SATURDAY 03 AUGUST 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0021jk8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 Status by Carl Honoré (m0021jhf)
Episode 5
It shapes every social interaction. But we’d rather not talk about it. It’s shameful to seek it. But we want it.
Status has always been the elephant in the room, our dirty little secret. Now Carl Honoré is going to bring it out into the open. He argues that status is changing in the modern world and not always for the better. Can we use it as a force for good?
When asked to explain what drove us to achieve a particular feat, we talk of our desire to change the world, help others, learn something new, overcome a challenge, have fun, make money or simply gain more control over our lives. No one ever says: "I did it to enhance my status."
This reticence is hardly surprising. Status cuts to the core of who we are and our place in the world. Of how others see us and how we see ourselves.
Talking about this feels awkward, messy, exposing, embarrassing. Like sharing a sexual problem. So status remains the driver that dare not speak its name.
This series will break that taboo and ask the big questions: Why is status so important? How does it work? How can we harness it to live better lives? Could a new approach to status help us tackle the epic challenges facing humankind at the start of the 21st century?
Written and Presented by Carl Honoré
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021jkb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021jkd)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021jkj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0021jkn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021jks)
The power of Greetings and Farewells
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Guy Goodall
Good morning.
Saturday morning – greet it with a smile, joyful anticipation. I was once taught that there are certain skills behind greetings and farewells, especially when using the phone, lessons the teacher never applied himself. Whenever answering the phone, his welcome suggested that he was utterly bored and, at the end of the call, his farewell suggested the whole conversation was a complete waste of his time and my time. That’s all I can remember of the conversations we had!
Beginnings and endings are of great significance for example, a baby’s cry kicks off the process of breathing that will last a lifetime, life ending with that final breath. A significant amount of history can be lived in between those two breaths.
The overwhelming majority of us will greet someone today, on the bus, the shops, or if we have to work, the office or factory floor. Likewise, we shall express some form of farewell. How we do that will go some way to shape the rest of the day for others. Make it personal, and if the memories are good they will also help keep the conversation in mind, enriching an ongoing relationship. Some work hard at their greetings to make people feel good about themselves. Those simple words of Hi and Bye have within them an immense amount of power, and should be uttered with considerable care and forethought.
Help me, Lord, to remember that my opening words can make someone feel valued and good about themselves, and when our conversation is over, may our closing words fill us both with hope and encouragement.
Amen
SAT 05:45 Frontlines of Journalism (m001jl28)
4. Rules and habits
For BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen, good reporting involves empathy. But the job of a foreign correspondent means being an outsider.
Detachment was once considered a journalistic virtue, but does lived experience allow you to tell a story more accurately? Is who we are an obstacle to getting to the real story?
Jeremy speaks with: Dean Baquet - until 2022 the executive editor of the New York Times; Emily Bell - professor of the Columbia University Journalism School and a director of the Guardian Media Group; Nikole Hannah-Jones whose 1619 project won the Pulitzer Prize; former Reuters journalist Sabina Cosic and former BBC bureau chief Milton Nkosi.
Presenter: Jeremy Bowen
Producer: Georgia Catt
Assistant Producer: Sam Peach
Additional research: Rob Byrne
Series mixing: Jackie Margerum
Series Editor: Philip Sellars
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0021p91)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m0021jq5)
Amar Latif - President of the Ramblers in North Yorkshire
Clare and the ‘blind adventurer’ Amar Latif explore a circular route in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. As the current President of the Ramblers, Amar is keen to promote the message that walking is for absolutely everyone, from all backgrounds and abilities.
He lost most of his vision by the time he was 18 and found it very hard to accept. He began to believe that he wouldn’t be able to continue doing all the things he enjoyed but after spending a year of his university course in Canada, decided that travelling was definitely for him and went onto make a career out of it. He set up ‘TravelEyes’ a company specialising in tourism for blind and sighted people travelling together, including walking trips.
One of his greatest adventures was walking 220 miles from the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua across to the Pacific Ocean, crossing a shark-filled lake and scaling a 5000ft volcano.
Also on the walk are Rayyah McCaul, who is guiding Amar, and Ramblers volunteer and walk leader, Stephen Down.
The Ramblers is a charity with around 100,000 members. Established in 1935, one of their main aims is improving access to the countryside for everyone to enjoy.
Clare met Amar in Toft Gate Lime Kiln car park, at the top of Greenhow Hill, and completed a five mile circular walk.
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0021p93)
Many rural people are feeling 'vulnerable and intimidated' because of crime according to the National Farmers Union. Figures out this week from the insurers NFU Mutual put the cost at just under £53 million last year - up from 50 million in 2022.
The new Labour government is putting renewable energy at the heart of its plans - it wants to double the power from onshore wind farms and triple solar power - both on buildings and in fields.
One farm is benefitting from the rain we've endured over recent months, because they want their farm to be more sustainable. So as well as reducing inputs of bought-in feed, fertiliser and fuel and creating new habitats, they are producing hydro-electric power. It keeps their bills down and they can sell electricity back into the grid.
A survey by the NFU has shown that while there has been some improvement in the provision of superfast broadband, only 34% of farmers who responded have a fibre connection.
And the combines are out at last, one farmer reflects on the joys of a little sunshine.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Alun Beach
SAT 06:57 Weather (m0021p95)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m0021p97)
03/08/24 - Mishal Husain and Simon Jack
Latest news and interviews, plus Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 The Missing Madonna (m0021p99)
The Heist
The biggest single artwork theft in British history took place in 2003. Twenty years on, Olivia begins her quest to find out what really happened to The Madonna of the Yarnwinder.
SAT 09:45 Animal (m001q0n4)
Itsy Bitsy Spider
In this new series, writer and adventurer Blair Braverman presents stories exploring the curious and fascinating ways humans relate to other animals - from magpies to spiders to creatures of the deepest oceans. We begin with the story of a phobia - of night terrors, hypnosis and Carly Simon...
Why is it that so many people are deathly afraid of spiders? Especially in a place like the UK, where all our spiders are harmless. In this episode, Blair follows 29 year-old Elzo, as she attempts to cure her lifelong arachnophobia. Featuring night terrors on the west coast of Scotland, Carly Simon, and an experiment in hypnosis.
Producer and Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Co-Producer: Arlie Adlington
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
Sound Mixing: Arlie Adlington
Series Art: Cameron Hay
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m0021p9c)
Robert Bruce
In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Scotland by Dr Iain MacInnes and comedian Marjolein Robertson to learn all about Scottish independence hero and king Robert Bruce. Robert grew up in a time of political turmoil, with multiple noblemen competing to be king of Scots – including his own grandfather. But after Edward I of England declared himself overlord of Scotland, Robert began a fight not just to be king, but to overthrow English control too. This episode charts the twists and turns of Robert’s life, taking in his adventures in Ireland, his quarrels with the papacy, his unlikely alliance with the English crown, and his epic military victories.
Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Anna McCully Stewart
Written by: Anna McCully Stewart, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: James Cook
SAT 10:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0021p9f)
Series 3
Edinburgh to Aberdeen
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his rail journeys across the country with a trip from Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, northwards on the coastal route to Aberdeen.
Alexei’s mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers, in a quest for conversations with strangers that will reveal their lives, thoughts, dreams and destinations.
Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the interests of the great British travelling public. There’s hilarity, humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.
Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.
In this programme, Alexei meets Irene and Marie, two old friends who share a love of owning horses. Irene has severe eyesight problems and they are on their way for her treatment appointment. Despite this, Irene still rides as she says her horse always knows the way. Marie tells Alexei of the unexpected pregnancy of the horse she recently bought and how all her colleagues at the hospital where she works were avidly following the new foal’s birth.
Alexei also meets: David, who is on his way to chair an adoption panel and, remarkably, remembers dancing with Alexei at a party in the 1980s; Lottie and Miriren, two girls on a shopping trip to Aberdeen with their parents, who surprise Alexei by telling him they never watch television; Fathia, who is originally from Tunisia and loves Scotland but still has problems with the weather and is scared of snow; David, an academic, who has just written a book interpreting religious art; Will and Rob, who moved away from Aberdeen to a quiet village nearby because their dog didn’t like the busy city; and Sheila, who introduces Alexei to Doric, the local dialect of north-east Scotland.
And, on his coastal journey by train, Alexei also passes through the town which lays claim to being the birthplace of the deep fried Mars bar.
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 11:00 Newscast (m0021nyd)
What's Behind the Violence on England's Streets?
Today, we look at what causing people to riot on the streets of England.
Unrest has broken out in multiple towns and cities through the week, the first example of which was see in Southport, where three young girls were killed on Monday.
In Sunderland on Friday night, three police officers were injured and needed hospital treatment during what police called the "serious and sustained levels of violence".
Home an legal affairs Dominic Casciani tells us what we know about who’s behind it, and why it’s happening.
Plus, after warnings about the country’s finances from the chancellor, chief economics correspondent Dharshini David gives us the expert view on how worried we should or shouldn’t be.
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Cordelia Hemming. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0021p9j)
Venezuela's Disputed Election
Kate Adie presents stories from Venezuela, Israel, Zimbabwe, Turkey and France.
Thousands of Venezuelans are protesting against the results of the presidential election last weekend in which the incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory. The US said there is overwhelming evidence the opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez won the election. Since the election, several hundred people have been detained. Ione Wells has been in Caracas.
Hopes for a ceasefire deal between Israel and the militant group Hamas were dealt a serious blow this week with the assassination in Iran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas. He was targeted only hours after Israel killed a senior commander of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement. Barbara Plett Usher spoke to the people most desperate for a Gaza truce.
Zimbabwe’s government has launched public hearings into a period of ethnic killings in the 1980s when former president Robert Mugabe moved to dismantle the strongholds of his arch-rival. The killings laid the foundation for lingering ethnic tensions. Shingai Nyoka spoke to some of the survivors and victim's families.
Turkish society is fiercely divided over stray dogs and a new law aims to remove an estimated four million from the streets. A controversial provision of that law that requires euthanasia for dogs deemed ill or dangerous has further galvanized Turkish citizens, says Victoria Craig.
In Paris, residents had serious reservations in the lead up to the Olympics: ranging from the E. coli risk posed to triathletes in the Seine, to the impending deluge of tourists taking over the capital. But has the event itself succeeded in winning over Parisians, asks Andrew Harding.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0021p9l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Sliced Bread (m001v3z4)
Toast - Sunny Delight
Why did sales of the best-selling soft drink, Sunny Delight, suddenly bomb in the 1990s?
While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up… Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.
In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist, Sean Farrington, examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did it fail? What can we learn from it today?
In this episode, which was first broadcast in January 2024, Sean learns why sales of Sunny Delight faltered in the UK after an extraordinarily successful launch.
Sean speaks to some of the people who worked on the brand, hearing how it became a hit before a series of unfortunate coincidences undermined its popularity.
The self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, is alongside him, analysing the missteps that changed Sunny Delight's fortunes.
'Sunny D', as it is known today, is still sold in some UK supermarkets. It has different owners and ingredients but it has never matched the incredible sales figures which it achieved in its early days.
You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk
Feel free to suggest topics which we could cover in future episodes
Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in February. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds.
Toast is produced by Jon Douglas and Viant Siddique and is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
SAT 12:30 Catherine Bohart: TL;DR (m0021jjr)
Series 1
Episode 2
Columns. Analysis. The Guardian's Long Read. Who has time? Catherine Bohart, that's who, and she's going beyond the headlines to give you the lowdown on one of the biggest stories this week, alongside a guest journalist and roving correspondent Sunil Patel.
This week: what's Putin's endgame in Ukraine?
Topical comedy stalwart Gareth Gwynn is our guide through the detail, and historian Julia Leikin joins to explain how the region's past is affecting its present.
Meanwhile, in the TL;DR Sidebar, comedian Sunil Patel looks at the advantages of having a former comedian as your President when on a war-time footing.
Written by Catherine Bohart, with Madeleine Brettingham, Sarah Campbell and Georgie Flinn.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd & Lyndsay Fenner
Recorded at the Museum of Comedy, and Edited by David Thomas
Production Coordinators - Beverly Tagg & Anna Madley
A Mighty Bunny production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 12:57 Weather (m0021p9n)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0021p9q)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0021jjy)
Alex Norris MP, Charlotte Pickles, Dr Emma Runswick, Helen Whately MP
Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from the Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds with the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government Alex Norris MP, the Director of the Reform thinktank Charlotte Pickles, the Deputy Chair of the British Medical Association council Dr Emma Runswick and the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Helen Whately MP.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Jonathan Esp
SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0021p9s)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m0021jjt)
Emma offers to buy George tea, but on the way, Emma mentions yesterday’s photos, where George looked serious in every one. She wonders if something’s worrying him and if so, he needs to know she’s there for him. But George flies off the handle when he hears Chelsea’s worried about him too and asks to be taken home, where he heads straight up to his room.
Later Emma goes up to see him where distraught George talks her through the Am rescue. But when he mentions Fallon on the riverbank, thanking him for saving her life, he points out that Fallon didn’t realise that he’d caused the accident. When he heard the sirens he knew he had to get to Alice in the car, before the police did. He then pulled out-of-it Alice into the driver’s seat. When a shocked Emma struggles to take in what this means, tearful George admits that he’d been driving the car. George explains that he’d been trying to help Alice get home, but when she tried to open the car door as he was driving, he lost concentration and that’s when the accident happened. Emma wonders how she’s going to face everyone, but one thing she’s sure of is that George is going to have to be brave and tell the truth and go to the police. But George knows he’d be done for obstructing the course of justice and will go to prison. He begs Emma not to tell anyone, not even Will.
SAT 15:00 Mahabharata Now (m001rgxs)
Episode 3: Dance of Defiance
The epic saga continues as Yash and Padma arrive in Manchester to begin their four year exile. It's a profound shock. Now they are an ethnic minority in a country where race is an increasingly charged issue and, with no money, they are powerless to insulate themselves from trouble.
In Mumbai, Dhruv is working hard to reinvent his public persona and doing everything he can to secure his grip on power. His best chance of controlling Hasta Enterprises in perpetuity is to trick Yash into breaking the terms of the contract. He sends spies into Manchester’s Asian communities to track down Yash and Padma and ensnare them.
The struggle between renewal and revenge puts huge strains on Yash and Padma’s marriage as the philosophical becomes personal. Do they accept their new situation, or do they vow to return to India and settle old scores? The Gods had a hand in this too – where are they now when the couple need them most?
The answer comes in the form of Gopi in physical form as a poor, elderly Mancunian woman, but she remains as evasive and mysterious as ever. She moves in with Yash and Padma - a roof over her head in return for housekeeping duties. But Padma becomes unnerved by Gopi's familiarity with Yash and the influence she seems to exert.
Written by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle
Cast
Dhruv: Neil Bhoopalam
Yash: Tavish Bhattacharyya
Padma: Ira Dubey
Shaks: Vivek Madan
Karthik: Sukant Goel
Gopi: MIna Anwar
Nyra: Abir Abrar
Swati: Rina Fatania
Emmi: Ayla Wheatley
Landlord: Dean Harris
Andy: Kenny Blyth
Warehouse Supervisor: Sean Connolly
Other characters played by Abir Abrar, Omkar Kulkarni, Devika Shahani Punjabi and Prerna Chawla
Sound Supervisor (Mumbai): Ayush Ahuja
Sound Design and Post Production: Wilfredo Acosta
Original Music: Imran Ahmad
Producer (Mumbai): Nadir Khan
Producer(s): Helen Quigley and Andrew Mark Sewell
Director: Jatinder Verma
A B7 Media production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0021p9v)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Amanda Abbington, VAT on private school fees, Steven van de Velde Olympics controversy, Aigul Akhmetshina
Amanda Abbington joins Anita Rani to talk about her new role in Tawni O’Dell’s play When It Happens To You. Amanda plays Tara, a mother who is desperately trying to hold her family together after her daughter is brutally attacked. She discusses playing a mother whose own trauma is triggered by her daughter’s experiences and how a culture of shame can lead to women’s silence.
The Labour government has confirmed that it will act on its manifesto commitment to change the way private school fees are taxed across the UK. The current exemption from VAT will be removed, in order to fund 6,500 new teachers in England, and the change is coming in January next year, sooner than previously thought. Nuala McGovern gets the latest from the BBC’s Education Correspondent Elaine Dunkley, and then speaks to Sarah, a parent whose son is at private school, and by Sarah Cunnane from the Independent Schools Council and Harry Quilter-Pinner from the IPPR to discuss.
The Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde has caused controversy at this year’s Paris Olympics. He is a convicted child rapist and was met with some booing when he came out for his debut match on Sunday. In 2014, when he was 19, he raped a 12-year-old British girl. He met his victim on Facebook and travelled from Amsterdam to the UK. His involvement has raised questions of whether it's appropriate for him to be representing his country at the highest level. Nuala is joined by Mhairi Maclennan, a survivor of sexual abuse herself who is also the CEO of Kyniska Advocacy, which supports women and victims of abuse in sport and Jo Easton, joint CEO and Director of Policy and Advocacy of the charity Unlock which campaigns for people with criminal records.
Irita Marriott says she is one of very few women in the UK to own an auction house. She’s the subject of a new documentary that follows her setting up her business and discovering personal stories along with antiques. She joins Nuala to talk about what it’s like to be a woman in the industry and why she loves it so much.
Hailed as the 'Carmen of our time', mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina was chosen to lead the cast of Bizet’s immortal masterpiece in eight international productions in one season. At the age of 27, Aigul has made history as the youngest artist ever to take on the title role at both the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her debut album features a portrait of her famed Carmen and other operatic arias, including a Bashkort folk song. She joins Nuala to discuss her music, and perform live in the studio.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Emma Pearce
SAT 17:00 PM (m0021p9x)
Full coverage of the day's news.
SAT 17:30 Sliced Bread (m0021jpv)
Dough - Hairdryers
How do modern hairdryers protect against damage from excessive heat?
Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products and considers how they might evolve in the future.
In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of hairdryer manufacturing, namely Robyn Coutts, a senior design manager at Dyson and Andrew McDougall, director of beauty and personal care research at the analysts, Mintel.
Also joining them is the technology expert and applied futurist Tom Cheesewright, who offers his insight and predictions on what might be coming beyond the current production pipeline.
Together, they explore how hairdryers went from gas-powered chimneys to handheld devices, examine some of the latest trends and technology before giving their expert opinions on game-changing - and pointless - hair drying innovations.
Dough looks at where the smart money's going now and what that could mean for all of us in the years ahead.
Produced by Viant Siddique and Jon Douglas.
Dough is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in August when Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread.
In the meantime, Dough is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sound
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0021p9z)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m0021pb1)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021pb3)
There have been more clashes during protests in towns and cities across the country.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0021pb5)
Ewan Mitchell, Jon Holmes, Julia Fordham and Kym Marsh.
This week Stuart is joined by Jon Holmes who's producing a new play at the Edinburgh Festival - which explores what happens when the camera moves on from a relationship forged on a Love Island-style reality show.
And there are definitely some strained relationships in the second series of House of the Dragon - but they're more the kind that result in being run through with a sword. Breakout star Ewan Mitchell tells us about working on the blockbusting Game of Thrones spin-off.
Julia Fordham joins to perform for us and share some of her insights into the relationships that are meant to last - and Kym Marsh talks about bringing a classic Disney villain to the stage in a touring production of 101 Dalmations.
Presented by Stuart Maconie
Produced by Kev Core
SAT 19:00 Growing Solo (m001yj15)
The Harvest
Max Cotton, a retired political journalist, leaves behind the weekly shop, supermarkets and the modern world to find out if he can grow and produce 100% of his food on a smallholding near Glastonbury. His only import for a year is salt.
This second episode gets off to a bad start as getting the wheat in is hampered by badgers and a pre-Stone Age harvesting system. Max explores making bread from the wheat he’s grown, discusses having a house cow and making cheese, and deals with the shock of going without tea and coffee.
