SATURDAY 06 JULY 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0020pjp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 Obsessed with the Quest (m001tsd3)
Descending the Five Deeps
Victor Vescovo was born an adventurer. After being given his first bicycle, his family hardly saw him until he'd ridden that bicycle into the ground - he was too busy exploring his home city of Dallas, Texas. Since those early days, Victor has expanded his horizons. Having reached the highest peaks on all five continents, he then set out to dive to the deepest parts of all five oceans. Victor's longest dive was solo to the lowest point on Earth - the Challenger Deep at the bottom of the Marianas trench in the western Pacific. On reaching the bottom, some 35,853 feet below the ocean surface, should something have gone wrong, there was no hope of rescue. Victor describes his feelings before making this historic descent and on the way down. As Victor's titanium submarine descended - a journey of several hours - he was encased in almost complete silence, ever alert for even the tiniest crack or groan that might indicate there was a problem. Touching down on the sea bed, he was astounded. There was much more marine life than he had expected. Victor describes how he hopes that the mapping, observations and sample collections he has made on his dives will advance scientific understanding of the deep oceans. And where his eternal quest to explore might take him next.
Produced by Diane Hope
(Image: Bubbles in deep water. Credit: seawaters/Getty Images)
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020pjr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020pjt)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020pjw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0020pjz)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020pk3)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir
SAT 05:45 Naturebang (m001qmkt)
Drunk Moose and the Drive to Get Loose
Becky Ripley and Emily Knight tackle a serious question. One of supreme scientific importance: do animals get wasted?
From drunk moose stuck in trees, to wasted wallabies asleep in opium fields, to dippy dolphins puffing on toxic pufferfish; stories abound about animals who seem to be using their free time to get sloshed. But do these stories, delightful as they are, stand up to scrutiny? In the natural world, when your survival relies on keeping your wits about you, what could be the evolutionary purpose of dulling your wits with psychoactive drugs?
Come to think of it, why do we do it? And what's the connection between getting high, seeing God, and learning to love your neighbour?
Produced by Becky Ripley and Emily Knight. Featuring zoologist Lucy Cooke, and Professor Richard Miller at Northwestern University.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0020xh9)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m0020k05)
Donegal with Nikki Bradley
In the first of two episodes recorded in the Republic of Ireland, Clare travels to Moyle Hill in County Donegal to meet adventurer and motivational speaker, Nikki Bradley.
Diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at just 16 years of age, Nikki (now in her 30s) has defied expectations by living a very active life. She was the first person on crutches to climb four Irish mountain peaks, which took her 32 hours. She scaled the Sólheimajökull glacier in Iceland, and has completed the Fan Dance, one of the toughest endurance challenges in the UK including two ascents of Pen y Fan.
Her latest enormous challenge has been to undergo a very unusual leg amputation. The damage caused by the cancer led to two hip replacements in her twenties, but her pain and discomfort continued so ultimately her medical team suggested a procedure known as a rotationplasty. Her upper leg was removed, and her lower leg was turned 180 degrees, raised and attached to the top of her thigh to become her ‘new’ upper leg. Her foot faces backwards at knee height, with the idea that it acts as the knee joint itself. It’s been emotionally very difficult coming to terms with her change of appearance and the pain associated with the procedures and rehab.
But, in characteristic spirit, she has continued to push forward and after many months of recovery is now back walking again.
Producer: Karen Gregor
Presenter: Clare Balding
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0020xhc)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
SAT 06:57 Weather (m0020xhf)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m0020xhh)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0020xhk)
Joanne Harris, Jack Garratt, Lara Maiklem, Adam Kay
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m0020xhm)
The history podcast for people who don't like history... and those who do.
SAT 10:30 Rewinder (m0020xhp)
Greg James digs into the BBC's archives, using current stories as a portal to the past.
SAT 11:00 Newscast (m0020xhr)
Adam Fleming and friends discuss the week's biggest stories.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0020xht)
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0020xhw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0020xhy)
Paul Lewis presents the latest news from the world of personal finance.
SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m0020pj5)
Series 114
Episode 5
Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.
SAT 12:57 Weather (m0020xj0)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0020xj2)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:15 Any Questions? (m0020pjc)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities.
SAT 14:15 Any Answers? (m0020xj4)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.
SAT 15:00 The Archers (m0020pj7)
Writer: Sarah McDonald Hughes
Director: Peter Leslie Wild
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Josh Archer…. Angus Imrie
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Harry Chilcott…. Jack Ashton
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Paul Mack…. Joshua Riley
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
SAT 15:15 Breaking the Rules (m0020xj6)
The Great Cricket Con
In July 2022, reporters in the Indian state of Gujarat broke a story that seemed unbelievable. In a tiny village in north-western India, police had arrested a gang of villagers for running a fake cricket tournament that they had made to look like the Indian Premier League. According to reports, the villagers broadcast their spectacle on betting websites and targeted gamblers from Russia.
The story caught fire, drawing comparisons with the 1973 movie The Sting, in which Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s plucky conmen run a fake gambling parlour to rip off a mob boss.
This drama-documentary explores the police allegations and media coverage of a story that could be ripped straight from the pages of a Bollywood script.
Narrator . . . . . Ayesha Dharker
Shoeb . . . . . Hiran Abeysekera
Asif . . . . . Sid Sagar
Jain . . . . . Tony Jayawardena
Farooq . . . . . Sagar Arya
Shuks . . . . . Danny Ashok
Misha . . . . . Greg Kolpakchi
Drama written by Ayeesha Menon
Production Co-ordinator: Luke MacGregor
Additional reporting: Harita Kandpal in Delhi and Laxmi Patel in Gujarat
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko
A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4
SAT 16:15 Woman's Hour (m0020xj9)
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.
SAT 17:00 PM (m0020xjc)
Full coverage of the day's news.
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0020xjf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m0020xjh)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020xjk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0020xjm)
Iwan Thomas, Chloe Petts, Rhiane Fatinikun, Raghu Dixit, Kiioto
Stuart is joined in the Salford Loose Ends studio by the Welsh Sprinter Iwan Thomas, who held the UK 400m record for 25 years. His new memoir 'Brutal', tells his story - one of speed, the drive to succeed and an extremely high tolerance for pain. Rhiane Fatinikun is a British adventurer, broadcaster and author. She founded the collective 'Black Girls Hike' and with her book 'Finding Your Feet' she aims to inspire people 'to kick down barriers, go on adventures and empower the people around you to do the same'. Comedian Chloe Petts is gearing up for the Edinburgh Fringe, and in perhaps the ultimate highbrow/lowbrow combination; she's just presented a series on Radio 4 on the history of the toilet.
Raghu Dixit is an independent Indian artist, soundtrack composer and former Microbiologist. His new album 'Shakkar' has been inspired by his personal struggles, but spreads a message of joy and kindness. Kiiōtō is the new project by singer songwriter (and former Lamb vocalist) Lou Rhodes and musician and songwriter Rohan Heath, formerly of the Urban Cookie Collective. They are just about to release their debut album 'As Dust We Rise'.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Jessica Treen
SAT 19:00 Profile (m0020xjp)
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0020pf7)
Peter Blake
Artist Sir Peter Blake talks to John Wilson about the formative influences on his creativity and career.
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0020xjr)
Dirty Old Town at 75
Presenter Mike Sweeney
In 2024 Dirty Old Town will be 75 years old. Its lyrics were written about the Salford streets they were written on and its writer Ewan McColl used the song to celebrate his grimy, industrial, smoky hometown, starting life as a melody to bridge a tricky junction in his play about Salford - 'Landscape with Chimneys’.
Salford is now a brighter, gleaming city – millions will be invested in new buildings to make it as big as Manchester by the middle of the century
Presenter Mike Sweeney is as old as the song itself, living alongside the changes in his home city. In fact his life echoes it; having had his own extraordinary journey from working on the docks immortalised in the song , to musician and now to a broadcaster on BBC Radio Manchester just a few yards from where he worked.
Mike will be the guide from the old Salford to the new, how the city has been transformed and how despite the huge changes in the cities character Dirty Old Town is being reclaimed by the city.
The documentary is the central point for a much bigger, exciting project to engage Salford’s working-class audiences with the BBC Networks and departments within BBC North will work together on a project
There is already real enthusiasm for the BBC to use the anniversary as a big set piece moment; working with the BBC Philharmonic at ‘We Invented the Weekend’ in June, a festival designed to change the perceptions of Salfordians have about MediaCityUK.
This is a real opportunity to take an iconic song and build a big exciting meaningful event around it to celebrate Salford with Radio Manchester the BBC Philharmonic and Radio 3 6Music and 5live.
