SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0022slc)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 The Story of a Heart by Dr Rachel Clarke (m0022sjr)
Max
When nine-year old Keira suffers catastrophic injuries in a car accident, her devastated family agree that she would have wanted to be an organ donor. Meanwhile in another part of the country Max has been hospitalised for almost a year with a virus that is causing his young heart to fail. When Max's parents receive the call they've been longing for, they know it comes at unimaginable cost to another family.
Dr Rachel Clarke follows the journey of the heart from Keira to Max with compassion and clarity in a book long-listed for the Baillie Gifford Prize. Exploring the history of the medical innovations in transplantation that led us here, she meets some of the physicians, nurses, scientists and surgeons whose knowledge and dedication make this remarkable procedure possible.
The NHS team are about to begin the complex operation which will change Max’s life – but first, they take a moment to remember Keira and give thanks for the selfless decision her family have made.
Written and read by Rachel Clarke
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0022slf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0022slh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0022slk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0022slm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0022slp)
Happy to Help?
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Right Revd Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff.
Good morning, with the busyness of my life, I often find myself rushing to complete mundane tasks like food-shopping: my haste doesn’t always make me easy to encounter. People talk about road-rage - well, I’ve discovered in myself a capacity for supermarket rage!
When the automated check-out isn’t working properly, or I’ve needed assistance, I’ve sometimes felt exasperated that staff wearing badges saying “happy to help”, have been too busy with other tasks or appeared to be engrossed in conversations with their colleagues. When this happens, I find myself feeling impatient.
In calmer moments I have to admit that there’ve been plenty of occasions when shop staff have gone out of their way to help me, to find things or to reach stuff from the highest shelves.
I find it interesting that the urge to complain seems much more powerful than the desire to affirm kindness. I’d readily go online to report poor service, but I rarely get around to acknowledging and recognising those who go “above and beyond” to help.
As a Christian leader I also wear badges announcing that I should be happy to help others: My clergy collar indicates that I’m supposed to be kind, gentle and willing to help others. Similarly the cross, traced in holy-water on every baptised person’s forehead says the same thing.
Perhaps key to living in this way, is seeking to slow down, and instead of being consumed by doing many tasks to seek to do fewer things well.
God of grace, thank you that you are endlessly patient. Help us to notice even the small ways in which we might bring help to others, that we may live more carefully as part of your work of bringing hope and reconciliation for all creation. Amen.
SAT 05:45 Frontlines of Journalism (m001lyzj)
10. The Big Lie
When BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen questioned President Bashar al-Assad about the well-documented Syrian practice of dropping barrels full of explosives on areas held by rebels, he was confronted by a repeated lie.
The question for journalists is how they deal with that. And what happens when the lie machine is turned on the journalists themselves.
Revisiting some of the most difficult stories he and other journalists have had to report, BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen looks at some of the obstacles that stand between journalists and what Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein called the ‘best obtainable version of the truth’.
Jeremy speaks with: journalist Rana Rahimpour who was born in Iran but left when she was 25 to work for the BBC, Dean Baquet - until 2022 the executive editor of the New York Times, and Eliot Higgins - founder of Bellingcat.
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 (m00230r1)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Open Country (m0022swv)
Aberaeron's Mackerel Festival
Jon Gower is in Aberaeron, Ceredigion, to explore how mackerel (and other fish) have shaped the people and landscape.
Jon joins the pretty harbour town’s annual mackerel festival, where the humble mackerel is given thanks at the end of its season with a funeral procession, complete with wailing widows, a blessing from the local reverend Dilwyn Jones and, most years, a sunset cremation on the beach. Here, Jon meets local townsfolk to hear how fishing connects the generations far back in their families and how livelihoods, mackerel populations and the landscape of this town are changing with the climate crisis.
Jon also speaks to Elinor Gwilym from the Cymdeithas Aberaeron Society, who talk about how the charming aesthetic of the town is influenced by its connection to fishing, with the colourful harbour houses originally built for sea captains.
Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m00230r3)
14/09/24 - Farming Today This Week: Farming underspend, Westmorland Show, fishing
DEFRA has confirmed there has been a £358 million underspend of the agricultural budget over the last three years. It follows unconfirmed reports in the press that the new Government plans to cut the future budget by £100m a year. So what would that mean for farming businesses and the environment?
We visit the 225th Westmorland County Show to see the livestock on show, talk politics with young farmers and enjoy tasters in the Food Hall.
The UK fishing industry is renewing its calls for the Government to develop a Fishing Strategy. The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations says with plans in place on off shore energy and marine conservation, fishing is falling through the cracks. Meanwhile conservationists say the quota system is allowing overfishing of some UK stocks, and fishing gear needs to change to prevent unwanted bycatch.
And we meet the new Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee - the group of MPs who scrutinise the Government's decisions around food, farming and environmental policy.
Presented by Caz Graham
Produced by Heather Simons
SAT 06:57 Weather (m00230r5)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m00230r7)
14/09/24 - Nick Robinson and Simon Jack
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m00230r9)
Yotam Ottolenghi, David and Yinka Olusoga, Livi Deane, Leigh Francis
Culinary maestro Yotam Ottolenghi, the man who’s transformed the way we think about Middle Eastern flavours, vegetables, and the art of home cooking joins us to chat 'Comfort' food.
We welcome Livi Deane, a model and beautician, who’s written a book about living with lifechanging impaired vision and a prosthetic eye, as a result of a rare form of eye cancer.
And historian siblings David and Yinka Olusoga join us to discuss their new book 'Black History for Every Day of the Year' and will be share some of their own life story with us
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian, presenter, actor and creator of Keith Lemon, Leigh Francis.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Ben Mitchell
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m00230rc)
History of Broadway
Greg Jenner is joined in 20th-Century New York by Dr Hannah Thuraisingam Robbins and comedian Desiree Burch to learn about the history of Broadway. Most of us are familiar with at least one Broadway musical, from classics like My Fair Lady and the Sound of Music to new favourites Hamilton and Wicked. In the last couple of decades, high-profile film adaptations of shows like Chicago, Cats and Les Misérables have brought musical theatre to a bigger audience than ever before. But whether or not you know your Rodgers & Hammerstein from your Lloyd Webber, the history of Broadway is perhaps more of a mystery. This episode explores all aspects of musical theatre, from its origins in the early years of the 20th Century, to the ‘Golden Age’ in the 50s and the rise of the megamusical in the 80s. Along the way, Greg and his guests learn about the racial and class dynamics of Broadway, uncover musical flops and triumphs, and find out exactly what ‘cheating out’ is.
You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.
Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Hannah Campbell Hewson, Annabel Storr and Anna McCully Stewart
Written by: 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 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0022z3m)
Series 45
Leeds
Jay Rayner and his panel of food experts are in Leeds sharing their top tips and recipes. They deliberate over the perfect roast dinner, offer ideas for a self-catered wedding and discuss the most pressing of tableside debates: can you ever have too much gravy? The panel share their secrets for making the crispiest roast potatoes, exciting recipes involving beans, and discuss whether it’s valid to love raisins, and hate sultanas.
On the panel this week are food historian Dr Annie Gray, chef Rob Owen Brown and writer and restaurateur Tim Hayward. They are aided in their pursuit of roast dinner excellence by executive chef Nick Robertson from one of the city’s oldest pubs.
Assistant producer: Dulcie Whadcock
Senior producer: Dom Tyerman
Executive producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m00230rf)
George Parker of the Financial Times analyses the week's political developments at Westminster.
Following the Prime Minister's visit to Washington, the former UK Ambassador to the US, Lord Darroch, and Sir Keir Starmer's former director of strategy, Deborah Mattinson, assess the global security situation and what impact the US election will have on Western foreign policy.
To discuss the state of the NHS following a damning report from former minister Lord Darzi, George is joined by former Labour Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, and former Conservative Chair of the Health Select Committee Steve Brine.
Professor Richard Davies of the LSE, presenter of a new radio documentary about the Port Talbot steel works, explains what this week's government announcement about the plant means for the future of steel-making in Britain.
And, as the Spending Review gets underway, George brings together two former Treasury ministers, Danny Alexander and David Gauke, to lift the lid on how departments can wring money out of the exchequer.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0022zxp)
The US debate and the battle for Pennsylvania
Kate Adie presents dispatches from the US, the DRC, Italy, Romania and Egypt
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off against each other in a debate on Tuesday night at a pivotal moment in the race. In the lead up to the debate, both candidates had been neck and neck in the polls. Tom Bateman gauged what the locals made of their performance.
An outbreak of the viral disease, mpox across central and west Africa has infected more than 21,000 people and killed more than 600 – and the Democratic Republic of Congo is at the epicentre. Simi Jolaoso has been to South Kivu, where medical staff are racing to deliver treatment and await vaccinations.
The Italian town of Monfalcone has a population of over more than 30,000 people, more than 6,000 of whom are from Bangladesh: largely skilled workers who came to work at a major shipyard there. This has changed the makeup of the city, which is being met with resistance from certain corners. Especially the far-right mayor, as Sofia Bettiza discovered.
Nicolae Ceaușescu bulldozed one fifth of the city to construct his People’s Palace in Romania’s capital Bucharest. It still towers over its population today. It’s now the location of Romania's parliament and, while efforts have been made to remove the communist era symbols, it was deemed too expensive to demolish. Rob Crossan has been to visit.
George Orwell’s short satirical novel Animal Farm allegorised the rise to power of Stalin and exposed the abuses of his regime in Russia. When Magdi Abdelhadi recently tried to get a new edition of the book printed in Egypt, he found it… a rather Orwellian experience.
Producers: Serena Tarling and Farhana Haider
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m00230rh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0022zxm)
Winter Fuel Payment and Inheritance Tax
Hundreds of thousands of disabled pensioners will be unfairly impacted by the cut in Winter Fuel Payment, according to two leading charities who've spoken exclusively to Money Box. Disability Rights UK and Age UK have both told us that disabled pensioners often have higher energy bills because of medical needs and sharp cuts to the number of people receiving the payment will disproportionally affect them more than others. The government says it's committed to giving pensioners the dignity and security they deserve in retirement but says given the state of the public finances its inherited it’s right that it targets support to those who need it most. It says its protecting disabled pensioners through extra disability benefits such as Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payments. And that over a million pensioners will also continue to receive the Winter Fuel Payment and those on the full new State Pension will receive over £400 boost through the triple lock.
How might the Chancellor target Inheritance Tax in the upcoming Budget? Latest figures show that the government received a record £7.7 billion from IHT in the 12 months to July, up over 5% on a year before.
And, what can be done to encourage self-employed people to pay into a pension?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Catherine Lund and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast
12pm Saturday 14th September 2024)
SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m0022skq)
Series 115
Prisoners and Pensioners
Simon Evans, Ria Lina, Glenn Moore, and Coco Khan join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news
This week on The News Quiz the panel look towards a cold winter for pensioners, an early fall for prisoners, and try to figure out exactly what was being said during the US Presidential debate.
Written by Andy Zaltzman
With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Christiana Riggs, Rebecca Bain, Sam Lyden and Teresa Burns
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
Sound Editor: Giles Aspen
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An Eco-Audio certified Production
SAT 12:57 Weather (m00230rk)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m00230rm)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0022skx)
Baroness Goldie, Ivan McKee MSP, Alex Salmond, Michael Shanks MP
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from the Skypark in Glasgow with the former Defence Minister Baroness Goldie, the Minister for Public Finance in Scotland Ivan McKee MSP, the Leader of the Alba Party Alex Salmond and the Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Ken Garden
SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m00230rq)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m0022sks)
At the Bull, Will apologises to Chris and tells him George is desperate to tell Alice how sorry he is, but he isn’t allowed to speak to her. Chris is furious when he realises Will, like Emma, knew about George’s crime.
Brian and Alice are in London for Ruairi’s graduation ceremony, but Brian’s flustered as they realise they had the wrong time and need to hurry. However, they make it in time and enjoy the ceremony, before Ruairi apologises for mixing up the times – he’s been to too many parties and job interviews recently. Brian’s delighted Ruairi has a place on a City graduate scheme and agrees to a group hug, against his natural instincts. He’s proud as punch of his son!
Over a pint, Chris and Harrison share their feelings. Chris cares about George but he’s so frustrated, while Harrison regrets his recent actions, plus, of course, his hatred for Alice. Harrison is shocked to learn that Ema and Will concealed the truth about George – when did they find out what he’d done?
Will goes to see Emma, saying George is less hostile now, but still hiding away. Will then mentions Chris being off with him and Emma admits Ed is avoiding her. She can’t face anyone in the village. Emma despairs that George won’t speak to her, just when he needs his Mum most. Will goes with her to speak to Fallon, but it’s Harrison who opens the door. They try saying how sorry they are, but Harrison informs them coldly, a police colleague will be speaking to them about their role in assisting an offender.
SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m00230rv)
The Goat Doctor
Doctor John Romulus Brinkley (1885-1941) was a poor boy from the Appalachian Mountains who became a quack doctor and one of the richest men in America. His practice took off after he apparently successfully grafted the testicles of a goat onto a farmer to revive his flagging vigour.
Brinkley's fame spread, and to advertise his services he set up a Radio station. At its height XER, broadcasting from Mexico to reach the Canadian Border, was the most powerful and popular station in the world. His personal broadcasts, in which he advocated his cures in reply to correspondents, were interspersed with music, preachers, astrology, and other items.
Brinkley became a multi-millionaire, with private yachts and planes. He was nearly elected Governor of Kansas, and was talked of as a possible right wing Presidential candidate. Among those who broadcast on his station was Fritz Kuhn, the American Nazi leader.
Constantly harried by the American Medical Association and the US Government, who tried to prosecute him on the grounds of his dubious qualifications and medical and broadcasting practices, Brinkley ended up in a 'Quack War' with fellow charlatan Dr James Middlebrook.
Finally, sued for back taxes, discredited by the AMA and suffering from the tightening of broadcasting legislation, Brinkley was declared bankrupt and indicted by the Post Office for fraudulent use of their services. He died aged 56 before standing trial, having neglected to avail himself of his own goat gland therapy.
Writer Graeme Garden OBE, rose to fame as one of BBC TV's The Goodies, with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie. He co-devised the Radio 4 panel show The Unbelievable Truth and is a regular panellist on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. Graeme studied medicine at Cambridge University, but never practiced.
Cast
Dr John Romulus Brinkley - Ray Porter
Narrator - Kerry Shale
Minnie Brinkley - Laurence Bouvard
with:
Tom Alexander
Jennifer Armour
Karen Bartke
Graeme Garden
James Morley
Michael Roberts
William Roberts
Martin T Sherman
Director: Dirk Maggs
Producer: David Morley
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m00230rz)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Tracy-Ann Oberman, the SEND system, Sarah Owen MP
Tracy-Ann Oberman has reprised her role as Eastenders’ Chrissie Watts. She talks to Nuala about stepping back into this character after almost two decades, and her recent adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. In it, Tracy-Ann plays a female version of the Jewish character, Shylock, and sets the action in 1930s London during the rise of Oswald Mosley, the antisemitic founder of the British Union of Fascists.
We look back at Tuesday's special programme, live from the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House in London, looking at the support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – or SEND as it’s often known in England. Nuala heard from guest panellists including Kellie Bright, an actress in EastEnders but also a mum to a child with SEND, Katie, who is 17 and says she was completely failed by the SEND system, Marsha Martin, the founder and CEO of the charity Black SEN Mamas and the Minister for School Standards, Catherine McKinnell.
Visual artist Bharti Kher’s new exhibition, Target Queen at the Southbank Centre, features supersized bindis reimagined from their microscopic form to the macro size worn by the goddess, transforming the brutalist building into a powerful feminine force. Bharti joins Anita to discuss the exhibition.
The newly elected Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Labour MP Sarah Owen, joins Anita Rani on the programme to discuss the remit of her new role and what she hopes to achieve.
A new play, The Lightest Element, which has opened at Hampstead Theatre, explores the life and career of astronomer Cecila Payne-Gaposchkin, the first person to work out what stars are made of. Anita is joined by actor Maureen Beatie, who plays Cecilia, and the playwright Stella Feehilly.
SAT 17:00 PM (m00230s2)
Full coverage of the day's news.
SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m00230s4)
The James Cleverly for Leader One
Why does the former Home Secretary believe he has 'outperformed everyone else on this leadership ticket by a country mile'? How did growing up as a mixed-race boy in London at the height of the National Front shape his politics? And what does the government need to do to improve integration in the UK?
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m00230s6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m00230s8)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00230sb)
The government is facing fresh calls to rethink cuts to winter fuel payment
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0022zb6)
Richard Armitage, Rianne Downey, Chris Brookmyre, Dr Marisa Haetzman, Suzy Aspley, Chloe Matharu
From Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in Stirling.
Richard Armitage’s CV is already packed with roles, including a string of stellar acting credits in the likes of The Hobbit, North and South, Robin Hood, and Spooks. Now he’s added author to the list with his debut novel Geneva.
Ambrose Parry is not one writer but two – it's the penname of internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, Dr Marisa Haetzman. The married couple write books inspired by the gory details Marisa uncovered during her History of Medicine degree.
One of the writers on this year’s Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year shortlist is Suzy Aspley. She started her writing career at the festival when she won its Pitch Perfect competition, and released her spooky novel Crow Moon earlier this year.
With music from Scottish singer-songwriter Rianne Downey, and Chloe Matharu who is both a Merchant Navy Navigational Officer and singer-songwriter and harpist.
SAT 19:00 Profile (m0022zww)
Eluned Morgan
This week we delve into the life of the First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan, the first woman to hold the position. Morgan was introduced to politics at a very young age by her parents, who were both councillors.
Her early career was spent working in broadcasting before her political career began at the age of 27, elected as the youngest Member of the European Parliament in 1994. She went on to take up a seat in the House of Lords and was Welsh Health Secretary during the Covid pandemic.
Stephen Smith talks to friends and political figures, hearing how a girl from a deprived part of Cardiff, became the most powerful person in Wales.
Contributors:
Lord Neil Kinnock - Former Labour Leader
Gloria Yates - Neighbour
Ruth Mosalski - Political Editor of Wales Online
Ceri Innes Parry- Childhood Friend
Claudia Velez – School Friend
Production Team:
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Diane Richardson, Julie Ball and Ben Morris
Editors: Ben Mundy and Alex Lewis
Sound: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0022sw8)
Marlon James
Marlon James made his name in 2014 with A Brief History Of Seven Killings, a novel which interweaves various narratives over several decades, starting with the attempted assassination of reggae superstar Bob Marley in 1976. Having won the Booker and the American Book Award, and becoming an international bestselling author, he moved into the fantasy genre with his next two novels Black Leopard, Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King. A professor of English, Marlon James teaches creative writing at a university in Minnesota, USA, where he lives.
Marlon tells John Wilson about hearing Jamaican dub poet Jean Binta-Breeze's work Riddym-Ravings on the radio when he was a teenager. The use of patois and rhyme to tell a serious story changed the lexicon he felt he could write in. The music of rock band Nirvana and its lead singer Kurt Cobain was also a huge influence on the
young Marlon James who was at the time confused about his sexuality and living with undiagnosed depression. James also chooses the novel Sula by Toni Morrison, which contains a scene that changed the way he approached life and made him realise he only had to be in service to himself.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m00230sd)
Bowie in Berlin
How David Bowie saved his life and career in 1970s Berlin. Bowie had become a superstar by creating musical characters. Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and the Thin White Duke were alter egos through which he could tell stories. They helped him achieve global fame and wealth, and yet by 1976 his notorious excess had become the cause of his deep depression. Living in Los Angeles, addicted to cocaine and financially broke, he was feeling artistically washed-up and suicidal. David Bowie stood at a crossroads: become yet another rock ‘n roll casualty or face his demons.