Presenter: Max Cotton
Producer: Tessa Browne
Executive Producer: Kate Dixon
A Good Egg production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0j989tf)
Series 30
Extreme Exploration - Anneka Rice, Mike Massimino, Britney Schmidt and Jess Phoenix
Brian Cox and Robin Ince venture to the home place of exploration in Porto, Portugal at the Explorers Club as they discuss science at the extremes of exploration. Joining them is volcanologist Jess Phoenix, astronaut Mike Massimino, astrobiologist and oceanographer Britney Schmidt as well as adventurer and broadcaster Anneka Rice. They discuss breaking robots under the Antarctic ice shelf, chasing after narco-traffickers to retrieve a rock hammer and how viewing the earth from the vantage point of space can profoundly influence how you feel about humanity.
Producer: Melanie Brown
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0021pb7)
Nixon, A Resigning Matter
Fifty years ago, on August 8th 1974, President Richard Milhouse Nixon announced on national television that he would resign from office. He became the first and only man to resign the Presidency. The lies he had told concerning his involvement in the Watergate scandal finally caught up with him.
He knew the game was up when, the previous day, three leading figures in the Republican party including Senator Barry Goldwater went to the White House to make it clear that he did not have the votes within his own party to avoid impeachment.
Nixon's political end still casts a long shadow across American history. It changed the trajectory of the Republican party, as well as American foreign policy, by opening the door to Ronald Reagan. The reaction to the event raised the temperature of partisanship in American politics. Impeachment, which was the threat hovering over Nixon that forced his hand, has become a cudgel used by both parties. And as for accountability, Nixon's famous utterance echoing Charles the First at his treason trial - "When the President does it, that means it isn't illegal" - was echoed half a century later by President Donald J Trump's lawyers when they argued before the US Supreme Court in February 2024 that Presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.
Yet Nixon the man remains a figure frozen in time. He is still a hate figure for many on the left who cannot forgive him for expanding the war in Southeast Asia beyond Vietnam into Cambodia, and for many on the right his policy of détente and the opening to China needlessly prolonged Communism as a force on the world stage.
This 50th anniversary look back explores the high political drama of the resignation and the personal tragedy of the man. It's an opportunity to look at the myriad ways that Nixon's forced departure changed the course of American history, and a chance to wonder out loud what America and the world might have been like had he managed to stay in office.
And crucially, what has happened to the Republican party? Where are the independent Republican congressional leaders who might stand up to their candidate for president who many are describing as a would-be autocrat?
Using plentiful archive sound from the Nixon tapes held at his presidential library, Michael Goldfarb recreates in Nixon's own voice the days leading up to his departure and the long decades of trying to reclaim his reputation through pronouncements on international affaiirs. He also uses music, held by the Nixon Library (a part of the National Archives) and written for him.
Michael interviews the surviving members of his White House staff and those who worked with him in the two decades of life he had left after leaving office as well as biographers and chroniclers of the Republican party.
Presenter: Michael Goldfarb
Producer: Julia Hayball
A Certain Height production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m0021jbd)
Is anything sacred?
One moment in the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris clearly touched a nerve: the tableau of mostly drag queens believed to be parodying Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’. Organisers have since denied this was the intention and apologised for the offense caused. Many commentators, including non-believers, declared it “blasphemous”, and “a denigration of Western culture”. While others, Christians among them, considered that response to be an over-reaction.
Stepping back from the immediate and perhaps predicable outrage drawn along culture war lines, is the deeper question of what we consider to be ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ in a largely secular Western society.
What, if anything, is sacred? Does the idea only make sense in relation to the concept of God? Does it have a moral function or is it more about personal spirituality? Maybe nothing is sacred, since categorising something as such puts it beyond scrutiny? Or can the concept be widened, even secularised, to take in, for example, the idea of ‘profaning’ the natural world or hollowing out the things we hold to be of value by turning them into commercial transactions?
Are the concepts of ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ still important? And if so, what role do they have in the 21st century?
Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant producer: Ruth Purser
Panel:
Anne McElvoy
Giles Fraser
Ash Sarkar
Tim Stanley
Witnesses:
Melanie McDonagh
Andrew Copson
Fergus Butler-Gallie
Francis Young
SAT 22:00 News (m0021pb9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m0021jhb)
Why Are Celebrity Drinks Everywhere?
Jaega Wise and Robbie Armstrong explore the exponential growth of celebrity-backed drinks brands. She asks why so many stars want a piece of this rapidly growing pie, and charts the rise of everything from A-Lister tequilas and rums to supermarket shelves stacked with celeb-branded wines.
Jaega heads to one of UK’s biggest drinks events of the year, Dr Dre and Snoop’s Gin & Juice launch, where she speaks to Shaquille O’Neal, Yungblud, Ella Eyre and Yasiin Bey on the star-studded red carpet.
She hears from Blur’s Alex James about his English sparkling wine, and chats with Emma Watson’s brother Alex about the premium gin he’s launched with his sister.
Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands talks about the process behind creating some of the world’s most popular celebrity-endorsed spirits. Filling up his cup with more than a splash of cynicism, Aaron Goldfarb guides Jaega through the winners and losers in his list of the best and worst celebrity spirits on the market.
Jaega sits down with Noble Rot founder Dan Keeling, who discusses his previous career in the music industry, why he thinks celebrities should leave the winemaking to winemakers, and the growing trend of vigneron-as-celebrity.
Producer Robbie Armstrong pops a few star-studded corks with wine writer and author of ‘Corker’, Hannah Crosbie, explains the appeal of celebrity booze for consumers, and talks us through which ones might be worth your money. Jennifer Creevy, head of food and drink at trend forecaster WGSN, predicts what the future holds for the celebrity category – and which drinks might come of age while others spoil.
Presented by Jaega Wise.
Produced by Robbie Armstrong.
SAT 23:00 Scott Agnew: Dead Man Talking (m0021p0f)
Series 1
1. How It All Ended
Glaswegian comedian Scott Agnew is obsessed with thoughts about his own mortality - well you would be too if you had died three times.
This is part one in a trilogy of tales that gets into the gritty and grim goings on that nearly saw Scott pushing up the daisies. From Scott's time as a journalist, gate crashing a funeral, being told he was fat on a dating app, the day he caught covid, to his cardiac arrests. These stories are far from forlorn fables, but rather are bursting with colourful, lively characters who have shaped Scott's life and helped him along the way.
In this three part series, Scott reflects upon his multiple dances with death, all the while searching for an epiphany he has yet to find. This is more than just a life story, this is Scott's death story.
A stand up series, written and performed by Scott Agnew
Produced by Lauren Mackay
Audio recorded by Chris Currie and Niall Young
SAT 23:30 The 3rd Degree (m0021j0f)
Series 13
3. Loughborough University
This episode coming from Loughborough University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.
The specialist subjects this week are Construction Management, Maths and Sport & Society with Sport Exercise & Psychology, so you’ll discover how to luff a jib, deconstruct a dodecagon and demonstrate a quadruped superman. All this plus darts and D’Urbervilles too.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The general knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow & Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three specialist subject rounds, in which students take on their professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.
In this series, the show goes to Leicester, St Andrews, Loughborough, Falmouth, the University of East Anglia and Robinson College, Cambridge.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
SUNDAY 04 AUGUST 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0021pbc)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Open Book (m0021j0c)
Benjamin Myers
Benjamin Myers talks to Horatio Clare about his new novel Rare Singles, which tells the story of Bucky Bronco, an elderly one-and-a-half-hit soul singer, grieving for his dead wife, surviving on low paid, hard graft jobs and struggling with an opioid addiction to dull the pain... when he's invited to Scarborough for a Northern Soul weekender that could just prove to be his salvation. Ben's 25 years as a music journalist feed into his storytelling.
Professional musician turned novelist Claire Kohda joins Horatio along with newly announced Children's Laureate and award-winning screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce (who wrote 24 Hour Party People and Hilary and Jackie) to discuss connections between music and writing.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce shares his plans for the role of Children's Laureate focussing on accessible literacy for children.
And for our monthly Editor's Pick - where we ask a Commissioning Editor to recommend us a great read from a rival publishing house - Rose Green from Doubleday UK has chosen Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa translated by Stephen Snyder.
Presented by Horatio Clare
Produced by Allegra McIlroy
Book List – Sunday 28 July
Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers
The Offing by Benjamin Myers
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Woman Eating by Claire Kohda
Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis
Twenty Four Hour Party People by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa: Translated by Stephen Snyder
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021pbf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021pbh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021pbk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0021pbm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0021pbp)
The church of St John the Baptist, Midsomer Norton in Somerset
This week's Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St John the Baptist, Midsomer Norton in Somerset. The three stage church tower dates from the 15th century although the upper two stages, including the statue of King Charles the second, are from 1674. At that time there were eight bells, three of which are said to have been donated by King Charles. In 1976 the bells were augmented to a ring of twelve with a tenor bell weighing twenty one and a quarter hundred weight in the note of B flat. We now hear them ringing Bristol Surprise Maximus.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m0021hd7)
Technology for Life; The First Blind Barbie
In Touch has learnt about changes happening to the RNIB's Technology for Life service that will result in major changes to how the service is delivered, and may result in staff redundancies amongst the team that has many visually impaired employees. This change is separate from a ten-year proposed plan of changes that we recently spoke to the charity's Chief Executive Matt Stringer about. These included a need for cost savings of around £10 million and may also result in redundancies for staff.
The world now has a blind Barbie doll. Influencer, broadcaster and model Lucy Edwards brought her into the studio to be introduced to the In Touch team and to tell us what she means for representation. We analyse more widely whether representation of this form is of benefit to disabled children with Rebecca Atkinson, who founded the Toy Like Me campaign. The campaign began as a call on toy companies globally to become more inclusive of disability within their products. Rebecca also began her own disabled-led children's brand, with her Channel 5 pre-school children's programme 'Mixmups', which has disabled characters.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Brigid Harrison-Draper
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0021q45)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Beyond Belief (m0021hcl)
Wine of the Gods
Giles Fraser explores the place of wine in some religious traditions, as the blood of Christ, the nectar of the Greek Gods or Persian poets, to something forbidden or proscribed.
We start on a balmy evening in Napa Valley, with a sea breeze blowing through the vines at Marinda Kruger's vineyard. For her, life as a viticulturalist has an intimate connection to her faith.
Gisela H Kreglinger, theologian from a wine-making family, Catholic Priest, Father Marc Lyden-Smith and Muhammad Ali Mojaradi, translator of the Persian Sufi poets under the moniker Persian Poetics on social media, join Giles to consider the pleasures and prohibition of wine.
Many scriptures and religious poetry are awash with the stuff. Wine flows in heaven, goblets elicit a kind of spiritual ecstasy and Noah's first act after the flood? To plant a vineyard. What has been wine's significance in different religious traditions, and what does our relationship to it reveal about our earthly selves?
Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producer: James Leesley
Editor: Tim Pemberton
This programme includes a short clip of Silvestre Le Trouzel reading from Babette's Feast, recorded for BBC Radio 4's Bedtime Stories and first broadcast in 2016. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0021q47)
Water Buffalo
When Dagan James took over his grandfather’s farm 24 years ago, he and his wife Jess saw it as an opportunity to change how the land was being farmed, creating space for nature on what had been an intensive arable farm. Instead of growing wheat, they chose to plant grassland and rear livestock for meat, with the aim of helping with nature restoration.
Rather than rear more traditional livestock such as cattle or sheep, the couple made a somewhat surprising choice: to invest in a herd of water buffalo. These robust animals are brilliant eco-engineers, and have helped to turn the five hundred acre farm into a home for birds, insects and other wildlife. But they aren’t the easiest animals to farm – as Charlotte Smith finds out.
In this programme, Charlotte hears about the highs and lows of this family’s farming journey with water buffalo, learns about their decision to return to some more traditional forms of agriculture, and discovers how diversification into holding events at the farm has been integral to keeping the food production side of the business going.
Producer: Jo Peacey
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0021q49)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0021q4c)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0021q4f)
Southport; Lumbini; Israel ICJ ruling
The murders in Southport on Monday have been used to whip up riots and attacks on mosques in several towns and cities. Iman Atta of ‘Tell Mama’ discusses this explosion of Islamophobia, and we report on the latest developments. Also, how can a parent cope with the murder of a child? In 1996 Fordyce Maxwell, whose own daughter was the victim of a serial killer, wrote an article about the Dunblane school massacre. As Southport grieves, we revisit his wise and moving words. The reader is Kenny Blyth.
The state of Nepal has been given a deadline to renovate the dilapidated shrine at the birthplace of the Buddha, in Lumbini, or have it listed as ‘endangered’ by the United Nations. Professor Robin Coningham explains why archaeologists are worried.
After targeted killings of terrorist leaders in Beirut and Tehran, increasing the danger of all-out war in the Middle East, should Britain be more – or less – supportive of Israel? Jake Simons, Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, debates this question with Arthur Goodman of Jews For Justice For Palestinians.
Presenter: Rima Ahmed
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Robert Cave
Studio Managers: Colin Sutton & Kelly Young
Production Coordinator: Nancy Bennie
Editor: Tim Pemberton
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0021q4h)
STOP THE TRAFFIK
Sports presenter Simon Thomas presents the BBC Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity STOP THE TRAFFIK.
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- 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 'STOP THE TRAFFIK’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘STOP THE TRAFFIK’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1127321
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0021q4k)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0021q4m)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0021q4p)
Keswick Convention 2024
For three weeks each summer Christians from many denominations gather in the beautiful setting of the Lake District town of Keswick. The theme of Keswick Convention this year is 'Resurrection.' The Convention began in 1875 and Keswick Ministries exists to inspire and equip Christians to love and live for Christ in his world. Presenters: Martin Salter and Jodi Whitehouse; Preacher: Glen Scrivener; Sung Worship led by Phil Moore; music mix: Matt Dennis; Producer: James Mountford.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0021jk0)
Change
Will Self muses on change as he prepares for a stem cell transplant, an operation 'which will result in the greatest change in what has been a notably changeable life.'
And he discusses the preparations he's making which he believes put him 'in pole position to race with this ...devilish adversary.'
He concludes that the art of living is about recognizing that 'life is in continual flux - and our vacillating wills and changeable natures, psychic and physical alike, are just part of the cosmic churn - nothing in fact endures, but change itself.'
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Tom Bigwood
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0021q4r)
Trai Anfield on the Puffin
On a recent trip to the Farne Islands off Northumberland wildlife photographer and presenter Trai Anfield unwittingly suffered the wrath of a very grumpy puffing leaving it's burrow, yet still these enigmatic charming seabirds are a joy to see..
A new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.
Producer : Andrew Dawes of BBC Audio in Bristol
Studio engineer : Suzy Robins
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0021q4t)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0021q4w)
Mark Knopfler, musician
Mark Knopfler OBE is one of the UK’s most successful rock musicians and composers. He co-founded the band Dire Straits and their album Brothers in Arms is one of the bestselling albums of all time with 30 million copies sold. Alongside the many successes of Dire Straits, Mark has also composed hit songs for other artists like Private Dancer for Tina Turner and many soundtracks including Local Hero which features the perennial favourite Going Home.
He first worked as a journalist on the Yorkshire Evening Post and was briefly an English lecturer in Essex before moving to a flat in Deptford with his brother and John Illsey. Dire Straits was born and became one of the UK’s most successful bands before Mark called time in 1995 and pursued his own solo career.
In recent years, Mark invested some of his money to build one of the UK’s best recording studios to record his own music in alongside being a destination for other artists.
He lives in London with his wife and still visits his studio most days to make music.
DISC ONE: Ol’ Man River - Ray Charles
DISC TWO: Red Sails in the Sunset – Dean Martin
DISC THREE: Wonderful Land - The Shadows
DISC FOUR: Write Me a Few Lines - Mississippi Fred MacDowell
DISC FIVE: Duquesne Whistle - Bob Dylan
DISC SIX: Deborah’s Theme - Ennio Morricone
DISC SEVEN: Cleaning Windows - Van Morrison
DISC EIGHT: Jessye ’Lisabeth - Bobbie Gentry
BOOK CHOICE: The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
LUXURY ITEM: A guitar
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Duquesne Whistle - Bob Dylan
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0021q4y)
Writer, Naylah Ahmed
Director, Dave Payne
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Jill Archer ….. Patricia Greene
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Susan Carter ….. Charlotte Martin
Alice Carter …… Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
George Grundy ….. Angus Stobie
Jakob Hakansson ….. Paul Venables
Chelsea Horrobin …… Madeleine Leslay
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Stella Pryor ….. Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
Paul Mack ….. Joshua Riley
SUN 12:15 Growing Solo (m001yj15)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0021j31)
Series 13
Coleraine
Mark Steel's In Town - Coleraine
"...Coleraine is a big town and is ready for City status..."
This week Mark visits the town of Coleraine in Northern Ireland.
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 Coleraine, in this series Mark be will also be popping to Margate, Malvern, East Grinstead, Stoke-on-Trent, 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 (m0021q50)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0021q52)
More than 100 people arrested after riots across the UK
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 Living without our smartphones - the adults' turn (m0021q54)
Earlier this year we followed a group of teenagers who bravely volunteered to give up their smartphones for a school week. Now it’s the adults’ turn to find out just how well they can cope with a low tech phone replacing their personal phone for seven days.
Rachel Burden follows the group as they cope without easy access to social media, online banking and street maps. How will they track their fitness and find recipes now, and what does it tell them about their social and working lives?
It’s not scientific, but our little snapshot of smartphone free life promises to be revealing.
Produced by Ivana Davidovic
Mixed by Gareth Jones
Editor: Clare Fordham
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0021jjb)
Exeter City
When does manure become well rotted? Where should I start when designing a flowerbed in my garden? What can I do to encourage my dahlias to sprout flowers?
Kathy Clugston and the GQT team of horticultural heroes are on hand to tackle the gardening queries of an audience in Exeter City. Kathy is joined by garden designer Chris Beardshaw, grow your own guru Bob Flowerdew and proud plantswoman Christine Walkden.
Later in the programme, Assistant Producer Rahnee Prescod meets with community projects manager of YMCA Exeter Sam Thomas, to discuss how gardening therapy provides an escape for young adults experiencing homelessness.
Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m0021q56)
Death at La Fenice
John Yorke looks at the first in Donna Leon’s hugely successful Venetian police series. Death at La Fenice introduces Leon’s likeable Commissario Guido Brunetti, and establishes the recipe that has made Leon one of the world’s best-loved crime writers, and Brunetti one of the most popular fictional detectives.
Death at La Fenice was published in 1992, and opens with a dramatic interruption to a performance of La Traviata at Venice’s famous opera house. The death of a world-renowned conductor is an embarrassment for the Venetian police department, and the city’s politicians are anxious for a speedy result. As Brunetti embarks on his investigation, he navigates his way around Venice’s high society and its murky alleyways with intelligence and integrity, asking searching questions about the much-romanticised city and its inhabitants. Brunetti struck an immediate chord with readers, who warmed to his basic sympathy and decency, as well as his successful detective work, all set against an atmospheric Venetian canvas.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters.
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Readings: Jenny Coverack
Contributor: Fi Glover, broadcaster
Archive: Donna Leon on This Cultural Life with John Wilson 24/04/2023
Donna Leon on World Book Club with Harriet Gilbert 05/05/2019
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Sound: Sean Kerwin
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m0021q58)
Death at La Fenice. Part 1
A world famous conductor is found dead in his dressing room between acts in La Traviata. Venice is horrified. What damage will this do to the city’s reputation? And that of its great opera house, La Fenice?
The opening of Donna Leon’s first Commissario Brunetti crime novel was to set the pattern for her 30 year love affair with the thoughtful Venetian detective – a relationship shared with multiple millions of readers throughout the world in the series of prize-winning novels that followed.
Now a two-part drama based on that first Brunetti book, Death at La Fenice, has been commissioned by BBC Radio 4 with a top-line cast including Julian Rhind Tutt as Brunetti, Jeany Spark as Paola, his wife and co-conspirator, and Siobhan Redmond as the well-connected Contessa Falier.
