaimed Radio 4 series, Stone.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001x4wg)
IVF clinic license suspended, Porn series, 'Queens' wildlife programme
A new law will be introduced in the House of Commons at lunchtime today to clear the names of the hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted for theft and false accounting. To discuss what this means Emma Barnett is joined by Jo Hamilton, a former post sub-master who was wrongly charged with stealing £36,000 from the Hampshire village post office she ran and BBC Economics Correspondent Andy Verity.
A fertility clinic in London has recently had its license suspended over what are being called “significant concerns” about the unit. Homerton Fertility Centre says there had been three separate incidents that highlighted errors in some freezing processes - meaning some people’s embryos were lost. Emma Barnett talks to the Telegraph’s Health Editor Laura Donnelly and Dr Ippokratis Sarris from King’s Fertility.
We continue our series looking at how porn in shaping our sex and relationships today by speaking to Dr Fiona Vera-Gray. She says that when we think about porn we still mostly think about men, men as the producers and the consumers and women as the product. Her new book, Women On Porn, details the experiences of one hundred women and their views on porn and she joins Emma in the studio.
A new ground-breaking wildlife series is launching this week. National Geographic’s ‘Queens’ focuses on female-led animal societies, and shows their lives away from the usual male fights and hunts. The seven-part series was produced by a women-led team and narrated by the actress Angela Bassett. Emma talks to the series co-executive producer and writer Chloe Sarosh.
Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Emma Pearce
Studio Manager: Emma Harth
WED 11:00 Home Fires (m001x4x3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 11:30 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (p0h3qf5q)
30. Difficult Women
Lucy Worsley and Rosalind Crone are joined by Helen Lewis, author of ‘Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights.’ They discuss what it means to be a difficult woman and why the airbrushing of feminist history can be problematic.
Together they discuss four of the most difficult women across the Lady Killers series; Mary Surratt, Alice Mitchell, Mary Ann Brough and Maria Manning. Each one commits wild and unspeakable crimes. They are anti-heroines; breaking taboos around sexuality, motherhood and sexual relationships. Lucy, Ros and Helen explore the value of understanding the diversity of women's lives in the past, and how this enables us to get a little bit closer to understanding ourselves.
Produced in partnership with the Open University.
Producer: Emily Hughes.
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Series Producer: Julia Hayball.
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4
New episodes will be released on Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, listen to the latest full series of Lady Killers first on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds - Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley - Available Episodes: http://bbc.in/3M2pT0K
WED 12:00 News Summary (m001x6wr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m001x4yc)
Term Time Holidays, Water and Publicity Stunts
Family holidays can be expensive at the best of times. They can cost thousands more outside term time. Unsurprisingly many parents take their children out of school for holidays abroad. Last year councils fined 360,000 who did this. From August, the government will increase the fines and ask all councils to consider issuing them for these holidays. At the moment fewer than 1 in 5 bother. What effect will this new approach have? We find out.
Many of you got in touch with us with tales of appalling customer service from water companies. In the last few weeks we’ve heard stories about problems with meters, vastly inaccurate bills and years spent trying to resolve these issues. We put your frustrations to the boss of Water UK, David Henderson to find out what water companies are doing about these problems and why he thinks your bill should rise by 6% next month.
Publicity stunts designed to sell us stuff are nothing new. The first and most influential one was staged by Sigmund Freud’s nephew 95 years ago in New York. Last week, M&S hung a giant bra off Tower Bridge. It follows a similar stunt by Maybelline featuring tube trains with eyelashes and Herbal Essences covering Big Ben in flowers. Aside from all being in London, they all have one thing in common - none of these spectacles happened in real life. All the images and videos of them were CGI fakes. Why, when brands are meant to be “authentic” are they pushing out these campaigns? What are they expecting from these stunts? And will we see more of them? We get the inside story of one campaign to find out.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz
WED 12:57 Weather (m001x4yq)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m001x4z2)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
WED 13:45 Strike Boy (m001x4zj)
8. Defeat
"I were put in the lowest rated job, in the isolated part of the pit. We were victimised."
Mark was about to turn 12 when his dad finally returned to work down the pit after a whole year out on strike. Talking to his mum, his dad, and a miner who worked through the strike, he finds out about the abuse handed out on both sides and how raw their emotions still are.
Mark also meets a history professor to hear about the quest for justice after the strike and discovers a battle from the strike that’s still being fought even today.
Archive: BBC.
Presenter: Mark Watson
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
WED 14:00 The Archers (m001x4lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001x505)
Mouth
Mouth by Chrissy Jamieson Jones
Heidi's husband has died in a car crash. A female ex-colleague comes round and Heidi's life is turned upside down. This drama won the 2023 Alfred Bradley Bursary Award for writers from the North of England who are new to radio.
Heidi ..... Gillian Kearney
Laura ..... Christine Bottomley
Harry ..... Matthew Devlin
Production Co-ordinator - Pippa Day
Studio Manager - Amy Brennan
Sound Design - Sharon Hughes
Producer/Director - Gary Brown.
WED 15:00 Money Box (m001x50p)
Money Box Live: childcare
New arrangements for childcare payments come into force in April in England. How will the new arrangements affect parents? Are they going to be better or worse off?
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced extended support for parents of pre-school children in 2023. But many parents say the payments are still too low or that there aren’t enough places available.
Felicity Hannah is joined by Ellen Broome of the children's charity Coram, and Jonathan Broadbery, Director of Policy at the National Day Nurseries Association.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producers: Will Harris and Neil Morrow
Editor: Beatrice Pickup
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (m001x4lp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Sideways (m001x517)
60. For the love of maths
As a child, Kate Ertmann starred in commercials, in soap operas and on Broadway. But acting wasn’t her first love - mathematics was. She considered it to be “a balm" for her brain. And yet societal and teenage pressures made her turn away from maths.
Growing up in Sweden, Sebastian Nillson Qvist loathed maths and found it a real struggle. But he still challenged himself to study it as part of a Political Science and Economics degree. It did not go well.
But still, maths came back into their lives.
In this episode of Sideways, we find out what led them back to mathematics and the impact it had on them. Something host Matthew Syed experienced first hand when a desire to understand inflation and economics led him back to studying for a maths A-Level in his own time and finding it actually enjoyable, rather than a chore as he had at school.
We hear how determination to dominate in the sport of darts can lead to incredible mastery of mental arithmetic from Professor Marcus du Sautoy, who also suggests a novel approach to maths education which he believes could inspire and motivate children. And Field’s Medal winner Professor Efim Zelmanov introduces us to a brilliant young mathematician who was killed in a duel 150 years ago but left behind a theory which keeps all online banking safe.
With Kate Eartmann of katelovesmath.com, Sebastian Nillson-Qvist, Professor Marcus du Sautoy - Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics, and Professor Efim Zelmanov - Field’s Medallist and Director of the Shenzhen International Center for Mathematics.
Presented by Matthew Syed
Producer: Marilyn Rust
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson
Theme Tune: Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:30 The Media Show (m001x51p)
Is seeing still believing?