“I started getting very very worried for my life and just had to get myself out of that situation….so I ended up in Berlin”
In 1976, moving to the epicentre of the Cold War more than saved his life and career. It allowed him to rediscover his youthful creative passions for art and literature, and - as one of the most famous people on the planet - to hide in plain sight. Dressed in simple check shirt and jeans, Bowie enjoyed relative anonymity on the streets of Berlin. With Iggy Pop as his flatmate, he lived in a cheap apartment in a working-class district of the city. And in Hansa Studios, alongside musical collaborator Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti, he began one the most artistically ambitious periods of entire career, honing a completely new sound with the albums Low and Heroes.
For many years his time in Berlin between 1976 and 1978 has been mythologised and romanticised by writers, filmmakers, critics and by Bowie himself. There’s no footage of Bowie in Berlin and very few photographs. But now documentary filmmaker Francis Whately reveals what really happened thanks to the testimonies of three women who knew Bowie intimately, all talking publicly about their relationships with him for the first time. Artist and former RSC actor Clare Shenstone, performer and legendary nightclub owner Romy Haag, and former journalist Sarah-Rena Hine all shared time with him in Berlin. Exclusive interviews with these remarkable muses, alongside other first-hand witnesses and a cache of previously unheard archive interviews, help tell a completely new story. Bowie In Berlin reveals how he drew upon the history, culture and anonymity of the German city to recuperate and regenerate.
Over those Cold War months of rain and beer, cycle-rides and cigarettes, Bowie wrenched himself from his past and thrust himself towards the future. For the first time we can hear how, in Berlin, David Bowie reinvented himself…as himself.
Writer and presenter: Francis Whately
Producer: John Wilson
A Blackstar production for BBC Radio 4
Interviewees: Clare Shenstone, Romy Haag, Sarah-Rena Hine, Esther Freidman, Michael Rother, Tony Visconti, Earl Slick, Carlos Alomar.
Archive: David Bowie, Iggy Pop
SAT 21:00 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m00230sg)
Omnibus
In this omnibus episode, catch up on four thrilling tales of data and discovery.
Love Bytes - At thirty-one, mathematician Chris McKinlay is looking for love. But if it’s all a numbers game, his are not adding up. Could he be the problem? Or is something else getting in the way?
Scandal In the Air - At a niche engineering conference, a young researcher shares some data that looks like an embarrassing mistake. Little does he know, his simple bar chart is the first pebble in an avalanche exposing an epic scandal.
Grain of Truth - Amid the desperation of war-starved Netherlands a doctor finds a way of curing a group of gravely ill children. His finding challenges accepted medical wisdom, and provokes opposition from Catholics. But why had the rest of the world missed this miracle treatment?
Whispers from the Cosmos - A young researcher spots a bizarre, pulsing signal: a cosmic whisper picked up by a huge radio receiver she built. Is it just mundane interference - or could it be alien life?
Produced by Lauren Armstrong Carter and Ilan Goodman
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
SAT 22:00 News (m00230sj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m0022sjp)
The Sourdough Library
Dan Saladino visits a unique collection of sourdough bread starters from around the world and explores a hidden world of grains, yeasts, bacteria and their influence on our health.
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino
SAT 23:00 The Many Wrongs of Lord Christian Brighty (m0022zj4)
4. The Lord I Shot
Brighty’s decision to right a wrong – killing a man in a duel – leads to a bust-up with Babs. Whilst she goes full tilt for revolution, Brighty and Churley are left mentoring a young proto-rake. Will the schism in the gang ever be repaired?
Lord Christian Brighty is the talk of the Regency 'Ton' - a celebrated libertine, a heartthrob and a hero to many. But close-up, he is a spoilt, impetuous, life-ruining bastard… Or at least he was. Because his carefree life of infinite privilege has been upended by an encounter with his new chambermaid - the uneducated but forthright Babigail - who became the first person to tell him the unvarnished truth about his selfish behaviour. Overnight, his lifelong trust that everyone loved him had been replaced with a gnawing fear that Babs was right.
So now, with his narcissism collapsing and a need to prove to Babs he is actually a good person, Lord Brighty is determined to fix all his past wrongs. And by extension all the ills of Regency society. Accompanying him in his quest are Babs (elevated beyond her station to a chambermaid-cum-adviser role), and his butler, Mr Churlington. Although Churley would prefer everything to stay exactly as it used to be (as would all Brighty’s friends, family and the entirety of high society).
Written by Christian Brighty & Amy Greaves
Cast:
Lord Christian Brighty ….. Christian Brighty
Babs ….. Jessica Knappett
Churlington ….. Colin McFarlane
Dowager / Fleetsbee ….. Nimisha Odedra
Monty ….. Joz Norris
Manon ….. Chiara Goldsmith
John ….. David Reed
Script Editor ….. David Reed
Sound & Recording ….. David Thomas
Photographer ….. Will Hearle
Production Assistant ….. Katie Sayer
Producer ….. Ben Walker
A DLT Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4
Christian Brighty and Amy Greaves are award-winning comedians. Their viral sketches based on Bridgerton, Poldark and Jane Austen have catapulted them to viral stardom, securing Christian’s place as the internet’s answer to Mr Darcy and amassing 150 million views across TikTok and Instagram (@brightybuoy). Amy and Christian both have a deep love of the work Jane Austen, traditional regency romance (not smut), and historical romance set in the regency (smut).
SAT 23:30 Brain of Britain (m0022sg5)
Heat 2, 2024
(2/17)
Four contenders for the title Brain of Britain 2024 join Russell Davies at the Radio Theatre in London. At least one of them will win through to the semi-finals and take another step towards becoming the 71st name on the roll of champions. The questions cover all aspects of general knowledge, from literature, film and music to geography and the natural world.
Appearing in Heat Two are:
Andrew Fanko from Market Harborough in Leicestershire
Anthony Fish from Pontypool in South Wales
Caroline Latham from Romford in East London
Dr Sarah Merry from Banbury in Oxfordshire
The competitors will also face a pair of tricky questions supplied by a Brain of Britain listener aiming to Beat the Brains.
Assistant Producer Stephen Garner
Producer Paul Bajoria
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m00230sl)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Open Book (m0022sg3)
Graham Norton
Graham Norton speaks to Johny Pitts about his fifth novel, Frankie.
Plus Bookloop - the online initiative buying old books in exchange for credits to buy new ones. To discuss its impact for readers, independent bookshops and the environment, we're joined by Bookshop.org Managing Director, Nicole Vanderbilt, and by Fleur Sinclair, owner of book shop Sevenoaks Books and President of the Booksellers Association.
And confessions of a writer publishing a new book - from author, journalist and book critic, Nick Duerden.
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Emma Wallace
Book List – Sunday 8 September
Holding by Graham Norton
Frankie by Graham Norton
People Who Like Dogs Like People Who Like Dogs by Nick Duerden
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00230sn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00230sq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00230ss)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m00230sv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0022zxy)
St Andrews church in the village of Oakington, Cambridgeshire
Bells on Sunday comes from St Andrews church in the village of Oakington, Cambridgeshire. Much of the building dates from the 13th century and although substantially restored in the 19th century many original features can still be seen. The late 13th century west tower houses a ring of six bells with a tenor bell weighing five and a half hundredweight and tuned to the note of A. We hear them ringing Plain Doubles.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m0022st8)
Judging the Distance of Sounds; A Fond Farewell to the Paralympics
New research done at Anglia Ruskin University's vision and eye research unit, suggests that people who lose their sight in early life, or indeed are born without sight, have more difficulty in judging the distance of a sound source, than those who lose their sight later in life. This seemingly counterintuitive idea piqued our interest and so Professor Shahina Pardhan, the director of the unit and lead author of the study, explains their findings, why they matter and what they plan to do with them.
The Paralympic Games are over, and so we thought we'd check-in with swimming twins Scarlett and Eliza Humphrey once more, following their Games debut. They tell us about their impressions of their first games and about their aspirations for reaching the Los Angeles 2028.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0022zw3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m0022sst)
Coffee Culture
Urban baristas in a US city and Chinese managed coffee bars in Italy.
Laurie Taylor talks to Geoffrey Moss, Professor of Instruction in the Department of Sociology, Temple University, about the subcultural lives of hipsters who are employed in Philadelphia. Such young people have taken low-wage service sector jobs, despite their middle-class origins and educational background, because they enjoy the city's hipster subculture. Working within cool, noncorporate coffee shops with like minded colleagues blurs lines between work and leisure. For those that are artistic, barista life has provided a flexible work schedule which allows time for creative pursuits. But this new research suggests that these subcultural lives are now greatly diminished by class, race and gentrification.
Also, Grazia Ting Deng, Lecturer at Brandeis University's Department of Anthropology, explores the paradox of “Chinese espresso". The coffee bar is a cornerstone of Italian urban life, with city residents sipping espresso at more than 100,000 of these local businesses throughout the country. So why is espresso in Italy increasingly prepared by Chinese baristas in Chinese-managed coffee bars? Deng investigates the rapid spread of Chinese-owned coffee bars since the Great Recession of 2008 and draws on her extensive ethnographic research in Bologna. She finds that longtime residents have come, sometimes resentfully, to regard Chinese expresso as a new normal and immigrants have assumed traditional roles, even as they are regarded as racial others.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0022zw5)
Hot Headed Farming
The beautiful Somerset village of Upton Cheney and the traditional stone Manor Farm may seem an unlikely setting for a chilli farm. But it's where Louise Duck successfully grows different varieties of chillis. Chillis are a multi million pound industry in the UK as so many dishes we like to eat these days from pizza to fajitas and curries include them.
She takes Sybil Ruscoe on a tour of the four large polytunnels where she grows a cornucopia of chillis that vary in size, colour and hotness. She makes relishes and sauces which she sells at markets and local shops as well as supplying some for crisp production.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0022zw7)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0022zw9)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0022zwc)
Abbé Pierre; Charedi education; Quakers at 400
The French Catholic Church has said it will open its files on Abbé Pierre, the priest regarded as something like a modern saint until allegations of sexual harrassment and assault were made against him. The Abbé, who died in 2007, was revered for his pioneering work in setting up Emmaus International which cared for homeless and poor people. Edward speaks to the Paris-based writer Andrew Hussey about reaction to the story in France, and Pat Jones, author of a recent report on the Catholic Church culture and clerical abuse.
The Jewish campaign group Nahamu has produced a damning paper on the quality of education in some schools run by the ultra-orthodox Charedi community. Edward talks to its founder Yehudis Fletcher.
The Quakers are celebrating 400 years since the birth of their co-founder George Fox. Edward visits his modest memorial in Bunhill Fields in East London and finds out about the other famous non-conformists buried in this part of the city.
PRESENTER : Edward Stourton
PRODUCERS: Dan Tierney and Catherine Murray
STUDIO MANAGERS: Jack Morris and Kelly Young
EDITOR: Chloe Walker
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0022z9m)
Solving Kids' Cancer UK
Actress Natalie Cassidy makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Solving Kids' Cancer UK. The charity funds research and clinical trials into treatments for children with neuroblastoma and offers support and advice to families.
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 ‘Solving Kids' Cancer UK’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Solving Kids' Cancer UK’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1135601
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0022zwf)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0022zwh)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0022zwk)
Harvest and Thankfulness
Marking the season of Harvest in the UK and abroad. One Church Brighton describe how food education and growth is being used to support to their community. From Kenya, a local man speaks of his thankfulness in spite of floodwaters destroying crops earlier this year. With music from The Song of Harvest composed by Bob Chilcott and sung by the BBC Singers. Preacher: Dave Steell; Conductor: Bob Chilcott; Organist: Richard Pearce; Producer: James Mountford.
Music is performed by the BBC Singers, with the audience of the Celebrate Voice Festival, Salisbury at St Mary and St Nicholas Church, Wilton, Salisbury. Music recorded 19 October 2023.
John Njoroge features with thanks to Barnabas Aid.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0022skz)
Babies Making Babies
Three of Megan Nolan's close friends have given birth in the past year. Another two are doing IVF. And anyone who can afford to, Megan says, is freezing their eggs.
Megan reflects on how attitudes to having children have changed profoundly in Ireland in the space of a generation.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Tom Bigwood
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0022zwm)
Megan McCubbin on the Barn Owl
A new series of Tweet of the Day for Sunday morning revealing personal and fascinating stories from some fresh voices who have been inspired by birds, their calls and encounters.
Barn owls are, in zoologist and TV presenter Megan McCubbins opinion, the best of birds, and a bird of great beauty. As they silently fly around our countryside at night, folklore and superstition once followed them. But these days these owls are well loved across the globe, even if their call leaves a little to be desired.
Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio on Bristol
Studio engineer : Caitlin Gazeley.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0022zwp)
England 'could face Euros ban' over regulator plan
UEFA warns that a new regulator for English football could lead to England being banned by from their own Euros. Also: Ken Bruce on creating Popmaster and do you know your fish?
SUN 10:00 The Reunion (m0022zwr)
Castaway TV Series
Kirsty Wark reunites the cast of the pioneering reality TV programme Castaway. The experimental series took 36 people to the remote Scottish island of Taransay to create a self-sufficient community for the new millennium.
She hears from the show’s creator, Jeremy Mills, and its breakout star, Ben Fogle, whose broadcasting career was launched by the series.
Pre-dating Big Brother, the ground breaking social experiment was unlike anything seen before on TV. The castaways grew their own vegetables, killed their own animals, generated their own electricity and built a community for a year on an Outer Hebridean island. The first run of four episodes were a ratings hit, attracting audiences of 7–8 million viewers.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Robbie Armstrong
Series Editor: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0022zwt)
Writer: Liz John
Director: Kim Greengrass
Editor: Jeremy Howe
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Ruairi Donovan…. Arthur Hughes
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy
Brad Horrobin…. Taylor Uttley
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw
SUN 12:15 Profile (m0022zww)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m0022t7p)
Series 30
Episode 6
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.
Miles Jupp, Holly Walsh, Lou Sanders and Marcus Brigstocke are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as fungi, the Beckhams, cushions and puddings.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:57 Weather (m0022zwy)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0022zx0)
New border checks in Germany to limit migration
Germany is due to reinstall some controls on its borders: what does it mean for Schengen? We speak to representatives from its neighbours and to the German ambassador to the UK.
SUN 13:30 Steel Dragons (m0022zx2)
The Port Talbot steel works is closing its last remaining blast furnace, delivering a shattering blow to the economy and society of a South Wales town where employment and wages were once so strong it became known as Treasure Island. Britain will become the first industrialised nation not to be able to make ‘virgin’ steel, with huge implications for the ability to make everything from cars to food packaging. And it will be another win for China, as its 20-year push to dominate world steel markets intensifies.
In this documentary Professor Richard Davies, a world-renowned economist who lives down the coast in Swansea, examines the interwoven strands that led Port Talbot to its current crisis. He argues that this closure, heralding the demise of primary British steelmaking, poses an existential threat to the UK economy—and one that goes far beyond steel.
He speaks to steel workers and those in the wider community whose jobs and livelihoods are threatened as the impact ripples through- the supply chain of contractors, the football team, the high street, the cafes, pubs and shops. He discusses the decline in UK manufacturing and exponential rise of China with fellow economists and trade experts, asking whether the UK could and should have done more to protect its vital industries. And he holds the decision makers to account as workers face an uncertain future - the bosses at Tata Steel and senior politicians from across the spectrum.
Thanks to Port Talbot Cymric Choir https://porttalbotcymricchoir.co.uk/
Producer: Leala Padmanabhan
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0022skb)
Groundwork: Soil, Compost, Mulch and more!
Kathy Clugston digs through the Gardeners' Question Time archive to root out some information on Soil, Compost, Mulch and more.
Our various GQT panellists over the last 77 years have been no stranger to soil and compost related questions, from queries on how to create a workable soil in the garden to questions on the difference between compost and soil conditioner. For the first autumnal archive programme of 2024 we’ve raked through the extensive GQT archive and pulled out some of the best advice on these topics.
We also hear from garden designer and lecturer Humaira Ikram, who explains the importance of understanding the PH level of your soil.
Producer: Bethany Hocken
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 One Night in Paradise (m000tmb2)
Golden Years
They spent their first honeymoon night in this hotel, and they've come back for their anniversary every year since. Fifty years on nothing is quite the same. By Bethan Roberts. Read by Annette Badland.
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4, produced and directed by Kate McAll.
SUN 15:00 Mahabharata Now (m0022zx4)
Episode 7: Dance of Deceit
The Gods, the law, capitalism and politics jostle for power in this bold adaptation of the ancient Indian poem Mahabharata. Dramatised as a gripping family epic set in 21st century Mumbai, this series is powered by the tensions and rivalries of a turbulent business empire.
A dynasty divided against itself... the battle to control Hasta Enterprises escalates.
The unrest caused by Dhruv and Shaks' layoffs spills out into the streets of Mumbai with tragic consequences. Yash's move to right the wrong with the employees succeeds, but later in the Hasta bar, Nyra receives wisdom from Gopi that seems utterly contrary to everything she and her father are trying to achieve.
Nyra makes a decision, but it's a decision that devastates Yash and drives her mother Padma further towards an act of desperation.
Meanwhile, another of Gopi's alter egos is issuing financial advice - and Vidya's podcast is reaping the rewards.
But as always, Gopi is holding all the cards.
Episode 7 "Dance of Deceit"
Written by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle
Dhruv …………….......…. Neil Bhoopalam
Yash ……………….......... Tavish Bhattacharyya
Padma …………….......... Ira Dubey
Gita ………………........…. Shernaz Patel
Shaks ………................. Vivek Madan
Karthik ………….......…... Sukant Goel
Nyra……………........……. Abir Abrar
Vidya…………........……… Irawati Karnik
Olivia………….......……… Malaika Choudhury
Lawyer…….......…………. Devika Shahani Punjabi
Mr. Desai…......…………. Aseem Hattangady
Priest…….......…………… Mukul Chadda
Johar……........…………… Akash Khurana
Landlord…………......….. Zeus Paranjape
Account Manager…...… Garima Yajnik
gAbbI………….......……… Helen Quigley
GP200………......……….. Bhavnisha Parmar
GOPI…………........……… Prerna Chawla
Other roles were played by Abir Abrar; Devika Shahani Punjabi, Mukul Chadda, Akash Khurana and members of the cast.
Sound Supervisor (Mumbai) …....……... Ayush Ahuja
Sound Engineer (Mumbai) …….....….…. Ashyar Bulsara
Sound Design and Post Production …. Peregrine Andrews
Original Music ………………….........……... Imran Ahmad
Producer .……………………………..........… Helen Quigley and Andrew Mark Sewell
Producer (Mumbai) ……………..…....…… Nadir Khan
Executive Producer ……………......…….. Andrew Mark Sewell
Director ………………………………............ Jatinder Verma
A B7 Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0022zx6)
Matt Haig
Matt Haig speaks to Johny Pitts about his new book, The Life Impossible, set in Ibiza.
Plus The Lord Of The Flies at 70 - with Judy Golding, Jack Thorne, and Aimee De Jongh. The 70th anniversary of the classic novel sees two firsts: a graphic novel of Lord of The Flies, adapted and illustrated by Aimee De Jongh, and the first TV adaption - written by Jack Thorne, and set to reach BBC screens next year.
Presenter: Johny Pitts
Producer: Emma Wallace
SUN 16:30 Brain of Britain (m0022zx8)
Heat 3, 2024
(3/17)
Which is the only nation spread across all four hemispheres? Which fashion designer's signature is red-soled shoes? And which Chinese dynasty was founded by Kublai Khan?
Four contenders join Russell Davies for the latest heat in the 2024 quiz tournament, to face questions from all fields of general knowledge. A semi-final place awaits the winner, with a safety net for the top-runners up of the series too, if their scores are high enough.