Rather than the stereotypical troubled cop with a dark past and a bleak future, Guido Brunetti is a man full of love – for Paola, his teenage children, local food, the Greek classics and, at the root of it all Venice, La Serenissima. For Venice is as much a character in the Leon books as Brunetti himself. In this new adaptation, every scene evokes a location in the beautiful, sinking city.
COMMISSARIO GUIDO BRUNETTI - Julian Rhind-Tutt
SERGEANT LORENZO VIANELLO - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
VICE-QUESTORE GIUSEPPE PATTA/REZZONICO - David Horovitch
DR ETTORE RIZZARDI/SIGNOR ECHEVESTE - Clive Hayward
PAOLA FALIER - Jeany Spark
CONTESSA FALIER/FLAVIA PETRELLI - Siobhan Redmond
ELIZABETH WELLAUER/BRETT LYNCH/CARLOTTA - Jane Slavin
AMADEO FASINI - Hugh Ross
NUN - Susan Jameson
Dramatised by D J Britton from the novel by Donna Leon
Music by Julie Cooper
Produced and directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m0021q5b)
Ayobami Adebayo
Ayobami Adebayo talks to James Naughtie and readers about her novel, Stay With Me, a moving story of loss and motherhood. Set against the backdrop of tumultuous political events in Nigeria, it tells the story of Yejide and Akin, whose marriage is childless. The novel, which is narrated by them both, explores the pressure to have a child, the toll it takes on their relationship and the profound emotional burden of desperately wanting to become a parent.
Ayobami answers readers questions about the inspiration behind Stay With Me and how she inhabited the minds of her characters.
Presenter: James Naughtie
Producer : Nicola Holloway
Next Bookclub recordings - both at 1830 in Broadcasting House, London
14 August - Ken Follett on A Column of Fire
25 September - Susanna Clarke on Piranesi
SUN 16:30 The 3rd Degree (m0021q5d)
Series 13
4. Falmouth University
This episode coming from Falmouth University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, upbeat and brainy quiz show.
The specialist subjects this week are Film, Journalism & Creative Writing so we’ll be discussing diagesis in the films of Herzog, polyperspectivity in fictional narratives and that bloke who got fired off GB News. The show that has everything from air fryers to zugzwangs.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and pits three undergraduates against three of their professors in this fresh take on an academic quiz. The general knowledge rounds include a quickfire bell-and-buzzer finale and the Highbrow & Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students’ knowledge of history, art, literature and politics, but also their Professors’ awareness of TV, music and sport. Meanwhile there are the three specialist subject rounds, in which students take on their professors in their own subjects, and where we find out whether the students have actually been awake during lectures.
In this series, the show goes to Leicester, St Andrews, Loughborough, Falmouth, the University of East Anglia and Robinson College, Cambridge.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct5ydt)
Ice Bucket Challenge
In 2014, the ice bucket challenge craze took over the internet.
Millions of people including sports stars and celebrities filmed themselves being doused in ice cold water for charity.
Nancy Frates' son Pete helped to make the ice bucket challenge become a phenomenon. Nancy tells Gill Kearsley the poignant story of how the challenge went from a simple idea to world news.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Pete Frates takes part in the ice bucket challenge. Credit: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 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. Changes to global politics as well as the high cost of scaling up have all limited the sector's growth so far. Meanwhile, it's still not clear if people want lab-grown meat as part of their lives or diets. Sheila hears from Dutch biology and ethics professor, Cor van der Weele, who found that people were more interested in small-scale production of lab-grown meat, in containers alongside animals on farms, rather than scaled up mega factories.
So 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.
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0021q5h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0021q5k)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021q5m)
A mob has stormed a hotel in Rotherham that's believed to house asylum seekers.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0021q5p)
Rajan Datar
In a week of Olympian triumph and despair, we hear why we we are so obsessed with winning high status, how the writer James Baldwin’s lost archives inspired an unlikely love affair and what it took to transform a dance craze from the projects of New York to actually becoming an Olympic sport. And if you need something to cool yourself down this hot and humid start to August, maybe time to revisit the ice bucket challenge? Or at least its origins, as Witness History found out. It’s all gold standard stuff, so grab a place on the podium and have a listen.
Presenter: Rajan Datar
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Co-ordinator: Jack Ferrie
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0021q5r)
At cricket against Edgeley, George shrugs off Justin’s tactical advice and Justin spots Alistair also seems grumpy – what’s up? Josh has pulled out of helping coach the Under 16s and Alistair has to admit to Justin that it’s because of Josh’s objection to Alistair’s affair with Denise. Alistair needs someone to help with coaching – Harrison would be perfect but isn’t available. Justin is a firm ‘no’, and Will can’t do the dates, but offers to ask George. Justin bets Alistair a tenner George will say no. After the team wins, Will works on George about helping with coaching, as it will help distract George from what’s on his mind. Defensive George says no and tells Will to stop controlling him. Justin’s left to collect his £10 from Alistair.
Ed and Fallon want to give Emma a really special 40th birthday as Fallon is grateful for all her help at work. Fallon is on party planning and Ed searches for ideas for a theme for the surprise Party – Susan mentioned the 80s, and Ed and Fallon brainstorm films, before landing on Saturday Night Fever – he’ll learn a dance routine! Ed talks about how it will work on the day, upstairs at the Bull, and Fallon suggests that George walks Emma in to the pub, with everyone there and Ed ready to surprise her. Fallon and Ed raid costumes at the Village Hall and rehearse. Despite a wardrobe malfunction, Fallon’s convinced Emma will love it.
SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m0021q5t)
Becoming German
In recent years, thousands of Britons have become German citizens via a restoration programme for German-Jews and their descendants, whose nationality was stripped from them during the Nazi regime. This is not without controversy. Some see it is a clear righting of wrongs, but for others the idea of becoming German is abhorrent.
For presenter Lois Pryce and her special guests, Matt Lucas and Ben Elton, it's personal. Had it not been for Britain's willingness to accept Jewish refugees in the 1930s, none of them would be here today. Lois and Ben share a direct relationship with German physicist Max Born, the Nobel prize-winning scientist and a founding father of quantum theory. He escaped Nazi Germany and fled to Britain in 1933. Descendants from this side of the family also include Olivia Newton-John as well as other luminaries in music, medicine and arts - all directly descended from German Jews seeking sanctuary.
In this programme, Lois, Ben and Matt look at this new wave of German citizens, give voice to the strong feelings on both sides, and investigate their own family's refugee story, including receiving an official apology at the German embassy in London.
By tackling the circular nature of the story, our hosts also examine the wider point that, in the 1930s, the UK benefited culturally and economically by welcoming this family and others from Germany. But now it is Germany that is restoring citizenship and welcoming refugees while the UK has become, according to some, a hostile environment. Will this shift in attitude ultimately damage the country’s economy as well as its reputation on the world stage?
Presenter: Lois Pryce
Contributors: Ben Elton, Matt Lucas
Producer: Louise Orchard
Sound Design: Rowan Bishop
A 2 Degrees West production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m0020z5l)
7. Martin Lewis, personal finance journalist and campaigner
Ros speaks to money saving expert Martin Lewis. 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 Martin discuss why people digest information selfishly and how to communicate important information that could easily come across as boring.
Series Producer: Hannah Newton
Producer: 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 (m0021jq7)
God Next Door. Justin Webb on American Election Coverage. Petroc Trelawny R3 Breakfast Road Trip
Andrea Catherwood brings listeners questions to the broadcaster and journalist Darryl Morris and Executive Producer Jo Meek - makers of Radio 4’s documentary God Next Door. Darryl has spent a considerable amount of time talking to James from Manchester, a landscape Gardner who believes himself to be God and has a number of followers in the local community who share his belief.
There’s been a sensational cycle of breaking stories in the U.S. presidential campaign during the month of July. Many Feedback listeners have been concerned that this has dominated much of our news. Andrea puts these points to Justin Webb - Today presenter, co-host of Americast and Former North America Editor.
Imagine taking a week long Summer break, discovering new places, experiencing a wide range of culture and music with moving from your radio. The Feedback inbox has been overflowing with praise for Petroc Trelawny’s Breakfast Road Trip to the North East of England which was broadcast live every morning last week. Taking a break from preparations for the The Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, Petroc came on Feedback to give some insight into how a week out and about works.
Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Pauline Moore
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0021jjj)
Edna O’Brien, Sir Kenneth Grange, Ewy Rosqvist, John Mayall
John Wilson on
Edna O’Brien, one of Ireland’s greatest writers. In a career spanning over 60 years she wrote 17 novels and many short stories, plays and essays.
Sir Kenneth Grange, the prolific designer whose works included the Kenwood Chef, the parking meter and the Intercity 125 train.
Groundbreaking Swedish rally driver Ewy Rosqvist.
The British blues musician John Mayall, the man who nurtured the young talents of Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and many more.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Ewy Rosqvist: An Unexpected Champion, uploaded to Youtube/28 04/2019; Sound Effect of Ewy Driving at the 1964 Grand Prix, ” TOUGH MILES TO VICTORY ” 1964 ARGENTINA GRAND PRIX AUTO RACE BUENOS AIRES MERCEDES XD8687; Rhythm and Blues: John Mayall Father of the British Blues, Radio 2, 25/09/1986; John Mayall, Nicky Campbell Show, BBC Radio 1, 10/07/1990; John Mayall: 40 Years of the Blues, BBC Four, 03/09/2009; The Archers Omnibus, BBC Radio 4, 24/09/1955; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 11/09/2015; Free Thinking, BBC Radio 3; 04/11/2015; Edna O'Brien: Fearful... and Fearless, BBC Two HD, 01/08/2019; Country Girls, BBC Radio 4, 2015; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 01/01/2017; Front Row 2011 interview with Kenneth Grange, 18/17/2011; The Age of the Train, BBC Four, 15/09/2012;
SUN 21:00 Sliced Bread (m001v3z4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0021q4h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0021p9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0021q5w)
Ben Wright's guests are the Labour peer and former Shadow Attorney General, Shami Chakrabarti; Conservative MP and former minister, Mims Davies; and Sunder Katwala - director of the think tank, British Future. They discuss the government's response to anti-immigration rioting on the streets and the reasons behind the disturbances. Jessica Elgot - deputy political editor of the Guardian - provides additional context and analysis. The panellists also consider the row over Rachel Reeves's claim of a £22 Billion "black hole" in the public finances. And Ben interviews Professor Tim Bale about the sixty-year history of Conservative Party leadership contests.
SUN 23:00 The Human Subject (m0021q5y)
The Woman Who Resisted Mind Control
Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins.
This is the story of 16 year old Lana Ponting. The year is 1958 and she has run away from home yet again. The police pick her up and a judge orders her to the infamous Allen Memorial Institute in Montreal, Canada.
There, she is met by Dr Ewen Cameron, a very famous psychiatrist. What neither Lana nor her parents knew is that Dr Cameron’s method of treatment was less than conventional and his work would soon attract the attention of the CIA and their mind control efforts. This is the story of Subproject 68 and MK Ultra. Julia and Adam hear from journalist John Marks, author of The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control. They also speak with Lana Ponting, one of the last living survivors of Dr Cameron's experiments at the Allen Institute.
Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw
Producer: Simona Rata
Assistant Producer: Mansi Vithlani
Executive Producer: Jo Meek
Sound Design: Craig Edmondson
Commissioner: Dan Clarke
An Audio Always production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 23:30 Frontlines of Journalism (m001jl28)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:45 on Saturday]
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m0021jjf)
White Ferrari by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Caleb Azumah Nelson, the award-winning author of Open Water and Small Worlds, reads his new story written for Radio 4.
On a sultry summer's day in London, a white convertible and the open road offer hope to two childhood friends...
Reader: Caleb Azumah Nelson
Writer: Caleb Azumah Nelson's debut novel, Open Water, won the Costa Book Award for First Novel, and his second, Small Worlds, won the Dylan Thomas Prize. His story, 'Pray', was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, 2020
Producer: Justine Willett
MONDAY 05 AUGUST 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0021q60)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Crossing Continents (m0021hdc)
A Slogan and a Land (Part 2)
In this second part of his journey from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea, across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel, reporter Tim Whewell continues his exploration of the physical and human reality behind the slogan “From the River to the Sea”, a phrase which creates intense controversy.
In this podcast he descends from the high ridge of the West Bank hills to the Israeli Mediterranean coast at Herzlia, known for its beaches and high-tech industry – and then continues along the sea, to end his journey at the ruined ancient city of Caesarea. Along the way, on the West Bank, he encounters a Palestinian dry stone waller and an Israeli hairdresser – and then, crossing into Israel, he talks to Jewish Israelis including teachers, activists and a journalist – and to Palestinian citizens of Israel. Finally, he meets a group of young Israelis who have recently finished their military service. Some of them have been fighting in Gaza. What future do all these people hope for, in the 90 kilometres between the River and the Sea?
Presenter/producer: Tim Whewell
Sound mixing: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy
(Photo shows some of the people Tim meets in the two parts of the series. Clockwise from top left: Ben Levy, Israeli nature ranger; Sulieman Mleahat, Palestinian development worker; Susie Becher, Israeli political activist; Okayla Shehadi, retired Palestinian citizen of Israel.)
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0021pbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021q62)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021q64)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021q66)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0021q68)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021q6b)
Teamwork
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Guy Goodall
Good morning.
I was watching part of the Tour de France when the commentator described the make-up of a team. There were mechanics, physios, medics, dieticians. ‘Why are teams important, grandad?’, my grandson asked. My answer included ideas like encouragement, support, and belonging, where each member not only has a specific task but helps the others reach the goal to which all are committed. Good teams can achieve so much more than individuals, especially when the journey ahead is tough.
Leaders are people who have a vision of what could be. It might be reflected in the quality of the product made, improved communications in the family always improve things.
American author, John Maxwell, describes leadership as "influencing people to follow" and that’s done by a genuine concern about the long term welfare of others, especially in pursuit of turning a vision into reality. Praise and encouragement work wonders. Good managers train, encourage, praise, and get results!
Good teams work when they are united concerning clear objectives; team members, like each piece of a jigsaw, knows just where they fit in, understanding their task in the light of the hole.
Thank you, Lord, for the teams to which I belong, for the support and encouragement we share, for the clarity of the role we each play, so when we reach our goals we can celebrate a job well done.
Amen
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0021q6d)
A third of farmed land in England and Wales is rented, and there are warnings that tenant farmers are facing more challenges than those who own the land they work. A government survey carried out in April this year and published last week found that when asked if they were very confident that changes to the post-Brexit payment schemes in England will lead to a successful future for farming, none of 130 tenant farmers questioned said that they were. Meanwhile the Tenant Farmers Association says it's seeing less land being made available for rent, putting additional pressure on the sector.
Blue-green algae in Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is now at the same level as last summer. Pollution from agriculture and sewage, along with the weather, has been blamed for much of the problem, which is making the water toxic. Last year some dogs died after swimming in Lough Neagh. Now scientists expect the blooms to start moving beyond the lough up to the North Coast.
All week we're looking at forestry. The UK target is to plant 30,000 hectares a year - last year 20,000 hectares were planted. The new government says it will introduce a Tree Planting Taskforce, and create three national forests. It also wants to increase the amount of timber grown in the UK. We speak to the Confederation of Forest Industries.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Rebecca Rooney
MON 05:57 Weather (m0021q6g)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m0021qb7)
05/08/24 - PM holds emergency meeting on riots
Sir Keir Starmer will hold a Cobra meeting after days of violent disorder in UK towns and cities. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks to Today about what she's condemned as "disgraceful scenes of violence and thuggery". Also on the programme - swimming icon Adam Peaty on what comes next after the Olympics, and who will Kamala Harris pick as her running mate?
MON 09:00 Orwell vs Kafka (m00201st)
Ep 5: But I’m Not Guilty!
With his nightmare visions of miscarriages of justice and petty authorities in his novel 'The Trial' Franz Kafka foresaw the powerlessness and frustration many of us feel in the face of faceless corporations and bureaucracies today. George Orwell's '1984' depicts a society where citizens are conditioned, monitored and made to live in eternal fear without protest.
In this episode of Orwell vs Kafka, Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop look at powerlessness - and why both our writers were obsessed with it.
Guests:
DJ Taylor, George Orwell biographer
Dr Karolina Watroba of All Souls College, Oxford
Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst of Magdalen College, Oxford
With thanks to Charles Games, makers of the “Playing Kafka” video game.
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
MON 09:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (m0021qb9)
Aesop
Aesop is probably the most famous author from antiquity, judging by the ongoing sales of his fables about animals. It should be easy to do a show about him, thinks Natalie. But it turns out that everything we know, or think we know about Aesop, is contradicted somewhere. He may have been Thracian, Phrygian or Ethiopian; mute - or talkative; clever, provoking and possibly blasphemous.
It's a complicated story, and fables aren't even a Greek invention. With guests Edith Hall and Adam Rutherford, Natalie also takes advice from comedian Al Murray.
'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 (m0021qbc)
UK riots, Madwomen of the West, South Asian beauty, Yazidi women
Unrest has continued in several towns and cities across the UK this weekend. Downing Street is expected to hold an emergency response meeting called COBRA today. Nuala McGovern explores how women have been involved and affected by what has happened, with BBC News Correspondent Jessica Lane, Iman Atta, Director of Tell Mama, and Dr Elizabeth Pearson, author of Extreme Britain: Gender, Masculinity and Radicalisation and Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Madwomen of the West is currently on stage at the Riverside Studios in London. Set in a suburban mansion - a group of women gather for an eventful birthday brunch and discuss topics ranging from gender politics to professional expectations, shifting marital relationships, menopause and womanhood. With four leading women over the age of 70 it stars stage and screen luminaries Marilu Henner, Caroline Aaron, Brooke Adams, and Melanie Mayron. Caroline and Marilu join Nuala.
It is 10 years since the Islamic State group committed an act of genocide against the Yazidi population in northern Iraq. Thousands of women were captured and sold as sex slaves. Now, the women are being told to leave the Internally Displaced People’s camps and return to their homes in Sinjar. The organisation Women for Women International is trying to help the women. Their Managing Director Sara Bowcutt and Programme Officer in Iraq Khalida Khalo Lazgeen, who is Yazidi herself, join Nuala to discuss the situation.
5.5 million South Asians make up the largest multi-ethnic community in England and Wales, but for Telegraph Beauty Director Sonia Haria, the topic of South Asian beauty hasn’t always been given the recognition it needs. Her new book celebrates all things South Asian beauty, skincare, hair care, and wellness. She describes the resonance of beauty in South Asian communities, growing up in the diaspora, and her top tips from 17 years in beauty journalism.
Presented by Nuala McGovern
Producer: Louise Corley
MON 11:00 Policing Protest (m0021qbf)
Political Space
The story of policing is bound up with the history of protest. Far more than dealing with demonstrations on the street, policing owes its very existence to fears of political unrest and to help protect the state from public disorder. In this wide-ranging three-part series, BBC Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton, with the help of former Police Assistant Commissioner Rob Beckley, tells the story of policing protest in the UK from Peterloo to the present - and beyond.
Episode 3: Political Space
Protest needs public space. In this episode Mark looks at the issue of demonstration and the quiet erosion of such space, as our shared urban areas fall increasingly under private and corporate control: is the reality of the public square, the space of protest, in danger? But protest and the police response doesn’t just happen in the physical space – increasingly it happens in the virtual too. With powerful new technology at their disposal the police conduct surveillance and intelligence operations on protest groups of all types. But in the wake of the ‘spy cops’ scandal what are the limits of this kind of activity? And as protest tactics by groups like Just Stop Oil and the new climate activists Shut the System become more disruptive, more radical, who decides which groups are considered ‘extremist’ and proscribed as such?
Modern policing in Britain has its origins in protest. The Metropolitan Police was founded by Robert Peel in 1829 in the shadow of the Peterloo massacre ten years earlier where, under instruction from the government, local militia fired directly into the crowd gathered in Manchester in support of voting rights for working men. Peel devised the notion of ‘policing by consent’ as a way of securing support for police within communities, as opposed to using coercive force from without. So simultaneously a police force, an arm of the state tasked with controlling public order and crowd control, that would also be a community service - sensitive and responsive to citizens. This tension lies at the heart of policing even today and is part of a deeper story of how society contains and manages dissent.
