SATURDAY 01 JUNE 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001zmc6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 The History Podcast (m001zm9n)
D-Day: The Last Voices
D-Day: The Last Voices - 5. The Road to Liberation
D-Day: The Last Voices brings together a rich collection of historical audio testimonies recorded with those who fought in the invasion of Normandy, alongside extraordinary new interviews with the last surviving veterans, to tell their story of D-Day as it unfolded.
Presented by Paddy O’Connell, each programme charts a distinct chapter of the complex, visceral and moving story of the invasion, from subterfuge and secret planning, to the approach of H-Hour, the landings by air and sea, and on into the battles beyond the beaches.
Commissioned as a collaboration with D-Day: The Unheard Tapes for BBC Two, and drawing on the same longitudinal access and research, the series tells the story of D-Day through the last voices of those who lived it, leading us through their personal experiences of the invasion. Supported by the historical recordings of those who were there with them – this is their story, told in their own words.
As the series draws to a close, Paddy spends time with and hears from the last surviving veterans of D-Day, both those who were part of the Allied invasion force, and others who grew up in the shadow of the operation in a decimated Normandy. In the aftermath of 6th June 1944, veterans recall their sense of loss, of legacy and contribution, and above all, their responsibility to remember friends and comrades who lost their lives in the conflict.
This final part of the story explores what came next, in the aftermath of the invasion. The ferocious and bloody battle that followed, in which over 100,000 people lost their lives, and the weeks of brutality that paved the road to liberation, and made it possible. Hearing about the impact, in both nightmares and memories, that it had on those who were there is deeply moving, and commemorates this 80th anniversary with power, humility, pathos and emotion, remembering those who were left behind on the battlefields, in the marshes, fields forests and on the beaches of Normandy.
Featuring:
Joe Cattini
Geoffrey Weaving
Alec Penstone
John Dennett
Mark Packer
Michel Deserable
John Forfar
Christian Lamb
Pat Owtram
Eddie Edwards
James Kelly
Nat Hoskot
Roy Crane
Written and presented by Paddy O’Connell
Produced by Paul Kobrak
Technical production by Richard Courtice
Sound design by Roy Noy, Tom Chilcot, Alex Short, Adam Palmer, Paul Donovan
Music composed by Sam Hooper
Production Executive – Anne-Marie Byrne
Archive Assistant Producer – Hannah Mirsky
Archive: BBC News, The D-Day Story Portsmouth, Paddy O’Connell, made in partnership with Imperial War Museums.
Executive Producers - Morgana Pugh and Rami Tzabar
A Wall to Wall Media production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zmc8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zmcb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zmcd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001zmcg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001zmcj)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea.
SAT 05:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001zmcl)
Volunteer
In this episode, Michael Mosley discovers that, as well as being a very rewarding thing to do, volunteering your time, labour or spare room can really benefit your health too. Michael speaks with Dr Edith Chen from Northwestern University in the US, who has been investigating the power of helping others. She tells Michael about her studies showing that by boosting your mood and empathy, volunteering can lower chronic inflammation, cholesterol and even help you lose weight. It’s also a great way to meet new people! Meanwhile, Matt gives back to his local community by volunteering at a food bank.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Editor: Zoë Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001zv33)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Open Country (m001znl8)
Shivering Sands
Martha Kearney visits Whitstable to discover the fascinating and mysterious story behind Guy Maunsell’s sea forts at Shivering Sands. Built in the second world war as air defences, these towers can still be seen from the shoreline, although they are now in a state of disrepair.
Martha discovers their incredible and strange history. Once home to up to 265 soldiers, these huge metal boxes on stilts later became the base for a broadcasting revolution. In the 1960s, pirate stations such as Radio City, Invicta and the short-lived Radio Sutch (run by the musician and parliamentary candidate Screaming Lord Sutch), broadcast from the sea forts to huge audiences who wanted to hear the latest pop and rock records.
Tom Edwards and Bob Leroi are two of the DJs with fond memories of their time aboard the sea forts at Shivering Sands, but there is also a darker history. David Featherbe’s father was lost at sea after visiting the Red Sands fort and foul play was suspected. These mysteries and the forts imposing physical architecture fascinate historian Flo McEwan and many artists such as Stephen Turner and Sue Carfrae.
Today the forts lie empty and are slowly being lost to the sea, but they remain a source of inspiration to artists and photographers, as Martha discovers.
Produced by Helen Lennard
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001zv38)
Second homes, National Parks, Welsh dairy closure
New rules aimed at controlling the number of holiday lets in popular rural and coastal areas will mean a fall in house prices, according to the Lake District National Park Authority's senior planning officer. The new powers announced earlier this year mean that planning authorities could require anyone wanting to turn their house into a holiday let to get planning permission, something which is already happening in Wales, where it's causing some controversy.
Environmentalist Ben Goldsmith argues that national parks are becoming wildlife deadzones, with overgrazing by sheep leaving the landscape barren and a monoculture of grass. This is disputed by the chair of National Parks England, Neil Heseltine, who says it's a delicate balance of working with tourism, wildlife and working farms.
A welsh cheesemaker has announced it cannot continue in its current form. The 31 farmers who supply milk to Mona Dairy on Anglesey have been reassured that an interim buyer for their milk has been found, while the dairy's owners search for new investment. Mona's 20 million pound factory opened 2 years ago, with the aim of producing cheese for export.
And we hear about two studies - in Kent and Devon - looking at the increasing number of beavers, and how they can help prevent both flooding and drought.
Presented by Charlotte Smith, produced in Bristol by Sally Challoner
SAT 06:57 Weather (m001zv3d)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m001zv3j)
01/06/24 – Nick Robinson and Simon Jack
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001zv3n)
Patrick Grant, Frank Gardner, Razan Alsous, Marlon James
Fashion designer, entrepreneur and Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant has put his money where his seams are with his company Community Clothing and new book 'Less' urging us to stop buying so much rubbish and appreciate fewer, better things.
We’re taking cheesy to another level with Razan Alsous who came to the UK as a refugee from Syria having lost almost everything. She has since settled in Yorkshire and is now an award-winning maker of squeaky cheese.
And Frank Gardner, who twenty years ago was shot six times whilst reporting from Saudi Arabia, remarkably survived and is not only the BBC’s Security Correspondent, he’s also a bestselling novelist having released his latest book Invasion.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of The Booker Prize winning Jamaican novelist Marlon James.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Ben Mitchell
SAT 10:00 Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny (m001zv3s)
Professor Brian Cox: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Shady trees, jazz, the origins of human history and THE place for coffee. All in a day’s work for Brian’s favourite place in the world. And Shaun is the world's biggest coffee lover, so Ethiopia's charming capital city is off to a good start. Resident geographer, historian and comedian Iszi Lawrence joins them with some original facts.
Your Place Or Mine is the travel series that isn’t going anywhere. Join Shaun as his guests try to convince him that it’s worth getting up off the sofa and seeing the world, giving us a personal guide to their favourite place on the planet.
Producers: Beth O'Dea and Caitlin Hobbs
Your Place or Mine is a BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001zv3g)
Series 44
Gloucester
Jay Rayner and his panel of food fanatics are in Gloucester for this week’s episode. Joining Jay are materials expert Zoe Laughlin, food writer Lerato Umah-Shaylor, and chefs Rob Owen Brown and Angela Gray.
The panel discuss the how to make the perfect scratchings, the food they’d happily throw down a hill, and the most adventurous ice cream flavours they've endeavoured to make.
Materials expert Dr Zoe Laughin gets to the bottom of the question 'do we get more ice cream in a tub or on a cone?'. And Jay chats to Will Lee from Gloucester’s Wholly Gelato, about the best tips and tricks for making ice cream.
Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock
Executive Producer: Ollie Wilson
A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 11:00 How Much Can You Say? (m001zdjp)
"The north London heroin trade is almost folklore at this stage."
For decades, calculated gang warfare involving Turkish, Turkish Cypriot, and Kurdish heroin dealers has played out on the streets of north London, in the midst of dry cleaners, empty market stalls, and oddly abundant carpet shops. In this intimate documentary, we hear the careful accounts of women and young people on the edges of that world.
"It is a life-or-death situation to say the wrong thing."
Featuring creative direction and original poetry from Tice Cin, an award-winning interdisciplinary artist from Tottenham and Enfield.
"The best way to put it is if you look at the Turkish word ‘suskunluk’ ... It's the honour thing, you can't be bad-mouthing your own community."
Presented by Tice Cin
Produced by Jude Shapiro with Tice Cin
Executive Producer: Jack Howson
Mixed by Arlie Adlington - including music composed by Tice Cin with Oscar Deniz Kemanci
A Peanut & Crumb production for BBC Radio 4
(Programme Image by Peri Cimen & Tice Cin; © Neoprene Genie)
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001zv3x)
Haiti's Shattered State
Kate Adie introduces dispatches on Haiti, China, Lebanon, Spain and Italy.
Haitians fear their plight is being forgotten after criminal gangs took control of the capital. An international peacekeeping force is scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, but how quickly can law and order be restored? Catherine Norris Trent reports from the capital Port au Prince, where she met a community of displaced locals, now living in an abandoned government building.
This week marks 35 years since student-led demonstrations took over Tiananmen Square in Beijing. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera tracked down two former student leaders who were at the protests in 1989, who reveal that the Chinese government is still watching them.
As Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues, in response to the Hamas attacks on the 7th of October, violence has also flared up on the country’s northern border with Lebanon. A new arrival in Beirut, the BBC's Hugo Bachega has learned much about the mood in the country as he searches for a new home.
Spain’s efforts to tackle the legacy of its civil war and the Franco dictatorship have long been the cause of political rancour. Guy Hedgecoe discovers the issue is once again causing social division, amid the rise in popularity of far fight political parties.
The Allied soldiers in the Italian Campaign of World War Two were unfairly derided for sunbathing on Italian beaches, while escaping the Normandy Landings. Yet this was far from the reality faced by soldiers involved in assaults such as 1944’s Battle for Monte Cassino. Kasia Madera met some of the surviving veterans from the campaign, which took place 80 years ago.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production coordinator: Katie Morrison
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001zv41)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001zv44)
Pensions and 'drip pricing'
We hear from a pensioner on benefits who tells us she was shocked to find herself having to pay tax on her pension for the first time. With expert help, we explain the so-called ‘triple-lock’ mechanism and why the point at which you can be taxed on your pension has become a big talking point in the election campaign.
Also in the programme, sneaky hidden extras on your online shopping have been banned under new laws passed this month. So called ‘drip pricing’ is when consumers are shown an initial price for an item or service, only to find additional fees are added on later at the checkout. We look what the rules are and how they'll work.
Every time you use Mastercard or Visa debit or credit card to pay for something – the business you’re buying from has to pay fees. Some of these fees are optional, but many of them are mandatory. But now an interim report by the watchdog - the Payments Systems Regulator – found that these fees charged to shops and other businesses by Visa and Mastercard have been rising much faster than inflation, 30 % faster, but that there is no evidence that the service provided has improved
And we look at the scale of fake stamps in the UK. Royal Mail initially responded by charging people a penalty if they received items that were sent with a fake stamp. Although those fines are now ‘paused’, we reveal just how much they amounted to.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Sarah Rogers and Neil Morrow.
Researchers: Sandra Hardial and Neil Morrow
Editor: Craig Henderson
(This programme was first broadcast Saturday June 1, 2024)
SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m001zmbm)
Series 24
Episode 6
As always, the team treat all the political parties with equal contempt.
With writing from Tom Jamieson, Nev Fountain, Laurence Howarth, Ed Amsden & Tom Coles, Rob Darke, Edward Tew, Sophie Dixon and Cody Dahler.
A BBC Studios Audio Production
Producer: Bill Dare
Exec Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Dan Marchini
Sound Design: Rich Evans
SAT 12:57 Weather (m001zv48)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001zv4g)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:15 Any Questions? (m001zmbt)
Peter Kyle MP, Professor Margaret MacMillan, Fraser Nelson, Chris Philp MP, Munira Wilson MP
Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from Shiplake Memorial Hall with Shadow Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle MP, historian Professor Margaret MacMillan, the editor of The Spectator Fraser Nelson, Policing Minister Chris Philp MP and Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson MP.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Kevan Long
SAT 14:15 Any Answers? (m001zv4l)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.
SAT 15:00 The Archers (m001zmbp)
Writer: Sarah Hehir
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Ben Archer… Ben Norris
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Lilian Bellamy… Sunny Ormonde
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Jakob Hakansson…. Paul Venables
Chelsea Horrobin…. Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell… Carole Boyd
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane
Jason Burntwood…. Ian Conningham
SAT 15:15 Brief Lives (m001745f)
Series 12
Episode 2
Brief Lives by Tom Fry and Sharon Kelly (2/2)
Frank's visitor from the past has landed them all in a whole lot of trouble. You do not mess with Manchester's most violent crime family. Can Frank and Sarah smooth it over so they can ride off into the sunset? Or will it end in tragedy?
Frank..........David Schofield
Sarah..........Kathryn Hunt
Fat Doug.......Eric Potts
Johnnie..........Greg Wood
Jade.................Erin Shanagher
Michael..........Tachia Newell
Baz.................Lloyd Peters
Director/Producer Gary Brown
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001zv4s)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Ruth Jones, Netball Super League, FGM ban at risk in Gambia, Muses, Hadestown creator Anaïs Mitchell
Ruth Jones joins Nuala McGovern to talk about playing the Mother Superior in a West End production of Sister Act. She discusses getting out of her comfort zone by appearing on stage for the first time since 2018 and working on her fourth novel. Plus what can fans of Gavin and Stacey expect from the Christmas special?
This week, the Netball Super League, the UK's elite level domestic competition, relaunched and embarked on what it calls a "new era of transformational change". Anita Rani speaks to Claire Nelson, Managing Director of the Netball Super League, and London Pulse CEO Sam Bird.
Politicians in The Gambia are debating whether to overturn the ban on female genital mutilation. Activist Fatou Baldeh MBE explains the impact this discussion is having on the ground and in other countries around the world.
From the Pre-Raphaelites to Picasso, Vermeer to Freud, some of the most famous Western artwork involves an artist’s muse. So who are the muses who have inspired great art? How do they embody an artist’s vision? And why has the muse artist relationship led to abuse of power? Nuala was joined by guests including Penelope Tree was one of the most famous models of the 1960s and the muse of her then boyfriend, the photographer David Bailey.
Grammy and Tony award-winning songwriter Anaïs Mitchell is the creator of the musical Hadestown – a genre-defying retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth blending folk music and New Orleans jazz. With productions on Broadway and now at the Lyric Theatre in London, Anaïs performed live in the Woman’s Hour studio and talked about the origins and impact of Hadestown.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Louise Corley
SAT 17:00 PM (m001zv4y)
Gaza - Can a deal be reached?
Leila Nathoo speaks to former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert on the hope of a deal with Hamas. Also, we hear from South Africa where the ruling ANC loses its majority for the first time.
SAT 17:30 Sliced Bread (m001znkw)
Car Tyres
Is it worth paying more for premium car tyres?
There's a huge range of car tyres to choose from and the price differences between them can be significant. So do you really need to pay more to get a good tyre?
Listener Ian runs a car maintenance business and wants to know if the budget tyres he's been fitting are the right choice. Will they last as long and be just as safe? What do the different ratings on the labels you can see online mean? And as he moves towards electric cars he's also keen to know whether they need a special sort of tyre.
With the help of two experts in the field, Greg Foot 'treads' through the studies and the science to find out more. It's how he rolls (we'll stop now).
As ever we are still looking for your suggestions of products to look into. If you've seen something promising to make you happier, healthier or greener and want to know if it is SB or BS please do send it over on email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or drop us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp to 07543 306807
PRESENTER: GREG FOOT
PRODUCER: SIMON HOBAN
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001zv5b)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m001zv5k)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zv5t)
South Africa's ANC party is preparing for coalition talks after an election in which it lost its outright majority for the first time in thirty years.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001zv60)
Stephen Merchant, Plum Sykes, Adeel Akhtar, and Kate Bradbury join Clive Anderson with music by LYRA and Madeleine Peyroux
Stephen Merchant - the BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor, comedian and writer behind hits like The Office and Extras - joins Clive Anderson and Athena Kugblenu to talk about a new series of The Outlaws, a hugely popular crime caper set on a Bristol community service project; the Vogue journalist and author Plum Sykes will discuss her new novel, Wives Like Us, billed as "desperate housewives in the Cotswalds"; Award-winning actor Adeel Akhtar of Sherwood, Fool Me Once and Four Lions fame on returning to the stage for the first time in almost a decade in Chekov's The Cherry Orchard and the writer and broadcaster Kate Bradbury on taking a stand against climate change in our own back gardens. Plus music by jazz singer songwriter Madeleine Peyroux and Irish pop sensation LYRA - who managed to knock Beyonce off the number one slot in the Irish album charts.
Presented by Clive Anderson
Produced by Olive Clancy
SAT 19:00 Profile (m001zv64)
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale, the Liverpudlian screenwriter and playwright, is in the spotlight this week as a stage version of his iconic 1980's TV series 'Boys from the Blackstuff' opened at the National Theatre. Born in Liverpool, an only child who first went into teaching, his first public work was 'Scully' for Radio Merseyside, a kind of Liverpudlian Adrian Mole, which he wrote whilst he was still teaching.
But it was 'Boys from the Blackstuff' that made him a household name with one of the characters, Yosser Hughes' line 'Gissa job' providing a chant on the stands of his beloved Liverpool Football Club.
His work has courted controversy with successive governments, although he says he's not political, only voting for the first time at the age of 38. Now in his late 70's and 40 years on from the original television series, he's back in the spotlight. Stephen Smith talks to friends and colleagues about his work, phobias and how to tell if you're having a heart attack.
Presenter: Stephen Smith
PRODUCTION TEAM
Producers: Julie Ball and Diane Richardson
Researcher: Marianna Brain
Editor: Bridget Harney
Sound: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
Contributors
Peter Ansorge, former Script Producer, BBC Drama and Commissioning Editor, Drama C4
James Graham, Playwright and Screenwriter
Robert Lindsay, Actor
Sir Michael Palin, Actor and Author
Tony Schumacher, Author and Screenwriter
Trevor Stent, former teaching colleague
CREDITS
Boys from the Blackstuff, BBC Drama
Desert Island Discs, BBC R4
GBH - Channel 4
Scully's New Years Eve, BBC
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m001znkm)
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith grew up in north west London and studied English at Cambridge University. After a publisher’s bidding war when she was just 21, her debut novel White Teeth became a huge critical and commercial hit on publication in 2000 and won several awards including the Orange Prize, now known as the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and the Whitbread first novel award. Since then, with books including On Beauty, NW and Swing Time, Zadie Smith has established herself as one of the world’s most successful and popular living novelists, renowned for her witty dialogue and explorations of cultural identity, class and sexuality. Her most recent book The Fraud is her first historical novel.