Just after McColl first wrote the song, Salford council demanded the city’s name be removed from the lyrics, it just didn’t want to be associated with the image. Now Salford City FC walk out on to the pitch to their fans proudly singing it and the whole city of Salford wants to help us pay tribute to Dirty Old Town.
SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m0020qtb)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.
SAT 22:00 News (m0020xjt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m0020xjw)
Has Finland Found the Future of Food?
Saunas, pickled food.. even Nokia phones. But do you associate Finland with the future of food? Sheila Dillon visits the new factory making microbial protein out of hydrogen, oxygen and various minerals. Solar Foods, in Finland, is the latest frontier in the commercial lab-grown food sector; their invention, Solein, is a novel food ingredient that can replace animal products like milk, eggs and meat. Rather than using animal cells as a starting point, their process uses electrolysis to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen, followed by machinery usually found in the dairy industry to dry and then pasteurise the resulting protein powder. After a tour of this futuristic factory, Sheila sits down for lunch cooked by Solar Foods’ head chef to find out how this so-called ‘food of the future’ actually tastes.
Lab-grown meat has been touted as the future for many years, but it has yet to take off – in fact, companies in this space are struggling. Sheila hears from Dutch consumer researcher professor Cor van der Weele who found that citizens were more interested in small-scale production of lab-grown meat, in containers alongside animals on farms, than the large-scale factories producing it for the mainstream market. How does lab-grown meat fit into our future food system? Is it really the best way to reduce the environmental impact of our diets? And how might it help us when climate change or wars make global trade too difficult? Sheila asks professor Tim Benton, of think tank Chatham House, for his views on all the big questions.
Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SAT 23:00 Time of the Week (m0020hyr)
Breastfeeding, Country Music, Forearms
Host Chloe Slack scrutinises the new breastfeeding law, celebrates 50 years of country music legend Stella Tarmac and meets the first woman to fit her whole forearm in her mouth. Also, who feels the cold more - men or women?
Sian Clifford stars as self-important journalist Chloe Slack in this comedy series parodying women’s current affairs and talk shows, surrounded by an ensemble cast of character comedians.
Chloe Slack - Sian Clifford
Ensemble cast:
Ada Player
Alice Cockayne
Aruhan Galieva
Em Prendergast
Jodie Mitchell
Jonathan Oldfield
Lorna Rose Treen
Mofé Akàndé
Sara Segovia
Additional voices: Etta Treen, Beatrice Walker
Created by Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield
Writing team:
Alice Cockayne
Catherine Brinkworth
Jodie Mitchell
Jonathan Oldfield
Lorna Rose Treen
Priya Hall
Will Hughes
Script Editor - Catherine Brinkworth
Photographer - Will Hearle
Production Coordinator - Katie Sayer
Producer - Ben Walker
A DLT Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 23:30 Nature Table (m0020qd5)
Series 4
5: Elton John Horseflies and Supersonic Fungi
In this episode, Sue and Team Nature Table return to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.
Nipple-eyed Horseflies, a fungus that sexually reproduces by itself, a fly that decapitates ants and poo-based fungi or ‘dungi’ wow Sue and the invited audience.
Sue is joined by special guests: Kew Gardens’ Fungarium Collection’s Manager Lee Davies, Principal Curator for Diptera & Siphonaptera at the Natural History Museum Erica McAlister and award-winning writer comedian Dave Gorman.
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: Lee Davies, Erica McAlister & Dave Gorman
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 07 JULY 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0020xjy)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Open Book (m0020qd3)
Rita Bullwinkel
Johny Pitts speaks to Rita Bullwinkel about her debut novel, Headshot - about the world of girls boxing.
Tea Obreht and Mohsin Hamid on writing about displacement, and their books The Morningside and Exit West.
Plus, Jocasta Hamilton, Executive Editor at John Murray, on her Editor's Pick - Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott.
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Emma Wallace
Book List – Sunday 30 June
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
Belly Up by Rita Bullwinkel
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
The Morningside by Téa Obreht
The Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrot
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020xk0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020xk2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020xk4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0020xk6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0020xk8)
St John the Baptist, Chilcompton in Somerset
Bells on Sunday, comes from the village church of St John the Baptist, Chilcompton in Somerset. The earliest church on the site was recorded in 1188 when it was presented to nearby Wells Cathedral. The current building dates back to the 1460s, but was largely rebuilt during the 19th century, leaving only the tower from the original building. To celebrate the Millennium a new ring of a ring of ten bells was installed by John Taylor of Loughborough. In 2008 they were augmented to twelve bells with a Tenor bell weighing nineteen and a quarter hundredweight in the note of E flat. We hear them Cambridge Surprise Maximus.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m0020qkt)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0020xkc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Beyond Belief (m0020qk7)
More Than One Wife
Giles Fraser meets Hafsa Rizki, a British Muslim women who coaches women in polygamous relationships. Her husband was already married when they met and got married themselves. She doesn't like the term, but she says she is a second wife and tells Giles about why it's a successful relationship, and how it's part of her spiritual journey.
Perhaps surprisingly, polygamy is 'more commonplace' than might be expected in the UK, according to Dame Louise Casey in her government review on integration and equality in 2016. In a society where the model of monogamy has dominated for centuries, what leads people to enter polygamous marriages? What is it's religious history and what are the ethical and moral questions it raises? Plus, as polyamory is more openly discussed and practiced, is the model of monogamy no longer fit for purpose?
To discuss Giles is joined by Yasmin Rehman, CEO of Juno Women's Aid and a campaigner on women's rights, Imam Waleid Allam and Susannah Cornwall, Professor on Constructive Theologies at the University of Exeter.
Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producer: Linda Walker
Editors: Tim Pemberton and Rajeev Gupta
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0020xkf)
Salvation Army farm
Hadleigh Farm sits on the Thames Estuary half way between the resort of Southend-on-Sea and the container port at Tilbury Docks in Essex. Its commanding views across the river to the coastline of Kent aren’t what makes this site unique - it’s the fact that Hadleigh Farm is run by the Salvation Army. It was opened as a ‘farm colony’ in 1891 by the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, who had ambitions to transform the lives of London’s poor and needy by offering work, skills and housing.
More than 130 years later much has changed but, as Vernon Harwood discovers, the land is still owned and farmed by the Salvation Army. The estate now includes a rare breeds attraction, an arable operation, Hadleigh Country Park and a training centre for adults with additional needs who run the public tearoom. The location was thrown into the global spotlight in 2012 when part of the estate became the Mountain Bike course for the London Olympics and the legacy of the Games continues with hundreds of thousands of visitors to the parkland every year.
In this edition of On Your Farm, we ask how commercial agriculture and farm tourism fit into the aims of the modern Salvation Army and find out why poor harvests with low arable yields have led to a major re-think on the use of the wheat fields closest to the banks of the Thames.
Produced and presented by Vernon Harwood
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0020xkh)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0020xkk)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0020xkm)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0020xkp)
Cure Parkinson's
Paul Mayhew-Archer makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Cure Parkinson's.
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 ‘Cure Parkinson's'.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Cure Parkinson's’.
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: 1111816
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0020xkr)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0020xkt)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0020xkw)
God Always With Us
From St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow, on the Sunday after the General Election, with Rev Dr Maggie McTernan, Rev Canon Oliver Brewer-Lennon and Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth.
The Cathedral Choir is directed by Frikki Walker and accompanied by Steven McIntyre.
Readings: 2 Samuel 5: 1-5, 9-10
Mark 6: 1-13
Hymns: For the Healing of the Nations (Tune: Westminster Abbey)
Let Streams of Living Water Flow (Tune: Thaxted)
All My Hope on God is Founded (Tune: Michael)
Choral: Rage, Wisdom (Composer: Sal McDougall, Tune: Veni Creator Spiritus)
Call of Wisdom (Composer: Will Todd)
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0020xky)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0020xl0)
Tolga Aktas on the Skylark
A new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.
For conservation biologist, writer and photo journalist Tolga Aktas while growing up in London he never enjoyed the singing of a skylark as they rise up into the air. But today Tolga finds himself living in Gloucestershire where he can often hear skylarks on his daily walks from home, the song of which brings him great joy.
Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio in Bristol
Studio Engineer : Ilse Lademann
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0020xl2)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0020xl4)
Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0020xl6)
Writer: Sarah McDonald Hughes
Director: Peter Leslie Wild
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Josh Archer…. Angus Imrie
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Harry Chilcott…. Jack Ashton
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Paul Mack…. Joshua Riley
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
SUN 12:15 Profile (m0020xjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0020q9s)
Series 13
Malvern
Mark Steel's In Town - Malvern
“...if ever after I'm dead you hear someone whistling this tune on the Malvern Hills, don't be alarmed, it's only me"
Edward Elgar.
This week Mark visits the Malvern hills in Worcestershire.