We discuss the controversial photo of the Princess of Wales and her children released by Kensington Palace on Sunday which was removed from circulation by photo agencies due to concerns it had been inappropriately edited. The story raises many questions about how images in the media are sourced, how they’re checked and how they’re distributed. We talk to press photographers, picture agencies and newspaper picture editors. Also in the programme, two developing stories concerning Tiktok and the Daily Telegraph. In the United States, the House of Representatives have passed a bill that could see Tiktok banned and the UK government looks set to introduce legislation stopping the purchase of The Daily Telegraph by an investment vehicle backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Guests: Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director, AFP; Jamie Lorriman, Chair, British Press Photographers’ Association; Fiona Shields, Head of Photography, The Guardian; Christianna Silva, Senior Culture Reporter, Mashable; Christopher Williams, Business Editor, The Daily Telegraph
Presenter: Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
WED 17:00 PM (m001x526)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x52z)
The businessman Frank Hester donated £10 million to the Conservatives
WED 18:30 Janey Godley: The C Bomb (m001x53c)
Series 2
2. It Was Acceptable in the 70s
Trying her best to live in the present and working as hard as ever, Janey is compelled to share the strange, colourful, almost mythical world of her past. With stories of stealing coal, copper wires and playing on train tracks, and the poignant reason she’s taken up a challenging new hobby in the limited time she has left.
Reflecting on the past with honesty, vulnerability and empathy for those who let her down, she continues to find humour and insight in both the darkness and the ridiculous.
A mix of stories told onstage to a hometown audience, and candid conversations with her daughter Ashley Storrie, recorded in the living room of their home in Glasgow.
Produced by Julia Sutherland.
Featuring Ashley Storrie.
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m001x53q)
Alice is dressed to the nines as Vintage Spring for a day at Cheltenham races. Kate has pulled out all the stops putting a smart outfit together for her, even sewing some parts. Alice feels bad about leaving Lillian to cope with meeting clients and booster vaccinations for some of the horses at the stables. At Cheltenham, though, Alice is having the time of her life and Brian says, despite a lack of winners, he is having his best day ever. There’s no need to hurry back to Ambridge as Chris is happy to have Martha tonight. But Alice doesn’t want to talk about him when Brian asks how things are going. When she goes off to find a dinner table, Brian is greeted by Miranda Elliott. She asks after Jennifer and is full of condolences. She suggests they meet up for coffee sometime, but Brian says he’s too busy. Later he calls Miranda to say he would like to meet her after all.
Paul tells Jakob he has plans to meet Kate for a drink that evening. As Kate and Paul swap stories about past embarrassments, she asks him how things are at work and he reveals that Jakob is trying hard – even to the extent of trying to make small talk. Later they arrive at Jakob’s home early from the pub as he sits in his pyjamas reading quietly. He is horrified and it takes him a minute to regain his composure but then he insists Paul must stay – it would be rude to turn him away. It’s Kate’s idea, they reflect, and she is a force of nature.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m001x53x)
Paul Theroux on Orwell, Patsy Rodenburg on training actors, musician Sam Lee
Paul Theroux discusses his new novel, Burma Sahib, about George Orwell’s formative years as a colonial police officer in what is now Myanmar.
Voice expert Professor Patsy Rodenburg quit her job over fears that actors’ traditional “craft” skills are being lost, as screen acting overshadows theatre work.
Sam Lee, Bernard Butler and James Keay perform live and talk about Sam's new album, Songdreaming. Sam draws on traditional songs to explore the richness and fragility of the natural world here in the UK.
And we announce the winner of the Writers' Prize (formerly Rathbones Folio) Book of the Year 2024.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
WED 20:00 AntiSocial (m001wxw2)
'Black Out' performances
A theatre production dealing with race issues has been criticised after announcing plans to stage some of its performances for primarily black audiences.
The so-called ‘Black Out’ nights are scheduled for two dates of Slave Play’s West End run. Some have labelled the move divisive and unnecessary, and even Downing Street has got involved. The show’s playwright and producers say they’re aiming to bring new audiences to the theatre and allow black people to watch it without the “white gaze”. But what does this term mean, what are the origins of Black Out performances, and is this a concept that’s applicable to other minority groups?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Ellie House, Sandra Kanthal, Simon Tulett
Editor: Richard Vadon
WED 20:45 Lent Talks (m001x500)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 on Monday]
WED 21:00 When It Hits the Fan (m001x546)
The Palace in crisis
As a former editor of The Sun, and the late Queen’s first communications secretary, David Yelland and Simon Lewis used to be on opposing sides of a Royal PR disaster – David working to expose a story that Simon was trying to control. In this special episode, they bring everything they know about how Palace PR works to shed some light on the events surrounding Kate Middleton’s absence and the controversy surrounding her Mother’s Day family photo.
What’s really going on behind the scenes? And does a failure to master 21st century communications pose a genuine, real danger to the Royal Family’s survival?
Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Assistant Producer: Sophie Smith
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4
WED 21:30 The Media Show (m001x51p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m001x54c)
Government to propose a new definition of extremism
Also, the man who was kidnapped by gangs in Haiti - his family had to sell a house in New York to pay a ransom for his release
And footage has emerged in France of a serial killer appearing on a television game show while he was still on the run - we'll speak to the journalist who found it
WED 22:45 Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (m001x54h)
Episode 8
Emma Fielding reads Daphne Du Maurier's much loved classic - a story of romance, daring and a painted pirate ship in a secret Cornish creek, and of the beautiful, roistering Lady Dona St Columb, who, fleeing her vacuous life in London in search of escape and her better self, meets her match at last.
Today: High Stakes at Dinner. The aristocracy are gathered, determined to flush out their piratical nemesis, not knowing his ship is under repair in the creek. As they sit for dinner at Navron House before hoping to surprise him, Dona must buy time and entertain as never before.
Set on Du Maurier's beloved South Cornwall coast, in the secret creeks and inlets of the Helford river, where the curlews wade on the mud flats and the night jars churr at midnight, Frenchman's Creek is a song to another age where a traveller might glimpse a figure in the shadows, the moonlight glinting on his buckled shoe or the cutlass in his hand, and a cloaked woman might slip silently through the woods to meet her lover.
Reader Emma Fielding
Abridger Julian Wilkinson
Producer Di Speirs
WED 23:00 DMs Are Open (m001x54m)
Series 3
3. Breaking
We opened our DMs to find a foiled bank heist, a nightmare dinner party guest and an awkward encounter at the school gates, all dreamt up by the public.
Breaking News: Stevie Martin and the cast bring you another week of fun sketches and one liners. We're not breaking with tradition this week, and the script will be written by YOU, the British public.
Stevie is joined by Katie Norris, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Nimisha Odedra and Will Sebag-Montefiore as they dip into the DMs. Break a leg guys!
Written by the public. This week it was written by:
Ed Greenwood
Hannah Platt
Ralph Jones
Kate Dehnert
Christina Riggs
Jade Gebbie
Cody Dahler
Sean Fee
Sam Coade
Karen Morden
Voice notes were performed by:
Luke Joseph Hoskisson
Ali Panting
Ian Potter
Darren Phillips
Recorded at Backyard Comedy Club
Script Edited by Tasha Dhanraj and Cameron Loxdale
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Assistant Producer: Caroline Barlow
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m001x54r)
Series 11
Episode 5
The week’s biggest stories like you’ve never heard them before. The news, remixed as a satirical comedy concept album. This week - Slide to the Right, Cars-tian Horner, and That Photo of Kate.
