SATURDAY 22 JUNE 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m00208qc)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m00208p1)
Episode 5
Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.
May 1942. Foreign Commissar Molotov is sent by Stalin to visit Churchill in London. He tries to persuade Britain and America to open a second front by launching a joint invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. German warships attack the convoys bringing supplies from America to Russia. Churchill visits Stalin in Moscow. The two leaders bicker and argue. Stalin reacts angrily and bitterly when told of the postponement of the planned Allied landings in France.
Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00208qf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00208qh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00208qk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m00208qm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00208qp)
Windrush Day
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Rev Neil Gardner of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh
SAT 05:45 Naturebang (m001qmcx)
Buff Geese and Gym Rats
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight investigate physical fitness in the animal kingdom, and ask why animals never seem to have to go to the gym.
Consider the Barnacle Goose, getting ready for one of the most phenomenal physical challenges of the animal world: the annual migration. They leave their sedentary summer life, floating about eating reeds, and take off to fly 2,700 miles. And what do they do to prepare for this incredible feat? Absolutely nothing. They just sit around, eating as much as they can.
The physical fitness of so many animals is hard-wired into their biology. But not ours. If we want to gain muscle, we don't just wait for the seasons to change, we have to work for it. No pain no gain! And if we slack off and laze about, our muscles melt away. Why are we so different? And do I really have to go to the gym?
Produced by Becky Ripley and Emily Knight. Featuring Professor Lewis Halsey from the University of Roehampton, and Professor Dan Lieberman at Harvard University.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0020h6c)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002096x)
Painting Bluebells in Shropshire
Clare walks to a glorious display of bluebells to capture them in watercolour in the company of artist Shelly Perkins.
On a beautiful day in mid-May they set off into Mortimer Forest near Ludlow to find several acres of bluebells that stretch across high meadlowland.
Shelly is an artist and while Clare is not known for her painting prowess, they take a moment to stop, take in the bluey purply haze and capture it in vivid watercolours en plein air.
Clare and Shelly met at the Black Pool Car Park and hiked a roughly five mile circular loop through a conifer plantation, into open hay meadow with skylarks hovering overhead, and then onto a huge field full of bluebells. You can see their artwork on the Ramblings instagram page: @bbcramblings
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0020h6f)
22/06/24 - The Royal Highland Show, UK salads and heritage wheat
The 240th Royal Highland Show is taking place just outside Edinburgh, and more than 200,000 people expected to attend over the 4 days of the show. We hear from some of the breeders showing cattle at the show.
In 2022, the UK grew 162,000 tonnes of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers and celery - worth more than 200 million pounds. This time of year is normally peak salad season, but the months of rain and below average temperatures have been bad news for the country's salad growers. We find out what that means for both field crops and those grown in glasshouses.
An e-coli outbreak across the UK has been traced back to some salad leaves, which were used in a wide range of food, including sandwiches and wraps. The Food Standards Agency has not been able to say whether those leaves came from UK farms, or were imported. We ask what it means for farmers.
And could the plant breeding achievements of the Green Revolution be started again from scratch? That's the hope of scientists at the John Innes Centre, who say modern commercial varieties of wheat used by farmers could be replaced with better ones, using wheat lines collected a century ago.
Presented by Caz Graham
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
SAT 06:57 Weather (m0020h6h)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m0020h6k)
Election 2024: Nick Robinson and Justin Webb
Live coverage of the election campaign, plus Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0020h6m)
Sebastian Faulks, Sarah Brooks, Maisie Adam, Paul Sinha
Writer Sebastian Faulks, recently described as ‘a state of the species novelist’, famous for his historical stories, he’s now taking us into the future exploring what it means to be human in new book The Seventh Son.
The cautious traveller Sarah Brooks, reveals how her life was changed after a vodka fuelled evening in a dining car on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Punch-lines on the touchline...comedian and football podcaster Maisie Adam has torn herself away from the Euros coverage to join us and tell us about her new tour and her recent job appraisal.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of quizmaster extraordinaire Paul Sinha.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Lowri Morgan
SAT 10:00 Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny (m0020h6p)
Andi Oliver: Antigua, The Caribbean
BBQ and rum, in Paradise. With 365 beaches, one for each day of the year. Andi thinks the small but beautiful land of her heritage can’t be that hard a sell to Shaun.. Resident geographer, historian and comedian Iszi Lawrence puts on her shades to join them.
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 (m0020h6r)
Series 44
Episode 7
Jay Rayner and his panel of food experts with a postbag edition of The Kitchen Cabinet. Ready to solve your culinary conundrums are chefs Sophie Wright and Shelina Permaloo, food writer Melek Erdal, and materials expert Dr Zoe Laughlin.
The panel discusses the best recipes for preserved lemons, the benefits of using a pestle and mortar, and the ultimate question - to brine or not to brine? They also reveal the best non-spicy seasonings to use when cooking meat, and the most haunting culinary atrocities they’ve witnessed in the kitchen.
Assistant Producer: Dulcie Whadcock
Producer: Bethany Hocken
A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 11:00 Newscast (m0020h6t)
Electioncast: What're the Odds? Alleged Election Betting and Undecided Punters!
Today, in this podcast recorded live on Radio 4, we’re looking at claims about betting on the election date, and Laura’s been given an internal Labour memo to candidates with warnings about undecided voters.
Adam, Paddy and Laura also look at the SNP manifesto and what Nigel Farage has called Reform UK’s ‘contract with the people’.
Apply to join us on election night: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/newscast-all-nighter
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg, Adam Fleming and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Phil Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0020h6w)
Ukraine's Conscription Crisis
Kate Adie reports stories from Ukraine, China, US, Canada and Senegal
Ukraine is facing one of its most perilous moments since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russia. The Ukrainian army desperately needs more troops and has turned to enlistment squads to bolster numbers. This has pushed those who don’t want to fight into hiding, as our correspondent Jean Mackenzie reports from Odesa.
Youth unemployment in China has reached record levels in recent years. Some graduates have ended up selling products online, but it’s not always clear what products they are selling. Some have accidentally stumbled into the growing online market for synthetic opioid drugs. Danny Vincent has followed the story.
November’s presidential election will hinge on just a handful of states. One of them is Michigan, home to Detroit, which has suffered from decades of industrial decline. In 2016, it voted for Trump; in 2020, it was a critical swing state that voted in favour of Biden. And while crime is down and the economy has improved, many of its residents are struggling to see the benefits as Mike Wendling discovered.
Haida Gwaii is an archipelago off British Columbia’s west coast with a population of around five thousand people, half of whom are the indigenous Haida people. Sally Howard went there and learned how their totem poles, of huge cultural significance for the community, are seeing a renaissance.
We visit the West African nation of Senegal, home to Africa's biggest jazz festival and many other cultural events. But this celebrated hub has been jolted by the arrival of a new president and some political wrangling, as Natasha Booty reports.
Series producer: Serena Tarling
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison and Sophie Hill
Editor: Emma Rippon
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0020h6y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0020h70)
Election Housing and Energy Debt Complaint
There's less than a fortnight to go before the polls open in the General Election. The deadline's passed to register to vote, but there's still plenty of time to work out where you'll put that cross on the ballot paper. This week Money Box is talking about housing - focusing on your questions and comments.
Imagine being told you owe more than £7,000 for your gas. You spend months trying to explain there's no way you could possibly owe anywhere near that amount, only to be told one day that because you still haven't paid it your details are being passed onto a debt collection agency. We investigate one listener's story.
And new research shared exclusively with Money Box suggests almost a third of people are struggling to afford their car insurance. In a survey of more than 4,000 people the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, a charity who carry out research to help improve living standards across the UK, found almost 1 in 3 people described their car insurance premiums as ‘unaffordable’. What can you do about it?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Catherine Lund
Researcher: Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast at
12pm Saturday 22nd June 2024)
SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m00208l1)
Series 114
Episode 3
Alasdair Beckett-King, Simon Evans, Laura Smyth, and Cindy Yu join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.
Two weeks before the General Election, Andy and the Panel discuss the risks of a super majority, nuclear war, and an international love in between a pair of the world's scariest men.
Written by Andy Zaltzman
With additional material by: Cameron Loxdale, Jade Gebbie, Dan Sweryt, & Pete Tellouche
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Nicholls & Dan Marchini
Sound Editor: Chris Maclean
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An Eco-Audio certified Production
SAT 12:57 Weather (m0020h72)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0020h74)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:15 Any Questions? (m00208q1)
John Healey, Kevin Hollinrake, Anne McElvoy, Adrian Ramsay
Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from the East Riding Theatre in Beverley with the Shadow Defence Spokesperson John Healey, Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake, the broadcaster and Executive Editor of Politico Anne McElvoy and the co-leader of the Green Party Adrian Ramsay.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Robin Markwell
Lead broadcast engineer: Jonathan Esp
SAT 14:15 Any Answers? (m0020h76)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.
SAT 15:00 The Archers (m00208px)
When Fallon wonders what’s arrived in the post for Harrison, he admits it’s a baby loss certificate. Fallon’s understanding, apologising for over-reacting to Harrison’s prayers with Alan. She accepts that the miscarriage was significant to Harrison, and he should be able to react in his own way. Harrison says he just needed to say goodbye to the possibility of a baby. They say they love each other, and Fallon confesses to going out and getting drunk with Kirsty last week, explaining how it helped her to wipe the slate clean. Harrison understands that it was Fallon’s way of dealing with it all, they both reacted in their own ways. When Fallon mentions Alice’s in court today, Harrison says he’s not going to get angry about her and will just let the justice system take its course.
Adam touches base with Alice before the hearing. Alice confirms she hasn’t drunk, but it means she can’t stop thinking about what she did to everyone. Adam says she’s doing well considering Jakob’s slip up at The Stables yesterday, but it’s good Lilian explained they were just sounding out temporary cover.
Later at the Magistrates Court, Adam’s astounded when Alice pleads not guilty. Even Alice isn’t sure what happened, but she just knows she wouldn’t have driven after drinking so much. She wouldn’t endanger people’s lives. Adam drives home the fact that now she’s made a prison sentence more likely. Alice realises the implications and admits she’s frightened. She needs to buy something to drink. When Adam says she can’t let this drag her under, Alice thinks otherwise.
SAT 15:15 Drama on 4 (m000tcph)
Afterplay
It's the 1920s. A chance encounter in a down-at-heel café. Perhaps we recognise this couple. No matter if we don’t. As they fall into conversation, the contours of their lives are gradually revealed.
Sonya looks after a large estate once managed by her late uncle. She’s visiting the city for financial meetings. Andrey is the brother of three provincial sisters who never quite made it to the capital. He tells her he’s here to rehearse La Bohème at the Opera House. He’s a violinist.
But there may be lies lurking, as well as truths. Sonya, more direct, confides she’s still hopelessly in love with the local doctor, as she has been for years.
The pair are suspended in a bubble of desperation, obsession, fantasy - appropriately Chekhovian. They consider the peculiarity of living life ‘in a waiting room’. Is there hope?
A riveting two-hander by Brian Friel. It's a play about anyone who may have had dreams, family lives that went awry, failures, even successes. An intense thriller too - a set of Russian dolls where these two characters aren’t being wholly honest with each other.
Cast:
Andrey…Alex Jennings
Sonya… Janie Dee
Director: Martin Jarvis
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0020h78)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Rachel Stevens, Woman's Hour Election Debate, Jill Halfpenny, Interracial Marriage in the US
Rachel Stevens was one of the founding members of S Club 7, the pop band that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. She joins Anita to talk about her memoir Finding my Voice: A story of strength, belief and S Club, which covers her time in the hit-making band, her solo career and what it's been like being in the public eye.
In a special extended 90 minute programme, Nuala McGovern hosted the Woman's Hour Election Debate. Senior women from the main political parties of Great Britain outlined their priorities for women and answered your questions.Taking part were: Scottish National Party spokesperson for Consular Affairs and International Engagement Hannah Bardell; Reform UK candidate Maria Bowtell; Green Party spokesperson for Housing and Communities Ellie Chowns; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper; Conservative Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work Mims Davies; Labour's Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation Sarah Jones and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts.
Actor Jill Halfpenny has starred in popular TV series such as Byker Grove, Coronation Street, EastEnders and The Cuckoo. She won an Olivier Award for her role in the musical Legally Blonde and she won the second series of BBC 1's Strictly Come Dancing. But, two tragic events have framed Jill’s life story; when she was four years old her dad died suddenly of a heart attack. Then in 2017, in similarly tragic circumstances, her partner Matt died. Jill talks to Clare about confronting her grief head-on, something she examines in her new book, A Life Reimagined.
For over a century, many Americans believed that interracial marriage was illegitimate and until the late 1960s, the American legal system supported that belief. Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White is a play written in the 1960s that explores the impact of these laws. Anita is joined by Monique Touko, the director of a new production of the play, and American historian Dr Leni Sorensen who had a black father and white mother in 1940s California.
Can you ever really be just best friends with the love of your life? Laura Dockrill talks to Nuala about the thrills and awful heartache of first love, the inspiration for her first adult novel, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’
Presenter Clare McDonnell
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Louise Corley
SAT 17:00 PM (m0020h7b)
Extreme heat strikes three continents
With high temperatures recorded across the world, a former top climate diplomat tells PM about the impact on public and governmental opinion
SAT 17:30 Sliced Bread Presents (m002096l)
Acupressure Mats
Twelve year old Bradley got in touch with Sliced Bread after trying out his mum Jennifer’s acupressure mat. Jennifer says she swears by it, it relaxes her, and she even falls asleep on it! But after testing it out himself, he was less than convinced.
He asked us to find out what these mats are meant to do, whether they work or if they’re a placebo effect, and whether paying more for one could mean better results?
Joining Greg in the studio to discuss them, is Clinical Acupuncturist Phil Trubshaw from the Manchester Movement Unit based at Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as the Director of Research at the Northern College of Acupuncture, Dr. Karen Charlesworth.
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: Kate Holdsworth
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0020h7d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m0020h7g)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020h7j)
Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour's record on women's rights.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0020h7l)
Charlie Higson, Bilal Zafar, Pravesh Kumar, English Teacher and Alexandra Whittingham join Stuart Maconie.
Joining Stuart in our Salford studio are Charlie Higson. After writing several books in the bestselling 'Young Bond' series, Charlie has written his first Bond for Adults. Stand up Bilal Zafar's new show 'Imposter' is about a once harmonious house-share that goes very wrong and Pravesh Kumar has written 'Frankie Goes to Bollywood', a new musical about an everyday girl from Milton Keynes plucked from obscurity to live the life of a bollywood star.
Music this week comes from English Teacher, dubbed 2024's hottest new guitar band, and tik-tok sensation, classical guitarist Alexandra Whittingham.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Jessica Treen
CHARLIE HIGSON
Charlie Higson is an author, actor, comedian and writer for radio and television. He is the author of five beloved Young Bond books, starting with Silverfin in 2005. He’s also the author of the ‘Enemy’ series of Young adult Zombie adventures and the crime thriller ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night’. He’s also one of the brains behind one of the best comedy series of the 90’s, ‘The Fast Show’, which recently completed a 30th anniversary tour.
A New Bond for a new Monarch, Charlie Higson’s first ‘Adult’ Bond – On His Majesty’s Secret Service was written in double quick time for the coronation and is inspired by researching his history podcast. Higson’s Bond is very much a man of 2023 – he’s in tune with his gut biome, but he’s still got the car, the gadgets and the girl.
ENGLISH TEACHER
Leeds based ‘English Teacher’ have been hailed as 2024’s hottest new guitar band, but they’ve spent time honing their craft - they’ve been playing together since meeting at the University of Leeds at 2018. In April they released their debut album, This Could Be Texas. Fresh from from touring America, they are vocalist Lily Fontaine, guitarist Lewis Whiting, drummer Douglas Frost, and bassist Nicholas Eden.
PRAVESH KUMAR
Back in the year 2000 armed with a credit card, Pravesh Kumar started the Rifco theatre company with an aim to tell accessible stories about British Asian communities like the one he grew up in in slough. Rifco’s shows include the musical Britain’s Got Bhangra, The Deranged Marriage and the film Little English. Along the way, Pravesh was awarded an MB for his contribution to British Theatre. His latest musical is ‘Frankie Goes to Bollywood’ – the story of Frankie, played by Laila Zaidi, a normal girl plucked from obscurity in Milton Keynes to be the latest Bollywood star. Frankie is taken in by the glamour, a romance with leading man Raju King and a rivalry with a fellow Bollywood actress no longer deemed young enough.
ALEXANDRA WHITTINGHAM
Manchester-born Guitarist Alexandra Whittingham started with humble beginnings performing covers of Avril Lavigne and auditioning for Blackpool’s Got Talent. Since then she has become a viral sensation through videos of her performing breathtaking classical arrangements on her guitar.
Fresh off of signing with a major music label, Decca, she’s here to tell us about her journey to becoming a revered guitarist and why it’s important that classical music is accessible to everyone.
BILAL ZAFAR
Sharing a house can be an unpredictable experience, we’ve all heard about ‘nightmare’ housemates. In Bilal Zafar’s new show ‘Imposter’ he tells the story of his old housemate, a story of compulsive lying, escalating threats and minty hot chocolate. Bilal is a ‘wry storyteller’; his previous shows are ‘Zafarcakes’, about a joke on twitter that got out of hand, and the people who couldn’t take a joke and ‘Care’, about looking after wealthy residents in a care home, for minimum wage. He’s also active on the Twitch streaming platform where he plays a manager from the game Pro Evolution Soccer 5 to an enthusiastic audience of ‘Assistant Managers’. Bilal won the new act of the year award in 2016 and was nominated for best Newcomer at the Edinburgh comedy awards
SAT 19:00 Profile (m0020h7n)
Professor Sir John Curtice
Sometimes known as the “sultan of swing,” Professor Sir John Curtice has become an institution of election coverage in the UK. But is there more to the man than stats and figures? There might be some broad beans and jam, as Mark Coles finds out.