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 Malvern, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Margate, Stoke on Trent, East Grinstead, Coleraine in Northern Ireland and Nether Edge in Sheffield.
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
SUN 12:57 Weather (m0020xl8)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0020xlb)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 Stealing Power (m001xdcj)
Meter tampering means altering a meter to prevent it from fully recording how much electricity or gas is being used, or bypassing the meter completely to energy usage being recorded at all. It may seem like a great idea, but there are consequences. It’s dangerous and it is a criminal offence. Its classified as theft and can lead to prison sentences and heavy fines.
The number of people illegally bypassing the grid to save money is increasing at an alarming rate. Its disturbingly simple to do but the consequences can be tragic. In May 2021, two-year-old George Hinds was killed when a gas explosion caused by tampering destroyed his home in Heysham, Lancs. The explosion was triggered by a neighbour cutting through pipes with an angle grinder. He was jailed last year for 15 years for manslaughter.
Crimestoppers UK say reports of gas and electricity theft have been rising sharply. In 2017 2,566 cases were reported and last year that figure rose to 10,694- though the industry believes the true figure may be closer to 200,000. Energy theft is not a new phenomenon but the cost of living crisis seems to be the main reason for this sharp increase.
Presenter Dan Whitworth meets gas engineers at the frontline and talks to industry insiders and to Ofgem, the energy regulator to find out what they are doing about it.
Producer: Mohini Patel
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0020phr)
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts.
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m0020xld)
John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in this weekend's afternoon Drama on 4.
SUN 15:00 A Vindication of Frankenstein's Monster (m0020xlg)
Episode 1
What makes a woman free? Starting with Mary Wollstonecraft’s ground-breaking feminist text, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), and moving into a radical re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), through to the contemporary world of AI, Linda Marshall Griffith's drama asks what would happen if a woman created a woman?
In the first episode of this three part drama Lizzie walks through Mary Wollstonecraft’s world at the end of the 18th Century and she has questions. Tracing Wollstonecraft's extraordinary life, she is challenged by her bravery, her incredible mind and her capacity to fall in love with the wrong men. But this is not time-travel, Lizzie is creating a Virtual Reality world at the centre of which is Mary Wollstonecraft. But as the ‘AI’ Wollstonecraft comes to life, trapped in her virtual world, she begins to question exactly what has changed for women more than two hundred years after the publication of her manifesto - have women achieved equality and freedom? And Lizzie, pregnant and recently diagnosed with an aneurysm, must decide whether to allow her life to be constrained by her health, her lover Max, her impending motherhood or whether to complete her work, following Wollstonecraft’s journey to Norway.
Lizzie.....LYDIA WILSON
Mary.....DAISY HEAD
Max.....SACHA DHAWAN
Joseph/Talleyrand-Perigord/ Father.....ANDONIS ANTHONY
Eliza/ Jane Austen/ Mother......ERIN SHANAGER
Fuseli.....HARRY TAURASI
Written by Linda Marshall Griffiths based on Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Sound design by Sharon Hughes
Production co-ordinators Vicky Moseley and Lorna Newman
Directed by Nadia Molinari
A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m0020xlk)
Marlon James: A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James answers readers' questions about his award winning novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings.
SUN 16:30 Nature Table (m0020xlm)
Series 4
6: Giant Giraffes and Raucous Ruffs
In this episode, Sue and Team Nature Table return to ZSL London Zoo.
The complexities of being a giraffe, badass Tenrecs, the outrageous sexual behaviour of Ruffs and how eggs are made all wow the London Zoo audience.
Sue is joined by special guests: Natural History Museum’s principal researcher Dr. Natalie Cooper, Zoological writer / broadcaster Jules Howard and award-winning writer comedian Bridget Christie.
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: Natalie Cooper, Jules Howard & Bridget Christie
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 (w3ct5ygy)
Subway Art: The graffiti bible
In 1984, urban photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant came together to publish an era-defining book about the early graffiti movement.
They had been documenting the work of graffiti arts on the subways system of New York for many years.
The colourful book was called Subway Art and it quickly became known as the graffiti bible.
Forty years on from its release, Martha and Henry explore its enduring legacy with Matt Pintus.
(Photo: Marta Cooper and Henry Chalfant pictured at the 25th anniversary event for Subway Art. Credit: Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 The Verb (m0020xlp)
Miriam Margolyes, Kevin Barry, Owen Sheers & Gwenno join Ian McMillan at the Hay Festival
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0020xlr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0020xlt)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020xlw)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0020xly)
A selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0020xm0)
Frustration grows for Chris, and Denise is in a quandry.
SUN 19:15 Shifting Soundscapes (m0020xm2)
“Sound is the barometer of the health of the planet.”
It's almost 60 years since 11-year-old Martyn Stewart made his first recording near his house in Birmingham using a reel-to-reel machine borrowed from his older brother. From that day forward, he set out to capture all the natural sounds of the world, amassing nearly one hundred thousand recordings.
Now, musician and sound artist Alice Boyd retraces his steps to three locations in Britain to document how these environmental soundscapes have changed, revealing vanishing ecosystems, amplified human noise and the return of endangered species.
(Photograph courtesy of Tom Bright.)
With archive from Martyn Stewart's library, The Listening Planet.
Location recordings and original music by Alice Boyd.
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m0020phn)
3. Rob Elias, doctor
Ros speaks to Dr Rob Elias, a kidney consultant at King's College Hospital in South London. 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 Dr Elias discuss the role of empathy in communication, the need to calculate how much information someone is able to digest, and the need to make effective communication a priority.
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 (m0020pft)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0020phx)
Weekly obituary programme telling the life stories of those who have died recently.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0020xhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0020xkp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0020xht)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0020xm5)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m0020pf0)
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas.
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m0020phv)
Quadratic Equations and Other Love Stories by Sharon Dempsey
An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the author Sharon Dempsey. Read by Eimear Fearon.
Sharon Dempsey is the author of three crime novels and two novellas. She graduated with a creative writing doctorate from Queen’s University in 2023. Sharon has also published three non-fiction books and has many short stories published in anthologies, literary journals, magazines and broadcast on radio. Sharon was named as one of the Seamus Heaney Centre’s inaugural Ciaran Carson Writing and the City Fellows for 2024-2025.
Writer: Sharon Dempsey
Reader: Eimear Fearon
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.
MONDAY 08 JULY 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0020xm7)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Being Roman with Mary Beard (m001styn)
4. What We Lost in the Fire
For an aspiring medic it was a dream assignment- official team doctor to the gladiators of Pergamon. The top names in the arena were worth a lot of money and it was up to young Galen to keep them alive. Slash and stab wounds had to be closed quickly and cleanly and diets devised to maintain the perfect balance of fat and muscle for the finest fighters. It gave Galen unrivalled insight into the workings of the human body, knowledge he would use as he went on to treat emperors and write the textbooks that would guide doctors for hundreds of years.
Mary Beard traces the career of Rome's greatest medic from its highs to its lowest of lows- the moment when a great fire swept through Rome, threatening to wipe out his life's work.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Expert Contributors: Helen King, Open University and Matthew Nicholls, Oxford University
Special thanks to the British Museum and the Parco Archeolgico del Colosseo, Roma
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0020xk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020xm9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020xmc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020xmf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0020xmh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020xmk)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0020xmm)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
MON 05:57 Weather (m0020xmp)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m0020xv2)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Orwell vs Kafka (m00201vk)
Ep 1: Battle of the Adjectives
George Orwell and Franz Kafka became two of the most influential writers of the 20th century and their ideas still resonate powerfully today.
In the first episode of Orwell vs Kafka, Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis explore the two adjectives that have arisen from the writing of both men. But what exactly do we mean by Orwellian or Kafkaesque?
Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford and Orwell Biographer DJ Taylor are on hand to wrestle with definitions, while Ian and Helen also hear from New Yorker cartoonist Evan Lian, who made fun of people who use the terms endlessly.
They also find a vivid illustration of the very particular dystopias conjured up by both Orwell and Kafka in the form of the Post Office horizon scandal, hearing from Alan Bates about his experience of striving against injustice in a system that seemed stacked against him.
Producer: Tom Alban
MON 09:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (m0020xv4)
Cleopatra
Natalie Haynes returns with a new series of sparkling stories from the ancient world which shed light on the world today.
Cleopatra was a brilliant politician, a ruthless leader and a massive brain-box, who spoke nine languages. The Queen of Egypt had charisma to burn, but she probably didn't look like Elizabeth Taylor. Her intelligence and magnetism were more than enough to attract the attentions of the world's most powerful men, and to keep her in power - in a notoriously lethal dynasty - for over twenty years.