Today, policing protest and the control of public order remain at the heart of modern policing. Every week in the capital and cities around the UK the sheer scale, diversity and number of protests is increasing - from domestic issues to climate change and international affairs, with large protests on events in the Middle East. There are huge variations in tactics and the use of social media by different groups – from marching and procession to occupation and ‘static’ protest, direct action and disinformation. And all of this requires policing.
In an era of what police are calling ‘chronic’ protest, resources are being stretched to breaking point. Live social media means the police are under more scrutiny and pressure than ever. Organisations like Extinction Rebellion have brought the capital to a standstill while other groups, like Black Lives Matter, have targeted policing itself as an object of protest.
Hearing from police officers of all ranks, activists and agitators from across the protest spectrum, historians, political thinkers, lawyers and journalists – and rich with archive - this series goes deep into the philosophical foundations and real tactics of public order policing. It explores the future of AI in policing protest and new technologies deployed by protestors, the police’s use of crowd psychology, the testing of ‘operational independence’ in the face of political pressure and the regulation of what spaces may or may not be used for public dissent today – the erosion of the protest space, reclaiming our political commons.
Where does the future of protest lie - and with new powers at their disposal, how will it be policed?
Contributors include Lyse Ducet, BBC Chief International Correspondent; Police Sergeant Harriet Blenman; Chief Constable Chris Noble; public order Bronze Commander Jack May-Robinson; historian Katrina Navikas; Graham Smith, CEO of Republic; author Anna Minton; journalist Danny Penman; Rick Muir, director of the Police Foundation; author and police strategy advisor Tom Gash; XR liaison and former police officer Paul Stephens; climate activist Dan Hooper, aka ‘Swampy’; Miriam, activist with Shut the System; author Dan Hancox; human rights barrister Michael Mansfield KC; government advisor on ‘Political Violence and Disruption’ John Woodcock aka Lord Walney; David Mead, professor of human rights and public order law at UEA and former Labour Home Secretary, Lord David Blunkett.
Presented by Mark Easton, with reporting by Rob Beckley
Reading by Zachary Nachbar Seckel
Produced by Simon Hollis
A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4
MON 11:45 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s55k)
1. Vegans
The British countryside is often portrayed as a green and pleasant land - a rural idyll. But under the surface, rural culture wars rage: the Right to Roam, veganism, rewilding. Anna Jones is a farmer’s daughter who has worked as a rural affairs journalist for almost 20 years. In this series she uncovers the personal stories of individuals caught up in these battle grounds.
In this episode she meets Alistair Macbeth. In the 2010s he’s working as a touring fire-breather with long dreadlocks and living in a van. He’s also a committed vegan. So how did he go from that to running a dairy farm in the Peak District?
Presented by Anna Jones
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons and Anna Jones
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0021qbh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0021qbk)
Interest Rate Cut, Boots Data, Children’s Finances
The Bank of England has cut its base rate to 5% for the first time in 4 years. With consumer confidence rising, will this impact spending? Plus: as mortgage lenders offer an increasing amount of fixed deals around 4%, what will this mean for the housing market?
According to Solar Together, Solar panel installations have decreased by 25% in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year. We discuss whether this will change and what the new government’s plans are for solar power.
Boots is planning to use data collected from users of its Advantage Card to help researchers identify suitable participants for clinical trials.
Natwest Rooster Money has released its latest data on children’s finances. We find out the going rate for chores and how much the tooth fairy gives, as well as looking at how children learn about their finances in the digital age.
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: CHARLIE FILMER-COURT
MON 12:57 Weather (m0021qbm)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0021qbq)
Riots: Government emergency meeting
What happens next after a mob storms a Rotherham hotel containing asylum seekers? We hear the police and a former Director of Public Prosecutions as authorities try to restore order. Also as the Prime Minister flees Bangladesh we report from the capital.
MON 13:45 How They Made Us Doubt Everything (m001yysj)
Talc Tales: 1. Asbestos in my make-up?
After Hannah Fletcher’s cancer diagnosis, she investigates whether her make up contained asbestos. She was just 41 when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma – a rare cancer that’s very hard to treat. The average life expectancy from diagnosis is just 18 months. She says ‘One of the worst things that I've had to do was write letters to my children in case I died’. Following a 14 hour operation to remove as much of the cancer as possible, Hannah’s doctors advised her to call a lawyer because mesothelioma is almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos. This surprised Hannah as she had always had an office job. She didn’t work in construction or industries disturbing asbestos.
After investigating, Hannah’s lawyers realised her asbestos exposure could have been from a surprising source… her talcum powder and make up. Shockingly, it turns out, this issue of asbestos contamination in talc is not new. Talc and asbestos are both natural minerals formed in similar conditions in the ground. This fact is not contentious to any geologist, but the talc and cosmetics industries have sometimes taken a different approach. Thanks to recent court cases, once secret company memos now reveal how the talc industry sought to cast doubt over the science showing their product could be contaminated with the cancer causing substance.
After chronicling the tactics used by big tobacco to delay regulation on smoking and then by big oil to delay regulation on climate change in series 1, Phoebe Keane investigates whether similar tactics have been used again to create the idea that there was a controversy.
Hearing the evidence, Phoebe Keane sends off her own make up to best tested for asbestos. What will the lab find?
Presenter and Producer: Phoebe Keane
Sound mix: James Beard
Series Editor: Matt Willis
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0021q5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Ed Reardon's Week (m001p7d8)
Series 15
4. Ed in Paris
Ed’s friend, and nemesis, Jaz Milvane is to be offered a peerage and is hoping he can use the title ‘Jaz Milvain of Tinsletown’. Ed meanwhile is thrilled when a French publisher asks for the rights to his seminal first work of fiction ‘Who Would Fardels Bear’, and invites him to Paris to discuss the novel on the publisher's Youtube channel. Finally, he can be recognised as the true giant of the socialist realist movement he is, without the taint of Jaz’s awful film adaption ‘Sister Mom’. There is also the added advantage of affording him the opportunity to take Maggie on a romantic ‘Citybreak’.
Ed Reardon - Christopher Douglas
Ping - Barunka O’Shaughnessy
Jaz Milvane - Phillip Jackson
Maggie - Pippa Haywood
Stan - Geoffrey Whitehead
Olive - Sally Grace
Winnie - Ellen Thomas
Radio Presenter - Nicola Sanderson
Claude - Rachel Atkins
Written by Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
Production Co-ordinator - Katie Baum
Sound - Jon Calver
This programme was first broadcast in August 2023.
MON 14:45 Gambits (m00132cv)
10: The Scoresheet
Adrian Scarborough reads the final instalment of Eley Williams' short story series set in an Essex village gripped by chess, and where dark secrets lurk behind its closed doors.
Today, in 'The Scoresheet', as the human chess pieces arrange themselves on the village green with Matthew's match against the grandmaster set to begin, things suddenly, and shockingly, come to a head....
Reader: Adrian Scarborough
Writer: Eley Williams
Producer: Justine Willett
MON 15:00 Great Lives (m0021qbw)
Miriam Margolyes on Charles Dickens
The great Miriam Margolyes chooses Charles Dickens, author of Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol.
"He's the man in my life. He's tugged me into his world and never let me go. He writes better prose than anyone who's ever lived. He's told the most interesting stories, invented 2000 of the best characters, and because he was a wicked man."
Miriam Margolyes is author of Oh Miriam! Helping the award-winning actor and chat show terror explore the wicked life of Charles Dickens is Professor Kathryn Hughes, author of Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum. Programme includes archive of Simon Callow and Armando Iannucci.
Future episodes include Reginald D Hunter on Eugene V Debs, five times socialist candidate for the US presidency; Dr Hannah Critchlow on Colin Blakemore; director Julien Temple on Christopher Marlowe, and Zing Tsjeng on Hilma af Klint, a Swedish painter who was virtually unknown throughout the twentieth century. Her recent Paintings for the Future show at the Guggenheim was the most visited in their history. Also Conn Iggulden on the Emperor Nero, and comedian Jo Brand picks the American blues singer Bessie Smith.
PLUS!
AN Wilson on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Anneka Rice on the largely forgotten wife of William Morris; and Ekow Eshun on Britain’s first openly gay footballer, Justin Fashanu
The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer for BBC studios is Miles Warde who launched the series over twenty years ago in Bristol.
MON 15:30 Extreme: Muscle Men (m0021qc0)
Muscle Men
2. The Guru
Historian, podcaster and fitness expert Natalia Mehlman Petrzela lifts the lid on the steroid underground - a world of risk-taking and experimentation that lies beneath the glamorous surface of life in the 1980s LA gym scene. It’s all about making it big, at any cost.
This is the scene that young bodybuilder William Dillon is initiated into, now that he’s settled into the California lifting community. He meets The Steroid Guru aka Dan Duchaine, a maverick anabolic enthusiast with a chemical fascination, who isn’t afraid to experiment on himself - or anyone else. Duchaine is a cult figure in this world - his book The Underground Steroid Handbook spread the secrets of juicing to gym rats all over the USA and beyond.
From that meeting with Duchaine, Dillon spots a big opportunity that marries his two favourite things - strength and wealth.
Featuring William Dillon, Joe Troccoli, Sandra Blackie, Dr Jeff Golini, and former bodybuilder and co-author of The Underground Steroid Handbook, Mike Zumpano.
Presenter and Executive Producer: Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Producer: Caroline Thornham
Assistant Producer: Mohamed Ahmed
Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Production Manager: Cheree Houston
Sound Design and Mix by Nicholas Alexander
Original Music by SilverHawk, aka Cyrille Poirier
Executive Producer: Max O’Brien
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
Episodes are released weekly on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode, a week early, first on BBC Sounds https://bbc.in/3ybDcHO
MON 16:00 Living without our smartphones - the adults' turn (m0021q54)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0021p9f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m0021qc4)
Sir Keir Starmer hosts an emergency COBRA meeting with police. Do they have enough resources to deal with the violent unrest that's happened over the past few days?
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021qc8)
Unrest began after false information spread about the killing of three girls in Southport
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m0021qcd)
Series 30
Episode 1
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they’re able to smuggle past their opponents.
Tony Hawks, Lucy Porter, Zoe Lyons and Justin Edwards are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as divorce, lying, Mexicans and coffee.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m0021qcp)
Kirsty joins Joy and Lynda as Joy attempts to steer the Fete planning meeting. First item, says Lynda, is the clash with the Stables event. Kirsty describes how downcast Lilian is. When Joy suggests they try to help, to make both events a success, Lynda says it’s not possible and tries to close the conversation down. But Joy holds her own and thinks of a solution, reminding Lynda who’s in charge. Joy suggests Kirsty talks with Lilian about an idea to provide a Brewer’s Dray style shuttle service between the two events . With Lynda not wanting to be involved, Joy offers her litter duties for the Fete.
Lilian and Kirsty speculate on what Ed has planned for Emma’s 40th and Lilian is keen for Kirsty to help her with Cantering On. But Kirsty is committed to the Fete. Lilian despairs. However, with Carlotta on board and future bookings looking healthy, Justin is more positive. Alice surprises Lilian at the Stables by turning up, back from rehab and ready to get back to work this week. Alice senses some doubt from Lilian and Justin sensitively suggests a phased return. Privately, Justin expresses that Alice working there will be disastrous for the Stables, and Lilian berates him for being cruel and not being genuine with his phased return suggestion. It’s clear that Justin’s strategy is to persuade Alice to quit. But Lilian sticks to her guns – they have no grounds to sack Alice, and she won’t let Alice be forced out. She’s coming back to work, with or without Justin’s approval.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0021qcw)
Kensuke Kingdom, best Young Adult Fiction reads, do film trailers reveal too much?
Directors Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry on Kinsuke's Kingdom, their hand-drawn animated film which features a shipwrecked boy who learns about the natural world from a Japanese soldier who's been living secretly on an island since the end of World War II.
How closely do we watch trailers when deciding which film to watch next? Film critic Larushka Ivan Zadeh and Sam Cryer from Intermission Trailer House discuss the art of the movie trailer, whether they are now too long and reveal too many spoilers.
Author Amanda Craig recommends her summer reads from the latest Young Adult fiction releases:
All The Hidden Monsters by Amie Jordan published by Chicken House is out now;
Songlight by Moira Buffini is published by Faber and Faber on 27th August;
Almost Nothing Happened by Meg Rosoff is published by Bloomsbury on 15th August;
The Felix Trilogy by Joan Aiken is available in different editions.
And Christopher Hall reveals his journey from TikTok to stand-up comedian, as he starts a run at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Paula McGrath
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0021jq9)
Can planning reform really boost economic growth?
David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Labour's plans for planning reform. This week the Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner announced a new National Planning Policy Framework. Will it boost economic growth?
Sir John Armitt, Chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission
Catriona Riddell is an independent planning consultant and commentator who advises on planning policy
Anthony Breach, Associate Director at Centre for Cities
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill and Rod Farquhar
Editor: Penny Murphy
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m0021jqc)
How much of a risk is space junk?
Space junk.
It might sound like an out-of-this-world problem that we don’t need to worry about here on Earth – but is it?
As we send more and more metal in the form of satellites up into space, scientists are warning it is becoming more of a risk both here – and up there.
We dig into the problem and what’s being done to clean it up.
Also this week, we answer a listener question about oceans and their influence on global temperatures, and we ponder the use – and sometimes abuse – of scientific language.
And with the Paris Olympics well under way, how much does sex affect sporting performance?
Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Ella Hubber & Gerry Holt
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
MON 21:00 History's Secret Heroes (m001y3vb)
15. Josefina Guerrero: The Maid of Manila
After contracting Hansen’s Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila.
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 Intrigue (m001zgmk)
To Catch a Scorpion
To Catch a Scorpion: 4. Dangerous Meddling
The job of policing smuggling gangs is obstructed by a network of well-wishers who want to help refugees and sometimes end up helping the gangs - has this happened with Scorpion?
Barzan Majeed - codenamed Scorpion - leads the Scorpion gang. He's on international most-wanted lists. He started his criminal career in Britain and went on to build a smuggling empire which now spans the globe.
An international police surveillance operation trapped more than twenty of his gang and almost netted Scorpion himself, but he was tipped off and escaped. BBC journalist, Sue Mitchell, and volunteer aid worker, Rob Lawrie, team up to try to do what the police have been unable to achieve: to find Scorpion, to speak to him, to ask him to account for his crimes and to seek justice to those families he has harmed.
Their investigation takes them to the heart of an organised criminal gang making millions from transporting thousands of migrants on boat and lorry crossings that in some cases have gone dangerously wrong, causing serious injury and putting lives at risk. They witness his operation in action and record as intense situations unfold, where vulnerable people desperate for a better future, put their lives in the hands of ruthless and dangerous criminals.
To Catch a Scorpion is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4 and is presented and recorded by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie.
The series is produced by Sue Mitchell, Winifred Robinson and Joel Moors
The Editor is Philip Sellars
Commissioning Editor is Daniel Clarke
Commissioning Exec Tracy Williams
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts/Digital, Will Drysdale
Original music is by Mom Tudie
and Sound Design is by Tom Brignell
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021qd1)
Fresh unrest on England's streets
There've been clashes between police and protestors in Plymouth - as police say they've made almost 380 arrests in connection with violent disorder across parts of England and Northern Ireland. The former Yorkshire cricketer - Azeem Rafiq - tells us about the impact on his family in Rotherham. And we ask if far-right violence should be treated as terrorism.
Also tonight:
A historic day in Bangladesh as the Prime Minister resigns and flees the country - after months of student protests. The deposed PM - Sheikh Hasina - is reportedly on her way to London tonight. Will she be welcomed here?
And we speak to Britain's youngest-ever chess grandmaster - the 15-year-old who counts the chancellor among those he's beaten.
MON 22:45 Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (m0021qd6)
Episode One
In 1997, columnist and novelist Thomas Hart is 51. He lives in a small town in Essex called Aldleigh. It's home to the Essex Chronicle where he works, has a Strict Baptist chapel where he worships, and a derelict country house which he believes to be haunted. He has a best friend called Grace - also a chapel-goer - who is 34 years his junior.
With the Hale-Bopp comet approaching, his editor at the Essex Chronicle asks for a column about astronomy, which sends Thomas on a new, long journey of discovery.
Spanning a period of 20 years, this is a story about love, friendship and faith, and what happens when these things are challenged.
And it is also about astronomy.
Episode 1
In 1997, with Hale-Bopp on the horizon, Thomas Hart’s life is changed when he is given a planisphere by his editor.
Sarah Perry is the author of the novels After Me Comes The Flood, the award-winning The Essex Serpent, Melmoth, and the non-fiction Essex Girls. Enlightenment is her fourth novel.
Writer: Sarah Perry
Reader: Nicola Walker
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:00 Limelight (m001dp2d)
Harland - Series 2
Harland - 2. Tīwesdæg
More from Harland New Town in Lucy Catherine's supernatural thriller. Failing security guard Dan and guilt stricken former vicar Lindsay have joined forces in the search for missing police officer Sarah Ward.
Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey
Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde
Sadie ..... Melissa Advani
Morris ..... Rupert Holliday Evans
Fordingbridge ..... Sean Baker
Serena ..... Chloë Sommer
Bob ..... David Hounslow
Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine
Leeta ..... Joanna Monro
Sound Design by Caleb Knightley
Directed by Toby Swift
A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:30 Lights Out (m000zkq4)
Series 4
The Last Taboo
Documentary adventures that encourage you to take a closer listen.
We rarely speak about familial childhood sexual abuse. We should.
Through one woman's story, we hear how the silence surrounding childhood sexual abuse compounds trauma in ways that ripple through survivors' lives, touching and tainting relationships and experiences of parenthood, and leading to problems with mental health and addiction.
If we could talk about familial abuse more openly, could we help survivors, and make it more difficult for perpetrators to hide behind secrecy?
Too often, our mental health systems treat the symptoms of abuse and trauma rather than unlocking the cause. But if we continue to create worlds which permit and encourage silence, are we perpetrators too? Perhaps it's time to speak up.
Featuring extracts from The Flying Child by Sophie Olson, founder of The Flying Child Project, and work by John Slater, co-founder of moMENtum.
Produced by Redzi Bernard and Phoebe McIndoe
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUESDAY 06 AUGUST 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0021qdd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s55k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021qdk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021qdp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021qdt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0021qdy)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021qf2)
Loneliness and Solitude
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Guy Goodall
Good morning.
Fishing tackle shops are not for catching fish, rather to catch fishermen. There’s one such shop not far from where I live. I was in there once when a professional angler told me what his partner thought of fishing: sitting quietly on the river bank was meditation for men. I must admit that a day on the river bank, wild life and blue sky, a pack of sandwiches and flask of hot coffee is certainly something special regardless of catching fish!
Loneliness and solitude, words that have similar meanings, yet when scrutinized they stand a long way apart. Loneliness, isolation, away from the company of others, with whom we can reflect on life, we need ongoing friendships, and then we’re able to journey into the future knowing that we are not alone, because others journey with us. Solitude is a deliberate act of separation from others in order to increase our sense of awareness of that which is other than ourselves, maybe conjuring up the source of the beauty around us.
Religion’s involved with boundaries of belief and behaviour, sharing in the corporate experience of generations of faith. Whilst spirituality is part of a forward-looking journey, pilgrimage, exploration of the new, the Other. It excites my spirit, giving shape, developing significant elements that make my life what it is.
Help me, Lord, to have a place where I can go with time to look into my life’s pilgrimage, clarifying where I am going, finding comfort at the end of my journey in the house you are preparing for me.
Amen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0021qf4)
The results of a farmer led badger vaccination trial against Bovine TB which are being released today show promising results.
A clear up campaign from the damage caused to forests in Scotland by a storm in 2021 continues to this day.