Jon Holmes presents the multi-award winning The Skewer. Headphones on.
Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001x54w)
PMQs and all the top stories
THURSDAY 14 MARCH 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m001x550)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
THU 00:30 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x554)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001x558)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001x55d)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001x55j)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m001x55n)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001x55s)
Godparents
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rev Kate Wharton
Good morning.
My Godchildren are some of my very favourite people in the world. I’m single, I don’t have children of my own, and I’m an only child, so don’t have biological nieces and nephews either. But there are quite a number of small (and now not so small) people who call me Aunty Kate, and for 5 of them, aged now between six and nineteen, I have the absolute honour of being their Godmother. I like to tell their parents that this means that I’ll always be both cooler than they are, and more fun.
There’s lots I enjoy about my Godchildren. I love hearing their stories of what’s happened to them during their day. I love the little gifts they send me, the cards they write. the pictures they draw. I love how absolutely hilarious they are. But one of the things I like most is that they turn to me for help and advice. They see me as someone who is absolutely on their side, who loves them and wants the best for them, and who has wisdom to offer them. I hope that’ll remain true throughout the whole of my life and theirs. I wonder where we look to for wisdom? Friends, family, colleagues, people within our community of faith? Yes, for me it’s all of those.
Ultimately though, it’s to the Bible I turn, again and again, day after day, for words of life and truth, for the answers to my biggest questions, and for the strength to keep going each day.
Loving Lord Jesus, would you speak to me through your word, guide me, help me, lead me, correct me, encourage me I pray.
Amen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m001x55x)
14/03/24 Organised gangs and rural crime; Heritage crime and nighthawkers; Salmon feed from whisky byproducts.
The National Rural Crime Network is calling for an overhaul of the way rural crime is dealt with. It's commissioned a new report which says serious organised criminals are increasingly preying on rural communities and highlights hare coursing, the theft of tractors and livestock and fly tipping as having major impacts. The report from Durham University says these crimes are often carried out by 'prolific rural offenders' linked with illegal drugs rather than being opportunistic.
Heritage crimes like stealing ancient stone or lead from church roofs have risen according to a new report by Historic England and the National Police Chief's Council. However there's been a fall in unlawful metal detecting. Nighthawking as it's called, sounds rather romantic, but for farmers finding people metal detecting on their land without permission at night is anything but, with threats and violence from criminals searching for valuable historic artefacts. We hear from one Yorkshire farmer who helped capture a gang of four who were sentenced at Hull Crown Court earlier this month. We also speak to a former detective and archaeologist who's now in charge of tackling heritage crime at Historic England.
All week we're looking into the many, often imaginative, ways byproducts and waste from agriculture are turned into something useful. On one farm site in Stirlingshire they're turning whisky waste into fish food. Scientists have found a way to turn yeast into Omega-3 using algae and say the vital oils produced this way could help save depleted feed fish stocks, boost Scotland’s salmon farming industry and give a clean, efficient way to dispose of the waste.
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09r4c8c)
Penny Anderson on the Spotted Flycatcher
When a pair of Spotted flycatchers decided to build a nest in a gap in the wall, ecologist Penny Anderson had to stop the pointing work being done to her house, but she has no regrets as the birds have bred in her garden ever since.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
THU 06:00 Today (m001x4zh)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m001x50m)
The Waltz
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the dance which, from when it reached Britain in the early nineteenth century, revolutionised the relationship between music, literature and people here for the next hundred years. While it may seem formal now, it was the informality and daring that drove its popularity, with couples holding each other as they spun round a room to new lighter music popularised by Johann Strauss, father and son, such as The Blue Danube. Soon the Waltz expanded the creative world in poetry, ballet, novellas and music, from the Ballets Russes of Diaghilev to Moon River and Are You Lonesome Tonight.
With
Susan Jones
Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford
Derek B. Scott
Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Leeds
And
Theresa Buckland
Emeritus Professor of Dance History and Ethnography at the University of Roehampton
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Reading list:
Egil Bakka, Theresa Jill Buckland, Helena Saarikoski, and Anne von Bibra Wharton (eds.), Waltzing Through Europe: Attitudes towards Couple Dances in the Long Nineteenth Century, (Open Book Publishers, 2020)
Theresa Jill Buckland, ‘How the Waltz was Won: Transmutations and the Acquisition of Style in Early English Modern Ballroom Dancing. Part One: Waltzing Under Attack’ (Dance Research, 36/1, 2018); ‘Part Two: The Waltz Regained’ (Dance Research, 36/2, 2018)
Theresa Jill Buckland, Society Dancing: Fashionable Bodies in England, 1870-1920 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)
Erica Buurman, The Viennese Ballroom in the Age of Beethoven (Cambridge University Press, 2022)
Paul Cooper, ‘The Waltz in England, c. 1790-1820’ (Paper presented at Early Dance Circle conference, 2018)
Sherril Dodds and Susan Cook (eds.), Bodies of Sound: Studies Across Popular Dance and Music (Ashgate, 2013), especially ‘Dancing Out of Time: The Forgotten Boston of Edwardian England’ by Theresa Jill Buckland
Zelda Fitzgerald, Save Me the Waltz (first published 1932; Vintage Classics, 2001)
Hilary French, Ballroom: A People's History of Dancing (Reaktion Books, 2022)
Susan Jones, Literature, Modernism, and Dance (Oxford University Press, 2013)
Mark Knowles, The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances: Outrage at Couple Dancing in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries (McFarland, 2009)
Rosamond Lehmann, Invitation to the Waltz (first published 1932; Virago, 2006)
Eric McKee, Decorum of the Minuet, Delirium of the Waltz: A Study of Dance-Music Relations in 3/4 Time (Indiana University Press, 2012)
Eduard Reeser, The History of the Walz (Continental Book Co., 1949)
Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 27 (Macmillan, 2nd ed., 2000), especially ‘Waltz’ by Andrew Lamb
Derek B. Scott, Sounds of the Metropolis: The 19th-Century Popular Music Revolution in London, New York, Paris and Vienna (Oxford University Press, 2008), especially the chapter ‘A Revolution on the Dance Floor, a Revolution in Musical Style: The Viennese Waltz’
Joseph Wechsberg, The Waltz Emperors: The Life and Times and Music of the Strauss Family (Putnam, 1973)
Cheryl A. Wilson, Literature and Dance in Nineteenth-century Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out (first published 1915; William Collins, 2013)
Virginia Woolf, The Years (first published 1937; Vintage Classics, 2016)
David Wyn Jones, The Strauss Dynasty and Habsburg Vienna (Cambridge University Press, 2023)
Sevin H. Yaraman, Revolving Embrace: The Waltz as Sex, Steps, and Sound (Pendragon Press, 2002)
Rishona Zimring, Social Dance and the Modernist Imagination in Interwar Britain (Ashgate Press, 2013)
THU 09:45 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x564)
Book of the Week: Ep 4 - The Luddites set their sights on Rawfolds Mill
In Brian Merchant's account of the first time machines imperilled jobs, it's 1812, and the Luddite movement is spreading throughout the textile industry. In the West Riding, attention turns to a sized factory, Rawfolds Mill. Hugo Speer reads.