Rev Dr Lisa Curtice, John’s wife
Phil Tremewan, childhood friend
John Leston, friend from university
David Dimbleby, broadcaster
Paddy O’Connell, BBC broadcaster
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Ivana Davidovic, Diane Richardson and Julie Ball
Sound: James Beard
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Editor: Tom Bigwood
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002096b)
Salman Rushdie
One of the world’s greatest novelists, Salman Rushdie has won many prestigious international literary awards and was knighted for services to literature in 2007. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for Midnight’s Children, a novel that was also twice voted as the best of all-time Booker winners. In 1989 Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared that Rushdie’s fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, was blasphemous and pronounced a death sentence against its author. For over a decade he lived in hiding with close security, a period of his life that he wrote about in the 2012 memoir Joseph Anton. His most recent book Knife details the horrific stabbing he survived in 2022.
Talking to John Wilson, Salman Rushdie recalls his childhood in Bombay, and the folk tales and religious fables he grew up with. He chooses Indian independence and partition in 1947 as one of the defining moments of his creative life, a period that formed the historical backdrop to Midnight’s Children. He discusses how, having first moved to England as a schoolboy and then to New York after the fatwa, the subject of migration has recurred throughout much of his work, including The Satanic Verses. Rushdie also explains how "surrealism, fabulism and mythical storytelling” are such an influence on his work, with particular reference to his 1999 novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet which was inspired by the ancient Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. As Rushdie says, "truth in art can be arrived at through many doors”.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
Archive used:
BBC News, 12 Aug 2022
Newsnight, BBC2, 12 Aug 2022
BBC Sound archive, India: Transfer of Power, 15 August 1947
Nehru: Man of Two Worlds, BBC1, 27 Feb 1962
Midnight's Children, Book at Bedtime, BBC Radio 4, 27 August 1997
Advert, Fresh Cream Cakes, 1979
BBC News, 14 Feb 1989
The World At One, BBC Radio 4, 14 Feb 1989
BBC News, 28 May 1989
Today, BBC Radio 4, 27 April 1990
Clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 9, episode 3
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m001467s)
Wonderlands
Long ago, in a land not far away, children's books were a neglected corner of the book world - marginalised, unimportant, an afterthought. Today, one in every three books sold in the UK is a children's book. We're spending more money on children's books than ever before and an increasing number of adults turned to children's fiction for comfort reading in lockdown.
In this Archive on 4, writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce explores how and why books for children have become central to our reading culture. It’s a Cinderella story - a tale of humble beginnings, unexpected transformations and glittering success.
We have a rich and deep children’s book culture, going back to the classics like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Railway Children - stories which still live with us, adapting and evolving for new generations. Frank explores where they come from and how two World Wars and societal change in the 1960s shaped children’s books, and our understanding of childhood itself. He explores the spectacular success of bestselling novels by JK Rowling and Phillip Pullman at the turn of the Millennium, which rocket-fuelled children’s publishing.
Traditionally we've preferred to see children's books as ahistoric and separate from the wider culture but in fact, says Frank, writing for children has always been deeply engaged with society. From Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, through to Malorie Blackman's best-selling Noughts and Crosses series, these authors create mirrors for young readers to reflect on life’s big questions. As Philip Pullman says, "There are some subjects which are too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book."’
With contributions from Cressida Cowell, Phillip Pullman, Robert Macfarlane, Jacqueline Wilson, Onjali Rauf, Patrice Lawrence, Dapo Adeola, Aimée Felone, Barry Cunningham, Andy Miller, SF Said, Professor Karen Coats and David Fickling.
Readers in order of appearance: Ali, Teddy, Matthew, Elysia, Helena, Isabelle.
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald and Sarah O’Reilly
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m00208gr)
Do we need a final farewell?
The way we grieve is changing and that is seen most starkly by the rise of the direct cremation and the no fuss funeral. I in 5 people of people opted for a direct cremation last year, a startling figure that’s risen 3 fold in 5 years. At it’s most basic the direct cremation means the final journey is purely functional. Body taken unaccompanied to an unknown crematorium. You can even get the ashes posted back through the letterbox. It's cheaper and you can mark the last hurrah with a party or memorial service or perhaps even nothing at all. What does this changing trend say about our respect for human dignity as a society or is this just another step
in the removal of religion from the lives of a significant part of the population.
Only a quarter of people in the UK now want a religious funeral. The rise of direct cremation could also be a sign that mourners are throwing off the shackles of inherited tradition and religious belief to decide how they want to grieve. Direct cremations and DIY celebrations cut out the reality of death and if there’s no grieving at the graveside or standing in a crematorium what do we lose? There's another aspect to consider. The digital afterlife is one where someone never leaves. Grieftech can keep us in touch with AI loved ones . Instead of the finality of a funeral we could be conversing forever with the deceased. Do we need a final farewell?
Presenter: William Crawley
Panellists: Anne McElvoy, James Orr, Matthew Taylor, Ella Whelan
Witnesses: Rosie Millard, Dr Madeleine Pennington, Justin Harrison, Prof Linda Wheeler.
Producer: Catherine Murray & Peter Everett
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser
Editor: Rajeev Gupta
SAT 22:00 News (m0020h7q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m00208nz)
What Makes Food Safe?
As a major outbreak from a new strain of E. coli makes headlines, we ask: what makes food safe? How are food producers coping with new strains of food pathogens? And what does safe food even mean in a world where processed food is increasingly seen as the top cause of dietary ill health? Meeting over a platter of various foods from raw milk cheese to salad, Sheila Dillon and producer Nina Pullman hear from microbiologists, food safety experts and cheese makers to hear the challenges of staying ahead of the curve when it comes to food and science. They speak to a scientist testing bacteria-eating viruses that can be inserted into feed or food packaging to tackle these new E. colis, known as STECs, and they chat to a global expert in food microbiology on how climate change is making pathogens more difficult to predict.
While such pathogens can get into a variety of foods, raw or unpasteurised cheese makers are feeling the pressure more than most due to the perception of risk around their products. Cheese makers at a panel in London explain the human impact on a small family business that is linked to an outbreak, while a tour of Neals Yard Dairy reveals the number of cheesemakers considering turning to pasteurisation due to fears around the new strains of STEC E. colis.
In a conversation about food that makes us sick, Sheila also meets members of the pubilc who took part in a recent national conversation on food for their views on food safety more broadly. What does food safety mean to them and what do the public expect from food?
Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SAT 23:00 Michael Spicer: No Room (m001zpmf)
9. Brown
Career into the future. It's called theFeeFooVerse. Gary Oldman is in the studio to talk about the genius of Christopher Nolan.
Social media star Michael Spicer takes on everything that frustrates and angers us, like social media. 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 (m001zx6n)
10. White
Enjoy the unraveling of an MP as he takes his leadership bid digital. Is communicating with the dead better than Google? Probably.
It's the last episode in the series where comedian Michael Spicer showcases his satirical talents and does all the voices. 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 23:30 Nature Table (m00209dw)
Series 4
3: Dubstep Camels and Super Sea Spiders
In this episode, Sue and the Nature Table team visit ZSL London Zoo.
Super-strong wild camels, sea spiders that can regrow body parts and the sex-lives of kakapo and green spoonworms all feature and wow Sue and the invited audience.
Sue is joined by special guests: broadcaster & zoologist Megan McCubbin, Professor of entomology Karim Vahed of Buglife and comedian Zoe Lyons.
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 proper giggle.
For this series of Sue Perkins’ ARIA-winning ‘Show and Tell’ wildlife comedy, Team Nature Table have recorded at the Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens and London Zoo.
Hosted by: Sue Perkins
Guests: Megan McCubbin, Karim Vahed and Zoe Lyons
Written by: Catherine Brinkworth, Jenny Laville & Jon Hunter
Additional material by: Christina Riggs & Pete Tellouche
Researcher: Catherine Beazley
Sound Recordist & Editor: Jerry Peal
Music by: Ben Mirin
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Producer: Simon Nicholls
An EcoAudio certified production
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
SUNDAY 23 JUNE 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0020h7s)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Open Book (m00209dt)
Kevin Barry
Johny Pitts talks to Kevin Barry about his new novel - western romance, The Heart in Winter.
Plus, writing and rethinking the literary western - to discuss the genre, Kevin is joined by authors Scott Preston and Anna North. Scott's debut novel is Cumbrian western The Borrowed Hills - a farming story set at the time of foot and mouth, and Anna North is the author of queer, feminist western, Outlawed.
And the Reverend Richard Coles explains why Sherlock Holmes The Complete Short Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle is the 'book he would never lend.'
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Emma Wallace
Book List – Sunday 16 June 2024
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
The Borrowed Hills by Scott Preston
Outlawed by Anna North
Krazy Kat created by cartoonist George Herriman
Lieutenant Nun by Catalina De Erauso
Sherlock Holmes Short Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist by Arthur Conan Doyle
Murder at the Monastery by Richard Coles
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020h7v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020h7x)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020h7z)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0020h81)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0020h83)
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Aldeburgh, Suffolk
This week's Bells on Sunday, comes from the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Much of the current church building dates from the 16th century but the church tower dates from the 14th century. There are eight bells hung in an iroko wooden frame with a Tenor bell weighing eleven and a half hundredweight and tuned to the note A flat. We hear them ringing Pudsey Surprise Major
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m00208dy)
Bowel Cancer Screening; Election Information; A Guide Dog Trained in Sweden
The NHS has launched a tool to try to improve bowel cancer screening for people with sight loss. The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) can detect signs of bowel cancer and it is important to catch it as early as possible. The FIT aid tool is an adaptation which makes the standard test more accessible with a channel that enables the faecal sample to be guided into the bottle, as well as a stand that holds FIT tube steady. Steve Russell is National Director for Vaccinations and Screening at NHS England and he provides more information on how it works and age eligibility.
We've talked before on the programme about the variable experiences blind and partially sighted people have when flying with their guide dogs, but now we're hearing about people who are being told they can't fly because of where the dog was trained, and by whom. Mar Gunnarson is from Iceland and has lived in the UK for a number of years. Mar is a frequent flyer in and out of the UK but has faced blockages due to definitions of what is recognised as a certified guide dog for air travel. Mar describes what has been happening, and the RNIB's Senior Legal Adviser Samantha Fothergill provides some clarification on the legalities.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0020h88)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m00208d2)
The swimming pool
The swimming pool: Laurie Taylor explores its iconic role in our culture, as well as its unspoken rules, routines and rituals. Piotr Florczyk, forming swimming champion and Assistant Professor of Global Literary Studies at the University of Washington, considers the allure of an azure pool and its place in our cultural imagination, from the Hollywood movie, Sunset Boulevard, to David Hockney's pool paintings. He also asks 'who has access to the pool' and charts North America's shifting attitudes towards race and recreation which turned public bathing into an explosive issue, one leading to violence, segregation and the flight to white suburbia. What is the future of the pool given water shortages and climate change? Also, Susie Scott, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex analyses the unspoken social norms which govern swimmers behaviour, including a respect for personal space, a shared disapproval for the 'hairy torpedo' and the firm refusal to notice 'the elephant in the room' - the fact that we are nearly naked.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0020h8b)
Sheepdog training in South Wales
One of Julia Blazer's most popular ventures is providing sheepdog experiences. Together with local shepherd and sheepdog breeder and trainer Ross Games, they offer small groups the chance to learn how to herd sheep with one of his prize-winning collies. Steffan Messenger meets Julia and Ross in a field in Cwmdu near Crickhowell and tries his hand at sheep wrangling with dogs Fly and Dell. Things don't quite go to plan however when a rogue black sheep (there's always one) decides to rebel.
As more people seek 'experiences' in the countryside such as walking with pigs and picnicking with donkeys, local farmers such as Ross can add another stream to their income by providing days out with animals.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0020h8d)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0020h8g)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0020h8j)
The faith of politicians, unprecedented sale of Scottish churches
With less than two weeks to go until the UK heads to the polls in the general election, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has once again affirmed how his Hindu faith helps him stay strong, while Keir Starmer has pledged to work with faith communities if he is elected, despite not being a person of faith himself. So does it matter where a Prime Minister stands on faith? Joining us to discuss the issue are Alastair Campbell, who famously advised former PM Tony Blair when he stated "We don't do God" and Dominic Grieve, a former Conservative Attorney General who is an Anglican.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has declared his concern about the civil war in Sudan. Justin Welby appealed to outside countries to stop supplying arms to the two sides. And at the UN in New York the Sudanese government has accused the United Arab Emirates of providing weapons to the so-called Rapid Support Forces who have been fighting the army, we’ll be looking at the latest situation in Sudan.
The Church of Scotland have confirmed they’re selling off an unprecedented number of churches and manses, we’ll be looking at why.
An agreement which ended violence around an Orange Order parade dispute in north Belfast has collapsed.
Talks to maintain the 2016 deal broke down last week, with a march past Ardoyne shops now being sought on the evening of 12 July. A protest by a nationalist residents’ group is planned in response. We’ll be looking at the history of the event and consider the impact on the faith communities in the area
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0020h8l)
Workaid
Antiques expert and broadcaster Eric Knowles makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Workaid. The charity collects unwanted tools donated in the UK, volunteers refurbish them, then they're sent to colleges and training centres in secondary schools and training centres in East and Southern Africa, where courses like carpentry, tailoring and mechanics are taught.
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 ‘Workaid’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Workaid’.
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: 1041574
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0020h8n)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0020h8q)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0020h8s)
True Success
With the Euros, T20 Cricket World Cup, and the Olympics providing wall-to-wall provision for sports enthusiasts, and summer festivals and sell-out tours from global stars entertaining music fans, today’s service from Highfields Church, Cardiff, led by Rev Dave Gobbett, explores ‘success’, and where it might be found. What does it mean to pursue success? And what does such a pursuit look like through the lens of Christianity? In a service of readings, reflections and music, we also hear from members of the Highfields congregation, who share their own stories, exploring how we might be sustained when things go well, and when they don’t.
Preacher – Dave Gobbett
Readings:
Psalm 105:1-4; Colossians 3:1-4; 322-4:1
Hymns:
Immortal honours rest on Jesus’ head
Yet not I but Christ in me
Ancient of Days
I will glory in my Redeemer
Yes, finished the Messiah dies
The Highfields Orchestra / Music leader – Nick Rhyddech
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0020h8v)
Beyond Bricks and Mortar
Megan Nolan ponders her generation's housing crisis.
'Sometimes it all crashes over me, how adrift I am, and how laughably inconceivable the idea is that I would ever own a place on my own,' writes Megan.
But there are other ways of framing this dilemma too, she believes. 'My favourite of those is to think that I'm unusually capable of feeling at home in the world at large, instead of just one building, or just one town....There are parts of me that would not exist except for my privilege to live in other places, those parts were born all over the world, and I remember the luck of that when I feel at a loss about bricks and mortar.'
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0020h8x)
Mya Bambrick on the Nightjar
Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories inspired by birds, their calls and encounters. Featuring the up-and-coming young generation of ornithologists, this episode is presented by Mya Bambrick, a council member for Sussex Ornithological Society and winner of the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Young Ornithologist of the Year Award in 2023.
Back in the summer of 2021 while a first year student at University Mya remembers the joy of studying and monitoring nightjars on Dorset heathlands while the birds had tiny GPS tags added to them.
Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio Wales and West
Studio engineer : Suzy Robins
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0020h8z)
Gambling and elections
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0020h91)
Anthony Joshua, boxer
Anthony Joshua MBE is a British heavyweight boxer, Olympic gold medallist and two-time former unified world heavyweight champion.
Anthony was born in 1989 and grew up in Watford. When he was 11, he moved with his mother to Nigeria, her home country, and attended a boarding school there for several months. When the family returned to Watford, Anthony took part in football and athletics at school, although he recalls that he didn’t enjoy sport in the freezing winter conditions.
After school he briefly studied music technology, and worked as a bricklayer, but mostly drifted. When he found himself banned from Watford town centre, he moved to Edgware and started going to the gym. His cousin Ben Ileyemi, a keen boxer, invited him to his local boxing gym in Finchley. Anthony, then aged 18, and with no boxing experience, decided to enter the ring himself. Within five years, he won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics. He turned professional in 2013 and has become one of the most high-profile boxers in the world.
Anthony lives in London.
DISC ONE: Waiting in Vain - Bob Marley & The Wailers
DISC TWO: Hometown Glory - Adele
DISC THREE: Water No Get Enemy - Fela Kuti
DISC FOUR: Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
DISC FIVE: One More Chance Freestyle - Skrapz
DISC SIX: Shut Up - Stormzy
DISC SEVEN: The Godfather Pt. I: Love Theme From "The Godfather" - Nino Rota
DISC EIGHT: Agape - Nicholas Britell
BOOK CHOICE: A Bear Grylls survival book
LUXURY ITEM: A punchbag
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Agape - Nicholas Britell
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0020h93)
Writer: Keri Davies
Director: Dave Payne
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Jakob Hakansson…. Paul Venables
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
Paul Mack…. Joshua Riley
Azra Malik…. Yasmin Wilde
Kirsty Miller…. Annabelle Dowler
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane
SUN 12:15 Profile (m0020h7n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00208kk)
Series 81
Episode 6
Back for a second week at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, panellists Fred MacAulay, Milton Jones, Pippa Evans and Rory Bremner compete with one another, with Jack Dee the unimpressed umpire. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
A Random production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:57 Weather (m0020h95)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0020h97)
Election 2024: How science and innovation will shape our future
What could an incoming government do to turn scientific innovation into economic growth? Plus how Europe's tourist hotspots are adapting to ever-increasing temperatures.
SUN 13:30 The City That Stayed at Home (m0020h99)
At the last general election, three of the four seats with the lowest turnout, where the lowest number of eligible people came out to vote, were in Hull.
Alex Forsyth sits down with people who stay at home on election day to find out why.