And a pilot project in Wales which aims to get more Welsh vegetables into schools, the plan is to grow the horticulture sector and provide children with locally grown healthy food.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Alun Beach
TUE 06:00 Today (m0021qhs)
06/08/24 - Another night of disorder across the country
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, says demonstrators 'defile the flag they wrap themselves in' and calls for a new moral vision for the country. We hear from some of those who have been targeted in the demonstrations.
Also in the programme Ofwat's David Black tells us why Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water are facing £168m in fines.
Keely Hodgkinson tells us about the overwhelming relief of winning 800m gold and a new study suggests a 'soup and shakes' diet could put type 2 diabetes in remission.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0021qhv)
Kip Thorne on black holes, Nobel Prizes and taking physics to Hollywood
The final episode in this series of The Life Scientific is a journey through space and time, via black holes and wormholes, taking in Nobel-prize-winning research and Hollywood blockbusters!
Kip Thorne is an Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and someone who’s had a huge impact on our understanding of Einsteinian gravity. Over the course of his career Kip has broken new ground in the study of black holes, and been an integral parts of the team that recorded gravitational waves for the very first time – earning him a share in the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.
He went on to promote physics in films: developing the original idea behind Christopher Nolan’s time-travel epic Interstellar and, since then, advising on scientific elements of various big-screen projects; including, most recently, the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.
In a special edition of The Life Scientific recorded in front of an audience of London’s Royal Institution, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Kip about his life and career, from his Mormon upbringing in Utah to Hollywood collaborations – all through the lens of his unwavering passion for science.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Lucy Taylor
TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m0021qhx)
Can diet and exercise ever replace statins?
The inventor of statins, Akira Endo, died this summer. When he was prescribed statins in older age for high cholesterol he refused, preferring to improve his diet and lifestyle instead. But how far can changes like these really go to reduce our bad cholesterol and our overall risk of cardiovascular disease? Our resident GP Margaret McCartney and Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine Naveed Sattar discuss.
Dermatologist Dr Alexandra Banner gives us the lowdown on how to treat sunburn, including reviewing some of your surprising home remedies.
And what is snus and does it enhance sporting performance? Professor Toby Mundel explains.
Presenter: James Gallagher
Producers: Hannah Robins and Tom Bonnett
Assistant producer: Katie Tomsett
Editor: Holly Squire
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0021qhz)
Keely Hodgkinson's gold, Meera Sodha, IQ levels
Keely Hodgkinson has won gold in the women's 800 metres at the Paris Olympics. It's only Team GB's 10th ever female gold medal in athletics. Nuala McGovern is joined by five-time Olympic athlete Jo Pavey to reflect on Keely's success and what it means for the career of the 22-year-old.
The Paris 2024 Olympics was set to be the first where men could compete alongside women in the synchronised swimming, now known as artistic swimming. Bill May has been campaigning for this change for the last 30 years. He speaks to Nuala about why he thinks men should be included in the sport.
Food writer Meera Sodha’s new cookbook, Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day, pays homage to the restorative power of cooking for the ones you love. Meera says it was written in the midst of ‘a difficult personal time and much reflection.’ She joins Nuala to talk about mental health and rediscovering her love for food.
Do you have any idea what your IQ is? New analysis from The Economist shows that brain development is being hindered across the world due to a lack of nutrition, war and even sexism - issues mainly affecting women and children. Are they getting left behind? Nuala is joined by the Deputy Editor of The Economist, Robert Guest, and Dr Meera Shekar, Global Lead for Nutrition at The World Bank’s Health, Nutrition & Population Global Practice.
Emma O’Halloran’s opera, Mary Motorhead, tells the story of a woman who is behind bars for murder. Emma speaks to Nuala about showing a different side to the stereotypical female opera lead.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Lottie Garton
TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m0021jjw)
Mermaids
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a deep ‘dive' into the world of water to mark the 40th anniversary this summer of the joyous romantic comedy Splash hitting our screens. Splash features Tom Hanks' leading man debut as he meets and falls for mermaid Daryl Hannah in New York, before they finally swim off into the sunset together.
From The Little Mermaid through Miranda to The Lure, mermaids have a long rich history in the movies.
Mark talks to director Agnieszka Smoczyńska about her 1980s set Polish mermaid musical The Lure. They discuss cinema's fascination with the mermaid myth.
Ellen looks back into cinema history to explore the films of Esther Williams - nicknamed the Million Dollar Mermaid - a swimmer turned actress whose ‘aquamusicals' in the 40s and 50s featured elaborate synchronised swimming sequences and made waves at the box office. She speaks to synchronised swimming choreographer Mēsha Kussman and friend of the show Lillian Crawford about the enduring appeal and surprising legacy of the aquamusical.
Producer: Queenie Qureshi-Wales
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:45 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s5k9)
2. Birds of Prey
The British countryside is often portrayed as a green and pleasant land - a rural idyll. But under the surface, rural culture wars rage: the Right to Roam, veganism, rewilding.
Anna Jones is a farmer’s daughter who has worked as a rural affairs journalist for almost 20 years. In this series she uncovers the personal stories of individuals caught up in these battle grounds.
In this episode she meets Chief Inspector Kevin Lacks-Kelly - Head of the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit. Trying to tackle the illegal persecution of birds of prey has put him and his fellow officers at the heart of a culture war.
Presented by Anna Jones
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons and Anna Jones
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0021qj1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0021qj3)
Call You and Yours: How do you try to keep active?
The Paris Olympics are in full swing - have you been inspired by all these athletes? We're not necessarily talking about the pole vault or the gymnastics (although if that's your thing, we want to hear about it!)
There are so many ways of getting some exercise, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach. So tell us your experience - for good or for bad.
How do you try to keep active? If not - what's stopping you? Is exercising easy where you live? Does it have to cost money?
Email us at youandyours@bbc.co.uk, share your stories, and leave a telephone number where we can contact you.
From
11am on Tuesday you can call us on 03700 100 444.
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
TUE 12:57 Weather (m0021qj5)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m0021qj7)
What is social media's role in the riots?
Do social media platforms have a responsibility to stop riot organisation and disinformation spreading? Also: £168m of fines for water companies after failing to manage sewage.
TUE 13:45 How They Made Us Doubt Everything (m001yy6j)
Talc Tales: 2. Never 100% clean
In the 1970s, a scientist discovers asbestos fibres in talcum powder. After Mineralogist Arthur Langer discovered asbestos fibres in the lungs of normal people in New York, he set out to investigate the source. How could people just going about their daily lives, not working directly with asbestos products, have been exposed? He started testing talcum powders and was surprised to find many products contained asbestos fibres. His findings made a splash in the news papers, but how would industry respond?
Arthur’s work put him on a list of ‘antagonistic personalities’, carrying out an ‘attack on talc’ at Johnson and Johnson head quarters – a major producer of talcum powder at the time. But internal company memos now reveal that Johnson and Johnson had been testing their talc supply for asbestos fibres in the early 1970s and they had been finding it as well. In the words of one internal memo: ‘It should be cautioned, however, that no final product will ever be made, which will be totally free from respirable particles. We’re talking about a significant reduction, but not 100% Clean up’.
Presenter and Producer: Phoebe Keane
Sound mix: James Beard
Series Editor: Matt Willis
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0021qcp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0021qj9)
Wholesome
A heartwarming comedy-drama about intergenerational friendship and facing life’s upheavals.
60-something year old Sally Turner is about to retire and has made no plans, telling everyone she just wants some peace and quiet. But when 22 year old Lizzie Fisher, heartbroken and struggling to move out of her ex’s flat, interviews for Sally’s job, Sally impulsively offers her the spare room.
Desperate to avoid her own lack of direction, Lizzie focuses on helping Sally find retirement activities. As both women bond through wild swimming, art classes and walks across the Peaks it becomes clear that these new exciting hobbies are just distractions. Something isn’t quite right with Sally. She seems to be forgetting things and that’s not all Sally is hiding.
SALLY...............................Olwen May
LIZZIE...............................Amber Grappy
OLLY/ KEELAN..............Tachia Newall
ANGE/ GWYNETH.......Susan Twist
STEVE/ The GP..............Jason Done
Written by Georgia Affonso
Sound design by Sharon Hughes
Production Co-ordinator Pippa Day
Producer/ Director Lorna Newman
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
TUE 15:00 Illuminated (m0021q5t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:15 on Sunday]
TUE 15:30 Beyond Belief (m0021qjc)
A Suffering God
Giles Fraser hears about the revolutionary ideas of late theologian Jürgen Moltmann, whose work challenged and transformed Christian ideas of God in the twentieth century.
Hamburg, July 1943. The combined might of the Allies rains bombs down on the city causing a catastrophic firestorm. A young German anti-aircraft bomber cries out to God in the midst of devastation. He would go on to be one of the most important Christian theologians of the twentieth century.
Giles Fraser recounts how he first started to develop his ideas at a Prisoner of War camp in Scotland after the Second World War. His books, including The Theology of Hope and The Crucified God would go on to be seminal works for those studying Christianity, but would also have far-reaching influence. He also wrote about liberating those oppressed, ecology and the environment and feminism.
Joining Giles to discuss why his work matters is Professor Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Ceter for Faith and Culture, who knew Moltmann as a PHD supervisor and friend. Also on the panel are Professor Candida Moss and Professor Celia Deane-Drummond.
Does God suffer, as we suffer and what difference does this make to faith and belief?
Producer: Rebecca Maxted
Assistant Producer: James Leesley
Editor: Tim Pemberton
TUE 16:00 Inside The Wasp Factory (m001w71d)
When it was first published in 1984, Iain Banks' debut novel 'The Wasp Factory', was described as a "a work of unparalleled depravity" and also "a masterpiece". Today the book is considered one of the great novels of the twentieth century, is taught on curricula and sits on many a favourite list. Simon Pegg chose this book on Desert Island Discs, and now he is finding out how it became such a phenomenon.
Forty years after its publication, and over a decade since the author's death, Simon traces how the book was written and its impact on generations of readers since.
The novel centres around Frank Cauldhame, an isolated 16 year old living on an island off the North East coast of Scotland with his father. Frank details his life of strange rituals, confesses to murder and conducts acts of barbarity on the local wildlife. When the news arrives that Frank's brother Eric has escaped from a psychiatric hospital, everything is turned upside down and Frank looks for answers in The Wasp Factory, a huge living contraption presiding in the loft of their old house. As we follow Frank's experiences, even more dark secrets are revealed.
The book is recognised as a biting and witty critique of violent masculinity and the politics of the era, as well as a contemporary gothic classic with indications of the master of Sci Fi that Iain Banks would become. What can we learn from heading inside The Wasp Factory today?
Contributions from:
Irvine Welsh, author of 'Trainspotting', 'Filth' and other novels.
Prof Katharine Cox, formerly Bournemouth University and now The University of Derby.
Ken MacLeod, author of 'The Star Fraction' and other novels.
David Haddock, editor of The Banksoniain Fanzine
Dr Monica Germana, The University of Westminster
Readings by Ian Dunnett Jr.
Extracts from The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (MacmIllan 1984)
TUE 16:30 You're Dead to Me (m0021p9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Saturday]
TUE 17:00 PM (m0021qjf)
Belfast recovers from violent unrest
As violent unrest continues in pockets of England and Northern Ireland, PM asks a former prison governor if prisons have enough space to hold those convicted of rioting. Also, Kamala Harris picks her vice presidential candidate, and a new study suggests a 'soup and shake' diet can reverse type 2 diabetes.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021qjh)
He said he may seek to extradite social media influencers abroad who incited violence
TUE 18:30 Do Gooders (m0021qjk)
2. The Walk
Garrett Millerick’s Do Gooders is a new ensemble sitcom that takes us behind the charity curtain and mines the numerous frustrations that come with trying to ‘do good’ on an industrial scale. With Frank Skinner, Fay Ripley, Lisa McGrillis, Ahir Shah and Ania Magliano.
The series follows the exploits of the fundraising events team at a fictional mid-level charity, The Alzheimers Alliance. Fundraising for this kind of mid-table organisation comes with its own unique set of challenges, be it setting up eye catching events, courting celebrity endorsement or juggling the inter charity politics.
And while certainly not languishing on the lowest rungs of the charity league table, Alzheimers hasn’t got the dazzling sheen or the pulling power of a cancer charity, nor does it capture the public’s sympathies in the way lifeboats or guide dogs do.
If Cancer Research is Coca-Cola, Alzheimers Alliance is Lilt. A cracking drink, but they’ve got to work hard to remind people they exist - or face total extinction.
Episode Two - The Walk
The team head to North Wales for Clive’s Alzheimers memory walk. Disgruntled VIPs, mutinous volunteers and a regrettable ordering error over some t-shirts ensure Gladys will have her work cut out babysitting Clive’s event. Achi and Lauren attempt to keep their burgeoning relationship a secret amongst the chaos.
Cast:
Lauren – Ania Magliano
Gladys – Lisa McGrillis
Clive – Garrett Millerick
Harriett – Fay Ripley
Achi – Ahir Shah
Ken – Frank Skinner
Writer – Garrett Millerick
Sound Engineer – David Thomas
Editor – David Thomas
Production Assistant – Jenny Recaldin
Producer – Jules Lom
Executive Producers – Richard Allen-Turner, Daisy Knight, Julien Matthews, Jon Thoday
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0021qjm)
Fallon and Harrison enjoy a walk and discuss Ed’s plans for Emma’s birthday, with Harrison pointing out that Saturday Night Fever is from the 70s, not 80s! They’re horrified by litter and as they plan to come back to clear it, Fallon mentions her idea to try and take on one of the outlets at the EV charging station. Harrison’s distracted as Alice appears. Remembering their legal obligations Harrison makes his excuses and leaves. Fallon apologises to Alice as she heads off. Later Fallon challenges Harrison and reminds him about what she was saying, about the EV station. What does he think? He’s non-committal – it’s Fallon’s decision – which leaves her feeling that he just doesn’t care.
Alistair bumps into Alice, who’s looking forward to being back at work soon. She mentions seeing someone hanging around outside the Vet practice, so Alistair investigates and challenges the person before realising it’s John – Paul’s Dad. John’s here to see Paul and lays into Alistair about how much he and Denise have hurt Paul. Alistair tries to defend himself, but only winds John up further, before John storms off and slams the gate off its hinges. Alistair invites John inside to discuss things properly. Over a whiskey things are calmer, but still tense. John drops his guard and admits he’s frightened and asks Alistair if he is serious about Denise. If not, John will fight for her. Alistair is emphatic – he loves Denise. John makes to go but finds it in him to help Alistair fix the gate.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0021qjp)
Joan Baez, Shakespeare in British Sign Language, Charlotte Mendelson
Joan Baez on her poetry collection inspired by her diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, called When You See My Mother Ask Her to Dance.
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London has a new bilingual production of Antony and Cleopatra in English and British Sign Language. Tom talks to Blanche McIntyre, the director and Charlotte Arrowsmith, actor and associate director.
Charlotte Mendelson on her new novel, Wife, about a disintegrating lesbian partnership and motherhood.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Timothy Prosser
TUE 20:00 Retracted (m0021qjr)
In winter 2009 Steve Shafer, the editor-in-chief of a prestigious American medical journal, received some emails from readers saying the data in a study he had just published looked 'too good to be true'.
He thought there would be a simple explanation, so he contacted the doctor who had carried out the research. But he didn’t receive the straightforward response he was expecting.
Higher education journalist Rosa Ellis speaks to Steve Shafer to find out what happened next.
And she meets others who’ve fought in the trench warfare of some of the most sensitive questions around scientific research and publishing.
Producer: Paul Martin
Sound design: Cathy Robinson
A BBC Audio Wales production for Radio 4
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0021qjt)
Talking Newspaper Delays; Swimming Twins at the Paralympics
In Touch has been hearing that many local Talking Newspapers are experiencing long delays linked to the postal service. Talking Newspapers are an essential service to blind and partially sighted people, as it keeps people informed of localised events and news. Listeners access a TN via recorded readings of the local papers by volunteers. The recordings are then put onto the listeners preferred format - be that a USB stick, a CD or even a cassette tape - and then are delivered to the listener's front door. Under Royal Mail's Articles for the Blind scheme, these are supposed to be delivered via first class mail, but the TNs are reporting that this is not happening. We hear from a number of local TNs and from the Talking Newspaper Federation.
It will soon be time for the Paralympics, the worlds biggest celebration of disability sport. As a warm up to the event, In Touch meets Eliza and Scarlet Humphrey who are twins, are both totally blind and are both competing in swimming at the Paralympics 2024.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
TUE 21:00 Crossing Continents (m0021qjw)
The Italian town where praying is a political issue
The Italian town of Monfalcone on the Adriatic coast has an ethnic make-up unique to the country. Of a population of just over thirty thousand, more than six thousand are from Bangladesh. They’ve come to help construct huge cruise ships, providing the cheap labour to do the type of manual jobs which Italians no longer want to do.
For years, they worshipped at two Islamic centres in the town. Then, in November, the town’s far right mayor, Anna Maria Cisint, tried to effectively ban collective prayer there, along with stopping cricket - the Bangladeshi national sport - from being played within the town.
She says she is defending Christian values. Her critics say she is building walls rather than bridges. For Crossing Continents, Sofia Bettiza travels to Italy to discover how the country is dealing with the increasing numbers of legal migrants coming to work in a country which needs their labour.
Producer: Bob Howard
Presenter: Sofia Bettiza
Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy
TUE 21:30 Great Lives (m0021qbw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:00 on Monday]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021qjy)
Will Harris' Vice President pick help her to the White House?
Kamala Harris has picked a former football coach to be on her team. The US Vice President - and Democratic nominee for president - has chosen the Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz as her running mate. We're live in Philadelphia - where they're holding their first joint rally - and ask a leading Democratic Congresswoman why the man who branded Donald Trump "weird" can help defeat the former Republican president and his running mate, JD Vance.
Also tonight:
The prime minister has told communities they'll be safe ahead of planned anti-immigration gatherings tomorrow. We hear from one immigration lawyer who's been targeted.
And the star pianist couple - originally from Russia - on artistic freedom in the land they left behind.
TUE 22:45 Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (m0021qk0)
Episode Two
n 1997, columnist and novelist Thomas Hart is 51. He lives in a small town in Essex called Aldleigh. It's home to the Essex Chronicle where he works, has a Strict Baptist chapel where he worships, and a derelict country house which he believes to be haunted. He has a best friend called Grace - also a chapel-goer - who is 34 years his junior.
With the Hale-Bopp comet approaching, his editor at the Essex Chronicle asks for a column about astronomy, which sends Thomas on a new, long journey of discovery.
Spanning a period of 20 years, this is a story about love, friendship and faith, and what happens when these things are challenged.
And it is also about astronomy.
Episode 2
The Sunday morning service at Bethesda Chapel is disturbed when a golf ball comes crashing through the window.
Sarah Perry is the author of the novels After Me Comes The Flood, the award-winning The Essex Serpent, Melmoth, and the non-fiction Essex Girls. Enlightenment is her fourth novel.
Writer: Sarah Perry
Reader: Nicola Walker
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:00 Jon Holmes Says the C-Word (m0021qk2)
5. What Do My Insides Look Like?
Jon and his guests discuss The Big Op – having the cancer cut out and your insides rearranged.
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 Lights Out (m001g9ss)
Series 5
Greenham Convictions
It's 40 years this month since 30,000 women 'embraced the base' at RAF Greenham Common, Berkshire in protest at the proposed siting of cruise missiles there. For some of them, the Women's Peace Camp became home and the RAF base the scene of countless actions, as political convictions led inevitably to arrests, court appearances and imprisonment.
Lyn Barlow served something between 15 and 20 sentences - she lost count - and Sue Say at least eight. Mild-mannered former teacher Mary Millington has journals documenting her numerous prison terms. Greenham Convictions traces why these women put not just their bodies but "their entire beings" on the line for a cause - and at what price.
With thanks to Rebecca Mordan of Greenham Women Everywhere.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
WEDNESDAY 07 AUGUST 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0021qk4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s5k9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021qk6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021qk8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021qkb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0021qkd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021qkg)
Permission
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Guy Goodall
Good morning.
