SATURDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2024
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m00237ns)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 The Siege by Ben Macintyre (m00237m9)
Book of the Week: Episode 10 - Inside the Iranian Embassy Sounds of Battle Reverberate
Ben Macintyre’s latest book about the 1980 siege at the Iranian Embassy concludes. The SAS operation to bring the siege at the Iranian Embassy to an end is underway, but one minute in, it does not appear to be going well. Jamie Parker reads
Ben Macintyre sets the pulse racing in his new book when he looks back 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 inside the minds of all of those who were part of the crisis, painting a minute by minute picture of six days filled with terror and uncertainty for the hostages, the gunmen and the authorities.
Throughout efforts were made to resolve the crisis bloodlessly, while the SAS laid daring plans for a daring rescue. 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 Goldfinch; on stage – The History Boys, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal, and on screen - Becoming Elizabeth, The Crown and Des.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00237nv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00237nx)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00237nz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m00237p1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00237p3)
A reading and a reflection to start the day on Radio 4
SAT 05:45 Glued Up: The Sticky Story of Humanity (m001y8cm)
How rubber changed the world
In this series, materials scientist Mark Miodownik charts the journey of human progress through the sticky substances that have shaped us.
In episode two he explores how latex, the sticky sap of the rubber tree, transformed the world we live in.
He learns how rubber is an ancient Mesoamerican innovation dating back at least 3,600 years, used by the Olmec people for its incredible stretchiness and bounciness.
And he hears how scientists of the industrial revolution were captivated by rubber, but struggled to harness its miraculous properties. Eventually, one man would solve this sticky problem – but the quest nearly killed him, and cost him everything he had.
Contributors:
Charles Slack, Author and historian
Mike Tarkanian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sound effects: DeLorean DMC-12 (V6 PRV engine) by SkyernAklea, from Freesound
Producer: Anand Jagatia
Presenter: Mark Miodownik
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0023fng)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
SAT 06:07 Open Country (m00237zj)
The 100 Mile Wildlife Corridor
Martha Kearney follows the River Ouse, from the High Weald to the Sussex coast and - finally - into the sea itself. Along the way, she discovers how one of the UK's largest nature recovery projects is taking root.
The project is called 'Weald to Waves' - it's a wildlife corridor that has been mapped out over more than 100 miles of Sussex landscape and coastline, to encourage biodiversity on a huge scale, connecting food, farming, nature and people. Encompassing more than 20,000 hectares of contiguous habitat, it is a huge coming-together of farmers, land managers, councils, utility companies, wildlife charities, schools, gardeners and community groups. Martha meets some of the people who have pledged to be a part of this huge collaborative effort.
Producer: Becky Ripley
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0023fnj)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
SAT 06:57 Weather (m0023fnl)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m0023fnn)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0023fnq)
Lindsey Hilsum, Robert Harris, Jon Watts, Celia Imrie
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (p0f7sjkw)
Frederick Douglass
Greg Jenner is joined by special guests Prof Emily Bernard and comedian Toussaint Douglass in 19th century America to meet Frederick Douglass. Born into an enslaved family Frederick fought against all odds to secure his freedom and went on to become a famed abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman.
You’re Dead To Me is a production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4
Research by Anna-Nadine Pike and Jess White
Written by Emma Nagouse, Anna-Nadine Pike and Greg Jenner
Produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow
Project Management: Isla Matthews
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0023fnv)
Series 45
Episode 6
Investigating every aspect of the food we eat.
SAT 11:00 Americast (m00237nq)
Join the Americast team for insights from across the US.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0023fnx)
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers from around the world
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0023fnz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0023fp1)
Paul Lewis presents the latest news from the world of personal finance.
SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m00237n6)
Series 115
Episode 4
Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.
SAT 12:57 Weather (m0023fp3)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m0023fp5)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m00237nd)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities.
SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0023fp7)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week.
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m00237n8)
Writer: Tim Stimpson
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davies
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Usha Franks…. Souad Faress
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd…. John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd
Oliver Stirling…. Michael Cochrane
SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000pdrc)
Clash. Part 2
Ellen Wilkinson's political romance, set during the General Strike, looking at the clash between North and South, work and life, tradition and emerging roles. Joan Craig bridges all these divides with energy and talent, but ultimately has to choose whose side she's on.