She begins in Hull East, the seat which had the lowest turnout in the UK at the last general election, visiting Marfleet, a ward with low turnout at local elections. She explores how a pattern of not voting is repeated in other parts of the city. Alex goes on to examine the complex reasons for not voting and speaks to those who believe key events in the city's history might provide part of the answer.
Presented by Alex Forsyth
Produced by Camellia Sinclair for BBC Audio in Bristol
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m00208pl)
Hexham Abbey
Can you suggest some plants that could withstand being in strong winds? What can I do to encourage more wildlife into my garden without it looking too wild? What gardening activity would you like to do on your 100th birthday?
Peter Gibbs and his team of gardening experts answer the questions from the audience in Hexham Abbey.
Joining Peter to unearth the horticultural dilemmas are passionate garden designers Matthew Wilson and Bunny Guinness, and house plant expert Anne Swithinbank.
Later in the programme, Matthew Wilson is joined by local horticulturists Rachel Ryver and Kay Owen as they visit what remains of the Sycamore Gap and discuss what's being done to regrow the iconic tree.
Senior Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Short Works (m001vsnh)
Minor Disturbances by Cherise Saywell
Cherise Saywell is an award winning novelist and short story writer, and in this specially commissioned story there is a misunderstanding at an out of town play centre. Katie Leung is the reader.
Cherise Saywell won the V.S. Pritchett memorial prize in 2003, and was a runner-up in the Asham award in 2009 and the Salt prize for a short story in 2012. In 2023 she was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University. Cherise’s short stories have appeared in the London Magazine and New Writing Scotland, as well as in anthologies including Waving at the Gardener and Salt New Writing.
Katie Leung is the acclaimed actor of stage and screen best known for her roles in the Harry Potter films, TV's Chimerica, The Peripheral, and more recently Annika.
Produced by Justine Willett and Elizabeth Allard.
SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m0020h9c)
Orwell vs Kafka: The Man Who Disappeared
Episode 2
Franz Kafka’s dark comic fantasy about an innocent’s misadventures in early 20th century America.
Following a mysterious family scandal, the young immigrant Karl Rossman is expelled from his Bohemian home and dispatched to America by his parents. Adrift in this strange new world, Karl is soon swept up in an America that is by turns a land of endless promise and monstrous brutality.
When Karl first arrives in New York, his rich Uncle Jacob takes him under his wing and introduces him to big business and high society. But, for reasons not entirely clear to him, Karl falls foul of the social customs of his new home and is forced to seek his own fortune. On the road, he befriends fellow immigrants Delamarche and Robinson and together they head West in search of opportunuty. But it's not long before he becomes aware of their malign intentions and when they reach the colossal Hotel Occidental, Karl manages to find work as a lift boy and give his travelling companions the slip.
A new adaptation by Ed Harris.
Karl . . . . . Divian Ladwa
Narrator . . . . . Fenella Woolgar
Robinson . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr
Delamarche . . . . . Charlie Anson
Brundelda . . . . . Jasmine Hyde
Catling . . . . . Ewan Bailey
Giancomo . . . . . Anna Spearpoint
Head Cook . . . . . Jessica Turner
Production co-ordinator: Ben Hollands
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko
A BBC Studios Audio production
Ed Harris is an award-winning dramatist and comedy writer. He has had over 20 audio plays broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4, as well as three series of his popular wartime sitcom, Dot. His work has won numerous awards including two Writers’ Guild Awards, a BBC Audio Drama Award and a Sony Gold/Radio Academy Award. His stage plays include Strangers Like Me (National Theatre Connections), Mongrel Island (Soho Theatre), Never Ever After (shortlisted for the Meyer-Whitworth Award) and What The Thunder Said (Theatre Centre). He is a current Royal Literary Fellow at Brighton University and Writer-in-Residence for the Oxford Kafka 2024 programme at Oxford University.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0020h9f)
A Passage to India
It took EM Forster 11 years to write his great novel of empire, A Passage to India. "When I began the book I thought of it as a little bridge of sympathy between East and West", but then, he said, “my sense of truth forbids anything so comfortable." Now, 100 years after its publication, Shahidha Bari revisits Forster’s novel: asking why it means so much to writers and asks how well it stands up to the scrutiny of modern readers.
When it was published in 1924, against the backdrop of decolonisation and Indian independence movements, the novel made an immediate impact exploring deeply moral questions about race and nationhood, and the possibility of friendship and misunderstanding.
Shahidha is joined by novelist Neel Mukherjee, author and literary critic, Elizabeth Lowry and Dr Chris Mourant, Lecturer at the University of Birmingham and editor of Cambridge University Press’s forthcoming edition of A Passage to India.
Book List – Sunday 23 June
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (Edited by Dr Chris Mourant, Cambridge University Press’s forthcoming edition.)
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (1947 Everyman Edition)
A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
Howards End by E.M. Forster
Maurice by E.M. Forster
A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
Choices by Neel Mukherjee
The Chosen by Elizabeth Lowry
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
Aspects of the Novel by E.M Forster
SUN 16:30 Nature Table (m0020h9h)
Series 4
4: Super Snails and Party Beetles
In this episode, Sue and the Nature Table team return to London’s Natural History Museum.
Giant Squids’ doughnut-shaped brains, Burying Beetles who like to party, Super Snails and Rescue Pigeons all feature.
Sue is joined by special guests: NHM’s Senior Curator of Molluscs Jon Ablett, Zoologist and EDI consultant Dr. Tanesha Allen & comedian Jess Fostekew.
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 proper giggle.
For this series of Sue Perkins’ ARIA-winning ‘Show and Tell’ wildlife comedy, Team Nature Table have recorded at the Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens and London Zoo.
Hosted by: Sue Perkins
Guests: Jon Ablett, Dr. Tanesha Allen & Jess Fostekew
Written by: Catherine Brinkworth, Jenny Laville & Jon Hunter
Additional material by: Christina Riggs & Pete Tellouche
Researcher: Catherine Beazley
Sound Recordist & Editor: Jerry Peal
Music by: Ben Mirin
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Producer: Simon Nicholls
An EcoAudio certified production
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
SUN 17:00 Witness History (m0020jpm)
Japan’s last WWII soldier to surrender
Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who spent nearly 30 years in the Philippine jungle, believing World War Two was still going on. Using his training in guerilla warfare, he attacked and killed people living on Lubang Island, mistakenly believing them to be enemy soldiers.
He was finally persuaded to surrender in 1974 when his former commander, Yoshimi Taniguchi, found him and gave him an order.
In a televised ceremony, Hiroo presented his sword to the then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos. President Marcos returned the sword and gave him a full presidential pardon and told him he admired his courage.
Hiroo died in January 2014 at the age of 91.
This programme was produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe, using BBC archive.
SUN 17:10 The Verb (m0020h9k)
What's it like being awake at
4am? How do we feel about toads? Where does the word chortle come from, and when is an anthem truly personal?
Ian McMillan gets to the heart of these questions through brand new poetry commissions, exploring the poems and poets we love, and through celebrating language's delights and quirks - all in the company of his guests: the poets Jackie Kay and Helen Mort, the actor Paterson Joseph, and the singer, songwriter and song 'treasurer' Sam Lee.
Guests:
Helen Mort's latest books are 'The Illustrated Woman' and 'A Line Above the Sky'. She shares a new commission called 'Corners' about the experience of being awake at
4am. Sam Lee joins her for the performance.
Jackie Kay is the former Scottish Makar - her new poetry collection is May Day. Jackie discusses a poem by the Scottish poet Norman MacCaig called 'Toad', and reads her own poem 'Cairn'.
Sam Lee's new album is Songdreaming. Sam is an arranger, folksong interpreter, passionate conservationist, song collector and creator of live events. He performs 'Banna's Lonely Shore', a song that he heard the Irish Traveller Nan Connors perform, and which he has never heard anywhere else.
Paterson Joseph is an award-winning writer and actor, known for his powerful Shakespearian performances as well as his comic roles in television series like 'Green Wing' and 'Peep Show'. Paterson performs Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky'. His novel is called 'The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho'.
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0020h9m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0020h9p)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020h9r)
Labour has called on the Gambling Commission to release the names of all the people being investigated for allegedly placing bets on the election timing.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0020h9t)
Julie Hesmondhalgh
This week, Julie Hesmondhalgh provides an audible antidote to what might feel All Too Well like a Cruel Summer, so prepare to Shake It Off. We hear about the measurable seismic power of Taylor Swift, follow a group of teenagers living without their smartphones for a week and celebrate midwinter in the frozen south. Throughout, we explore better ways to connect and communicate across cultures, and through culture, ask “is peace possible?” With such a wide mix of choices, are you... Ready For It?
Presenter: Julie Hesmondhalgh
Producer: Anthony McKee and Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinator: Pete Liggins
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0020h9w)
Neil brings Christopher some of Susan’s strawberry tart. Chris confesses weekends aren’t easy caring for Martha full time. Adam tells them that Alice pleaded not guilty at court. Both are astounded. And now Alice is not picking up calls or answering the door to visitors. Later, Martha is ready for bed after playing in the park with Alice, which seemed to do them both good. Chris tries to ask why she didn’t plead guilty but Alice shuts him down. Christopher is worried Alice could go to jail – he doesn’t want Martha to go through what he did when Susan was jailed.
As George tries to get a perfect take for Bartleby’s last video, Eddie suggests making videos with Gem once he leaves, but George says no way, Bartleby’s a one off. George finally gets the perfect take, gives Bartleby a hug and asks Eddie to take their picture. Eddie has suggestions for the money from Bartleby’s sale but George says no to funding the tree surgery, a new van or a family holiday - the money has to be spent on something Great Granddad Joe would have liked.
Adam visits Lilian who confirms Alice isn’t answering the door to her either. Everyone feels useless about the situation. Lilian blames herself for encouraging Alice to date Harry in the first place. Adam admits that even at the police station Alice sneaked off to drink a miniature in her bag. And he thinks there’s little chance of her changing her plea – she seemed so certain.
SUN 19:15 Vessels of Memory: Glass Ships of Sunderland (m0020h9y)
Dive into the history of glass ships in bottles - the changing identity of a post-industrial northern city as told through the eyes of Japanese glass artist Ayako Tani, who is preserving the endangered art of sculpting the hand-crafted glass ships which once put Sunderland on the map.
Following industrial decline in the 1970s and the closure of the Pyrex factory, many of Sunderland's newly redundant scientific glassblowers turned their talents to giftware, and from the ashes of a former glassblowing empire this new booming practice emerged. But today, scientific glassblowing is considered an endangered craft, and with Sunderland’s own National Glass Centre now facing imminent closure, the art of glass is once again under strain.
After arriving from Tokyo in 2006 to Sunderland, a city famous for its all-but-lost legacies of shipbuilding and glassblowing, Ayako discovered a passion for documenting the history of glass ships in bottles. Vessels of Memory follows Ayako's journey of discovery, learning from Sunderland's now mostly retired glassworkers and engineers who once pioneered these ornamental giftware ships sold worldwide.
Ayako was inspired to research and recreate her own glass ships in bottles, and keep the memory of this once booming industry alive. Hear the deconstruction of a glass ship in bottle, as Ayako guides you through experiences that have shaped her journey exploring and learning this fragile, endangered heritage, alongside those who taught and inspired her.
Featuring the voices of Keith Clark, Catherine Forsyth, Zoë Garner, Keith Hartley, Jo Howell, Brian Jones, James Maskrey, Joseph Percy, Christine Sinclair, Ayako Tani, Andy Thompson, and Norman Veitch.
Producer: Jay Sykes
A Sister Sounds production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m00208ph)
1. Rob Brydon, comedian
Ros speaks to the hilarious Rob Brydon. We all communicate multiple times a day but could we be getting better results? From a simple text or phone call, to a job interview or big presentation, the way we express ourselves and get our point across can really matter. Ros Atkins and his fascinating guests reveal the best ways to communicate and how simple changes in the way we make our point can be really effective.
In this episode, Ros and Rob discuss how to feel confident when you’re on a stage, how to win an audience over and the importance of making people laugh.
Series Producer: Hannah Newton
Production Support: Olivia Cope
Executive Producer: Zoë Edwards
Mix Engineer: Jonathan Last
Original Music Composed by: Tom Wrankmore / Eliphino
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Listen production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m0020971)
Four weeks into the UK election campaign, Andrea discusses interruptions and impartiality in political interviews with Today presenter Nick Robinson and the BBC's Director of Journalism, Jonathan Munro.
Also, we take a dystopian deep dive into Radio 4's Orwell v Kafka weekend. In all, 10 hours of the network's weekend schedule were given over to the two authors - including readings of George Orwell's 1984, a dramatisation of Franz Kafka's The Trial and six half hour discussions hosted by Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis. It was loved by many of you, but was a Kafkaesque/Orwellian nightmare for others. Andrea and Matthew Dodd, Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for Arts, discuss the thinking behind the idea at the foot of Orwell's statue outside Broadcasting House.
And after the tragic death of Dr Michael Mosley, we hear Feedback listeners' tributes to a broadcaster who changed the lives of millions.
Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Pauline Moore
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m00208pq)
Sir Oliver Popplewell, Lynn Conway, Tony Bramwell, Francoise Hardy
Kirsty Lang on the Judge and cricketer Sir Oliver Popplewell. His godson Stephen Fry pays tribute.
The computer pioneer and transgender advocate Lynn Conway.
The music mogul and friend to the Fab Four Tony Bramwell.
One of France’s best loved singer song-writers Francoise Hardy.
Interviewee: Stephen Fry
Interviewee: Charles Rogers
Interviewee: Roag Best
Interviewee: Laura Barton
Producer: Catherine Powell
Archive used:
Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC BBC 2 5th April 2002; The Today Programme BBC 15th May 1985; Michigan Engineering, University of Michigan 8 Oct 2014 uploaded from Youtube; Trans Activism Oral History Project, Chair in Transgender Studies, University of Victoria, Canada Feb 4th 2020; Radio Newsreel BBC World Service 31st October 1963; Dermot O’Leary show BBC Radio 2 17th August 2013; Sunny South Kensington – Donovan Epic 22nd October 1966; Songbird – Eva Cassidy Didgeridoo Records/ Hot Record 1998; My Generation – The Who Bruinswick Records/ Decca (US) 1965/6; Falling for Francoise, Producer: Alan Hall A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 4 2011.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0020h70)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0020h8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0020h6w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0020hb0)
Ben Wright's guests are the Science Minister, Andrew Griffith; Labour's Dame Meg Hillier; and Professor Stephen Gethins, representing the SNP. They discuss the impact of gambling allegations - with additional analysis and insight from Kevin Schofield, political editor of HuffPost UK. The panel also talk about Brexit, and how the next government might approach relations with the EU. And two veterans of election campaigns past - Lord Jonathan Hill and Baroness Ayesha Hazarika - reflect on the current contest and whether it's addressing the big issues facing the UK.
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m0020966)
Karma
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the doctrine of Karma as developed initially among Hindus, Jains and Buddhists in India from the first millennium BCE. Common to each is an idea, broadly, that you reap what you sow: how you act in this world has consequences either for your later life or your future lives, depending on your view of rebirth and transmigration. From this flow different ideas including those about free will, engagement with the world or disengagement, the nature of ethics and whether intention matters, and these ideas continue to develop today.
With
Monima Chadha
Professor of Indian Philosophy and Tutorial Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford
Jessica Frazier
Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
And
Karen O’Brien-Kop
Lecturer in Asian Religions at Kings College London
Producer: Simon Tillotson
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
Reading list:
J. Bronkhorst, Karma (University of Hawaii Press, 2011)
J. H. Davis (ed.), A Mirror is for Reflection: Understanding Buddhist Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2017), especially ‘Buddhism Without Reincarnation? Examining the Prospects of a “Naturalized” Buddhism’ by J. Westerhoff
J. Ganeri (ed.), Ethics and Epics: Philosophy, Culture, and Religion (Oxford University Press, 2002), especially ‘Karma and the Moral Order’ by B. K. Matilal
Y. Krishan, The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Brāhmaṇical, Buddhist and Jaina Traditions (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 1997)
N.K.G. Mendis (ed.), The Questions of King Milinda: An Abridgement of Milindapañha (Buddhist Publication Society, 1993)
M. Siderits, How Things Are: An Introduction to Buddhist Metaphysics (Oxford University Press, 2022)
M. Vargas and J. Dorris (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology (Oxford Univesrity Press, 2022), especially ‘Karma, Moral Responsibility and Buddhist Ethics’ by B. Finnigan
J. Zu, 'Collective Karma Cluster Concepts in Chinese Canonical Sources: A Note' (Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol.24: 2, 2023)
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m00208pn)
The Shooting Drill
A brand new story from Benjamin Markovits about becoming a father. With his new baby on his chest, Sam thinks back to his school days and an embarrassing teenage encounter with his doctor.
Read by Joseph Ayre and produced by Nicola Holloway
MONDAY 24 JUNE 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0020hb2)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Being Roman with Mary Beard (m001sctb)
2. The Vengeance of Turia
Beneath starched Shakespearean togas and the pungent fug of gladiator sweat there are real Romans waiting to be discovered. To know what it was to be Roman you need to gather the scattered clues until they form a living, breathing human, witness to the highs and horrors of Europe’s greatest empire.
Mary Beard, Britain’s best-selling historian of the ancient world, rebuilds the lives of six citizens of the Roman Empire, from a slave to an emperor. Her investigations reveal the stressful reality of Roman childhood, the rights of women and rules of migration, but it’s the thoughts and feelings of individual Romans she’s really interested in.
In the second episode we meet a woman caught up in a brutal civil war. Turia’s story starts with the murder of her parents. She tracks down their killers and fights off scavenging relatives desperate for a piece of her inheritance. Before she has a moment to settle her new husband is forced on the run, fleeing the murderous junta that’s taken over the empire after the murder of Julius Caesar. She’s badly beaten by the leadership's thugs as she pleads her husband’s case, but will her sacrifices ensure his safety?