Zadie Smith talks to John Wilson about her upbringing in Willesden, North West London, with her Jamaican born mother and white English father. She chooses C S Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as an early formative influence and remembers how its themes of danger, power and betrayal were intoxicating to her as a young reader. Zadie talks about the creative influence of her husband, the poet Nick Laird, and of the cultural impact of a trip she made to west Africa in 2007 which inspired much of her 2016 novel Swing Time. She also reflects on her role as an essayist who in recent years, has increasingly written about global political and social issues.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m001zv68)
Rik Mayall, Panglobal Phenomenon
Marking 10 years since the death of comedy icon Rik Mayall, the writer Max Kinnings looks back at Mayall’s life and career through the recordings they made together during the writing of The Rik’s violently untrue memoir, Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ.
In 2004 comedy legend Rik Mayall was commissioned by Harper Collins publisher, Trevor Dolby, to write his autobiography.
Known for his trailblazing work on shows like The Young Ones, The Comic Strip, Filthy Rich and Catflap, Blackadder, The New Statesman and Bottom, a book by Rik, documenting his rise to fame, his towering achievements and the quad bike accident which put him in a coma for five days, would be a sure-fire best seller.
There was only one problem. Rik didn’t want to write an autobiography.
Uncomfortable with revealing his own personality, and preferring to hide behind comic characters, Rik enlisted the help of writer Max Kinnings and together they wrote Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ - an autobiography of THE Rik Mayall, a monstrous egomaniac, keen to tell his absurd, self-aggrandizing life-story. While dates and details would be real, the anecdotes would be told through the lens of a whole new addition to Rik’s comic characters, one who claimed to have waged a 30 year war on showbusiness.
Rik’s method of writing involved “jamming”, improvising around funny ideas and concepts, hoping inspiration would strike. When it did, the constantly rolling dictaphone would pick it up, allowing Max and Rik to pick over the best bits - and it’s these recordings which led to much of the book, and which form the backbone of this show.
Frequent Rik collaborators - including Ben Elton (The Young Ones), Helen Lederer (Bottom), Bob Baldwin (Grim Tales), Peter Richardson (The Comic Strip), fan Sanjeev Kohli (Still Game), put-upon publisher Trevor Dolby and Rik’s children, Rosie, Sid and Bonnie - are on hand to provide context to the archive audio as we try to tell the story of Rik Mayall. On the way we’ll meet Rik the performer, Rik the subversive, Rik the collaborator and maybe, just maybe, Rik Mayall.
Featuring archive recordings from Fundamental Frollicks, The Oxford Road Show, Wogan, The Young Ones, Bottom, A B’Stard Exposed, Pebble Mill, Steve Wright In The Afternoon and Newsnight as well as Max’s personal audio archive, this is the greatest radio show ever made, about the greatest book ever written by the greatest man that ever lived. If you don’t like it, you’re a w*nker.
Written and presented by Max Kinnings
Archive Restoration: Andy Goddard
Producer: Gareth Gwynn
Executive Producer: Simon Nicholls
A Mighty Bunny production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 21:00 The Everest Obsession (m001zv6d)
Omnibus
Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas. Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993. In this series, she explores how climbing Everest has changed, creating both opportunities and challenges.
Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
SAT 22:00 News (m001zv6j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m001zm9l)
Danny Trejo: A Life Through Food
Danny Trejo is a Hollywood legend appearing in hundreds of films mostly playing tough guys, convicts and henchmen. He has starred in some of the greatest action films of all time like Con Air with John Malkovich and Nicolas Cage and Heat with Robert De Nero and Al Pacino.
Life wasn’t easy for Danny growing up. He started taking hard drugs and committing serious crimes from a very young age. He ended up in some of the most violent prisons in America but through finding God and sobriety turned his life around. He became a drugs counsellor and through a series of unlikely events worked his way into Hollywood as an actor.
At 80 he is also the owner of a chain of taco restaurants as well as a number of food and drink brands. In the programme Jaega meets him in the last branch of Trejo’s Tacos and talks to him about his memories of food growing up, brewing hooch in prison and filming Old El Paso adverts in Mexico.
We also hear from food historian and writer Chloe-Rose Crabtree about why eating tacos in London has become a thorny issue for Americans and BBC entertainment reporter Colin Paterson on the history of celebrity restaurants.
Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced by Sam Grist for BBC Audio in Bristol
SAT 23:00 Michael Spicer: No Room (m001zgcv)
5. Pink
A long overdue enquiry into an ill advised away-day. May contain strong language.
No Room features an up-to-the-minute take on current events, alongside character-filled sketches which brilliantly capture everything that provokes us - culture, politics, work...and other people.
Michael is famous for his Room Next Door government advisor character whose withering take downs of politicians have amassed more than 100 million views and helped keep his audience sane in fractured times.
Writer, Performer and Co-Editor: Michael Spicer
Composer and Sound Designer: Augustin Bousfield
Producer: Matt Tiller
A Tillervision production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 23:15 Michael Spicer: No Room (m001zgcx)
6. Blue
Famous white man in dream travel-show shock. Comedian Michael Spicer shines a light on global conflict and bog roll.
No Room features an up-to-the-minute take on current events, alongside character-filled sketches which brilliantly capture everything that provokes us - culture, politics, work... and other people.
Michael is famous for his Room Next Door government advisor character whose withering takedowns of politicians have amassed more than 100 million views and helped keep his audience sane in fractured times.
Writer, Performer and Co-Editor: Michael Spicer
Composer and Sound Designer: Augustin Bousfield
Producer: Matt Tiller
A Tillervision production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 23:30 Round Britain Quiz (m001zmn6)
Programme 12, 2024
(12/12)
Kirsty Lang welcomes back the North of England and the Scots for the closing match of the 2024 series. With the results very tight this year, Scotland could take the overall series title if they win today. Stuart Maconie and Adele Geras face Val McDermid and Alan McCredie.
Today's questions:
Q1 Which Borough Treasurer's list might include the main thoroughfare of any town, the companion of Mr Smith and Mr Jones, something you might attach to the collars of felines, and (very nearly) where orphan Anne Shirley grows up?
Q2 What would French women conclude about mitochondria and other structures in a cell, the strait connecting the Aegean with the Sea of Marmara, and Britain's most common bats?
Q3 (from James Francis) Music: Why might all of these please a cat?
Q4 The common origin of romantically-inclined geriatrics, an expression of pity for people or creatures, an object made from cowhide and an ancient town on the Clyde, is anything but colourful. Can you explain why?
Q5 If I gave you an old-fashioned tanner, the town where Henry James died, a lot of Lockheed SR-71s and Piscine Molitor Patel, could you give me the rest of the song?
Q6 Music: Why might these three do their bit for the environment?
Q7 (from Simon Dooker) How could the following be said to contribute to an English Victorian poet's most famous work: an American baseball legend, the home ground of Solihull Moors, the colour of Carly's conceited lover's scarf, Rumer's coming-of-age classic, and what a fabled runaway duo dined on?
Q8 (from Frank Paul) How often would you expect accurate information from items belonging to the following: a deceased relative who lived to be 90, the bride whom Compeyson jilted, and those obeying the first words of 'Funeral Blues'?
Producer: Paul Bajoria
SUNDAY 02 JUNE 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001zv6n)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Open Book (m001zmn4)
Maggie Nelson
Octavia Bright talks to celebrated American author Maggie Nelson about Like Love, an anthology of her essays which explores art and friendship and criticism. Nature writer Nicola Chester introduces a new prize for climate fiction, which she is judging and she's joined by Jessie Greengrass whose novel, The High House, is set in a near-future England devastated by flooding. And a reading recommendation for June.
Presenter: Octavia Bright
Producer: Nicola Holloway
Book List - Sunday 26 May 2024
Like Love by Maggie Nelson
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
On Freedom by Maggie Nelson
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Weather by Jenny Offill,
Solar by Ian McEwan
Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam
The High House by Jessie Greengrass
One Of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zv6r)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zv6w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zv70)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001zv73)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001zv75)
St Augustine, West Monkton in Somerset
Bells on Sunday comes from St. Augustine, West Monkton in Somerset. The Grade I listed church building dates from the 13th century though the arch of the eighty eight foot tall four storey tower is thought to be part of an earlier church building. There are eight bells, the tenor of which weighs seventeen and three quarter hundredweight. It is tuned to D sharp and was cast by the Loughborough Foundry in 1881. We hear them ringing a 'Grandsire Triples'.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m001znnw)
Accessibility of Ticketmaster and Sonos Speakers
Technology often supports blind and visually impaired people to achieve independence. However, the process can also work in reverse - hindering rather than helping. We speak to listeners about their experience of booking to see their favourite acts using Ticketmaster.
And is an update to an app always good news? Maybe not if you're a blind user of Sonos speakers. We look at what's caused the upset and hear what Sonos is doing to put things right.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings/Fern Lulham
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001zvmk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m001znn4)
Garden Utopias
Garden Utopias: Michael Gilson, Associate Fellow of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, University of Sussex, takes Laurie Taylor behind the privet hedge, to explore the suburban garden and the beautification of Britain. How did millions of British people develop an obsession with their own cherished plot of land? Although stereotyped as symbols of dull, middle class conformity, these gardens were once seen as the vanguard of progressive social change, a dream of a world in which beauty would be central to all of our lives.
Also, JC Niala, anthropologist, allotment historian and writer, discusses 36 months of fieldwork on allotment sites and guerrilla gardened streets across Oxford and suggests these are places where urban gardeners imagine, invent, and produce a hopeful future within their city.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m001zvmm)
Generations of Honey
In County Armagh’s vast acres of apple orchards, William Haffey and his young grandson Jack Wilson produce honey. The native Irish black honey bee they favour thrives, not just in the hives on their smallholding near Loughgall, but also in the hives they rent out to local apple growers. It’s rental scheme that benefits the pollination of the apple crop, as well as the honey harvest and the bee population. Visiting them on the farm and in the orchards, Helen Mark gets an up-close encounter with the active hives.
William, an experienced carpenter and builder, began working with bees more than forty years ago. When his ten-year-old grandson showed an interest, it was the beginning of a very special relationship. William taught Jack all he needed to know about the bees, from spring-cleaning the hives to building their eco-friendly boxes from recycled wood. The rental scheme to apple orchards means the honey produced carries the taste of the apple blossoms the bees forage on. Their local honey is much in demand.
Jack has now also started making products such a lip balm from the beeswax extracted from the rich dark honey, and that extra income helps support their honey business. This intergenerational duo share a passion for protecting nature and the bees, in Northern Ireland's "Orchard County".
Produced and presented by Helen Mark
SUN 06:57 Weather (m001zvmp)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001zvmr)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001zvmt)
Homosexuality in the Catholic Clergy; Muslim Marriage and UK law; D-Day Chaplains
As the Pope apologises for using a homophobic slur, we hear from an openly gay priest, Fr James Alison, who claims that in the Catholic Church a majority of the clergy is homosexual. We also hear the views of the Pope’s biographer, Austen Ivereigh.
Ahead of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, the historian Sarah Meyrick tells us about the men who went ashore unarmed – the D-Day chaplains.
Over 60% of Muslim women in the UK have not had their marriages legalised under UK law, leaving them vulnerable and unprotected in the event of a divorce. Solicitor and family law specialist, Aina Khan joins us to discuss a petition to reform the 1949 Marriage Act, that she says is not ‘Fit For Purpose’. Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra voices his thoughts on how much responsibility should lie with Imams like himself.
‘Birthmarked’, a play currently on tour in the UK, tells of the complexities of "disfellowship" from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Playwright and actor Brook Tate explains how going against biblical teaching – by being actively gay - forced him out. He tells us how the play has helped him to reconcile his feelings towards the family, friends and religion he left behind.
Presenter: Rima Ahmed
Producers: Alexa Good and Bara’atu Ibrahim
Editor: Jonathan Hallewell
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001zvmw)
ADD International
Disability advocate Shani Dhanda makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of ADD International, a charity which partners with disability rights organisations and activists in Africa and Asia to fight discrimination.
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 ‘ADD International’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘ADD International’.
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.
Registered charity number: 294860
SUN 07:57 Weather (m001zvmy)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001zvn0)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001zvn2)
Marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day
Live from Portsmouth Cathedral - the Cathedral of the Sea - marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Almost eighty years ago on 6th June 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history left the shores of southern England. It was a day that would change the world. During the service, Nicholas Witchell and Lord Richard Dannatt speak of the significance of Remembrance, and of what will be happening at the British Normandy Memorial, inaugurated just five years ago.
With the Cathedral Choir and Royal Marines Band: Lord of our life, and God of our salvation (Cloisters); Psalm 46; Chanson de Normandie (George Arthur); Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation (Lobe Den Herren); Matthew 5:1-12; We shall walk through the Valley (Moore); Make me a Channel of your Peace (Temple); For the Fallen (Guest); Eternal Father, strong to save (Melita)
Leader: The Revd Canon Dr Jo Spreadbury, Canon Precentor; Preacher: The Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, Dean; Act of Remembrance & Blessing: The Venerable Andrew Hillier, Chaplain of the Fleet. Reader: Bella Stuart-Smith, granddaughter of Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. Organist and Master of the Choristers: Dr David Price; Sub-Organist: Sachin Gunga; the Royal Marines Band, Portsmouth, Producer: Philip Billson.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001zmbw)
Orwell on the Campaign Trail
Mark Damazer looks to George Orwell's essay, 'Politics and the English Language', to see if he can be our guide through the fractious language of the next few weeks of the election campaign.
He says Orwell's critique in 1946 of the political slogans, the carefully honed phrases and the rehearsed answers of his day remind us that there's never been a golden age of political language.
A thought to hold on to, perhaps, 'as we enjoy - or endure - the next few weeks'.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m001zvn4)
Megan McCubbin on the Corncrake
A new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.
Zoologist and television presenter Megan McCubbin first saw corncrakes while working on the BBC's Springwatch programme. These once numerous summer visitors are today a rare encounter in the British countryside and more often heard than seen. While visiting a corncrake breeding project in Norfolk Megan was fortunate to gain close views of the adults and the chicks, which are sometimes referred to as little black bumblebees,
A BBC Audio production from Bristol
Producer : Andrew Dawes
Studio Engineer : Tim Allen
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001zvn6)
Are we any closer to a ceasefire in Gaza?
We examine the ceasefire proposals unveiled by Joe Biden, and their chances of being accepted by Israel and Hamas. Also, we share the water cooler moments of the election campaign so far from our political colleagues at the BBC and reflections of constitutional historian Lord Hennessy.
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m001zvn8)
Rebel Wilson, actor
The Australian actor Rebel Wilson became an international star with a breakthrough part in the 2011 Hollywood comedy Bridesmaids, opposite Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. She followed this up playing Fat Amy in the highly successful Pitch Perfect trilogy, which documents the fortunes of a female college acapella group.
Rebel was born in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney. Her parents bred and showed dogs, in particular beagles, and her first brush with showbusiness came when she visited television studios to watch the dogs perform in popular shows. The dogs were so successful they even had their own agents.
She studied for a combined arts and law degree and then joined the Australian Theatre for Young People. At the age of 29 she sold everything she had and left Sydney to try her luck in Hollywood where she slept on a friend’s sofa for the first few months. She gave herself a year to make it and Bridesmaids came at just the right time – she never looked back.
Rebel recently made her debut as a director with the Deb, a musical set in Australia.
DISC ONE: Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars
DISC TWO: Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston
DISC THREE: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python
DISC FOUR: I Missed the Bus - Kris Kross
DISC FIVE: We Belong - Pat Benatar
DISC SIX: Let Me Entertain You - Robbie Williams
DISC SEVEN: Can You Feel the Love Tonight? - Elton John
DISC EIGHT: Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
BOOK CHOICE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
LUXURY ITEM: A bath tub and bath salts
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001zvnb)
Writer: Sarah Hehir
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Ben Archer… Ben Norris
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Lilian Bellamy… Sunny Ormonde
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Jakob Hakansson…. Paul Venables
Chelsea Horrobin…. Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell… Carole Boyd
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane
Jason Burntwood…. Ian Conningham
SUN 12:15 Profile (m001zv64)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m001zlzh)
Series 81
Episode 3
The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the King George’s Hall in Blackburn. Marcus Brigstocke and Henning Wehn take on Vicki Pepperdine and Tony Hawks with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
A Random production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:57 Weather (m001zvnd)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001zvng)
Election 2024: How to make childcare work
We look at solutions to improve the childcare system ahead of the general election. Plus, a report from an election mired in violence - in Mexico.
SUN 13:30 The Beaches (m001zv39)
A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. Harrison Lewis and wetland scientist Christian Dunn re-enact one of the most remarkable feats of the Second World War and discover the intricate details of the daring but forgotten science that underpinned D-Day.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001zmb7)
Cheshire West
My Fatsia plants had their stems nibbled by deer – will they recover, or should I buy new ones? Any tips on how I can get my eucalyptus plants to produce juvenile flowers? If you were building a scarecrow in your garden, what would you suggest dressing it in?
Kathy Clugston and a panel of experts are in Cheshire West to answer queries from an audience of keen gardeners. On the panel are garden designer Bunny Guinness, houseplant expert Anne Swithinbank, and curator of RHS Bridgewater Marcus Chilton-Jones.
Later, James Wong and head gardener of the Castlefield Viaduct Nancy Scheerhout discuss how the 'garden in the sky' was created, as well as how it's maintained.
Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001zvnj)
The Raiders - Episode 2
In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores S R Crockett’s forgotten bestseller, a swashbuckling adventure story set in his native Galloway in south west Scotland.
Written in 1894, The Raiders is part romance, part action thriller, and part historical fiction. The action takes place in 1715, during the reign of George I, a time when Galloway was awash with pirates, smugglers, cattle rustlers, gypsies and bandits. John suggests it was the Mission Impossible, if not the Fast and Furious, of its day.
In this second episode, John considers Crockett’s writing career, and tries to find out why an author who was on the bestseller lists for a decade at the turn of the 20th Century has almost completely disappeared from view.
John is joined by Cally Phillips, the founder of the Galloway Raiders website, the home of all things Crockett, and Clara Glynn who has adapted The Raiders for BBC Radio 4. Together they explore how the history of early 18th Century Scotland informs the novel, and how Crockett fits into the wider tradition of Scottish adventure 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 in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. 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.