Cast
Kate O’Flynn ..... Joan Craig
Paul Ready ..... Tony Dacre
Luke Nunn ..... Gerry Blain
Jane Whittenshaw ..... Mary Maud Meadowes
Roger Ringrose ..... William Royd
Emma Handy ..... Bunny Royd
Stefan Adegbola ..... Ben Lewis
Charlotte East ..... Dolly
Ian Dunnett Jnr ..... Alaric
Cecilia Appiah ..... Sally
Adaptation - Sharon Oakes
Sound - Peter Ringrose
Directors - Ciaran Bermingham and Jessica Dromgoole
Notes
Ellen Wilkinson is an all too rare working class, female voice from early 20th century literature. As one of the first ever women MPs and cabinet members, she is better known as a political pioneer. Joan's story echoes Wilkinson's own life. A woman with major personal and political dilemmas: Joan is born into a working class family, fights for social equality but is enchanted by world of ease and luxury represented by Mary Maud Meadowes and Tony Dacre.
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0023fp9)
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.
SAT 17:00 PM (m0023fpc)
Full coverage of the day's news.
SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0023fpf)
Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0023fph)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m0023fpk)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023fpm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0023fpp)
Nihal Arthanayake presents Loose Ends from the third annual Morecambe Poetry Festival. He's joined by Henry Normal. Henry is a writer, poet, TV and film producer who has been involved with many of our most loved comedies, such as The Mrs Merton Show, The Royal Family, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge. He's a prolific poet, and his latest collection is 'A Moonless Night'. He also presents the occasional 'A Normal...; series for Radio 4 combining stand-up, poetry and stories about his life and family.
Donna Ashworth's lockdown poetry went viral in 2020 and her popularity has been credited with 2023 being the best year for poetry sales in Britain since records began. Her new collection is 'Wild Hope: Healing Words to Find Light on Dark Days'.
Mike Harding is a stand-up comic, musician and poet. He's been performing since the 1970's, and has released over a hundred books and recordings. He presented the Folk show on Radio 2 for 15 years. He's performing alongside Henry Normal at the Morecambe Poetry Festival,
Lisa Goodwin-Allen is Morecambe born and bred. She's the executive chef at the nearby Northcote and appears frequently on TV including on The Great British Menu and James Martin's Saturday Kitchen.
And we have music from the Lancaster based musical duo The Lovely Eggs, their latest album is 'Eggsistentialism'
Presenter: Nihal Arthanayake
Producer: Jessica Treen
SAT 19:00 Profile (m0023dtd)
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m00237yy)
Marina Abramović
Serbian conceptual and performance artist Marina Abramović talks to John Wilson about her cultural inspirations.
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0008pfw)
Panorama Broke My School
The personal story of how a single TV documentary affected a London secondary, and had a role in creating today's school system.
1977 was the year of the Yorkshire Ripper, Star Wars, the Silver Jubilee and Roots. It was also the year the BBC came to Faraday High School, a large comprehensive in East Acton, to make a remarkable fly-on-the-wall documentary for Panorama, called ‘The Best Days?’ It was a vision – or a nightmare – of everything critics thought was wrong with progressive, comprehensive multicultural education at its height. Viewers saw chaotic classrooms where teachers with few resources were out of their depth, working amidst an almost total lack of discipline. They also saw caring, sympathetic teaching - but this was largely forgotten.
The school found its name in the national newspapers every day, as part of a rising concerns about what was going on in classrooms. This was only two years before Mrs Thatcher – a former education secretary – swept to power, promising a radical shakeup in British schooling. Her policies - a national curriculum, more testing, strengthened school inspections and league tables - were largely continued by subsequent Labour governments, especially in England and Wales.
Shabnam Grewal was a Faraday student when the Panorama team filmed in her school and her very class. She later became a BBC journalist and herself produced episodes of Panorama. For Archive on 4, she tracks down and speaks to the film's director, teachers who featured in it, academics researching the changing nature of secondary education, experts in education policy and her fellow former pupils.
Researcher: Eleanor Biggs
SAT 21:00 Living on the Edge (m001ptnw)
Omnibus 1
Ten coastal encounters, presented by writer Richard King.