Appearing today are
'Dennis', from Whitstable in Kent
Helen Lippell from East London
Mark Robotham who lives near Banbury in Oxfordshire
Shanine Salmon from Croydon.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria
A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct5yjs)
The Bluetooth story
In the 1990s, Bluetooth was invented in a lab in Lund, Sweden.
The technology is used today to wirelessly connect accessories such as mice, keyboards, speakers and headphones to desktops, laptops and mobile phones.
It’s named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king who was said to have blue teeth.
Sven Mattisson, one of the brains behind the technology, tells Gill Kearsley how the name Bluetooth came about following some drinks after a conference.
(Photo: A mobile phone with the Bluetooth logo. Credit: Westend61 via Getty images)
SUN 17:10 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
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0022zxc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0022zxf)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0022zxh)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0022zxk)
Steven Rainey
This week, we're harking back to the little-known history of Bowie crossing Checkpoint Charlie in a divided Berlin back in the 1970s. Plus, we hear how dogs are learning new tricks like catching some tubular action on the waves. And while reading this, you're probably hearing it being narrated by a little voice in your head. You are, aren't you? CrowdScience's Caroline Steel gets to the bottom of this phenomenon, as she goes head-to-head with a robot... that talks to itself.
Presenter: Steven Rainey
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Co-ordinator: Jack Ferrie
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0022z3b)
Angry at George, Kenton throws his hero glass in the bin. They worry about Fallon, who’s stepped back from the Flower and Produce show this year and is still worried about Harrison. Fallon’s mentioned entries for the show are down this year, so between them they come up with the idea of entering an Apple Pie with a twist, using apples from Brookfield and cheese from Bridge Farm. And if they both enter it’ll double their chances of winning. But in the meantime, they really need to come up with a name for their new pub kitten.
Emma and Will discuss their harrowing police interviews, before Ed arrives, having walked Keira to The Stables. He’ll pick her up too, as he doesn’t want anyone approaching her about George. Ed then points out that they have to tell Poppy and Keira what’s going on, with George appearing at the Magistrates’ Court tomorrow. The girls need to understand there’s a chance of Emma and Will going to prison.
Later it transpires Keira knew all about it already, after Will told Clarrie outside Keira’s window. Emma remembers how scared she was when Susan went to prison and now she’s doing it to her own daughter. Ed reassures her that the family will be there to support Keira. Upset Emma points out Chris still won’t have anything to do with her.
Will reports that Poppy didn’t take the news well. But she’s not angry with George, unlike Keira, so they’ve agreed not to talk about him. Will’s biggest fear though is losing Poppy if he goes to prison.
SUN 19:15 Heart and Soul (w3ct5tf2)
Hervé's Way: the story of a one-legged pilgrim
Hervé lost a leg in a motorbike accident. On the eve of the operation, he made a deal with God: “If I walk again, I'll go to Santiago.” He did walk again, but not on pilgrimage. Instead, he got caught up in his business affairs, suffered burn out, tried to kill himself and spent several months in a psychiatric hospital before he decided to keep his side of the bargain. He set out, with crutches and a prosthetic leg, for Santiago de Compostela, a journey of 1,920 kilometres from his home in Brittany in north west France to the cathedral that contains the relics of Saint James at the tip of north west Spain. The experience utterly changed him. It was, he says, a resurrection. He is now embarking on a second pilgrimage which will cover almost twice the distance; from Rome to Santiago de Compostela. John Laurenson walks with him for a couple of days to hear his story and talk about life, God, pilgrimage, about Luther's criticism – that they are a waste of time - and the sacrifice they can represent for his family of a wife and four children. John also talks to him about how, in a part of the world where religious observance has become the affair of a small minority, going on pilgrimages in Europe has never been more popular, with new routes opening all the time.
Producer / Presenter: John Laurenson
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta
SUN 19:45 Buried (m001hg06)
Series 1
Series 1 - 5. The Missing Memo
A memo goes missing - until now. It rallies a community to keep calling for the truth.
"All you have to do... is dig it up."
A trucker’s deathbed tape plays out. It’s urgent, desperate.
In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor deep-dive into one of the worst environment crimes in UK history - the secret dumping of a million tonnes of waste near a city. But when they uncover missing documents, fears of toxicity and allegations of organised crime, they realise they’ve stumbled into something much bigger. As they pick at the threads of one crime, they begin to see others. Could Britain be the home of a new mafia, getting rich on our waste?
In a thrilling ten-part investigation, the husband-and-wife duo dive into a criminal underworld, all the time following clues left in a deathbed tape. They’re driven by one question - what did the man in the tape know?
Presenters and Producers: Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Assistant Producer: Tess Davidson
Original Music and Sound Design: Phil Channell
Sound Design and Series Mixing: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producers: Phil Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:00 Word of Mouth (m0022swx)
Fine Distinctions
Eli Burnstein talks about fine distinctions between words, including Michael's personal bugbear of forewords, prefaces and introductions, some clarity on clementines, satsumas, tangerines and mandarins, and of course the lunch, dinner and tea debate.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven.
Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0022skg)
James Earl Jones, Dr Helen Fisher, Sergio Mendes, Maureen Nicol
Matthew Bannister on
James Earl Jones, the versatile actor whose roles ranged from the voice of Darth Vader to Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare. Adrian Lester pays tribute.
Dr. Helen Fisher, the biological anthropologist who researched the science behind romantic love.
Sergio Mendes, who introduced the world to his unique style of Brazilian music. His friend Herb Alpert shares memories of creating classic albums together.
Maureen Nicol who founded the National Housewives’ Register to bring together homemaking women for stimulating conversation.
Interviewee:- Adrian Lester
Interviewee:- Dr Justin Garcia
Interviewee:- Herb Alpert
Interviewee:-Simon Nicols
Interviewee:- Gill Wignall
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Hardtalk 06/12/11; The Lion King, 1994, Directors Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, Walt Disney Feature Animation; Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, 1980, Director Irvin Kirshner, LucasFilm Ltd; BBC Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 18/03/2009; Episode 118: Helen Fisher - Understanding Why We Love, Keep Talking Podcast, YouTube upload 30/08/2024; The brain in Love – Helen Fisher, Ted Talk, YouTube Upload, 15/07/2008 ; The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum , BBC Radio 2, 27/07/2010; BBC, SERGIO MENDES AND BRASIL '77 12/03/1974; J to Z , BBCRadio 3, 16/07/2022; Maureen Nicol 60th Anniversary, NWR, 21/02/2020; Woman’s Hour, 19/08/1985
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0022zxm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0022z9m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0022zxp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0022zxr)
Ben Wright's guests are the newly-elected Labour MP Helena Dollimore; Conservative backbencher and former Defence Minister, Sir Alex Shelbrooke; and the Liberal Democrat Education spokeswoman, Munira Wilson. They discuss the Prime Minister's trip to Italy and moves to tackle irregular migration, and whether the UK should allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia. Journalist Lara Spirit - editor of The Times Red Box - brings additional insight and analysis. And to coincide with the Lib Dem conference in Brighton, Jack Fenwick reports from Dorking - which returned one of the party's 72 MPs at the general election - to find out what motivated voters there.
SUN 23:00 The Human Subject (m0022zxt)
The Trauma Victims and their Blood
Humanity’s journey to understanding the body has been a gory one - littered with unethical experiments, unintended consequences and unimaginable endurance.
In The Human Subject, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins.
This is the story of Martha Milete, whose life changes forever one night in 2006 when two masked men break into her house where she lives with her fiancé and two children. She unfortunately gets shot, but that is only the beginning of her ordeal.
The moment she is wheeled into the ambulance she is automatically enrolled in an experiment involving her blood. One she would only find out about years later when speaking with Dr Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist and author of several books, including Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Medical Consent.
Julia and Adam hear from Dr Washington who has followed Martha’s story closely.
Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw
Producers: Rufaro Faith Mazarura and 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 (m001lyzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:45 on Saturday]
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m0022skd)
Statue by Emma Smith-Barton
A new short story by Emma Smith-Barton, read by Mia Khan.
Just after giving birth, Sadia turns into a statue. At least, that’s how she feels. One moment she’s reaching out to pull the curtains shut, and the next she’s frozen to the spot. All she can do is look out of the window – and try to understand what’s happening to her.
Emma Smith-Barton’s short stories have appeared in Mslexia and the Bristol Short Story Prize anthology. Her first novel, The Million Pieces of Neena Gill, was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award, and the Romantic Novelists' Association Debut Romantic Novel Award.
Reader: Mia Khan
Sound: Catherine Robinson
Producer: Fay Lomas
A BBC Audio Drama Wales Production
MONDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0022zxw)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 Crossing Continents (m0022stb)
Ivory Coast's cocoa crisis
The journey from cocoa to chocolate in Ivory Coast. The price of cocoa - the essential ingredient in chocolate - has more than quadrupled on the international market in the last two years. Yet many of those growing it have not benefitted. In fact, drought, disease and a lack of investment have led to catastrophic harvests and, therefore, a drop in income for many small producers of cocoa, especially in Ivory Coast. This West African country is the world’s largest producer of cocoa - up to 45% of the world’s total. Most of the growers are small-scale, poor farmers. There are now calls for these growers to get a bigger chunk of the chocolate bar and, in so doing, to help ensure future production. John Murphy travels to Ivory Coast to delve into the world of chocolate production.
Presented and produced by John Murphy
With additional production in Ivory Coast from Ebrin Brou
Mixed by Andy Fell
Production coordinator Gemma Ashman
Series editor Penny Murphy
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0022zxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0022zy0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0022zy2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0022zy4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0022zy6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0022zy8)
Stowaway
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Right Rev Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff.
Good morning. The most surprising thing I unpacked from my bag when we arrived on holiday this year was a tiny figure of the infant Jesus from our nativity set.
A few weeks before our summer break I’d been filming a video for advent with some children. I’d taken some props with me to make it look as if we were preparing for Christmas. I’d put the Christ-figure in an inside pocket of my rucksack and forgotten it was there!
When I discovered that he was with us on holidays I placed him on our meal table - His presence offered both a familiar comfort in a strange place as well as a reminder of a God who comes to us in the most unexpected ways.
It reminded me of a prayerful custom called “Posada” originating in Mexico and practised by Christian across the world, where families welcome nativity figures in their homes in the days before Christmas. By making space to host symbols of the holy family there’s an opportunity to reflect upon how we remember, pray for, and welcome those in the world today who need shelter and a safe place to live.
In the same way, having figure of a tiny child with us on holiday offered me a daily reminder of the most vulnerable children in the world who need us all to be mindful of their needs. I’m used to thinking about Jesus as a baby at Christmas, but encountering a reminder of this every morning on holiday helped me to think more deeply about what it might mean to see God in everyone we encounter each day of our lives.
Loving God, thank you that you are always with us. Help us to notice your presence even in surprising places. Touch our hearts that we may always find ways to offer welcome and kindness to others. Amen
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0022zyb)
16/09/24 More farmland conservation needed for wild birds, legal challenge halts forest, flood repairs outstanding
Britain’s declining wild bird populations will only recover if more farmland is set aside for conservation, says the RSPB.
A legal challenge to a new forest on a vast moorland in the Scottish Borders has forced its owners to stop planting.
As the Met Office predicts another autumn and winter of destructive floods, a number of flood defences in England damaged during last winter's storms are yet to be fixed.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
MON 05:57 Weather (m0022zyd)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m0022z2l)
A man has been arrested after a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life - this time while he was playing golf in Florida. We hear from a former member of the US secret service, Robert McDonald, and Donald Trump's close friend and supporter, Newsmax Media's Chris Ruddy. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on what we can learn from the Italians' success at cutting the number of migrant boats attempting to make it across the Mediterranean. Listeners-turned-programme-makers Vanessa and Toby report on 'The Ballad of the Disappearing Children' as primary school rolls fall in London. We talk to the director Jonathan Van Tulleken as Shogun sweeps the board at the Emmys. And the author Hanif Kureishi on the accident that changed his life ahead of the publication of his memoir, Shattered.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0022z2n)
On Freedom
The historian Timothy Snyder is famous for his work on the horrors of the 20th century and his call to arms to fight against tyranny in the 21st. Now, in ‘On Freedom’ he explores what liberty really means. He challenges the idea that this is freedom ‘from’ state or other obligations, and explores how across the US, Russia and Ukraine, true liberty is the freedom ‘to’ thrive and take risks.
The Ukrainian poet, Oskana Maksymchuk also considers the question of freedom in her collection, Still City, a book that started as a poetic journal on the eve of the Russian invasion in 2021. The fragmentary poems detail the everyday moments amid the violence and fear and precarity of a country at war.
The Russian Orthodox Church has managed to survive the turbulent history of the country, from tsarist demagoguery to Soviet atheism, and is now free to flourish under Vladimir Putin. But in her new book, The Baton and the Cross, the journalist Lucy Ash reveals how the religion has formed an unholy alliance with politics, state security and big money.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Café Hope (m0022z2q)
Confidence through coffee
Rachel Burden speaks to Bianca Tavella, the founder of Fair Shot, a social enterprise cafe that helps young adults with learning disabilities get work and on the job experience.
Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café and celebrating the people making the world a better place.
We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. And the key here is in the trying. This is real life. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it’s always worth a go.
You can contact Cafe Hope at cafehope@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Rachel Burden
Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Editor: Clare Fordham
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0022z2s)
Sandi Toksvig, Breast cancer study, Carrie Hope Fletcher
Writer, comic, theatrical impresario, TV host and weekend chainsaw wielder Sandi Toksvig joins Clare McDonnell to talk about Friends of Dorothy, her first adult novel in 12 years. When Stevie and Amber move into their new home, they are surprised to find that the old woman they bought it from, a cantankerous and outrageous 79-year-old called Dorothy, is still living there.
Today marks two years since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iran. She’d been arrested by the country’s morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly and died in police custody. Her death sparked nationwide protests and the birth of the Women, Life, Freedom movement. BBC Verify journalist Reha Kansara talks to Clare about her new reporting on the women who continue to speak out and the horrific consequences they are still suffering.
The Breast Cancer Now Generations Study was set up in 2004 to help understand the causes of breast cancer. This 40-year landmark study – which this month reaches its halfway point – is following over 110,000 women to understand why breast cancer develops. Woman’s Hour has been following the project from the start, checking in every decade. Clare is joined by co-leader of the study Professor Amy Berrington and participant Amanda Jones.
The trailblazing ballerina, Michaela Mabinty DePrince, has died at the age of 29. A war orphan from Sierra Leone, she was brought to the US by her adopted family and made her way to the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Dutch National Ballet, and even performed alongside Beyoncé. We hear an archive interview with Michaela when she spoke to Woman’s Hour about her life and career in 2015.
Carrie Hope Fletcher is an author, singer, West End star – and now a new mum. She’s about to start a brand new tour around the UK, called Love Letters, which will feature musical theatre favourites and love letters from the audience. She joins Clare to talk about the tour, what it’s like being a musical theatre mum, and why she's chosen not to put photos of her child online.
Presenter: Clare McDonnell
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Editor: Olivia Bolton
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant
MON 11:00 Complex (m0022z2v)
Episode 3: Hospice
It's said that it takes a village to raise a child, and never is that more true than for families raising children with complex disabilities. They rely on health, social care and other professionals to help keep their children healthy, happy, and living at home. But this tangled network of support has been worn thin by growing demand and dwindling resources.
Seven year-old Nora has a rare genetic disorder and complex care needs. This three-part series guides us through the concentric circles of Nora’s life. In this third episode, Nora spends time at her local children's hospice. Chestnut Tree House is a place of respite and joy as well as grief, and it is a crucial lifeline for Nora, her parents, and her brother.
Hospices rely on public donations for almost two thirds of their income. Is it right that a service that is absolutely essential for families like Nora's is dependent on bake sales and fun runs to deliver its services?
Presented by Dave and Tors
Produced by Redzi Bernard
Music by Lily Sloane
"Who Cares" was written and performed by Chichester Festival Theatre Young Carers Song Project
Executive Producer: Rachel Hooper/Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
MON 11:45 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m0022z2x)
Book of the Week: Episode 1 - Shots Are Fired
Ben Macintyre sets the pulse racing in his new book when he returns us to the spring of 1980. On 30th April, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London, taking 26 people hostage, what followed was an intense set of events involving police negotiators, decisions makers at the highest levels, and the SAS. Jamie Parker reads.
In The Siege Ben Macintyre takes us on a journey through the crisis, painting a minute-by-minute picture of six days filled with terror and uncertainty for the hostages, the gunmen and the authorities.
When all avenues to resolve the crisis bloodlessly were exhausted, the SAS were deployed, and millions gathered around their televisions to watch the unprecedented events unfold.
Ben Macintyre’s previous titles include, Colditz, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and The Traitor. Several have been adapted for film and television – Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Jamie Parker is known for his work on radio – Hamlet, Going Infinite, The Gold Finch; the stage – The History Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal, and screen - Becoming Elizabeth, The Crown and Des.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0022z30)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0022z32)
Winter fuel charity donations, private schools and supermarket own brands
People are being urged to check whether they're entitled to receive the Winter Fuel Payment under the new, tighter rules that come in today. In the past, some people have chosen to donate this annual payment to charity - we'll hear from two organisations about what this will mean for the work they do. Also - in his first interview in the job, the new payments system regulator tells You and Yours about new rules to compensate fraud victims - and why he wants to cut the maximum amount of compensation that will be paid. What will VAT on private school fees mean for parents who pay for their kids' education? We also look at supermarket own brands - sales of these ranges are booming - and Boots has a new boss, so we look at how this high street institution is doing.
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
MON 12:57 Weather (m0022z34)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0022z36)
Huw Edwards avoids jail for child abuse images
Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards is sentenced to six months in jail suspended for two years for possessing images of children being sexually abused. Plus, what a second attempt on Donald Trump's life says about political violence in America, and why thousands of affordable homes are sitting empty.
MON 13:45 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m0022z38)
16. A Drop in the Ocean
A fisherman is stranded in the ocean late at night. Completely alone, the clock is ticking. How do you find one man lost in the open ocean? Can he be rescued in time?
Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0022z3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Plum House (m000h7x8)
Series 3
3. A Knight to Remember
Plum House has once again been invited to the Museum of the Year awards in London. Manager Tom is determined that he and Peter attend as the house has been nominated, despite the rest of the team thinking it's a waste of time.
While Tom and Peter are away, Julian is left in charge and much to Alan and Maureen's consternation decides that now's the time for him to raise his social media game by posing in a suit of armour. Meanwhile Tom's chance meeting with old colleague Emma at the awards stirs up old feelings...
Plum House features Simon Callow, Jane Horrocks, Miles Jupp, Pearce Quigley, Tom Bell and Louise Ford.
Guest starring this week: Alex Lowe
Written by Ben Cottam and Paul McKenna
Directed by Paul Schlesinger
Produced by Claire Broughton
It is a BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
MON 14:45 Wolverine Blues (m000yl9z)
Episode 4
Wolverine Blues, or a Case of Defiance Neurosis
Fiction from Graeme Macrae Burnet, inspired by the case study "Defiance Neurosis of a Seventeen-Year-Old High School Student" by Alphonse Maeder.
Dr Maeder and Herr Schaller have found common ground as they act to bring Max back from the brink of delinquency.
Read by Alasdair Hankinson and Robin Laing.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Graeme Macrae Burnet lives in Glasgow and is the author of novels including the Man Booker shortlisted 'His Bloody Project' and longlisted 'Case Study'. His new novel, 'A Case for Matricide', is published in October and concludes the Georges Gorski trilogy.
MON 15:00 Great Lives (m0022z3d)
Anneka Rice picks the largely forgotten Jane Morris, muse to Rossetti and wife of William Morris
The biography show where famous guests picks someone they admire or love. Jane Morris was the wife of William Morris and muse of Gabriel Dante Rossetti. Anneka Rice believes her contribution to 19th-Century art and culture has been largely overlooked.