Contributors:
Cally Phillips, founder of The Galloway Raiders website
Clara Glynn, adapter of The Raiders for BBC Radio 4
Reading by Kyle Gardiner
The Raiders by S R Crockett, from The Galloway Raiders website https://www.gallowayraiders.co.uk/
Produced by Jane Greenwood
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Sound by Sean Kerwin
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m001zvnl)
The Raiders
Part 2
By SR Crockett. Adapted for radio by Clara Glynn.
Dubbed "Scotland's forgotten bestseller", The Raiders is an action romance set in the wild country of Galloway.
Patrick Heron is imprisoned in a room in the Murder House and his fate appears to be sealed.
Part Two
Patrick ..... Kyle Gardiner
May ..... Jessica Hardwick
Silver Sand ..... Sandy Grierson
Eppie ..... Laura Lovemore
Kennedy ..... Reuben Joseph
Will/Hector ..... James Rottger
Gil ..... Robin Laing
Lady Grizel ..... Anne Lacey
Marion ..... Rosie Smith
Literary Consultant: Cally Phillips
Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m001zvnn)
Lucy Caldwell: These Days
Celebrated novelist and short story writer Lucy Caldwell joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss These Days. Set in 1941, it focusses on the lives of two sisters living through the Belfast Blitz.
Lucy talks about the inspiration for her novel, her research and writing it during the pandemic.
SUN 16:30 Nature Table (m001zvnq)
Series 4
1: Dogs, Ducks and a Chunk of the Moon
In this first episode of a new series, ducks’ super vaginas and a meteorite that’s the key to how life on Earth started wow the team.
For this new series of Sue Perkins’ ARIA-winning ‘Show and Tell’ wildlife comedy, Team Nature Table have recorded at the Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens – for some botanical specials – and London Zoo.
Starting the series off, we’re at the Natural History Museum. Sue is joined by special guests: comedian Desiree Burch, science writer Jules Howard and the NHM’s curator of meteorites Dr. Natasha Almeida.
Our varied subjects include: Dogs, a meteorite that can explain how life started on Earth, Ducks’ vaginas (with Sue studying one up close courtesy of a VR headset) and moon rock.
Nature Table has a simple clear brief: to positively celebrate and promote the importance of all our planet’s wonderfully wild flora and fauna in a fun and easily grasped way... whilst at the same time having a giggle.
Hosted by: Sue Perkins
Guests: Desiree Burch, Natasha Almeida & Jules Howard
Written by: Catherine Brinkworth, Jenny Laville & Jon Hunter
Additional material by: Christina Riggs & Pete Tellouche
Researcher: Catherine Beazley
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Sound Recordist & Editor: Jerry Peal
Music by: Ben Mirin
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Producer: Simon Nicholls
An EcoAudio certified production
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct4xbv)
Vidkun Quisling: Norway's traitor
In December 1939, fascist Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling travelled to Berlin from Oslo for a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler.
Quisling suggested to Hitler that the British were planning to move into Norway for their own strategic needs. Norway hadn’t been a concern for the Nazis but the meeting alarmed Hitler and within months Germany started its invasion of Norway.
From that moment, Quisling was consigned into history as a traitor. So much so that in the time since, his name has become a byword for traitor in numerous languages.
Matt Pintus hears from Norwegian journalist, Trude Lorentzen, who decided to study Quisling’s life after stumbling across his suitcase in an online auction.
As part of her voyage of discovery, Trude interviewed Quisling’s Jewish neighbour Leif Grusd who was forced to flee to Sweden when the Nazis took over Norway.
Leif Grusd's interview was translated from the NRK podcast "Quislings koffert" - Quisling's suitcase - released in 2021. It was made by production company Svarttrost for NRK.
(Photo: Vidkun Quisling and Adolf Hitler. Credit: Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 The Tourist Trap (m001zlyk)
Episode 2
The travel industry is booming with millions more people holidaying abroad each year. In this second episode of The Tourist Trap, Rajan Datar explores the impact of climate change on tourism, alternatives to air travel and what can be done to protect places from the impact of mass tourism. He talks to two British tourists who escaped the wildfires in Greece last summer and its impact on their future holiday plans. He hears how two very different people have given up plane travel. He visits the beautiful Alpine countryside of Bohinj in Slovenia as it tries to protect its way of life from the impact of over-tourism. Rajan then takes the night train from Venice to Vienna to see if that’s a comfortable and convenient alternative to flying.
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001zvnv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m001zvnx)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zvnz)
Labour have promised a "significant cut" in net migration if they win power.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001zvp1)
Myfanwy Alexander
From Hay to heaven and everywhere in between, from deep past to imagined future via a melodious, quizzical and occasionally sticky present. Myfanwy Alexander will be sharing a Roman pub joke, looking in at a proto-saint in trainers, answering or failing to answer a few tricky questions and sampling some ravishing music. And Myfanwy gives you her word that there will be no politics at all.
Presenter: Myfanwy Alexander
Producer: Emma Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Paul Holloway
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001zv2x)
Lynda can’t stop thinking about the piece of writing by Fallon’s Great Aunt, about the soldier who died. Lynda wants to write something herself for the D-Day event. A short drama perhaps? She comes up with three characters and considers Chelsea and Ben to feature. She’ll ask Fallon to play her own Great Aunt but worries about Fallon. Robert tells Lynda to just ask Fallon what she thinks about the idea, but Lynda wants to just get something written and then check.
Lost in her work, Lynda asks Robert to deputise as Chair at today’s cricket, and to also ask Ben and Chelsea to pop over after the match against Loxley Barrett.
Freddie shares the latest with Chelsea from his stakeout over the stolen meat. Freddie feels bad about the thief, Jason – a nice guy with two kids to feed. Vince is dealing with the situation tomorrow, and Jason has no idea of what’s coming. Harrison turns up to gee up the players and Freddie and Chelsea tease him about his upcoming 39th birthday.
Chelsea delivers a great catch to complete the win, before Ben shares Lynda’s request and they head over to Ambridge Hall to find out more.
Meanwhile, Lynda asks Robert to read her work and be brutally honest. Robert is spellbound – it’s the best thing Lynda has ever written. Lynda’s delighted, but then suddenly panics about casting Ben and Chelsea as tragic lovers, remembering their own history. Ben and Chelsea arrive, as Robert reassures Lynda to just let them read it, and to have faith.
SUN 19:15 Bonnie Bollywood: 25 years of Indian Film-making in Scotland (m001zvp3)
Broadcaster and ‘Bollywoodwalla’ Ravi Sagoo celebrates the 25th anniversary of Bollywood and Indian Cinema using Scotland as a filming location backdrop and embarks on his own ‘filmi’ journey reflecting the glitz and glamour of Bollywood in Scotland.
Ravi tells the story of why the world’s biggest film industry uses Scotland and its vista as their number one location shooting hotspot outside of Mumbai’s Film City - and can he fulfil a life-long dream of actually appearing in a Bollywood film?
A Demus production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Why Do We Do That? (m001g9lw)
Why Doesn't Everyone Clear Up?
It’s a familiar problem with any shared household - there’s always someone who doesn’t do their fair share. Studies have shown that when people with different thresholds live together, the person with the lower tolerance for mess cleans up more, quickly leading to resentment and conflict. So why do some people clean up more than others? What needs to happen for everyone to pull their weight? Evolutionary science has some answers. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to Dr Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour from University College London, to find out about free riders, cheaters and public goods, and how evolutionary scientists view cooperation challenges. Great British Bake Off star Michael Chakraverty shares his own anecdotes of untidy flatmates and failed attempts to enhance cooperation.
SUN 20:00 Word of Mouth (m001znld)
Language When There Are No Words
Joshua Reno talks about how Charlie, his non-verbal son who is on the autism spectrum, communicates with him very effectively using gestures known as "home signs".
Joshua is the author of Home Signs: An Ethnography of Life beyond and beside Language.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001zmbc)
Richard M Sherman, Professor Wendy James CBE , Morgan Spurlock, June Mendoza OBE
Matthew Bannister on
Richard M Sherman who teamed up with his brother Robert to write some of Disney’s best loved songs.
Professor Wendy James CBE, the anthropologist who studied the Uduk tribes of Sudan.
June Mendoza OBE, the portrait painter whose subjects included members of the Royal Family, Prime Ministers and celebrities.
Morgan Spurlock, the film maker best known for his Oscar nominated documentary about the fast food industry “Supersize Me”.
Interviewee: Brian Sibley
Interviewee: Dr Douglas Johnson
Interviewee: Anna Smith
Interviewee: Kim Mackrell
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Richard Sherman, Outlook, BBC Radio 4, 29 Aug 2016; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Trailer, Dir: Ken Hughes, MGM, 1968; Mary Poppins trailer, Director: Robert Stevenson, Disney, 1964; Julie Andrews, Feed The Birds, Composer Sherman; Richard Sherman, The Film Programme, BBC Radio 4, 30 May 2008; Richard Sherman, Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 26 Oct 2007; Richard Sherman, Soul Music, BBC Radio 4, 03 May 2016; It's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Walt Disney; Richard Sherman interview, Empire Magazine, YouTube, uploaded 12 Aug 2013; Interview with Professor Wendy James, Apollo, University of Cambridge Repository, Dir: Alan Macfarlane, Edit: Sarah Harrison, dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/223956, 15 May 2009; Super Size Me, 2004, Writer/Director: Morgan Spurlock, Samuel Goldwyn Film, You Tube, uploaded 17 May 2024; Super Size Me, Official Movie Trailer, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2004;
Super Size Me 2, Official Trailer, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2019; Morgan Spurlock interview, ABC News, YouTube uploaded, 19 Sept 2019; June Mendoza, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 08 Sept 1979; June Mendoza, Midweek, BBC Radio 4, 25 May 1988;
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001zv44)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001zvmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001zv3x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001zvp5)
Ben Wright's guests are the Health Minister, Maria Caulfield; Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation, Sarah Jones; and Hannah White - Director of the Institute for Government. They discuss the latest developments in the general election campaign, the purpose of party manifestos, and look ahead to the tv election debates. Katy Balls, the political editor of The Spectator, brings additional insight and analysis. And the BBC Disinformation and Social Media correspondent, Marianna Spring, explains how young people are being targeted with political material on platforms such as TikTok.
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m001znkd)
Marsilius of Padua
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the canonical figures from the history of political thought. Marsilius of Padua (c1275 to c1343) wrote 'Defensor Pacis' (The Defender of the Peace) around 1324 when the Papacy, the Holy Roman Emperor and the French King were fighting over who had supreme power on Earth. In this work Marsilius argued that the people were the source of all power and they alone could elect a leader to act on their behalf; they could remove their leaders when they chose and, afterwards, could hold them to account for their actions. He appeared to favour an elected Holy Roman Emperor and he was clear that there were no grounds for the Papacy to have secular power, let alone gather taxes and wealth, and that clerics should return to the poverty of the Apostles. Protestants naturally found his work attractive in the 16th Century when breaking with Rome. In the 20th Century Marsilius has been seen as an early advocate for popular sovereignty and republican democracy, to the extent possible in his time.
With
Annabel Brett
Professor of Political Thought and History at the University of Cambridge
George Garnett
Professor of Medieval History and Fellow and Tutor at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford
And
Serena Ferente
Professor of Medieval History at the University of Amsterdam
Producer: Simon Tillotson
In Our Time is a BBC Sounds Audio Production
Reading list:
Richard Bourke and Quentin Skinner (eds), Popular Sovereignty in Historical Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2016), especially 'Popolo and law in Marsilius and the jurists' by Serena Ferente
J. Canning, Ideas of Power in the Late Middle Ages, 1296-1417 (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
H.W.C. Davis (ed.), Essays in Mediaeval History presented to Reginald Lane Poole (Clarendon Press, 1927), especially ‘The authors cited in the Defensor Pacis’ by C.W. Previté-Orton
George Garnett, Marsilius of Padua and ‘The Truth of History’ (Oxford University Press, 2006)
J.R. Hale, J.R.L. Highfield and B. Smalley (eds.), Europe in the Late Middle Ages (Faber and Faber, 1965), especially ‘Marsilius of Padua and political thought of his time’ by N. Rubinstein
Joel Kaye, 'Equalization in the Body and the Body Politic: From Galen to Marsilius of Padua’ (Mélanges de l'Ecole Française de Rome 125, 2013)
Xavier Márquez (ed.), Democratic Moments: Reading Democratic Texts (Bloomsbury, 2018), especially ‘Consent and popular sovereignty in medieval political thought: Marsilius of Padua’s Defensor pacis’ by T. Shogimen
Marsiglio of Padua (trans. Cary J. Nederman), Defensor Minor and De Translatione Imperii (Cambridge University Press, 1993)
Marsilius of Padua (trans. Annabel Brett), The Defender of the Peace (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
Gerson Moreño-Riano (ed.), The World of Marsilius of Padua (Brepols, 2006)
Gerson Moreno-Riano and Cary J. Nederman (eds), A Companion to Marsilius of Padua (Brill, 2012)
A. Mulieri, S. Masolini and J. Pelletier (eds.), Marsilius of Padua: Between history, Politics, and Philosophy (Brepols, 2023)
C. Nederman, Community and Consent: The Secular Political Theory of Marsiglio of Padua’s Defensor Pacis (Rowman and Littlefield, 1995)
Vasileios Syros, Marsilius of Padua at the Intersection of Ancient and Medieval Traditions of Political Thought (University of Toronto Press, 2012)
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m001zmb9)
The Day He Met Jesus by Lucy Caldwell
An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the author Lucy Caldwell. Read by Jenn Murray. (‘The Lovers’)
Born in Belfast, Lucy Caldwell is the award-winning author of four novels, several stage plays and radio dramas and the short story collections: Multitudes and Intimacies. She is also the editor of Being Various: New Irish Short Stories. In 2021 she won the BBC National Short Story Award with her story “All the People Were Mean and Bad.” Her most recent novel, These Days, won the 2023 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Her new collection, Openings, was published in May 2024.
Writer: Lucy Caldwell
Reader: Jenn Murray
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.
MONDAY 03 JUNE 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001zvp7)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 True Crime 1599 (m001yy6x)
For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back to a time before podcasts, TV, pulp magazines, even Penny Dreadfuls – all the way to the English stage 400 years ago when, for the first time, playhouses were putting contemporary news onstage.
With guests James Shapiro, Catherine Richardson and Sarah Phelps.
Presenter: Charles Nicholl
Actors: Rhiannon Neads, John Lightbody, Michael Bertenshaw, Josh Bryant-Jones, Ian Dunnett Junior
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001zv75)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zvp9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zvpc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zvpf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001zvph)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001zvpk)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001zvpm)
A selection of farmers outline what they would want from the next government.
Bees may be the best known of the UK’s pollinators, but there are many more insects involved in the process which is vital to our food production.
And farmers celebrating decades of hard work are recognised with a long-service award.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Alun Beach
MON 05:57 Weather (m001zvpp)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m001zv25)
Election 2024: Conservatives on 'biological sex', Labour on defence
Conservative cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch sets out plans to rewrite the Equality Act to define the protected characteristic of sex as ‘biological sex’. Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey tells Justin Webb that the nuclear deterrent is 'the bedrock of our national security'. Former Leeds Rhinos and England Rugby League captain Jamie Peacock pays tribute to his friend and former teammate Rob Burrow who has died aged 41. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019. And a new AI tool which can rule out heart attacks preventing hospital admissions.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m001zv29)
Hay Festival: ancient wisdom and ecology
In front of an audience at the Hay Literary Festival Adam Rutherford talks to the botanist and Native American Robin Wall Kimmerer. In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass she shows the importance of bringing together indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge, to increase understanding of the languages and worlds of plants and animals.
Hugh Warwick is an expert on hedgehogs but in his latest book, Cull of the Wild, he focuses on animals less native, and beloved. From grey squirrels in Anglesey to cane toads in Australia he explores the complex history of species control, and the ethics of killing in the name of conservation.
The writer Olivia Laing turns her attention to the efforts to create paradise on earth. In The Garden Against Time she retells her own attempts to restore a walled garden in Suffolk while investigating the long history of gardens – real and imagined, follies and pleasure grounds.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Oliver Burkeman's Inconvenient Truth (m001mc43)
Other People
Oliver Burkeman explores the insidious way in which convenience has warped our existence. In this episode Oliver considers how convenience makes life less meaningful by focusing on our everyday transations in a world where technology is all about removing friction. With writer Kat Rosenfield, philosopher Julian Baggini and co-founder of Perspectiva organisation, Jonathan Rowson.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001zv2d)
Mexico election, Queenie actor, Breast milk donor
Claudia Sheinbaum will become Mexico's first woman president after an historic election win. BBC Journalist Laura Garcia joins Nuala McGovern to discuss what this moment means for the women and girls of Mexico.
A new immersive exhibition, Connecting Hearts, by Swansea University, the Human Milk Foundation and artist Leanne Pearce, shows the impact of donating and receiving human milk. One of the paintings is of Claire-Michelle Pearson - a 'snowdrop' donor. She donated over 300 litres of milk after her son, Rupert, died during labour. She tells Nuala how it helped her grieve.
Candice Carty-Williams’ debut novel, Queenie, has been adapted into a series for Channel 4. It tells the story of a 25-year-old woman as she straddles two different cultures at the same time as navigating romantic relationships, family stresses and work pressure. Dionne Brown plays Queenie in the series – she joins Nuala to tell us more about the series.
A 20-year-old man who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl in Spain has been acquitted because the court deemed their relationship ‘common’ as members of the Roma community. So what does this mean for the protection of Roma women and girls against violence across Europe? Nuala is joined by Judit Ignácz, from The European Roma Rights Centre, an international organisation working to combat discrimination against the Roma population, to discuss.
A new type of blood test can predict the recurrence of breast cancer months or even years before it shows up on scans, which could potentailly pave the way for treatment to start before it becomes incurable. Nuala is joined by Simon Vincent, director of research, support and influencing at Breast Cancer Now, who part-funded this study.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Emma Pearce
MON 11:00 The Tourist Trap (m001zv2g)
Episode 3
The travel industry is booming with millions more people holidaying abroad each year.In this third and final episode of The Tourist Trap, Rajan Datar visits Paris as authorities use this summer’s Olympic games as a catalyst to make a transition to a greener city. He explores the hotel which has ripped out its carpets and uses bamboo towels to try and be more eco-friendly. He tours the UK headquarters of Airbus in Filton near Bristol to hear to what extent wing design change and alternatives to fossil fuels will make aviation industry greener. He discusses what we can all do to avoid the tourist trap and travel in a more sustainable way.
Produced by Bob Howard.