In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the cloth trade was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. As machines were brought in traditional skills, acquired by cloth workers over years of hard graft, became obsolete. Working men and women were left without the means to feed their families, and without purpose or pride in their identities as workers.
Meanwhile, around them they could see that a handful of entrepreneurs, the first tech titans, were accumulating wealth by replacing them with machines. The response was the Luddites.
Blood in the Machine draws on a number of primary sources, as well as historical accounts based on interviews recorded later on in the nineteenth century with those who participated in and had first hand knowledge of the rebellion.
In his book, Brian Merchant finds parallels between technology's impact on today's workforce and the first time machines replaced the jobs done by human beings.
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and author of the bestseller, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone. His writing appears in the New York Times, Wired, The Atlantic and Harper's Magazine. He is also the founder of Gizmodo's Automaton project examining AI and the future of work.
Hugo Speer known for playing DI David Bradford in London Kills, Lucius in Britannia, and Guy in The Full Monty. He also plays DCI Stone in the acclaimed Radio 4 series, Stone.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001x51l)
Folk singer Cara Dillon, Diane Abbott and racist abuse, Haiti
Folk singer Cara Dillon joins Emma Barnett to discuss her book and a new album – Coming Home – which explores themes of family, identity and home.
Host of the UK’s first ever maths summit, mathmetician Anne-Marie Imafidon talks about hosting the UK's first ever maths summit and the importance of the subject for business.
Seven out of 10 candidates who've been selected to stand for the Conservative Party at the next election are men, according to new data gleaned by the journalist Michael Crick. We speak to him and the Charlotte Carew Pole, the Director of Women2Win, which aims to get more women into politics.
Journalist Monique Clesca on the latest situation in Haiti, where powerful gangs have killed thousands and are using rape to "instil fear"
Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Studio Engineer: Gayl Gordon
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m001x523)
Channel migrant deaths on the rise
Kate Adie presents stories from France, India, the US, Panama and Spain.
It’s been a year since the UK signed a deal with France to help reduce the number of boats crossing the Channel and break up the smuggling gangs. And whilst the number of crossings is falling, there’s been a rise in migrants dying as they take ever greater risks to reach the UK. Andrew Harding reports from Calais.
In the coming weeks, India will be calling national elections, with voting taking place over several weeks. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is expected to win a third consecutive term in office. Samira Hussain examines his enduring popularity - and the schisms opened by his policies.
The film Oppenheimer, about the creator of the atomic bomb, dominated the Oscars with seven Academy awards. Much of the film is set in the town of Los Alamos, in New Mexico where physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer carried out his research. Emma Vardy reports on its lasting effects on local communities.
The Panama canal is vital to international trade, providing an essential shipping route and a short cut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. But, as Michelle Fleury explains, fewer ships are currently making their way through, due to a water shortage.
And in southern Spain, we join Polly Hope in Seville's cathedral, amongst the visitors and the faithful as they mark Lent with a procession through the historic streets of the city.
Producer: Sally Abrahams
Production co-ordinator: Sophie Hill
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
THU 11:30 A Good Read (m001x4l7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
THU 12:00 News Summary (m001x6wt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 You and Yours (m001x52w)
Gap Finders - Ruby Raut from WUKA
Ruby Raut was born in Nepal, where she started her period at the age of 12. It was a difficult time for her, as she was sent away from her family home for the duration of it, and was given pieces of cut up sari as her main sanitary product.
So when she came to the UK as a young woman in her 20s, she was amazed at the huge variety of sanitary products on offer, and even more shocked to find they contained so much plastic. This triggered her journey into developing and making her first set of underpants designed to completely absorb a period, that could be washed and reused repeatedly – and so WUKA was born.
She shares with us more about her unexpected journey into the business world, what the name WUKA stands for, how the business has grown, and what’s next for the company in this week’s Gap Finders.
PRODUCER: Kate Holdsworth
PRESENTER: Winifred Robinson
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m001x538)
Tens machines and circulation boosters
Greg's getting electric for this one, as he tries out a tens machine. Tens (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is a type of pain relief which uses a mild electrical current. They're marketed at all types of pain - but do they work? The NHS isn't convinced yet. Listener Patrick is one of many who have asked about these devices, so we got in touch with a a professor who's studied them for 40 years. Also - another type of electrotherapy is a circulation booster. These circular devices claim to be able to help sore legs by activating the muscles. On behalf of listener Rick, Greg finds out what the evidence is for their effectiveness.
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
PRESENTER: GREG FOOT
THU 12:57 Weather (m001x53l)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m001x53v)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
THU 13:45 Strike Boy (m001x541)
9. An Era Ends
"It was one of the most awful decisions I had to make in my political life. But there was no other choice."
Mark was 11 during the miners’ strike of 1984-5 when his dad, George, was a striking Nottinghamshire miner. George went back to work when the strike ended, but in 1992, it was announced his pit would finally close for good. What did George make of protests from colleagues who didn’t join the strike? What’s it like being the last in a long line of miners?
Mark asks Michael Heseltine about the decision to close the pits in the early 1990s, and hears about positive impacts of the strike from the miner’s wife outside Durham who was politicised by the dispute.
Archive: ThamesTV (Silverhill Colliery closure); BBC.
Presenter: Mark Watson
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
THU 14:00 The Archers (m001x53q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Dangerous Visions (m0007kjj)
I’m Dying To Help
by Jon Canter
As people continue to live longer, they cost the NHS and Social Services far too much; in our futuristic dark comedy a new Prime Minister and her aide come up with a radical solution to the problem. All they need now is a volunteer.
Sam . . . Tony Robinson
Prime Minister . . . Haydn Gwynne
Ella . . . Sophia di Martino
Gerry . . . Paul Hickey
Mr King . . . David Hounslow
Chrissy . . . Debbie Korley
Bianca . . . Debbie Korley
Sue . . . Helen Clapp
Mrs Griffin . . . Susan Jameson
Directed by Sally Avens
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m001x547)
The Wild Cliffs of St David's
A cliff edge walk at St. David's in Pembrokeshire with artists Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott who are creating a book of illuminated folk stories. Jackie is writing the words and Tamsin is creating original pieces of stained glass for the book's artwork.
Jackie is an artist and writer possibly best known for her illustrations in The Lost Words, a large and beautiful book about language and nature. Tamsin is an established stained glass artist and illustrator inspired by the natural world.
As they ramble along the coast, Clare hears about their new project - Wild Folk: Tales from the Stones - seven ‘fables of transformation and power summoned from the ancient stones beneath our feet’. Inhabiting the pages are selkies and salmon, a great white raven, a huge black fox and a woman who lives as an owl.
Wild Folk doesn’t exist quite yet… It’s being crowd-funded and will be available in 2025.