Guests Jane Draycott and Llewelyn Morgan join Natalie to make sense of the Ptolemaic family naming system, to discover what it took to stay at the top for so long in dangerous times, and to find out just how besotted Mark Antony was with the Egyptian Queen. Cleopatra knew exactly how to make an impression: she entertained the war-weary Antony on a gold-covered luxury barge, fragrant with burning spices, decked out with fairy lights. She made him rub her feet at a banquet for losing a bet and he famously wandered out of an important lecture because Cleopatra was passing and he preferred to talk to her.
Rock star mythologist’ and reformed stand-up Natalie Haynes is obsessed with the ancient world. Here she explores key stories from ancient Rome and Greece that still have resonance today. They might be biographical, topographical, mythological or epic, but they are always hilarious, magical and tragic, mystifying and revelatory. And they tell us more about ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of thousand years ago.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020xv6)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 11:00 Behind the Crime (m0020xv8)
Sobanan
Sobanan was struggling to manage his money at university, and got involved in dealing small amounts of cannabis to fellow students to top up his income.
A bright, likeable young man, his business-mind allowed him to scale the operation. But it came crashing down when the police discovered what was going on.
Sobanan was sent to prison, where he experienced shocking living conditions. But he also found ways to thrive and remain safe, using his charm and his sharp mind.
Dr Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken are forensic psychologists who work in prisons. Their job is to help people in prison understand the harm they’ve caused, identify why it happened and work out how to make changes to prevent further harm after they’ve been released.
In Behind the Crime, they take the time to understand the life of someone whose crimes have led to harm and prison.
Through this extended interview with Sobanan, we learn about a man with an astonishing ability to ignore risk and threat – an ability that led him to fall foul of the law.
For details of organisations that can provide help and support, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline
Producer: Andrew Wilkie
Editor: Clare Fordham
Behind the Crime is a co-production between BBC Long Form Audio and the Prison Radio Association.
MON 11:45 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020xvb)
The Most Useful Thing
In this wide-ranging series, award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman, author of The Power and The Future, argues we are living through the third great information crisis. Following the invention of writing, and then printing, we now have digital communications technology. In what she describes as a 'speculative historical project', Naomi traces the parallels between these moments, asking if we can learn from the past to help us cope with the ‘enormous wave of information’ from the internet and social media that we are all faced with today. Drawing on the work of philosophers and historians, she explores the way new technologies open up new ways of thinking and their enormous impact on our society.
Written and read by Naomi Alderman
Produced by Di Speirs.
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0020xvd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0020xvg)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m0020xvj)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0020xvl)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
MON 13:45 Ten Second Showdown (m0020xvn)
Allan Wells
The explosive drama of a 100m sprint makes it one of those events that seems to transcend sport. Like the world heavyweight boxing championships, the crown of fastest man or woman in the world has an iconic status, drawing people in – captivating even those who might never watch another athletics event in their life.
For decades, legendary commentator Mike Costello described these mini blockbusters live on BBC radio. But that 10 seconds only tells part of the story. In this series he also explores what went on behind the races.
In episode one, sport and international politics collide with the US leading a boycott of the Moscow 1980 Olympics. Scotland's Allan Wells is under huge pressure from the UK government to stay away. But he refuses - setting up a 10 second showdown in the Central Lenin Stadium with his Cuban rivals.
PRESENTER: MIKE COSTELLO
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0020xm0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Fags, Mags and Bags (m0020xvq)
Series 11
Shopnucopia
The hit Radio 4 series Fags, Mags & Bags returns with an 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 and Dave enjoy their annual stocktake and pay a musical homage to The Wall Of Crisps and The Cardousel, though the discovery of a long-lost chocolate favourite causes an unexpected trip to A&E.
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
Mrs Begg: Marjory Hogarth
Bishop Briggs: Michael Redmond
Dr Spocktor: Forbes Masson
Producer: Gus Beattie for Gusman Productions
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:45 Gambits (m00127km)
6: The Bishop
Anton Lesser continues Eley WIlliams' dazzling short story series, set in Little Purlington - a seemingly ordinary English village, but which is anything but.
Today, in 'The Bishop', as the village continues to be gripped by chess, the local curate reveals some startling truths about who might be behind the strange acts of misrule in the village...
Reader: Anton Lesser is an acclaimed stage and screen actor, known most recently for his roles as Thomas More in Wolf Hall and Harold Macmillan in The Crown.
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 (m0020xvs)
Gyles Brandreth and Hannah Critchlow
Writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth has chosen EF Benson's entertaining tale of competitive snobbery in the 1920s, 'Mapp and Lucia'. In a contrasting choice, neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow advocates for 'Transcendent Kingdom' by Yaa Gyasi, a story of a Ghanaian family transplanted to Alabama which takes in neuroscience and opiate addiction. Harriett has gone for a real crowd-pleaser in E. Nesbit's 'The Railway Children' and all three enjoy a bit of nostalgia for the times when children could run free having adventures around the railway.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven.
MON 15:30 The Failure of the Future (m001w15h)
A Promise of Peace
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 this final episode, Johny examines Japan's plans for a peaceful world. In the horrific aftermath of the nuclear bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan adopted a new model around disarmament and peace-building which sent reverberations around the world. For a moment in time, global society seemed to be on the cusp of progress. Are there learnings from that era which would help us map out policies for peace today? Or do we need to fundamentally reimagine what peace might look like for our present world?
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 Stealing Power (m001xdcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Rewinder (m0020xhp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m0020xvv)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020xvx)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0020xd1)
Series 13
Stoke-on-Trent
This week Mark visits Stoke on Trent in the Potteries.
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 Stoke, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Margate, Malvern, East Grinstead, Coleraine in Northern Ireland and Nether Edge in Sheffield.
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 (m0020xs6)
Lilian gets her hopes up, and Ben lends a helping hand.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0020xvz)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0020pfw)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m0020pfy)
A weekly programme looking at the science that's changing our world.
MON 21:00 History's Secret Heroes (m001xwry)
11. The Extraordinary Cook Sisters
How did Ida and Louise Cook, two opera-loving sisters from England, help dozens of Jewish people escape Nazi Germany?
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.
A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby
Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
MON 21:30 The Balsall Heath Bohemians: Stewart Lee celebrates the Birmingham Surrealists (m001p6rs)
Stewart Lee takes us into a world of life-sized chess pieces, alcohol-guzzling nuns and crucified naked bespectacled men. The story of British Surrealism began, not in Bohemian north London, but in a Birmingham suburb.
Today, the tradition continues with Birmingham artist Cold War Steve, whose work is featured on the website. His detailed collages evoke the surrealist world of the original Birmingham Surrealists.
The seminal moment for British Surrealism was the 1936 London International Surrealist Exhibition when Salvador Dali donned a diving suit and walked through Piccadilly. But art historian and critic Ruth Millington reveals that the actual crazy beating heart of British Surrealism had already begun. A Birmingham group of artists refused to take part in that Exhibition, viewing the other British artists chosen as ‘overnight surrealists'.
The Birmingham group, including Conroy Maddox and John Melville, were the first and truest expression of the movement in the UK, meeting in the Kardohmah café in New Street and the Trocadero pub in Temple Street.
Later joined by Emmy Bridgwater and zoologist Desmond Morris - who left a giant elephant skull in Broad Street - they frequented Maddox’s house in Balsall Heath. Inside were life-size chess pieces and wallpaper handprinted by an adapted washing mangle. They held parties where communists, Caribbean immigrants and naked women in high heels smashed pottery underfoot.
Activities included Maddox being crucified, naked and bespectacled while a nun drank from a two pint bottle of local brew Mitchell and Butler. Maddox wanted to replicate this in shop windows in Birmingham but the Council refused.
Stewart Lee explores the creative explosion in the Surrealist court of Birmingham and the art it produced.
Guests include Stephen Forcer, Ruth Millington and Desmond Morris.
Artwork above by Cold War Steve.
A True Thought production for BBC Radio 4
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020xw1)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
MON 22:45 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (m0020xw3)
Six
It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.
In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.
First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea. Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.
The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.
Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.
Written by : Ferdia Lennon
Reader: Jonathan Forbes
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:00 Limelight (m0018h1f)
The System - Series 2
The System - Step 3: The Art of the Steal
Or How to Save the World in 5 Easy Steps
Step 3: The Art of the Steal
Ben Lewis’s award-winning thriller returns for a second season.
The System is still holding five of the UK’s richest men.
Jake and Maya are running out of time to find them.
And Jess’s masterplan is about to take an entirely unexpected turn.
Cast:
Jake … Alex Austin
Maya… Siena Kelly
Coyote … Divian Ladwa
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 (m001yqtq)
3. The Fall
Singer Songwriter and BBC Introducing presenter Kitty Perrin charts the stories of band splits. What really happened in the breakups of some of history's best loved bands? Using new interviews with band members, music professionals, academics, and writers she analyses the reasons they split.