If I had a valid Passport – mine’s run out, I could go on holiday to enjoy, a different culture, new wildlife, different food. But then for so much of those ten years I rarely travelled abroad except for an annual holiday.
Recently I’ve been unable to drive my car, having had an operation on my knee. Car, walking, things I can do but which I can’t take full advantage of for one reason or another. Any way, the surgeon eventually gave me permission to drive again, and I can purchase a new Passport, free to go abroad. When it's OK to do things, I must do them!
Permission to do some things gives us the freedom that we may have been seeking for years. Denying ourselves the freedom to say ‘yes’ to something limits what we can do. It maybe that someone we love has died, and we consider it disrespectful to laugh at a joke, go to a football match or go out to enjoy a meal. It's not disrespectful. Grief is a journey to work through where we can find a safe place for our emotions and our loved one, enjoying life once again, but in a new way.
The Passport gives me permission to travel, the surgeon permission to drive, a valued friend gives me permission to grieve but also to move on with life, without fear of disrespect.
Lord, thank you for the time you give me to express sorrow at the loss of a loved one, and thank you for giving me permission to hold that loved life in a special place in order that I may get on with my life with both peace and joy.
Amen
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0021qkj)
This year the UK is growing less oilseed rape than it has for 30 years, it has become too expensive and risky for many farmers to use it as a crop.
Clearing up a green, smelly carpet of seaweed known as sea lettuce from the beaches of Jersey.
And we import more than 80% of the wood we use in this country, and there are calls for far more of that to be home grown.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Alun Beach
WED 06:00 Today (m0021qrr)
07/08/24 - Emma Barnett and Justin Webb
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Sideways (m0021qrw)
63. The Art of Unfinishing
Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan have bonded over a mutual love for knitting for decades.
In 2022, the pair of avid knitters decided to search for strangers to help finish an incomplete blanket their bereaved friend’s mother had started. It kickstarted a movement of ‘finishers’ - people around the world who complete the half-knitted works left behind by others. Their concept challenges the idea that we are successful only when we finish what we start, an idea entrenched in our present culture.
Matthew Syed traces the psychological roots of valuing completion and explores alternative outlooks that subvert the merits of finishing. He hears remarkable stories that reveal beautiful possibilities in leaving creative work half-done and asks whether reappraising the unfinished can enable an imaginative process to unfold, connect people more deeply to one another and even ease grief.
With Loose Ends founders, Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan, their friend Patty Gardner, artist and composer Jan Hendrickse and Nina Collins, daughter of filmmaker Kathleen Collins.
Featuring excerpts from Nafas ar Rahman, commissioned by the MUSARC Choir.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Vishva Samani
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 09:30 Intrigue (m0021qs1)
Worse than Murder
Worse Than Murder: 3. The Waiting Game
Muriel McKay’s kidnapper – who calls himself M3 – has stopped calling, and the McKay family are desperate. They use Alick’s media contacts to keep the story at the forefront of the tabloid press, placing rumours designed to make the kidnappers panic, even getting in touch with a clairvoyant via a family friend.
But what the press don’t know is that Muriel McKay was kidnapped by mistake. M3’s real target, he says, was Rupert Murdoch’s wife.
Worse Than Murder - A tragic case of mistaken identity that shook Britain and launched a tabloid war.
One winter’s night in 1969, kidnappers targeting Rupert Murdoch’s wife abducted Muriel McKay by mistake. She was never seen again. Jane MacSorley investigates this shocking crime which baffled police and, more than 50 years on, remains unresolved.
Presented by Jane MacSorley with Simon Farquhar
Produced by Nadia Mehdi, with extra production from Paul Russell and Megan Oyinka
Sound design and mixing by Basil Oxtoby
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Executive producers: Neil Cowling, Michaela Hallam, Jago Lee and Rami Tzabar
Development by Paul Russell
Voice acting by Red Frederick
Original music composed by Richard Atkinson for Mcasso
With special thanks to Simon Farquhar, author of 'A Desperate Business: The Murder of Muriel McKay'
A Fresh Air and Tell Tale production for BBC Radio 4
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0021qs5)
Army racism, Gardens and the Bloomsbury Group, Fantastically Great Women musical
Kerry-Ann Knight, who served in the army for over a decade, has spoken out about the years of racist and sexist abuse she received whilst serving saying that it made her life "a living hell". She joins Nuala to discuss her experience of taking the Ministry of Defence to an employment tribunal where she accepted a substantial settlement, along with an apology. Her experience has led to lawyer Emma Norton - who's an expert in this field - to call for an inquiry in to the experiences of black and minoritised service personnel in the armed forces.
A new exhibition, Gardening Bohemia, at the Garden Museum in London explores the relationship between women in the Bloomsbury group and gardening. Plus a book out earlier this year, Rural Hours, looks at the influence of time spent in the countryside on three women writers associated with the group, including Virginia Woolf. Curator Claudia Tobin and author Harriet Baker discuss.
When illustrator and author Kate Pankhurst started writing the Fantastically Great Women book, she didn’t know she was a distant relative of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst – or that the book would become an award-winning pop musical. With the show currently on at The Other Palace in London, Nuala talks to Kate about why she wanted to celebrate historic women and their achievements, plus cast member Anelisa Lamola performs live in the studio.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Dianne McGregor
WED 11:00 Retracted (m0021qjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:45 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s5dq)
3. Right to Roam
The British countryside is often portrayed as a green and pleasant land - a rural idyll. But under the surface, rural culture wars rage: the Right to Roam, veganism, rewilding.
Anna Jones is a farmer’s daughter who has worked as a rural affairs journalist for almost 20 years. In this series she uncovers the personal stories of individuals caught up in these battle grounds.
In this episode she visits a field near Frome where there’s a fence that’s come to be known as the “iron curtain of Somerset”. The man who built it says it’s protecting his private property from damage. The people who used to enjoy walking around the field are furious.
But according to Dr Jeremy Buchardt, a landscape historian at the University of Reading, this is an ancient grudge that's left its mark on our landscape.
Presented by Anna Jones
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons and Anna Jones
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0021qsb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m0021qsd)
Holiday Accommodation, Single Cost of LIving and Home Sale Delays
The riots are hitting the high streets as people stay home. What will the impact be in the longer term?
An online accommodation booking site is being criticised for leaving holiday makers in the lurch when their accommodation bookings fail.
The listener whose car hire company didn't pass on a traffic fine picked up in Italy two years ago who is facing hundreds of pounds in fines as a result.
Hot homes during heatwaves are leading to more deaths. With the Met Office forecasting future regular surges of heat above 40c, it is likely heat-related deaths will become more common. So, what can you do to keep your home cool ?
Surges to the cost of living have made living alone even more unaffordable. It is reckoned the single-life 'supplement' could be costing over £800 per month.
The time taken to sell a home in England and Wales is getting longer. We used to expect around 12 weeks from offer to completion, now it is creeping toward six months. Could changes to the rules around home purchases speed up transactions?
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Kevin Mousley
WED 12:57 Weather (m0021qsg)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m0021qsj)
Police prepare for more possible riots across UK
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
WED 13:45 How They Made Us Doubt Everything (m001yxg4)
Talc Tales: 3. ‘We may have problems’
Could companies clean up their talc? In the 1970s, talc companies worked out a plan to check their product for asbestos fibres. The problem was, mineralogist Sean Fitzgerald says the testing method they chose wasn’t sensitive enough to truly weed all asbestos fibres out. But this testing method was taken up not just in America but around the world and still informs the standards today. Companies can legally say their talc is ‘asbestos free’ if they’ve used this method, but there could still be trace amounts of asbestos fibres in the product.
Meanwhile, epidemiologist Dan Cramer starts some research into a possible association between talc and ovarian cancer – but what does the latest research say?
Presenter and Producer: Phoebe Keane
Sound mix: James Beard
Series Editor: Matt Willis
WED 14:00 The Archers (m0021qjm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0015v8v)
Contender
An electrifying drama about swimming, ruthless ambition and abuse of power by a new writer for Radio 4.
Aspiring Olympian Hannah is excited, if a little intimidated, by the arrival from the States of Ben, her magnetic new coach. But as their relationship becomes increasingly unsettling; so too do his unorthodox methods. The drama asks - how fluid can a definition of victory become before it dissolves completely?
Hannah ..... Hannah Tointon
Ben ..... Elliot Cowan
Luke ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Andrea ..... Jasmine Hyde
Sound by Cal Knightley, Mike Etherden and Pete Ringrose
With thanks to Caitlin McClatchey
Written by Melanie Spencer
Produced and directed by Ciaran Bermingham
WED 15:00 Reflections (m0020xyv)
Michael Portillo
In the first episode of a new series of Reflections, James Naughtie talks to former Conservative Cabinet Minister Michael Portillo about his zigzag career in politics. From his early days working for Margaret Thatcher, to his time as Defence Secretary, dramatic loss in what is still called the 'Portillo moment', and bid for the Conservative Party leadership, Portillo reflects candidly on his strengths and weaknesses, and what kind of a leader he might have made.
Producer: Daniel Kraemer.
WED 15:30 Wild Inside (m001vs99)
The Aphid
The tiny sap-sucking aphid, at just a few millimetres long, is the scourge of many gardeners and crop-growers worldwide, spreading astonishingly rapidly and inflicting huge damage as it seeks to outwit many host plants’ natural defences. With insights and guidance from aphid expert George Seddon-Roberts at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, some delicate dissecting tools, and a state of the art microscope, Professor Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve inside this herbivorous insect to unravel the anatomy and physiology that’s secured its extraordinary reproductive success, whilst offering new clues as to how we could curtail its damaging impact in the future.
Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French
Executive Producer: Adrian Washbourne
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m0021qq5)
Sun Editor Victoria Newton
We talk to Tom Witherow from The Times who's been tracing where the false claim the Southport attacker is Muslim began, as well as reporters covering the riots on the ground. The Editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, discusses that paper's coverage of Huw Edwards. What qualities do you need to be a journalist? The National Council for the Training of Journalists say the younger generation lacks confidence when it comes to tasks like cold calling and phone interviews. We find out more. Plus get the latest in the legal battle between Netflix and the alleged subject of its drama, Baby Reindeer
Guests: Maria Breslin, Editor, The Liverpool Echo; Priyanka Raval, Reporter, The Bristol Cable; Tom Witherow, Reporter, The Times; Stephanie Stacey, Technology Reporter, The Financial Times; Jake Kanter, Investigations Editor, Deadline; Victoria Newton, Editor, The Sun; Laura Adams, Head of the Journalism Skills Academy, National Council for the Training of Journalists
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
WED 17:00 PM (m0021qsn)
First rioters are jailed
As three men are jailed for taking parts in riots, PM speaks to the National Police Chiefs’ Council about the impact on everyday policing. Also, British military personnel are put on standby to evacuate British nationals from Lebanon, and a study suggests water temperatures around the Great Barrier Reef in Australia are at an all-time high.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021qsq)
Three men from Liverpool have been jailed for between 20 months and three years
WED 18:30 Ian Smith Is Stressed (m0021qss)
The North
Comedian Ian Smith is constantly stressed and in this series he is looking for any means to calm the hell down. In this episode Ian explores how being Northern has made him more stressed and attempts a new wellness fad that’s sweeping the fields of England, cow-hugging.
A new stand-up series from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated comedian Ian Smith.
Written and Performed by Ian Smith
Additional Material from Rhiannon Shaw, Max Davis and Charlie Dinkin
Assistant Producer: Ewan McAdam
Produced by Benjamin Sutton and Laura Shaw
A Daddy’s SuperYacht production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0021qph)
Chris helps Alice with the court case. Emma drops in and Chris can see she looks wrung out. Emma tells Alice how sorry she is for how she has treated her and wants to help, offering to be a character witness. However, Emma’s nervous at the thought of being cross examined, but reiterates she’ll do it. Alice is so grateful, but Emma insists she owes Alice.
Will and George wonder where Emma has disappeared to, and Fallon’s left feeling anxious at the Bull as everyone prepares to surprise Emma. Emma eventually turns up at home, non-plussed but grateful for her present from George. Will reminds Emma they’re off for a family meal at the Bull, and leaves George to escort Emma. Emma tells George she’s not going to the Bull, so George is forced to tell her about the surprise. But Emma can’t face anyone, knowing what she does about him. George points out that people will ask questions, so she has to go - and look like she’s enjoying herself.
Emma uses her best acting skills as she arrives to cries of ‘surprise’ and ‘happy birthday’ and Ed launches into his John Travolta dance. Later - with a pint from Will in a new replacement hero glass from Jolene and Kenton - George finds Emma sat on the stairs away from everyone. She refuses to get back into party mood and snaps at George. Will can’t understand, after everything George has done for Emma – but that’s just it, says Emma, as she prepares to tell Will about the terrible thing George has actually done.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0021qsw)
Sky Peals film, documentary Doom Scroll, & could a book written 100 years ago be the ultimate millennial read?
Ex-Wife, a 1929 novel by Ursula Parrott, about the failure of a young couple’s marriage and the subsequent promiscuous partying of the wife in New York, was a huge bestseller when it came out. For many years it was out of print but has now been re-issued. Novelist and screenwriter Monica Heisey and American literature professor Sarah Churchwell judge whether it is one of the hidden gems of the jazz age.
Moin Hussain discusses his debut feature film, Sky Peals – a meditation on alienation and loneliness set in a motorway service station.
Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate and The Dark Side of the Internet is a new Sky Documentary which explores how social media is driving online hate towards women and minorities and causing real world harms. We discuss it with the film's director Liz Mermin and author Laura Bates, who wrote the 2020 book, The Men Who Hate Women.
And, Freya McClements of the Irish Times tell us why Gracehill in Northern Ireland has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Ruth Watts
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m0021qsy)
What do the riots say about Britain?
The past week of brutish, hate-filled riots has been a disturbing time for Britian’s minority communities. What started as a protest against the murder of three little girls in Southport has swept the country for days, fuelled by the spread of mis-information on social media.
The cause of the anger is starkly contested. For some, they are racist far-right agitators and opportunist thugs, whipped up by populist politicians and commentators. For others they represent a deeper unease about successive immigration and social policies which have left people feeling ignored, marginalised, even despised by politicians and mainstream media. The ideological divide is between those who see ‘diversity as strength’ and those who think unlimited tolerance breeds its own intolerance.
For all the images of burning cars, racist graffiti and violent looting, there is another side to the story: those who help in the clear up, who show solidarity with their Muslim neighbours, and who make clear their opposition to racist hatred.
What should we make of the riots? And, if there is more that unites us than divides us, what should we be doing to improve relations between communities?
Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser
Chair:
Michael Buerk
Panel:
Ash Sarkar
Konstantin Kisin
Mona Siddiqui
Tim Stanley
Witnesses:
Matt Goodwin
Ashraf Hoque
Adrian Hilton
Kieran Connell
WED 21:00 The Life Scientific (m0021qhv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Inside Health (m0021qhx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021qt0)
Thousands of counter-demonstrators take to streets after week of riots
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of English towns and cities in opposition to the far-right, after a week of rioting that saw mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers attacked. Amid social media speculation, police were expecting far-right activists to target migration facilities and lawyers, but very few showed up.
Ukraine has launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region, capturing a small amount of territory and prompting a rare public statement on the conflict from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called the cross-border attack a "major provocation".
And three upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna have been cancelled following a possible security threat.
WED 22:45 Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (m0021qt2)
Episode Three
n 1997, columnist and novelist Thomas Hart is 51. He lives in a small town in Essex called Aldleigh. It's home to the Essex Chronicle where he works, has a Strict Baptist chapel where he worships, and a derelict country house which he believes to be haunted. He has a best friend called Grace - also a chapel-goer - who is 34 years his junior.
With the Hale-Bopp comet approaching, his editor at the Essex Chronicle asks for a column about astronomy, which sends Thomas on a new, long journey of discovery.
Spanning a period of 20 years, this is a story about love, friendship and faith, and what happens when these things are challenged.
And it is also about astronomy.
Episode 3
After reading her letters, Thomas and James attempt to uncover the mystery of Maria Văduva.
Sarah Perry is the author of the novels After Me Comes The Flood, the award-winning The Essex Serpent, Melmoth, and the non-fiction Essex Girls. Enlightenment is her fourth novel.
Writer: Sarah Perry
Reader: Nicola Walker
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:00 The Lovely Boys Talk Good (m0021qt4)
Meal Pan
It's their big break, and the Lovely Boys are determined to be successful, no matter what it takes. Expect life coaching and alpha instructions from Branch Power, an Uber ride from the greatest sideman in videogame history, and Benny's fashion choices pushing Willy one step too far.
Written and performed by Ben Cohen and Will Robbins
Sound Design: Peter Duffy
Theme Music Composer: Matty Hutson
Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries
Producer: Rajiv Karia
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Maisie Adam: The Beautiful Game (m001npf6)
4. 'Let Girls Play'
Stand-up comedian Maisie Adam presents her stand-up special where she discusses her love of football and her experience of the women’s game ahead of the Women's World Cup 2023.
For Maisie, football has always been there, even when all the signs have been screaming that this wasn’t a sport for her. At school, where the girls curriculum neglected football in favour of the skirt-adorning Hockey and Netball. In the park, where boys wouldn’t pass to girls “because they’ll lose the ball”. And in adult life, where the local sports centre advertises Men's 5-a-side, and women's Yoga.
But it’s a game where all you need is players and a ball. That’s it. Well, we have women. We have footballs. Time to pass the ball, lads.
In this final episode, Maisie looks to the future. What will the legacy be for the women's game after the Lionesses inspiring Euros victory? She's joined by special guest, England World Cup captain Millie Bright, to talk about her Euros victory memories, how far the game has come and the approaching Women's World Cup.
Written by and starring Maisie Adam
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinators: Caroline Barlow and Dan Marchini
Sound editor: David Thomas
Photo credit: Matt Crockett
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
This programme was first broadcast in July 2023.
WED 23:30 Lights Out (m001rqsf)
Series 6
Lithified
“I was well aware of this synchronicity: that Cornwall was going onto lithium, or what I prefer to call ‘lithifying’, just as I was ‘delithifying’, or coming off it. This wasn’t an accidentally aligned pairing of incidents. I’d planned it that way.”
In 2022, Laura Grace Simpkins made two big life changes. She decided to stop taking lithium (a medication she was prescribed for her mental health) just as she moved to Cornwall—the only place where lithium is being mined in the UK. In 'Lithified', Laura gets ready for her future without the silvery-white metal, while exploring the landscape it will soon be coming from.
Featuring the voices of:
Marcia Bjornerud, Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies at Lawrence University
Jeremy Wrathall, Founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium
Dr Beth Simons, Cornish geologist and author of ‘Variscan Coast’
Written and narrated by Laura Grace Simpkins
Music and sound by Alice Boyd
Produced by Alice Boyd and Laura Grace Simpkins
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
THURSDAY 08 AUGUST 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0021qt7)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s5dq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021qt9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021qtc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021qtf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0021qth)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021qtk)
The sound of Mystery
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Guy Goodall
Good morning.
Eight records to last me, for how long I’ll never know. I’ll manage if I have a solar-powered record player! Only eight. Eighty would be easier. Prime Minister Harold Wilson longed to go on Desert Island Discs with Roy Plomley, even carrying around his list of records in case the call came. It never did.
For my list I decided it was important to have something that touched pure mystery, beyond my experience of life, something new. It's got to be that strange and almost plaintive cry of a whale. A song that travels the vastness of the oceans. Perhaps it signifies the longing for companionship, maybe telling others of a massive haul of plankton, or even a warning of a whaler on the surface, who knows.
The taste of finite pleasure leads no where, writes St John of the Cross, but, he goes on, I would risk everything for an I-don’t-know-what lies beyond hidden in the heart of Mystery.
For delving into mystery, removing the veil there is found that special something, that is both other and greater than myself. Perhaps a ‘mind’ that has creative ability, some ultimate figure that is wrapped in the highest and most perfect attributes of which humanity can conceive – and then a bit more! That which is transcendent.