Not simply town or countryside, the coastline is a place apart – attracting lives and stories often overlooked.
In these ten programmes, Richard King travels around the UK coast to meet people who live and work there – a sequence of portraits rooted in distinct places, which piece together into an alternative portrait of the UK: an oblique image of the nation drawn from its coastal edge.
SAT 22:00 News (m0023fpr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m00237m7)
Investigating every aspect of the food we eat.
SAT 23:00 Randy Feltface's Destruction Manual (m0023fpt)
2. Fire
Randy Feltface is burning to tell you just how much we’re burning ourselves into oblivion. Coming from a hemisphere where deadly fires are an ever-present threat, it’s just so great to see us in the north take a leaf out of that book, roll it up and smoke it. Plus we hear from a Siberian Brown Bear discussing the effect of wildfires on habitat destruction & smoke particles on the Earth’s albedo through the medium of statistics, charts and growling.
This head-on charge into possibly the most important subject facing humanity comes to you via a show where you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh again between the learny bits and most of all, you’ll be able to say “I was there when Radio 4 decided to have show hosted by a puppet”
Randy Feltface has been seen on Netflix, ABC, NBC, and has a huge & devoted following across the globe (1m+ social media followers, 1.6m TikTok followers, 833k subscribers, 79m YouTube views). His hour-long specials are YouTube cult classics, his world tours are sold out sensations, and he's the only Radio 4 presenter to be entirely made of felt.
With Margaret Cabourn-Smith & William Hartley
Produced & directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 23:30 Brain of Britain (m00236ry)
Heat 4, 2024
(4/17)
What name is shared by both a wind-powered sculpture in the Pennines and an East German children's film of the 1960s? Which city in Southern Britain was Alfred the Great's capital? In classic DC Comics, which team originally included the Green Lantern, the Spectre and Doctor Fate?
These and many other general knowledge questions await the contenders in the latest heat, chaired by Russell Davies at London's Radio Theatre. Another of the semi-final places will be decided today.
The contenders are:
Paula Dempsey from south-east London
Annabel Lloyd from Wantage in Oxfordshire
Simon Mason from Hampshire
Jim Murdock from Bangor in County Down
There will also be the chance for a listener to win a prize by Beating the Brains with questions he or she has devised.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria
A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.
SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2024
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0023fpw)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:15 Open Book (m00236rw)
Rachel Kushner
Octavia Bright talks to Rachel Kushner, author The Flamethrowers and The Mars Room about her new novel Creation Lake.
The novel tells the story of spy-for-hire Sadie Smith who infiltrates an eco activists group in South West France, their leader is the mysterious Bruno Lacombe who is never present but communicates his radical missives by email.
Sarah Moss, best known for her novels The Fell, Summerwater, and Ghost Wall, talks about her new creative memoir, My Good Bright Wolf, her story of crisis in midlife and on what led her there.
And in the last ever, Book I'd Never Lend, the novelist Adam Thirlwell talks about his treasured teenage copy of Picasso by Gertrude Stein and gets to the heart of why some books can't ever be replaced.
Book List – Sunday 22 September
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Picasso by Gertrude Stein
The Future Future by Adam Thirwell
Summer Water by Sarah Moss
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
The Fell by Sarah Moss
My Good Bright Wolf by Sarah Moss
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0023fpy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0023fq0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0023fq2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0023fq4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0023fq6)
Blessed Virgin Mary in Woolpit, Suffolk
Bells on Sunday, comes from the church of Blessed Virgin Mary in Woolpit, Suffolk. Much of the church was built in the 15th century and features a fine double hammer-beam roof. There was also a popular shrine to Our Lady of Woolpit, an object of pilgrimage that was visited twice by King Henry the Sixth, however this was removed during the reformation. There are six bells with the tenor bell weighing just over eight hundredweight and tuned to the note of A flat. We hear them ringing Plain Bob Minor.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m00237r0)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m0023fsg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m00237q4)
Sight and Power
Laurie Taylor talks to Becca Voelcker, Lecturer in the Art Department at Goldsmiths, University of London, about her research into the relationship between sight and power. Everyday life is full of moments where we are seen, often without our knowledge, even in the virtual world, where cookie trails and analytics make us visible to profit making companies. Going back in time, Jeremy Bentham's panopticon depended on seeing its occupants to control them. If we cannot control who sees us today are we also being controlled? How does that square with the many moments when being seen is also a means of social recognition?