MON 11:45 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zv2j)
Russia to Romania
Shetland journalist Jen Stout is taking part in a fellowship in Moscow when Russia invades Ukraine. Scrambling to gather the accreditation and equipment she needs, the journalist crosses borders and makes connections on the ground to discover the human cost of Russian aggression.
An EcoAudio certified production.
Written and read by Jen Stout
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
MON 12:00 News Summary (m001zv2l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001zv2n)
Scam Adverts, Holiday Parks, Deleting Games
You may have noticed on Facebook and Instagram adverts for Seasalt clothing for sale with 80% off, if you have clicked on them you are taken to a website that looks very similar to the official one – but this is all a scam.
This scam is similar to the 76,000 fake sites, that the UK’s Chartered Trading Standards Institute has described as one of the largest scams of its kind. We will hear from them and a lady that did try to order from these rogue sites, only to get her money back but now very worried about the data she handed over. We’ll be telling you how you can protect yourself, and what the tell-tale signs of you data being used by others.
Haven Holidays and Butlins are both seeing a rise in those wanting to head to one of their holiday parks. We’ll be talking with the chief executive of Butlins about this success, and to one punter that loves going to a holiday park.
And when you buy a computer game you’d expect to be able to play it for as long as you want, right? Well that’s not always how it turns out as there are more games that are having their servers taken down, leaving some gamers angry at this situation. We’ll be chatting Ross Scott, the person behind Stop Killing Games, a campaign that aims to put pressure on the companies to be more transparent about the life of games.
You can contact You & Yours by emailing youandyours@bbc.co.uk or using the hashtag #youandyours
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Dave James
MON 12:57 Weather (m001zv2q)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m001zv2s)
Labour's pitch on defence
Sir Keir Starmer says Britain would be 'fit to fight' under Labour as he outlines his defence strategy. And we ask what makes a successful side hustle.
MON 13:45 Shadow World (m001zv2v)
Thief at the British Museum
Thief at the British Museum: 6. Lone Wolf or Scapegoat?
As news of the thefts breaks around the world, the boss of the British Museum turns on Ittai. Now he has to fight to clear his name.
And what of the thief? The museum shares details about how they think the thief covered their tracks. Peter Higgs is sacked and when Katie tries to learn more about him she discovers something unexpected.
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Mix and sound design : James Beard
Composer: Jenny Plant
Exec-producer: Joe Kent
Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell
Series Editor: Matt Willis
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Archive: Sky News
MON 14:00 The Archers (m001zv2x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Fags, Mags and Bags (m001zv2z)
Series 11
The Pump Rubicon
The hit Radio 4 series Fags, Mags & Bags returns with a 11th series with more shop-based shenanigans and over the counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Majhu and his trusty sidekick Dave.
In this episode, Malcolm decides to practice her counselling skills on Sanjay and Grebo as their burgeoning relationship is already in deep trouble. SAKE!
This record-breaking 11th series sees the programme join the Top Ten longest running audio sitcoms of all time - and become the longest running TV or Radio sitcom ever to come out of Scotland.
Set in a Scots-Asian corner shop and written by and starring Donald Mcleary and Sanjeev Kohli, the award winning Fags, Mags & Bags has proved a huge hit with the Radio 4 audience. This brand-new series sees a return of all the show’s regular characters, with some guest appearances along the way.
Cast
Ramesh: Sanjeev Kohli
Dave: Donald Mcleary
Sanjay: Omar Raza
Alok: Susheel Kumar
Malcolm: Mina Anwar
Lovely Sue: Julie Wilson-Nimmo
Bishop Briggs: Michael Redmond
Mrs Begg: Marjory Hogarth
Grebo: Manjot Sumal
Producer: Gus Beattie for Gusman Productions
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:45 Gambits (m0011417)
1: The Board
Adrian Scarborough kicks off a dazzling new short-story series, set in what might seem like an ordinary Essex village, but is anything but. Today, in 'The Board', it's Hallowe'en, and the village of Little Purlington has been gripped by chess fever....
Reader: Adrian Scarborough is an acclaimed TV and stage actor, known best for roles in Gavin & Stacey, The King's Speech and Gosford Park.
Writer: Eley Williams is the author of Attrib. and Other Stories, and a debut novel, The Liar's Dictionary.
Producer: Justine Willett
MON 15:00 A Good Read (m001zv34)
Kathryn Hughes and Dan Schreiber
Historian and author Kathryn Hughes and No Such Thing As a Fish presenter Dan Schreiber recommend favourite books to Harriett Gilbert. Kathryn chooses Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes, an exploration of the French writer's life in the form of a novel. Dan's choice is very different - John Higgs taking on the conceptual artists and chart toppers The KLF. Harriett has gone for Michael Ondaatje's novel Warlight, set in a murky and mysterious post-war London.
Presenter: Harriett Gilbert
Producer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven
MON 15:30 History's Secret Heroes (p0hm0s04)
20. Manfred Gans and X Troop
Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis with advanced fighting and counterintelligence skills. But can he save his own family?
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.
A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
MON 16:00 The Beaches (m001zv39)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001zv3g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m001zv3k)
Nigel Farage to stand in election
Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage says he will stand for election in Clacton - just days after ruling himself out. Also: why is cancer in under 50s on the rise.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zv3p)
Mr Farage will stand in the Clacton constituency and will also become leader of the party
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m001zv3t)
Series 81
Episode 4
The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the King George’s Hall in Blackburn. Tony Hawks and Vicki Pepperdine take on Marcus Brigstocke and Henning Wehn with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
A Random production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m001zv3y)
Vince calls Jason and Freddie into his office and confronts Jason who seems totally oblivious to what’s up. So Vince comes out with it – Jason has been stealing meat and selling it on. Jason vehemently denies it. But Freddie encourages Jason to just come clean and he might keep his job. Later, Vince wonders why Freddie looks so miserable – he did well, causing Jason to tell all. Freddie’s sad that Vince has sacked Jason anyway and explains that Jason was stealing to fund a ski trip for his kids. Vince lacks sympathy.
It’s Harrison’s birthday and for a moment his and Fallon’s recent problems seem far away as they share a joke, and he marvels at the results of Fallon’s baking frenzy last night. They admit they didn’t sleep well – Harrison is on the sofa – and agree it’s time to stop this. Harrison loves his presents, especially a book of poetry, and wishes he’d booked the day off work. Lynda has asked Fallon to be in her play, inspired by Fallon’s Great Aunt. As Fallon and Harrison have hardly been talking recently, Harrison realises he knew nothing about the real-life story.
Fallon has a surprise for Harrison, but when he nervously suspects it’s a party he persuaded Fallon to reveal all - it’s a private cinema screening at the Brookfield Barn of his favourite film – Footloose. Harrison laughs – that’s not his favourite film! Fallon’s confused and wants to try and change it, but after some awkwardness Harrison jokes and they agree to watch it anyway, before sharing a tender “I love you”.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m001zv42)
Richard Linklater, Ultimate 90s Bollywood Song, Esther Swift
American director Richard Linklater, who made his name with Boyhood and the Before Sunset films, talks about his new comedy thriller Hit Man, which stars Glen Powell as quiet teacher who leads a secret double life helping this police catch people trying to hire a hit man. The movie opens on Netflix on Friday.
Asian Network is celebrating 90s Bollywood, revealing the Ultimate 90s Bollywood Song as voted for by listeners from a shortlist of 50. It was counted down on air on Friday and is available to listen to on BBC Sounds now. We are speaking to presenter Haroon Rashid live from Birmingham on Zoom.
Harpist Esther Swift plays live and talks about her first solo studio album Expectations of a Lifetime.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Corinna Jones
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m001znlm)
Ukraine: Who's winning the war?
David Aaronovitch and guests assess the latest developments in Ukraine. In 2022, Russia was expected to win the war easily. That didn't happen. But is Russia gaining the upper hand now?
Guests:
James Waterhouse, BBC’s Ukraine Correspondent
Polina Ivanova, FT correspondent covering Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia
Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence Studies at Kings College London and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy
Ann Marie Dailey, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and policy researcher at RAND
Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m001znlt)
Why do we sleep?
Guest presented by Liz Bonnin.
We all instinctively know that sleep is incredibly important but science doesn’t actually have a satisfying answer for why we need to sleep. There are multiple theories, but now, new research from Imperial College London has suggested that the leading idea might actually be incorrect. Science journalist Ginny Smith explains.
Nearly 80 years ago, one of the rarest elements in the world, promethium, was first discovered, but it’s properties have only now been revealed. Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at University College London, tells us what this means.
What’s the scariest animal on the planet? Lions, crocodiles, or maybe tigers might come to mind. Yet a recent study has found that animals around the globe fear our voices far more than sounds of any other predators. Professor Liana Zanette explains how her research could help conservation efforts.
Finally, we answer one of your questions. Listener Mary Evans got in touch to ask: ‘do you think it's likely that people who are widely travelled and used to eating local food and drinking tap water would have more diverse bacteria in their gut?’ Expert on all things microbiome, Megan Rossi, joins us in the studio to answer Mary’s query. If you have any questions you think we can tackle, you can always email us at insidescience@bbc.co.uk.
Presenter: Liz Bonnin
Producers: Hannah Robins, Ella Hubber, Sophie Ormiston
Researcher: Caitlin Kennedy
Editor: Martin Smith
MON 21:00 Start the Week (m001zv29)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:45 Assume Nothing: The Shankill Gold Rush (m001kppk)
The Find
In the summer of 1969, weeks before the Troubles would ignite, children playing in the rubble of a demolition site struck gold! While searching for treasure hundreds, maybe thousands of gold sovereigns, hidden and forgotten years before, tumbled to the ground from a chimney stack. More than 50 years later, author Glenn Patterson visits the Lower Shankill Road to find out who the coins belonged to. Why were they hidden? And where are they now?
Written and presented by Glenn Patterson
Sound by Bill Maul
Producer Sarah McGlinchey
Executive Editor Andy Martin
A BBC Northern Ireland Production for Radio 4
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001zv47)
Nigel Farage says he'll stand for Reform as he takes over party leadership
Nigel Farage used an "emergency announcement" to reveal that he had taken over leadership of Reform UK from his colleague Richard Tice, and would stand at the election in the seat of Clacton. That's despite ruling out standing after the election was called over a week ago. The champion of Brexit said he wanted to lead a "political revolt". We spoke to the man he replaced, Richard Tice.
Many Mexicans are celebrating the election of the first woman President after elections there, but others are concerned about her plans for the constitution.
And what has become of Ruja Ignatova, the so-called "cryptoqueen" who disappeared in 2017? A BBC investigation found new evidence suggesting she may have been murdered.
MON 22:45 Long Island by Colm Toibin (m001zv4c)
6: 'Are there things that you regret?'
Niamh Cusack continues the heartrending sequel to Brooklyn, set twenty years on.
Since leaving Brooklyn, Eilis and Tony have built a happy and secure life in Long Island. The future looks good - until one day a stranger knocks on the door, and everything changes.
Feeling very far from home, Eilis starts to question the life she's created. Her questions lead her back to Ireland, and to those she left behind, as she wonders whether it's too late to take a different path?
Today: With Eilis, Jim and Nancy all at Miriam's wedding, emotions rise. And Jim finally admits to Eilis that still has regrets....
Author: Colm Tóibín
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Reader: Niamh Cusack
Producer: Justine Willett
MON 23:00 Limelight (m0011ccq)
Harland
Harland - Episode 3: Thursday
Lucy Catherine's supernatural thriller set in the new town of Harland. A man in a hare mask appears to guide DI Ward to the missing Evie Bennett but who is he? And why can't the CCTV system capture his image even when he's there.
Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine
Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey
Sadie ..... Melissa Advani
Jim ..... Chris Jack
Lori ..... Grace Cooper Milton
Jess ..... Lizzie Mounter
Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde
Pete ..... Michael Begley
Counsellor ..... Christine Kavanagh
Aldo ..... Sam Dale
MC ..... Justice Ritchie
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Directed by Toby Swift
MON 23:30 Soul Music (m001fcf6)
Running Up That Hill
"And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places..."
True stories of what Kate Bush's song Running Up That Hill means to people around the world, from its original release in 1985 to its return to the charts in 2022.
Long distance runner Lee Perry takes himself on a marathon the morning after his mum dies, with Kate Bush in his headphones for all 26 miles of his run. Musician and record producer Georgia Barnes talks through the making of her synth-pop cover the song, from the opening drone to the iconic synth line. Graeme Thomson, author of 'Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush', shares insights into Bush's studio set-up during her making of the Hounds of Love album, and reflects on why Running Up That Hill continues to resonate down the generations. Songwriter and trans activist Órla Bligh sees the song as an anthem of empathy, and a call-to-action for people to try to understand the experiences of others. And finally, Astrid Jorgensen, conductor and founder of ‘Pub Choir’, gets 1600 people under one roof to sing Running Up That Hill together.
Produced by Becky Ripley
TUESDAY 04 JUNE 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001zv4r)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zv2j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zv4z)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zv56)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zv5c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001zv5j)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001zv5q)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001zv5w)
04/06/24 - Monitoring pollinators, Oatly factory and farm saunas
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme has been running for over 6 years now, with thousands of people counting insects in gardens, parks and on farms. So how are our pollinators faring?
We visit a network of connected land in Ayrshire, designed to encourage pollinators. The network is being expanded after receiving funding from the Scottish Government. It was set up over the last decade or so, and includes farmland, council land and some unexpected leisure areas.
And according to a recent study from the charity the Farm Safety Foundation, 95% of UK farmers under the age of 40 rank poor mental health as the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today. Farmstrong Scotland is doing what it can to help, by organising events where people can get together to discuss wellbeing. We report from one of them - on a farm in East Lothian, which has a recently opened outdoor sauna.
Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Heather Simons
TUE 06:00 Today (m001zv85)
Election 2024: Tories and Farage clash on migration
Home Secretary James Cleverly has announced the Conservatives would reduce the number of visas available to migrants if they win the election. Reform UK's new leader Nigel Farage speaks to Mishal Husain about his party's plans for the 'immigration election'.
The Liberal Democrats' leader Sir Ed Davey outlines its pledge for free personal adult care and Labour's national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden speaks on the day that the party's list of parliamentary candidates will be finalised.
TUE 09:00 Being Roman with Mary Beard (m001zv1d)
11. Three Lovers and a Funeral
Allia Potestas is a woman remembered in one of the most intriguing and affecting funeral orations of the ancient world. Her lover remembers her diligent application to housework before praising to the skies her beauty and her erotic skills. But he didn’t have Allia to himself. She was shared in a ménage à trois with his male friend. It’s an unusual domestic arrangement and a surprising one to advertise on a tombstone. The lines themselves reveal an enormous amount about Roman morality and the sexual politics of the time, but the story between the lines is even more fascinating. Can we dig beneath the emotional turmoil of the man and guess what Allia herself thought about the arrangement? Mary Beard is joined in Rome by Allison Emmerson of Tulane University to examine this extraordinary funerary monument at the Baths of Diocletian.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Expert contributors: Allison Emmerson, Tulane University; Helen King, Open University; Mairead McAuley, University College London
Cast: Tyler Cameron as Allius
Special thanks to Museo Nazionale Romano
TUE 09:30 All in the Mind (m001zv1g)
Languishing and the search for meaning in the modern world
If you’re feeling demotivated and aimless, but you’re not depressed, you might be languishing. But what exactly is languishing, and what can you do about it? Claudia Hammond talks to the sociologist Dr Corey Keyes, who coined the term. He has some solutions that could help you move from languishing to flourishing, as well as poetic descriptions of how nature inspires his work and hopeful tales about the search for meaning in the modern world.
We hope that the many children currently going through exams across the country are flourishing, but exam success is far from the only influence on their futures. A new study shows that children who perceive greater household chaos at the age of 16 are more likely to have poor mental health by the age of 23. The most fascinating aspect of the research is that it involved twins living in the same household, and their perceptions of chaos were often wildly different. So what can parents do improve their children’s perception of chaos? Professor Daryl O’Connor from the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds joins Claudia in the studio to look at the evidence.
We also have the story of a survivor of child sexual abuse, who fell apart when a weekend away triggered memories of what had happened to him. He went to the police, and eventually his abuser was sent to prison. But the process of doing that destroyed his coping mechanism – to lock it away and ignore it. He tells us how the Salford-based charity We Are Survivors helped him put his life back together. He now encourages abuse survivors to seek help. Details of other organisations that can provide support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
And do you have an old friend you’ve lost touch with? Why don’t you get back in touch? New research shows that we’re often reluctant to do so. Claudia and Daryl dig into the detail and wonder whether it could even help us stop languishing.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Ben Motley
Content Editor: Holly Squire
Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001zv87)
Abandoned babies, Adventurer Alice Morrison, Being a 'BoyMum'
A newborn baby found earlier this year in East London is the third child abandoned by the same parents. That’s the story being reported by the BBC’s Sanchia Berg, who has been given permission to share the details by a judge at East London Family Court. Sanchia joins Nuala McGovern to tell us more about the story, alongside freelance journalist Louise Tickle, who has previously reported from family courts.
Following on from our special phone-in on boys last month, author Ruth Whippman speaks to Woman’s Hour about her new book, BoyMum, which looks at what it means both to be a boy, and to raise a boy. Ruth joins Nuala to discuss what she’s learned from investigating masculinity and boyhood, the impact on girls and boys, and how it’s changed the way she is raising her three sons.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has led to a significant shift in the local job market, with more women now doing roles traditionally dominated by men, such as mining. After more than a thousand male workers left their jobs in a coal mine to fight Russia’s invasion, the energy company DTEK allowed women to work underground for the first time in its history. Nuala is joined by Ukrainian journalist and BBC World Service Europe editor, Kateryna Khinkulova to discuss this transformation and what it means for women in Ukraine.
Arabian Adventures: The Secrets of the Nabateans is a new two-part documentary on BBC iPlayer that looks into a culture who had women in leadership roles in the 4th century BC. Alice Morrison, adventurer and author, joins Nuala to talk more about what she has discovered about Nabatean women, and what modern-day Saudi Arabian women make of them.
TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m001zmbr)
Series 9
Sam Lee and Debbie Wiseman head to outer space
Folks singer and song collector Sam Lee, and composer Debbie Wiseman, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye in the studio as they add the next five tracks. Starting with time travel, they head to a ground-breaking Coachella performance, a May Day celebration, and finish off with an unexpected dogleg from Fleetwood Mac, following their all-conquering album Rumours.
Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Dr Who (Original Theme) by Ron Grainer/Delia Derbyshire
Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn
Freedom (Live) from Homecoming by Beyoncé
Padstow May Song by Lisa Knapp
Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
Other music in this episode:
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - (Live) by Talking Heads
Sweet Girl McRee by Sam Lee
Call Me by Blondie
20th Century Fox Fanfare written by Alfred Newman
Gorilla by Little Simz
Fanfare For The Common Man by Aaron Copland, performed by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Freedom by Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar
TUE 11:45 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zv89)
Odesa
Shetland journalist Jen Stout is studying in Moscow when Russia invades Ukraine. After a scramble to gather essential accreditation and equipment, Stout is ready to cross the border and report from the ground. She makes for Odesa, keenly aware that the Black Sea fleet has the city in its sights.
An EcoAudio certified production.
Written and read by Jen Stout
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001zv8c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001zv8f)
Call You and Yours - Holiday Spending
Call You & Yours – Can you afford to go on holiday this year? And where are you going?
Holiday bookings in the UK are up again, particularly for low cost family holidays in caravans and chalets.
So we want to know if you’re spending on a holiday this year, and if so, where are you spending it? Are you finding the funds to go abroad? Is a holiday your priority? Is it a struggle to afford somewhere for the whole family? And is your impact on the environment affecting where you choose to take a break?
You can email us about that now to youandyours@bbc.co.uk – and please add your phone number so we can call you back.
You can call us from
11am on Tuesday on 03700 100 444.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Kate Holdsworth
TUE 12:57 Weather (m001zv8h)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m001zv8k)
Gaza hostages: Should the US do a deal with Hamas?
As Israel's government refuses to agree a ceasefire deal, hostage negotiator Mickey Bergman suggests the US should open its own talks with Hamas. Plus we fact check Reform leader Nigel Farage's claims about how migration has changed Britain.
TUE 13:45 Shadow World (m001zv8m)
Thief at the British Museum
Thief at the British Museum: 7. Treasure Hunt
Ittai Gradel says he sold on some of the gems he thinks came from the British Museum.
A mission to hunt them down leads the team through the backstreets of Paris and to a small town in Germany.
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Mix and sound design : James Beard
Composer: Jenny Plant
Exec-producer: Joe Kent
Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell
Series Editor: Matt Willis
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001zv3y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001zv8p)
A Tale of Ossian
Atmospheric drama by Robert Forrest.
An old man turns up in hospital with his head full of stories and his pockets full of leaves. No-one knows who he is. But when he finally begins to talk, the woman who sits across from him finds herself pulled into his world and captivated by his stories.
Cast in Order of Appearance:
Isobel … Wendy Seager
Ossian … Finlay Welsh
Helen … Anne Louise Ross
Dermot … Scott Miller
Fingal … Finn Den Hertog
Sound Design and original music by Niall Young
Directed by Kirsty Williams
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m001zv8r)
The Invisible
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures which emerge from dreams, hidden places and the afterlife.
The Dreams (Extract)
From Inventions for Radio by Barry Bermange and Delia Derbyshire
Originally broadcast on the BBC in 1964
Zero Fixation Points
Produced by Nada Smiljanic
Location production by Avi Varma
Archive courtesy of Rowan Farrell
Featuring Professor Bridget Anderson and Travis Van Isacker from the University of Bristol
The Quiet Violence of Dreams
Produced by Kagiso Mnisi
Fragments
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
Curated by Axel Kacoutié and Eleanor McDowall
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m001zv8t)
Opioids
Opioids in the US and UK; Laurie Taylor explores the changing nature of opioid use, from street heroin to synthetic prescription drugs. Helena Hansen Professor of Psychiatry and Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, reveals the surprisingly white “new face” of the US opioid crisis. Although Black Americans are no more likely than whites to use illicit drugs, they are much more likely to be incarcerated for drug offenses. Meanwhile, a very different system for responding to the drug use of whites has emerged. White opioids – the synthetic opiates such as OxyContin - came to be at heart of epidemic prescription medication abuse among white, suburban and rural Americans. Why was the crisis so white? How did a century of structural racism in drug policy lead, counter intuitively, to mass white overdose deaths?
Also, Alex Stevens, Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Kent, provides a UK perspective, charting the rise of synthetic opioids which are much more potent than heroin. Heroin related deaths are concentrated in people over 40, who live in deindustrialised areas and are nine times higher in the most deprived decile of neighbourhoods in England. He argues that their increasing presence in the drug supply could dramatically increases the number of deaths as has been seen in the USA.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
TUE 16:00 Poetry Please (m001zv8w)
Frank Skinner
Roger McGough returns with a new series of Poetry Please, sharing listener requests and recommendations for poems they'd like to hear. His first guest is the writer and comedian Frank Skinner. A huge lover of and champion for poetry, Frank's choices from the Poetry Please post bag include poems by Liz Berry, John Betjeman, Jean Sprackland, Jen Hadfield and W.H. Auden.
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio
TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m001zv8y)
Private school PR, Lib Dem tactics and Trump's conviction
David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at why private schools seem to be losing the PR battle over their VAT exemption. A core principle of PR is to anticipate problems and mitigate them. This one has been coming down the track towards independent schools for years - why did they get it so wrong?
Also, the Liberal Democrats' election strategy of "tactical disruption" - which mainly involves Sir Ed Davey getting wet and apparently having the most fun of all the leaders on the campaign trail. As David and Simon continue to look at the use of PR by different political parties during the election campaign, they ask if the Liberal Democrats are adopting the PR tactics pioneered by disrupters like Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic and Airbnb in the US. It's winning the party precious press coverage, but is there a downside to the election stunts?
And what does it mean for the concept of a Fan Hitting crisis if being a convicted felon is not necessarily career ending? David and Simon are, of course, talking Donald Trump's guilty verdict in his hush-money trial. Does reputation matter in a post-shame world?
Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 17:00 PM (m001zv90)
Modi's narrow victory in India
We hear from the Indian elections, where Modi narrowly wins a historic third term as Prime Minister. Also, veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby reflects on election debates.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zv92)
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer's first televised head-to-head will air tonight
TUE 18:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (m000d85z)
Series 2
Nina Wadia and Elis James
Joe Lycett returns to explore the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests.
Joining Joe on the sofa this week, actress Nina Wadia shares her love of driving holidays, whilst comedian Elis James reveals his obsession with Welsh football shirts. Joe also welcomes members of the public to share their secret passions, as well as this week's VOP (very obsessed person), Paul Jordan, who has a PHD in Eurovision.
Joe Lycett's Obsessions was written and performed by Joe Lycett, with material from James Kettle and additional material from Catherine Brinkworth and Kat Sadler.
The production coordinator was Damilola Mabadeje.
The producer was Suzy Grant and it was a BBC Studios Audio production
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001zv0v)
At Grey Gables, Oliver wonders why confused Mick is behind reception – clearly the rota has gone awry, and Oliver misses Roy. Mick needs to smarten up and Lily rebukes him following a complaint from a guest about a comment he made.
Joy phones the hotel as she’s found some expensive missing glasses at the shop belonging to a guest. Mick’s concerned about Joy being back working in the shop, with her arm still in a sling, and surprises Joy with news he’s bought a motor home. Oliver collects the glasses, and some shoe polish for Mick, who will also need to move his motor home from the hotel’s staff car park.
Jakob identifies another horse with Strangles and worried Lilian needs to find some crucial paperwork, but can’t ask Alice again – who swears she filled it in. Can Lilian be confident Alice wasn’t drinking while at work? Lilian doesn’t know, and Jakob feels naïve for being taken in by Alice about her drinking. Oliver wonders how this Strangles issue could have happened and whether it’s human error.
Joy visits Mick in his motor home, which doesn’t look ideal. Joy wants to apologise for how she reacted at her surprise party. Mick knows he shouldn’t have looked through Joy’s address book, and Joy asks that they just agree to keep some things private. Mick explains why he kept his new job at Grey Gables secret, and Joy admits that there are some personal things of her own that she can’t talk about. Mick understands and Joy asks him for a hug.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001zv94)
Queenie, Female pirates, dating dramas
Presenter Samira Ahmed talks to Candice Carty-Williams who has adapted her award-winning novel Queenie for an eight-part series on Channel 4, starring Dionne Brown. It traces a year in the life of a young woman navigating a difficult course through her relationships with friends, family and casual partners, with the shadow of unresolved trauma always looming in the background.
As two dramas, Strategic Love Play and Love In Gravitational Waves, explore the nature of that modern romantic encounter - the date, their respective playwrights, Miriam Battye and Testament, join Samira to discuss turning the tryst into theatre.
Authors Briony Cameron and Francesca De Tores talk about the rise of female pirates in fiction.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Claire Bartleet
TUE 20:00 Today (m001zv0c)
The Today Debate - How do we stop the migrant smuggling gangs?
The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the programme in the morning.
Mishal Husain is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the issues raised by the critically acclaimed podcast ‘Intrigue: To Catch A Scorpion’ from BBC Radio 4.
The podcast follows the dramatic hunt for one of Europe's most-wanted crime bosses. Codenamed Scorpion, he's believed to have smuggled thousands of people into the UK.
TUE 20:45 In Touch (m001zv96)
Gene Therapy
Although not now new, gene therapy is an evolving procedure for the treatment of a range of eye conditions. Recent developments include an American-based trial involving a gene editing process known as CRISPR. We speak to Dr Eric Pierce and Dr Mark Pennesi, who were both involved in the trial, as well as Olivia Cook, who tells us about her experience of undergoing the pioneering treatment.
Closer to home, we caught up with Professor Rob Lucas from the University of Manchester. Professor Lucas tells us about developments in gene therapy here in the UK.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Fern Lulham
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 The Law Show (m001zng6)
Assisted dying, County court judgments, Drill music and ... nakedness
Weekly conversation led by Dr Joelle Grogan about the law stories making the news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it’s unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.
This week:
Assisted dying. Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Scotland are all taking steps towards making it legal to help someone die, in very specific and limited circumstances. It's currently a crime punishable by 14 years' imprisonment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Dr Joelle Grogan is joined by Professor Emily Jackson of the LSE, a specialist in medical law, and by barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman to navigate the law around assisted dying and to explain the differences between assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Is there a point to county court judgements if they can't be enforced? Social media's "legal queen", solicitor Tracey Maloney, answers a question from a listener, who got a county court judgment against a builder, but still hasn't got her money back.
Art or evidence? Drill music, with its sometimes violent-sounding words, has been used by the prosecution in criminal trials to help paint a picture of the defendants as gang members. But is it fair to claim lyrics like "try deadin' him" are proof of criminal intent, or are these words just fiction? Senior criminal barrister and co-founder of the "Art not Evidence" campaign Keir Monteith KC argues that drill is being used unfairly against Black boys and young men. The Crown Prosecution Service insists that they “would not use this evidence if it was not relevant.”
And a listener asks: is it legal to sunbathe naked in your garden?
Producers: Ravi Naik and Arlene Gregorius
Editor: Tara McDermott
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m001zv98)
The Decisions That Made Me A Leader
The Decisions That Made Me A Leader: I Started My Business From Mum's Spare Bedroom
Krisi Smith started Bird and Blend Tea company with business partner Mike knowing very little about tea or running a business. She drew up their mission statement in the pub whilst working as a ski instructor in Canada.
They started up working in her mums back bedroom to now running 20 retail stores across the UK.
Before starting the company she had more than 30 jobs and that’s just by the age of 24. For her, putting people are the forefront is what business is about.
Krisi talks about the challenges of opening a business with your partner in life as well as business. ‘Got married, got divorced, and we're now just business partners.’
Evan asks about the key personal and business-related decisions that got her to where she is today.
The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. You can also watch the series on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader.
Host: Evan Davis
Producers: Paige Neal-Holder and Farhana Haider
Assistant Editor: Matt Willis
Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson
A BBC News Long Form Audio production.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001zv9b)
Sunak v. Starmer in first tv debate
The two leaders clashed over NHS, tax and immigration in their first head-to-head TV debate of the election campaign. We spoke to Michael Gove, Conservative’s Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; and Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting.
Also in the programme:
A shock result in India's general election as Narendra Modi loses his parliamentary majority but claims a win.
And the tale of the tiny fossil hunter – how three pre-teens found a rare teenage T-rex.
TUE 22:45 Long Island by Colm Toibin (m001zv9d)
7: 'I want to know if you're free.'
Niamh Cusack continues the heartrending sequel to Brooklyn, set twenty years on.
Since leaving Brooklyn, Eilis and Tony have built a happy and secure life in Long Island. The future looks good - until one day a stranger knocks on the door, and everything changes.
Feeling very far from home, Eilis starts to question the life she's created. Her questions lead her back to Ireland, and to those she left behind, as she wonders whether it's too late to take a different path?
Today: Nancy is suspicious when she learns that both Eilis and Jim are in Dublin and decides to take drastic action....
Author: Colm Tóibín
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Reader: Niamh Cusack
Producer: Justine Willett
TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m001zv9g)
Series 4
S4. Case 6: Case Update
In this special case update, Danny unpacks your questions and theories about the series so far, from voodoo spirits and mangy bears to rude microwaves. And we meet a brand-new witness.
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Editing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme music by Lanterns on the Lake
Development producer: Sarah Patten
Production manager: Tam Reynolds
Commissioning executive: Paula McDonnell
Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:30 Soul Music (m001ml4x)
Dancing in the Dark
"Dancing in the Dark was written under duress!" Bruce Springsteen tells us. "I had no interest, whatsoever, in writing any more. I had been killing myself for a year and half or two years just to write what we had, much less trying to write another song! All I could do was write another song about not wanting to write another song".
"I get up in the evening / And I ain't got nothing to say" - By 1984, Bruce Springsteen had been recording songs for his album Born in the U.S.A. for two years. He felt the album was finished, but producer Jon Landau told Springsteen that the album still didn't have a lead single. "I've written 70 songs for this album," Bruce responded. "You want another one, you can write it yourself." Two nights later, back in the hotel after a recording session, Bruce sat on the bed with an acoustic guitar and played Jon Dancing in the Dark - he'd written the song in just 40 minutes. They went into the studio the next night with the E Street Band and cut the song in just a few takes: "When you have a great song sometimes they can be the easiest to record," Jon tells us.
"I ain't nothing but tired / Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself" - Kieran Leonard's mum was a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. He remembers her putting his music on loud to clean the house on a Saturday (and to force the kids out of bed to help) but he could never connect to the music himself. Through his twenties Kieran felt stuck and lost and Springsteen's lyrics started taking on new layers of meaning. After he lost his mum to cancer, he paid tribute to her by performing Born in the U.S.A. (dressed as Bruce) in full on stage. Singing Dancing in the Dark live became a celebration of his mum's life and gave Kieran a new sense of drive and focus.
"You can't start a fire / You can't start a fire without a spark" - Ian Gravell was driving to pick up his daughter from nursery on a snowy evening when a lorry appeared out of nowhere. He spent weeks in the hospital recovering from the crash and thought he might never walk again, until hospital staff played his favourite Springsteen album in the physiotherapy room and the lyrics compelled him to his feet.
'Messages keep getting clearer / Radio's on and I'm moving round my place' - Musician Lucy Dacus talks about playing the song on stage with her dad and the genius of Springsteen's lyrics.
"There's something happening somewhere / Baby, I just know that there is" - Artist Holly Casio found huge comfort in Springsteen's music as a young person growing up gay in a small town in West Yorkshire in the era of Section 28. It gave them reassurance that somewhere out there was acceptance, joy and queer community. She talks about getting out, finding her people, and what Bruce Springsteen's music has meant to her then and now.
"This gun's for hire / Even if we're just dancing in the dark"- when Jackie Heintz brought a Springsteen record home as a teenager, she never imagined that her mum Jeannie would become a huge fan – following Bruce on tour through her 70s and 80s, and dancing on stage with him aged 91. After the death of her husband, the lyrics offered Jeannie huge comfort and since Jeannie’s death in 2020 they now do the same for Jackie.
Produced by Mair Bosworth and Caitlin Hobbs
WEDNESDAY 05 JUNE 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m001zv9l)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zv89)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zv9n)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zv9q)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zv9s)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m001zv9v)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001zv9x)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m001zv9z)
05/06/24 Lough Neagh pollution; Wild fires; Farming and the general election; Bees and oil seed rape.
The agri-food company Moy Park, which supplies chickens throughout the UK and Europe, has breached environmental laws on more than 500 occasions without facing prosecution. A BBC Spotlight investigation into water pollution uncovered the breaches at three different sites in Northern Ireland - including Lough Neagh.
Holidaymakers and walkers in Scotland are being warned not to light camp fires. Last year, a wild-fire tore through forestry at Cannich, south of Inverness. It burned for two weeks on the surface and even more damage was caused underground, as peat burnt beneath the soil. The commercial forest is now being felled, 20 years earlier than expected, and has lost 60 percent of its value. The fire also had a serious impact on the RSPB Scotland nature reserve, at Corrimony.
As the election campaign continues, and politicians travel around the UK to drum up support, on Farming Today we've asked our correspondents this week to explain what the agricultural sector is looking for. Agriculture is devolved, so policies are drawn up separately in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Today we discuss what farmers are looking for in England.
We're looking at pollinators all week: over the past ten years, honey bees have become an integral part of the way the 75,000 acre Lowther Estate in Cumbria is managed, with around 500 colonies producing between 12 and 15 tonnes of Lake District honey every year. As well as its home hives, the estate also sends out around 200 bee colonies to other local landowners, which feed from and pollinate arable crops throughout the Eden Valley. Cumbria’s only producers of rapeseed oil, farmers Ben and Jannike Taylor, are accommodating some of the Lowther bees this spring.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
WED 06:00 Today (m001zv04)
Election 2024: Reaction to Starmer v Sunak
Emma Barnett and Justin Webb present reaction and analysis of the first TV debate.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m001zv06)
Debate, Reform, tax evasion and ants
Were there any suspicious claims in the election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer?
Do the claims in Reform UK’s policy documents on excess deaths and climate change make sense?
Can the Conservatives and Labour raise £6bn a year by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion?
And do all the humans on earth weigh more than all of the ants?
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporters: Kate Lamble and Nathan Gower
Producer: Beth Ashmead-Latham
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production coordinator: Brenda Brown
Editor: Richard Vadon
WED 09:30 Intrigue (m001zgmk)
To Catch a Scorpion
To Catch a Scorpion – 4. Dangerous Meddling
The job of policing smuggling gangs is obstructed by a network of well-wishers who want to help refugees and sometimes end up helping the gangs - has this happened with Scorpion?
Barzan Majeed - codenamed Scorpion - leads the Scorpion gang. He's on international most-wanted lists. He started his criminal career in Britain and went on to build a smuggling empire which now spans the globe.
An international police surveillance operation trapped more than twenty of his gang and almost netted Scorpion himself, but he was tipped off and escaped. BBC journalist, Sue Mitchell, and volunteer aid worker, Rob Lawrie, team up to try to do what the police have been unable to achieve: to find Scorpion, to speak to him, to ask him to account for his crimes and to seek justice to those families he has harmed.