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Expert Contributors: Greg Woolf, UCLA; Matthew Nicholls, Oxford University; Helen King, Open University
Cast: Voice of Laudatio Turiae read by Don Gilet
Special thanks to the National Museum of Rome, Baths of Diocletian
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0020h83)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020hb4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020hb6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020hb8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0020hbb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020hbd)
John the Baptist
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Rev Neil Gardner of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0020hbg)
24/06/25 Potatoes, Champing, Countryside Alliance
A potato expert is warning of potential shortages of the crop this winter after a year of constant rain has prevented planting and harvest, and put some growers off completely. One potato processor and packer has gone bust, also citing rocketing input costs and variable prices, and the NFU is calling for Government support. We hear from Cedric Porter, who's speaking about the global trade at the World Potato Congress in Australia this week.
We've been hearing from groups with an interest in rural affairs, the countryside, farming and the environment in the run-up to the election. Today it's the Countryside Alliance and their chief executive Tim Bonner.
And we go 'champing' - camping in churches and chapels, along a way-marked pilgrimage walk in the Peak District National Park.
Presented by Caz Graham
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Challoner
MON 05:57 Weather (m0020hbj)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m0020hmf)
Election 2024: Mishal Husain and Amol Rajan
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0020hmh)
Animal communication
How do animals detect natural disasters before they happen? Martin Wikelski, Director of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour at the University of Konstanz argues they have a ‘sixth sense’ that humans are only just beginning to understand. In his book, The Internet of Animals, he reveals the extraordinary network of information gathered by tagging and tracking thousands of animals across the world.
At the University of Glasgow researchers have been looking at how technology can be used to help animals communicate with each other. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas explored the potential of video-calling to reduce loneliness in parrots and found that the sociable birds preferred the live interaction to pre-recorded videos.
The traditional rhythms of a pastoral life are at the heart of Kapka Kassabova’s new book, Anima. In the mountainous region of Bulgaria, she follows the ‘pastiri’ people, the shepherds struggling to hold onto an ancient way of life, and their relationship with the oldest surviving breeds of sheep and goats, and their legendary breed of dog, the Karakachan.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Oliver Burkeman's Inconvenient Truth (m001md55)
The Fulfilment Fallacy
Oliver Burkeman dives into the spiritual and psychological implications of convenience, making us more impatient, less tolerant of discomfort and convincing us that we’re on the verge of escaping our limitations. With Perspectiva’s Jonathan Rowson and writer Kat Rosenfield.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020hmk)
Helen Heckety, Taylor Swift’s UK tour, Football and domestic abuse
Novelist Helen Heckety joins Nuala to talk about her debut work, Alter Ego. It’s about a young woman who decides to leave her old life behind and move to a new place where no one knows she is disabled. Helen, who has a physical disability that can sometimes be invisible, was compelled to write about a disabled character she had never seen represented in literature.
According to The Times, Labour – if elected – would make it easier for people to legally transition by removing the need for them to prove they have lived as their preferred gender for two years. They will instead be given a two-year cooling off period after applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate. The Labour Party say there is nothing new in their policy on this. Nuala is joined by Geri Scott senior political correspondent at the Times to discuss.
This weekend marked the final dates of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in the UK - until she returns again in August. The show has been described as a ‘masterpiece’ and ‘seven shades of incredible.’ Journalists Polly Vernon and Anna Willis were lucky enough to attend, and they join Nuala to go over their highlights.
Have you been enjoying Euro 2024? While many fans are cheering on their teams, there are some who dread these major sporting tournaments. Research by Lancaster University found that cases of abuse increased by 38% when England lost a football match and by 26% when they won or drew. The BBC’s Daniel Sandford, has been out with Sussex Police, who have been supporting potential victims. He joins Nuala along with Nik Peasgood, Chief Executive of Leeds Women’s Aid
Today marks the start of World Female Ranger Week, an initiative set up by adventurer and conservationist Holly Budge. It is estimated that only 11% of rangers across the world are female. These women do an important but dangerous job, protecting wildlife from poachers. Holly is also the founder of How Many Elephants, an anti-poaching conservation charity. She joins Nuala to talk on how her adventures led to becoming an advocate for female rangers and animal conservation.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Studio Manager: Donald McDonald
MON 11:00 Writing the Universe (m0020hmm)
The End
It might seem to be the most remote of scientific questions. How does it all end - If indeed it does end? Much has been written about the beginning that lies behind us: the creation of the universe 13.8 billion years ago; the Big Bang and all that followed. But with all we have learned so far, how accurate can our predictions of the end be?
It was Renaissance astronomer Galileo who believed the “Book of nature is written in mathematical characters” and that without these “one is wandering in a dark labyrinth” But equations of physics can run both forward as well as back. And pictures have begun to emerge of the far-future evolution of the universe .But in conveying any scenarios as to how the universe might end, how careful do scientists and writers have to be to avoid bringing on any cosmological vertigo to the minds of inhabitants on planet earth?
Robin Ince examines how the great science communicators past and present have helped woo us towards concepts of the universe’s destiny that we would have previously found quite improbable.
With contributions from Robin’s fellow Infinite Monkey Cage presenter Brian Cox, Katie Mack author of The End of Everything; Paul Sutter author of Your Place in the Universe; physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll; art critic Louisa Buck; writer and producer John Lloyd; astronomer Adam Riess; astrophysicist Mike Turner
Producer: Adrian Washbourne
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Soundscape designer: Jane Watkins
BBC Studios Audio Production
MON 11:45 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020hmp)
Episode 6
Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.
Autumn 1942. American aid is now being transported to Russia via the Iranian railway line between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. In January 1943, the surrender of German troops at Stalingrad signals that the war is on the turn. Churchill meets Roosevelt in Nova Scotia, and Operation Overlord – the Allied invasion of northern France – is scheduled for 1944. Averell Harriman is appointed US ambassador in Moscow. He becomes increasingly concerned by Roosevelt’s naivety about Stalin. Harriman wrote: ‘I gained the impression that Stalin wanted a pulverized Europe in which there would be no strong countries except the Soviet Union.’
Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0020hmr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0020hmt)
Car Insurance, Independent Cinemas and Mortgage Arrears
We get the latest from Manchester Airport as passengers are rerouted to their destinations following yesterday’s power outage.
Over the past five years, average mortgage payments have risen from more than six hundred pounds a month to over a thousand pounds. Debt charities warn that whilst the number of people in arrears isn’t rising, it may be masking the financial difficulties experiences by families.
According to AutoTrader, the average price for a year of motoring for someone aged 17 to 20 is £7,600. We hear how this is impacting young drivers.
Independent cinemas are seeing a rise in interest from young people, as more and more of them seek out arthouse and foreign-language films. This is providing a boost to an industry which has been slow to recover from the pandemic.
And, how difficult is it to make your home green? A new survey shows why many of us are being put off making environmentally-friendly renovations.
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: CHARLIE FILMER-COURT
MON 12:57 Weather (m0020hmw)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0020hmy)
IFS: Parties "ducking" spending choices
The IFS think tank has accused Labour and the Conservatives of engaging in a 'conspiracy of silence' on tax and spending plans after the election.
MON 13:45 Buried (m0020jnc)
The Last Witness
The Last Witness - 1. A Box of Secrets
When reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor are handed a box of unseen evidence, they begin a new investigation - into a chemical secret. A witness says he found deformed cows, and worried a toxic chemical had entered the food chain. But the witness had a warning for the future: "It's buried, isn't it? But it's going to come back."
Buried is the award-winning true-crime series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history. In this series, Dan and Lucy team up with the film star Michael Sheen, who recorded the witness before he died. Was the witness right?
Produced and presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Research by Georgie Styles
Sound design and mixing by Jarek Zaba
Original music and sounds by Phil Channell
Executive Producers: Philip Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0020h9w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Fags, Mags and Bags (m0020hn0)
Series 11
Alok-Pocalyse
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, Ramesh must contend with nonplussed members of the Lenzie Local Traders Association who call for an immediate meeting to try and clean up the mess being caused by Danny and Alok’s stag and hen party business.
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, and some guest appearances along the way.
Cast
Ramesh: Sanjeev Kohli
Dave: Donald McLeary
Sanjay: Omar Raza
Alok: Susheel Kumar
Malcolm. Mina Anwar
Danny: Kulvinder Ghir
Bishop Briggs: Michael Redmond
Mr Hepworth: Tom Urie
Bra Jeff: Steven McNicol
Kyle: Pierce Higgins
Nathan Laser: Gavin Mitchell
Producer: Gus Beattie for Gusman Productions
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:45 Gambits (m0011rnr)
4: The Rook
The next in a dazzling new short story series set in Little Purlington - a seemingly ordinary English village, but which is anything but. Today, in 'The Rook', a woman living secretly in the local folly finds herself under suspicion for the strange happenings in the village...
Reader: Jasmine Hyde
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 (m0020hn2)
Doon Mackichan and Bruce Robinson
Recorded at the Hay Festival
SHUGGIE BAIN by Douglas Stewart
ON THE BLACK HILL by Bruce Chatwin
AGAINST NATURE by Joris-Karl Huysmans
Harriett Gilbert takes to the stage in the BBC Marquee at the Hay Festival for a special edition of the programme recorded in front of an audience.
Actor and writer Doon Mackichan known for her outrageous character Cathy in the sitcom Two Doors Down chooses Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart as her good read. It's a touching but heartbreaking tale of a young Glaswegian boy's desperate efforts to save his mother Agnes from the alcoholism that ruins and degrades her. It won the Booker Prize in 2020.
As we're in Wales Harriett's fitting choice is Bruce Chatwin's On The Black Hill an account of rural Welsh life in the mid 20th century. It's the story of two brothers' lives over 80 years and their connection to land and community.
Bruce Robinson actor, director and writer of the hit film Withnail and I which has been adapted for stage chooses a book that features in the final scene of the film. The I character places two books in a suitcase at the end of the film, one of which is A Rebours - Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans. Bruce confesses that he's not the book's biggest fan but the ensuing discussion provides an entertaining insight into books we might read when we're younger and how differently we feel about them in later life. It's the story of an eccentric recluse Jean des Esseintes in 19th century France who loathes people and creates a fantasy world for himself but ultimately suffers from his self-inflicted pretentious ennui.
"I wish I hadn't chosen this book" proclaims Bruce Robinson as he introduces it. "I wish you hadn't chosen it" agrees Doon Mackichan. They then elicit a lot of audience laughter from their deconstruction of this seminal French novel that all three find pretentious.
A longer version of the programme is available as a podcast
Producer: Maggie Ayre
MON 15:30 The Failure of the Future (m001vm45)
The Economic Dreamland
For decades, artists and scientists have dreamed up utopias that aim to reform the way we live. But why did they not become the future we are living in today? Is there something in those “what-might-have-beens” that’s worth returning to?
Writer and artist Johny Pitts explores a series of failed visions of the future. But rather than discarding them with the sands of time, he asks what we can learn from those past projections. And might elements of these forgotten worlds propel us towards a brighter tomorrow?
For Johny, there was a time when he felt he was living inside the future. Between 1950 and 1990, Japan was a time of great prosperity, innovation and invention. The nation seemed to be mapping out an advanced reality that could shape the future that the rest of the world might live in. And yet, that didn't come to fruition.
In the second episode of this four-part series, Johny considers what our future workplaces and creative practices might take from the explosive “bubble economy” era of 1980s Japan - a time of happy workers, booming industry, and pioneering inventions that we still love today. But was everything really as shiny as it seemed? What made the bubble era come crashing down and what can we learn from its collapse?
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer and sound design: Anishka Sharma
Mix Engineer: Nigel Appleton
Executive Producer: Phil Smith
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4
MON 16:00 The City That Stayed at Home (m0020h99)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0020h6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m0020hn4)
A row over the use of Physician Associates
We'll look at the latest in the ongoing debate over Physician Associates. Also, the PM tombola has its last spin.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020hn6)
The IFS thinktank said the next government would face "painful" financial decisions
MON 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0020hn8)
Series 13
Margate
Mark Steel's In Town - Margate
“...a nice spot not vulgarised by crowds of literary people...” Oscar Wilde
In this first episode Mark visits the lovely seaside town of Margate in the Thanet district of Kent.
A magical place where T.S Eliot wrote a verse of The Wasteland, J.M.W Turner painted views of the Harbour, Tracy Emin spent her formative years and Pete Doherty has his name on a wall of fame in a cafe for eating a "mega breakfast" in under 20 minutes.
Mark visits Dreamland and its 100 year old rollercoaster, the famous Crab Museum and the historic Walpole Hotel before perfoming his show in the Cliff Bar and snooker hall under the iconic Lido Tower.
This is the 13th series of Mark's award winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.
As well as Margate, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Stoke on Trent, Malvern, East Grinstead and Coleraine in Northern Ireland.
There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC sounds.
Written and performed by Mark Steel
Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m0020hnc)
Lily is at Grey Gables on the phone to Mrs Mellor who is buying Bartleby. She wants to park her horse box there. Oliver tells Lily that Roy is staying in Bulgaria. Lily says the hotel can’t run without him – at least it won’t be the same. Oliver will have to manage until a replacement can be found. Lily says she finishes her placement next week. Later Oliver is struggling with printing staff rotas. Lily comes to the rescue. He proposes she take a paid position as his assistant until she goes to university. She was looking forward to some time off but agrees to consider it. But first she insists he sign her assessment.
Harrison has a quick word with Chris over coffee. Chris is too busy with Martha to go to nets. George turns up with Harrison’s veg box and reminds Chris about hoof trimming for Bartleby on Friday. They chat about Alice’s not guilty plea and George leaves in a hurry. Harrison admits he has been so angry since Friday. He asks Chris if they can have a chat. It’s awkward as Chris apologises about Fallon’s miscarriage. Harrison grows irritable about Alice’s not guilty plea and Chris would rather talk about anything else.
George chats to a smartened-up Bartleby as Oliver and agrees to take their picture. They talk about what a wrench it will be when Bartleby leaves on Friday. Oliver says Mrs Mellor has already paid. Distracted by Gem, Bartleby isn’t co-operating for the picture. George hopes they are on better form for Bartleby’s farewell tour of the village tomorrow.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0020hnf)
Kyoto, Nathaniel Rateliff, Midsummer Day poetry
The UN climate conference in Kyoto in 1997 is the setting for a new play at the RSC. Its writers Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson talk about the dramatic potential they saw in that moment and in the decade leading up to it.
Nathaniel Rateliff is a singer songwriter based in Denver, Colorado whose style of Americana and collaboration with the Nightsweats has garnered a steady following of fans due to his talent in storytelling and performance. He joins us to play live.
We celebrate Midsummer’s Day with poems that explore this heady midpoint in the year. Critic Tristram Fane Saunders chooses some of the most evocative midsummer verses, and Forward Prize-winning poet Sasha Dugdale reads “June”, a brand new poem specially commissioned for today’s Front Row.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0020973)
What's the Biden ceasefire plan and will it work?
David Aaronovitch and guests examine Joe Biden's ceasefire deal and ask whether - despite some positive noises from both sides - Israel and Hamas are interested in making it work.
Guests:
David Makovsky, Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations
Anshel Pfeffer, columnist and Israel correspondent at The Economist
Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London
Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Production team: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Sally Abrahams and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineer: Sarah Hockley
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m0020975)
Taylor Swift Seismology
Taylor Swift fans danced so hard they made the ground shake at her recent Edinburgh gig so this week we’re meeting Earth Scientists Emma Greenough and James Panton to measure the Cardiff show - and explain some Swiftie Seismology.
We’re joined by the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring and Cardiff University's Professor Martin Innes to talk the science of tracking election disinformation on social media.
What’s in the election manifestos? BBC science correspondent Pallab Ghosh explains all.
And Marnie dashes to Kew Gardens to meet horticulturalist Solene Dequiret, hoping to be in time to see two very foul-smelling plants in very rare bloom.
Nose pegs at the ready...
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Gerry Holt, Katie Tomsett & Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
MON 21:00 Start the Week (m0020hmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:45 Assume Nothing: The Shankill Gold Rush (m001kpvs)
Tragedy
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 (m0020hnh)
Macron warns of a French ‘civil war’
Emmanuel Macron says that the policies of his far-right and hard-left rivals risk pushing France towards a civil war, as the country prepares for an election in less than a week's time.
Also on the programme: A look at the issues most discussed in Northern Ireland ahead of the UK general elections; and the future of the Jewish residents in Russia’s Dagestan after Sunday’s gun attack.
(Picture: The French president Emmanuel Macron speaking at an event in Paris. Credit: Bertrand Guay / EPA)
MON 22:45 Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure by Sara Sheridan (m0020hnk)
Episode 1
Warm and witty fiction set in Glasgow about a cognitive behavioural therapist who finds herself in conversation with a man claiming to be the long-dead poet Robert Burns.
Reader: Elaine C. Smith
Producer: Kirsty Williams
An EcoAudio certified production from BBC Audio Scotland.
MON 23:00 Limelight (m00181m2)
The System - Series 2
The System - Step 1: Wilderness Survival for Beginners
or How to Save the World in 5 Easy Steps
Step 1: Wilderness Survival for Beginners
Five of the UK’s richest men have been kidnapped by a mysterious extremist group.
20-something siblings Maya and Jake have been framed for a murder they did not commit.
How do these two events connect? And how far will the young radicals go to change the world?
Ben Lewis’s award-winning thriller returns.
Cast:
Jake … Alex Austin
Maya… Siena Kelly
Jess … Chloe Pirrie
Richard…Pip Torrens
Original music and sound design by Danny Krass
Featuring tracks from Equiknoxx music collective
A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams
MON 23:30 Split Ends (m001ybgx)
1. Dr. Feelgood
Singer-songwriter and BBC Introducing presenter Kitty Perrin charts the stories of band splits, looks at what really happened in the break ups of some of history's best loved bands. With new interviews with band members and music professionals, academics, and writers she attempts to analyse the reasons behind why bands split.