Also, David Lyon, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Law at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario explores the surveillance which permeates all aspects of our lives today. Every click on the keyboard, every contact with a doctor or the police, each time we walk under a video camera or pass through a security check we are identified, traced, and tracked. So how does surveillance make people visible, how did it grow to its present size and prevalence, and what are the social and personal costs?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0023fsj)
Off-Grid Crofters
The last of the old indigenous inhabitants left Scoraig in the 1960s, too old for its hard, off-grid life. They were replaced by would-be crofters wanting a simpler way of life, who created a new community on the isolated headland near Ullapool in the north-west Highlands, raising crops and livestock and running businesses to support themselves. Still dependent on renewable energy, and with no road in, there are now 70 inhabitants. Richard Baynes meets crofter Cathy Dagg and her neighbours in Scoraig and finds history could be about to repeat itself.
Produced and presented by Richard Baynes.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m0023fsl)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0023fsn)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0023fsq)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0023fss)
BRAC UK
Journalist Reshmin Chowdhury makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of BRAC UK. The charity helps women in Asia and Africa develop small businesses to help lift them out of poverty.
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 ‘BRAC UK’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘BRAC UK’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1115482. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.bracuk.net
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites
Producer: Katy Takatsuki
SUN 07:57 Weather (m0023fsv)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0023fsx)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0023fsz)
God's Love Across the Generations
Sunday Worship from Middlefields House, Chippenham. Join the residents, family, volunteers and staff of one of the households at Middlefields House residential care home in their daily gathering of worship, fellowship as they celebrate the International Day of Older People.
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m00237ng)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0023ft1)
Anneka Rice on the White-Tailed Eagle
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.
With the largest wingspan of any British bird the White-tailed eagle is a welcome sight flying over the Solent near broadcaster Anneka Rice's home. Yet despite its size, this bird has a surprisingly weak call. Since they were re-introduced to the area these magnificent birds have become a bit of a tourist attraction for those on the ferry crossing over to the Isle of Wight.
Producer : Andrew Dawes for BBC Audio on Bristol
Studio engineer : Caitlin Gazeley.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0023ft3)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m0023qbc)
Adrian Edmondson - Extended Edit
This is an extended version of a programme first broadcast on Sunday 17 September 2023.
Adrian Edmondson first shot to national fame in 1982, playing the studded punk Vyvyan in the TV sitcom The Young Ones, set in a seedy student flat. The cast largely came from the developing alternative comedy scene, and included Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle.
Adrian was born in Bradford in 1957. He spent time as a child in Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda, following his father who worked as a teacher for the armed forces. He attended a boarding school in Yorkshire from the age of 11, where he often rebelled against its rules and restrictions, but enjoyed performing in school plays.
He headed to Manchester University to study drama, where he soon met Rik Mayall. They bonded over their shared interests in comedy, double acts, violent slapstick and the plays of Samuel Beckett. It was the start of a long performing partnership and friendship, which included the anarchic TV comedy and long-running touring show Bottom and a production of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot on the West End stage.
Adrian has also worked widely as an actor and musician, including an acclaimed appearance as Scrooge for the RSC, and performances with the reunited Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Adrian married Jennifer Saunders in 1985, and they have three daughters.
DISC ONE: Downtown - Petula Clark
DISC TWO: A Song of the Weather - Flanders & Swann
DISC THREE: Sugar, Sugar - The Archies
DISC FOUR: On My Radio - The Selecter
DISC FIVE: Jole Blon - Vin Bruce
DISC SIX: Saturday Gigs - Mott the Hoople
DISC SEVEN: I’m Bored - Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
DISC EIGHT: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks)
BOOK CHOICE: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
LUXURY ITEM: A tab of acid
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0023ft6)
Writer: Tim Stimpson
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davies
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Usha Franks…. Souad Faress
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd…. John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd
Oliver Stirling…. Michael Cochrane
SUN 12:15 Profile (m0023dtd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 Just a Minute (m00237hn)
Series 93
2. A Punk Band Called The Sticky Carpets
Sue Perkins challenges Lucy Porter, Gyles Brandreth, Desiree Burch and Glenn Moore to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Subjects include doomsday bunkers, coriander, and polite conversation between enemies.