"I'm not a big fan of needle point," she says, "but we cannot ignore what she brings to art history". Plus she comes from absolutely NOWHERE to marry Morris and have an affair with Rossetti. Joining Anneka in the discussion is Suzanne Fagence Cooper, the author of How We Might Live: At Home with Jane and William Morris. The presenter is Matthew Parris.
MON 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m0022z3g)
BBC National Short Story Award 2024
Hamlet, a love story by Lucy Caldwell
Lisa Dwyer Hogg reads Hamlet, a love story by Lucy Caldwell. The first of the five shortlisted stories for the BBC National Short Story Award 2024.
Lucy Caldwell is the author of four novels, three collections of short stories, and several stage plays and radio dramas. Her latest novel, These Days, won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and her latest collection of short stories, Openings, was published by Faber in 2024. She won the BBC National Short Story Award in 2021.
The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £600 each. The 2023 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Naomi Wood who won for ‘Comorbidities’, a story examining the difficulty of maintaining love and intimacy in a marriage, from her debut collection, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Orion). The 2024 winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday 1 October 2024.
All of the stories are available on BBC Sounds where you can also download the BBC National Short Story Award podcast which includes a Front Row interview with each of the five shortlisted writers.
Abridged by Katrin Williams
Produced by Justine Willett
MON 16:00 Extreme: Muscle Men (m0022z3k)
Muscle Men
8: The Genie Is Out
In the wake of the steroid ring’s downfall, the headline-grabbing prosecutions combine with sports scandals and anxieties about steroids making it into high school locker rooms. Lawmakers decide to take action. The Steroid Control Act of 1990, spearheaded by none other than then-Senator Joe Biden, promises to deal with steroids once and for all.
But the USA already had a taste of what it felt like to get ripped - really ripped. And it’s hard to stuff the genie back in the bottle once it weighs 240 pounds of pure muscle.
Today, as millions of Americans take steroids with the aim of bulking up, host Natalia Mehlman Petrzela reckons with the enduring legacy of the steroid ring, and an era which transformed our ideas about fitness and beauty.
Featuring former bodybuilders William Dillon, Shawn Ray and Sandra Blackie; Mike Zumpano, co-author of The Underground Steroid Handbook; Professor of Sports Studies at Stirling College-Chengdu University, Daniel Rosenke; Dr Harrison Pope, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; and Daniel Supnick, a former special agent with the US Customs Service.
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 Daniel Kempson
Original Music by SilverHawk, aka Cyrille Poirier
Executive Producer: Max O’Brien
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
Featuring clips from:
Nightline, ABC Special for Monday, Nov 20, 1989 - ABC
Olympic Games History, Seoul 1988 - BBC
Senator Joe Biden remarks on Democratic Anti-Drug Legislation, July 31 1989 - C-Span
House Session, September 22, 1988 - C-Span
Interview with Philip Halpern - Professor Daniel Rosenke
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 16:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0022z3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m0022z3p)
Huw Edwards sentenced for making of child abuse images.
Ex-BBC presenter Huw Edwards receives a 6 month suspended prison sentence for making child abuse images. Also, we hear from the floods across Europe as the death toll rises.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0022z3r)
He had admitted to having indecent images of children as young as seven
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0022z3t)
Series 93
1. I’ve written down ‘Fleshy’, ‘England’ and ‘Chin’.
Sue Perkins challenges Stephen Fry, Jan Ravens, Tony Hawks and Katherine Parkinson to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Subjects include the invention of radio, doppelgängers and a bad-hair day.
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Manager: Jerry Peal
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Rajiv Karia
An EcoAudio certified production.
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
MON 19:00 The Archers (m0022z3x)
Adam’s outraged to learn about Will and Emma covering for George. He’s glad they were arrested, but can’t trust himself to be around Will, so Pat will have to work something out at Bridge Farm.
Susan warns Will that Adam’s not happy and doesn’t want to work with either of them. But Susan’s glad Will’s told Poppy and Keira everything. Susan suggests a family day at the Flower and Produce show, but Will can’t face it. And when he starts worrying about how George would cope in prison, Susan does her best to reassure him.
There’s a staffing crisis at Bridge Farm, with Tom concerned by Emma calling in sick again at the Tearoom. Having seen Emma out working yesterday he wonders just how ill she can be. And now Clarrie’s been called away as well, to look after her sister Rosie in Great Yarmouth. Pat’s grateful to Susan for stepping up and cuts through the small talk to try and see how Susan’s really doing. Pat’s heard about Emma and Will via Lilian. Susan is apologetic, but just wants to focus on work to distract her from thinking about George and how everything has gone so badly wrong.
Tom goes to see Emma and talks about Fallon. Emma says she can’t face Fallon, plus there’s the stress of worrying about George and what will happen to the kids if she gets sent to prison. Tom understands her concern, then encourages her to meet up with him and Fallon – he has an idea. If Fallon’s willing to meet, says Emma, then so is she.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0022z3z)
Edward Enninful, Lady Blackbird performs, Booker prize shortlist
Edward Enninful, Vogue Global Creative and Cultural advisor has just made a documentary series, In Vogue: The 90s. He discusses the decade that changed fashion forever. Sue Prideaux has just written the first biography of French post impressionist artist, Gauguin, in over thirty years. She argues it is time to reappraise the way we look at the man and his work. American singer Lady Blackbird has been called 'the Grace Jones of jazz' and she discusses her recent rise to fame and plays a song from her new album Slang Spirituals. And, Will Boast is one of five a finalists for this year's BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University and joins Samira to discuss his entry.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Ruth Watts
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0022swz)
Is Germany in trouble?
David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the challenges facing Germany. Worries over the economy and immigration have seen the far right AfD party gain support in the former east Germany.
Guests:
Guy Chazan, Berlin bureau chief at the Financial Times
Dr Constanze Stelzenmuller, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings Institution
Marcel Fratzscher, President DIW Berlin - German Institute for Economic Research and Professor at Humboldt University Berlin
Thiemo Fetzer, Professor of Economics at Warwick and Bonn Universities
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Sound engineer: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m0022sx1)
The first civilian spacewalk
Today incredible images were beamed around the world of civilians walking in space – for the very first time.
All eyes were on businessman Jared Isaacman and engineer Sarah Gillis as they ventured outside a Space X capsule.
But is this an historic space exploration milestone - or just a very exciting holiday for a billionaire? We'll find out more from the BBC’s own expert space-watcher Jonathan Amos.
Also this week, we visit Sellafield which processes and stores more radioactive material per square metre than any other site in Europe. But it is getting full.
So where is our nuclear waste going to go in future? As the UK searches for a new potential site, we look at the science of what we do with nuclear waste and why.
We’ll also delve into the fascinating world of nuclear semiotics. How can we communicate the dangers of nuclear waste to people living 100,000 years from now?
Presenter: Vic Gill
Producers: Sophie Ormiston & Gerry Holt
Editor: Martin Smith
Studio manager: Cath McGhee
Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
MON 21:00 Start the Week (m0022z2n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:45 Café Hope (m0022z2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0022z41)
US Republicans demand more secret service protection from Donald Trump
US Republicans are asking more questions of the Secret Service after another apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Trump was golfing in Florida when one of his Secret Service agents noticed a rifle muzzle in a bush and opened fire towards it. The suspected gunman was later apprehended, 58-year-old Ryan Routh has been charged with firearm offences.
Junior doctors in England have accepted the government’s offer of a 22% pay rise over two years, bringing to an end an 18-month dispute that saw them take part in 11 separate strikes.
And as psychiatrists warn of an uptick in ketamine addiction among young people, one mother recounts losing her son to the drug.
MON 22:45 Still Lives by Jon McGregor (m0022z43)
1: Still Life with Fruit
Close to death, an elderly woman contemplates fruit slowly decaying in a wooden bowl, and recalls the man who made it, many years before...
Penelope Wilton begins of a series of short stories from the acclaimed author of Reservoir 13, exploring stillness and still lifes. Each story celebrates a classical still life image: a bowl of fruit, a plate of cheese, an opened door, a coffee pot. These are stories in which, seemingly, nothing is happening. And yet, through these scenes, powerful and heart-rending stories emerge.
Reader: Penelope Wilton
Author: Jon McGregor is the multi-award-winning novelist and short story writer. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize for three of his novels, including his 2002 debut If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which also went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has won the BBC National Short Story Award. His third novel, Even the Dogs (2010), earned McGregor the International Dublin Literary Award in 2012, whilst his 2017 work Reservoir 13 scooped up the Costa Book Award.
Producer: Di Speirs
MON 23:00 Limelight (m001qtns)
The System - Series 3
The System - Method 3: Find a God and Pray
Five Methods for Overcoming Mortality.
Season 3 of Ben Lewis’ award-winning thriller.
Pulled from her safe house by an unusual woman, Maya finds herself on an unexpected journey of self-discovery.
Meanwhile Jake attempts to get to the bottom of where she’s disappeared to by challenging Robin – the enigmatic man with the red mullet.
Cast:
Maya… Siena Kelly
Jake … Jack Rowan
Coyote…Divian Ladwa
Wendy … Amelia Bullmore
Robin…Ryan Sampson
Matt Finch and Control…Rhashan Stone
Original music and sound design by Danny Krass
A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams
MON 23:30 A Good Read (m0020hn2)
Doon Mackichan and Bruce Robinson
Recorded at the Hay Festival
SHUGGIE BAIN by Douglas Stuart
ON THE BLACK HILL by Bruce Chatwin
AGAINST NATURE by Joris-Karl Huysmans
Harriett Gilbert takes to the stage in the BBC Marquee at the Hay Festival for a special edition of the programme recorded in front of an audience.
Actor and writer Doon Mackichan known for her outrageous character Cathy in the sitcom Two Doors Down chooses Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart as her good read. It's a touching but heartbreaking tale of a young Glaswegian boy's desperate efforts to save his mother Agnes from the alcoholism that ruins and degrades her. It won the Booker Prize in 2020.
As we're in Wales Harriett's fitting choice is Bruce Chatwin's On The Black Hill an account of rural Welsh life in the mid 20th century. It's the story of two brothers' lives over 80 years and their connection to land and community.
Bruce Robinson actor, director and writer of the hit film Withnail and I which has been adapted for stage chooses a book that features in the final scene of the film. The I character places two books in a suitcase at the end of the film, one of which is A Rebours - Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans. Bruce confesses that he's not the book's biggest fan but the ensuing discussion provides an entertaining insight into books we might read when we're younger and how differently we feel about them in later life. It's the story of an eccentric recluse Jean des Esseintes in 19th century France who loathes people and creates a fantasy world for himself but ultimately suffers from his self-inflicted pretentious ennui.
"I wish I hadn't chosen this book" proclaims Bruce Robinson as he introduces it. "I wish you hadn't chosen it" agrees Doon Mackichan. They then elicit a lot of audience laughter from their deconstruction of this seminal French novel that all three find pretentious.
A longer version of the programme is available as a podcast
Producer: Maggie Ayre
TUESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0022z46)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m0022z2x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0022z48)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0022z4b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0022z4d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0022z4g)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0022z4j)
New Discoveries
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Right Rev Mary Stallard, bishop of Llandaff.
Good morning. For several years our family have holidayed in the same village on the Greek island of Kefalonia. We love walking there and I thought we’d come to know it quite well. This year we had a surprise; we walked barely a mile further along the coast than we’d previously ventured and discovered an amazing, horse-shoe shaped cove that’s far prettier and more dramatic than any we’d found before. We were amazed: it’s made us aware of how much we’ve still got to learn about the area.
Similar learning happened for me recently when I attended a study day on Christian attitudes to protest. We were looking at the story of Jesus overturning the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple in Mark’s Gospel. It’s a story I thought I knew well; but I was amazed to hear, as though for the first time, the verse which says that Jesus stopped people from using the Temple as a short-cut, preventing them from carrying things through the holy space. I was so surprised that I’d never noticed this verse before. Like finding the beach on holiday, it felt as though something new suddenly opened up.
Each experience has reminded me there’s always so much I’ve still got to learn. They underline for me the variety and beauty of creation, and the depth and scope of scripture, which constantly offers believers new and fresh perspectives.
God our maker, thank you for all the gifts you give us, for opportunities to grow each day. Bless us with humility, that we may be open to discover fresh meaning and purpose and become signposts of your joy for others. Amen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0022z4l)
17/09/24 Lib Dem party conference; Farmland birds; Peat
It's party conference season and Farming Today will be covering the three main conferences. This week, the Liberal Democrats meet in Brighton. Their relative success in the recent General Election has given them a boost, and many of their new constituencies gained this summer are in rural areas. The big question is budget. Before the election the Liberal Democrats promised £1 billion a year more, for the Environmental Land Management Scheme which replaces old EU payments in England. Different changes are being made in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since the election, it's emerged the Conservative government underspent its DEFRA budget by £358m in the previous parliament. We speak to the environment food and rural affairs spokesperson for the Lib Dems, Tim Farron.
All week we're taking stock of birdlife on farms. The RSPB says farmland bird numbers are still declining for some species, and more needs to be done to improve numbers through habitat creation, and changing farming methods. On the Lowther Estate, near Penrith, in Cumbria, recent changes in grazing, tree planting, even the introduction of beavers to help with wetland creation, are already having positive repercussions on both the range and number of birds choosing to nest and breed there.
The UK has an estimated three million hectares of peatland, both upland and lowland, but it's believed about 80 percent of that is in poor condition. A new report from the International Union for the Convention of Nature shows progress has been made on restoring UK peatlands over the last thirty years but its Peatland Programme also reports that it's unlikely to meet the target to restore two million hectares by 2040.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
TUE 06:00 Today (m00230vx)
The head of Universities UK, Dame Sally Mapstone, claims tuition fees must rise to prevent a 'slide into decline' but, as part of the Today programme listeners series, Anna, Chloe and Pearl asked us to explore if a degree is still worth the parchment its written on: former education secretary Alan Johnson gives his reaction. The number of people off work is now so high Britain really can be branded the 'sick man of Europe' according to the Institute for Public Policy Research, but there are solutions according to former chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies. The director general of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells us 'peace is the best medicine' and the head of Energy UK Emma Pinchbeck says the green energy revolution will inevitably mean building more infrastructure in the countryside.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m002305z)
Rosalie David on the science of Egyptian mummies
Rosalie David is a pioneer in the study of ancient Egypt. In the early 1970s, she launched a unique project to study Egyptian mummified bodies using the techniques of modern medicine. Back then, the vast majority of Egyptologists regarded mummies as unimportant sources of information about life in ancient Egypt. Instead they focussed on interpreting hieroglyphic inscriptions, the written record in papyrus documents and archaeological remains and artefacts. Rosalie David proved that the traditionalists were quite wrong.
Professor David’s mummy research started at the Manchester Museum when she began to collaborate with radiologists at the nearby Manchester Royal Infirmary, taking the museum’s mummies for x-rays at the hospital. Her multi-disciplinary team later moved to a dedicated institute at the University of Manchester, the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology. Over the decades, the team there has made remarkable discoveries about disease and medicine in ancient Egyptian society, providing a new perspective on the history of medicine and giving extraordinary insights into the lives of individuals all those years ago.
Rosalie tells Jim Al-Khalili about her journey from classics and ancient history to biomedicine, including some of her adventures in Egypt in the 1960s. She talks about some of her most significant research projects, and the 21st Century forensic detective work on the mummy of a young woman which revealed a gruesome murder 3,000 years ago...
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Andrew Luck-Baker
TUE 09:30 All in the Mind (m0023061)
Surfing and mental health, grief for dead celebrities, and being unique
Claudia Hammond has her surfboard and wetsuit at the ready to investigate whether surfing could improve her mental health. And she speaks to Ariane Gerami from the University of Bristol to find out whether the enthusiam for surfing to help your mental health is coming ahead of the evidence.
Claudia is joined in the studio by psychologist Dr Peter Olusoga at Sheffield Hallam University. They talk about a study that's found the need for uniqueness has dwindled over the last 20 years.
And one of our listeners got in touch to ask why she felt so much grief for someone she had never met, following the death of Michael Mosley . Claudia speaks to sociologist Dr Ruth Penfold-Mounce from the University of York, and psychologist Dr Dara Greenwood from Vassar College in New York, to discuss why we can feel such an intense loss for someone we've never met.
And the All in the Mind Awards are open for entries. We hear from Ben May from bereavement charity The New Normal, who won the project category in 2023. Full details about the awards are in the programme, or at bbc.co.uk/radio4/allinthemind where you’ll find full terms and conditions too. Entries close at
1pm on 8th January 2025.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell
Editor: Holly Squire
Production coordinator: Siobhan Maguire
Photo credit: The Wave
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m00230vz)
Kim Cattrall, Sex offender treatment, At-home cervical screening, Author Sarah Pearse
The actress Kim Cattrall has starred in films and on stage, but is probably best known for TV series Sex And The City. She is now in a new audio drama, Central Intelligence, which tells the story of the CIA from the perspective of Eloise Page. Eloise joined on the agency’s first day in 1947 and became the highest ranking female officer. Kim joins Clare McDonnell to discuss Eloise, her passion for radio, and the enduring appeal of Samantha Jones.
In sentencing Huw Edwards, the former BBC News presenter, for accessing child sexual abuse images, the magistrate said that he did not pose a risk to the public or children, and that an immediate custodial sentence was not necessary because the evidence showed he could be rehabilitated. Edwards must now attend 25 sex offender treatment sessions. We look at how these treatment programmes work and how effective they are proven to be, with Deborah Denis, CEO of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and Professor Belinda Winder, Research Director of the Centre for Crime, Offending, Prevention and Engagement at Nottingham Trent University.
The number of women taking up NHS cervical screening test invitations has been declining for the last 20 years. Healthwatch England did research with women who were reluctant to accept NHS invitations for screening and found that 73% would do an at-home test instead. A trial done by King’s College London earlier this year found that if self-sample kits were available on the NHS, 400,000 more women would be screened per year. Chief Executive of Healthwatch England Louise Ansari and Dr Anita Lim, lead investigator of the King’s College London trial, join Clare to tell us more.
Sarah Pearse is the best-selling author of the Detective Elin Warner trilogy. She recently released the last novel in the series, The Wilds which includes themes of coercive control and was written with advice from the charity Refuge. She talks to Clare about the role fiction can play in highlighting issues of domestic violence and coercive control.
TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m0022skv)
Emma Rawicz and Julian Joseph, with special guest Rhiannon Giddens
Saxophone player and composer Emma Rawicz and jazz pianist and bandleader Julian Joseph join Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye as they take us from a 1973 Elton John hit to music with historical links to the Deep South.
Special guest Rhiannon Giddens, the American folk musician, fiddler and banjo player, reveals the history of the bluegrass banjo, taking us from West Africa to the Americas, and the role of the transatlantic slave trade.
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Bennie and the Jets by Elton John
SilkyM by Sean Mason
They Say I’m Different by Betty Davis
Walkin’ Boss by Sam Amidon
Bapaalaay by Esukolaal
Other music in this episode:
Carnaval de Paris by Dario G
Slave to the Rhythm by Grace Jones
Dreams by Kelsey Lu
He Used to be Your Man by Lena Wilson
Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten
Texas Hold 'Em by Beyoncé
TUE 11:45 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m00230w1)
Book of the Week: Episode 2 - Demands Are Made
In Ben Macintyre’s latest book it’s April 1980 and 6 gunmen have taken the Iranian Embassy and 26 hostages. With the SAS en route from their HQ, the gunmen are about to set out their demands. Jamie Parker reads.
Ben Macintyre sets the pulse racing in his new book when he returns us to the spring of 1980. On 30th April, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London, taking 26 people hostage, what followed was an intense set of events involving police negotiators, decisions makers at the highest levels, and the SAS. Jamie Parker reads.