In episode 3 Kitty explores the love affair at the heart of one of the most turbulent bands in music history. She talks to Brix Smith about her time in cult Mancunian post-punk band The Fall, how she fell in love with and married the bands originator Mark E Smith, and how the break up of that marriage and Mark’s documented substance misuse led to her leaving the band - twice.
In the early 80s, teenager Brix Smith lived in LA, made music and obsessed over every sound coming out of the British music scene. Two weeks after Brix Smith met The Fall she went to see them play. Six weeks later she moved across the world, joined the band, and was in a relationship with the man who was a figure on an album sleeve eight weeks before. Her addition as songwriter and guitarist was a major turning point for the band.
Kitty gets insight into what it’s like to be in a band with a romantic partner, and how that might affect the people around you so she speaks to Simon Raymonde, former bassist in 80s pioneering band Cocteau Twins, the only member in the band with couple Liz and Robin.
She hears from Rowetta from Happy Mondays who talks about how substance abuse led to their split.
We also hear from Rock-star psychotherapist Jodi Millstein, Tamsin Embleton, editor of 'Touring and Mental Health' and Ryan Dusick, original drummer in American Pop-Rock band Maroon 5.
A Yada-Yada Audio Production
Presenter - Kitty Perrin
Producer - Julian Mayers
Original Music by Gordon Russell
TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0020xw5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020xvb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020xw7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020xw9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020xwc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0020xwf)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020xwh)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0020xwk)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 06:00 Today (m0020xrh)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0020xrk)
Janet Treasure on eating disorders and the quest for answers
From anorexia nervosa to binge-eating, eating disorders are potentially fatal conditions that are traditionally very difficult to diagnose and treat - not least because those affected often don’t recognise that there’s anything wrong. But also because of the diverse factors that can influence and encourage them.
Janet Treasure is a Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College, London - where she's focused on understanding the drivers behind these disorders, to help develop more effective treatments. Her study of twins in the 1980s offered one of the earliest arguments of a genetic link to anorexia, rather than the purely psychological motivations accepted at the time; while her most recent work explores holistic ways to better treat these conditions.
Speaking to Jim Al-Khalili, Janet explains the work that's revealed anorexia's roots in both body and mind - as well as how attitudes towards eating disorders are slowly changing.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Lucy Taylor
TUE 09:30 Is Psychiatry Working? (m0020xrm)
Rai and schizophrenia
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?
With the help of Rai, who has a schizophrenia diagnosis, we look at the way the Hearing Voices Network is changing the view psychiatry has of auditory hallucinations. And we explore how new talking therapies could help people deal with sinister voices and paranoia.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020xrp)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m0020pj9)
Love Triangles
In the past year, triangular love stories have loomed large in cinema - Past Lives, Challengers and Passages all had different angles on the spiky geometry of three-cornered relationships.
Since Casablanca, these complicated love affairs have fascinated filmmakers and audiences alike. They can be the subject of romantic comedies, at the centre of a melodrama or the motive for murder in a thriller - the relationships can be gay or straight and the budgets big or small.
Jean Luc Godard’s iconic new wave robbery tale Bande à part is 60 this year. It seems that each generation has its iconic love triangle movie - The Philadelphia Story, Sabrina, The Graduate, Blood Simple, Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Notebook and My Best Friend’s Wedding - the films could not be more different but the dynamics are always rich and provocative.
Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones ask where love triangles have taken us over the years and how they reflect the sexual politics of the times.
Guest interviews include Ira Sachs, director of the acclaimed Passages, and writer and critic Anne Billson.
Producer: Tom Whalley
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:45 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020xrr)
Uli That Never Fades
In this episode, Naomi considers the impact of the first information crisis – the invention of writing. Before writing, she argues. ‘there was - in a real sense – no such thing as history’. The advent of writing enabled belief systems to flourish, brought into question old hierarchical structures, and sped up our culture forever. But did it also devalue shared memory, and traditional oral cultures, meaning societies came to value elderly people less?
Written and read by Naomi Alderman
Produced by Di Speirs.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0020xrv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0020xrx)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m0020xrz)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m0020xs1)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
TUE 13:45 Ten Second Showdown (m0020xs3)
Legendary commentator Mike Costello explores the explosive drama of the 100m sprint.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0020xs6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m0020xs8)
Series 5
Jim
By Roy Williams
1983. Jim, now the star of a primetime TV sit-com, is dealing with difficulties on every front. Only ex-wife Hope really understands what he is facing but has to remind him of some familiar hard truths. Is Jim ready to actually listen this time?
Jim ….. Martins Imhangbe
Hope ….. Danielle Vitalis
Sheila ….. Keziah Joseph
Jimmy ….. Michael Ajao
Bert / Dr Pearl ….. Ben Crowe
Lorraine ….. Rebecca Crankshaw
Bradley / Taxi Driver ….. Samuel James
Produced by Pat Cumper
Directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike
A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
*****
Faith Hope and Glory began following the lives of Hope, Faith (Eunice) and Gloria in the UK in 1946. Three generations of three families bound together by the fate of one baby lost and found on Tilbury Dock. All three are now settled in their lives in 1980s Britain.
We have reached 1983. It’s election time. There are tensions between right and left, and young and old, and within families as a new generation of Black Britons take their place in Thatcher’s Britain, making their mark on the political, social, and creative fabric of their home.
Hope’s first husband Jim, now a successful actor, left her and their children years previously after a troubled marriage.
TUE 15:00 The Gatekeepers (m001wxlt)
5. The Vortex
One of the strange things about our new media universe, is how innocuous decisions taken in Silicon Valley - turning a dial, or adding a few lines of code to increase engagement - can change your life.
In 2016, Instagram introduced a new way of looking at content: the non-chronological feed.
Now, instead of seeing what your friends were posting in the order they were posting it, an algorithm brought you stuff based on search history, likes, and interactions.
That’s how tech engineers saw things back then - not just at Instagram, but at Pinterest, and other platforms too - if you engage with something, that must mean you want more of it.
Ian Russell believes that this algorithmic change may have altered the course of his 14 year old daughter Molly's life.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Producer: Caitlin Smith
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Composer: Jeremy Warmsley
Story Consultant: Kirsty Williams
Execuitve Producer: Peter McManus
Commissioner: Dan Clarke
A BBC Scotland Production for Radio 4.
Archive: 'Instagram implements big changes to users' feed, ditches chronologixal content' DT Daily; March 16th 2016. US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Nov 7th 2023
If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
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 Beyond Belief (m0020xsc)
Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world.
TUE 16:00 Rage Against the Regime: The Revolutionary Power of Metal Music (m0020xsf)
Metal, according to a recent Spotify poll, is the most downloaded genre of music in the world. It’s a highly complex, intellectual form of music, intertwined with politics since its inception with Black Sabbath’s anti-war anthem ‘War Pigs’
This music has a special kind of power—a sonic force that inspires courage and rebellion, spurring people to speak truth to power. It can make regimes fear and attack those who use it, and can connect people across continents, even when powerful forces seek to keep entire populations and their cultures isolated and silent.
In "Rage Against the Regime: The Revolutionary Power of Metal Music," metal journalist Dannii Leivers explores the stories of bands who have faced repression in various Middle Eastern countries over the past two decades and highlights the experiences of three important metal artists
Nikan Khosravi, lead singer of Confess who was, along with his bandmates, imprisoned by the Iranian authorities for blasphemy and spreading anti-government sentiment.
Cherine Amr, who was labeled a satanist by members of the Muslim Brotherhood after the 2011 Revolution in Egypt, partly because those in power couldn’t understand why a woman would scream like she did during shows.
And Abed Hathout, co-founder of the Palestinian band Khalas — thought to be the first metal band to sing in Arabic — who opened a window into Palestinian culture and resisted the narrative of perpetual hate in the region by touring with an Israeli band across Europe.
Join us as we dive into the revolutionary power of metal music and uncover the stories of those who dare to rage against the regime.
TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m0020xsh)
Who's in the news for all the wrong reasons? With David Yelland and Simon Lewis.
TUE 17:00 PM (m0020xsk)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020xsm)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 18:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (m000dqh7)
Series 2
Mary Berry and Holly Walsh
Joe Lycett returns to explore the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests. Joining Joe on the sofa this week, national treasure Mary Berry shares her love of her dog Darcy, whilst comedian Holly Walsh reveals her obsession with badgers. Joe also welcomes members of the public to share their secret passions, as well as this week's VOP (very obsessed person), Lucy Harper, a YouTube ASMR artists.