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Rajiv Karia
An EcoAudio certified production.
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m0023ft8)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0023ftb)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 American Paradox (m0023ftd)
Abortion
James Naughtie travels to Arizona to examine the deep roots of the current political moment in the United States.
In this second episode of two, he considers the political debate over abortion. Since the national right to an abortion was overturned in 2022, Arizona's politics has been consumed by the debate about how far to limit that right, with conservative Republicans often prevailing. But as James hears, this November voters will be given their say, and many expect a liberal measure to pass, perhaps spurring turnout which will benefit Democrats - a pattern which may be repeated across the United States.
However, as Kamala Harris's presidential campaign emphasises her liberal abortion stance in an effort to win over women voters, has she done enough to appeal to men, particularly Black and Latino who have been targeted by Donald Trump's campaign? In this most marginal of swing states, the outcome may hinge on them.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m00237mt)
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts.
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m0023ftg)
Hard Times - Episode 1
Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times is set in a northern factory town at the height of the industrial revolution, far away from the writer’s normal stamping ground of London - but it certainly doesn’t lack the overlapping plots, the wide array of characters and the incorporation of melodrama, humour and tragedy that we associate so closely with the author.
Dickens had travelled north himself as a journalist to cover a cotton strike in Preston and seen first hand the various ways in which the factory system was oppressing the people living and working within it.
In the first of two episodes looking at the book, John Yorke considers how Dickens transformed that eye-witness experience into the fictional world of Coketown, with its soot-blackened bricks and serpents of smoke.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters.
Contributors:
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter and current Children’s Laureate
Dr Emily Bell, University of Leeds
Deborah McAndrew, writer, director and actor
Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Producer: Geoff Bird
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Dickensian (m0023ftj)
Hard Times: Episode 1
"Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life."
Charles Dickens' novel - subtitled 'For These Times' - is a vivid story for our own age - a short, sharp satire of target-driven education, business, and the denial of the imagination. Headmaster Thomas Gradgrind has developed a rigid, facts-driven curriculum for his school. And at home, he raises his two children, Tom and Louisa, within a similar system of utilitarian metrics. But the human spirit has an inherent thirst for wonder and Louisa struggles inside the constraints of her education.
Dramatised by Graham White
Thomas Gradgrind…..David Morrissey
Louisa Gradgrind…..Rachel Harper
Tom Gradgrind…..Ike Bennett
Josiah Bounderby…..Shaun Dooley
Sissy Jupe…..Janey Orchard
Mrs Sparsit…..Jan Ravens
James Harthouse…..Will Close
Stephen Blackpool…..Arthur Hughes
Rachael…..Claire Cage
Mrs Gradgrind/Margaret/Josephine…..Julie Barclay
Mr M’Choakumchild/Slackbridge/Collins…..Richard Elfyn
Bitzer…..Aaron Anthony
Sleary…..Patrick Robinson
Production co-ordinators Lindsay Rees and Eleri Sydney McAuliffe
Sound by Rhys Morris, Nigel Lewis and Catherine Robinson
Directed by Emma Harding, BBC Audio Wales
SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0023ftm)
Alan Hollinghurst
Alan Hollinghurst speaks to Chris Power about his new novel, Our Evenings.
SUN 16:30 Brain of Britain (m0023ftp)
Heat 5, 2024
(5/17)
Four more quizzers from around the UK join Russell Davies for the UK's longest-established general knowledge quiz. Today's winner will take another of the semi-final places and increase their chances of being named BBC Brain of Britain 2024.
The competitors today are
Andrew Bingham from Woolwich in London
Eithne Cullen from East London
Sean Lea from Lewisham in London
Hannah Reilly from Clarkston near Glasgow.
A Brain of Britain listener will also have a chance to win a prize if the competitors fail to answer questions he or she has submitted.
Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria
A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct5ykb)
The 1965 Freedom Riders of Australia
A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names of people who have died.
Nearly 60 years ago, a group of university students set out on a bus to challenge the discrimination of Australia’s indigenous people.