In The Siege Ben Macintyre takes us on a journey through the crisis, painting a minute-by-minute picture of six days filled with terror and uncertainty for the hostages, the gunmen and the authorities.
When all avenues to resolve the crisis bloodlessly were exhausted, the SAS were deployed, and millions gathered around their televisions to watch the unprecedented events unfold.
Ben Macintyre’s previous titles include, Colditz, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and The Traitor. Several have been adapted for film and television – Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Jamie Parker is known for his work on radio – Hamlet, Going Infinite, The Gold Finch; the stage – The History Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal, and screen - Becoming Elizabeth, The Crown and Des.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m00230w3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m00230w5)
Call You & Yours : How should the BBC be funded in future?
As the government debates how the BBC will be funded and might look in future, how do you think you should pay for the services you get ?
TUE 12:57 Weather (m00230w7)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m00230w9)
Live from the Liberal Democrats Party Conference
Live from the Liberal Democrats Party Conference in Brighton. Also, we hear from Molly Russell's father Ian Russell on new Instagram safety features announced today.
TUE 13:45 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m00230wc)
17. The Golden Spike
At a conference in Mexico, one scientist’s outburst launches a global quest.
Hannah Fry follows a group of researchers on the hunt for a ‘golden spike’: the boundary, marking a shift into a dramatic new geological period dominated, not by volcanoes and asteroids, but the influence of humans.
From plastics and concrete to nuclear fallout, the data they uncover reveals a planet profoundly changed. But can these scientists persuade their colleagues - and the world?
Producer: Ilan Goodman
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0022z3x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m00230wf)
Half Lives
Sara is trying to reach a society 10,000 years in the future.
Hannah is just trying to get through the week.
Hannah works as operations manager at a nuclear processing plant that’s about to be decommissioned. Its nuclear waste will be packed into canisters and buried deep underground.
But the waste will remain deadly for thousands of years.
Sara is a linguist, sent to shadow Hannah, to develop a way of warning future generations about the dangers of the waste that lies buried.
The challenge: today’s languages are unlikely to survive the vast timeframes needed.
As Hannah and Sara bring their very different perspectives to a tense working environment, tempers flare and connections are made.
Natasha Kaeda’s drama asks, how do we care for future generations?
Cast
Hannah…. Lois Meleri Jones
Sara… Indra Ové
The Myth… Kezrena James
Tegwyn… Wyn Bowen Harries
Eric…. Dion Lloyd
John…. Rhys Ap William
Production co-ordinators… Eleri McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees
Sound designer… Catherine Robinson
Director and Producer… Fay Lomas
BBC Audio Drama Wales
TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m00230wh)
A Word
Wishes, wonders, and wisdom. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures uncovering the power of words.
mother-house by produced by Catherine Boulle.
Inspired by the guided visualisations accompanying the book 'Motherhood: Is it for me?' by Denise L. Carlini & Ann Davidman.
Weird World Whimsy produced and composed by Suzie McCarthy.
Featuring actor, teacher and director, Mary Lou Rosato.
Interview recording by audio producer Donelle Wederburn in New York City.
The piece featured a canoe trip on the Tapiskwan Sipi, which runs through Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok territory in the unceded province of Quebec.
Special thanks to Nina Garthwaite, Tom Todoroff, Emily Moulton, Katherina Lindekens and Emma Lehman from Noise Club.
Buranbur: a comfort in words by audio maker and producer Suhaar Ali.
Featuring the first Somali woman elected to the cabinet, Fadumo Aalin, who talks about her mother and poet Hawo Jibril.
Curated by Axel Kacoutié, Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft
Produced by Axel Kacoutié
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m00230wk)
BBC National Short Story Award 2024
The Barber of Erice by Will Boast
Acclaimed actor Mark Strong reads Will Boast’s shortlisted entry for this year’s BBC National Short Story. Here courage and friendship emerge from a clash of cultures in a Sicilian village.
Will Boast is the author of a story collection, Power a memoir, Epilogue (Liveright/Norton and Granta Books, 2015), and a novel, Daphne. His short fiction, reporting, and essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, and The American Scholar, among other publications. He's held fellowships from Stanford University, the University of Virginia, the American Academy in Rome, and the University of East Anglia, and he's taught at the University of Chicago, the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center in Rome, and Royal Holloway, University of London.
Mark Strong, a household name for film and theatre goers and the small screen. Recent film credits include The Critic, Kingsman 2 and for stage A View From the Bridge, and forthcoming, Oedipus.
The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £600 each. The 2023 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Naomi Wood who won for ‘Comorbidities’, a story examining the difficulty of maintaining love and intimacy in a marriage, from her debut collection, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Orion). The 2024 winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday 1 October 2024.
All of the stories are available on BBC Sounds where you can also download the BBC National Short Story Award podcast which includes a Front Row interview with each of the five shortlisted writers.
Abridged by Rowan Routh
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
TUE 16:00 Thinking Allowed (m00230wm)
Medical Icons
The Stethoscope and the X-ray: Laurie Taylor explores two medical innovations which have achieved iconic status. Nicole Lobdell, Assistant Professor of English at DePauw University, charts the when, where, and how of our use of X-rays, what meanings we give them and what metaphors we make out of them. Is there a paradox to living in an age where we rely on X-rays to expose hidden threats to our health and security but also fear the way they may expose us?
Also, Tom Rice, Associate Professor in Anthropology at the University of Exeter investigates a scientific instrument which has become the symbol of medicine itself. What makes the stethoscope such a familiar yet charismatic object?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m00230wp)
BBC in crisis, laughing at Trump and the elephant in the room
David and Simon discuss Huw Edwards, Strictly Come Dancing and the BBC in crisis. How is the corporation dealing with being in the news for all the wrong reasons?
Plus, “They’re eating the dogs, they're eating the cats” - is the global mockery following Donald Trump’s pet-eating accusations in his TV debate with Kamala Harris a PR disaster for the former president?
And what is the elephant in the room? Let’s talk about why the unmentionable is often at the heart of PR.
Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 17:00 PM (m00230wr)
Hezbollah struck by exploding pagers
Across Lebanon, hundreds of members of the armed group Hezbollah have been injured after their electronic pagers exploded in their pockets. We hear the latest on the ground, and ask how and why an attack like this could happen. Also: as Sir Ed Davey strikes an optimistic tone at the Liberal Democrat conference, we speak to an MP about the party's direction. And the Commonwealth Games will return to Glasgow after Australia backed out.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m00230wt)
The Lebanese armed group immediately blamed Israel amid a recent escalation in tensions
TUE 18:30 Heresy (m001818c)
Series 12
Episode 3
Victoria Coren Mitchell presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy.
Joining Victoria Coren Mitchell to commit heresy this week are comedians Richard Herring and Phil Wang and the journalist Matthew Norman.
Written, presented, and produced by Victoria Coren Mitchell
with additional material from Dan Gaster and Charlie Skelton
Series created by David Baddiel
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002305k)
Eddie complains to Will about getting dirty looks at the market. Will speculates about going to prison and asks Eddie to make sure Poppy will be looked after. Eddie’s disparaging about Neil and Susan’s role in calling the police on George.
Later, Susan suggests to Eddie they should make plans in case Will and Emma are prosecuted, prompting Eddie to have a go at her. Susan stands firm – she and Neil did the right thing. Angry Eddie defends William, who wasn’t involved in the decision to call the police. Ed intervenes to calm Eddie down, but he refuses to have anything to do with Neil and a shaken Susan.
Ed’s sceptical as Emma prepares for her meeting with Tom and Fallon. He’s still hurt by Emma’s role in covering for George, and wonders whether starting the tree surgery business was a good idea. Emma tries to defend it, positing how well they work together, but Ed stays quiet.
At the meeting Tom tries keeping things positive between Fallon and Emma. Fallon talks about her anger and how George’s actions have affected people. Tom wonders how to move things forward at the Tearoom, but Fallon knows Emma would act the same way again, if it came to it. And when Emma doesn’t deny it they are no closer to finding a solution.
Fallon and Emma talk about the strain on both their marriages. Fallon then presses Emma on George’s behaviour. When Tom again steers the conversation back to the Tearoom Emma offers a solution: she’s quitting. Fallon says thank you, as Emma leaves.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m00230ww)
David Peace, new plays crisis, Booker Prize 2024 shortlist
David Peace on his new novel, Munichs, about the plane crash that transformed Manchester United.
Katie Posner, Co-Artistic Director of Paines Plough theatre company and Daniel Evans, Co-Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company discuss the new plays crisis in theatre.
Matt Hemley, Deputy Editor of The Stage, reports on the cancellation of a new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
Artist and author Edmund De Waal, chair of judges for the Booker Prize 2024, reflects on this year's shortlist.
Manish Chauhan on his shortlisted story, Pieces, for this year's National Short Story Award.
Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001xvfh)
Degraded by Deepfakes
Jodie had everything - a good job, great friends and a busy social life. But her world was turned upside down when she was targeted by an online abuser who posted pornographic deepfakes of her online. Initially turned away by the police, she turned detective herself - but nothing could prepare her for what she eventually discovers. She now struggles to trust anyone. And what happened to Jodie could happen to any of us. Here she tells her story for the very first time.
Reporter: Kate West
Producer: Rhoda Buchanan
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Digital Producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston
If you’ve been a victim of harassment, stalking or revenge porn, details of organisations offering information and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m00230wy)
Melanie Barratt's Channel Swim; Your Questions, Please
Melanie Barratt is a decorated Paralympic swimmer, having won two Golds, two Silvers and a Bronze at the Atlanta and Sydney games. She has had a long career, but her most recent feat took her away from the swimming pool and into the English Channel. Melanie recently completed the 33km swim and made history while doing it, as she is thought to be the first blind woman to have finished. Melanie tells In Touch about how she prepared for the challenge (which involved regularly dipping into a barrel of freezing cold water), about the methods of how she did it as a blind person and about the health benefits that she believes cold water swimming provides.
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 Three Million (m0022clj)
7. Road to the Past
Kavita Puri goes to India to meet some of the last survivors of the 1943 Bengal famine. She looks for traces of how war and famine impacted Kolkata and then travels from the city along the road to where the story of famine begins.
Kavita goes deep into the countryside and the jungle in West Bengal to find people who lived through that devastating time more than 80 years ago. These are voices that are almost never recorded and have never been broadcast before. For the past year and a half Kavita has been asking why there is no memorial to the three million people who died. But then in the Bengal jungle she finally finds it – it’s not what she expected.
Presenter : Kavita Puri
Series Producer: Ant Adeane
Editor: Emma Rippon
Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore
Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown
With thanks to Manoshi Barua for her translation work and to her, Bhasker Patel, Moazzem Hossain and Jesmin Ahmed for voicing up the Bengali-language interviews.
TUE 21:30 Great Lives (m0022z3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:00 on Monday]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m00230x0)
Deaths and thousands of injuries in Lebanon, as pagers used by Hezbollah simultaneously explode
Deaths and thousands of injuries in Lebanon after pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah explode. We speak to the Lebanese health minister and ask what's next for the region. Also in the programme: rapper Sean Diddy Combs pleads not guilty to sex trafficking charges; US economy; throat cancer; the future of Oxford Street.
TUE 22:45 Still Lives by Jon McGregor (m00230x2)
2: Still Life with Coffee Pot
During her daughter's brief nap in a busy cafe, an exhausted new mother tries to rekindle her art.
The next in a series of short stories from the acclaimed author of Reservoir 13, exploring stillness and still lives. Each story celebrates a classical still life image: a bowl of fruit, a plate of cheese, an opened door, a coffee pot. These are stories in which, seemingly, nothing is happening. And yet, through these scenes, powerful and heart-rending stories emerge.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Author: Jon McGregor is the multi award-winning novelist and short story writer. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize for three of his novels, including his 2002 debut If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which also went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has won the BBC National Short Story Award. His third novel, Even the Dogs (2010), earned McGregor the International Dublin Literary Award in 2012, whilst his 2017 work Reservoir 13 scooped up the Costa Book Award.
Producer: Justine Willett
TUE 23:00 Poetry Please (m00208d6)
Hanan Issa
Roger McGough is joined by the National Poet of Wales, Hanan Issa, to make a selection of listeners' poetry requests. Her choices include poems by Menna Elfyn, Imtiaz Dharker, Zeina Hashem Beck, Philip Larkin, Robert Hayden and Jack Gilbert.
Hanan is a Welsh-Iraqi poet, filmmaker and artist from Cardiff. Her recent works include her poetry collection My Body Can House Two Hearts (Burning Eye Books, 2019) and her contributions to Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales (Repeater Books, 2022) and The Mab (Unbound, 2022), a retelling of the Mabinogi stories for children. She has recently edited an anthology of dragon poems for children, 'And I Hear Dragons'. Her winning monologue ‘With Her Back Straight’ was performed at the Bush Theatre as part of the Hijabi Monologues. She was also part of the writers room for Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts alongside its creator, Nida Manzoor.
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio
TUE 23:30 A Good Read (m0020q9j)
Sebastian Faulks and Tessa Hadley
VOICES IN THE EVENING by Natalia Ginzburg (trans. DM Low), chosen by Tessa Hadley
THE ZONE OF INTEREST by Martin Amis (trans. Jessica Moore), chosen by Sebastian Faulks
EASTBOUND by Maylis de Kerangal, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Two authors pick books they love with Harriett Gilbert.
Tessa Hadley (Late In The Day, Free Love, After The Funeral) takes us to post-war Italy with Voices In The Evening by Natalia Ginzburg. The drama, suffering and fascism are in the past, but traumas surface in the day-to-day, with first loves and lost chances.
Sebastian Faulks (Birdsong, Human Traces, The Seventh Son) chooses The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis, after watching the hit film by Jonathan Glazer and wanting to read the book it was inspired by. The haunting novel follows a Nazi officer who has become enamoured with the Auschwitz camp commandant's wife, and goes inside the minds of the commandant, who lives with his family right next to the concentration camp.
Harriett Gilbert brings Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal, a gripping novella set on the Trans-Siberian Railway, with a chance encounter between a desperate Russian conscript and a French woman.
Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol
Join the conversation on Instagram @bbcagoodread
WEDNESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m00230x4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m00230w1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00230x6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00230x8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00230xb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m00230xd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00230xg)
Keepsakes
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Right Revd Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff.
Good morning. Over the past year I’ve noticed that I’m becoming more, rather than less attached to some of my possessions. This may sound surprising for someone who tries to follow a faith which warns against storing up “treasures on earth”.
Perhaps it also sounds a bit contrary at a time when many feel moved to de-clutter and simplify our lives. But I’ve found that certain objects have a significance that can’t easily be let go of.
When Dad died four years ago, I helped Mum clear out and give away his clothes and many of the personal belongings that it didn’t make sense for her to keep. But there were some things we felt a need to hold on to. I kept the pyjama top that he wore and two of his ties.
It feels comforting just to have these - they’re not things I’d ever wear, but they feel like a precious link with him. They’re loaded with a meaning that goes beyond any sense of material value. They feel like an imprint of him, of the marks of the loving difference he made in my life.
I realise that not everyone is able to hold onto physical mementos of their loved ones. The terrible tragedies and wars that destroy so many lives today often rip even such small comfort from the bereaved.
But where it’s possible I think there can be something healing about things that are charged with memories, symbols of love, creativity and care.
I treasure, and want to hold onto the small things that speak to me of love.
Holy God, lover of souls, present to us in so many ways. In times of sorrow, bless us with gentleness that we may be kind to ourselves and others, as you are unfailingly tender to all. Amen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m00230xj)
18/08/24 Trail hunting, Blackberries, Lapwings
It is 20 years since fox hunting was banned by Tony Blair’s Government. Since then, those who enjoyed the sport have adapted to trail hunting instead. That is where a trail is laid across countryside for hounds and horse riders to follow. There is no kill at the end. However animal rights campaigners say trail hunting is a smokescreen for real hunting and Labour said it would ban trail hunting in its manifesto. The public were invited to attend trail hunts around the country to see how it works. We hear from people on both sides of the debate.
Autumn is the natural peak-time for blackberries and picking them from the hedgerows, is one of those end of summer family outings, marking a seasonal shift. Farmers are also growing blackberries now - they're very different from the wild variety - huge, tasty, but obviously, not free. So is it worth buying blackberries? We speak to one grower.
A conservation and farming charity, the Countryside Regeneration Trust is calling on the government to re-assess its advice about providing habitat for endangered lapwings. At the moment farmers get paid to help lapwings nest by making clear squares in the middle of cereal crops, but the CRT believe that’s not helping numbers increase, because the surrounding habitat doesn’t provide enough food for the birds.
Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
WED 06:00 Today (m002304x)
18/09/24 - UN warns on Hezbollah pager explosions
Israel's Mossad spy agency placed explosives in thousands of Hezbollah pagers before they detonated across Lebanon, multiple reports say. Israel is yet to comment.
How was the attack carried out and what impact will it have in the region? Today speaks to BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen, Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas, and former US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.
Also in the programme: Former PM Sir John Major calls the Rwanda plan "un-Conservative and un-British"; Tesco's boss suggests AI could nudge shoppers towards healthier choices; and the rare celestial event of a partial eclipse of a supermoon.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m002304z)
How do you count millionaires?
Can we be sure that thousands of millionaires are leaving the UK?
How much do asylum seekers cost the state?
Who will win a geeky bet on private school pupil numbers?
What does a string quartet teach us about the woes of the National Health Service?
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Natasha Fernandes and Bethan Ashmead-Latham
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound mix: Sarah Hockley
Editor: Richard Vadon
WED 09:30 The Coming Storm (m0023051)
S2: 2. Flight 007
America through the looking glass - enter a world where nothing is as it seems.
As Gabriel Gatehouse travels around America in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential election, he keeps hearing about the Federal Reserve. Many people think the Fed is a central cog in a grand conspiracy to impose a sinister ‘New World Order’ and control the supply of money.
These dark fears about the Federal Reserve are bound up with the fear of communism. And they go back to the Cold War… to a fringe group called The John Birch Society, and one of its leaders, Congressman Larry McDonald, who lived his life as if in the crosshairs of a terrifying communist conspiracy.
Producer: Lucy Proctor
Sound design and mix: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon
Script consultants: Richard Fenton-Smith and Afsaneh Gray
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke
Original music: Pete Cunningham
CREDITS:
U.S. Stock Market Crash - 1929 | Today in History | 29 Oct 16, AP Archive
Clips of Larry McDonald and Robert Welch from Education Is the Key (by Larry McDonald) 1980, John Birch Society and 1958 Robert Welch Speech - Insiders Plan To Take Over America (copyright unknown)
Audio of G Edward Griffin presentation from The Creature From Jekyll Island (by G. Edward Griffin), recorded 1994
Western Goals film, The Subversion Factor, Knowledge 2020 Media, 1983
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0023053)
Saoirse Ronan, Nikki Doucet on women’s football, JoJo, Vaccinations
Four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan broke into Hollywood at 13 years old with her performance as Briony Tallis in Atonement. She has also appeared as Jo March in Little Women, as the lead actress in Brooklyn and won a Golden Globe for her performance in Lady Bird. She joins Clare McDonnell to discuss her latest role in the film The Outrun in which she plays Rona, a young woman struggling with addiction.
Nikki Doucet has been called the most powerful person in English women’s football. She is the newly appointed CEO of the Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd which took over leadership of the two top tiers of women's football from the Football Association this summer. Nikki and her team have big plans to revolutionise the women's game and she joins Clare to tell her about them.
The number of children who are fully vaccinated for MMR - measles, mumps and rubella - has fallen to the lowest level in 14 years. According to NHS figures, this year 91.9% of children aged five received one dose of the MMR vaccine and only 83.9% have had two doses. To reach herd immunity – the point where diseases stop spreading - at least 95% per cent of children need to be immunised. Clare discusses the issues with Carly Danesh-Jones, a parent who previously held vaccine hesitancy views and changed her mind, and Dr Vanessa Saliba, a UK Health and Security Agency consultant epidemiologist.