Their investigation takes them to the heart of an organised criminal gang making millions from transporting thousands of migrants on boat and lorry crossings that in some cases have gone dangerously wrong, causing serious injury and putting lives at risk. They witness his operation in action and record as intense situations unfold, where vulnerable people desperate for a better future, put their lives in the hands of ruthless and dangerous criminals.
To Catch a Scorpion is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4 and is presented and recorded by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie.
The series is produced by Sue Mitchell, Winifred Robinson and Joel Moors
The Editor is Philip Sellars
Commissioning Editor is Daniel Clarke
Commissioning Exec Tracy Williams
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts/Digital, Will Drysdale
Original music is by Mom Tudie
and Sound Design is by Tom Brignell
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001zv09)
Tina Fey, Ireland's first 'witch', does young farmer culture have a problem with women?
Tina Fey, a colossus of the comedy world for more than two decades, is also the creative force behind Mean Girls. The original movie in 2004, starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, spawned a Broadway musical in 2018, and many of the songs were featured in this year’s modern movie remake. Tina is now bringing an updated stage version of Mean Girls The Musical to London, opening at the Savoy Theatre this week. She joins Nuala.
The youth organisation Young Farmers has been accused of having a problem with how they treat women in the farming community. Young Farmers has more than 23,000 members aged 10-28 and aims to support young people in agriculture and the countryside as well as offering a range of social events for young people. And its at some of these events where journalist Abi Kay has found that incidents of sexual assault and harassment are ‘commonplace’. Abi joins Nuala to discuss.
Alice Kyteler was born in 1263 and achieved enormous commercial success and wealth before becoming the first woman to be tried as a witch in Ireland. She is also the protagonist of the novel Bright I Burn which tells the story of an extraordinary woman who courted controversy and paid the price for her vast wealth and frequent marriages. Nuala is joined by the author Molly Aitken.
On Monday, candidate registration for Iran’s upcoming snap elections closed and 80 people have signed up for the chance to become the country’s next President. Four of them are women. In the 45 year history of the Islamic Republic, no woman has been allowed to stand for the top office – even though plenty have tried. So why do women keep putting their name forward? BBC World Service Women's Affairs reporter Feranak Amidi explains.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant
WED 11:00 Today (m001zv0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:45 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zv0f)
Kharkiv
Shetland journalist Jen Stout was studying in Moscow when Russia invaded Ukraine. After a scramble to gather essential accreditation and equipment, Stout crossed the border to report on the human cost of Russian aggression.
With some trepidation Stout heads for Kharkiv, a place she knew well before the city was devastated by air strikes.
An EcoAudio certified production.
Written and read by Jen Stout
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
WED 12:00 News Summary (m001zv0j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m001zv0l)
Donating Skills, Abandoned Online Baskets and Chunky Trainers
A man whose house was stolen from him is facing a large energy bill. It was ran up by squatters who moved in during hisultimately successful legal battle to regain ownership of his home.
Why are more of us are abandoning our baskets at online check outs, and what can retailers do to close the sale.
High paid professionals are being urged to donate their time and expertise to charities, we'll hear from one who has done that.
Brewers want the new government to move soon to change the definition of a non-alcoholic drink. They say the UK needs to move in line with most of the rest of the world, if they want the market to grow.
And chunky trainers are back in fashion but what are they doing to our feet?
WED 12:57 Weather (m001zv0n)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m001zv0q)
Treasury denies approving Tory tax claims
Treasury boss James Bowler says the Conservative's claim that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 "should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service". Labour says the figure is garbage. Plus, the King pays tribute to D-Day veterans at the national commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the landings.
WED 13:45 Shadow World (m001zv0s)
Thief at the British Museum
Thief at the British Museum: 8. Stateside
Katie receives a tip-off that sultan1966 has been selling gems in the US.
After speaking to a buyer in New Orleans, she learns about an even bigger collection of gems offered by the same seller that have ended up in the Washington DC area.
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Mix and sound design : James Beard
Composer: Jenny Plant
Exec-producer: Joe Kent
Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell
Series Editor: Matt Willis
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
WED 14:00 The Archers (m001zv0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 The Interrogation (m00076ty)
Series 7
Billy
Another case for D.I. Matthews and D.S. Armitage to solve. Today they are interviewing Billy, who, along with the rest of his family, is already well known to the police, but this time he's here of his own free will.
Max ..... Kenneth Cranham
Sean ..... Alex Lanipekun
Billy ..... Daniel Kendrick
Officer ..... Joseph Ayre
Trevor ..... David Hounslow
Writer ..... Roy Williams
Music ..... David Pickvance
Director ..... Mary Peate
Producer ..... Jessica Dromgoole
WED 15:00 The Law Show (m001zv0x)
Sewage-polluted waters, Divorce and financial orders, Leasehold reform
Weekly conversation led by Dr Joelle Grogan about the law stories making the news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it’s explaining a new law or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.
This week:
Water: from the cryptosporidium outbreak in tap water in Devon, to E. coli bacteria in the Thames, and sewage in rivers, lakes and seas across the country - what does the law say about clean water? What obligations do water companies have, who enforces this, and who keeps an eye on the enforcers? Do we have a right to clean water to drink or swim in? Joelle explores all this and more with Angus Evers, Partner and Head of Environment Law at Shoosmiths, and with Dr Charlotte Proudman, a barrister and academic.
Divorce: in England and Wales, the only divorce available now is no-fault divorce, as a result of a law change that came into force last year. As family law solicitor Tracey Moloney points out though, you also need to get a financial order. If not, your ties haven't been fully severed, and your ex-spouse could make a financial claim in future. In Scotland, you need to prove irretrievable breakdown of the marriage to get a divorce, or that one of you is applying for a gender recognition certificate. In Northern Ireland, you need to cite reasons like adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion.
And: the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 was the last bill that became law just before parliament was dissolved for the general election. Under the Act, which covers England and Wales, leaseholders will gain more rights. For example, it will become easier and cheaper for them to buy their freehold, or extend leases to 990 years. There is also a ban on the sale of all new leasehold houses. But, the Act didn't cap, let alone abolish, ground rent, and hasn't come into force yet...
Producers: Ravi Naik and Arlene Gregorius
Editor: Tara McDermott
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
WED 15:30 The Artificial Human (m001zv0z)
Can we stop saying AI can think
Artificial Intelligence is in our homes, schools and workplaces. What does this mean for us?
In 'The Artificial Human,' Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong set out to answer the questions that really matter to us - is AI smarter than me? Could AI make me money? Will AI save my life? They'll pursue the answer by speaking to those closest to the forefront of AI innovation.
In this episode, listener Martha wants to know; why the builders of these technologies are projecting human like qualities on to machines and what the consequences for society might be.
When we talk to a chatbot we can't help behave like there's a mind on the other end - but there isn't. An AI can neither 'think', 'believe' or 'befriend' yet we keep using this language about them. When does that become a problem?
Aleks and Kevin don't have all the answers, but they bring intelligence, curiosity and wit as they get to the bottom of our deepest hopes and fears about these world changing technologies.
If you have question about AI email Kevion and Aleks theartificialhuman@bbc.co.uk
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m001zv11)
Papers, politics, power
How do we gauge the power of newspapers in this election? Will press endorsements from the mainstream media prove decisive, or does power now stem from corners of the media that are harder to define, boosted by opaque social media algorithms? And as big tech increasingly squeezes the revenue and audiences of news outlets, we talk to the Editor of The Atlantic on how to make journalism pay.
Andrew Neil, presenter, Times Radio; Caroline Waterston, Editor-in-Chief, The Mirror; Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief, The Atlantic; Katie Notopoulos, Senior Tech Correspondent, Business Insider
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
WED 17:00 PM (m001zv13)
Tory tax claims under scrutiny
The Labour leader accuses Rishi Sunak of lying in last night's TV debate, saying there would be no tax rises for working people under Labour.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zv15)
Sir Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of lying about Labour's tax plans
WED 18:30 Robin Ince's Reality Tunnel (m001npdb)
Gallery of Empathy
Series 2 - Episode 2
In the second of his two-part series Robin talks about appreciating art for how it makes us feel, he shares some stories about his favourite artists and celebrates the places that books and art can take us.
Escaping the confines of The Infinite Monkey Cage, comedian Robin Ince takes us on a journey through his Reality Tunnel in his second two-part stand-up series, recorded specially for Radio 4.
For over 30 years Robin Ince has been discharging fascinating thoughts, unusual knowledge, and infectious excitement into the universe. Over this time, these disparate, dusty specs of information have steadily clumped together and formed into an entity known as the 'Reality Tunnel'.
Previously, Robin's live appearances have only been visible to those astute enough to be tracking his trajectory; those with a keen enough eye to catch a fleeting glimpse of him as he twinkles through their orbit, emitting his ideas, shedding light on the human condition, before vanishing again into the distance. But now, using specialist recording tools and fancy editing, this phenomenon has been captured in high resolution audio for all to hear.
Praise for series 1
- “I was practically in tears of joy and wonder. I found it deeply moving and profoundly comforting”
- “It is a thing of beauty and joy and a thing for me amid an ocean of things that aren't!”
- “it’s good to know I'm not the only one with those 'thoughts'”
Writer / Performer ... Robin Ince
Voice Over ... Cody Dahler
Producer ... Carl Cooper
Production Coordinator ... Mabel Wright
Sound Manager ... Jerry Peal
Sound Editor ... Joshan Chana
Picture by Steve Best
BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m001zv17)
George admits to Emma that he’s keen to forget about his recent heroism, and she agrees not to go on about it. Emma was really worried about George going down a bad path, but now she knows it was just a phase. Emma saw Lilian and wonders whether Alice will be sacked from the Stables for negligence. Ed and Emma talk disparagingly, but guilty George tries to find out more about Alice, admitting he feels a bit sorry for her.
Ed and Emma’s luck seems to be in – there’s an offer of work from a more established tree surgeon, and thanks to George, Bartleby has been asked to lead the County Show livestock parade on Sunday. Ed also sees an email from an Echo journalist who wants to interview George about the car accident. But George has already said no, and Emma offers to email her back. Ed doesn’t get it, but Emma tells him to leave it.
Vince plans to do some detective work following the sacking of Jason. Freddie wants to come along on a stakeout and wins Vince round by offering his more low-key car. They chat about Nigel - Vince wonders whether Nigel would like him. Freddie pays Vince a backhanded compliment in response.
Vince can’t believe his eyes – it’s Markie, the guy involved in the dog attack on Kenton and who then intimidated Jolene. Vince suggests they take his number plate, and some photos, to show to the police. But Freddie takes the initiative and gets out of the car to approach Markie, under cover as someone buying meat.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m001zv19)
Christos Tsiolkas, Victoria Canal, Baillie Gifford festival sponsorship
Christos Tsiolkas, the Australian writer best known for The Slap, talks about The In-Between, his visceral yet tender new novel about two men finding love in their fifties.
Victoria Canal performs her Ivor Novello award winning song Black Swan and talks about her life in music.
And with several literary festivals severing their ties with Baillie Gifford, Martha Gill and Grace Blakeley discuss the growing story behind the sponsorship row along with Adrian Turpin, Director of the Wigtown Book Festival in Dumfries and Galloway
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
WED 20:00 AntiSocial (m001zm9s)
Meat-free menus and choice
Should meat and dairy be taken off menus to help save the planet from climate change?
A university is accused of “going woke” after reports it is transitioning to 100% plant-based catering by 2027. Climate activists are calling on universities and other public bodies like councils to ditch animal food products to help tackle the climate crisis. But what did the university in question actually decide and how widespread is the shift to plant-based menus? What’s the evidence about the climate impact of meat and dairy versus vegan alternatives? And what is the best way to change people’s behaviour when it comes to what they eat?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Simon Maybin, Jordan Dunbar, Ellie House, Natasha Fernandes
Editor: Bridget Harney
WED 20:45 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m001r1s4)
10. Devil in the Detail
Thomas Herndon was happily studying economics at the University of Massachusetts, when one day is punctured by a discovery. It appears to be an anomaly which, if true, will shake the intellectual foundations of a global movement, and could undermine politicians around the world.
Hannah Fry tells the extraordinary story of a student who will go head to head with two of the greatest economic minds in modern times. But can he win?
Episode Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter
Sound Design: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
A series for Radio 4 by BBC Science in Cardiff.
WED 21:00 Being Roman with Mary Beard (m001zv1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 All in the Mind (m001zv1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m001zv1j)
Vaughan Gething defiant after losing vote of no confidence in leadership
The First Minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething, struck a defiant tone after losing a vote of no-confidence in his leadership. The motion, brought by the Welsh Conservatives, is not binding. Gething is embroiled in a row over donations to his leadership campaign, including £200,000 from a company run by a man who was convicted twice for environmental offences.
On both sides of the English channel soldiers and leaders took part in a day of commemoration ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday.
And we speak to three women who want to return to Parliament at the election, on what's drawn them back to Westminster.
WED 22:45 Long Island by Colm Toibin (m001zv1l)
8: 'I need a decision now.'
Niamh Cusack reads the heartbreaking sequel to Colm Toibin's bestselling novel, Brooklyn, set twenty years on.
Since leaving Brooklyn, Eilis and Tony have built a happy and secure life in Long Island. The future looks good - until one day a stranger knocks on the door, and everything changes.
Feeling very far from home, Eilis starts to question the life she's created. Her questions lead her back to Ireland, and to those she left behind, as she wonders whether it's too late to take a different path?
Today: a letter from home forces Eilis into making a decision about her future with or without Jim...
Author: Colm Tóibín
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Reader: Niamh Cusack
Producer: Justine Willett
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m000rdlw)
Series 8
Episode Three: Patrick Marber and Peter Curran compare wonders and woes with singer Guy Garvey and actress Rachael Stirling
The singer Guy Garvey from the band Elbow is known for his poetic anthems such as One Day Like This. The actress Rachel Stirling is known for TV hits such as Tipping The Velvet and The Detectorists. Will their affection for each other survive the scrutiny of Patrick Marber and Peter Curran in a late-night horizontal ramble? It’s Bunk Bed.
Subjects discussed include separate sleeping arrangements as the key to happiness, tweeting at night, unintended rude cockney-rhyming slang in the title of an Elbow album, the call of the Eider duck, depressing songs, and a mind-boggling story about rude happenings when the late comedians Frankie Howerd and Bob Monkhouse shared a house together.
Produced by Peter Curran
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 Chloe Petts' Toilet Humour (m001zv1n)
Episode 1
In this episode, Chloe begins her journey exploring her own relationship with the toilet. From the revelations in primary school, to the best friends you make in the night club toilet, right up to what her experience is like in present day.
To help Chloe on this historical journey of the loo, she is joined by a new travel companion, the Ghost of Sir Thomas Crapper - who also bears quite a resemblance to comedian, Ed Gamble.
Written and Performed by Chloe Petts
Additional material from Adam Drake
The Ghost of Sir Thomas Crapper performed by Ed Gamble
Produced by Daisy Knight
Sound Designer - David Thomas
Editor - Peregrine Andrews
Executive Producers - Jon Thoday, Richard Allen Turner and Rob Aslett
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Soul Music (m001fvgj)
Into My Arms by Nick Cave
"I don't believe in an interventionist God" has to be one of the most original opening lines to a song. It's one that resonates with the people in this programme who take comfort from Nick Cave's love song. Els from Belgium was introduced to Cave's music through her partner Guido and Into My Arms became their song. After Guido died in a road accident Els carried on going to concerts and took great comfort from hearing that song. When she later wrote to Nick Cave's blog The Red Hand Files to tell him her story about Into My Arms she was overwhelmed when Nick Cave responded.
The Reverend John Walker feels a strong connection to the song as it's one his musician son Jonny performed just for him one evening on a rainy street in Leeds City Centre as Jonny was about to pack up and leave his busking spot. That special father-son moment has become even more cherished since Jonny's untimely death in 2018.
Many different artists have recorded their versions of Into My Arms including the Norwegian singer Ane Brun who performed it as a way of dealing with the heartache of a lost relationship.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
THURSDAY 06 JUNE 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m001zv1t)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zv0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zv1w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zv1y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zv20)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m001zv22)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001zv26)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m001zv2b)
06/06/24 - Illegal meat, fruit pollinators and Welsh election wishes
The UK is vulnerable to animal diseases because of the ongoing trade in illegal meat, according to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. The CIEH says that a lack of proper inspections at UK borders makes it easy for criminals to bring meat in.
We visit a couple of fruit farms in Herefordshire to find out how they encourage the insects that pollinate their crops.
And although agriculture is devolved, so farm policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland won't be decided by the General Election, the budget is set by Westminster...and that's being discussed on the campaign trail across the UK.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
THU 06:00 Today (m001zvvm)
D-Day 80th anniversary
D-Day veterans and those commemorating in Normandy reflect on events from 80 years ago
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m001zvvp)
The Orkneyinga Saga
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, as told in the 13th Century by an unknown Icelander. This was the story of arguably the most important, strategically, of all the islands in the British Viking world, when the Earls controlled Shetland, Orkney and Caithness from which they could raid the Irish and British coasts, from Dublin round to Lindisfarne. The Saga combines myth with history, bringing to life the places on those islands where Vikings met, drank, made treaties, told stories, became saints, plotted and fought.