Led by Sydney University’s first indigenous undergraduate, Charles Perkins, they toured north-western New South Wales highlighting the public pools, cinemas, theatres and pubs in country towns where Aboriginal people were excluded or segregated from white people.
Darce Cassidy was recording the journey for a radio programme. We hear 19-year-old Brian Aarons demonstrating at a swimming pool in Moree where Aboriginal children were not normally allowed to swim.
He and Gary Williams, an indigenous student, recall the Freedom Ride to Josephine McDermott, including the moment when they made the national news by ordering a beer together in a Bowraville pub.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: The 1965 Freedom Riders. Brian Aarons and Gary Williams sit fifth and fourth from the right, one row from the back. Credit: Reproduced with permission of Wendy Watson-Ekstein and Ann Curthoys)
SUN 17:10 The Verb (m0023ftr)
Ian McMillan presents the cabaret of the word, featuring the best poetry, new writing and performance - guests include Roger Robinson, Hannah Silva and Caleb Femi
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0023ftt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m0023ftw)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023fty)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0023fv0)
Fiona Stalker
A selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0023fv2)
There’s a sting in the tail at Brookfield, while Alice’s problems may not be over.
SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m0023fv4)
Alongside their A-levels, five 17 year-olds volunteer for six months at a hospice in Surrey. These are young people who hope to work in healthcare one day and, for one reason or another, feel drawn to helping others.
Their hopes and fears are similar to most people who've never been to a hospice, which includes their parents, and they have have no idea what they'll encounter. Above all, there are worries that it will be very sad, and too much for people of their age to handle.
Pretty quickly, they get to know the nurses at the hospice, who have a great sense of humour and are not in the least bit despairing. The volunteers feel awkward at first, and scared of getting things wrong, but with the nurses' encouragement, they begin talking with patients, feeding them, moving them, brushing their teeth, and helping them to the toilet.
Little by little, they get to know patients, gain confidence and maturity and start to form a new understanding of dying and death.
Presented by Farida
Produced by Tim Moorhouse
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Buried (m001hp3f)
Series 1
Series 1 - 7. How to Make a Mafia
In the Comorrah’s neighbourhood in Naples, Dan and Lucy learn how waste can fuel a mafia. They’re warned that the UK is playing a dangerous game.
"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 (m00237zl)
How Animals Talk
Michael hears from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum about the latest research on how and why different types of animals communicate, from wolves howling to dolphins whistling: a world of soundscapes. He also explains how animal communication can help to shed light on the human variety.
Dr. Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist and the author of: Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.
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 (m00237my)
Weekly obituary programme telling the life stories of those who have died recently.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0023fp1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0023fss)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0023fnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0023fv6)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m00237yt)
Wormholes
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the tantalising idea that there are shortcuts between distant galaxies, somewhere out there in the universe. The idea emerged in the context of Einstein's theories and the challenge has been not so much to prove their unlikely existence as to show why they ought to be impossible. The universe would have to folded back on itself in places, and there would have to be something to make the wormholes and then to keep them open. But is there anywhere in the vast universe like that? Could there be holes that we or more advanced civilisations might travel through, from one galaxy to another and, if not, why not?
With
Toby Wiseman
Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London
Katy Clough
Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at Queen Mary, University of London
And
Andrew Pontzen
Professor of Cosmology at Durham University
Producer: Simon Tillotson
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m00237mw)
Rainbow Day by Soula Emmanuel
An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the author Soula Emmanuel. Read by Holly Hannaway.
Soula Emmanuel was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Greek father. She currently lives on Ireland’s east coast. She has written for IMAGE magazine, Rogue Collective and the Project Arts Centre, and has had fiction published by The Liminal Review. She was longlisted for Penguin’s WriteNow programme in 2020, took part in the Stinging Fly fiction summer school in 2021 and was a participant in the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency’s mentorship programme for 2021-22. In 2024 her debut novel Wild Geese won the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction, and the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize at the UK Society of Authors Awards.
Writer: Soula Emmanuel
Reader: Holly Hanaway
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.
MONDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2024
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0023fv8)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.