It’s been 20 years since the singer, songwriter and actor Joanna Levesque - or JoJo - signed her first record deal at the age of just 12 years old and shot to the top of the pop-and-R&B charts. Her cool-girl appearance and upbeat music with hits such as Leave (Get Out) to Baby It's You earned her millions of fans across the world. She joins Clare to discuss her memoir Over The Influence which delves into the challenges she faced, from her parent’s addiction problems, through to her own struggles growing up in the limelight.
Presenter: by Clare McDonnell
Produced by Louise Corley
WED 11:00 File on 4 (m001xvfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:45 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m0023055)
Book of the Week: Episode 3 - Day 1 - Night Falls
In Ben Macintyre’s gripping new book about the hostage crisis at the Iranian Embassy it’s the first day of the six day siege. The gunmen are volatile, and the hostages are terrified. Night falls as vans carrying SAS troopers make their way to epicentre of the hostilities. Jamie Parker reads.
Ben Macintyre sets the pulse racing in his new book when he returns us to the spring of 1980. On 30th April, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London, taking 26 people hostage, what followed was an intense set of events involving police negotiators, decisions makers at the highest levels, and the SAS. Jamie Parker reads.
In The Siege Ben Macintyre takes us on a journey through the crisis, painting a minute-by-minute picture of six days filled with terror and uncertainty for the hostages, the gunmen and the authorities.
When all avenues to resolve the crisis bloodlessly were exhausted, the SAS were deployed, and millions gathered around their televisions to watch the unprecedented events unfold.
Ben Macintyre’s previous titles include, Colditz, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and The Traitor. Several have been adapted for film and television – Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Jamie Parker is known for his work on radio – Hamlet, Going Infinite, The Gold Finch; the stage – The History Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal, and screen - Becoming Elizabeth, The Crown and Des.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0023057)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m0023059)
Rents, House Parties and Publishing Scams
Today the ONS releases new stats on the cost of renting. They come after a report earlier this week found the gap between average rents in the north and south has reached its narrowest in over a decade. We find out what’s been happening, why, and how tenants feel it will affect their plans.
Figures shared exclusively with us by the Night Time Industry Association show over a third of Britain’s nightclubs have closed since 2020. But that doesn’t mean Gen Z are staying in and cultivating wholesome hobbies at home instead. Some are driving hundreds of miles to attend professionally organised house parties in strangers' homes that boast top name DJs and confetti cannons. We attend one in Manchester to meet the company organising it and speak to revellers to find out why they’ve come and whether they've told the neighbours.
If your dream night “out, out” involved seeing Oasis, you have just over a day to tell the Competition and Markets Authority about your experience getting tickets to see the band from Ticketmaster. It's part of the regulator's investigation into the firm’s use dynamic pricing. The CMA tells us it’s not looking at the practice beyond this case. However, the FT reckons almost one in three retailers use it in some way. We find out why its become so common.
Finally, everyone (it seems) has a book in them and 300 million self-published titles were sold last year. Now unscrupulous businesses and outright scammers are targeting authors who want to get their work in print. We meet one writer who's been impacted and find out what you should check if a company is offering to publish your work for a fee.
Presenter: Shari Vahl
Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz
WED 12:57 Weather (m002305c)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m002305f)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
WED 13:45 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m002305h)
18. The Night the Earth Shook
In a small Italian city nestled in the Apennine mountains, a series of low level tremors are setting nerves on edge. Is this just a passing phase, or a prelude to something far more devastating?
Producer: Ilan Goodman
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
WED 14:00 The Archers (m002305k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Riot Girls (m000dq2d)
Dykes
Episode 1
Episode 1: Six of one and half a dozen of the other. An original three part series by Sarah Daniels, which follows the friendship of three radical lesbian feminists from the 1970s to today, and takes in the pioneering campaigning of the ‘70s and ‘80s, the backlash of Clause 28 in the 1990s, and the more recent fractures in the LGBTQ+ community. Starring Nichola McAuliffe, Jessica Turner, Jelena Budimir, Lucy Reynolds, Scarlett Courtney and Sinead MacInnes.
This fourth season of Riot Girls - provocative writing by women - offers no-holds barred dramas that explore themes of gender identity, lesbian relationships and the intersections between the feminist and LGBTQ+ movements.
CAST
Pat.....Nichola McAuliffe
Lynn/Liam.....Jelena Budimir
Miley.....Katie Angelou
Younger Pat.....Lucy Reynolds
Younger Bex.....Scarlett Courtney
Younger Lynn.....Sinead MacInnes
Headmaster.....Neil McCaul
Pat’s Dad.....Ian Conningham
Directed by Emma Harding
WED 15:00 Money Box (m002305m)
Money Box Live: Fostering Finance
There are nearly 70,000 children in the UK who are in foster care.
Foster carers main concern has to be the children they look after, including many who have experienced neglect and trauma. But they are self-employed, so there are also financial considerations, from allowances and fees, to tax returns and receipts.
In this programme we'll hear from charities, foster carers and care leavers. We'll also discuss new analysis from the Fostering Network, which found foster carers face a post code lottery when it comes to fees they’re paid.
Foster carers are given an allowance to pay for clothes and food - but they're also usually paid extra on top to recognise their time and skills. Those fees aren't fixed though, and local authorities can each individually decide how much to award.
Using freedom of information requests the charity found 60% of local authorities across the UK are paying foster carers the equivalent of less than £5 an hour based on a 40 hour week.
Local Authorities are given funding from central government and the devolved nations – the told us they are reviewing support for foster carers.
Felicity Hannah, is joined by Sarah Thomas, Chief Executive of The Fostering Network and Brenda Farrell, Head of Fostering at Barnardo's.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers
Editor: Jess Quayle
(This episode was first broadcast at
3pm on Weds 18th Sept 2024).
WED 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m002305p)
BBC National Short Story Award 2024
Pieces by Manish Chauhan
Rebekah Staton and Hasan Dixon read Pieces by Manish Chauhan, the next of five stories shortlisted for this year's BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University.
Originally from Leicester, Manish Chauhan works as a finance lawyer. He is a graduate of Creative Writing from the University of Oxford, and courses run by Curtis Brown Creative and The Stinging Fly. His work has been longlisted for the Curtis Brown First Novel Award (2019) and shortlisted for the DGA First Novel Prize (2020), for the Galley Beggar Short Story Prize (2021/2022), the Exeter Short Story Award (2019) and The Evesham Festival of Words Prize (2020).
The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £600 each. The 2023 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Naomi Wood who won for ‘Comorbidities’, a story examining the difficulty of maintaining love and intimacy in a marriage, from her debut collection, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Orion). The 2024 winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday 1 October 2024.
All of the stories are available on BBC Sounds where you can also download the BBC National Short Story Award podcast which includes a Front Row interview with each of the five shortlisted writers.
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Justine Willett
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m0022zb4)
TV's "culture problem", origins of Trump's pet eating allegations, the race for AI supremacy
Donald Trump’s ‘migrants eat pets’ claim is the US election’s most viral meme so far. We talk to the journalist who tracked down the source of that story, and an academic investigating the political impact of memes.
The Economist’s man in Beijing joins us to discuss life as a foreign correspondent. As his posting comes to an end, he reflects on political and cultural change in China, and what it’s like reporting from a country with ever increasing media restrictions.
We’re also looking at the arms race and personal rivalries at the heart of the artificial intelligence industry, with AI authority Parmy Olson. Plus we get the latest on the TikTok ban appeal and the Observer sale with Lara O’Reilly.
Guests: Lara O’Reilly, Senior Correspondent, Business Insider; Jonathan Shalit Chair & Founder, InterTalent Rights Group; Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Chair, Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority; Jack Brewster, Enterprise Editor, NewsGuard; A.J. Bauer, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Creative Media, University of Alabama; David Rennie, Geopolitics Editor, The Economist; Parmy Olson, Tech Columnist for Bloomberg and author of Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson
Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai
WED 17:00 PM (m002305r)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002305t)
More people have died and been wounded as walkie-talkies detonated
WED 18:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m0016xvv)
Series 1
Round three: Four-Letter Words
The problem with quizzes is that the same questions keep coming up, like “Who was the first US President to be assassinated?”*. So the more quizzes you do the more predictable they get. Luckily, here comes quizzer, comedian and Rose d’Or winner Paul Sinha with his series, Paul Sinha’s Perfect Pub Quiz. In each episode he will invite the audience to tell him their favourite quiz questions, before offering up not just different and surprising questions, but also the fascinating stories behind the answers.
The answers to every question this week are four-letter words - such as 'quiz', not the ones you're thinking of.
It’s facts, jokes, stories and puns – just the way you like them.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material Oliver Levy
Additional questions The Audience
Original music: Tim Sutton
Sound engineer: Jerry Peal
Producer: Ed Morrish
A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4
*Abraham Lincoln, as you well know.
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0022z9h)
Proud Jolene takes her hoped for prize-winning apple and cheese pie out of the oven, only for Kenton to tease about his pie taking the honours at the Flower and Produce Show instead. They are both suspicious about getting baking tips from other people, before agreeing not to involve anyone else. Kenton is still convinced he’s going to win, though.
Jolene goes to check on Fallon, who’s overwhelmed at the Tearoom. As they clear the backlog Fallon admits she no longer cares about the Tearoom, now that she’s pitching for the Charging Station café. And she doesn’t care if Bridge Farm find out. However, Fallon admits, if Harrison stays part-time at work, there’s no point in pitching.
As Tracy and Kenton coo over the Bull’s new kitten, Tracy delicately asks if Emma could do some shifts at the pub. But it’s a clear “no”. They also talk Flower and Produce entries, but when Tracy mentions Jazzer’s enormous sunflower she’s perturbed by Kenton talking about the one Pip has found at Brookfield. Kenton also tries to get some baking tips from Ian.
Tracy then watches over Xander for Ian. Grateful Ian reports back about contacting Xander’s teacher, admitting he still doesn’t really know how Xander feels about school. Tracy’s encouraging though, calling Ian brave for taking on a party for Xander’s birthday and inviting the whole class. She then mentions Jazzer fuming about the sunflower. He’ll have to give it up and let Rosie win. Tracy wishes Ian luck for the PTA meeting tomorrow, but she still thinks he’s bonkers for taking it on.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m002305w)
A Very Royal Scandal, Glasgow Cathedral Festival & crime writer Peter May.
Screenwriter Jeremy Brock discusses Amazon's A Very Royal Scandal, the second dramatisation this year of Emily Maitlis' 2019 Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, which stars Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson.
Mezzo-soprano Rowan Hellier and pianist Jonathan Ware perform from the opening event of the Glasgow Cathedral Festival, an exploration of sexuality and seduction inspired by art from the 1920s.
And crime writer Peter May talks about the inspirations behind his latest thriller set on the Outer Hebrides, The Black Loch.
Plus an interview with writer Vee Walker, who is shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Mark Crossan
WED 20:00 AntiSocial (m0022sjx)
Snow White and the dwarfism debate
Are the seven dwarfs perpetuating dangerous stereotypes or harmless fantasy figures?
Disney is remaking its 1937 classic Snow White as a live action film - but this time there’s no mention of dwarfs in the title. Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism, has questioned whether the story should be retold at all, calling it “backward”. But others argue that it’s just a fairytale - and one that can provide valuable work to actors with dwarfism. So how will the remake handle the dwarfs? What is dwarfism and what are the best terms to use? And we take a tour through Hollywood history, from Oompa Loompas to Middle Earth.
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Simon Maybin, Phoebe Keane, Ellie House
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Penny Murphy
WED 20:45 Boys (m001yqz0)
About the Boys
5. Friendship
In this episode, boys from all over the UK talk to Catherine Carr about friendship. Some talk about the difficulty they have in expressing emotions to friends and their fear of being vulnerable. Others reflect on the importance of honest relationships in maintaining good mental health. Boys talk about not fitting the stereotypical masculine moulds and how that can cause difficulties in making friends with other boys. Catherine also speaks to experts who have studied boys and friendship for the last forty years and finally learns about some of the ways that male friendship groups can form hierarchies.
Thanks to
Carlton Keighley school, Yorkshire
Dance United Yorkshire
DRMZ Carmarthen Youth Project
@panchbantz on Instagram
Niobe Way Author Deep Secrets: Boys Friendships and the Crisis of Connection
Ben Hine, British Psychological Society
Producer: Catherine Carr
Researcher: Jill Achineku
Executive Producer: Marie Helly
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
WED 21:00 The Life Scientific (m002305z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 All in the Mind (m0023061)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0023063)
Has a new phase in Middle East war begun?
Another day of explosions in Lebanon. At least 20 people have died - after walkie talkies blow up - and as Israel says it's opening a new phase in the war. We're live in Beirut - and ask whether the attacks on Hezbollah could be a breach of international law.
Also tonight:
We report from the US state of Oregon - where drugs like fentanyl are being re-criminalised....just four years after they were de-criminalised.
And we speak to a British soldier whose DNA helped identify a relative who died at the World War Two Battle of Arnhem - and who was given a full military burial there today.
WED 22:45 Still Lives by Jon McGregor (m0023065)
3: Still Life with Open Door
After a fall, a woman watches the changing scenes through an open door, as she patiently waits for help...
Monica Dolan reads the next in a series of short stories from the acclaimed author of Reservoir 13, exploring stillness and still lives. Each story celebrates a classical still life image: a bowl of fruit, a plate of cheese, an opened door, a coffee pot. These are stories in which, seemingly, nothing is happening. And yet, through these scenes, powerful and heart-rending stories emerge.
Reader: Monica Dolan
Author: Jon McGregor is the multi award-winning novelist and short story writer. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize for three of his novels, including his 2002 debut If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which also went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has won the BBC National Short Story Award. His third novel, Even the Dogs (2010), earned McGregor the International Dublin Literary Award in 2012, whilst his 2017 work Reservoir 13 scooped up the Costa Book Award.
Producer: Justine Willett
WED 23:00 Follow the Rabbit (m0023067)
3. The Body That Came from the Sky
Follow the Rabbit is a new comedy series following Chris Relish, an amateur paranormal investigator and podcast maker who is on a mission to prove the existence of supernatural forces after claiming he's had a romantic experience with a ghost.
In his new case, Chris strays from the ethereal path in search of extra-terrestrial life. Local farmer Robert tells Chris the story of his very unusual encounter with an alien. He says a silver craft got too close to his farm and an alien fell out of it into the field below. Robert claims this experience revealed the reason why aliens visit Earth. It's not to study us or harvest us for food... it's because they fancy humans.
Cast
Chris Relish: Tom Lawrinson
Robert: Steve Brody
Kathleen Relish: Jo Enright
Marco: Owen Cooper
Dog Woman: Chelsea Halfpenny
Written and produced by James Boughen
Executive Producers: Simon Mayhew Archer and Michelle Farr-Scott
Original music by Sam O'Leary and Jacob Howard
A Motif Pictures production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 The Skewer (m0023069)
Series 12
Episode 2
The week’s biggest stories like you’ve never heard them before. The news remixed into a satirical comedy concept album. This week: Strictly Come Bullying, Fifi and the Flowertories, and the playing of the Blame Game.
Jon Holmes presents the multi-award-winning The Skewer. Headphones on.
Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 A Good Read (m0020xvs)
Gyles Brandreth and Hannah Critchlow
Writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth has chosen EF Benson's entertaining tale of competitive snobbery in the 1920s, Mapp and Lucia. In a contrasting choice, neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow advocates for Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, a story of a Ghanaian family transplanted to Alabama which takes in neuroscience and opiate addiction. Harriett has gone for a real crowd-pleaser in E. Nesbit's The Railway Children and all three enjoy a bit of nostalgia for the times when children could run free having adventures around the railway.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven.
THURSDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m002306c)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m0023055)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002306f)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002306h)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m002306k)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m002306m)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002306p)
Running the Race
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Right Revd Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff.
Good morning. Well I‘ve managed to do it again: there’s just a few weeks before the Cardiff half-marathon and I’m having to cram a lot of training into a short space of time.
I did the same thing last year, thinking I could raise money for a good cause and get fitter into the bargain. I completed the race somehow last year, but regretted my lack of preparation. I don’t want to risk injury so I intended to train carefully this time with a proper schedule. I’d learn from the past and do better second time around.
But I’m slowly learning that in a number areas of my life - including prayer, reading and improving my Welsh - making progress is hard work and there’s a lot of failure involved.
It’s a comfort to me that the same struggle’s reflected in Christian experience from the earliest times. The author of the letter to the Hebrews talks about the particular things that each one of us struggles with repeatedly in our lives. And helpfully for me right now, the image used to describe this is running in a race.
The writer says we’re not alone in our struggles, “so let us lay aside...the sin which so easily besets us and run with patience the race that is set before us.”
I find encouragement in these words that remind me not to seek to be perfect, but to be accepting of whatever it’s possible for me to offer.
God of beginnings and endings, you know everything about our lives, and you always love us. Help us to be patient, to learn from failure and to be thankful for blessings. Keep us faithful to our calling and always ready to offer encouragement to others. Amen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002306r)
19/09/24 - Radical changes to food safety proposed, tech to fight food fraud, curlew conservation, carers' countryside respite
Radical changes to food safety are being proposed. The Food Standards Agency is discussing removing responsibility from cash strapped councils and relying instead on data collected by food companies and supermarkets. Under plans discussed yesterday by its board the FSA would take direct control of things like hygiene and food standards for large companies, leaving local authority inspectors to concentrate on smaller businesses. It has piloted the idea, working with five retailers and says the system is 'suitably robust and proportionate' and gives more information on compliance than the current approach. Chris Elliott, professor of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast and Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, says more work and more consultation is needed.
Technology should be used to combat food crime; the call comes from the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers and follows a report from the Food Standards Agency which highlighted 'new opportunities' for criminals.
The number of curlews has dropped by more than half since 1995 and the bird is high on the Red List of endangered species. We hear how the farming community in North Wales is getting involved in conservation.
How a charity which takes young carers farming and camping on Dartmoor is giving them a rare opportunity to get away from their responsibilities and out into the countryside.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
THU 06:00 Today (m0022z8s)
19/09/24 - Nick Robinson and Emma Barnett
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0022z8v)
Benjamin Disraeli
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the major figures in Victorian British politics. Disraeli (1804 -1881) served both as Prime Minister twice and, for long periods, as leader of the opposition. Born a Jew, he was only permitted to enter Parliament as his father had him baptised into the Church of England when he was twelve. Disraeli was a gifted orator and, outside Parliament, he shared his views widely through several popular novels including Sybil or The Two Nations, which was to inspire the idea of One Nation Conservatism. He became close to Queen Victoria and she mourned his death with a primrose wreath, an event marked for years after by annual processions celebrating his life in politics.