Joe Lycett's Obsessions was written and performed by Joe Lycett, with material from James Kettle and additional material from Catherine Brinkworth and Kat Sadler. The production coordinator was Damilola Mabadeje. The producer was Suzy Grant and it was a BBC Studios Audio production.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0020xsp)
Alistair finds himself in an uncomfortable position, and Pip makes a surprising discovery.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0020xsr)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0020xst)
Ghost Houses
There are more empty homes than homeless households in this country. Why?
Filled with cobwebs, windows broken, and rats scurrying about in their overgrown gardens, the UK has hundreds of thousands of ghost houses - properties where no one lives. The UK also has the worst homelessness problem in the rich world. So could we use those empty homes for the people in dire need of a home?
Simon Maybin investigates the phenomenon of empty homes and, over nine months, follows the work of someone trying to turn unused properties into homes for families among the record numbers who are now homeless.
Reporter/producer: Simon Maybin
Technical producer: Neil Churchill
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Richard Vadon
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0020xsw)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
TUE 21:00 Wokewash (m001w12p)
Race
Satirist Heydon Prowse offers a tongue-in-cheek investigation into how companies embraced race as the next social justice bandwagon to flaunt their woke credentials.
After the murder of George Floyd organisations suddenly tweeted and posted support for a movement they had never seemed to care about, rushing to be the first to be seen to make donations. CEOs took the knee in the office, a toy company paused its marketing of its police themed range.
Heydon himself was in a panic – should he post a black square with the hashtag #blackouttuesday in support of Black Lives Matter? If he did, he feared the profoundly performative act of solidarity that required zero effort was wokewashing, if he didn’t wouldn’t he look like a full blown racist.
To discover who did it right and who did a facepalm, Heydon meets:
Enes Freedom, former NBA star whose career came to a sudden halt when he chose to protest an issue beyond BLM
Podcaster Zubi, who wonders if wokewashing is a brilliant con to subdue the left
Marketing guru Katie Martell, who hails the advert that got people setting fire to their trainers
Comedian Kae Kurd, who ponders if Pepsi or Dr Pepper is the best drink for a protest
Judd Legum who unearthed financial hypocrisy, and academics Lily Kunda and Francesca Sobande who discuss what, if anything, has changed as a result – and a favourite ice cream.
Producer: Sarah Bowen
Assistant Producer: Oliva Sopel
TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m0020pfc)
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show, with insight from the people at the top.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020xsy)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
TUE 22:45 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (m0020xt0)
Seven
It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.
In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.
First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea. Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.
The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.
Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.
Written by : Ferdia Lennon
Reader: Jonathan Forbes
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:00 Jon Holmes Says the C-Word (m0020yrm)
1. You Might Feel a Bit of a Prick
In episode one, Jon and his guests discuss What Made You Go To The Doctors In The First Place? as they talk symptoms, tests, the importance of catching it early, and a finger up the bum.
In 2023, Jon Holmes was diagnosed with cancer – which came as a bit of a surprise because, quite frankly, he was far too busy for all of that nonsense. After a very odd, intense, unexpected, ridiculous year, Jon realised that men don’t tend to talk openly about the preposterous indignity of dealing with cancer. So he decided he would, with other men who are going through it, or who’ve been through it.
Here – inevitably – comes his new chatty podcast.
Across the series, Jon will be joined by the comedians Stephen Fry, Mark Steel, Richard Herring, Matt Forde and Eric Idle, actors Colin McFarlane and Ben Richards, rock star and The Alarm frontman Mike Peters, and journalists Jeremy Langmead, Nick Owen and Jeremy Bowen. Jon and his guests will demystify all things cancer in raw, honest, difficult, often absurd and – yes – funny detail, from fingers up the bum to blood tests via biopsies, surgery, catheters, stomas, feeding tubes, penis pumps (no, really) and incontinence pads.
Jon wants to stop the stigma and embarrassment associated with these issues (and by "issues", we mean "body parts and what happens to them"), to raise awareness and encourage listeners to ‘get checked’ as he aims to remove the fear from the whole diagnosis and treatment process in an accessible, honest and entertaining way.
Throughout the series, Jon will also be encouraging listeners to get involved and share their own experiences, whether it's something they have been through themselves or are supporting someone with cancer.
Jon Holmes Says The C-Word aims to humanise what is often a completely de-humanising process, because, honestly, the cancer road is paved with frequently hilarious unexpected moments - and Jon maintains that retaining a sense of humour is all important.
As Jon says: “If there had been a podcast like this when I was diagnosed - one full of other people’s stories, advice and light moments to illuminate the darkness of the whole sorry process - I’d have lapped it up. But there wasn’t, so I spoke to Radio 4, and now there is.”
In Jon Holmes Says The C-Word Jon will be wearing his heart - and, quite frankly, all of his body parts - on his sleeve.
Written and presented by Jon Holmes
Produced by Laura Grimshaw
Commissioning Editor for the BBC: Rhian Roberts
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:30 Fragments - The London Nail Bombings (m001y9kp)
It's 25 years since London suffered three vicious nail bomb attacks - holdalls filled with 4-inch nails and hand-made explosives planted in Brixton market, Brick Lane and in the bar of the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho, intended to cause damage to those in the immediate vicinity and to the notion of a tolerant, diverse capital city.
The attacks are recorded in photographs shared at the time by the press - of London streets strewn with damaged buildings and injured people, an x-ray of a toddler with a nail embedded in his skull, the wedding photograph of two victims (one killed, the other severely injured) and the police mugshot of the perpetrator, a far right terrorist who hoped to start a 'racial war in this country'.
Fragments looks again at these images - some taken by Chris Taylor who happened to be on assignment in Soho's market photographing vegetables - to consider what it means for an instant to be captured and to endure in our memories and understanding of traumatic events.
Including contributions from photographer Chris Taylor; Jonathan Cash, who survived the Soho attack, Emdad Talukder, who was injured in Brick Lane and business owner Leo Epstein.
Music composed by Alan Hall, with Eleanor McDowall (chimes) and Alan Hall (trumpet)
Producer: Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio Four
(Photo credit: ChrisTaylorPhotography.com)
WEDNESDAY 10 JULY 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0020xt2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020xrr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020xt4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020xt6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020xt8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0020xtb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020xtd)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0020xtg)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 06:00 Today (m0020y2f)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Sideways (m0020y2h)
Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives, making us see the world differently.
WED 09:30 Intrigue (m0020y2k)
To Catch a Scorpion
To Catch a Scorpion: 9. A Sting in the Tail
Barzan Majeed thought he was safe in Iraq but all that changes following the release of this series. Authorities in Iraq start their own investigation and before long they announce dramatic developments. For reporter Sue Mitchell, and her colleague, former soldier and aid worker, Rob Lawrie, the news signals possibilities for securing justice for some of those harmed in his boat and lorry crossings.
This a bonus episode which covers developments following this BBC investigation. In the Kurdish controlled areas of Northern Iraq Barzan Majeed's smuggling operations come under intense scrutiny. The Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, tells the programme that he hopes for a closer working relationship with Europe when it comes to tracking and dealing with smugglers like Scorpion.
For the UK’s National Crime Agency the developments signal a real possibility of securing justice for families who have suffered. This is also a chance to progress links with Iraq that might help in other cases. There are more cases like Barzan’s – where smugglers have been tried in their absence by courts in Europe but have evaded capture and are thought to be still operating. Those names have now also been passed to authorities in Iraq.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020y2m)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 File on 4 (m0020xst)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:45 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020y2q)
The Box Pew Effect
Naomi Alderman takes us back to the Protestant Reformation to explore the impact of the second great information crisis - the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century.
Thanks to printing, more people than ever before could access, and form a personal and private relationship with, the Bible.
This move to individualism is, she argues, echoed by our online behaviour today 'once we're able to access more information for ourselves ..we start to trust ourselves in new way'.
Written and read by Naomi Alderman
Produced by Di Speirs and Nicola Holloway.
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0020y2s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m0020y2v)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m0020y2x)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m0020y2z)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
WED 13:45 Ten Second Showdown (m0020y31)
Legendary commentator Mike Costello explores the explosive drama of the 100m sprint
WED 14:00 The Archers (m0020xsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m0020y33)
Series 5
Clement
By Rex Obano
Election day, 1983. Gloria panics when she thinks her hospitalised ex-husband Clement might tell their daughter Joy the truth of how she came into their lives. As they try to work out what's wrong with him, her well-meaning intervention in Joy’s marriage only risks making things worse.