Lord, greatest Mystery of all, yet revealed in humanity, enrich my life by enabling me to enter into those things about which I know next to nothing, and by faith stand in awe and wonder.
Amen
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0021qtm)
BBC Local Radio holds a special 24 hour farming event to encourage young farmers to support each other with their mental health.
A man from Essex has a childhood dream come true - experiencing harvest from inside a combine’s cab.
And when it comes to the physical felling of trees or carrying out pruning at great heights, it’s a potentially dangerous job - so comprehensive training is essential.
Presented by Anna Hill
Produced by Alun Beach
THU 06:00 Today (m0021qny)
08/08/24 - Emma Barnett and Amol Rajan
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 The Briefing Room (m0021qp0)
Global Tensions 1: The Middle East
In the first of three programmes, David Aaronovitch explores the risk of escalation and wider conflict in the Middle East. What would all out war look like and how likely is it?
Guests:
Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defence editor
Professor Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London
Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security within the International Security department at RUSI.
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew Hyndman
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon
THU 09:30 Rory Stewart: The Long History of... (m0021cbw)
Ignorance
Ignorance: 5. The Psychology of Ignorance
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 clear-thinking, humble, empathetic and wise.
Writer and presenter: Rory Stewart
Producer: Dan Tierney
Mixing: Tony Churnside
Editor: Tim Pemberton
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Readings by Rhiannon Neads
Contributions across the series from:
Alex Edmans - Professor of Finance at London Business School.
Ani Rinchen Khandro - a life ordained nun in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Annette Martin - Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Antony Gormley - sculptor.
Carlo Rovelli - Theoretical physicist and Professor in the Department of Physics at Aix-Marseille University.
Daniel DeNicola - Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania – and author of ‘Understanding Ignorance: The Surprising Impact of What We Don't Know’ (2018).
Daniel Whiteson - Professor of Physics at The University of California, Irvine.
Derek Black - Author of ‘The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism’ (2024).
Edith Hall - Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History, at Durham University.
Fabienne Peter - Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick.
Felix Martin - economist and fund manager.
Iain McGilchrist - Psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher and literary scholar.
James C. Scott - Anthropologist and Sterling Professor Emeritus in Political Science at Yale University.
Jay Owens - Author of ‘Dust: The Modern World in a Trillion Particles’ (2023).
John Lloyd - Television and radio comedy producer and writer.
Jonathan Evans, Baron Evans of Weardale - Former Director General of MI5.
Karen Douglas - Professor of social psychology at the University of Kent.
Mark Lilla - professor of humanities at Columbia University, New York City and author of ‘Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know’ (2024).
Martin Palmer - Theologian, sinologist and translator of Daoist and Confucian texts.
Mary Beard - Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge.
Michael Ignatieff - Professor in the Department of History at Central European University in Budapest and former Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Neil Hannon - singer-songwriter and frontman of The Divine Comedy.
Nicholas Gruen - policy economist and social commentator.
Rik Peels - Professor of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and author of ‘Ignorance: A Philosophical Study (2023)’.
Robert Beckford - Theologian and Professor of Climate and Social Justice at the University of Winchester.
Rowan Williams - Theologian and former Archbishop of Canterbury.
Sandrine Parageau - Professor of Early Modern British History at Sorbonne University and author of ‘The Paradoxes of Ignorance in Early Modern England and France’ (2023).
Stuart Firestein - Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, New York City and author of ‘Ignorance: How It Drives Science’ (2012).
Tom Forth - data scientist, Head of Data at ‘Open Innovations’ and co-founder of ‘The Data City’.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0021qp2)
Blues singer Elles Bailey, Author Abi Daré, Infants and domestic abuse
First to the news that thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered in cities and towns across England last night. They were rallying in response to a week of anti-immigration rioting and racist violence, sparked by misinformation over the deadly stabbings in Southport on 29 July.
Thousands of extra police officers had been deployed last night but the protests were largely peaceful with few serious incidents.
Some of the largest gatherings were in north London, Brighton and Bristol. To discuss, Anita Rani is joined by Labour’s Susan Dungworth, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, and Aisha Gill, a Professor in Criminology, Head of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research at the University of Bristol.
The British roots, blues and Americana rock sensation Elles Bailey is a real trailblazer: she's a mother, a label boss, an artist, a champion of women in music, and she has been inducted into the UKBlues Hall of Fame. She joins Anita to talk about her unique voice, her new album and to perform live in the studio.
New figures released today suggest that children under two are present at 13% of police call outs to domestic abuse incidents in England, amounting to around 185,000 babies and toddlers. So what can the effect be on children of witnessing domestic abuse? And what can be done to overcome the trauma they could experience? We hear from Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of the For Baby's Sake Trust and Dr Sheila Redfern, consultant clinical child and adolescent psychologist and Head of Family Trauma at Anna Freud, a world-leading mental health charity for children and families.
New York Times bestselling author Abi Daré discusses her much-anticipated second novel, And So I Roar, which follows tenacious teenager Adunni and her fight for freedom in rural Nigeria.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Kirsty Starkey
THU 11:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (p0j98blp)
Series 30
What a Gas! - Dave Gorman, Mark Miodownik and Lucy Carpenter
Brian Cox and Robin Ince talk hot air as they explore the pivotal role of gasses in our lives. Joining them to add some Co2 to the mix is material scientist Mark Miodownik, chemist Lucy Carpenter and comedian Dave Gorman. They discuss how humans came to even understand it existed in the first place as well as how many of the innovations in modern society have been underpinned by this mostly invisible and odourless substance. We laud the humble (or is it noble) gas and its key role in technological innovation - from using laughing gas in anaesthesia to the combustion engine and of course the most important of all, the power source behind squirty cream.
Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio production
THU 11:45 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s5jn)
4. Trees
The British countryside is often portrayed as a green and pleasant land - a rural idyll. But under the surface, rural culture wars rage: the Right to Roam, veganism, rewilding.
Anna Jones is a farmer’s daughter who has worked as a rural affairs journalist for almost 20 years. In this series she uncovers the personal stories of individuals caught up in these battle grounds.
On the face of it, there’s nothing that offensive about a tree. But in this episode Anna explores how for some, they’re beginning to represent a threat to their identity, their sense of control…and even their community.
For Anthony Geddes, the growing hostility towards trees has contributed to him leaving his job in forestry: “You feel like you're in this sort of this embattled environment where it's really difficult to be the person who's talking about trees.”
Presented by Anna Jones
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons and Anna Jones
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0021qp5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 You and Yours (m0021qp7)
Gap Finders: Loungers PLC
In 2002 three friend in Bristol had an idea to open up a café bar, inspired by travels in Australia and New Zealand. That first bar was in Bristol, it was called Lounge, and it would grow in to the 7th biggest restaurant group in the UK.
Alex Reilly is the Co-founder and Chairman of Loungers plc, they have over 260 ‘Lounge’ café bars in the UK, as well as their restaurant brand Cosy Club and a new venture called Brightside service stations.
Alex will be talking about how the group has not only navigated a financial crisis, a pandemic, rising energy prices, and a cost of living crisis, but is growing and still expanding 22 years after they started.
With plans for hundreds of more locations around the UK, and now taking on the world of service stations, we will hear about the aims for the group and how they feel the hospitality industry has changed in the two decades since they started.
You can contact You & Yours by emailing youandyours@bbc.co.uk or using the hashtag #youandyours
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Dave James
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m0021qp9)
Dough - Irons
Will anyone iron clothes in the future?
Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products, assessing where the smart money is going now and what that could mean for all of us in the years ahead.
In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of garment care including:
Leonor Carneiro - the category leader for garment care at Versuni which owns the Philips brand and is famous for making products including steam irons.
Veronika Kandusova - a consultant with the market researchers, Euromonitor International.
Frej Lewenhaupt - the CEO and co-founder of Steamery, a company which makes garment steamers.
Also joining them is the technology expert and applied futurist, Tom Cheesewright, who offers his insight and predictions on what might be coming beyond the current production pipeline.
Together, they explore the products that are replacing traditional irons, explain why fewer people in the UK tend to iron today and chat about their own choices for game changing and least effective ironing innovations.
We hear why clothes iron manufacturers are yet to crack battery power and get a tantalising glimpse of how even more of us might avoid ironing in the future.
Produced by Jon Douglas. Dough is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in August when Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread.
In the meantime, Dough is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds
THU 12:57 Weather (m0021qpc)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0021qpf)
Two more men sentenced over violent disorder
Two more men have been sentenced for their involvement in violent riots. Plus, tips to survive a longer-than-expected work trip, as astronauts on the ISS remain stuck in space.
THU 13:45 How They Made Us Doubt Everything (m001yxkv)
Talc Tales: 4. ‘Time for more confusion’
When talc might be listed as a potential carcinogen, the industry assembles a ‘talc task force’. It’s the year 2000 and the talc industry has heard something big is coming its way. The US government agencies tasked with listing cancer causing substances are set to include talc. The initial recommendation was to list talc containing asbestiform fibres as ‘known to be a human carcinogen’. They’d list talc that did not contain asbestiform fibres as ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen’. In response, the industry lobbying group holds an emergency conference call and sets out a plan. ‘To be listed on the Report on Carcinogens can be devastating’, one internal industry memo asserts, listing the financial losses they would incur. How would they respond? An industry memo sets out one of their tactics: ‘Time to come up with more confusion’.
Presenter and Producer: Phoebe Keane
Sound mix: James Beard
Series Editor: Matt Willis
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0021qph)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0016x8x)
Belgrano. Part 1
By Richard Monks
A two-part drama for Radio 4
Drama based on the true story of Clive Ponting, a top civil servant, who leaked documents about the sinking of the Argentinian Cruiser, General Belgrano. Ponting was put on trial but sensationally acquitted by the jury despite his breach of the Official Secrets Act.
The drama examines what drove Ponting to turn his back on Whitehall and why he walked free from court despite the judge directing the jury to convict him. The writer, Richard Monks, drew on Government Papers, newspaper reports, interviews and court transcripts as well as Ponting’s own account for the drama.
The drama includes some imagined scenes and characters.
Clive Ponting ..... John Heffernan
Sally Ponting .... Ruth Everett
Richard Mottram ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild
Ffion ..... Dorothea Myer-Bennett
Tam Dayell/Michael Heseltine/Inspector Hughes ..... Ewan Bailey
Peter Blaker/Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse ..... Neil McCaul
Wreford-Brown/John Stanley ..... Michael Begley
John Nott/Inspector Broome ..... Matthew Durkan
Jerry Wiggin/Second Officer ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Cleaner/P.A. ..... Rebecca Crankshaw
Directed by Sally Avens
THU 15:00 Open Country (m0021qpk)
The Sound of the Fens
Using the poetry of 'peasant poet' John Clare, Martha Kearney visits Helpston and Fen Edge to understand how the landscape has changed since his day. The sounds Clare would have heard in the early 1800s before the Enclosures Act would have been very different from what we hear today. Aside from the obvious sounds of modern technology, cars and aircraft, Martha learns how the draining of the fens changed species habitats and meant some birds and animals have disappeared from the landscape. The bittern, corncrake and 'whaddon organ' frog have all gone, but in their place other species have made this unique part of the countryside home.
Dr Francesca Mackenny from the Cardiff University Sound of Nature project uses Clare's poetry to help us listen to the landscape. Richard Astle from the Langdyke Trust takes Martha to Swardywell Pit - a piece of land Clare knew well that has been restored from being a landfill site and transformed into a thriving nature reserve, but now populated with different flora and fauna than Clare would have encountered.
Martha then travels further into the fens to meet Rex Sly in Crowland whose family have farmed in the area for more than 500 years. As well as farming, Rex has also written books and poetry about the area in the style of John Clare. His great-grandniece Lucy tells Martha why she felt drawn back to the Fens to help preserve the landscape after leaving to study at university in Edinburgh.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0021q4h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Feedback (m0021qpm)
Andrea Catherwood brings listener questions and comments to the most controversial place in the Feedback inbox - Ambridge.
The Archers has been running since 1951, and its distinctive theme tune is one of the sounds the nation most associates with Radio 4. Andrea goes behind the scenes to hear more about how it is recorded, how actors develop characters over their real time lifetimes, and puts your questions to the Editor on the balance between high drama and the maintaining the values of the Archers as an "everyday story of country folk".
Presented by Andrea Catherwood
Produced by Leeanne Coyle
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
THU 16:00 Across the Red Line (m0021qpp)
Series 7
Should obesity be classed as a disease? with oncologist Karol Sikora and obesity campaigner Sarah Le Brocq
Is obesity a lifestyle choice or a disease ? Anne McElvoy and conflict resolution expert Louisa Weinstein work with oncologist Karol Sikora and campaigner Sarah Le Brocq to discuss their different ideas about obesity and how we view and treat it.
Across the UK, the numbers of those seriously overweight been steadily increasing, with the latest Health Survey for England reporting that 60% of the working age population (16-64-years-old) are now classed as overweight or obese.
Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are being used to help people lose weight but are they too expensive to fund on the NHS for something which many see as a self inflicted problem. At the same time new research show some people are genetically predisposed to gaining weight which leads others to say that the matter should be seen as a disease.
Sarah Le Brocq who founded the organisation All About Obesity is campaigning for this classification but Professor Professor Karol Sikora an oncologist who has been director of the World health organisation cancer programme thinks this would be a mistake.
Presenter: Anne McElvoy
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0021qps)
Going for gold
Today we will be going for gold in more ways than one.
Inga Doak, the Head of Sustainability at The Royal Mint, reveals how the company plan to ‘urban mine’ gold from household electronic waste and turn it into jewellery. But with tens of millions of tonnes of e-waste piling up every year, the environment policy adviser at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Izzi Monk unpacks how the UK can clean up its act.
Vic puts her stable boots on to visit some very pampered thoroughbred foals to find out what their poo can reveal about their future success on the racecourse.
From horses to humanity, sports geneticist Alun Williams discusses how our genetic make-up could determine whether or not we are destined for gold at the Olympics.
Plus, Roland Pease channels his inner child to investigate his youthful obsession with Mars as NASA looks for new microbial life on the red planet.
Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Ben Mitchell and Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
THU 17:00 PM (m0021qpv)
Nearly 500 arrested after violent disorder
Keir Starmer holds another COBRA meeting as the government prepares for potential further protests. Also, how safe are our stadiums? And how do you get biopics right?
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021qpx)
21 convictions have been handed down during the day in courts across the UK
THU 18:30 The Train at Platform 4 (m0021qpz)
Series 2
3. Is This Your Seat?
A man refuses to move seat, causing a moral crisis on board, in the comedy set in the claustrophobic carriages of a cross-country rail service. Starring Rosie Cavaliero and written by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis.
When two American tourists attempt to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a Great British railway journey to York, Sam must negotiate with the bloke in their reserved seat who’s refusing to move.
The Train at Platform 4 follows a long-suffering crew who manage to scrape through every shift like a dysfunctional family – Train Manager, Sam (Rosie Cavaliero; Inside No. 9) First Class Steward, Noel (Hugh Dennis; Outnumbered), and Trolley Operator Tash (Amy Geldhill; Alma’s Not Normal). The passengers are made up of a rolling roster of guest stars.
Sam…. Rosie Cavaliero
Noel…. Hugh Dennis
Tash….. Amy Gledhill
Man…. Martin Trenaman
Mr McAllister…. Steve Punt
Mrs McAllister…. Gemma Arrowsmith
Written by....Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
Producer… James Robinson
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m0021qq1)
Harrison and Fallon both have a day off, but he’s disappointed that she’s busy clearing up at the Bull after last night’s party. Emma left early, a bit unwell, apparently. Harrison calls Alistair for a chat, and volunteers to take on some of the Under 16s cricket coaching. He’ll take on Safeguarding too. Harrison needs a distraction and complains about how awkward things are sometimes at home with Fallon. But as Alistair thinks about the fallout of his affair with Denise, he points out how lucky Harrison is – what has he to complain about?
A newly energised Harrison returns home and tells Fallon to go for her idea of running a café outlet at the EV station. He’ll support her and he’ll even go back full time at work to help with their finances. He loves Fallon and wants her to be happy. Fallon’s happy that he’s taking on the young people’s cricket, although Harrison jokes that he feels a bit of a ‘mug’.
Kate helps Kirsty move some fencing for the Longhorn cattle for Tony, and they chat about Roy. Mike and family are planning to visit him, and Roy has requested they bring him a particular memento – a framed aerial photo of Ambridge. But Kirsty can’t find it, so Kate steps in to help. They root through a box of things, which bring back warm memories of Roy, and they end up gossiping about his love life. Finally, Kirsty spots the photo, which includes Roy, as a tiny dot in a yellow cap, right at the heart of the village.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0021qq3)
Pericles, Babes, Michael Longley
Critics Susannah Clapp and Tim Robey join Tom to review a new RSC production at Stratford of one Shakespeare’s less performed plays Pericles, the pregnancy comedy film Babes directed by Pamela Adlon and Michael Longley’s retrospective collection of poems, The Ash Keys.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producers: Harry Parker and Natasha Mardikar
THU 20:00 The Media Show (m0021qq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m0021pb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Empire of Tea (m001t9gn)
8. One for Each Person and None for the Pot
By the 1930s tea-drinking had become such an integral part of British life that maintaining supplies during the war was a government priority.
It was seen as an essential morale-booster on both the home front and the fighting front.
Urging restraint, the food minister Lord Woolton advised people to allocate one tea bag for each person “and none for the pot” when brewing up.
James Bulgin of the Imperial War Museum and historian Erika Rappaport tell Sathnam Sanghera about the measures taken to protect supply, safeguard stocks and discourage wastage. Just how important was imperial tea to the British war effort?
Produced by Paul Martin for BBC Audio Wales
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021qq7)
Trump says he's wants to debate rival Harris three times
ABC News has announced that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will face off in a Presidential debate on 10 September. Speaking at his home in Florida, Trump said he's agreed with other broadcasters to two further debates. Trump's press conference was intended to regain momentum as his campaign appeared to falter after the Democratic nomination passed to Harris.
Here in the UK, Northern Ireland's Assembly was recalled from summer recess in response to racist riots in Belfast. We spoke to Justice Minister Naomi Long.
And a boxer who lives in Bolton has become the first medal winner for the Refugee Olympic Team after claiming bronze in the middle-weight division.
THU 22:45 Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (m0021qq9)
Episode Four
n 1997, columnist and novelist Thomas Hart is 51. He lives in a small town in Essex called Aldleigh. It's home to the Essex Chronicle where he works, has a Strict Baptist chapel where he worships, and a derelict country house which he believes to be haunted. He has a best friend called Grace - also a chapel-goer - who is 34 years his junior.
With the Hale-Bopp comet approaching, his editor at the Essex Chronicle asks for a column about astronomy, which sends Thomas on a new, long journey of discovery.
Spanning a period of 20 years, this is a story about love, friendship and faith, and what happens when these things are challenged.
And it is also about astronomy.
Episode 4
Grace encounters a man in a scarlet coat on Potter’s Field. Thomas has a strange visitor at the Essex Chronicle.
Sarah Perry is the author of the novels After Me Comes The Flood, the award-winning The Essex Serpent, Melmoth, and the non-fiction Essex Girls. Enlightenment is her fourth novel.
Writer: Sarah Perry
Reader: Nicola Walker
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m0021qqc)
Social media and the riots: Musk, misinformation and moral responsibility.
Elon Musk has repeatedly attacked Sir Keir Starmer on his platform ‘X’ this week over the handling of riots in England and Northern Ireland.
The disorder follows the fatal stabbing last week of three young girls in Southport and has been fuelled by misinformation online, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment.
This week Amol looks at whether social media companies should be forced to go further in stopping the spread of misinformation online.
He is joined by David Wilding, a former director of Twitter UK who resigned when Musk took over, and former Facebook trust & safety manager Professor Victoria Baines, now at Gresham College.
And University Challenge’s Roger Tilling returns to the podcast to chat about the new series – and his moment of the week.