With
Judith Jesch
Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham
Jane Harrison
Archaeologist and Research Associate at Oxford and Newcastle Universities
And
Alex Woolf
Senior Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews
Producer: Simon Tillotson
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
Reading list:
Theodore M. Andersson, The Growth of Medieval Icelandic Sagas, 1180-1280, (Cornell University Press, 2012)
Margaret Clunies Ross, The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Robert Cook (trans.), Njals Saga (Penguin, 2001)
Barbara E. Crawford, The Northern Earldoms: Orkney and Caithness from AD 870 to 1470 (John Donald Short Run Press, 2013)
Shami Ghosh, Kings’ Sagas and Norwegian History: Problems and Perspectives (Brill, 2011)
J. Graham-Campbell and C. E. Batey, Vikings in Scotland (Edinburgh University Press, 2002)
David Griffiths, J. Harrison and Michael Athanson, Beside the Ocean: Coastal Landscapes at the Bay of Skaill, Marwick, and Birsay Bay, Orkney: Archaeological Research 2003-18 (Oxbow Books, 2019)
Jane Harrison, Building Mounds: Orkney and the Vikings (Routledge, forthcoming)
Ármann Jakobsson and Sverrir Jakobsson (eds.), The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (Routledge, 2017)
Judith Jesch, The Viking Diaspora (Routledge, 2015)
Judith Jesch, ‘Earl Rögnvaldr of Orkney, a Poet of the Viking Diaspora’ (Journal of the North Atlantic, Special Volume 4, 2013)
Judith Jesch, The Poetry of Orkneyinga Saga (H.M. Chadwick Memorial Lectures, University of Cambridge, 2020)
Devra Kunin (trans.), A History of Norway and the Passion and Miracles of the Blessed Olafr (Viking Society for Northern Research, 2001)
Rory McTurk (ed.), A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004)
Tom Muir, Orkney in the Sagas (Orkney Islands Council, 2005)
Else Mundal (ed.), Dating the Sagas: Reviews and Revisions (Museum Tusculanum Press, 2013)
Heather O’Donoghue, Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction, (John Wiley & Sons, 2004)
Heather O'Donoghue and Eleanor Parker (eds.), The Cambridge History of Old Norse-Icelandic Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2024), especially 'Landscape and Material Culture' by Jane Harrison and ‘Diaspora Sagas’ by Judith Jesch
Richard Oram, Domination and Lordship, Scotland 1070-1230, (Edinburgh University Press, 2011)
Olwyn Owen (ed.), The World of Orkneyinga Saga: The Broad-cloth Viking Trip (Orkney Islands Council, 2006)
Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (trans.), Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (Penguin Classics, 1981)
Snorri Sturluson (trans. tr. Alison Finlay and Anthony Faulkes), Heimskringla, vol. I-III (Viking Society for Northern Research, 2011-2015)
William P. L. Thomson, The New History of Orkney (Birlinn Ltd, 2008)
Alex Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, 789-1070 (Edinburgh University Press, 2007), especially chapter 7
THU 09:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001zvvr)
Eat Slowly
In our bustling modern lives, it can be all too easy to wolf down our meals on the go, and never take the time to enjoy them properly. In this episode, Michael Mosley finds out how simply slowing down the speed at which you eat can help you feel full for longer, snack less, and improve your digestion. Michael speaks to Dr Sarah Berry from the department of nutritional sciences at King's College London, who shares findings showing that eating slower can reduce your blood sugar response to food, as well as reducing your calorie intake. Our volunteer Stewart tries to make eating slowly a habit in an attempt to improve his sleep.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Christine Johnston
Researcher: William Hornbrook
Researcher: Sophie Richardson
Production Manager: Maria Simons
Editor: Zoë Heron
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001zvvt)
Bat for Lashes, Women and D-Day, Author Saima Mir, Sextortion
The singer-songwriter Natasha Khan, known by her stage name Bat for Lashes, joins Anita to talk about her new album, The Dream of Delphi. Named after her daughter Delphi, her new music explores motherhood through lush orchestral sounds. She discusses having a baby during the Covid lockdown and how the experience informed her song-writing.
Vengeance is award-winning journalist and writer Saima Mir’s second novel, and the sequel to her crime thriller debut The Khan. The book continues the story of Jia Khan as she’s fighting to keep her position at the head of a crime syndicate her father created, and as the mysterious corpses of men begin to appear around the city. Saima joins Anita in the studio to discuss writing a British Asian crime family, creating the characters she wants to read, and why sisterhood is at the heart of her new novel.
The mother of a 16 year-old-boy who ended his life after becoming the victim of a sextortion gang says the tech giant Meta has taken too long to hand over data which might help the investigation into his death. Joe Tidy, the BBC’s first Cyber Correspondent, explains how he’s been investigating Sextortion – a type of online blackmail which involves threatening to share intimate pictures of the victim.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when thousands of Allied troops landed on beaches across Normandy, marking the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied northern Europe. What’s often forgotten is the important role that women played in organising this huge military project and making the D-Day happen. Anita Rani speaks to historian, teacher and writer Shalina Patel, who has told some of these women’s stories in her book The History Lessons, which celebrates stories and people beyond the usual narratives.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Olivia Skinner
THU 11:00 This Cultural Life (m001zvvw)
Neil Jordan
Oscar-winning director, screenwriter and novelist Neil Jordan made his name with the 1984 movie The Company Of Wolves, adapted from an Angela Carter short story. His 1986 film Mona Lisa earned BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for its star Bob Hoskins. Jordan scored an even bigger critical and commercial hit worldwide with The Crying Game, which had six Academy Award nominations including best screenplay which was won by Neil Jordan himself. His 20 feature films made over 40 years also include an adaptation of Ann Rice’s novel Interview With the Vampire, Irish revolutionary drama Michael Collins and The End Of The Affair, adapted from the Graham Greene novel.
Neil Jordan talks to John Wilson about his upbringing in a Dublin suburb, the son of a school teacher father who encouraged an early love of storytelling. After working as a labourer, and in a Dublin theatre for a while, he met filmmaker John Boorman (Point Blank, Deliverance, The Emerald Forest) who, in 1980, was shooting his Arthurian legend film Excalibur at film studios in Ireland. Boorman invited Neil Jordan to direct a documentary about the making of Excalibur, an experience which started his filmmaking career. Jordan also chooses the 1943 Jean Genet novel Notre Dame des Fleurs - Our Lady Of The Flowers - as a formative influence on his screenwriting. He recalls the struggles to make The Crying Game and how the film’s producer Harvey Weinstein objected to the inclusion of a trans character, a supporting role for which Jaye Davidson was nominated as best actor at the 1992 Academy Awards.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
Archive used:
Clip from A Fistful of Dollars, Sergio Leone, 1964
Clip from Excalibur, John Boorman, 1981
Clip from The Crying Game, Neil Jordan, 1992
Neil Jordan accepts his Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, 1992
Clip from The Crying Game, Neil Jordan, 1992
Clip from Michael Collins, Neil Jordan, 1996
THU 11:45 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zvvy)
Shetland to Izium
Shetland journalist Jen Stout was studying in Moscow when Russia invaded Ukraine. After a scramble to gather essential accreditation and equipment, Stout crossed the border to report on the human cost of Russian aggression.
After a much needed visit home, Stout is preparing to head deeper into Ukraine. But there are expensive hurdles to leap if she is to get closer to the frontline.
An EcoAudio certified production.
Written and read by Jen Stout
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
THU 12:00 News Summary (m001zvw0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m001zvw2)
Electric Cars: Made in China?
China produces more than half the world's electric vehicles and is scaling up exports, but there are concerns its manufacturers would have an unfair advantage in the UK, which could spell disaster for domestic firms.
Evan Davis and guests discuss the UK's dilemma around Chinese EVs - do we open our doors to the competition, which might mean cheaper electric cars for consumers and a quicker transition to net zero, or should the government follow the USA and EU in considering import restrictions to protect domestic car-makers?
Plus, do buyers really care where their EV is made, and will 100% of new car sales be electric by 2035?
Evan is joined by:
Ginny Buckley, editor-in-chief and founder, electrifying.com;
Victor Zhang, UK country director of Omoda and Jaecoo (made by Chery);
James Taylor, UK managing director, Vauxhall;
Fraser Brown, managing director, MotorVise
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Producer: Simon Tulett
Researcher: Drew Hyndman
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m001zvw4)
Contact Lenses
Listener Jennifer is considering switching contact lenses, if there's an alternative that's more eco friendly. She's not alone - we've had lots of questions about eyecare options, and whether the fancy features some lenses offer are worth the extra cash. Joining Greg and Jennifer in the studio to talk all things contact lens are Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, a clinical adviser to the College of Optometrists, and Sarah Smith - a research optometrist who's studied the environmental impact of these tiny pieces of plastic.
Have you seen a product that claims to make you happier, healthier or greener? Want to know if it is SB or BS? Then please do send it over on email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or drop us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp to 07543 306807
PRESENTER: Greg Foot
PRODUCER: Tom Moseley
THU 12:57 Weather (m001zvw6)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m001zvw8)
80th anniversary of D-Day
As veterans and world leaders gather in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, what are the lessons from history that can inform modern warfare? Plus the latest from the general election campaign trail as the parties scramble to fill seats before the close of nominations.
THU 13:45 Shadow World (m001zvwb)
Thief at the British Museum
Thief at the British Museum: 9. An Ending, a Beginning
Ittai hands over his gems and the Museum launches a recovery process to try and find more of the missing items. But will it ever get back what has been lost?
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Mix and sound design : James Beard
Composer: Jenny Plant
Exec-producer: Joe Kent
Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell
Series Editor: Matt Willis
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
THU 14:00 The Archers (m001zv17)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m000rlm1)
Voodoo Macbeth
by Sharon Oakes
In 1936, the newly-formed Federal Theatre Project’s Negro Unit (part of the ‘New Deal’ initiative) decided to stage a production of Macbeth.
The production was the box office sensation, ‘VOODOO’ MACBETH which is regarded as a landmark theatrical event for several reasons: its radical interpretation of the play, its success in promoting African-American theatre, and its role in securing the reputation of its 20 year old director, Orson Welles.
Our drama charts the impact of staging this production on both cast and director. We follow the trials and tribulations of mounting a huge production with only a handful of trained actors, an inexperienced yet wildly ambitious director, a cast of nearly 150 including Haitian voodoo drummers and a witchdoctor - as well as constant protests by Harlem Communists on the streets outside the theatre.
In spite of everything, Welles’ production was not only a breath-taking, traffic-stopping, must-see success but, radically, it played to integrated audiences. Three years before his death Welles said in a BBC interview, “by all odds, it was my greatest achievement."
Orson Welles – Tom Bateman
Jack Carter – Ariyon Bakare
Edna Thomas – Clare Perkins
John Houseman – John Hollingworth
Abe Feder/John Barrymore – Tom Lawrence
All other parts – Adam Courting, Maggie Service, Lloyd Thomas.
directed by Gaynor Macfarlane
THU 15:00 Open Country (m001zvwd)
Wiltshire's white horses
Wiltshire has more chalk hill figures than any other county in the UK, with no fewer than eight white horses carved into its rolling hills. They're all slightly different, and were carved into the hillsides at different times, often to mark an important occasion such as the coronation of Queen Victoria. In this programme, Helen Mark visits some of them - from the oldest and probably best-known one at Westbury, to the much smaller and less prominent horse at Broad Town near Swindon. She finds out about their history and significance, and asks why they became so popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. The tradition continues into the present-day, with the most recent horse, at Devizes, created in 1999 to mark the Millennium. The white horses are a key feature of the Wiltshire landscape, and have become an unofficial emblem of the county.
The horses have to be regularly maintained. Left unattended, they would gradually revert to nature, become overgrown with weeds and lichen and simply disappear. In Broad Town, Helen meets up with a team of volunteers who are spending their Sunday morning perched on a steep hillside, weeding and putting fresh lime powder onto their horse, to keep it white and visible.
As well as its horses, Wiltshire is also home to carvings with a military connection - in the shape of regimental badges and insignia. There's also a map of Australia, a YMCA logo, and even a giant kiwi. Helen visits some of the military carvings at Fovant near Salisbury, and finds out how they were created by soldiers stationed at training camps in the area during the First World War. She discovers that they're still important to the county today, more than a century on.
Produced by Emma Campbell
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m001zvmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Word of Mouth (m001zvwg)
Word of Mouth with Michael Morpurgo at the Hay Festival
Michael meets fellow children's author Michael Morpurgo - author of over 150 books - including Kensuke's Kingdom, Private Peaceful and Warhorse. They talk words, writing, books and language and why it's so important that children learn to love reading at an early age.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m001zvwj)
Are Trump's legal cases really a problem for him?
David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Donald Trump's conviction in the hush money case, examine the cases yet to be heard and ask whether any of this hurts his election chances?
Guests:
Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America correspondent
Jack Chin, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of California, Davis
Wendy Schiller, Professor of Political Science at Brown University
Production team: Caroline Bayley, Miriam Quayyum, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m001zvwl)
How do we solve antibiotic resistance?
The looming danger of antibiotic resistance may have fallen out of the public consciousness but is still very much in the mind of those in public healthcare and research. As promising new research is published, the University of Birmingham’s Laura Piddock and GP Margaret McCartney get to the bottom of why antibiotic resistance is still so difficult to tackle.
Marine biologist Helen Scales joins us in the studio to talk about her new book “What the Wild Sea Could Be” which uses changes in the Earth’s past to predict what we can expect to happen to our oceans in the coming years.
Cosmologist Andrew Pontzen speculates on what happens in and around the extreme environment of a black hole as news of the first observations of the “plunging zone” comes to light.
And as the EU head to ban smoky flavoured crisps we ask what the science behind this decision is with Food scientist Stuart Farrimond.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Ella Hubber and Hannah Robins
Researcher: Caitlin Kennedy
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
THU 17:00 PM (m001zvwn)
D-Day Commemorations
A day of commemorations in northern France to mark 80 years since D-Day. Evan is live in Canterbury ahead of the election.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zvwq)
Second World War veterans also attended the commemorations in northern France
THU 18:30 Rhysearch (m000x0vv)
Series 1
2. Will We Live on Mars?
2: Will We Live On Mars?
Do we need to go to live on Mars like that bloke in the film The Martian? Rhys talks to the guy who wrote the Martian, and then tries to sell Mars to the public.
Written and presented by Rhys James
Guest... Andy Weir
Produced by Carl Cooper
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
This is a BBC Studios Production
THU 19:00 The Archers (m001zvws)
Chelsea and Ben prepare for their D-Day performance, dressed in authentic costume. Ben carefully asks Chelsea if she’s ok about doing this play with him, and she agrees. Ben also fills Chelsea in on Freddie and Vince’s discovery last night.
Chelsea does Fallon’s hair and Fallon’s amazed at how much she looks like her Great Aunt in her photo. Chelsea jokes about how much Harrison will fancy Fallon in her vintage look, and admits that she’d like to fall in love, before sharing that it’s weird that everyone knows about what happened between her and Ben – but doing this play has actually been good for them both.
Joy tells Emma about Mick’s work at Grey Gables, and the issue of his motorhome, and Emma complains about snobbery. They share a joke with Harrison, before Lynda introduces her short play performance - a promenade piece. Ben performs as a young soldier, writing a letter home to his beloved before their wedding, in which he dreams about their life together after the war. Then there’s a playful hair-washing scene between Pearl (Chelsea) and Connie (Fallon), which takes a sad turn.
An emotional Emma and Joy congratulate Chelsea and discuss the story – the soldier was killed the day before starting leave to get married, and it was all a true story. Chelsea finds Ben to say well done. Meanwhile, Fallon marvels at how Lynda wrote the play in a day and tells Harrison that she can’t imagine what she’d do if he died. Harrison comforts Fallon and jokingly reassures her he’s not going anywhere.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m001zvwv)
Review: Film - Rosalie, TV - Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, Book - The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry’s new novel is The Heart in Winter, a love story set in the American wild west in the 1890s.
The film Rosalie is a period piece inspired by the true story of a French bearded lady who, together with her husband, ran a café in rural France in the late 19th century.
And Disney’s Paris set drama series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld explores the late Chanel fashion designer’s life.
Max Liu and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh join Tom Sutcliffe to review.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
THU 20:00 The Media Show (m001zv11)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m001zv60)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Why Do We Do That? (m001gjp3)
Why Do We Doomscroll?
Are you drawn to the endless news cycle? Do you keep going back for more? Do you feel a strange compulsion to absorb negative news that is weirdly soothing but makes you more stressed? These are signs you may be doomscrolling. But fear not, you’re not the only one. Stuart Soroka is a professor at UCLA who’s been looking at our draw towards negative information and found that people all over the world do it, regardless of culture. In 2020, our year of misery, the Oxford English Dictionary added doomscrolling and named it a word of the year. With the help of Stuart and Radio and TV presenter Clara Amfo, Ella gets to the bottom of whether we humans really are more biased towards negative information, and what we can do to resist it.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m001zvwx)
The 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings
King Charles and the Prince of Wales joined world leaders and veterans at a series of events to mark 80 years since D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in military history. In a speech commemorating the anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, US President Joe Biden drew parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and World War Two. We discuss with a former US Army general, and hear from a D-Day veteran.
Also on the programme:
The BBC gains rare access to Myanmar, where Rakhine State has become a focal point for the country’s nationwide civil war;
And we head to Redcar on the Yorkshire Coast, where one in three children live in poverty, to take a closer look at the issue ahead of the general election.
THU 22:45 Long Island by Colm Toibin (m001zvwz)
9: 'I wanted to share the news.'
Niamh Cusack reads the heartbreaking sequel to Colm Toibin's bestselling novel, Brooklyn, set twenty years on.
Since leaving Brooklyn, Eilis and Tony have built a happy and secure life in Long Island. The future looks good - until one day a stranger knocks on the door, and everything changes.
Feeling very far from home, Eilis starts to question the life she's created. Her questions lead her back to Ireland, and to those she left behind, as she wonders whether it's too late to take a different path?
Today: desperate for an explanation after Nancy's shocking revelation, Eilis goes in search of Jim...
Author: Colm Tóibín
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Reader: Niamh Cusack
Producer: Justine Willett
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m001zvx2)
Sunak squares up, Farage steps in
Amol and Nick look at two possible game-changers in week two of the election campaign: Nigel Farage returning to lead Reform UK, and Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer facing off in the first head-to-head debate of the campaign.
They’re joined by Cleo Watson – a former deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson in No10 and now a novelist - and Peter Kellner, former president of pollsters YouGov.
Episodes of The Today Podcast will land twice a week during the election campaign. 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.
You can listen to the latest episode of The Today Podcast anytime on your smart speaker by saying “Alexa, Ask BBC Sounds for The Today Podcast.”
The senior producer is Tom Smithard, the producers are Hatty Nash and Joe Wilkinson. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Phil Bull.
THU 23:30 Soul Music (m001g2vt)
Killing Me Softly with His Song
"Strumming my pain with his fingers... Singing my life with his words..."
Killing Me Softly with His Song is a song about the pleasure and embarrassment of being seen. The feeling that someone has reached into your deepest, most private feelings, and laid them bare: "I felt he'd found my letters, and read each one out loud". It's a song about a singer, and about what music can do. And it's a love song that feels at once happy and sad.
The song was a huge hit in two different generations. It won Grammy Awards for The Fugees in 1997 and for Roberta Flack in 1974. Ray Padgett, author of Cover Me: The Stories Behind the Greatest Cover Songs of All Time, unfolds the layers of the song's history as a famous cover of a famous cover. The musicologist Nate Sloan explores what the song does harmonically, oscillating between major and minor chords to create a sense of uncertainty and longing. And Lori Lieberman tells the story of the Don McLean concert that inspired her lyrics for the song, that she was the first to record as a young singer-songwriter in 1972.