Joy ….. Cherrelle Skeete
Gloria ….. Jaye Griffiths
Dr Genghis Khan…..Asif Khan
Hopeton ….. Solomon Israel
Mabel ….. Dorothea Myer-Bennett
Hospital Sister ….. Ruth Everett
Nurse ….. Marilyn Nnadebe
Children ….. Jaiden Dosanjh and Saara Gurjee
Directed by Pat Cumper
A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
Faith Hope and Glory began following the lives of Hope, Faith (Eunice) and Gloria in the UK in 1946. Three generations of three families bound together by the fate of one baby lost and found on Tilbury Dock. All three are now settled in their lives in early 1980s Britain.
It’s election time, 1983. There are tensions between right and left and young and old between and within families as a new generation of Black Britons take their place in Thatcher’s Britain, making their mark on the political, social, and creative fabric of their home.
Gloria, now retired, is torn between her love for her dying ex-husband Clement and for her partner Mabel; and she's anxious about her daughter Joy's marriage to Hopeton, with their young family.
WED 15:00 Money Box (m0020y35)
The Money Box team invites listeners and a panel of experts to discuss one personal finance topic in depth.
WED 15:30 Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle? (m001xzrx)
Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and ideas for packing more protein into your diet.
Science presenters Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber have noticed this too. They wanted to unpick the protein puzzle to find out what it does in our bodies and how much we really need. Can this macronutrient really help us lose weight, get fit and be healthier?
Along the way, they speak to Professor Giles Yeo from the University of Cambridge, Bridget Benelam from the British Nutrition Foundation, Paralympian hopeful Harrison Walsh, and food historian Pen Vogler.
Presenters: Dr Julia Ravey and Dr Ella Hubber
Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell
Editor: Martin Smith
Credits: @thefitadam/@TSCPodcast/@tadhgmoody/@meg_squats/@aussiefitness
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m0020y09)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world
WED 17:00 PM (m0020y37)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020y39)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 18:30 Geoff Norcott's Working Men's Club (m0020y3c)
Episode 1
Geoff Norcott examines modern masculinity in this stand-up series for Radio 4, by creating the safe space of a working men’s club so he can speak freely about the problems men are facing and how we might go about fixing them in a way that benefits everyone.
This week, Geoff looks at men’s reluctance to put on sunscreen. Why not take a simple, basic precaution against the hottest and largest thing in the entire solar system? Vanity? Bravado? Or something else? With the help of his studio audience, Geoff looks at whether this is connected to men’s reluctance to seek medical advice and their habit of dying early.
Written and presented by Geoff Norcott
Recorded by Richard Biddulph
Production manager: Sarah Wright
Executive producer: Caroline Raphael
Producer: Ed Morrish
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0020xzl)
Denise has a confession to make, and Justin shows a different side to him.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0020y3g)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m0020y3j)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.
WED 21:00 The Life Scientific (m0020xrk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Is Psychiatry Working? (m0020xrm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020y3l)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
WED 22:45 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (m0020y3n)
Eight
It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.
In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.
First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea. Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.
The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.
Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.
Written by : Ferdia Lennon
Reader: Jonathan Forbes
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:00 Me and the Farmer (m0020y3q)
2. Young, Free Range and Single
Comedian and farmer Jim Smith always knew he was going to be a farmer, but his parents insisted he got an education. So, it was off to agricultural college for Jim in the big city of Aberdeen. 4 years of dancing, drinking and Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems mean Jim has a fair few stories to tell.
Me and the Farmer is a stand up show chronicling Jim's life as a working farmer in rural Perthshire. This isn't an act. By day, Jim works the land and looks after his sheep and by night he performs stand up to sold out venues across Scotland.
In each episode, Jim tells anecdotes about life on his family farm to a live audience in his nearest city of Perth. This is an honest, behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a modern farmer.
Written and Performed by Jim Smith
Produced by Lauren Mackay
Sound by Andy Hay and Barry Jackson
Photo credit: Chris Quilietti
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m0020y3s)
The Skewer: The 2024 Election
Fresh from a BAFTA nomination, the multi-award winning The Skewer burrows its way into the 2024 General Election, rounding it all up like a satirical sheepdog, and cutting through all the noise.
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:45 Bunk Bed (m000r4wk)
Series 8
Episode Two: Peter Curran and Patrick Marber grapple in the dark with the woes and wonders of Life
Recorded in beds and in the dark, Peter Curran and Patrick Marber drift off from the emotional hurly-burly of the day with thoughts that float into the night without reason. Bunk Bed is the critically-acclaimed place for confessional laughs and poignant thoughts.
Tonight, Peter and Patrick discuss caring for Peter's late mother and the humour found unexpectedly. Patrick champions the poor early work of David Bowie and talks about his amazing run that followed the mediocrity.
Produced by Peter Curran
A Foghorn Company production for BBC Radio 4
THURSDAY 11 JULY 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0020y3v)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020y2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020y3x)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020y3z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020y41)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0020y43)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020y45)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0020y47)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 06:00 Today (m0020xys)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Reflections (m0020xyv)
Conversations with leading political figures reflecting on their lives in politics.
THU 09:30 The Long History of Ignorance - from Confucius to Q-Anon (m0020xyx)
The Pursuit of Knowledge
We prize knowledge, and rightly so. We think of ignorance as a bad thing. But ignorance is inseparable from what we know.
Knowledge can distract us, mislead us and endanger us. While ignorance is often the most fundamental insight about our human condition. Ignorance is not simply the opposite of knowledge, but a positive force with its own momentum that gives meaning to our lives. It drives scientific discovery, fosters creativity and can be psychologically helpful.
That’s why Rory Stewart wants to make a radical case for embracing ignorance. He wants to encourage a way of knowing in which knowledge and ignorance exist in a relationship with each other.
With a cast of global thinkers, drawing on Western and Eastern ideas from the ancient world to the present day, Rory explores how a greater awareness and appreciation of ignorance can help us become more humble, empathetic and wise.
Writer and presenter: Rory Stewart
Producer: Dan Tierney
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020xz0)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m0020xz2)
Series 30
The Wonder of Trees
Brian Cox and Robin Ince leaf through the latest tree science with Dame Judi Dench, Tony Kirkham and Tristan Gooley. Dame Judi Dench shares her great love for treekind and describes how over time she has come to create a small woodland in her garden and how meaningful that is for her. Tony Kirkham, former head of Kew Arboretum and Gardens shares some of the amazing journeys he's been on to find unusual and rare trees around the world. Navigator Tristan Gooley, has spent a lifetime learning how to read trees, he explains how nearly everything on a tree can provide clues into the environment around it and how elements like leaf shape and colour can help us to use trees as a compass to navigate our way.
Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio production
THU 11:45 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020xz4)
Mapping the Inner World
Naomi reflects on the speed and scale of the internet; the sense of community and equality it can create but also the current dangers of misinformation, group-think, and ultimately, the threat to truth. The psychological effects on individuals are profound: ‘it’s not stupid to be anxious or to feel that truth is under attack’ argues Naomi ‘We’re learning that truth is extremely complex. It’s hard to bear’.
Written and read by Naomi Alderman, produced by Di Speirs.
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0020xz6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m0020xz8)
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show, with insight from the people at the top.
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread Presents (m0020xzb)
DNA Ancestry Tests
Listener Chris from Suffolk recently took a DNA ancestry test, and after getting some interesting results back, he wondered how accurate they really were?
Greg Foot finds out by taking two tests himself – and has the results and his family tree revealed to him by DNA Genealogist from Finding Families, Louise Baldock.
He also speaks to Professor of Genetics at Leicester University Mark Jobling to find out what these companies are looking for, what they can or can’t determine from our DNA in terms of where we came from, and asks the question – is sharing our DNA with these companies safe?
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 voice note on WhatsApp to 07543 306807.
PRESENTER: Greg Foot
PRODUCER: Kate Holdsworth
THU 12:57 Weather (m0020xzd)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0020xzg)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
THU 13:45 Ten Second Showdown (m0020xzj)
Legendary commentator Mike Costello explores the explosive drama of the 100m sprint
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0020xzl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Faith, Hope and Glory (m0020xzn)
Series 5
Serena-Hope
By Carol Russell
We began following the lives of Caribbean-born Hope and Faith (Eunice) and British-born Gloria in 1946. It’s 1983 now and the day of Margaret Thatcher's re-election. A disillusioned and lonely Faith has decided to retire to Antigua. But then her estranged daughter Serena-Hope arrives in London seeking a legal pupillage and her son Winston is falsely arrested. Will that give her reason to stay?
Serena-Hope …. Bethan Mary-James
Faith ..... Shiloh Coke
Merlene ..... Sharon Duncan-Brewster
Winston ..... Daniel Francis-Swaby
David Wolff / Desk Sergeant …..Simon Ludders
Delroy ..... Olatunji Ayofe
PC Grant / Reporter ….. Ian Dunnett Jnr
Directed by Pat Cumper
A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
*****
Faith Hope and Glory began following the lives of Hope, Faith (Eunice) and Gloria in the UK in 1946. Three generations of three families bound together by the fate of one baby lost and found on Tilbury Dock. All three are now settled in their lives in early 1980s Britain.