If you have a question you’d like to Amol and Nick to answer, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or email us Today@bbc.co.uk
Episodes of The Today Podcast land first on BBC Sounds. Get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme.
The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UK’s most influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.
You can listen to the latest episode of The Today Podcast any time on your smart speaker by saying “Smart Speaker, ask BBC Sounds to play The Today Podcast.”
The senior producer is Tom Smithard, the producer is Hatty Nash, the researcher is Joe Wilkinson. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Jack Graysmark and digital production from Charlie Henry.
THU 23:30 Lights Out (m001sd7r)
Series 6
Four Walls
Documentary adventures that invite a closer listen.
For generations, queer people have moved to London from more conservative parts of the UK, in search of community and to live as their authentic selves. Now, with housing so unstable, queer people are among the marginalised communities for which homelessness is on the rise. They continue to come to London now to find their place, but the trade off is extreme financial insecurity.
Can you really feel at home when the four walls around you are unstable?
Jesse Lawson talks to Karen Fisch, Topher Campbell, Carla Ecola and Reggie Lennox about what it means to have to choose between one form of home over another.
Music by Femi Oriogun-Williams
Produced by Jesse Lawson
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
FRIDAY 09 AUGUST 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0021qqf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s5jn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0021qqh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0021qqk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0021qqm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0021qqp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0021qqr)
Ancient Games of Peace
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Guy Goodall
Good morning
A hundred years ago people flocked to Paris to see the world’s best. Among those Olympians were Johnny Weissmuller – later to become Tarzan, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. Fans of sport worldwide are in the city again this year with the same hopes, I wonder whose names will remembered in 2124.
We call them the ‘modern games’, but their origins go back to the 8th century BC, to Mount Olympus in Ancient Greece. If we had access to time travel we would recognise a number of those sports: track and field, boxing, wrestling. There were also strict rules to protect both the integrity of the games and the safety of the athletes.
But there was a dimension sometimes overlooked in our day, for these games had a spiritual dimension. They were held in honour of the god, Zeus. Part of that was seen in the demand that all acts of war were to cease for the duration of the games. These original games were of peace.
As I dip my toes into the historical waters, I discover so many things in life that haven’t changed. We may tinker with the detailed rules and regulations from time to time, but surely here is an example that should be resurrected at the earliest opportunity.
Once again, Lord, we have seen just how much disciplined athletes can achieve. How much more could be achieved if we reached the golden goal of global peace.
Amen
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0021qqt)
The latest comprehensive survey of woodland across Scotland, Wales and England has just been published. The Bunce report first carried out woodland surveys across 103 woods, back in 1971. They were revisited in 2001, and the same sites were surveyed again in 2021. The latest report, commissioned, initiated and coordinated by the Woodland Trust has now been published. Some of the things that have changed: there are now fewer larger trees, but diseases like ash dieback and Dutch elm disease have created gaps in the canopy; shade-tolerant plants like bluebells are more frequent; and climate change and warmer winters have led to an increase in holly. We speak to Chris Nichols from the Woodland Trust who oversaw the latest survey.
Forestry England is creating 8000 hectares of wild areas in four of the nation's forests, places where the focus will be on rewilding. We visit Kielder Forest in Northumberland which has been selected as part of the project.
We visit a smallholding in North Wales where donkeys are helping people with disabilities or who're struggling with their mental health. A herd of twelve donkeys are working as part of a programme of equine assisted learning.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
FRI 06:00 Today (m0021qwh)
09/08/24 - Mishal Husain and Justin Webb
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0021q4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0021qwk)
Olympics boxing controversy, Lottie Tomlinson, Losing friends after a break-up, Golda Schultz
This evening at the Olympics, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif will fight for a gold medal in the women’s welterweight event. Tomorrow, Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting will compete for gold in the final of the women’s featherweight boxing. Both boxers have faced serious controversy over their eligibility to compete. To take us through what’s going on, Anita Rani speaks to the BBC’s Sport Editor, Dan Roan.
Lottie Tomlinson rose to fame as the younger sister of One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson. At 16, she went on tour with the band as a make-up artist and a decade on, has become an entrepreneur. But Lottie’s mother and sister died within a few years of each other, when she was just 20-years-old. She joins Anita to talk about her experience of grief, which she’s written about her new memoir, Lucky Girl.
When writer and counsellor Lucy Cavendish split up from her partner it took her a while to realise that the friends she had believed she shared with him were now his and his alone. She joins Anita, along with Rosie Wilby, comedian and author of the book The Breakup Monologues, to discuss why friendships can fracture in a break-up and the politics of who gets to keep the friends.
The South African soprano Golda Schultz is one of the opera world’s most versatile and in-demand performers. After a music-filled childhood, she started training as a journalist but made the leap to become a professional singer and overcame severe stage fright. She talks to Anita about her appearance at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Editor: Olivia Bolton
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m0021qwm)
How did Food Help Finland Become the Happiest Country in the World?
Finland has once again topped the ranking for the happiest country in the world. But what has food got to do with it? In this programme, Sheila Dillon finds out whether what they eat, their food culture and unique food policies are helping Finns feel happy. What we could we learn from this enterprising Nordic nation? And what challenges are they still facing?
In Helsinki, Sheila visits restaurateur and ‘happiness hacker’ Luka Balac, who in his spare time takes tourists through a day in the life of ‘a happy Finn’, and explains how his approach to food hospitality fosters his own sense of happiness. Next. she joins a city food and walking tour to taste Finnish specialties like Karelian pies and cloudberry jam to find out more about the food habits of the locals.
Finland has had its fair share of unhappiness with high depression and suicide rates in the past. Now, there are new efforts to improve mental health via food. Sheila speaks to Aino Kipfer, a researcher in Eastern Finland, who is part of a project aiming to treat depression with better diets, building on the pioneering science around food and mood. She also hears more about how food is linked to security in the eastern region from Kirsi Vartia, of the Rural Women's Advisory Committee, who shares her own personal tips for happiness.
Sirpa Sarlio, an advisor at the government's Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, explains why Finland became the first country in the world to offer free school meals, and why this ended up as a strong foundation on which to build a happy and healthy wider society. Back in London, Sheila visits diplomat and food enthusiast Markus Hippi, at the Finnish church and community centre in Rotherhithe, to hear how the UK compares in terms of food culture and happiness from the point of view of Finns living abroad.
Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.
FRI 11:45 Battle Grounds: Culture Wars in the Countryside (m001s634)
5. The Urban/Rural Divide
The British countryside is often portrayed as a green and pleasant land - a rural idyll. But under the surface, rural culture wars rage: the Right to Roam, veganism, rewilding.
Anna Jones is a farmer’s daughter who has worked as a rural affairs journalist for almost 20 years. In this series she uncovers the personal stories of individuals caught up in these battle grounds.
In this episode Anna gets personal and explores her own journey across the urban/rural divide. Why did she long for the city when her parents stayed on the farm? And does this cultural division contribute to the other culture wars covered throughout the series?
Presented by Anna Jones
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons and Anna Jones
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0021qwp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Rare Earth (m0020ph9)
Save Our Seabirds
Seabirds face many challenges - avian flu, plastic pollution, overfishing and climate change have all had an impact - but despite all of this, these resilient birds are surviving and in some cases, thriving. Tom Heap and Helen Czerski explore all things seabird, from the urban kittiwakes of Tyneside to the sea cliffs of Shetland.
They're joined by Adam Nicolson, the author of The Seabird's Cry. He's determined to recover the reputation of the puffin from the cute star of seaside mugs and tea towels to its rightful place as a brave and powerful navigator of the toughest ocean environments.
Mike Dilger, resident nature expert on BBC TV's The One Show, reports from Shetland on the extraordinary colony of storm petrels that breed in the brickwork of Iron Age brochs.
The kittiwakes that nest in the heart of Newcastle and Gateshead are the furthest inland colony in the world. Helen Wilson of Durham University discusses her research on the birds and their developing relationship with the people who live and work alongside them.
Many of Britain's most dramatic seabird colonies breed on the most isolated islands of the west coast of Scotland. Film-maker and adventure leader Roland Arnison has spent the summer in a kayak, paddling from island to island, recording the sounds of thirty species of seabird. He tells Tom and Helen about his Call of the Loon expedition and his dramatic scrapes with riptides, hypothermia and the most predatory of Scottish seabirds- the great skua.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Assistant Producer: Toby Field
Researcher: Christina Sinclair
Rare Earth is a BBC Audio Wales and West production in conjunction with the Open University
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0021qwr)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0021qwt)
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia examined
Ukraine says it's hit a military airfield deep inside Russia, destroying guided bombs stored in warehouses. Ukrainian forces also have advanced into the historically significant region of Kursk. What does this mean for the war?
FRI 13:45 How They Made Us Doubt Everything (m001yxq6)
Talc Tales: 5. Talc on trial
When we send off make-up for testing, the lab finds an asbestos fibre in two of the samples. Brunel University’s Experimental Technique’s Centre says they need to find at least 3 fibres to confirm the asbestos fibre came from the make-up sample, despite having strict protocols to ensure their lab is not the source of the contamination.
This isn’t the first test of this kind. Back in 2021, the UK government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards ordered tests of 60 low-cost eye shadows and face powders and 24 child appealing make up products on sale in the UK. In 1 child appealing product, they found 1 asbestos fibre and in two of the low-cost samples, they found five and three asbestos fibres.
So are there any health implication if we are exposed to trace amounts of asbestos? The World Health Organisation recognises no safe level of exposure to asbestos. The Institute of Cancer Research’s mesothelioma immunologist Dr. Astero Klampatsa weighs up the risk. She says she would personally choose talc free make- up products.
In 2023, Johnson and Johnson stopped using talc as an ingredient in its baby powder worldwide.
Meanwhile, British cancer patient Hannah Fletcher sues the companies that made her favourite talc based cosmetics. Lawyers fly in to leafy Surrey from America to question her.
Presenter and Producer: Phoebe Keane
Sound mix: James Beard
Series Editor: Matt Willis
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0021qq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m0021qww)
11 Minutes Dead
Episode 1
Paranormal thriller about Near Death Experience.
After losing consciousness in a surfing accident, Beth is faced with a horrifying vision of the future. When she awakes, she discovers not only that she has returned with mysterious new abilities but that something sinister has followed her back from the other side.
Written by Lucy Catherine
Beth . . . . . Scarlett Brookes
Roz . . . . . Claire Lams
Jenny . . . . . Maureen Beattie
Pete . . . . . Narinder Samra
Jem . . . . . Paul Ready
David . . . . . Tony Jayawardena
Sammi . . . . . Mabel Cresswell
Production Co-ordinator: Gaelan Davis-Connolly
Sound Design: Peter Ringrose
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko
FRI 14:45 Communicating with Ros Atkins (m0020z5n)
8. Sarada Peri, Obama's former speechwriter
Ros speaks to one of US President Barack Obama’s former speechwriters, Sarada Peri.
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 Sarada discuss finding your authentic voice, writing specifically for the spoken word, and interrogating the purpose of your communication.
Series Producer: Hannah Newton
Producer: Olivia Cope
Executive Producer: Zoë Edwards
Mix Engineer: Jonathan Last
Original Music Composed by: Tom Wrankmore
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Listen production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0021qwy)
Chelsea Flower Show 2024 - Potting Shed Part 2
Kathy Clugston presents another special potting shed edition of the programme, with GQT's panel of experts taking questions from visitors at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The panel answer questions ranging from how to get rid of woolly aphids and how to get rid of bamboo, to what's the best way to unclog a pond.
Later in the programme, Dulcie Whadcock speaks to Jodie Bryan from Cayley Brothers to discuss how their campaign 'project mushroom' aims to ease anxiety around growing mushrooms at home.
Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0021qx0)
Peregrine by Cynan Jones
Peregrine by Cynan Jones
A cold dark night on the coast. Two men and their shadows hover under a cliff.
Reader - Julian Lewis Jones
Production Coordinator - Eleri McAuliffe
Sound - Nigel Lewis
Producer - John Norton
A BBC Audio Wales Production
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0021qx2)
Lord Fellowes, Professor Helen Whitwell, David Power, Irène Schweizer
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Fellowes, who was private secretary to Queen Elizabeth during the 1990s.
Professor Helen Whitwell, the forensic pathologist who inspired the central character in the TV series “Silent Witness”.
David Power, the Irish businessman who co-founded one of the world’s biggest gambling companies – Paddy Power.
Irène Schweizer, the pianist and feminist who made a big impact in the male-dominated world of jazz.
Interviewee: Hugo Vickers
Interviewee: Katy Thorne KC
Interviewee: Nigel McCrery
Interviewee: Paddy Power
Interviewee: Kevin Le Gendre
Interviewee: Maggie Nicols
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Queen Elizabeth speech, PM, BBC Radio 4, 24/11/1992; Windsor Castle news report, BBC News 20/11/1992; Prime Minister John Major, House of Commons, Separation of Prince and Princess of Wales, 09/12/1992; Death of Diana, Princess of Wales, News Bulletin, BBC Radio, 31/08/1997; Silent Witness Theme (Silencium), Silent Witness, BBC ONE, John Harle; Paddy Power advert, YouTube upload 05/05/2013; Camden Jazz Festival, London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Directed by Barry Guy, 01/07/1991; Irène Schweizer, Schaffhauser Jazz festival, uploaded to YouTube 18/July/2016;
FRI 16:30 Sideways (m0021qrw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m0021qx4)
How will Putin respond to Ukraine's attacks on Russia, and we'll have live teaching of breaking, as it becomes an Olympics sport
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0021qx6)
Ukraine launched a surprise attack in the Kursk region four days ago
FRI 18:30 Catherine Bohart: TL;DR (m0021qx8)
Series 1
What's with all the riotous goings-on?
Columns. Analysis. The Guardian's Long Read. Who has time? Catherine Bohart, that's who, and she's going beyond the headlines to give you the lowdown on one of the biggest stories this week, with our usual nerd sidekick, guest expert and roving comedian correspondent.
This week: What's with all the riotous goings-on?
Writer Tom Neenan explores what's been happening on the streets, Professor Anand Menon explains how this fits into the context of the rise of the far right across Europe and Zoe Lyons wonders why British fascists don't seem to scrub up quite as well as their continental equivalents...
Written by Catherine Bohart, with Madeleine Brettingham, Sarah Campbell, Georgie Flinn, Ellen Robertson and Pravanya Pillay.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner & Ben Walker
Recorded and Edited by David Thomas
Production Coordinator - Beverly Tagg & Elise Bramich
A Mighty Bunny production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0021qxb)
Writer, Nick Warburton
Director, Pip Swallow
Editor, Jeremy Howe
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Alice Carter ….. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Justin Elliott ….. Simon Williams
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Ed Grundy ….. Barry Farrimond
George Grundy ….. Angus Stobie
Joy Horville ….. Jackie Lye
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Kate Madikane ….. Perdita Avery
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Fallon Rogers ….. Joanna Van Kampen
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
John Mack ….. Richard Pepple
FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m0021qxd)
Shock Value
Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones ask if we still go to the movies to be shocked.
As Caligula: The Ultimate Cut hits cinemas, Mark talks to stars of the notorious cult classic, Dame Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell. They discuss the film's long journey to the new version, and what it was really like on set of one of independent cinemas most controversial productions.
Ellen examines what shock value means in the digital age and how shocking cinema has evolved over cinema's history. She speaks to film critic Virginie Selavy about how critical and audience perception of 'shocking' content has evolved from Tod Browning's Freaks to the cinema of Lar Von Trier, and if audiences really are harder to shock. Ellen then talks to comedian and director Bobcat Goldthwait about his transgressive films, which are favourites of John Waters, and how an increasingly bizarre political landscape has affected his filmmaking.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0021qxg)
Sir Robert Buckland, Inaya Folarin Iman, Dan Norris MP, Vicky Spratt
Alex Forsyth presents political discussion from The Poly in Falmouth with the former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland, journalist and founder of The Equiano Project Inaya Folarin Iman, Labour MP and Metro Mayor for the West of England Dan Norris and Housing Correspondent for the i newspaper Vicky Spratt.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0021qxj)
On Imposter Syndrome
Sara Wheeler on why sleeping in Captain Scott's bunk in the Antarctic got her thinking about imposter syndrome.
'It took me many years,' writes Sara, 'to realise that I had as much right to be in Captain Scott's hut as anyone else, because nobody owns the Antarctic, or the hut, or Scott's legacy."
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Tom Bigwood
FRI 21:00 Archive on 4 (m0006kt6)
The Death of the Eccentric
Will Self goes in search of a dying species - the eccentric.
The relationship between true eccentricity and mainstream society is complex, dynamic and now in serious trouble.
Will, who has always been obsessed with the strange and the bizarre, sets sail into the BBC archive to finally understand that elusive quality of eccentricity.
From the cliché of the aristocratic English eccentric to the frontline of subversive art and comedy, this is a story of courageous oddballs whose resistance to social conformity holds lessons for us all.
But the first time Will sees eccentricity clearly may also be the last - he argues that we are witnessing the death of the true eccentric, who is suffocating in the neo-liberal marketplace of difference.
Journalist Yomi Adegoke explodes the cliché of the English eccentric and argues that a more inclusive model is needed. Will challenges psychologist Dr David Weeks and cultural historian Dr Aymes-Stokes to help him define eccentricity. Surrealist painter and zoologist Desmond Morris reveals the cynical calculations of Salvador Dali, and Will debates the value of insider/outsider art with Grayson Perry.
Sociologist Laurie Taylor rails against the imitation of eccentricity by artists and other celebrities while, at the other end of the spectrum, former bank robber Noel Smith describes how the lines between normal behaviour and criminal behaviour mean nothing to some eccentrics.
Comedian Elf Lyons impresses Will with her unique approach to life and performance, but he find psychedelic drug campaigner Countess Amanda Feilding disappointingly down-to-earth.
Producer: Dave Anderson
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2019.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0021qxl)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (m0021qxn)
Episode Five
n 1997, columnist and novelist Thomas Hart is 51. He lives in a small town in Essex called Aldleigh. It's home to the Essex Chronicle where he works, has a Strict Baptist chapel where he worships, and a derelict country house which he believes to be haunted. He has a best friend called Grace - also a chapel-goer - who is 34 years his junior.
With the Hale-Bopp comet approaching, his editor at the Essex Chronicle asks for a column about astronomy, which sends Thomas on a new, long journey of discovery.
Spanning a period of 20 years, this is a story about love, friendship and faith, and what happens when these things are challenged.
And it is also about astronomy.
Episode 5
When Grace returns from the Blackwater she brings an unexpected guest to her 18th birthday party.
Sarah Perry is the author of the novels After Me Comes The Flood, the award-winning The Essex Serpent, Melmoth, and the non-fiction Essex Girls. Enlightenment is her fourth novel.
Writer: Sarah Perry
Reader: Nicola Walker
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:00 Americast (m0021qxq)
Life in the Trump Family
Fred Trump III, Donald Trump’s nephew, is on Americast. He speaks to Anthony about growing up with uncle Donald, their strained relationship, and why he’s backing Kamala Harris over a member of his own family.
Plus we hear what it’s been like at rallies with Harris and Walz.
HOSTS:
• Marianna Spring, Disinformation & Social Media Correspondent
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
GUEST:
• Fred Trump III
GET IN TOUCH:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
• Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480
• Email Americast@bbc.co.uk
• Or use #Americast
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
This episode was made by Chris Flynn with Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Jonny Baker. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
FRI 23:30 Lights Out (m001s56h)
Series 6
Crossings
Documentary adventures that invite a closer listen.
Sahid has spent years on a relentless journey. Crossing international borders, he has confronted the harrowing realities of human trafficking, slavery, and rafting across the Mediterranean Sea. But his journey isn't over yet - Sahid is at risk of being sent back to the first European Union country he arrived in, a country where he was unlawfully imprisoned and tortured.
This is the story of one man's search for safety, from Sierra Leone to Strasbourg.
Produced by Phoebe McIndoe and Redzi Bernard
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4