It's a song that transports Tiff Murray back to the hot New York summer of 1996, when the Fugees version blared from every car radio and shopfront. For her it was the soundtrack to falling in love while far from home. It's also a love song for Julie Daley, but now with a sharp edge. Dr Robin Boylorn listened to the Fugees version as a self-conscious teenager and felt a flush of recognition; Ben heard it the Christmas he first came to the UK from South Africa, played by a busker early one morning in Covent Garden as the first snow he'd ever seen began to fall; and Perminder Khatkar has treasured the song since it played in the delivery room during the birth of her first child.
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio in Bristol
FRIDAY 07 JUNE 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m001zvxb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zvvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001zvxg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001zvxl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001zvxq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m001zvxv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001zvxz)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Andrea Rea.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m001zvy3)
07/06/24 Beetle threatening forestry, Northern Irish farmers and the election, moths, post-Brexit pesticide regulation
Spruce trees may not be viable in the UK in the long term because of a pest which is now in the country. Restrictions on spruce trees have been extended after spruce bark beetles were found in East Anglia.
This week, we've been hearing from BBC correspondents in the nations about what farmers want from politicians. Today, we hear from Northern Ireland.
A study by the University of Sussex found that moths are even more efficient pollinators than bees. So are these nighttime creatures being overlooked in their role as a friend to crop growing farmers?
Delays in organising the post-Brexit regulation of agricultural chemicals are making planning on farms harder, according to the Agricultural Industries Federation. It follows calls from the Royal Society of Chemistry for a new UK Chemicals Agency to regulate across all chemicals.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
FRI 06:00 Today (m001zw4y)
Election 2024: Sunak D-Day apology
The former Downing St Director of Communications, Sir Craig Oliver, on Rishi Sunak's apology for leaving the D-Day commemorations early. Shadow housing minister, Matthew Pennycock, on Labour's plans for mortgages and house building. The Greens investigate a number of candidates over antisemitic content online. The search for BBC presenter Michael Mosley enters a second day, and as Taylor Swift arrives in the UK for her record-breaking 'Eras' tour Frank Cottrell Boyce remembers Beatlemania
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m001zvn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001zw50)
Plus ones, Swifties, Scotland rape rule, Long-lost siblings
Scotland's most senior law officer has asked nine of the country's judges to overturn an 87-year-old rule on evidence in cases involving rape and other sexual offences. Since she became Lord Advocate in 2021, Dorothy Bain KC has often spoken of her desire to improve the criminal justice system for victims, particularly women and girls. She is now seeking radical changes which would allow more rape cases to reach court. Anita Rani talks to David Cowan, BBC Scotland's home affairs correspondent.
A group of state secondary schools in Southwark, south London, has decided to act as a collective and shift their pupils away from smartphones. Children's use of smartphones, particularly in schools, continues to be a hot topic issue, and many schools have decided to create new policies to try and tackle what they call the damaging effects of smartphone use. One of those schools is Ark Walworth Academy in Southwark, and their headteacher, Jessica West, joins Anita to talk about the plans.
This evening, Taylor Swift will take to the stage at Murrayfield in Edinburgh for the first part of her UK tour. It is the first of 17 UK dates, which will finish in a record-breaking eight-night run at London's Wembley Stadium. By then, she will have played to almost 1.2 million UK fans. Her international Eras tour is expected to make more than $2 billion (£1.5 billion) by the time she performs her final show in Canada this December. Jolene Campbell, reporter at The Daily Record, talks to Anita about the Swifties who have descended on the city.
As a newborn baby in 1968, Helen Ward had been wrapped up warmly in a tartan bag and abandoned in a phone box in Ireland. She would spend years searching for her biological mother, but what she found instead were two full siblings who had also been abandoned as babies. Helen talks to Anita about the story she's spent a lifetime unravelling.
As we enter wedding season, some listeners will be spending every weekend for the rest of summer at either a hen do or a wedding. But what is the etiquette when it comes to plus ones? Anita talks to Liz Wyse, Etiquette Adviser for Debrett's and journalist Rebecca Reid.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rebecca Myatt
Studio manager: Tim Heffer
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m001zw52)
The BBC Food and Farming Awards 2024: The Search Begins...
Jaega Wise heads to Glasgow to open the nominations for this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards, and to announce that the 2024 ceremony will be held in the city on December 2nd.
The head judge for 2024 is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a long time supporter of the Awards, and there is a brand new award for those championing the best Scottish local produce with a strong connection to their community - BBC Scotland Local Food Hero, which will be judged by Dougie Vipond (Landward & The Great Food Guys) and Rachel Stewart (Out of Doors).
Another new face on the judging panel is social media star Max La Manna, a low-waste chef, who will be judging the Digital Creator Award.
On Jaega's mini-tour of Glasgow she visits past winner Matt Fountain from Freedom Bakery, has tea and scones at one of Glasgow's famous tearooms with food journalist Robbie Armstrong, visits the Old Fruitmarket where the Awards will be hosted, and she shares a Pizza Crunch with one of Glasgow's most famous chefs, Julie Lin.
To see the full list of awards and to nominate, go to bbc.co.uk/foodawards where you can also find the terms and privacy notice.
Nominations open Friday 7 June at
11am and close
23:59 Sunday 30 June 2024.
Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Natalie Donovan
FRI 11:45 Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout (m001zw54)
Siversk
Shetland journalist Jen Stout was studying in Moscow when Russia invaded Ukraine. After a scramble to gather essential accreditation and equipment, Stout crossed the border to report on the human cost of Russian aggression.
Over the course of several trips Stout has reported on the lives of ordinary and extraordinary Ukrainians, all the while juggling the funding and safety concerns that face freelancers operating in a war zone. Today she prepares to join volunteers heading on an evacuation run close to the frontline.
An EcoAudio certified production.
Written and read by Jen Stout
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m001zw56)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Rare Earth (m001zw58)
Hush! Don't Mention the Environment
In the first edition of a new series of Rare Earth Tom Heap and Helen Czerski reveal a new phenomenon- 'Greenhushing'. Big corporations that once trumpeted their green credentials are now staying very quiet about the environment. From the left they've been attacked by green zealots eager to expose greenwashing, when their claims don't stand up to scrutiny. Meanwhile from the right any hint of environmental action is condemned as 'woke'. Better, some business advisors believe, to keep quiet about the issue and avoid offending any of their potential customers or falling foul of new regulations.
Tom and Helen discover how hotel towels inspired the coining of the term greenwash, by ecologist Jay Westerveld. Moving on to greenhushing, they're joined by business experts and PR gurus to consider the broader impact of business and industry disengaging from the core issue of our time. Solutionist Solitaire Townsend explains why she thinks some greenhushing is a good thing. Tom and Helen take a deep dive into what might be driving greenhushing with the former CEO of French food giant Danone, and now head of the International Sustainability Standards Board, Emmanuel Faber, international trade and sustainability expert Dr Rebecca Harding, and journalist turned PR advisor Piers Scholfield.
Producer: Sarah Swadling
FRI 12:57 Weather (m001zw5b)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m001zw5d)
Sunak apologises for leaving D-Day events early
Rishi Sunak has apologised for leaving the D-Day 80th anniversary commemoration events early. Also: why scientists are using a crossbow to study whales in Antarctica.
FRI 13:45 A Recipe for Recovery (m001zw5g)
In 2021, producer Anna de Wolff Evans’ mother Emma was diagnosed with a rare type of leukaemia. Now, two gruelling years of treatment later, she’s in remission. But returning to ‘normal life’ after such a traumatic disruption isn’t always a straightforward process.
Much of the language around cancer survival is about ‘thriving’ and ‘seizing opportunities’, as if a near-death experience teaches you to live each day as if it’s your last. But for some people, the reality is a much more complex experience, with the physical and mental effects of cancer often still felt long after remission.
For Emma, the simple act of making jam has become a metaphor for her recovery journey. This touching and honest story looks at what life can be like in the aftermath of cancer and the profound healing power that can be found in the ordinary routines of daily life.
Producer: Anna de Wolff Evans
A Soundscape production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m001zvws)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m001zw5j)
The Specialist
The Specialist - Episode 2
Dark Medical Thriller by Matthew Broughton, creator of Tracks and Broken Colours.
Anna tries to treat Mr Dartington and they clean up the surgery, but nobody comes, so Anna starts to go through Dr Price's notes.
With original music by Sion Orgon and Rhodri Davies
CAST
Anna Diaz- Saran Morgan
Ged Diaz - Sion Daniel Young
Ruth - Michelle Bonnard
Mr Dartington - Ifan Huw Dafydd
Maggie - Catrin Aaron
Original music by Sion Orgon and Rhodri Davies
Production Coordinator Eleri McAuliffe
Sound Design by Catherine Robinson
Directed by John Norton
A BBC Audio Wales production for Radio 4
FRI 14:45 Child (p0hhrtyr)
26. Nursery
Whenever an infant heads to nursery, it can feel like an enormous step. Things are changing for everyone. There are all sorts of feelings flying around - relief, sadness, doubt, fear. But what’s going on behind the doors of nurseries and childcare settings in England? India speaks to Joeli Brearley from Pregnant Then Screwed about the current childcare crisis, child development psychotherapist Graham Music about how childcare impacts children, as well as economist Emily Oster on our choices around childcare. India then meets artists Conway and Young who have found a way to make the invisible labour of childcare pay.
Presented by: India Rakusen.
Producer: Georgia Arundell.
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 Charlie Brandon-King.
A Listen Production for Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001zw5m)
From The Archive: Container Gardening
Kathy Clugston lifts the lid on the GQT archive, in search for some advice on gardening in containers, pots and hanging baskets.
Gardening in pots and containers has become more of a hot topic in recent years and the GQT panellists have dished out their fair share of advice on it.
The programme's horticultural experts share their knowledge on the potted plants that can be grown on the roof of a narrow boat, the type of pot that can prevent frost damage to a plant, and whether liquid sheep manure is a sufficient feed for tomatoes and pot plants?
Later we hear a fiery debate between Bill Sowerbutts and Dr Tom Rochford on the differences between houseplants and potted plants.
Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m001zw5p)
Dawn by Emma Hooper
Jenny’s family have recently moved from their home in Canada to a village in Dorset to take over the running of her Grandpa’s quarry - ‘aka abandoned everything for a few English rocks’. Homesick and lonely, she explores quarry caves when she’s meant to be waiting at school for her brother to finish football practice. One day she finds something incredible...
Emma Hooper is an author, musician and academic. Her debut novel, ‘Etta and Otto and Russell and James’, was published in 23 territories and 18 languages and her second book, ‘Our Homesick Songs’, was long listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. ‘We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky’ is her third novel and has been long listed for The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.
Her viola-accordion-saw-and-loop-pedal solo act ‘Waitress For The Bees’ has earned her a Finnish Cultural knighthood and her quartet ‘Red Carousel’ have performed with Peter Gabriel, The Heavy, Newton Faulkner and many others.
Although Emma lives in the UK, she visits home in Alberta to cross-country ski as often as she can.
Written and read by Emma Hooper
Music by Waitress For the Bees
Produced by Alison Crawford
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m001zw5r)
Nora Cortiñas, Belinda Belville, John Burnside, Roger Corman
Matthew Bannister on Nora Cortiñas, a founding member of Argentina’s “Mothers of the Disappeared” campaign group. Her son Gustavo was 24 when he was arrested by the country’s right-wing dictatorship. He was never seen again.
Belinda Bellville, the fashion designer who dressed every female member of the royal family apart from Queen Elizabeth. Her business partner David Sassoon shares his memories.
The poet John Burnside whose acclaimed work reflected his troubled childhood in Cowdenbeath and Corby.
Roger Corman, the American film director and producer known for his prolific output of low budget pictures.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Exhibition of Belinda Bellville dresses at Holkham Hall, BBC Norfolk, 17/04/2013; Princess Goes To Washington (1965). Pathe News, 21/11/1965; Wild Music, Radio 4, 29/12/2019; Belief: John Burnside, BBC Radio 3; 04/04/2012; The Little Shop Of Horrors (1960) Official Trailer; Masque Of The Red Death (1964) Trailer; Attack of the Crab Monsters Official Trailer; Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957) Trailer; It Conquered the World (1956) Theatrical Trailer; Horror Café, BBC 2, 15/09/1990; The Film Programme, BBC Radio 4, 30/05/2008;
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m001zv06)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m001zw5t)
D-Day drama for PM
D-Day dilemma for the PM as he faces criticism from a senior General for leaving Normandy commemorations early. A government advisor resigns in disgust. Michael Palin on Everest explorer George Mallory and the latest ahead of Taylor Swift's concert in Edinburgh.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001zw5w)
The Prime Minister returned to the UK from France for an interview with ITV
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m001zvft)
Series 114
Episode 1
Andy Zaltzman quizzes the week's news. Providing all the answers are Ian Smith, Geoff Norcott, Shaparak Khorsandi and Anushka Asthana.
In this first episode of the new series, the panel catches up on all things General Election, Trumped up charges (all 34), and a recently discovered royal kid.
Written by Andy Zaltzman
With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Stephen Mawhinney, Christian Riggs, and Jade Gebbie
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m001zw5y)
WRITER: Katie Hims
DIRECTOR: Pip Swallow
EDITOR: Jeremy Howe
Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Jakob Hakansson…. Paul Venables
Chelsea Horrobin…. Madeleine Leslay
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane
Jason Burntwood…. Ian Conningham
FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m001zw60)
Series 9
Emma Rawicz and Gavin Higgins take us from Aldeburgh to Bicycle Town
Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Emma Rawicz, and composer Gavin Higgins, join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks.
From a Muddy Waters masterpiece, they take us to Aldeburgh for Benjamin Britten's tragic tale, before jumping on their bicycles and heading to Copenhagen for an audacious saxophone composition.
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Mannish Boy by Muddy Waters
The Passacaglia from Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten
Bicycle Town, Pt 1 by Marius Neset
Egyptian Reggae by Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Other music in this episode:
Eejit by Blazin' Fiddles
Concerto Grosso written by Gavin Higgins
Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
I'm a Man by Bo Diddley
None Shall Escape the Judgement by Earl Zero
I Love Rock 'n Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Gavin's BBC Radio 3 Sunday Feature - Everything Stops:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001zgft
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m001zw62)
James Cartlidge, Paul Johnson, Alison McGovern, John Nicolson, Richard Tice
Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from Victoria Hall in Oakham in Rutland with the Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge, the Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson, Labour's spokesperson for Employment and Social Security Alison McGovern, the SNP spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport John Nicolson and the Chair of Reform UK Richard Tice.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Mike Smith
FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m001zw66)
Generations - D-Day - Global Instability
With D-day commemorations giving us images of "the finest generation" and discussion about how parties are targeting different age groups in the UK election, Anne McElvoy hosts a discussion looking at what divides and unites us in a fracturing world.
Dr Eliza Filby - a historian of generational evolution and contemporary values and author of Inheritocracy and Generation Shift gives us the low down on boomers to Gen Alpha.
Professor Rana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of books including China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping A New Nationalism and China's War with Japan, 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival. A presenter of Free Thinking on BBC Radio 3 before he joined Harvard, you can find him hosting plenty of Free Thinking discussions.
Jo Hamya's debut novel was called Three Rooms. The Hypocrite explores what happens when we become frightened of the generations below us
Tom Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and a Senior Research Fellow at Wadham College.
And joining the conversation to talk about how the political parties are trying to woo voters of different ages is Gaby Hinsliff, columnist for The Guardian
Producer: Luke Mulhall
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m001zw68)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Long Island by Colm Toibin (m001zw6b)
10: 'I can explain.'
The heartrending sequel to Brooklyn, set twenty years on, and read by Niamh Cusack.
Since leaving Brooklyn, Eilis and Tony have built a happy and secure life in Long Island. The future looks good - until one day a stranger knocks on the door, and everything changes.
Feeling very far from home, Eilis starts to question the life she's created. Her questions lead her back to Ireland, and to those she left behind, as she wonders whether it's too late to take a different path?
Today: with Eilis and the rest of the town knowing about Nancy and Jim's secret engagement, Eilis goes to confront Jim...
Author: Colm Tóibín
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Reader: Niamh Cusack
Producer: Justine Willett
FRI 23:00 Americast (m001zw6d)
Is Biden losing the black vote? (ft. Charlamagne Tha God)
Black Americans could be the deciding vote this election year. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are making their case to court black voters, but are their messages breaking through? Justin sits down with Charlamagne Tha God, one of the most influential radio broadcasters in the US whose show has become a campaign stop for presidential candidates. As the author of the new title ‘Get Honest or Die Lying,’ Charlamagne gets straight to the point on how both Biden and Trump are losing support.
Also, Biden has unveiled new executive actions aimed at curbing the number of migrants seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border. Justin and Anthony look at how effective it might be and the politics behind the move.
HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
GUEST:
• Charlamagne Tha God, Host of ‘The Breakfast Club’ and author of 'Get Honest or Die Lying, Why Small Talk Sucks'
GET IN TOUCH:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
• Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480
• Email Americast@bbc.co.uk
• Or use #Americast
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
This episode was made by Purvee Pattni with Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
FRI 23:30 Soul Music (m001g8dc)
Nessun Dorma
'None shall sleep'.
Jon Christos watched the Italia 90 World Cup with his Dad and says that the live performance of 'Nessun Dorma' by Pavarotti at the tournament was the only time he ever saw his Dad cry.
Beatrice Venezia conducted 'Nessun Dorma' at the 'Puccini day' she created in Lucca in 2018. She also conducted Andrea Bocelli's performance of the aria at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.
Pavarotti's daughter Cristina talks about the impact this aria had on her father's life and how his 1990 performance of 'Nessun Dorma' inspired many people to become interested in opera.
Sir Bobby Robson's son Mark Robson was at Italia 90 and talks about the pride he felt seeing his Dad lining up with the England team for the semi-final against West Germany. It was also sung at Sir Bobby's memorial service in Durham Cathedral.
Broadcaster and author Alexandra Wilson explains that the opera Turandot is the story of Prince Calaf who falls in love with the titular Princess. In 'Nessun Dorma' Calaf expresses his determination to win her hand, ending with that extraordinary refrain "Vincerò!" or "I will win".
Paul Potts won 'Britain's Got Talent' in 2007 performing 'Nessun Dorma' and recalls singing it to over a million people at the Brandenburg Gate on New Year's Eve in 2010.
When Italy locked down in March 2020, hairdresser Piero d'Angelico played 'Nessun Dorma' from a five-story window above Cambridge railway station to show solidarity with his home country and the Italian community in his adopted city.
Voiceovers by Mike Ingham and Rebecca Braccialarghe.
Producer: Toby Field for BBC Audio in Bristol
Technical Producer: Michael Harrison
Editor: Emma Harding