In this first episode, she looks at the splits and re-incarnations of 1970s Canvey Island pub rock band Dr Feelgood, charting how, through creative differences, deaths, and rigours of touring#, the current line-up of the band has none of the original members. Yet they are still Dr Feelgood, they still tour and have a huge international fanbase. Kitty speaks with original drummer ‘The Big Figure’, manager Chris Fenwick and current band members, Gordon Russell, Phil Mitchell, Kevin Morris and Robert Kane.
She hears from Jodi Milstein an LA based psychotherapist who runs Rockstar Therapy – akin to marriage guidance for bands - as well as from Tamsin Embleton, editor of band touring bible Touring And Mental Health. And Ryan Dusick, original drummer with the American Band Maroon 5, talks about how touring took its toll on his mental health.
Presented by Kitty Perrin
Produced by Julian Mayers and Chris Wilson
Music by Gordon Russell
A Yada-Yada Audio production for BBC Radio 4
TUESDAY 25 JUNE 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0020hnm)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020hmp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020hnp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020hnr)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020hnt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0020hnw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020hny)
Embracing change
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Rev Neil Gardner of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0020hp0)
25/06/24 - Conservative manifesto, venison in school and dormice reintroductions
An extra billion pounds across the next Parliament for farming and legally binding targets on food production - we hear what's in the Conservative Party manifesto on farming, the environment and rural communities. It's part of a series of political interviews with the main parties that will run on the programme across the week.
Learning about food and its link to farming can be a challenge in the classroom - but what better way than to actually farm your school dinners? We visit Maple Hayes Dyslexia School in the Midlands where they're doing just that. The school set up its own herd of deer in the grounds, some of which end up on the lunch menu.
And the population of hazel dormice in the UK has declined by over two-thirds since 2000. Earlier this month 10 were reintroduced into a secret Bedfordshire woodland with the aim of creating a more genetically diverse population in the area.
Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
TUE 06:00 Today (m0020j3p)
Julian Assange agrees US plea deal
The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has left the UK after agreeing a US deal that will see him plead guilty to one charge and go free. His wife Stella speaks exclusively to Mishal on Today, saying she is ‘elated’ but the deal was ‘touch and go at times’.
In the latest from the UK election campaign, Nick hosts a hustings in the key seat of Bolton West. He speaks to voters about private schools, housing and how they’d describe the leaders in one word.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0020hlk)
Conny Aerts on star vibrations and following your dreams
Many of us have heard of seismology, the study of earthquakes; but what about asteroseismology, focusing on vibrations in stars?
Conny Aerts is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Leuven in Belgium - and a champion of this information-rich field of celestial research. Her work has broken new ground in helping to improve our understanding of stars and their structures.
It hasn’t been an easy path: Conny describes herself as always being “something of an outlier” and she had to fight to follow her dream of working in astronomy.
But that determination has paid off - today, Conny is involved in numerous interstellar studies collecting data from thousands of stars, and taking asteroseismology to a whole new level.
In an epsiode recorded at the 2024 Cheltenham Science Festival, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to the pioneering Belgian astrophysicist about her lifelong passion for stars, supporting the next generation of scientists, and her determination to tread her own path.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Lucy Taylor
TUE 09:30 Is Psychiatry Working? (m0020hlm)
OCD and Dom
In this new series of Is Psychiatry Working, writer Horatio Clare and his co-host, psychiatrist Professor Femi Oyebode focus on some of the most successful ways of treating mental health conditions – both the established and the more experimental. The world of mental illness, what it is and how we understand it, the embattled position of psychiatry and its patients was the matter of the first series, explored through the story of Horatio’s own breakdown. The landscape travelled – both in terms of access to good mental health care, and psychiatry's progress - was quite bleak. Now, in the spirit of hopefulness, Femi and Horatio explore a new and important question - what is working in psychiatry now?
In this episode, Dom helps us to better understand what it’s really like to live with debilitating OCD. We investigate first line treatments for the disorder – including SSRIs and exposure therapy as well as specialist inpatient services and innovations in neurosurgery.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020j3r)
Women voting in Northern Ireland, playwright and actor Faith Omole, Sarah Ockwell Smith on ‘demetrescence’
With just over a week to go until the UK heads to the polls for the general election, what’s the situation for women voters in Northern Ireland? BBC Northern Ireland political correspondent Jayne McCormack joins Nuala McGovern to discuss what political candidates there are offering women.
Days ahead of a UN summit on Afghanistan, which is set to exclude Afghan women, reports are surfacing from teenage girls and young women arrested by the Taliban for wearing 'bad hijab' that they have been subjected to sexual violence and assault in detention. Zarghuna Kargar joins Nuala.
The term ‘matrescence’ has been around since the 70s, but it’s only recently becoming more commonly known as a concept. It describes the process of becoming a new mother, and the emotional and physical changes you go through after the birth of your child. But then how should we talk about the experience of matrescence when your kids are teenagers, you’re in mid-life and you start the menopause? The parenting expert and childcare author Sarah Ockwell-Smith has a name for that – inspired by a Greek goddess, she calls it ‘demetrescence' and she explains all to Nuala.
Faith Omole is best known as an actress but now she’s well on the way to be know at least as well for her writing too. Last week her first performed play, My Father’s Fable, premiered at Bush Theatre in London. It tells a gripping story of grief, belonging, and a family on the edge.
And in a BBC first, Radio 3’s Georgia Mann will be at Glastonbury this year. She is opening the Crow’s Nest stage on Friday, spinning classical tunes in a DJ set. She joins Nuala McGovern to discuss how she has selected the music for her set and how prepared she is for camping.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Laura Northedge
TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m00208pz)
Series 9
Jasdeep Singh Degun and Anne Dudley head to the tavern
Sitar player and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun and composer and musician Anne Dudley continue the musical journey with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye.
From New York punk to Björk's debut via a 13th century drinking song in Latin, this penultimate episode of the series brings the current tally of tracks to 25.
Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
I Don’t Want to Grow Up by the Ramones
The Barley Mow by The Irish Rovers
In Taberna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Hamri Atariya Pe Aaja Re by Shobha Gurtu
Venus as a Boy by Björk
Other music in this episode:
It's My Life by Dr Alban
Forever Young by Bob Dylan
Old Man by Neil Young
Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen
Help the Aged by Pulp
Songs to Aging Children Come by Joni Mitchell
Getting Older by Billie Eilish
I Don't Wanna Grow Up by Tom Waits
O Fortuna by Carl Orff
Happy Birthday to You
TUE 11:45 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020j3t)
Episode 7
Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.
1943. The journalist Kathy Harriman is in Moscow with her ambassador father. She sets up a glossy magazine, Amerika, to inform Russians about American life - it was published until 1994. The ‘Big Three’ conference takes place in Tehran – the first time Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet face to face. Churchill announces that Operation Overlord would take place ‘no later than May, 1944’.
Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0020j3w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0020j3y)
Call You and Yours - Car Costs
The cost of running a car is rising, with insurance premiums and repairs going up in price. So we’re asking, can you afford to run a car?
Are you a new, young driver - but can't afford the cost of insuring your first car?
Can you even afford to buy a car in the first place - or fix it when it goes wrong?
Perhaps you have been driving for years and premiums have pushed you to give up motoring? How are you getting around?
Let us know how the cost of motoring is affecting you - and what you're doing instead.
Email us at youandyours@bbc.co.uk and leave a telephone number where we can contact you.
From
11am on Tuesday you can call us on 03700 100 444.
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: KATE HOLDSWORTH
TUE 12:57 Weather (m0020j40)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m0020j42)
The WikiLeaks founder leaves prison in the UK and starts his journey to Australia.
TUE 13:45 Buried (m0020jng)
The Last Witness
The Last Witness - 2. A Hollywood Sleuth
Reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor visit the film star Michael Sheen - who recorded the witness's final account - and hear how he fell into a rabbit hole. They also discover Douglas Gowan's unpublished chemical test results. Are people in danger?
Buried is the award-winning true-crime series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history. In this new investigation, Dan and Lucy dig into the unseen files of a man who said he was beaten up and put under police protection, after alleging that a chemical had contaminated the food chain.
Produced and presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Research by Georgie Styles
Sound design and mixing by Jarek Zaba
Original music and sounds by Phil Channell
Executive Producers: Philip Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0020hnc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Riot Girls (m000sjyl)
The Fall Down
Episode 2
Maya and Jan have been kidnapped by The Seven, a mysterious group of women who have arrived on our planet, offering incredible solutions to the world's problems. But even stranger things are about to start happening - the fall down is about to occur. Lauren Cornelius, Lyndsey Marshall and Fanta Barrie star in Melissa Murray's feminist dystopian drama.
Directed by Emma Harding
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Maya.....Lauren Cornelius
Jan.....Lyndsey Marshall
Horace.....Fanta Barrie
Renata.....Jane Slavin
Petri.....Elinor Coleman
Robin.....David Sturzaker
Doctor Ramsey.....Tony Turner
TUE 15:00 The Gatekeepers (m001wjb1)
3. Are You Not Engaged?
The tech pioneers were right: all this connectivity and sharing is creating a new age of freedom and democracy. A global consciousness.
Arab Spring, Barack Obama – both fuelled by social media - make the possibilities feel limitless.
But, just as the dream to connect everyone is being realised - at the height of technological optimism - everything starts to fall apart.
Producer: Caitlin Smith
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Mix: Gav Murchie
Composer: Jeremy Warmsley
Story Consultant: Kirsty Williams
Executive Producer: Peter McManus + Heather Kane-Darling
Research: Rachael Fulton, Elizabeth Ann Duffy and Juliet Conway
Commissioned by Dan Clarke
Archive: C-NET Jan 2007; The Obama White House Archive, April 2011; C-Span, December 2008; C-Span 1996.
New episodes released on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest episodes of The Gatekeepers, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3Ui661u
TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m0020j44)
Shopping
In 1986 in Gateshead the MetroCentre opened on the site of a former power station. Laurie Taylor talks to Emma Casey, Reader in Sociology at the University of York about a new study which charts the history and the impact of this mall which created space for more than 300 shops. They're joined by Katie Appleford, Senior Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour at University for the Creative Arts, London and researcher into UK mothers' shopping habits post-COVID. Has the promise of shopping, as represented by the Metro Centre, faltered in the wake of the pandemic?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
TUE 16:00 Poetry Please (m0020j46)
Deryn Rees-Jones
For the last episode in the current series, Roger McGough is joined by poet and editor Deryn Rees-Jones, who makes a personal selection of poems requested by listeners. Deryn's choices include poems by Robert Frost, George Herbert, Medbh McGuckian, Stevie Smith, Denise Saul, Seamus Heaney, Wanda Coleman and John Burnside, who died in May 2024.
Produced by Sally Heaven and Emma Harding for BBC Audio Bristol.
TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m0020j48)
Taylor Swift’s PR stardust, the Putin effect and Southgate’s pundit problem
David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss Taylor Swift’s 'magical air cover' and the power of having your photo taken backstage or anywhere inside the Eras tour, whether you’re the Royal family or Keir Starmer. But would every politician risk the Taylor test?
And the latest political fan-hitters - why no-one wants to be a 'Putin ally', the Conservative’s 'Betgate' and how to get your message across if you're the SNP and you know most people listening can’t even vote for you.
Also, how podcasts, social media and the change in the velocity and ferocity of comment has so damaged the reputation of Gareth Southgate’s England. Is it possible to recover from losing the commentariat?
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 (m0020j4b)
Candidates dropped over betting
The Conservatives have withdrawn their support from two candidates who are being investigated over alleged election betting. Labour has also suspended a candidate over betting.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020j4d)
A Labour candidate has admitted he put a bet on the Tories to win in his constituency
TUE 18:30 Munya Chawawa's Election Doom Scroll (m0020hlx)
Keir Starmzy
After a long day, who among us doesn't settle down on the sofa for a quick doom scroll through our phones? Our political leaders are no different.
Join satirical powerhouse Munya Chawawa as he takes us deep inside Keir Starmer's phone and guides us on a hilarious rollercoaster ride through his voice notes, his Instagram feed and much more, giving us unique insight into whether there's anything more exciting lurking behind the charisma void...
Throughout the series Munya, king of satirical sketch, will tackle the omnishambles that is the General Election, unpacking the week's arguably increasingly absurd campaign news, with the various apps on the leader's phones transitioning us into what he does best - hilarious, reactive sketches that skewer those in power and giving us the light relief we so desperately needed during this tumultuous period.
Don't forget to join us next week as we take a sneaky peek inside the other party leaders' phones.
Performed by Munya Chawawa
Written by Munya Chawawa, Matthew Crosby, James Farmer, Joe McArdle and Sharon Wanjohi
Audio Producer: Ben Sutton
Series Producer: Jo Maney
Sound Designer: Rich Evans
Executive Producers: Munya Chawawa and Ben Wicks
An Expectation production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0020hkx)
Susan and Joy are filling shelves. They discuss Lynda being mysterious about who will be taking over from her to organise the Ambridge Fete. Joy is not keen on becoming her successor. Jazzer arrives to collect some beans and agrees. Joy says being part of the team effort is more her style. Jazzer suggests a cost of living fete with prizes that are actually useful. Later Joy tries to cheer up Susan who is rattled by Alice’s not guilty plea. Every time she thinks things are getting better they get worse. Joy saw them at the playground and they looked like a normal happy family. Later tired Susan yawns and confesses to Joy she’s not sleeping well over the situation with Alice. The only upside is that Martha has her home and Emma’s to fall back on.
George and Eddie are getting Bartleby ready for his tour of the village when Meg Mellor calls to say she’s arrived in Ambridge. George asks if she can come early on Friday so he can take her through Bartleby’s likes and dislikes. She promises she will and George hangs up abruptly, growing upset at the thought. Susan, Joy and Jazzer come to say farewell to Bartleby. Eddie waxes lyrical about the pony’s new home but George is irritated at such talk. The Grundy’s finish Bartleby’s tour and Eddie reminds George that he’ll have to appear in court at Felpersham and lawyers will try to run rings around him. Eddie suggests using Bartleby’s money to buy more pigs. Furious, George calls Meg and says the deal’s off – she can’t have Bartleby!
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0020j4g)
The Marilyn Conspiracy, Rachel Podger, Emma Glass
Violinist Rachel Podger has assembled an intriguing selection of English Baroque chamber pieces on her new CD The Muses Restor'd. She tells Kate about some of the lesser known composers who were active in 17th and 18th century England and performs live in the studio.
A new play at the Park Theatre in London explores the conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death. Creators Guy Masterson and Vicki McKellar discuss the truth behind the fiction.
Emma Glass's new book Mrs Jekyll realises Deborah Orr's final idea for a novel, having been approached by innovative publisher Cheerio. Glass, herself leading a dual life as a nurse and novelist, discusses drawing on RL Stephenson's original and balancing horror with humanity.
Presenter: Kate Molleson
Producer: Paula McGrath
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0020hkj)
The Final Battle: Veterans fighting for compensation
There are two compensation schemes for veterans who’ve suffered injury or illness as a result of service - the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme - or AFCS - and the War Pension Scheme. The schemes are managed by Veterans UK which is an organisation run by the Ministry of Defence.
But veterans have long criticised both schemes. Some say they reject claims unfairly, and are slow to resolve them. File on 4 has been told in some cases it’s taken almost 12 years for a final decision to be made. How does the system work? And what is the impact on veterans who claim they have to fight for financial compensation for conditions they say are a result of their service? File on 4 hears from one ex-servicemen whose claim took over seven years to resolve, and from the family of another former soldier who took his life after his claim for PTSD was repeatedly turned down.
If you are affected by anything in this programme, details of organisations offering support with mental health and self-harm, or feelings of despair, are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Producer: Vicky Carter
Reporter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Technical producer: Richard Hannaford
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover
Editor: Carl Johnston
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0020j4k)
New Priorities for UK Eye Care Research, A Year in Kenya
The UK Clinical Eye Research Strategy aims to provide focal points for research and funding into eye disease, treatments and prevention. They have updated their areas of focus, based on a survey of what patients want and need. Professor Rupert Bourne is consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, and has been the national lead on ophthalmology research for the past nine years. He describes what areas the strategy will now focus on and why, and gives details of other important nation-wide studies relating to eye disease prevention and care.
Lauren Stairs is a totally blind psychotherapist and she is about to embark on a year-long charitable venture to a blind residential school in Kenya. Through the charity she and her team will be setting up, her aim is to give the children confidence in their own abilities, to encourage parental involvement in the children's education and assist with financial challenges that some families there face.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
TUE 21:00 Wokewash (m001vld9)
Pride Before a Fall?
Following on from the success of Green Inc and with the same bold, provocative and entirely un-switchoffable energy, writer, comedian and satirist Heydon Prowse turns his tongue-in-cheek attention corporate Wokewashing.
From a razor company talking about #MeToo to an LGBT sandwich and a burger chain tackling depression, writer and satirist Heydon Prowse unpacks how some of the world's biggest corporations are falling over themselves to appear socially conscious, progressive. And he lifts the lid on the advertising and PR companies who've woken up to just how much money they can make helping them.
In this first episode, Heydon investigates corporations’ approach to LGBTQ+ inclusivity. He’ll trace the history from brands’ first engagements with gay customers to the situation today, where Pride month sees the high street and social media festooned with corporate rainbow flags. Heydon will ask how many companies live up to this inclusive message in actions. This episode will also take a look at the backlash to brand engagement with LGBTQ+ issues that has been seen in the UK and the USA as the corporate world is drawn into the culture wars. It’s led to boycotts and hasty backpedalling, but what’s really going on, and why?
Contributors:
Peter Tatchell, Activist and Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation
Prof Alison Taylor of New York University's Stern Business School and author of 'Higher Ground: How Businesses Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World.'