They began their walk at Whitesands carpark and walked cliff-side towards the Coetan Arthur burial chamber on St. David's Head.
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m001x483)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (m001x49v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 Tracking the Planet (m001x54d)
A Changing Climate
Our planet is alive. A dynamic, moving, pulsating organism. Air pressure rises and falls, ocean currents meander, and the climate continues, by tiny increments, to warm.
And at the same time, billions of animals are on the move.
All over the planet, animals are fitted with sophisticated tracking devices by teams of dedicated scientists, which tell us so much about what they’re up to. From rhinos in bulky satellite collars, to microscopic chips glued to the back of a bee, they record where the animals go, what they eat, and how and why they migrate across the globe.
But they record so much more than that too – modern trackers can also log local climatic conditions, windspeed, temperature, even some measures of the animal’s own health; heartbeat, or skin temperature. Every tagged animal is transformed into a tiny dynamic weather station, collecting data on climactic conditions and the health of ecosystems, which would be impossible to collect otherwise.
Diving Weddell seals bring back data on the melting speed of a deep water glacier. Roving Tiger Sharks uncover previously unknown sea-grass habitats. High-flying sea-birds on annual migration tell us about changing wind patterns across the tempestuous equator, and farm animals in the mountains of Italy, moving nervously in their fields, give a silent alert: an earthquake is on the way.
In this series, Emily Knight explores some of the stories that can be told about the animals that call this world home, and the much larger over-arching story too: How the changing conditions on this planet are transforming THEIR lives, changing their migration routes, re-positioning their food-stocks, bringing new diseases or challenging weather. We can track how they’re coping with it all, and how, sometimes, they’re not.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m001x54l)
World’s oldest forest fossils
The world’s oldest fossilised forest was uncovered in Somerset last week. We head to palaeobotanist, Dr Christopher Berry’s, lab at Cardiff University to learn about these cladoxylopsids. They lived 390 million years ago and although they are not the ancestors of today’s trees, they reveal some extraordinary evolutionary secrets.
Also, Marnie speaks to Dr Chris Thorogood of the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens about his new book Pathless Forest: The Quest to Save the World’s Largest Flowers. Called “Rafflesia” plants and found in the remotest parts of South East Asia, their flowers burst from the rain forest floor the size of pumpkins and are critically endangered. Chris talks of his world of extreme fieldwork and hair-raising expeditions, braving leeches, lizards and lethal forest swamps, to discover the rarest of rare blooms.
Plus, the Wildlife Trust’s Making Friends with Molluscs campaign starts today, and I’m sure many gardeners will declare this an impossible task! We visit some allotments in Bristol to find out how people are managing slug and snail populations. And chat to Brian Eversham from the Trust of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, who explains why these garden creatures should be considered our friends, not foes.
And finally, Dr Stewart Husband from last week’s programme returns to answer more of your burning questions about your tap water.
THU 17:00 PM (m001x54q)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x54z)
The new extremism definition applies to, but does not criminalise, groups promoting an ideology based on "violence, hatred or intolerance".
THU 18:30 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m001x553)
Series 5
4. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
Everybody’s talking – but not necessarily to each other...
Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam play loving, long-marrieds, in the 5th series of Jan Etherington’s award-winning comedy. This week, everybody’s talking – but not necessarily to each other.
In the care home, indomitable Auntie Hilda is moving in with fellow resident, Jack, who tells Roger he’s worried she’ll expect him to ‘perform’. Their friend Sally’s wayward husband, Peter, is in Canada, with the mother of his child and ‘not answering his phone’. Jack won’t talk to Hilda because ‘their generation didn’t talk about sex’ and Sally won’t ask Peter what’s going on because ‘she’s afraid of the answer’. Roger tells Joanna lack of communication is ‘not a problem we’re ever likely to have’. But Joanna is definitely in the mood for a little less conversation…
Conversations from a Long Marriage is written by Jan Etherington. It is produced and directed by Claire Jones. And it is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.
Wilfredo Acosta - sound engineer
Charlotte Sewter - studio assistant
Jon Calver - sound designer
Katie Baum - production coordinator
Conversations from a Long Marriage won the Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Best Radio Comedy in 2020, was nominated for a Writers’ Guild Award in 2022 and a British Comedy Guide award in 2024.
‘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
‘You’ve been listening at my window, Jan’. JOANNA LUMLEY
‘Sitcom is what marriage is really like – repetitive and ridiculous – and Jan’s words are some of the best ever written on the subject’. RICHARD CURTIS
THU 19:00 The Archers (m001x557)
Brian and Justin finish a round of golf as they chat about his enjoyable day at Cheltenham - it was a welcome break from the problems of flooded fields and farming. He tells Justin that they bumped into Miranda at the races. Justin apologises, describing her as manipulative and greedy, though conceding she could be fun. Brian declines a drink, saying he has an appointment in Borchester.
Later as he and Miranda have coffee she wonders how Justin would react if he knew they were fraternising. She reveals she had been intimidated by Jenny at first but grew to find her very warm. At one dinner party Jenny had noticed Justin being unkind and comforted her. They are interrupted by a call from Justin – he has news about Stella and her replanting schedule. Miranda says that she organises after-dinner speakers for events. She is arranging one nearby tomorrow. Brian and Miranda are saying goodbye when she suggests he join her at tomorrow evening’s dinner.
Emma meets Justin but is shocked to hear that he expects a consultation fee for his time and business advice. He concedes he’ll give her half an hour free now but when the business is up and running they can do half an hour of tree surgery for him. He says the plan feels a little verbose and they need to go back to basics – it needs detail and focus. They have to convince Will he has done the right thing in backing them. Emma is all thanks and Justin says he is looking forward to seeing how the project develops.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m001x55c)
Keir Starmer, Monster and Reading Genesis reviewed
Labour leader Keir Starmer joins to discuss his party's new arts strategy, which he unveiled this morning, aiming to boost access to the arts and grow the creative industries.
Writer and theologian Professor Tina Beattie and critic and broadcaster Matthew Sweet review Marilynne Robsinson’s new book Reading Genesis which offers a fresh look at the story of creation as told in the first book of the Bible.
They also give their verdict on the Japanese filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu's new film Monster. The mystery thriller won Best Screenplay at Cannes last May and is dedicated to Ryuichi Sakamoto as this was his final film score before his death last year.
THU 20:00 Law in Action (m001x4l5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
THU 20:30 Dead Company Walking (m001x55h)
Businesses are failing at a rate not seen for years. Anu Anand meets those dealing with the fall out and explores the role that high, as well as low, interest rates have played.
In Japan, in the 1990s, the national economy was dominated by what became known as "zombie" companies. Many thousands of previously buoyant companies became choked by rising interest rates and the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble. It led to Japan's "Lost Decade" as companies became reliant on bank support and were incapable of investing in future growth.
Are we losing so many companies in the UK now, in part because so many were kept afloat by ultra-low interest rates and easy-to-come-by debt in previous years? Did that environment allow some companies to survive past their natural lifespans? It is argued in this programme that the speedy rise in rates is now felling those companies, across many sectors, in large numbers.