We are now in 1983. It’s election time. There are tensions between right and left and young and old between and within families as a new generation of Black Britons take their place in Thatcher’s Britain, making their mark on the political, social, and creative fabric of their home.
Faith despairs of ever reconciling with her childhood friend Hope. With her husband dead and her children, Winston and Serena-Hope, all grown up, she has decided to retire back to the Caribbean.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m0020xzq)
Donegal with Iain Miller
In the second of two walks in the Republic of Ireland, Clare meets rock climber, mountain instructor and walking guide, Iain Miller, to explore a stretch of the wild, rugged and spectacular Atlantic coastline of County Donegal.
They meet at what Iain describes as the most remote place in Ireland, An Port, and the route they take from there affords them views over what he says is Ireland’s last great wilderness including some ‘monster’ sea stacks.
Iain is originally from Scotland, but has lived in Co. Donegal for years, making it his place of work as well as his – as he puts it – playground. The two are intertwined as Iain’s business involves leading rock climbing, hillwalking, and other outdoor adventures. The route he shares with Clare is more gentle coastal stroll than vertiginous technical climb but the experience and views are no less impressive.
If you want to look at their location on a map, they met here: WhatThreeWords: ///simplicity.school.escalates
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0020xkp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Feedback (m0020xzs)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m0020xzv)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0020xzx)
A weekly programme looking at the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m0020xzz)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020y01)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 18:30 Rhysearch (m0020y03)
Series 2
4. Does Education Work?
Comedian Rhys James investigates topics that the rest of us are too busy to be bothered with.
4. Does Education Work?
The world has changed dramatically in a very short amount of time and yet our education system has barely changed at all. Rhys is going to revolutionise education as we know it.
Written and presented by Rhys James
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 (m0020y05)
Stella finds herself fighting a losing battle, and George loses his cool.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0020y07)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
THU 20:00 The Media Show (m0020y09)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m0020xjm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Empire of Tea (m001t321)
4. The Tea Wars
As Britain’s demand for tea soared in the late 18th century, an economic problem was emerging. Britain wanted to buy lots of tea from China, but China wasn’t interested in the commodities Britain had to sell. That meant silver was draining out of Britain and into China.
Eventually a solution was found: opium. It was an imperial product Britain could grow in India and sell to China.
But the Chinese leadership didn't want the narcotic, and Britain’s desire to offset its tea habit by selling an addictive, hard drug that harmed Chinese people, led to war.
Professor of Chinese history Yangwen Zheng explains how the situation escalated, and the long shadow the conflict casts upon the modern world.
Produced by Paul Martin for BBC Audio Wales
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020y0c)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (m0020y0f)
Nine
It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.
In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.
First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea. Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.
The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.
Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.
Written by : Ferdia Lennon
Reader: Jonathan Forbes
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m0020y0h)
Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week.
THU 23:30 Three Million (m00209c0)
6. Silk Scarves
80 years ago at least 3 million Indians, who were British subjects, died in the Bengal famine. But today different generations in Britain are coming to terms with this difficult past.
Kavita meets the granddaughter of a senior colonial figure, who is only just learning about her grandfather's role in the famine. Initially she feels shame, but discoveries in her family archive change her perspective. What will she do with this new understanding of her family's history? A 97 year-old British man makes a surprising revelation about his role in the Bengal famine. And three generations on, British Bengalis mark the famine in Britain, in an unexpected way.
FRIDAY 12 JULY 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0020y0k)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020xz4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0020y0m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0020y0p)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0020y0r)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0020y0t)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0020y0w)
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0020y0y)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 06:00 Today (m0020y6q)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0020xl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0020y6s)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m0020y6v)
Investigating every aspect of the food we eat
FRI 11:45 The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (m0020y6x)
A Wonderful Catastrophe
In this final episode Naomi Alderman explores the opportunities offered by this current information crisis, how it could expand our minds and our world. What, she asks, are the positive impacts of this super-fast flow of facts and knowledge? While we may face some short term turbulence, Naomi believes ‘we are trying to do something extraordinary as a species’ and it’s this that gives her hope.
Written and read by Naomi Alderman. Produced by Di Speirs and Nicola Holloway
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0020y6z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Rare Earth (m0020y71)
The Future of Meat
Can meat ever be environmentally friendly, or do we need better substitutes? Helen Czerski and Tom Heap discuss the cutting edge technology being developed to reduce the carbon cost of our diet.
Producer: Emma Campbell
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Rare Earth is a BBC Audio Wales and West production in conjunction with the Open University
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0020y73)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0020y75)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
FRI 13:45 Ten Second Showdown (m0020y77)
Legendary commentator Mike Costello explores the explosive drama of the 100m sprint
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0020y05)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m0020y79)
The Skies Are Watching
2. The Man from Kecksburg
Coral’s adult son, a ufologist named David Vance, meets Heather with her family’s permission, to try to understand why she believes herself to be his mother. He shares the shocking story of what happened the night of Coral’s disappearance.
The Skies Are Watching was the 2024 recipient of the Audio Fiction Award at the Tribeca Festival.
Cast:
Heather - Caitlin Stasey
Vance - Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts
Rodney - David Yow
Jana - Caroline Morahan
Constance - Guinevere Turner
Interrogator - Travis Harmon
Dr. Finkel - Brad Griffith
Created and Produced by Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto
Music - Lars Koller, Blue Dot Sessions
Editing and Sound Design - Jon Frechette
Written and Directed by Jon Frechette
Production Manager - Kurt Koller
Executive Producer - John Scott Dryden
A Goldhawk production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
FRI 14:45 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m0020rc3)
4. Michael Johnson, Olympic athlete and broadcaster
Ros talks with the Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson. 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 asks Michael - what does it take to communicate well in a team with conflicting interests? And we hear how to communicate as an expert to a broad audience.
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 (m0020y7c)
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts.
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0020y7f)
The Knocker's Ballroom
An original short story by Wyl Menmuir, read by Tristan Sturrock.
A crew of miners sits around a decorated table in a mineral-encrusted chamber at the far end of the mine they dug, deep beneath the Cornish sea bed. There's a sound above the pounding of the waves. It's coming from somewhere beyond the rockfall that has imprisoned this party of miners who, for the first time since breaking ground here, have entered their mine without their tools...
This is a story about our relationship with the ground beneath our feet, the choices we make to exploit the riches that live there, and the consequences of those choices.
Wyl Menmuir is a Booker-nominated novelist, and prizes for his non-fiction include the prestigious Roger Deakin Award, for The Draw of The Sea. His exploration of our relationships with trees and woodlands, The Heart of The Woods, was released in 2024. His short fiction has been published in Best British Short Stories, and in various anthologies.
A BBC Audio Bristol Production
Reader: Tristan Sturrock
Producer: Becky Ripley
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0020y7h)
Weekly obituary programme telling the life stories of those who have died recently.
FRI 16:30 Sideways (m0020y2h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m0020y7k)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0020y7m)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0020xd7)
Series 114
Episode 6
Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0020y7p)
WRITER: Naylah Ahmed
DIRECTOR: Rosemary Watts
EDITOR: Jeremy Howe
Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Pip Archer… Daisy Badger
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Justin Elliot…. Simon Williams
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
John Mack…. Richard Pepple
Paul Mack…. Joshua Riley
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Denise Metcalf…. Clare Perkins
Stella Pryor…. Lucy Speed
FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m0020y7r)
The Western
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode examine the continuing popularity of one of the oldest movie genres, tracing it from the epics of John Wayne and John Ford to recent revisionist dramas such as The Power of the Dog and Meek’s Cutoff.
Can the western adapt to the modern age or is it trapped in a one-sided history of the past?
With guests including The Harder They Fall director Jeymes Samuel and cultural historian Christopher Frayling.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0020y7t)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0020y7w)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Shadow World (m0020y7y)
Thief at the British Museum
The inside story of how ancient treasures were stolen from one of the world’s most renowned institutions. And how one man believes he caught a thief. Omnibus edition part two of two.
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producers: Darin Graham, Ben Henderson and Larissa Kennelly
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Mix and sound design : James Beard
Composer: Jenny Plant
Exec-producer: Joe Kent
Investigations Editor: Ed Campbell
Series Editor: Matt Willis
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0020y80)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (m0020y82)
Ten
It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.
In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.
First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea. Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.
The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.
Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.
Written by : Ferdia Lennon
Reader: Jonathan Forbes
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:00 Americast (m0020y84)
Join the Americast team for insights from across the US.
FRI 23:30 Shifting Soundscapes (m0020xm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:15 on Sunday]