With
Lawrence Goldman
Emeritus Fellow in History at St Peter's College, University of Oxford
Emily Jones
Lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Manchester
And
Daisy Hay
Professor of English Literature and Life Writing at the University of Exeter
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Reading list:
Robert Blake, Disraeli (first published 1966; Faber & Faber, 2010)
M. Dent, ‘Disraeli and the Bible’ (Journal of Victorian Culture 29, 2024)
Benjamin Disraeli (ed. N. Shrimpton), Sybil; or, The Two Nations (Oxford University Press, 2017)
Daisy Hay, Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance (Chatto & Windus, 2015)
Douglas Hurd and Edward Young, Disraeli: or, The Two Lives (W&N, 2014)
Emily Jones, ‘Impressions of Disraeli: Mythmaking and the History of One Nation Conservatism, 1881-1940’ (French Journal of British Studies 28, 2023)
William Kuhn, The Politics of Pleasure: A Portrait of Benjamin Disraeli (Simon & Schuster, 2007)
Robert O'Kell, Disraeli: The Romance of Politics (University of Toronto Press, 2013)
J.P. Parry, ‘Disraeli and England’ (Historical Journal 43, 2000)
J.P. Parry, ‘Disraeli, the East and Religion: Tancred in Context’ (English Historical Review 132, 2017)
Cecil Roth, Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (New York Philosophical library, 1952)
Paul Smith, Disraelian Conservatism and Social Reform (Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC, 1967)
John Vincent, Disraeli (Oxford University Press, 1990)
P.J. Waller (ed.), Politics and Social Change in Modern Britain (Prentice Hall / Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1987), especially the chapter ‘Style and Substance in Disraelian Social Reform’ by P. Ghosh
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
THU 09:45 Glued Up: The Sticky Story of Humanity (m001y89y)
The Birth of Civilisation
Modern life would quite literally fall apart without glues – they hold our buildings, our phones, even our bodies together. But the story of stickiness runs much deeper than that. In fact, our greatest leaps forward as a species couldn’t have happened without adhesives.
In this series, materials scientist Mark Miodownik charts the journey of human progress through the sticky substances that have shaped us. In episode one he explores the very earliest adhesives, dating back at least 190,000 years, that allowed our ancestors to invent, innovate, and make the first tools.
And he hears how lumps of these prehistoric glues contain fragments of the stone age people who used them, trapped in time for thousands of years.
Contributors:
Geeske Langejans, Delft University of Technology
Hannes Schroeder, University of Copenhagen
Producer: Anand Jagatia
Presenter: Mark Miodownik
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0022z8x)
Maternity care, Friends 30th anniversary, Breast implant illness
Maternity failings at scandal-hit hospitals are becoming more widespread, according to the Care Quality Commission. In a review of 131 maternity units across the NHS in England, 48% have been rated as requiring improvement or inadequate. Anita Rani gets the latest from BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle, and speaks to NHS midwife and author Leah Hazard about whether women can keep themselves safe on maternity wards.
On 22 September 1994, the American TV show Friends premiered on NBC. Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross became household names. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Anita speaks to one of the show’s writers and producers, Betsy Borns. Plus, we hear from journalist Emma Loffhagen about why the show still resonates with Gen Z all these years later.
Reporter Melanie Abbott joins Anita – she has been investigating breast implant illness. Thousands of women are having their implants removed because they think they are making them sick. We hear from Caroline George who had hers taken out four months ago, and from a doctor and researcher, Prabath Nanayakkara, in the Netherlands who has been running a specific clinic for this for 12 years. He thinks that the UK desperately needs a similar resource. Breast surgeon Steven Thrush will tell us what is happening here in the UK where it seems much harder to get a diagnosis.
Stand-up comedian, writer, and actor Lucy Beaumont joins Anita to talk about the next leg of her tour – Lucy Beaumont Live. She’ll tell us about the stories and jokes we can expect on the tour, as well as why she thinks the world of comedy has gone backwards to being male-dominated.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Lottie Garton
THU 11:00 This Cultural Life (m0022z8z)
Peter Kosminsky
Having started out as a current affairs journalist, Peter Kosminsky made his name by telling contemporary social and political stories in the form of television drama. Warriors was about British soldiers in the peace-keeping force in Bosnia; The Government Inspector dramatised the events surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly; The State explored the radicalisation of British Islamists. Kosminsky is also acclaimed for his television adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. He has won six BAFTA Awards, including one for his outstanding contribution to British television.
Peter talks to John Wilson about the huge influence of his parents. He recalls how his left wing father and his mother who had been a kindertransport child, shaped his interest social justice from the perspective of the outsider, the refugee and the disenfranchised.
Seeing Ken Loach's 1975 BBC television drama Days of Hope was a another turning point, and revealed to the 18 year old Kosminsky, the huge emotional power of the medium of television drama.
He also explains how a letter from a British soldier in response to his 1999 drama Warriors led to his acclaimed and controversial Channel 4 series The Promise, 11 years later.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
THU 11:45 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m0022z91)
Book of the Week: Episode 4 - Day 2 Begins
Ben Macintyre’s latest book tells the story of the SAS hostage crisis at the Iranian Embassy in 1980. Day 2, the SAS are taking up residence next door at the Royal College of GPs, and cutting edge technology is deployed. Jamie Parker reads.
Ben Macintyre sets the pulse racing in his new book when he returns us to the spring of 1980. On 30th April, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London, taking 26 people hostage, what followed was an intense set of events involving police negotiators, decisions makers at the highest levels, and the SAS. Jamie Parker reads.
In The Siege Ben Macintyre takes us on a journey through the crisis, painting a minute-by-minute picture of six days filled with terror and uncertainty for the hostages, the gunmen and the authorities.
When all avenues to resolve the crisis bloodlessly were exhausted, the SAS were deployed, and millions gathered around their televisions to watch the unprecedented events unfold.
Ben Macintyre’s previous titles include, Colditz, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and The Traitor. Several have been adapted for film and television – Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Jamie Parker is known for his work on radio – Hamlet, Going Infinite, The Gold Finch; the stage – The History Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal, and screen - Becoming Elizabeth, The Crown and Des.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0022z93)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 You and Yours (m0022z95)
Gap Finders: Lemonade Dolls
Lemon Fuller started an Instagram page in 2017 with the aim of surrounding herself with like-minded people who were looking for something that the mainstream didn't offer them. From her conversations with followers it became apparent to Lemon that there was a demand for lingerie brand that was for all body shapes, stylish, wasn’t uncomfortable to wear, and had a ethos of empowering people and rewriting the rule book – Lemonade Dolls was born.
In Lemon's words her aim was to push the boundaries of the 'over-sexualised' female underwear market, and embrace women and empower them. She also feels that young women today no longer want underwear to attract men, they want underwear to help them take over the world!
Lemon had no business experience, her previous career was in entertainment, so she had to learn on the job, pick up skills along the way, learn from mistakes, and also call out what she saw as an inequality in business support and investment offered to women.
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 (m0022z97)
Electrolytes
Do drinks and powders with electrolytes help to hydrate you better?
Listener Rob got in touch as he’s recently taken up a new sport and wants to know if electrolytes can help his performance and recovery. He’s seen lots of adverts on social media for drinks and powders containing electrolytes that claim to hydrate you better than just plain water. But do they?
To find the answers, Greg speaks to Graeme Close, Professor of Human Physiology and Head of the Research Institute for Sports and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University.
All our investigations start with YOUR suggestions. If you've seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voicenote to our WhatsApp number 07543 306807
PRESENTER: GREG FOOT
PRODUCER: SIMON HOBAN
THU 12:57 Weather (m0022z99)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0022z9c)
State of fear as Lebanon death toll rises
As the death toll from explosions in Lebanon increases, we examine the risk of an escalation in the region with Aaron David Miller. Plus, why haven't interest rates been cut?
THU 13:45 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m0022z9f)
19. A Different Kind of Justice
How does a small informal survey lead to shocking truths about the US justice system thirty years later?
Producer Lauren Armstrong Carter
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0022z9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m000lmsy)
The Ballad of Bobby Sands
Tom Kelly imagines the final days of MP and IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in a play about political and religious conviction, grief and a mother’s love.
Bobby Sands ..... Jonjo O'Neil
Rosaleen ..... Frances Tomelty
Father Faul ..... Lloyd Hutchinson
Director ..... Emma Harding
Producer ..... Marc Beeby
Written by Tom Kelly
THU 15:00 Open Country (m0022z9k)
Night under the Stars
For young carers, it can be difficult to find time to get away from home and enjoy the great outdoors. In this programme Helen Mark meets a group of 12-13 year-olds who all have caring responsibilities for a family member at home, but who are spending a night camping out on Dartmoor. She joins them as they pitch their tents, do some river-dipping, and help with feeding farm livestock. As dusk falls, they set off on a night-time walk across the moor - battling their way through gorse bushes in the dark, to reach a rocky outcrop where they lie on their backs to gaze in silence at the stars.
Helen talks to some of the young carers about their experiences, and hears from the charity which organised the trip and the ranger from Dartmoor National Park who guides the young people through the activities. They tell her why it's important to offer opportunities like this and explain how much difference a taste of the outdoors can make to the life of a young carer. For some of them, this is their first experience of spending a night in a tent.
Producer: Emma Campbell
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0022z9m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m0022z9p)
BBC National Short Story Award 2024
Nice Dog by Vee Walker
Paterson Joseph reads Nice Dog by Vee Walker, which is one the of five stories shortlsited for this year's BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University.
Vee Walker’s novel, Major Tom’s War, was shortlisted for the inaugural Society for Army Historical Research (SAHR) Military Fiction Awards 2019 and her short story Cinder Toffee, won the Hugh Miller Writing Competition Fiction Prize in 2020. Her fictional young adult novella The Tale of Eppy Hogg, was shortlisted for The Kelpies Prize 2023. She has pursued a career in museums and heritage, working initially for the Imperial War Museum onboard HMS Belfast and then for the National Trust.
The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £600 each. The 2023 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Naomi Wood who won for ‘Comorbidities’, a story examining the difficulty of maintaining love and intimacy in a marriage, from her debut collection, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Orion). The 2024 winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday 1 October 2024.
All of the stories are available on BBC Sounds where you can also download the BBC National Short Story Award podcast which includes a Front Row interview with each of the five shortlisted writers.
Abridged and produced by Justine Willett
THU 16:00 Rethink (m0022z9r)
Rethink: Is the internet getting worse?
Rethink examines emerging issues in politics, society, economics, technology and the UK's place in the world, and considers how we might approach them differently. We look at the latest thinking and research and discuss new ideas that might make the world a better place.
In this episode, we look at "Enshittification", or to put it more politely - the problem of internet platform decay.
Facebook used to be about posts from your friends, but its feed now also includes groups, adverts, reels, and threads posts. Trying to work out if the Amazon product you want is any good can be tricky, because sellers can pay for their product to appear higher in your list of results. Search engines are not immune; German researchers have found that Google, Bing and Duck Duck Go are prone to spam marketing, making it more difficult to find what you want.
There's no ill-intent behind this: platform decay is a side-effect of the way these businesses work. So what can governments and individuals do, to try to get a better internet for everyone?
Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Clare Fordham
Contributors:
Cory Doctorow, visiting Professor of Computer Science at the Open University, and co-founder of the UK Open Rights group.
Professor Gina Neff, Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy at the University of Cambridge,
Marie Le Conte, political journalist and author of the book escape - about the rise and demise of the internet
Dr Cristina Caffarra, competition economist and former anti-trust consultant.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0022z9t)
Is lab-grown meat the future of food?
Lab-grown meat, cultivated meat, cultured meat, in-vitro meat - whatever you call it, the industry claims it could be a game changer. Not just economically, but for feeding the planet in a sustainable way.
But is it too good to be true? And will people even eat it?
In this special episode of Inside Science, we take a deep-dive into lab-grown meat; visiting a production facility to see how it's made, hearing about the nuanced perspectives of British farmers, asking if this new industry can learn from the failings of GM foods, and trying to figure out what the true environmental costs of entirely new way of producing food really is.
Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Andrew Rhys Lewis
THU 17:00 PM (m0022z9w)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0022z9y)
The group's leader said the detonations of pagers and walkies-talkies was a major blow
THU 18:30 Phil Ellis Is Trying (m000mr6c)
Series 3
Ghost Walk
When that the treasure map he bought off a dodgy Tom Jones impersonator turns out - incredibly - to be useless, Polly convinces Phil to abandon his get-rich-quick schemes and opt for something more traditional, namely a ghost walk through Parbold. Phil jumps at the idea and enlists Johnny to help him. Parbold has its fair share of ghosts. And even if no-one can see them, they can just make them up; who's to know any better? More importantly, putting on a big event like a ghost walk might finally impress Phil's love interest Ellie. If only Polly and Phil hadn't shared their idea with Mick the Chinese herbalist who suddenly decides he's going to put on a ghost walk too. What a coincidence. Parbold's not big enough for two spectral spectacles so which walk is going to win?
Cast includes:
Phil Ellis as Phil
Johnny Vegas as Johnny
Amy Gledhil as Polly
Katia Kvinge as Ellie/Goth
Jason Barnett as Keith the Barman
Desiree Burch as American Tourist
Terry Mynott as German Tourist/Gravedigger/Orlando
And
Mick Ferry as Mick The Chinese Herbalist
The producer was Sam Michell and it is a BBC Studios Production.
THU 19:00 The Archers (m0022zb0)
Emma bumps into Ian at Bridge Farm shop, gets flustered, and leaves before he can make conversation. When Tony asks about the PTA meeting Ian mentioned Ian admits he’s become a bit too involved. But he feels duty bound now, having submitted a lot of the ideas himself. He just needs to break the news to Adam…
Pat offers Susan a friendly ear, having heard from Clarrie about Eddie’s outburst, but Susan plays it down.
There’s an emergency meeting planned at Bridge Farm, but Pat’s thrown when Tom gives her zero notice of a booking Natasha has taken from Felpersham Local Produce Society. Susan has all the details though and steps up to lead the cheese-making demonstration. However, after a confident start, Susan falters and Pat has to take over. Afterwards, Susan admits how things have got to her, not least Eddie’s outburst. Pat sends her home, reassuring Susan that doesn’t have to deal with this on her own.
At the emergency meeting, Tony, Tom and Pat try to fix the Bridge Farm staffing puzzle, but something has to give. They agree they can’t compromise on milking, so Pat decides they’ll hire in a contract milker and the others agree.
Later, Pat checks on stressed Susan, who opens up on her fallout with Eddie, having played it down to Neil. George is not doing well and won’t speak to Emma. Emma arrives, surprised to see Pat. She gets upset and apologises. Pat is supportive though, telling Emma to stay strong, before she leaves. Whereupon Emma breaks down in Susan’s arms.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0022zb2)
Review: film The Substance, Art Michael Craig-Martin, Book The Empusium
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Bidisha Mamata and Ben Luke who will be offering their verdicts on body horror film The Substance staring Demi Moore, a major new Michael Craig-Martin exhibition at the Royal Academy in London and The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Nobel prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk.
Plus BBC National Short Story Award shortlisted author Ross Raisin.
Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Claire Bartleet
THU 20:00 The Media Show (m0022zb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m0022zb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Naturebang (m000q3ks)
Dragon Lizards and the Gender Spectrum
Sex is simple. Or so we're taught; animals can be male or female. But even the briefest glance at the animal kingdom tells us that this simply isn't true. Some creatures have only one sex; some have three; some have none at all. Some animals are two sexes at the same time; some flip flop between them when the time is right. When evolution came to solve the problem of procreation, she did it in a myriad of mind-blowing ways.
When it comes to humans, it's even more complicated - we have this thing called Gender, too. It's often defined as the social and cultural side of sex, distinct from the biological. But that's not the full story. Becky Ripley and Emily Knight travel back to the dawn of human culture, and into the tangled depths of our genetic code, to try and unravel why we are the way we are, and why it matters so much that we understand it all properly.
Featuring Professor Jenny Graves, geneticist at La Trobe University, and the writer and scholar Meg-John Barker.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0022zb8)
Hezbollah leader says pager bombings "crossed all red lines"
The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, says bomb attacks using thousands of the Lebanese armed group's pagers and radios "crossed all red lines", and accused Israel of what he said represented a declaration of war. As he was speaking, Israeli jets flew in the skies over Beirut and later bombed many locations in southern Lebanon. Israel says it has approved battle plans for its northern front.
Sir Keir Starmer insists he is "completely in control" amid a spate of off-the-record briefing over the salary of his chief of staff Sue Gray. The Prime Minister also defended his decision to accept corporate hospitality from Arsenal football club, saying he could no longer use his season ticket as prime minister.
And the man who co-founded the BBC's Natural History Unit, Tony Soper, has died at the age of 95.
THU 22:45 Still Lives by Jon McGregor (m0022zbb)
4: Still Life with Cheeses
As he contemplates a wooden board, laden with ripe cheeses, in the low light of a dimming dinner party, a elderly man's memories return to France...
Dermot Crowley reads the next in a series of short stories from the acclaimed author of Reservoir 13, exploring stillness and still lives. Each story celebrates a classical still life image: a bowl of fruit, a plate of cheese, an opened door, a coffee pot. These are stories in which, seemingly, nothing is happening. And yet, through these scenes, powerful and heart-rending stories emerge.
Reader: Dermot Crowley
Author: Jon McGregor is the multi award-winning novelist and short story writer. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize for three of his novels, including his 2002 debut If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which also went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has won the BBC National Short Story Award. His third novel, Even the Dogs (2010), earned McGregor the International Dublin Literary Award in 2012, whilst his 2017 work Reservoir 13 scooped up the Costa Book Award.
Producer: Justine Willett
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m0022zbd)
Will the Lebanon blasts lead to an escalation in the Middle East?
Pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah have exploded across Lebanon killing several people and injuring thousands more.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant says the country is "opening a new phase in the war" - and the "centre of gravity is shifting to the north through the diversion of resources and forces".
Sir Alex Younger, a former head of MI6, talks to Amol and Nick about the significance of the attacks, which were reportedly carried out by the Israeli spy agency Mossad.
They’re also joined by the presenter of Radio 4’s Kitchen Cabinet, Jay Rayner, for his moment of the week.
If you have a question you’d like Amol and Nick to answer, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note on WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or send an email to today@bbc.co.uk.
To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme, subscribe to The Today Podcast on BBC Sounds so you don’t miss an episode.
You can also listen any time on your smart speaker by saying “Smart Speaker, ask BBC Sounds to play The Today Podcast.”
The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today 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 was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before and was also ITV’s political editor.
The senior producers are Tom Smithard and Lewis Vickers, the producer is Joe Wilkinson, the editor is Louisa Lewis and the executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Hannah Montgomery and digital production from Charlie Henry and Joe Wilkinson.
THU 23:30 A Good Read (m0021309)
Helen Lederer and Ilaria Bernardini
BOOKS:
WISHFUL DRINKING by CARRIE FISHER
FORBIDDEN NOTEBOOK by ALBA DE CESPEDES
YELLOWFACE by REBECCA F KUANG
Harriett's guests today are comedian and writer Helen Lederer known for so many roles including as Catrionia in Absolutely Fabulous. Recently she has published her memoir Not That I'm Bitter and set up the Comedy Writing In Print Prize. She has opted for the hugely witty and knowing memoir Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher detailing her tumultuous life as the child of two Hollywood stars who often couldn't separate fantasy from reality.
Ilaria Bernardini is an Italian novelist and screenwriter. She is currently working on Bernardo Bertolucci’s final script which Ilaria co-wrote with hi -The Echo Chamber. Her choice is the seminal feminist Italian novel Forbidden Notebook by the Italian-Cuban writer Alba de Cespedes about the inner life of an Italian housewife and Mama of the family.
Harriett's choice is Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang - a cautionary tale for our times of plagiarism, cultural appropriation, social media storms and more.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0022zbg)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m0022z91)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0022zbj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0022zbl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0022zbn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0022zbq)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0022zbs)
To-Do Lists
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Right Revd Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff.
Good morning. Keeping track of all the things I need to remember can feel like a challenge. There are so many things I can get anxious about - tasks to do, dates to remember, things I need to sort out in my life or relationships. All the plate-spinning sometimes seems impossible and can feel overwhelming.
There are many tools available to help with this. A few weeks ago, at the beginning of the school term, the shops were full of planners and organisers to make it easier to coordinate all the things that need doing. There are also many online devices designed to jog our memories, boost productivity, and make it easier to keep on top of everything.
But even with so much help at hand I still sometimes struggle to hold everything in balance and to feel relaxed about my to-do lists.