Anu Anand meets business owners who have tried to keep going against the odds and are now dealing with the consequences, both financial and emotional, of a business landscape that has been suddenly altered. What do they think about what went wrong? Anu also talks to insolvency practitioners. They have rarely been busier. What lessons do they think need to be learned and what are the wider repercussions, as so many zombies fall, for growth in the UK?
Producer and presenter: Anu Anand
Executive producer: Rosamund Jones
Studio manager: Nigel Appleton
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m001x54l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (m001x50m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m001x55p)
Leading US Democratic Senator calls for elections in Israel
Also in the programme: we hear from a Muslim organisation which has been told it's to be assessed for extremism; and the quest for compensation for
sub-postmasters' children
THU 22:45 Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (m001x55t)
Episode 9
Emma Fielding reads Daphne Du Maurier's enduring and much loved classic - a story of love, daring and a painted pirate ship in a secret Cornish creek, and of the beautiful, roistering Lady Dona St Columb, who has met her match at last.
Today: A Fight to the End. The Frenchman has surprised his English foes, who now sit bound and locked in the bedrooms of Navron House. All except Rockingham, who has understood that Dona has finally found the love she's sought - and threatens to kill her.
Set on Du Maurier's beloved South Cornwall coast, in the secret creeks and inlets of the Helford river, where the curlews wade on the mud flats and the night jars churr at midnight, Frenchman's Creek is a song to another age where a traveller might glimpse a figure in the shadows, the moonlight glinting on his buckled shoe or the cutlass in his hand, and a cloaked woman might slip silently through the woods to meet her lover.
Reader Emma Fielding
Abridger Julian Wilkinson
Producer Di Speirs
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m001x55y)
Why the Home Office is ‘dysfunctional’ - Sacked immigration chief speaks out
David Neal was sacked last month from his job as Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration for leaking details of critical reports which ministers had not published. In his first broadcast interview since then he tells Amol and Nick why he thinks the Home Office is dysfunctional and in need of urgent reform.
He adds that since his dismissal there is now no one in place to monitor how ministers implement the Rwanda plan, if it goes ahead.
Regular episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme.
If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or email us Today@bbc.co.uk
The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UK’s most influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.
The senior producer is Tom Smithard, the producers are Hazel Morgan and Joe Wilkinson. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Matt Hewitt. Digital production from Elliot Ryder.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001x560)
Alicia McCarthy reports from Westminster where MPs were debating the government's new definition of extremism.
FRIDAY 15 MARCH 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m001x562)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:30 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x564)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001x566)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001x568)
World Service
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001x56b)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m001x56d)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001x56g)
Spring
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Kate Wharton
Good morning.
I can’t wait for the clocks to go forward. This year, it’s on Easter Day, which I’m not a big fan of, because at my church we have a sunrise service at Easter, starting at
6am, which means I get up no later than
5am, but that’ll feel like
4am. Which is VERY early indeed. I am absolutely not a morning person at all, so I know I won’t enjoy my alarm going off that day. Having said that, it’ll all be worth it in the end, because the clocks changing means lighter nights are on their way.
I know that all of the seasons have their place, and all of them are important in their different ways – but spring is my favourite. I love that spring feels full of hope and possibility and new life. I love to see spring flowers bursting into bloom. I like finally beginning to feel a bit warmer. I like that spring means that my April birthday is approaching! But most of all I like the fact that the clock change, and the arrival of spring, mean that there will be more light to be enjoyed each day.
In the Christian faith, and in many others, light is really important. In John’s gospel, Jesus is recorded as saying 7 statements all beginning with ‘I Am.’ One of the most well known of these is ‘I Am The Light Of The World.’
Loving Lord Jesus, would you shine your light into the dark places today – of our own hearts and lives, and of our world. May your light triumph over darkness.
Amen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m001x56j)
15/03/24 - Welfare labelling, badger culling, cat gut strings and winter planting
Badger culling could continue indefinitely in England under new Government proposals which reverse earlier pledges to begin to phase out badger culls from next year. The Government says culls are working in helping to reduce TB in cattle - pointing to stats from the first 52 cull areas where there is an average reduction in TB breakdowns in cattle of 56% after 4 years of culling. Now ministers say that in high risk and edge areas, which covers much of southwest and central England, culling could continue until the Chief Veterinary Officer deems that the situation has improved, at which point badger vaccination would be introduced. A consultation on the proposals has just been launched.
New rules on food labelling could be introduced to give more information about how and where its produced - but some farmers say it'll be costly and complex. The Government is consulting on plans to improve country of origin labelling and introduce 'method of production' labelling on pork, chicken and eggs. This would introduce a 5 tier labelling system to differentiate between those that fall below, meet or exceed basic British animal welfare standards.
We visit a factory in Norfolk where cattle intestines are turned into harp strings.
And it's expected that 79% more UK farmland will be left fallow this year than last - new figures from the AHDB suggest the impact of the weather and Government environmental schemes means that fewer crops will be planted. The AHDB is the levy board which traditionally surveys farmers on their cropping plans in the Autumn - because its been so wet they've gone back to them and found that the weather is still having a big impact.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thwxg)
Black-throated Diver
John Aitchison presents the black-throated diver. Black-throated divers are strong contenders for our most beautiful bird. Their breeding plumage with a neck barcoded in white, an ebony bib and a plush grey head is dramatic. The black dagger-like bill and broad lobed feet are perfect for catching and pursuing fish, which the divers bring to their chicks in nests on the shoreline of the Scottish Lochs on which they breed.
Producer: Sarah Pitt
FRI 06:00 Today (m001x58s)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m001x48w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant (m001x5cs)
Book of the Week: Ep 5 - Autumn 1812 - Luddism is on trial
In Brian Merchant's acclaimed account it's autumn 1812 and the consequences of the events that took place at Rawfolds Mill are far reaching for all involved. Hugo Speer reads.
In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, the cloth trade was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. As machines were brought in traditional skills, acquired by cloth workers over years of hard graft, became obsolete. Working men and women were left without the means to feed their families, and without purpose or pride in their identities as workers.
Meanwhile, around them they could see that a handful of entrepreneurs, the first tech titans, were accumulating wealth by replacing them with machines. The response was the Luddites.
Blood in the Machine draws on a number of primary sources, as well as historical accounts based on interviews recorded later on in the nineteenth century with those who participated in and had first hand knowledge of the rebellion.
In his book, Brian Merchant finds parallels between technology's impact on today's workforce and the first time machines replaced the jobs done by human beings.
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and author of the bestseller, The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone. His writing appears in the New York Times, Wired, The Atlantic and Harper's Magazine. He is also the founder of Gizmodo's Automaton project examining AI and the future of work.
Hugo Speer known for playing DI David Bradford in London Kills, Lucius in Britannia, and Guy in The Full Monty. He also plays DCI Stone in the acclaimed Radio 4 series, Stone.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001x592)
Men & porn, Women's Diaries, South Korea birth rate
As part of our ongoing series on pornography and how it’s shaping our relationships, we’ve heard from many of our female listeners whose attitudes and feelings towards porn vary greatly. Men are still the major consumers and producers of porn, so today we hear from some of them. Clare McDonnell is joined by the Times journalist Sean Russell, a man in his 30s, and two listeners: Jake, who is in his 40s, and also Gabriel, who is in his 60s. The three share how porn has shaped their sex and relationships.