MON 00:15 World Of Secrets (m0023qk2)
Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods
Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods: 1. Golden opportunity
A dream job offer arrives from Harrods, to the surprise of debutante teenager, Cheska. Why is one of the world’s most famous luxury shops interested in her? How do they know where she lives - where to send the letter? It’s the 1990s in London. Cheska and other rich girls are being introduced to high society, as part of an centuries old tradition. What should she do next? Soon after she gets the job offer, Cheska is working in owner Mohamed Al Fayed’s personal office in London’s exclusive Park Lane. Can Al Fayed help her with her ambition to act?
This season of World of Secrets is about sexual abuse, and includes descriptions which some listeners might find distressing. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0023fq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0023fvb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0023fvd)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0023fvg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0023fvj)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0023fvl)
A reading and a reflection to start the day on Radio 4
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0023fvn)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
MON 05:57 Weather (m0023fvq)
Weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m0023g5s)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0023g5v)
Ancient India and China: from golden to silk roads
The best-selling historian William Dalrymple presents India as the great superpower of ancient times in The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World. He argues that for more than a millennium India art, religions, technology, astronomy, music and mathematics spread far and wide from the Red Sea to the Pacific, and its influence was unprecedented, but now largely forgotten.
China’s significance has long been celebrated and understood, with reference to the ancient trading routes linking the east and west. The historian Susan Whitfield is an expert on the Silk Roads. She talks to Adam Rutherford about the extraordinary discovery of manuscripts in a cave in Dunhuang, in Northern China, which provide a detailed picture of the vibrant religious and cultural life of the town. An exhibition of the manuscripts, A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang, runs at the British Library until 23rd February 2025.
But what of India’s cultural and artistic influence and expression in modern times? Shanay Jhaveri is the new Head of Visual Arts at the Barbican and curator of their new exhibition, The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998 (October 2024 until January 2025). This landmark group show explores the way artists have responded to a period of significant political and social change in India in the 20th century.
Producer: Katy Hickman
MON 09:45 Café Hope (m0023g5x)
Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell Rachel Burden what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0023g60)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 11:00 On the Run (m0023g63)
At Their Feet
Writer, Poet and Runner Helen Mort trails a history of running, from prehistoric times to present day to chart the development of humanity's relationship with running.
In this episode, Helen examines the role running played in societies from Europe's Dark Ages to the early 20th century. She'll be finding out who the runners were, what inspired them to ran, and the impact it made on their social status.
Helen will discover the surprising religious origins of Britain's modern-day position in global athletics. She'll chart the ups and downs of the participation and perception of women runners. And she'll learn how 17th century foot messengers became a powerful tool in the struggle between indigenous North Americans and European colonisers.
Producer: Becca Bryers
MON 11:45 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023g66)
Belief
In these five specially commissioned essays, Kerry Hudson explores the kindness of strangers - how tiny encounters (and larger actions) have turned the tide repeatedly in desperate circumstances.
They encompass topics such as the psychology of kindness in childhood, the vulnerability of travelling alone in places with troubled histories, how Kerry had to learn to rely on the strangers working in an underfunded health service in a foreign country while suffering from a life-threatening illness, the perils of life on the water and the generosities of the boating community experienced whilst living on a canal boat, and how kindness can sometimes come with unexpected caveats and conditions depending on what you look like and where you are from.
Born in Aberdeen, Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty and fear, in a succession of council estates, B&Bs and caravan parks with a single parent mother who suffered from challenging mental ill-health, compounded by addiction.
Kerry's first novel, Tony Horgan Horgan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, was published in July 2012 and was shortlisted for eight literary prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and Green Carnation Prize, and won Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel, Thirst, was developed with support from the National Lottery through an Arts Council England grant, and published in July 2014 before being shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize. Her first work of non-fiction, Lowborn (2019) became a Times bestseller and was hailed as ‘One of the most important books of the year’ by The Guardian. A follow-up to Lowborn, titled Newborn, was published in February 2024.
Written and Read by Kerry Hudson
Commissioned and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:00 News Summary (m0023g69)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m0023g6c)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m0023g6f)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m0023g6h)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
MON 13:45 Continental Divides (m0023g6k)
In this series Misha Glenny explores a number of political divides facing Europe and asks whether the continent is undergoing the same crises it went through in the 1930s. In this first episode he investigates two countries that have elected ultra-conservative leaders over the last fifteen years – Viktor Orban in Hungary in 2010 and Giorgia Meloni in Italy in 2022. Speaking to a range of voices from former politicians to academics, journalists and economists, Misha unpacks the importance of economic and social crises in their electoral success, whether it was the 2008 financial crash in Hungary or the Covid pandemic in Italy.