An unexpected source of inspiration presented itself to me recently on a visit to a church: a poster near the entrance recommended that visitors leave their anxieties at the door, and expressed a hope that time spent in the building might instead offer an experience of blessing. I then heard an act of worship on the radio that began with the presenter inviting listeners to consider their time spent listening as an opportunity to feel blessed. These experiences reminded me of the words of the famous hymn, “Count your blessings” and of the nonreligious habit of keeping a gratitude journal to focus upon the positive aspects of life.
God of grace and mercy, be present with us in our ever-changing and uncertain world. Calm us when we feel anxious, may your peace and goodness speak to us more powerfully than our fears. May your love give us the courage we need. Amen.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0022zbv)
20/09/24 - English devolution, funding for rural communities, farm homeless hostel and storks
A new report is calling for more investment in rural areas. The Rural Coalition says the English countryside has the potential to generate billions, but chronic underinvestment is costing jobs and money. Meanwhile, the Government is promising a "devolution revolution", with new mayors soon to be elected in Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire. So will that help when it comes to rural investment?
Rural homelessness is often a hidden problem and it can be hard to find help and support. We visit a working farm in Somerset where the dairy house has been converted into a hostel for homeless people, who are also given the chance to learn rural skills.
And storks died out in the UK 600 years ago. But after a re-introduction project on the Knepp Estate in Sussex in 2016, migrating birds are now returning to the country to breed.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons
FRI 06:00 Today (m002308p)
20/09/24 - Amol Rajan and Justin Webb
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 The Reunion (m0022zwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002308r)
Dame Tracey Emin, Doreen Soulsby, Dame Maureen Lipman, Young Adult Fiction
Dame Tracey Emin, one of the most famous artists and leading figures of the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s. Hers is a uniquely provocative, confessional style which confronts issues such as trauma of abortion, rape, alcoholism and sexual history. In recent years Tracey has focussed on painting and she has just published her first in-depth exploration of her painted work, simply called Paintings. It coincides with a new exhibition, I followed you to the end, at the White Cube gallery in London, which features mostly paintings that her treatment and recovery from bladder cancer.
A man who raped, and stabbed a woman 60 times in Northumberland 27 years ago has been recommended for release by the parole board. Steven Ling was jailed for life in 1998 after murdering Joanne Tulip. Ms Tulip’s mother, Doreen Soulsby has condemned the decision. She shares her story with Anita.
Dame Maureen Lipman proposed to her partner, David Turner, as a joke. And he said yes! The two 78-year-olds are now engaged. Dame Maureen joins Anita to tell her the story of how it happened, and why she was the one who proposed.
Since this summer, Woman’s Hour has been taking a deep dive into the world of 'genre fiction', the women who write it and the women who read it. We’ve turned the pages of Romantasy; Science fiction; Historical novels; Spy and Thrillers. Today it’s the turn of YA, Young Adult fiction. To discuss the YA genre and what’s in it for women, Anita is joined by Catherine Doyle, co-author of the Twin Crowns trilogy, whose new YA novel, an epic, enemies-to-lovers fantasy, The Dagger and The Flame, is out this month; and Laura Dockrill, author of Lorali and Big Bones.
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002308t)
Nuts about Nuts
Leyla Kazim traces the journey of this unassuming wonder food, from its health benefits to its origins.
Nuts, which once would have been central to the diet of our ancestors, are now often treated as a nice-to-have health choice. It’s a food we need to reconnect with, and to do so, we can learn from both the latest science and other food cultures.
Leyla hears from Professor Sarah Berry of King’s College London, who has studied how the form in which we eat nuts - whole, ground, in butters or milks - affects how much of their benefits we receive. Swapping nuts for your daily snack, however you eat them, could help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, as Sarah explains.
As health benefit messages around nuts take off, there has been a huge boom in demand. But what’s the impact of this on the world’s nut farmers, traders and environment? Without much origin information provided on nut packs, Leyla sets off to find some answers of her own. And her journey takes her across the world: from cashew plantations in west Africa, processing plants in south East Asia, markets in Turkey and walnut orchards in Kent. Not to mention a little diversion into California’s organised crime rings. Because there is another story here about how high demand has a price.
She spends a day with Charlie Tebbutt, founder of Food & Forest and one of the only companies to be actively selling British-grown nuts. Charlie also buys direct from other growers around the world, who are using a sustainable farming system called agroforestry, to preserve water, improve soil and diversify their income. Charlie is about to open a first-of-its-kind processing facility in Bermondsey, south London, where he hopes to de-shell and process British-grown hazelnuts in way that improves quality and allows the industry to scale up. Leyla visits his walnut orchards in Kent to ask: could British nuts ever replace imports?
If we’re trying to eat more nuts, there is also much to be learned from other countries. Specifically Turkey, where nuts are revered as a cornerstone of the cuisine and food culture. Leyla meets Turkish food writer and chef Ozlem Warren in her local Turkish supermarket, to reminisce over the Turkish 'green emerald' pistachios, green almonds and fresh walnuts, which are enjoyed by Turks in sweet or savoury dishes, at celebrations or indeed, at any other time of day.
Presented by Leyla Kazim and produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.
FRI 11:45 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m002308w)
Book of the Week: Episode 5 - A New Threat
In Ben Macintyre’s latest book about the SAS hostage crisis at the Iranian Embassy, the siege enters its third day. The volatile gunmen make a new and chilling threat. Meanwhile, clad in combat gear, the SAS double down on their preparations. Jamie Parker reads.
Ben Macintyre sets the pulse racing in his new book when he returns us to the spring of 1980. On 30th April, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London, taking 26 people hostage, what followed was an intense set of events involving police negotiators, decisions makers at the highest levels, and the SAS. Jamie Parker reads.
In The Siege Ben Macintyre takes us on a journey through the crisis, painting a minute-by-minute picture of six days filled with terror and uncertainty for the hostages, the gunmen and the authorities.
When all avenues to resolve the crisis bloodlessly were exhausted, the SAS were deployed, and millions gathered around their televisions to watch the unprecedented events unfold.
Ben Macintyre’s previous titles include, Colditz, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and The Traitor. Several have been adapted for film and television – Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Jamie Parker is known for his work on radio – Hamlet, Going Infinite, The Gold Finch; the stage – The History Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal, and screen - Becoming Elizabeth, The Crown and Des.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m002308y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 AntiSocial (m0023090)
Coconuts, race and hate speech
Is it racist for a person of colour to call someone a coconut? Should it be a crime?
A teacher was put on trial after she was pictured at a pro-Palestinian march holding a placard that showed then prime minister Rishi Sunak and then home secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts. The term “coconut” can be used to suggest that someone who is brown on the outside is white on the inside - that they are somehow acting in a way inconsistent with their ethnicity. The prosecution called “coconut” a “racial slur”; the judge said the placard was “political satire” and found the teacher not guilty. How did the case play out in court? What’s the history behind this use of the word coconut and others like it? And what does the law say about when speech becomes criminal?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Simon Maybin, Ellie House, Elliot Ryder
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Richard Vadon
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0023092)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0023094)
Mohammed Al Fayed accusers to sue Harrods
Lawyers representing the 37 women accusing Mohamed Al Fayed of abuse describe the former Harrods owner as a 'monster'.
FRI 13:45 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m0023096)
20. The Confidence Trick
An ambitious portfolio manager stumbles upon a perfect graph. It outlines eye watering profits. But something doesn't quite add up - could this graph be accurate? Or does it hide a far more sinister truth?
Producer Lauren Armstrong Carter
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0022zb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m0023098)
Central Intelligence
Central Intelligence: Episode 2
The inside story of the CIA from the perspective of Eloise Page (Kim Cattrall), who joined on the Agency’s first day in 1947 and, in a 40-year career, became one of its most powerful women. Eloise takes the listener on a journey through the highs and lows of US foreign policy, spanning the staggering world events that shaped her career, as well as portraying her relationships with early CIA leaders, Allen Dulles (Ed Harris) and Richard Helms (Johnny Flynn).
New episodes available on Fridays. Listen first on BBC Sounds.
In Episode 2, intelligence indicates the Russians will soon try to take over Europe. How can Stalin be stopped?
Cast:
Eloise Page..........Kim Cattrall
Allen Dulles..........Ed Harris
Richard Helms..........Johnny Flynn
Frank Wisner..........Geoffrey Arend
Young Eloise Page..........Elena Delia
General Vandenberg..........Rob Benedict
General Bedell-Smith..........Kerry Shale
President Truman..........Eric Meyers
Julia Helms..........Julee Cerda
General Gehlen..........Rufus Wright
George Kennen..........Philip Desmeules
George Polk & Tom Polgar..........Jamie Bogyo
Secretary..........Natasha Arancini
Stalin..........Hubert Hanowicz
Dennis Helms..........Leela-Grace Dryden
Original music by Sacha Puttnam
Production:
Written by Greg Haddrick, who created the series with Jeremy Fox
Sound Designers & Editors: John Scott Dryden, Adam Woodhams, Martha Littlehailes & Andreina Gomez Casanova
Script Consultant: Misha Kawnel
Script Supervisor: Alex Lynch
Trails: Jack Soper
Archive Research: Andy Goddard & Alex Lynch
Production Assistant: Jo Troy
Sonica Studio Sound Engineers: Mat Clark & Paul Clark
Sonica Runner: Flynn Hallman
Marc Graue Sound Engineers, LA: Juan Martin del Campo & Tony Diaz
Margarita Mix, Santa Monica Sound Engineer, LA: Bruce Bueckert
Mirrortone Sound Engineers, NY: Collin Stanley Dwarzski & James Quesada
Director: John Scott Dryden
Producer & Casting Director: Emma Hearn
Executive Producers: Howard Stringer, Jeremy Fox, Greg Haddrick and John Scott Dryden.
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:45 Buried (m001hp0d)
Series 1
Series 1 - 6. FOFO (Fear of Finding Out)
When a man used satellites to find illegal dumps, he learned they’re everywhere. But the criminals are watching him. Could a mafia be growing rich on our waste?
"All you have to do... is dig it up."
A trucker’s deathbed tape plays out. It’s urgent, desperate.
In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor deep-dive into one of the worst environment crimes in UK history - the secret dumping of a million tonnes of waste near a city. But when they uncover missing documents, fears of toxicity and allegations of organised crime, they realise they’ve stumbled into something much bigger. As they pick at the threads of one crime, they begin to see others. Could Britain be the home of a new mafia, getting rich on our waste?
In a thrilling ten-part investigation, the husband-and-wife duo dive into a criminal underworld, all the time following clues left in a deathbed tape. They’re driven by one question - what did the man in the tape know?
Presenters and Producers: Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor
Assistant Producer: Tess Davidson
Original Music and Sound Design: Phil Channell
Sound Design and Series Mixing: Jarek Zaba
Executive Producers: Phil Abrams and Anita Elash
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002309b)
Hull: Venus fly traps, overgrown roses and controversial cucumbers
Any tips on how to keep a Venus fly trap alive? How do I successfully grow a cucumber? What unusual fruit or vegetable do the panel think is underrated?
Kathy Clugston and a panel of horticultural experts are in the hot seat, as they answer the gardening queries from an audience in Hull. On the panel are head gardener Matthew Pottage, garden designer Bunny Guinness and curator of RHS Bridgewater Marcus Chilton-Jones.
Later, Hull-born panellist Matthew Pottage meets with Cllr Henry from Hull City Council, to learn more about their ‘Right to Grow’ initiative which allows people to grow on public land for the first time.
Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:30 BBC National Short Story Award (m002309d)
BBC National Short Story Award 2024
Ghost Kitchen by Ross Raisin
Ashley Margolis reads Ghost Kitchen by Ross Raisin, which is the fifth story shortlisted for this year's BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University. Here we are taken into the underbelly of the gig economy in an unnamed city.
Ross Raisin is the author of four novels: A Hunger, A Natural, Waterline and God’s Own Country (2008). He won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award in 2009, and in 2013 was named on Granta’s once a decade Best of Young British Novelists list. He has written short stories for various publications, including Granta, Prospect, the Sunday Times, Esquire, BBC Radio 3 and 4.
The BBC National Short Story Award is one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000, and four further shortlisted authors £600 each. The 2023 winner of the BBC National Short Story Award was Naomi Wood who won for ‘Comorbidities’, a story examining the difficulty of maintaining love and intimacy in a marriage, from her debut collection, This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Orion). The 2024 winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on Tuesday 1 October 2024.
All of the stories are available on BBC Sounds where you can also download the BBC National Short Story Award podcast which includes a Front Row interview with each of the five shortlisted writers.
Abridged by Rowan Routh
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002309g)
Dr George Berci, Olga Craig, Michaela Mabinty DePrince, Tony Strong
Matthew Bannister on
Dr George Berci, the surgeon who pioneered the use of miniature cameras in operations to minimise cutting and accelerate patients’ recovery times.
Olga Craig, the respected journalist from Northern Ireland who reported from war zones and covered the aftermath of the bombing in Omagh.
Michaela Mabinty DePrince, the orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone who realised her dreams of becoming a ballerina.
Tony Strong, the scenic artist who worked with film directors like Stanley Kubrick, Ken Russell and Sir Ridley Scott.
Interviewee: Dr L Michael Brunt
Interviewee: Sian James
Interviewee: David Harrison
Interviewee: Graham Strong
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Holocaust Survivor Talk: Dr. George Berci, Holocaust Museum LA, YouTube, uploaded 13/01/2022; 1956 Hungary Revolution news report, BBC Radio, World of Sound documentary, 13/11/1962; Omagh Bombing news report, BBC News, 15/08/1998; Michaela Mabinty DePrince, Outlook, BBC News, 29/08/2012; Tito Jackson of The Jackson 5 (Unreleased Full Interview); DJ Vlad TV, YouTube, uploaded, 26/01/2024; Tony Strong interview, ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ documentary, (2020) Coda Films, Director: Jonathan Blagrove , courtesy Graham Strong; The Boyfriend, Official film Promo, 1971, Director: Ken Russell; Live and Let Die, Official Film Promo, 1973 Director: Guy Hamilton; Legend, Official Film Promo, 1985, Director Ridley Scott;
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m002304z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m002309j)
Al Fayed: a call for justice
The women accusing Mohammed Al Fayed of sexual assault and rape call for justice. PM hears from one of their legal team. Also on the programme, the latest on Lebanon.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002309l)
They said those at Harrods, the department store he once owned, enabled his attacks.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m002309n)
Series 115
Work & Play
Simon Evans, Ian Smith, Aditi Mittal and Anushka Asthana join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news
This week on The News Quiz the panel go through the PM's wardrobe, take a splash into the Lib Dem's conference, and take on the year's greatest mystery... where are all the butterflies?
Written by Andy Zaltzman
With additional material by: Cameron Loxdale, Sarah Campbell, Owen Pullar and Peter Tellouche
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
An Eco-Audio certified Production
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002309q)
Writer: Liz John
Director: Mel Ward
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davies
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Ian Craig…. Stephen Kennedy
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m002309s)
Rick Wakeman and Fenella Humphreys, from Bach to Eurovision
Keyboard maestro and prog rock musician Rick Wakeman and concert violinist Fenella Humphreys are today's studio guests with Anna Phoebe and Jeffrey Boakye. In the penultimate episode of the current series, they take us from a Bach favourite via an Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong classic before hopping on a train to Moldova for some lively Eurovision action.
Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
1st movement of Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor by Bach
A Futuristic Auntyquarian by Gryphon
Your Woman by White Town
Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Trenulețul (Eurovision 2022) by Zdob și Zdub
Other music in this episode:
Would You...? by Touch and Go
Bapaalaay by Esukolaal
Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor by Anne-Sophie Mutter
Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor by Yehudi Menuhin
My Woman by Lew Stone and the Monseigneur Band
Love Again by Dua Lipa
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m002309v)
Victoria Collins MP, Nigel Huddleston MP, Steve Reed MP, Alex Wilson AM
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Weavers Academy in Wellingborough with Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for science, technology and innovation; shadow financial secretary to the Treasury Nigel Huddleston; the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Steve Reed; and Alex Wilson of Reform, a London Assembly member.
Producer: Paul Martin
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Kevan Long
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m002309x)
In Praise of the Nanny State
With the help of certain Conservative politicians, form number 48879-2039-876/WC and a rabbit hutch, Howard Jacobson takes a wry look at the advantages of a nanny state.
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Sarah Wadeson
FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m002309z)
Crisis & Decision
Climate, trust, politics, communication. Some would say we live in a period of crisis several areas of society and life. How can we make sense of the present moment, and where do we go from here?
Plus, we hear about the short list for this year's Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize and ask what that tells us about scientific publishing.
Matthew Sweet is joined by
Timothy Morton, whose most recent book is Hell: In Search of a Christian Ecology
Jessica Frazier, Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford
Clare Chambers, Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Cambridge
Jessica Wade, Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials at Imperial College London and one of the judges for
They are all appearing at the How the Light Gets in Festival of Ideas this weekend in London - more information at howthelightsgetsin.org
Plus
Mark Solms, neuroscientist and editor of the newly published Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sigmund Freud
The Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2024 which will be announced on October 24th. The books shortlisted are:
Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Your Face Belongs to Us: The Secretive Startup Dismantling Your Privacy by Kashmir Hill
The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction by Gísli Pálsson
Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality by Venki Ramakrishnan
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
Everything Is Predictable: How Bayes’ Remarkable Theorem Explains the World by Tom Chivers
Producer: Luke Mulhall
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m00230b1)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Still Lives by Jon McGregor (m00230b3)
5: Still Lives with Paintbrushes
Watching the paint dry on a community centre wall, a man suddenly fears what has been painted over.
Jonathan Forbes reads the final story in a series from the acclaimed author of Reservoir 13, exploring stillness and still lives. Each story celebrates a classical still life image: a bowl of fruit, a plate of cheese, an opened door, a coffee pot. These are stories in which, seemingly, nothing is happening. And yet, through these scenes, powerful and heart-rending stories emerge.
Reader: Jonathan Forbes
Author: Jon McGregor is the multi award-winning novelist and short story writer. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize for three of his novels, including his 2002 debut If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which also went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, and has won the BBC National Short Story Award. His third novel, Even the Dogs (2010), earned McGregor the International Dublin Literary Award in 2012, whilst his 2017 work Reservoir 13 scooped up the Costa Book Award.
Producer: Justine Willett
FRI 23:00 Americast (m00230b6)
How do you protect a president?
After a second assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump, Americast hears from a former Secret Service agent on what goes into protecting a secret service agent, particularly on a golf course.
Sarah, Justin and Marianna are joined by Bill Gage, who helped protect President George W. Bush and President Obama. They discuss what went wrong, what secret service agents hide in their golf bags, and he also picks out out some of his most memorable experiences on the job.
HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Sarah Smith, North America Editor
• Marianna Spring, Disinformation & social media correspondent
GUEST:
• Bill Gage, former Secret Service agent
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
This episode was made by Purvee Pattni with Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.
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Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd
The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm
FRI 23:30 A Good Read (m0021b1l)
Sarah Phelps and Irenosen Okojie
RADIO ROMANCE by Garrison Keillor, chosen by Sarah Phelps
PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi, chosen by Irenosen Okojie
ABSOLUTELY AND FOREVER by Rose Tremain, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Two authors pick books they love with Harriett Gilbert.
Screenwriter, playwright and television producer Sarah Phelps (The Sixth Commandment, A Very British Scandal, EastEnders) brings us the trials and tribulations of a small-town radio station in the Midwest. Told with humour and irony, but also packs a punch.
Novelist and short story writer Irenosen Okojie (Hag, Butterfly Fish, Speak Gigantular) chooses Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, an autobiographical graphic novel charting the writer's childhood in Iran, set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, before her move to Austria.
Harriett Gilbert brings Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain, a story about the all-consuming power of first love, set 1960s London.
Produced by Sally Heaven for BBC Audio Bristol
Join the conversation on Instagram @bbcagoodread