Rain Dove, Model and Actvist
Andrew Doyle, Comedian, GB News Presenter and author of The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World.
Producer: Sam Peach
Archive Credited To:
John Sloman (Youtube)
Dove US (Youtube)
raindovemodel (instagram)
dylanmulvaney (instagram)
Make Yourself At Home Podcast by Nines
Ben Shapiro (Youtube)
CNN
WKMG News
Kid Rock (X)
TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m002096j)
Is work getting more intense?
Millions of employees in the UK are now able to work flexibly – fitting their job around their home life. Many in office jobs, can finish early on a Friday, and are allowed, even encouraged, to routinely work from home.
But, at the same time, we’re told that the levels of overwork, stress, and burnout in this country are on the rise. More than 17 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression and anxiety in the last year for which we have data. So what’s going on?
Evan Davis and guests discuss whether work is really making employees feel burnt out and what's the best way to tackle it.
Evan is joined by:
Jane Gratton: Head of People Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce
Riannon Palmer: Founder and CEO, Lem-uhn
Catherine Allen: People Director at THIS!
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Producers: Simon Tulett, Drew Hyndman and Miriam Quayyum
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Robin Warren and Rod Farquhar
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020j4m)
Election betting controversy grows
A fifth Conservative is being looked into by the Gambling Commission in relation to alleged bets on the date of the general election. We have the latest from Westminster - and ask how voters are responding to the growing controversy.
At least five people have been killed in Kenya during mass protests against the government's plans to raise taxes.
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has arrived in a remote US territory in the Pacific to plead guilty to a charge of espionage - we're live on the island.
And the legendary Irish broadcaster Michael O'Muircheartaigh has died at the age of 93 after a career spanning six decades. We have a tribute from the comedian Dara O'Briain.
TUE 22:45 Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure by Sara Sheridan (m0020j4p)
Episode 2
Krysty finds herself hoping that the man claiming to be long-dead poet Robert Burns will turn up in her therapy room again….
Reader: Elaine C. Smith
Producer: Kirsty Williams
An EcoAudio certified production from BBC Audio Scotland.
TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m0020j4r)
Series 4
S4. Case 9: The Labor Day UFO
On 1st September 1969, multiple witnesses see lights in the sky above Massachusetts. Some of those witnesses, all of them children at the time, subsequently claim to have been abducted. What really happened that night?
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Nick Pope and Benjamin Radford
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 Strandings (m001yqjz)
Peter Riley was 13 when he saw his first dead whale. It was a sperm whale. He spent most of the day with it on a Norfolk beach, and then watched on as someone carried away a trophy from its carcass. That night marked the beginning of Peter’s lifelong fascination with whales. Now, as an author and a Herman Melville scholar, Peter is seeking to understand the ancient and complex relationship between humans and whales.
According to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, there are approximately 550-800 strandings of whales, dolphins and porpoises in the UK every year. Although no one is completely certain why this happens, we do know they've been doing it for thousands of years.
For as long as there have been stranded whales, there have been humans drawing meaning from their arrival - a warning, a symbol of hope, endings or new beginnings. So what news might they be bringing us now?
In our current state of unprecedented abundance and advancement, in our pandemic of isolation and individual “strandedness”, the whales seem to be calling us again. As Peter speaks with cetacean experts, chases down whale remains and witnesses a whale stranding himself, he discovers what these magical creatures might be revealing about who we are, what we've become and where we might be headed.
A Sound & Bones production for BBC Radio 4
WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0020j4t)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020j3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020j4w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020j4y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020j50)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0020j52)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020j54)
Indomitable spirit
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Rev Neil Gardner of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0020j56)
26/06/24 - Labour's Manifesto, regen farming and high yielding wheat
A "New Deal for Farming" including better trade deals and more public procurement of home grown food - we hear what's in the Labour Party manifesto on farming, the environment and rural communities. It's part of a series of political interviews with the main parties that will run on the programme across the week.
Groundswell is the biggest UK event for "regenerative farming" - and around eight thousand people are expected to attend this week's show. But some farmers worry that switching to growing food without relying on chemicals will lead to lower yields and less profit. So what's the solution?
And, we meet the seed breeder who produced a variety of wheat called "Champion" which was used by the Lincolnshire farmer who holds the World Record for the most wheat produced per hectare of land.
Presented by Anna Hill
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons
WED 06:00 Today (m0020hk9)
Election 2024: Nick Robinson and Emma Barnett
Latest news from the election campaign, plus Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m0020hkc)
Election claims and erection claims
Are Labour right about the Liz Truss effect on mortgages? Are the Conservatives right about pensioners? Are Plaid Cymru right about spending? Are the Lib Dems right about care funding? Is Count Binface right about croissants?
Why are MRP polls coming up with such different numbers?
Do erections require a litre of blood?
Tim Harford investigates the numbers in the news.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Kate Lamble
Producers: Simon Tulett, Nathan Gower, Beth Ashmead Latham and Debbie Richford
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon
WED 09:30 Intrigue (m001zgmq)
To Catch a Scorpion
To Catch a Scorpion: 7. Buried Deep
Sue and Rob uncover new evidence linking Scorpion to deaths at sea. They track him to a luxury seaside villa and hear from a woman close to him about the drugs and money he craved.
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 former soldier and aid worker, Rob Lawrie, team up to try to do what the police have been unable to achieve: to find Scorpion, to speak to him, to ask him to account for his crimes and to seek justice to those families he has harmed.
Their investigation takes them to the heart of an organised criminal gang making millions from transporting thousands of migrants on boat and lorry crossings that in some cases have gone dangerously wrong, causing serious injury and putting lives at risk. They witness his operation in action and record as intense situations unfold, where vulnerable people desperate for a better future, put their lives in the hands of ruthless and dangerous criminals.
To Catch a Scorpion is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4 and is presented and recorded by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie.
The series is produced by Sue Mitchell, Winifred Robinson and Joel Moors
The Editor is Philip Sellars
Commissioning Editor is Daniel Clarke
Assistant 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 (m0020hkg)
Sofie Gråbøl, Christine Jardine, Women and Equalities spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, Grace Campbell on abortion
Woman’s Hour has invited the leaders of all the main political parties for an interview in the run-up to the General Election. Today, in place of the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, Nuala McGovern is joined by Christine Jardine, the party’s Women and Equalities spokesperson.
Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl is best known to British viewers for her role as Sarah Lund in Scandi Noir crime drama The Killing. Now she’s returning to our cinema screens in a new film, Rose. Sophie plays Inger, a woman with serious mental health challenges, who takes a bus trip to Paris with her sister, Ellen. She discusses how she researched the character of Inger, by talking to the real woman that she is based on.
At the start of the month, comedian Grace Campbell wrote candidly about her mental health struggles after having an abortion and the response to her piece has been overwhelming. She speaks to Nuala about her experience, being pro-choice and how she’s sharing this as part of her stand-up.
Last weekend protests were held in four cities in the Republic of Ireland calling for justice after a serving soldier was given a suspended sentence for an attack on a woman which left her unconscious and with a broken nose. The Irish Defence Forces have confirmed that a review has been launched. Yesterday the protests continued outside the Dail, the Irish Assembly and Natasha was given a standing ovation inside as she watched from the public gallery.
Presented by Nuala McGovern
Producer: Louise Corley
WED 11:00 File on 4 (m0020hkj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:45 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020hkl)
Episode 8
Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.
January 1944. American journalists are taken to see the bodies of large numbers of Polish soldiers discovered in mass graves in Katyn Forest. They are told that the Germans had murdered the Poles in cold blood. Many in Washington and London are convinced, however, that the Soviets had committed the atrocity, and feel deeply uncomfortable at having to collude in Stalin’s crimes in order to keep the Allied relationship on track.
Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0020hkn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m0020hkq)
How Tickets Changed, Pub Closures, 'Essentials' Car Insurance
You & Yours fraud reporter Shari Vahl did her first 'tickets' story 16 years ago when Rebecca Adlington's Mum was scammed over tickets to see her daughter swim at the Beijing Olympics. The same thing happened earlier this month to the parents of a GB swimmer preparing for the Paris Olympics. How has the business of buying tickets changed in the meanwhile?
The insurance industry's answer to soaring motor premiums is to sell comprehensive insurance but stripped of many of the features motorists have become used to; do insurers need to make extra effort to make sure consumers know what they are buying?
The strange tale of the dead man and his ever changing credit score.
Pubs have been closing down for years but there has been an especially large spike in closures this year, why is that and what is the future of the 'local'?
The number of cancelled trains rose last year but as a change in the way the railways are run is due whoever wins the General Election, is train travel in as bad a state as it is often portrayed?
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: KEVIN MOUSLEY
WED 12:57 Weather (m0020hks)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m0020hkv)
Wikileaks founder Assange lands in Australia
The Australian Prime Minister welcomes Assange's arrival and says he is pleased to stand up for Australian citizens. Also, the shadow health secretary Wes Streeting and the activist Auma Obama, President Obama's half-sister, who was among the protesters in Kenya who were tear-gassed.
WED 13:45 Buried (m0020jnj)
The Last Witness
The Last Witness - 3. Discredit Gowan
“They would have killed me.”
Douglas Gowan says he was denounced in Parliament, impersonated and attacked - all to keep him silent. Dan and Lucy dig further into his explosive story, until they uncover an intriguing memo.
Buried is the award-winning true-crime series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history. In this new investigation, reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor team up with the film star Michael Sheen. Together, they dig into the unseen files of a man who said he was beaten up and put under police protection, after alleging that a chemical had contaminated the food chain.
Produced and presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Research by Georgie Styles
Sound design and mixing by Jarek Zaba
Original music and sounds by Phil Channell
Executive Producers: Philip Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
WED 14:00 The Archers (m0020hkx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0014x79)
The Breach
Owen Whitelaw’s thriller is set on a remote Scottish island and spans two time zones 4000 years apart. In the present day the discovery of several bodies in a peat bog is connected to a calamitous event that sparked the destruction of an ancient religion in 2000BC. Two archaeologists try to unravel the mystery of the bodies preserved in the bog but a 21st century catastrophe looms as rising sea levels threaten to engulf the island.
Gwen/Rachel ..... Hannah Donaldson
Mara/ Ellen ..... Isabelle Joss
Peter/Mike ..... Robert Jack
Caden ..... Owen Whitelaw
Onora ..... Anne Lacey
Adriana ..... Louise Ludgate
Producer/director: Bruce Young
WED 15:00 Money Box (m0020hkz)
Money Box Live: Care Leavers
Around 38,000 children move into care every year in the UK. That's one every 15 minutes and a significant number of looked-after children will remain in the system until they reach adulthood. So what happens then?
In this programme Felicity Hannah talks about what happens when you leave care. Without the bank of Mum and Dad, what financial support are those young people promised?
We're joined by Jess and Callum, two care leavers as well as Kirsty Doull, Care and Transitions Lead at CELCIS, which is the Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection, Carrie Wilson-Harrop from the Care Leavers Association and Clare Bracey, Policy, Campaigns and Communications Director at the care leavers charity, Become.
Presented and Produced by Felicity Hannah.
Producer: Neil Morrow
Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast
3pm Wednesday 26th June, 2024)
WED 15:30 The Artificial Human (m0020hl1)
Could AI Make My Glastonbury Better?
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 'solve' AI. Or at the very least, to answer our questions about it. These are 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-related innovation. By the end of each programme, the subject will be a little clearer - for us, and for themselves.
In this episode, Lucy wants to know; could AI make my Glastonbury better?
Lucy is attending the Glastonbury festival this year for the fifth time. She loves it and always has a really memorable experience, but it could be improved without the queues for the bars and the toilets, and maybe with a better idea of how to get from stage to stage in the shortest possible time. Could AI help?
Aleks and Kevin don't have all the answers, but they bring intelligence, curiosity and wit to the journey, seeking out the facts for us and speaking to those who are currently shaping our AI futures. This is very much a shared journey to get to the bottom of our deepest hopes and fears about these world changing technologies.
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m0020hl3)
Julian Assange: journalist or activist?
On the day Julian Assange is freed, we explore the story of WikiLeaks' unprecedented data releases, how he and the organisation changed the way journalists and newsrooms operate and how these releases ultimately led to his incarceration. Also in the programme, ITV's Julie Etchingham explains the secrets behind chairing prime ministerial debates and Steven Moffat, writer of new comedy drama Douglas is Cancelled, on why he's making journalism his subject.
Guests: Leila Nathoo, Political Correspondent, BBC; Dominic Wring, Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University; Jonathan Munro, Deputy Director, BBC News; Julie Etchingham, journalist and moderator, ITV news; James Ball, Political Editor, The New European; Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; Katie Mark, Deputy Editor, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism; Steven Moffat, writer, Douglas is Cancelled.
Presenters: Katie Razzall & Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson
WED 17:00 PM (m0020hl5)
Starmer and Sunak's final head-to-head
As the BBC hosts the final leader's debate tonight, PM holds its own debate between Labour and Tory frontbenchers. Also, we're live in Gedling hearing what matters to constituents.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020hl7)
After a 14-year legal battle Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is back on Australian soil.
WED 18:30 Jessica Fostekew: Sturdy Girl Club (m0020hl9)
Series 2
Wrestling
Strength can look like a lot of things and comedian Jessica Fostekew digs into some of the most unladylike sports going. This episode, we don our smartest lycra and spinnarooni into the world of Wrestling.
With the help of pro-wrestler Rhia O'Reilly, luchador Claire Heafford and wrestling megafan Sikisa, Jess unpacks the ins and outs of what it means to be a sturdy girl in the wrestling ring. We track the role of women in the sport from the early days of the Great Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah and try to work out if it is even a sport, or is it in fact - as Claire insists - a performing art?
Written and Performed by Jessica Fostekew.
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner
Assistant Producer: Tam Reynolds
Sound Designer: David Thomas
Executive Producer: Victoria Lloyd
A Mighty Bunny production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0020hlc)
Joy tells Lynda she wants to go through her ideas for the fete. Lynda is taken aback that Joy already has some arrangements in hand. Mick calls to say the Hollerton Silver Band is not available but Lynda insists music is vital. Lynda says Joy should not underestimate the task ahead. Later, Lynda returns to chat with Joy as she tackles some weeding. As Lynda suggests a school ukulele group, Mick arrives to say the Borchester Found in a Skip band has agreed to perform.
Lily can’t decide on the Grey Gables job offer as she tells Freddie that George has called off the Bartleby sale. Mick is dismissive about the work logs as Lily says sending the same thing every week renders it pointless. Mick walks off, agreeing. Lynda chats to Kirsty on the phone about Roy’s decision as she arrives at Grey Gables to collect his address book from his locker. She invites Lynda to join a video call to Roy planned for that evening. After her exchange with Mick, Lily complains to Kirsty that no-one takes her seriously. She agrees to get the master key but after Kirsty invites her to join the video call to Roy says she’ll bring it along then.
That evening after the video call to Roy, Freddie turns up with Bulgarian treats from the dairy at Roy’s request. A message from Roy says he told Oliver to offer Lily the job. And he sends a message to Kirsty saying now he has found his soulmate, it’s up to her to find hers.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0020hlf)
Next to Normal, British TV history, In the Eye of the Storm
Next to Normal stormed Broadway in 2009 with its portrayal of a woman struggling with her mental health. It went on to win three Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize. Now staged in London, its creator Tom Kitt and star Caissie Levy talk about this deeply emotional musical and Caissie performs live.
Early 20th century Ukrainian art is the focus of the Royal Academy’s In the Eye of the Storm exhibition. Curator Katia Denysova talks about how Ukrainian art was able to flourish in a brief window, between the cultural suppression imposed by the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Bold artistic styles are seen in works by Alexandra Exter and Kazymyr Malevich.
Marcus Prince talks about his time as the television programmer for the British Film Institute. He makes a case for why TV deserves a parity of respect with film – and shares some of his personal highlights from the archives.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Claire Bartleet
WED 20:00 News Summary (m0020s9l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:05 Witness History (m0020jpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Sunday]
WED 20:15 The Prime Ministerial Debate (m0020s9n)
Mishal Husain chairs the head to head debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, live from Nottingham.
Editor: Will Boden
WED 21:30 Is Psychiatry Working? (m0020hlm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020hlp)
Starmer and Sunak clash in fiery final debate
The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition seized their final opportunity to define themselves and their policies ahead of next Thursday's election. With a week to go before polling day, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer engaged in their most fiery debate yet, clashing repeatedly on issues like welfare reform, tax rises, immigration both legal and illegal, and trans rights.
As we went on air, reports emerged from Bolivia that soldiers and military vehicles were surrounding government buildings in the capital La Paz. The BBC's Will Grant provided updates.
And legendary rocker Pete Townshend talks about his half-century old album, Quadrophenia, enjoying a new lease of life as it's adapted into a ballet by Sadler's Wells Theatre.
WED 22:45 Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure by Sara Sheridan (m0020hlr)
Episode 3
Witty and beguiling new original fiction about a cognitive behavioural therapist who keeps encountering the apparent ghost of Robert Burns.
Determined to put her conversations with the long-dead poet to one side, Krysty meets her real-life famous friend, but can’t quite rid herself of thoughts about the enigmatic bard…
Reader: Elaine C. Smith
Producer: Kirsty Williams
An EcoAudio certified production from BBC Audio Scotland.
WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m000qx1m)
Series 8
Episode One: Patrick Marber and Peter Curran grapple with life's wonders and woes alongside comic legend Kathy Burke
More funny, sleepy wonders as Peter Curran and Patrick Marber lay down in the dark with special guests and let random thoughts drift into the air.