Do you keep a diary? Why and who for? Is it for yourself or for potential readers in the future? And does it allow you to express emotions that have no other outlet? These are just some of the themes explored in Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries, which has been billed as the first comprehensive anthology of solely female diarists. Compiled by the historical biographer Sarah Gristwood, it features entries from over the past four centuries, from the likes of Florence Nightingale, Beatrix Potter, Audre Lorde and Emma Thompson.
The government in South Korea has said the country’s birth rate has fallen to a record low, despite it having spent billions on initiatives to encourage women to have more children. It dropped to
0.72 in 2023 - and for a population to hold steady, that number should be 2.1. Why are women in the country deciding not to have children? BBC journalist Yuna Ku in Seoul explains.
Have you ever asked yourself: “Does my bum look big in this?" According to major UK clothes retailer, this question is no longer a bad thing. In fact, we should be aiming for it. They’ve taken big knickers to a whole other level, launching a new form of shapewear with bum padding, adding extra volume and curvature to your derriere. Anna Murphy is the Times’ Fashion Director. She’s tried out a similar model and explains her reaction.
Presenter: Clare McDonnell
Producer: Kirsty Starkey
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant
FRI 11:00 The Perfect Sikh Wedding (m001x599)
Sikh weddings are big business. They are often held in glitzy overseas destinations abroad and across the UK, they can last more than a week and cater for up to 800 people. But for many couples, these lavish affairs could now be out of reach - not because of costs but because of growing cultural and religious tensions surrounding Sikh wedding ceremonies.
Many religious leaders see these extravagant displays as being at odds with traditional Sikh values. A recent directive from the Akal Takht, one of the five Sikh seats of power, has effectively banned destination weddings. And that's left many couples in the lurch as they are forced to weigh up old school religious considerations with a desire to enjoy the same celebrations as many of their peers.
Shay Kaur Grewal first came to prominence as a star of the ground-breaking Channel 4 reality show The Family. It was the first UK television programme to feature the real lives of a British Sikh family. She's now found fame as one half of "Sunny and Shay", as she and her husband Mandeep are known to their listeners on BBC Radio London.
In The Perfect Sikh Wedding, Shay takes us to the heart of the community to reveal what these dilemmas around marriage say about how second and third generation British Sikhs see their place in UK society.
Presenter: Shay Kaur Grewal
Producer: Tom Fuller
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 11:30 Room 101 with Paul Merton (m001mt78)
Series 1
Mark Steel
Returning in its original one-to-one incarnation, Paul Merton interviews a variety of guests from the world of comedy and entertainment to find out what they would send to Room 101.
In this episode, Mark Steel tells Paul his choices include tinned custard and his former self.
Additional material John Irwin and Suki Webster
Produced by Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m001x6fh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 AntiSocial (m001x59k)
Does Britain need a Muslim war memorial?
Plans announced in the Budget to spend £1 million on a war memorial for Muslim soldiers who died in the two world wars have been applauded by campaigners, but others worry it is singling out one religious group for special treatment. Some have also questioned the timing of the announcement, when the Conservative Party is facing allegations of Islamophobia.
What role did Muslims play in the two World Wars? Do other religious groups have their own memorials? And how have monuments like this become flashpoints of the culture wars?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Production team: Simon Tulett, Nick Holland, and Ellie House
Editor: Penny Murphy
FRI 12:57 Weather (m001x59q)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m001x59v)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
FRI 13:45 Strike Boy (m001x59z)
10. Legacy
"Some of the mindset from the past is gone. It's smaller - my family comes first. With that, political attitudes change."
Forty years on from the miners’ strike, Mark’s back in the village where his dad was a miner who stopped work for an entire year. The miners’ welfare institute and majestic pitheads have gone - and that’s not all that has changed.
Trying to understand the political legacy of the strike, Mark goes to meet the area’s MP, an ex-miner who’s been on a political journey that mirrors how voting there has shifted in recent years. Are that change and the strong support for Brexit in the area connected to the demise of coal mining? And Mark tries to find a piece of his dad’s mining heritage that’s gone missing.
Presenter: Mark Watson
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m001x557)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (p0hb2f0z)
Love and Other Lies
Love and Other Lies - 5. Long Life
Josie ..... Jessica Gunning
Tyler ..... Anthony J Abraham
Larry ..... Paul Ready
Emma ..... Kitty O'Sullivan
Aiden ..... Ed Coleman
Daria ..... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Aiden's Mother ..... Jessica Turner
Writer ..... Sarah Cartwright
Script Producer ..... Anne Isger
Production Co-ordinator ..... Gaelan Davis-Connolly
Technical Producers ..... Peter Ringrose & Alison Craig
Composer ..... Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres
Director ..... Sally Avens
Josie's catfisher may have weaved a sophisticated web of fake identities but Josie & Tyler are close to working out his true identity.
So all they have to do is find him & persuade him to stop blackmailing them. If only things were that easy.
FRI 14:45 Child (p0h6wfb1)
10. Due Date
At the end of a pregnancy, a lot is going on. The baby might be descending and moving into place, and the pregnant body is changing every day. It’s the baby’s time to arrive and it’s going to happen, one way or another. But what is a due date?
India speaks to Holly Dunsworth, a biological anthropologist who’s challenging the obstetrical dilemma. Exploring the idea of why the due dates exist, India looks at the inaccuracies of how they are measured whilst questioning - how does labour begin? Midwife and author Leah Hazard provides insights into what we do know, and the possible influence of full moons.
Presented by India Rakusen.
Producer: Lucy Hunt.
Series Producer: Ellie Sans.
Executive Producer: Suzy Grant.
Commissioning Editor Rhian Roberts.
Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon.
Mix and Mastering by Olga Reed.
A Listen production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001x5b7)
Solihull
Is ivy poisonous to most type of trees? Does the strain of F1 hybrid seeds deteriorate over time? What plants could I grow on my allotment that are low maintenance?
Kathy Clugston and a panel of gardening experts are in Solihull to answer gardening queries from an audience of keen gardeners. On the panel this week are garden designer Bunny Guinness, self proclaimed botanical geek James Wong, and plantswoman Christine Walkden.
Also, Matthew Wilson delivers a step by step guide on how to maintain a greenhouse during the spring.
Senior Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Natural Histories: Short Stories (b0829dd1)
Series 2
Face to Face with the Real Me by Fay Weldon
In Fay Weldon's story, Sally Anne, Beauty Queen and Trophy Wife, comes face to face with her true self in the Natural History Museum, in the form of a pygmy seahorse, a Hippocampus bargibanti disguised as a fan coral. Written and recorded by Fay Weldon in 2016.
Producer Beth O'Dea
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m001x5bc)
Audrey Adams, Nicola Trahan, Edward Bond, Eric Carmen
Matthew Bannister on
Audrey Adams who became a tireless campaigner for the rights of black people after her son was stabbed to death in a racist attack.