Genuinely recorded in bed and in the dark, it's an audio treat that seems to unite critics with very varied tastes:
"Funny, enchanting, moving, and beautifully put together." Observer
"The return of one of my most favourite things on radio, the brilliant and funny Bunk Bed.' Radio Times
"A clever, welcome comfort amid the storms." The Spectator
"You'll either love Marber and Curran's meandering thoughts or just hate Bunk Bed. Stick with it: this is gold." Sunday Telegraph
"Bunk Bed is beloved of broadsheet critics, but don't let that put you off...." Metro
In this episode, they are joined by the great comic actor and director Kathy Burke, foul-mouthed star of social media and the perfect foil for the dozy duo of Marber and Curran. Kathy reveals the joy of amusing police officers by giving them 'the fingers' even though she's in her 50s. She and Peter Curran take Patrick Marber to task over his expensive gifts such as food hampers from Hollywood star Julia Roberts, and the three discuss the art of eating crisps in bed.
In future episodes, outrageous showbiz stories abound as Patrick and Peter are joined by Guy Garvey from the band Elbow with his actor wife Rachel Stirling. They also talk about the hilarity and heartache caring for the late Dame Diana Rigg (Rachel's mother) in their home. Chef and TV presenter Andi Oliver reveals her amazing and very loud singing voice while laying in the dark with others trying to sleep.
Produced by Peter Curran
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 Chloe Petts' Toilet Humour (m0020hlv)
Episode 4
To help Chloe on this historical journey of the loo, she is joined by travel companion, the Ghost of Sir Thomas Crapper - who also bears quite a resemblance to comedian, Ed Gamble. In this week's episode Chloe arrives at the 20th Century and looks at the controversy surrounding public bathrooms both in the UK and the US.
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 Munya Chawawa's Election Doom Scroll (m0020hlx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Tuesday]
THURSDAY 27 JUNE 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0020hlz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020hkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020hm1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020hm3)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020hm5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0020hm7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020hm9)
Edinburgh at 900
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Rev Neil Gardner of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0020hmc)
27/06/24 Lib Dem's Manifesto, Groundswell regenerative farming, Sark considers Sunday tractors
All this week we're hearing from the main political parties on what they're offering farmers and rural communities this election. Today it's the turn of the Liberal Democrats who say they'll put an extra £1 billion a year into the agriculture budget.
When the Groundswell show started eight years ago it was a small event for the then rather niche 'regenerative farming'. This year's show still held on the Cherry family farm in Hertfordshire expects thousands of visitors to discuss, debate and look at machinery, as regen ag is becoming far more mainstream. We hear from tenant farmer Andy Cato of Groove Armada and Wildfarmed on how to make it pay.
Keep Sundays special or move with the times? That's the debate in Channel Island of Sark, as politicians consider whether to change a law that means tractor drivers have to have written permission to go out on Sundays.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
THU 06:00 Today (m0020j9x)
Election 2024: Analysis of the debate
After the final televised debate of the election campaign, Nick Robinson and Amol Rajan are joined by Kevin Hollinrake from the Conservatives and Bridget Phillipson from Labour. They discuss some of the key issues brought up in that debate - from immigration to the economy and tuition fees. Daisy Cooper from the Liberal Democrats outlines her party's plans on the NHS.
Also on the programme - the Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones discusses the failures by the probation service that contributed to the death of Zara Aleena, murdered as she was walking home by a man released on licence.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0020j9z)
Monet in England
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the work of the great French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) in London, initially in 1870 and then from 1899. He spent his first visit in poverty, escaping from war in France, while by the second he had become so commercially successful that he stayed at the Savoy Hotel. There, from his balcony, he began a series of almost a hundred paintings that captured the essence of this dynamic city at that time, with fog and smoke almost obscuring the bridges, boats and Houses of Parliament. The pollution was terrible for health but the diffraction through the sooty droplets offered an ever-changing light that captivated Monet, and he was to paint the Thames more than he did his water lilies or haystacks or Rouen Cathedral. On his return to France, Monet appeared to have a new confidence to explore an art that was more abstract than impressionist.
With
Karen Serres
Senior Curator of Paintings at the Courtauld Gallery, London
Curator of the exhibition 'Monet and London. Views of the Thames'
Frances Fowle
Professor of Nineteenth-Century Art at the University of Edinburgh and Senior Curator of French Art at the National Galleries of Scotland
And
Jackie Wullschläger
Chief Art Critic for the Financial Times and author of ‘Monet, The Restless Vision’
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Studio production: John Goudie
Reading list:
Caroline Corbeau Parsons, Impressionists in London: French Artists in Exile 1870-1904 (Tate Publishing, 2017)
Frances Fowle, Monet and French Landscape: Vétheuil and Normandy (National Galleries of Scotland, 2007), especially the chapter ‘Making Money out of Monet: Marketing Monet in Britain 1870-1905’
Robert Gordon and Andrew Forge, Monet (Harry N. Abrams, 1983)
Paul Hayes Tucker, Monet in the ’90s: The Series Paintings (Yale University Press, 1990)
Paul Hayes Tucker, Monet in the 20th Century (Yale University Press, 1998)
Katharine A. Lochnan, Turner, Whistler, Monet (Tate Publishing, 2005)
Nicholas Reed, Monet and the Thames: Paintings and Modern Views of Monet’s London (Lilburne Press, 1998)
Grace Seiberling, Monet in London (High Museum of Art, 1988)
Karen Serres, Frances Fowle and Jennifer A. Thompson, Monet and London: Views of the Thames (Paul Holberton Publishing, 2024 – catalogue to accompany Courtauld Gallery exhibition)
Charles Stuckey, Monet: A Retrospective (Random House, 1985)
Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: The Triumph of Impressionism (first published 1996; Taschen, 2022)
Jackie Wullschläger, Monet: The Restless Vision (Allen Lane, 2023)
THU 09:45 Naturebang (m001qmcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:45 on Saturday]
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020jb3)
Adult orphans, Accusations of assault in tennis, Leader interview: John Swinney
In the next of the Woman’s Hour interviews with the leaders of the main political parties in the run-up to the General Election, Clare McDonnell speaks to John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party.
What does it mean to be an adult orphan? Does the term still apply if you lose both parents when you’re no longer a child? Playwright Naomi Westerman was writing about death rituals when she lost her whole family, turning the academic into the deeply personal. Naomi talks to Clare about her experiences and is joined by Flora Baker, the author of The Adult Orphan Club.
Wimbledon starts next week and amongst the usual pre-match discussions about favourites and performances, there’s also been a serious conversation about how top-level tennis handles allegations of domestic abuse. Clare is joined by the host of the Tennis podcast, Catherine Whitaker to discuss recent cases.
Marine biologist Christine Figgener went viral after sharing a video of a turtle with a plastic straw lodged in its nose, bolstering the campaign to get rid of plastic straws altogether. She joins Clare to discuss her new book about her efforts to protect sea creatures, My Life With Turtles.
Presenter: Clare McDonnell
Producer: Olivia Skinner
THU 11:00 This Cultural Life (m0020jb5)
Simon McBurney
Director and actor Simon McBurney, one of the founders of the ground breaking theatre company Complicité, reveals his creative inspirations and influences. For over four decades McBurney has created innovative and experimental works, from immersive staging to the reinvention of classic texts. His works include A Disappearing Number, The Encounter and Mnemonic, a landmark production which has been recently revived at The National Theatre.
Simon McBurney tells John Wilson about his childhood in Cambridge where his father, an archaeologist, helped foster an early fascination with time and memory. For This Cultural Life he chooses the 1969 Ken Loach film Kes as a formative influence, offering an insight to a childhood very different to his own middle class upbringing. He recalls seeing the band The Clash whilst at Cambridge University, an experience that had a profound impact on his own creativity and political engagement through the arts. He also chooses the writer and critic John Berger as an inspirational figure, and recalls collaborating with Berger on the immersive Artangel project The Vertical Line in 1999. Simon McBurney also describes how the experience of meeting indigenous Amazonian people inspired his 2016 Complicité show The Encounter.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
Archive clips from:
Kes, Ken Loach, 1969
The Clash Live at Rock Against Racism, Victoria Park, 1978
The Dead Class, Tadeusz Kantor, 1976
Friday Night...Saturday Morning: Cambridge Footlights, BBC1, Nov 1979
Ways of Seeing, Episode 1, BBC2, Jan 1972
The Vertical Line, Complicité, BBC Radio 4, 1999
The Encounter, Complicité, Barbican Theatre, May 2018
Face to Face, BBC2, Oct 1995
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Christopher McQuarrie, 2015
THU 11:45 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020jb7)
Episode 9
Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.
October 1944. Concerned by the Red Army’s breakneck advance into Eastern Europe, Churchill visits Stalin in Moscow for a second time – and, producing what he refers to as his ‘naughty document’, suggests a deal with him, behind Roosevelt’s back. At the end of January 1945, the ‘Big Three’ meet again at the Yalta Conference – to plan the architecture of the post-war world.
Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0020jb9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m0020jbc)
Is copyright going wrong?
Copyright law has been around since 1710. Back then it only applied to books. Now, it covers music, sport, film, television, video games, anything really.
It was also much easier to enforce in the days when people couldn't reproduce things all the time. That all started to change with the introduction of the humble music cassette tape. Now, we can all copy things and publish them to social media whenever we like.
Devices which can circumvent geographical barriers have meant that streaming services have had to rethink their business models. And no-one knows quite yet the potential AI has to change things.
So is it time that copyright law had a reboot?
Evan Davis is joined by:
Lisa Ormrod, copyright lawyer and Associate Director at Springbird Law
Nathalie Curtis Lethbridge, Founder of Atonik Digital which advises on streamed content and monetisation strategy
John McVay, Chief Executive of PACT, the trade body for independents working in the UK screen industry
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Producers: Alex Lewis, Drew Hyndman and Miriam Quayyum
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: James Beard and Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread Presents (m0020jbf)
Cholesterol Lowering Products
Can fortified drinks and spreads really reduce cholesterol?
Almost half of UK adults have raised cholesterol, according to the charity Heart UK - and Sliced Bread listener Cathy is one of them. She found out after taking a test at her GP and wants to do something about it. Her first plan of action is to make changes to her lifestyle, such as diet and exercise. As part of that, Cathy wants to know if the spreads and drinks that claim to lower cholesterol really do work.
Greg Foot is joined by Cathy and a panel of experts at our studios in Salford to investigate. What are the ingredients that are proven to lower cholesterol? How effective are they compared to widely-prescribed statins - and are the supermarket own brand versions of these drinks and spreads just as good as branded ones?
All of the ideas for our investigations come from you, our listeners, and we're always on the lookout for more. If you have seen a wonder product that claims to make you happier, healthier or greener and 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: Simon Hoban
THU 12:57 Weather (m0020jbh)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0020jbk)
Illegal migration row
The Conservatives claim Labour would surrender Britain's borders. So what would Labour's policy be if they win next week? We ask shadow minister Peter Kyle.
THU 13:45 Buried (m0020jnl)
The Last Witness
The Last Witness - 4. Every Last Dollar
A child born without eyes. What did the chemical do? In Alabama, Dan finds a contaminated town, still reeling from its toxic legacy. Internal confidential memos reveal the manufacturer knew the risk.
Buried is the award-winning true-crime series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history. In this new investigation, reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor team up with the film star Michael Sheen. Together, they dig into the unseen files of a man who said he was beaten up and put under police protection, after alleging that a chemical had contaminated the food chain.
Produced and presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Research by Georgie Styles
Additional research by Cardiff Journalism School
Sound design and mixing by Jarek Zaba
Original music and sounds by Phil Channell
Executive Producers: Philip Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0020hlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0020jbm)
Casting Shadows
You might not believe it, but while Hollywood was still an anonymous LA suburb, one British seaside location was busy inventing the "language" of cinema and the first-ever commercial colour film system during a glorious decade from the late years of Queen Victoria's reign into the start of the 20th Century.
That place was the twin towns of Brighton and Hove, and its role in helping found cinema as an art form is now recognised and lauded.
Casting Shadows is a quirky, light-hearted, fast-moving drama-documentary, celebrating the remarkable achievements of Brighton’s ‘pioneer filmmakers’.
Between the years 1895 and 1905, an extraordinary group of men and women created a remarkable body of work, had a significant influence on the development of cinema as we know it today, and invented many of the essential techniques of cinematic storytelling - and all over a decade before Hollywood launched itself in the 1910s, hugely influenced by the Brighton Pioneers. Their films and innovations transformed film making, and was a counterblast to the advent of cinema and ground-breaking cinematic achievements of the Lumière Brothers and George Méliès in France.
The principal characters are: the showman-filmmaker George Albert Smith; his actor-comedienne wife, Laura Bayley, Smith’s (unsung) co-director; his colleague-then-rival, the dour Scottish pharmacist-turned-filmmaker James Williamson; and the brash American hustler Charles Urban, the world’s first movie mogul whose arrival fatefully symbolised the ‘end game’.
Cast: Karl Davies, Tom Cotcher, Jenny Funnell, Roger Alborough, Hilary Maclean, Madeline Hatt, Paul Bazely and Russell Floyd.
The narrator is the film historian, Frank Gray.
Sound Design: David Thomas.
Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Tombling and Sarah Wright.
Director: Andy Jordan
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m0020jbp)
Blowy Bamburgh Beach with David Almond
David Almond marks 25 years of his extraordinary book, Skellig, with a walk from Seahouses to Bamburgh in Northumberland. As he tells Clare, it's a landscape that has long inspired his imagination and writing.
Skellig tells the tale of Michael, a young boy who befriends a magical creature - part owl, part angel – that needs Michael’s help to survive. The book has won multiple awards, been adapted for stage, film, radio and opera and translated into 40 languages.
As they walk, David tells Clare how his childhood in the north-east shaped both his character and writing, and discusses why walking is a necessary pleasure. The stretch of coastline they’re exploring is rich with historical, religious and cultural significance and the entire region has provided inspiration for David’s writing over the years.
They met at Seahouses Harbour and walked through sun, rain and wind to the most dominant man-made feature in the area - Bamburgh Castle.
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0020h8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Feedback (m0020jbr)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m0020jbt)
What's happening in Sudan?
David Aaronovitch and guests dissect Sudan's ongoing civil war. This conflict is now one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. How can it be brought to an end?
Guests:
James Copnall - presenter of Newsday on the BBC World Service and former BBC Sudan correspondent
Mohanad Hashim - Sudanese journalist working on Newshour on the BBC World Service
Dame Rosalind Marsden - associate fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House and former UK ambassador to Sudan
Professor Alex De Waal - executive director of the World Peace Foundation
Produced by: Kirsteen Knight, Caroline Bayley and Ben Carter
Edited by: Richard Vadon and Richard Fenton-Smith
Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Andy Fell
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0020jbw)
What makes an effective protest?
As another week of disruptive Just Stop Oil protests grabs media attention, sociologist Dana Fisher discusses which actions might help a cause - and which could harm it.
Japanese scientists have developed artificial skin for robots made from real human cells. Inside Science producer Dr Ella Hubber digs into the uncanny invention.
Inside Science reporter Patrick Hughes goes on the trail of methane emissions from landfills.
And, as a heatwave smothers the UK, physiologist Damian Bailey helps us figure out what the perfect temperature for a human is.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Ella Hubber, Gerry Holt, Sophie Ormiston
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
THU 17:00 PM (m0020jby)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020jc0)
The Conservatives have dismissed the idea as "for the birds"
THU 18:30 Rhysearch (m0020hz1)
Series 2
2. Is Monogamy Outdated?
Comedian Rhys James investigates topics that the rest of us are too busy to be bothered with.
2. Is Monogamy Outdated?
With marriage rates plummeting and more young people than ever turning to polyamory, Rhys explores his options.
Written and presented by Rhys James
Guest: Leanne Yau
Guest: John Aiken
Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini
Produced by Carl Cooper and Pete Strauss
This is a BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m0020jc2)
At Bridge Farm Lilian bumps into Miranda, who asks if they can put aside their differences to help Brian. When George passes Lilian apologises for the stress Alice has caused him. George makes a cryptic remark about people chatting rubbish online before going. Later at The Stables, while filming a video with Justin for one of their livery clients, Lilian still can’t understand what George meant. Justin’s more keen to press on with appointing Carlotta as their temporary manager, starting on a six week minimum contract, but later tells Lilian he knows what George was referring to. He’s found an online thread suggesting Alice could have been drunk while taking riding lessons – and one of the people suggesting this is Emma.
Susan goes to see George, taking some carrots to cheer up Bartleby. George is defiant about cancelling Bartleby’s sale, even when Susan points out the vets’ bills will only get bigger. George insists he knows best. But Susan reckons it isn’t always clear what’s best for other people, also thinking of Martha. In the end no-one knows for sure, do they? George thinks he gets what she means.
Later Lilian bumps into Susan at the Tearoom. Miranda turns up and says Brian is beside himself with worry. He spent yesterday phoning round rehab centres. Lilian promises to keep Alice’s job open for her for as long as it takes, leaving Susan distinctly unimpressed.
Will tells George that Oliver will be returning Meg Mellor’s money tomorrow. But George is having second thoughts about what will be best for Bartleby and decides to call Meg back.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0020jc4)
Reviews - Douglas is Cancelled, Ronald Moody Sculptures, The Importance of Being Earnest
Reviews of: The ITV comedy drama Douglas is Cancelled - a four part series written by Steven Moffat, starring Hugh Bonneville as middle-aged television broadcaster, Douglas Bellowes, who finds himself on the wrong side of 21st century social mores;
A new exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield, Ronald Moody Sculpting Life, puts the spotlight on the Jamaican-born artist who engaged with key moments in 20th-century art;
A new production at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest which places the Victorian comedy in a world of social media and pink fluffy cushions;
And a visit to the Craven Museum and Gallery in Skipton which has been shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2024 prize.
Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu
THU 20:00 The Media Show (m0020hl3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m0020h7l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Empire of Tea (m001t3dw)
3. The Tea in Boston Harbour
The crates dumped in the harbour at the Boston Tea Party in 1773 contained East India Company tea. The historian William Dalrymple tells Sathnam Sanghera that taxation wasn’t the only issue motivating Boston’s revolutionaries. Fear and suspicion of the EIC and its tea were a factor as well.
And soon, tea would forever change British relations with China too.
Produced by Paul Martin for BBC Audio Wales
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020jc6)
Biden and Trump to face off in TV debate
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are about to take part in the first televised debate of this US presidential campaign. What should we expect? We hear live from the Democratic and Republican camps.
Also on the programme:
Sir Keir Starmer is facing a backlash over comments he made about Bangladeshi asylum seekers. A senior Labour councillor tells us why she's quit the party.
And the DJ who's launched the first dedicated South Asian stage at Glastonbury.
THU 22:45 Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure by Sara Sheridan (m0020jc8)
Episode 4
Witty and beguiling new original fiction about a cognitive behavioural therapist who keeps encountering the apparent ghost of Robert Burns.
Waking up after a night on the town, Krysty begins to understand why Robert Burns is infiltrating her life.
Reader: Elaine C. Smith
Producer: Kirsty Williams
An EcoAudio certified production from BBC Audio Scotland.
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m0020jcb)
Should we trust the polls?
There’s a week to go before votes are counted and barely a day goes by in the campaign without a new poll.
So are the Conservatives really on course for an election "wipe out"? Are Labour set for a so called ‘supermajority’? Where did the term ‘supermajority’ even come from and should we be sceptical about poll findings?
Amol and Nick are joined by the doyenne of polling, psephologist Prof Sir John Curtice, to interrogate the numbers and the algorithms that generate them.
And they assess how the smaller parties’ campaigns are stacking up.
Plus – moment of the week – find out why Nick has been swimming with seals.
Episodes of The Today Podcast land twice a week during the election campaign – and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme. If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or email us Today@bbc.co.uk
The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UK’s most influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.
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 researcher and digital producer is Joe Wilkinson, the producers are Hazel Morgan and Nadia Gyane. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Jonny Hall.
THU 23:30 Gegs (9,4)* - A Cryptic History (m001y22r)
James Peak, and his mate Tony from the antiques shop, embark on an odyssey into the peculiar realm of the cryptic crossword, that most fiendish and fearsome of puzzles.
The cryptic crossword is 100 years old this year, and over the turbulent past century, a complicated mechanism of snares and trips has built up to confound even the most diligent of solvers. James and Tony - who certainly aren't the most diligent of solvers - need schooling. Luckily, some brilliant setters and cryptic enthusiasts roll up their sleeves to help.
With thanks to The Everyman at The Observer Newspaper, Eddie Lawson, Dagenham Dave, Carmen Tarry and Julian Weenen.
Starring Tony Lombardelli, Victoria Godfrey and Alan Connor.
Music Composition & Production: Lilium
Sound Design & Mixing: Neil Churchill
Assistant Producer: Ruby Churchill
Written, Presented & Produced by James Peak
An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4
FRIDAY 28 JUNE 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0020jcd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020jb7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020jcg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020jcj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020jcl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0020jcn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020jcq)
Robert Burns' Hero
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Rev Neil Gardner of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0020jcs)
All week we've been looking at party manifestos and politicians' pledges on food and farming. We've head from the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats - today we round up what the other parties are offering the countryside.
We meet a family of flower growers in Cornwall who've been farming in the Tamar Valley for half a century. Barry Richards built his first glasshouses in the 1970s before the flower market became dominated by imports which pushed many British flower growers out of business. However the Richards have diversified to become importers and distributors. They've massively increased the number of varieties they produce and now grow all year round.
This year's wet weather means farmers are seeing hemlock in places they wouldn't usually see the plant. It's extremely poisonous for animals and people. Agronomists say it's highly unlikely it will get into the food chain, but say farmers need to be vigilant.
Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
FRI 06:00 Today (m0020jdc)
Election 2024: Justin Webb and Simon Jack
Latest news from the election campaign, plus Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0020h91)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020jdf)
Live from Glastonbury: Cyndi Lauper, Corinne Bailey Rae & DJ Ritu
'Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights' has become a popular placard at women's rights events around the world. The singer behind the anthem that inspired it is none other than Cyndi Lauper. She joins Anita Rani to reflect on her 40-year career, becoming a feminist figure and performing on the iconic Pyramid Stage.
Corinne Bailey Rae's latest album is a complete departure from her previous work. Black Rainbows is inspired by a trip to Stony Island Arts Bank, a Chicago-based archive of black art and culture. The record spans punk, rock, experimental jazz, electronica and more. She joins Anita for a very special performance live from the Woman's Hour Glastonbury picnic table.
Would you ever go to a festival on your own? Woman's Hour listeners give their tips for how to do a festival solo.
Glastonbury is the biggest festival in the UK, hosting around 200,000 people over five days. It’s a massive operation that involves security, transport, food, water, and electricity-supply infrastructure and 11,000 people are there as staff and volunteers. So who are some of the women working hard behind the scenes to make it all possible? Two of them join Anita live: Jade Dunbar is the stage manager at Circus Big Top, and Martina Brown owns Jerk Village, a stall serving Jamaican food.
This year Glastonbury hosts its first ever dedicated South Asian space, Arrivals. It’s been created, designed and built by a South Asian team and is a collaboration between South Asian collectives. Anita talks to revered icon of the 90s underground scene DJ Ritu and to up and coming star DJ Nadi who are both performing at Arrivals.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Emma Pearce
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m0020jdh)
Pastry Nation: Hype Bakeries on the Rise
Leyla Kazim and Robbie Armstrong explore the rise of a new wave of British bakeries, whose viral viennoiseries are leading to snaking queues and sell outs, feeding an insatiable appetite across the country, fuelled by social media.
Author of ‘Britain’s Best Bakeries’, Milly Kenny-Ryder, takes Leyla to London’s TOAD bakery, whose long lines have become a rite of passage for pastry lovers. Owners Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello explain how their local bakery accidentally became a hyped internet phenomenon.
Leyla visits a London branch of Philippe Conticini to try one of their XXL croissants, which have set the internet ablaze thanks to a small army of influencers and their viral videos. Meanwhile, Anna Higham, founder of Quince Bakery, explains to Leyla why she has swerved pastries altogether, instead championing traditional British baking with seasonality and sustainability at its core.
Lewis Bassett from the Full English podcast breaks down the appeal of the UK’s most popular bakery chain, Greggs – which has 2,500 outlets across the country. Lewis and Leyla discuss class, viral sausage rolls and our centuries-old love affair with pastries and pies.
In Edinburgh, Robbie Armstrong visits Lannan to meet Darcie Maher, whose intricate inventions have created unparalleled demand, but also led to abuse of staff from angry customers. Robbie then travels to Fife to visit a fifth-generation family bakery whose fudge doughnuts have become internationally famous. In Dundee, meanwhile, he finds a city with a profusion of independent traditional bakeries, including one selling pies 24 hours a day.
Sam White of the Bakery Business magazine provides a rundown on trends in the baking industry, while Angela Hui gives her take on the clamour for vividly-colourful Asian baking.
Presented by Leyla Kazim.
Produced by Robbie Armstrong.
FRI 11:45 The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton (m0020jdk)
Episode 10
Drawing on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, Giles Milton’s The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.
In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin’s forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies’ liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilised a unique team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.
Into the heart of Stalin’s Moscow, President Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth-richest man in America, and his brilliant young daughter, Kathy. Churchill despatched the reckless but inventive Archie Clark Kerr – and occasionally himself – to negotiate with the Kremlin’s wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with Stalin at his most cunning, to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying master plan for the post-war world.
February 1945. At the Yalta Conference, Stalin thanks Roosevelt for ‘mobilising the world against Hitler’. There is a genuine belief that America and Britain can continue to cooperate with Stalin in the post-war world. However, the warmth of friendship between the ‘Big Three’ dissipates with alarming speed. Averell Harriman warns that, ‘the world is splitting into two irreconcilable camps’, with the Kremlin camp hell bent on swallowing as many countries in Eastern Europe as possible. It becomes clear that Stalin can no longer be trusted.
Read by Nigel Anthony
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0020jdm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Rare Earth (m0020jdp)
Can an oil rig be a nature reserve?
What should we do with our old oil rigs? Can the relics of the fossil fuel age be good for wildlife? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate the future for the steel and concrete that's fuelled the modern age.
Helen visits a highly specialist scrapyard on Teeside which dismantles oil rigs bought ashore at the end of their lives. Tom and Helen discuss whether the rules on what happens to old oil and gas installations in the North Sea should be relaxed to allow some to be turned into artificial reefs. They hear from Professor Matt Frost from Plymouth Marine Laboratory and INSITE, an international project investigating the future for undersea structures; Dr Alethea Madgett a marine ecologist who's researching how old rigs can be used in nature restoration; and Ricky Thomson from the industry body Offshore Energies UK.
Producer: Sarah Swadling
Assistant Producers: Christina Sinclair and Toby Field
Rare Earth is a BBC Audio Wales and West production in conjunction with the Open University
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0020jdr)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0020jdt)
Reform: 'Deviant' candidates will be 'booted out'
Reform's Oliver Lewis insists candidates who hold racist views will be ousted after undercover filming by Channel 4 exposes unguarded chat among activists and party workers. Plus, after a disastrous debate performance, can Joe Biden run for president again?
FRI 13:45 Buried (m0020jnn)
The Last Witness
The Last Witness - 5. A Can of Worms
As Dan and the film star Michael Sheen go digging around a toxic site, they are given a warning - the truth is a can of worms. A vicar picks up where Douglas left off. What is the full scale of the UK’s chemical legacy?
Buried is the award-winning true-crime series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history. In this new investigation, reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor team up with the film star Michael Sheen. Together, they dig into the unseen files of a man who said he was beaten up and put under police protection, after alleging that a chemical had contaminated the food chain.
Produced and presented by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Research by Georgie Styles
Sound design and mixing by Jarek Zaba
Original music and sounds by Phil Channell
Executive Producers: Philip Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0020jc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m002044h)
The Specialist
The Specialist - Episode 5
Dark Medical Thriller by Matthew Broughton, creator of Tracks and Broken Colours.
Ged is sick, the situation in Bly is going from bad to worse, and help is very slow in coming from Cardiff, but Anna and Nell have one last desperate thing to try.
With original music by Sion Orgon and Rhodri Davies
CAST
Anna Diaz- Saran Morgan
Ged Diaz - Sion Daniel Young
Ruth - Michelle Bonnard
Raymond - Ioan Hefin
Nell - Diana Yekinni
Mr Devonshire - Pal Aron
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 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m0020jdw)
2. Tina Brown, magazine editor and journalist
Ros talks with the legendary magazine editor Tina Brown. We all communicate multiple times a day but could we be getting better results? From a simple text or phone call, to a job interview or big presentation, the way we express ourselves and get our point across can really matter. Ros Atkins and his fascinating guests reveal the best ways to communicate and how simple changes in the way we make our point can be really effective.
In this episode, Ros and Tina explore how good communication was key to her success at Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. And we hear her advice on communicating with the right person, making the time for clarity, and anticipating the questions and clarifications that people might ask of us.
Series Producer: Hannah Newton
Production Support: Olivia Cope
Executive Producer: Zoë Edwards
Mix Engineer: Jonathan Last
Original Music Composed by: Tom Wrankmore / Eliphino
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Listen production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0020jdy)
Chelsea Flower Show 2024 - Potting Shed Part 1
Kathy Clugston presents a special potting shed edition of the programme, with GQT's panel of experts taking questions from visitors at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The panel answer questions on everything from how to maintain a bonsai tree to the best way to encourage a tomato plant to flower.
Later in the programme James Wong re-visits The Glasshouse Project’s show garden where he speaks to commercial director Katie Whittingham and volunteer Reba about using horticultural therapy to help rehabilitate former prisoners.
Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0020jf0)
The Pomegranates by Brennig Davies
A new short story by Brennig Davies, read by Mali Harries.
Angharad waits at home. Becca is missing.
The year gets colder and colder, and still no Becca.
And then, one day, there is a knock on the door...
The Persephone myth is re-imagined to modern-day Wales in this powerful tale of a mother and her daughter.
Brennig Davies won the inaugural BBC Young Writers Award in 2015, the Crown at the Urdd Eisteddfod 2019, and was shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Short Story Award 2021. His work has been published in Poetry Wales, Litro USA, The Cardiff Review, and various anthologies, and in 2023 he was chosen as one of the Hay Festival’s Writers at Work.
Reader: Mali Harries
Sound: Nigel Lewis
Producer: Fay Lomas
A BBC Audio Drama Wales Production
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0020jf2)
Sir Howard Bernstein, Joan Brady, Gene Nora Jessen, Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson
Matthew Bannister on
Sir Howard Bernstein, the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council credited with transforming the city after the IRA bomb of 1996.
Joan Brady, the author and former ballet dancer who won the Whitbread Prize for her novel “The Theory of War”.
Gene Nora Jessen, the American pilot who was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 – who were subjected to tests to see if they were fit to become astronauts.
Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson, the vocalist with the two- tone group The Selecter. His bandmate Pauline Black OBE pays tribute.
Interviewee: Paul Horrocks
Interviewee: Alexander Masters
Interviewee: Marth Ackmann
Interviewee: Pauline Black OBE
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Sir Howard Bernstein interview, BBC News, North West Tonight, 21/03/2017; News Report, Manchester Bombing, BBC Radio 4, 15/06/1996; Howard Bernstein interview with Harvard Professor Ed Glaeser, Public Transportation in Manchester, City X, YouTube uploaded , 31/01/2018; News report - Commonwealth Games - Manchester, , BBC News, North West Tonight 25/07/2002; Howard Bernstein interview, BBC News, Midlands Today, 26/07/2022; Howard Bernstein interview, BBC News, North West Tonight, 31/03/2017; Joan Brady interview, The Forum, BBC World Service, 09/05/2010; Joan Brady, The Theory of War, The Late Show, BBC Two, 09/11/1993; Joan Brady interview, Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 15/03/2003; Mercury 13 , Official Trailer, Netflix, YouTube uploaded, 09/04/2018; Gene Nora Jessen presentation, Women’s Air Races, Aviation Business, and Astronaut Tests: A Pathbreaking Career, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum YouTube Channel, uploaded 05/06/2019; Pioneer aviator Gene Nora Jessen, Fox * News, Cleveland , YouTube channel, 20/08/2018.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m0020hkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m0020jf4)
Can President Biden be replaced as Democrat nominee?
There are calls for President Biden to step aside in his bid to win re-election after his performance in a debate on Thursday. We hear from Democrats on both sides of the argument.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020jf6)
The comments by an activist campaigning for Reform were secretly filmed by Channel 4
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0020jf8)
Series 114
Episode 4
Geoff Norcott, Stuart Mitchell, Daliso Chaponda and Katy Balls join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.
With just one week to go before the UK heads to the polls, Andy and the Panel analyse the final head to head debate, discuss the pitfalls of workplace betting, and finally bring a voice to the political elephants in the room.
Written by Andy Zaltzman
With additional material by: Toussaint Douglass, Mark Granger, Angela Channell, & Pete Tellouche
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Rich Evans
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An Eco-Audio certified Production
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0020jfb)
Writer: Liz John
Director: Mel Ward
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Justin Elliot…. Simon Williams
Miranda Elliott…. Lucy Fleming
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Will Grundy…. Philip Malloy
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller…. Annabelle Dowler
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane
Meg Mellor…. Sue Jenkins
FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m0020jfd)
Series 9
Heidi Fardell and Keelan Carew round off the series
Recorder and baroque flute player Heidi Fardell and pianist Keelan Carew join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the last five tracks, which include the theme for a famous animated woodpecker, a huge recent TV soundtrack with echoes of Beethoven, and a funked-up version of a classic 1960 guitar track by The Shadows.
Add to Playlist will return with a new series on 16th August
Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Woody Woodpecker Song by Kay Kyser
The Division Flute: Faronell’s Ground by Anonymous
Succession – Main Title Theme – by Nicholas Britell
Sonata Tragica by Nikolai Medtner
Apache by The Incredible Bongo Band
Other music in this episode:
He's the Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge
Venus as a Boy by Björk
Work by Rihanna ft Drake
My Girl by Madness
Apache by The Shadows
Apache by Bert Weedon
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0020jfg)
David Davis, Sarah Olney, Tommy Sheppard, Wes Streeting
Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from the Marine Hall in Fleetwood with the former Brexit Secretary David Davis, the Liberal Democrat Treasury and Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney, the SNP's Spokesperson for Scotland Tommy Sheppard and the Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Sioned Clwyd
FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m0020jfj)
Escapism
Travel, reading, cinema and psychedelic drugs are all means people have used to try to escape. But do they ever really lead us where we want them to? With the election looming, Glastonbury in full swing and lists of beach read suggestions starting to appear -
Matthew Sweet discusses, with
Noreen Masud, Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature at the University of Bristol
Kirsty Sinclair Dootson, Lecturer in Film and Media at University College London
Jonathan White, Professor of Politics and Deputy Head of the European Institute at the London School of Economics
Jules Evans, writer, historian of ideas and practical philosopher
Plus, Maximillian de Gaynesford, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading, on the philosophical significance of dreams and dreaming.
Jules, Noreen and Kirsty are all New Generation Thinkers on a scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to share academic research on radio.
Producer: Luke Mulhall
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020jfl)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure by Sara Sheridan (m0020jfn)
Episode 5
Sara Sheridan’s beguiling and witty new original fiction about a cognitive behavioural therapist’s relationship with the apparent ghost of Robert Burns concludes.
Krysty realises that her conversations with Scotland's long-dead bard may be helping her more than they’ve helped him.
Reader: Elaine C. Smith
Producer: Kirsty Williams
An EcoAudio certified production from BBC Audio Scotland.
FRI 23:00 Americast (m0020jfq)
Join the Americast team for insights from across the US.
FRI 23:30 Vessels of Memory: Glass Ships of Sunderland (m0020h9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:15 on Sunday]