Nicola Trahan, who joined the French Resistance as a teenager and was later awarded the Croix de Guerre.
Edward Bond, the controversial playwright who played a key role in the abolition of censorship in British theatre.
The singer and songwriter Eric Carmen whose biggest hit “All By Myself” was based on a Rachmaninov piano concerto.
Interviewee: Lord Simon Woolley
Interviewee: Reverend Eleanor Rance
Interviewee: Simon Callow and Sean Holmes
Interviewee: Debbie Wiseman
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
French Wartime Service: Musical Items, Sound Archive, BBC; D-Day Announcement - Communique No. 1, Sound Archive, BBC; The Reverend Al Sharpton, Kilroy BBC 1, BBC; Audrey Adams interviewed by C4 news in 2021, C4 News, YouTube upload, 19/03/2021; Edward Bond interview - TX Date:
12.10.2011; Eric Carmen - Never Gonna fall in love again; Eric Carmen - All by myself; The Raspberries – Go all the way
FRI 16:30 Feedback (m001x5bh)
Radio 4 Controller Answers Your Questions About Schedule Change
Radio 4 is revamping its schedule from the beginning of April. Andrea Catherwood talks to the station’s controller Mohit Bakaya about why he’s decided to press refresh. He also responds to listeners’ questions about shifting the Archers omnibus by an hour on Sundays and explains the thinking behind Feedback being moved to Thursdays.
Also, we hear the polarised views of listeners on Amol Rajan’s feisty interview with the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Some say it was a breath of fresh air – others that it was bad-tempered and unprofessional.
And the true crime series Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley has been getting the Vox Box treatment. Two history buffs give us their personal take on the programme and the Executive Producer, Kirsty Hunter, is on hand to respond to their thoughts.
Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Leeanne Coyle
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 17:00 PM (m001x5bm)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001x5bw)
The US has warned that powerful synthetic drugs -- that have devastated American communities -- are spreading around the world.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (m001x5c0)
Series 64
Episode 1
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches. Featuring Marcus Brigstocke unpacking screen addiction and Ria Lina on the International Women's Day - Oscars overlap, and an original song from Ed MacArthur.
The show was written by the cast with additional material from David Duncan, Aidan Fitzmaurice, Jade Gebbie and Christina Riggs.
Voice Actors: Gemma Arrowsmith and Jason Forbes.
Producer: Rajiv Karia
Production Coordinator: Caroline Barlow
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m001x5c4)
Writer: Sarah Hehir
Director: Kim Greengrass and Rosemary Watts
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Brian Aldridge ……… Charles Collingwood
Tony Archer ……. David Troughton
Chris Carter …… Wilf Scolding
Alice Carter ……… Hollie Chapman
Justin Elliot ……. Simon Williams
Will Grundy ……. Philip Molloy
Emma Grundy …… Emerald O'Hanrahan
Ed Grundy …….. Barry Farrimond
George Grundy …… Angus Stobie
Kate Madikane ……. Perdita Avery
Fallon Rogers ………. Joanna Van Kampen
Jakob Hakansson ………. Paul Venables
Paul Mack …….. Joshua Riley
Miranda Elliott …… Lucy Fleming
FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m001x5c6)
Anne Dudley and Emily Sun are on a Mission
Composer, producer and arranger Anne Dudley and concert violinist Emily Sun add five more tracks to the playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The journey takes them from a dark tale of deceit and entrapment to a hotel you can never leave. Irish pipes and whistle player John McSherry also calls in to tell us about his live recording of traditional jigs.
Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Babooshka by Kate Bush
Piano Concerto in A Minor (1st mvt) by Edvard Grieg
Theme from Mission: Impossible by Lalo Schifrin
The Roaring Promenade by John McSherry, Brendán Quinn & Francis McIlduff
Hotel California by The Eagles
Other music in this episode:
The Look of Love Pt 4 by ABC
Poison Arrow by ABC
The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini
Piano Concerto in A minor by Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Canon in D major by Johann Pachelbel
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m001x5c8)
Simon Bird, Louise Haigh MP, Mark Spencer MP, Danny Sriskandarajah
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Hougham & Marston Village Hall in Lincolnshire with Simon Bird, Associated British Ports director for the Humber region; Labour's shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh MP; the food, farming and fisheries minister Mark Spencer MP; and Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation.
Producer: Paul Martin
Lead broadcast engineer: Richard Earle
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m001x5cb)
Michael & Tony & Me
Adam Gopnik warns of our tendency to normalise evil behaviour. What may pass for entertainment in Mafia movies, must be seen through a different lens in real life.
"The risk of crime is not crime alone, but the abyss that opens at our feet when once we have decided that the rules that count for other people don't count for us."
Producer: Sheila Cook
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
FRI 21:00 Strike Boy (m001x5cd)
Omnibus 2
Mark Watson was 10 when the 1984 miners’ strike took over his life. Forty years on, he wants to know what really happened and how it changed his community - and this country.
Lying in bed one night as a boy, Mark heard a massive roar, like a football crowd. He opened his bedroom window and saw a red glow in the distance where the noise was coming from. He jumped out of his window, onto the kitchen roof, and bolted out the back gate. Just a few hundred yards from his house, he was suddenly confronted with a mass of action - hundreds of police and pickets, shouting and shoving. He was hooked.
The son of a striking Nottinghamshire miner, Mark was caught in the middle of Britain’s biggest ever industrial dispute. Ever since, he’s wanted to make sense of the deeply-held views on all sides. Travelling the country, hearing tales of violence, desperation, and determination, Mark investigates the conflict that became a battle for Britain’s soul - and its consequences today.
Presenter: Mark Watson
Series Producer: Simon Maybin
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound mix: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m001x5cg)
US says fentanyl crisis is spreading to other countries
Also in the programme: Day one of Russia's presidential elections; and an exhibition opens in London telling the stories of palace servants
FRI 22:45 Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier (m001x5cj)
Episode 10
Emma Fielding reads Daphne Du Maurier's enduring and much loved classic - a story of romance, daring and a painted pirate ship in a secret Cornish creek, and of the beautiful, roistering Lady Dona St Columb, who, fleeing her vacuous life in London in search of escape and her better self, meets her match at last.
Today: Land's End. The Frenchman has been captured and is being held by Godolphin. Following his own advice that the more hazardous the plan, the more likely its success, Dona sets out to save him from the noose.
Set on Du Maurier's beloved South Cornwall coast, in the secret creeks and inlets of the Helford river, where the curlews wade on the mud flats and the night jars churr at midnight, Frenchman's Creek is a song to another century; an age where a traveller in time might just glimpse a figure in the shadows, the moonlight glinting on his buckled shoe or the cutlass in his hand, and a cloaked woman might slip silently through the woods to meet her lover.
Reader Emma Fielding
Abridger Julian Wilkinson
Producer Di Speirs
FRI 23:00 Americast (m001x5cl)
Join the Americast team for insights from across the US.
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001x5cn)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on a planned new law to stop pet smuggling. Also - MPs debate a lack of vets and pensions for WASPI women. And after Lee Anderson's defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK - how common is it for MPs to change party?