MON 14:00 The Archers (m0023fv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Plum House (m000hn51)
Series 3
5. All in Good Faith
The third series of Plum House returns and the team welcome a new vicar to their parish (played by Robert Bathurst). Peter is his biggest fan, but the others have varying levels of interest. Maureen and Alan try in their own way to help with church repairs and maintenance, to disastrous effect, and Julian is mainly miffed that Peter's found a new best friend. Tom meanwhile is still trying to patch things up with Emma...
Plum House features Simon Callow, Jane Horrocks, Miles Jupp, Pearce Quigley, Tom Bell and Louise Ford.
Guest starring Robert Bathurst and 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 Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding (m0016x9w)
Episode One
Helen Fielding's iconic 1996 novel of life as a single thirty-something woman in London.
"Ugh. First day of New Year has been day of horror. Cannot quite believe I am once again starting the year in a single bed in my parents’ house."
Bridget Jones begins the new year full of resolutions. She pledges in her diary to drink less, smoke less, lose weight, find a new job, stay away from unsuitable men and learn to programme the VCR. But her resolve is tested by the horrors of attending dinner parties with the "smug marrieds", the confusing behaviour of her charming rogue of a boss Daniel Cleaver, and her increasingly embarrassing encounters with human rights lawyer Mark Darcy.
Bridget Jones's Diary started life as a weekly column in the pages of The Independent in 1995, when Fielding worked on the news desk. Helen’s column chronicled the life and antics of fictional Bridget Jones as a thirty-something single woman in London trying to make sense of life and love. It was first published as a novel in 1996 and has gone on to sell more than 15 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into a series of films.
Read by Sally Phillips
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Mair Bosworth and Mary Ward-Lowery
MON 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0023fnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 15:30 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (m0023jkp)
Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley
31. Alice Diamond - Queen of 40 Thieves
In this brand new series Lucy Worsley switches her attention from Lady Killers to Lady Swindlers - conwomen, thieves and hustlers.
This is where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than 100 years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of women trying to make it in a world made for men.
In this first episode Lucy is investigating the career of Alice Diamond, the queen of the UK’s most famous all female crime syndicate in the early 20th century. By the age of 18 Alice is leading a gang of incredibly successful professional shoplifters from South East London, known as the Forty Thieves, whose audacious and carefully planned raids on London’s new department stores make them notorious.
With Lucy to explore Alice Diamond’s story is Professor Lorraine Gamman, the founder of the Design Against Crime Research Initiative at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London, which works to reduce shoplifting. Lorraine also has a fascinating personal connection to Alice Diamond through Alice’s apprentice, Shirley Pitts, and she helped Shirley write her memoir ‘Gone Shopping’.
Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone to visit Southwark in South East London where Alice spends her childhood moving from one set of dismal lodgings to another to avoid the rent man. And they visit another of Alice’s haunts: Marlborough Street Magistrates’ Court, where she faces dozens of charges of shoplifting.
Lucy wants to know: is Alice Diamond a beacon of female liberation or is she just a serial criminal? How were opportunities for women changing in the early 20th century? What does Alice’s story tell us about the lives of women born into poverty then, and asks how much has changed for women today?
Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Clare Corbett and Jonathan Keeble
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.
If you're in the UK, listen to the newest episodes of Lady Killers first on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/3M2pT0K
MON 16:00 American Paradox (m0023ftd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Marianna in Conspiracyland (m0023drb)
Why Do You Hate Me? USA
Episode 2
Marianna Spring investigates extraordinary cases of online hate unfolding State-side.
MON 17:00 PM (m0023g6m)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023g6p)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0023g6r)
Series 93
3. Rhymes with Touché and Suché and John Belushé
Julian Clary, Jenny Eclair, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Josie Lawrence join host Sue Perkins for the long-running quick-thinking panel game, aiming to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Subjects include John O'Groats, The Perfect Outfit, and Adding Insult To Injury.
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 (m0023dqd)
Lilian lays down the law, and opportunity knocks for Ben.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m0023g6t)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
MON 20:00 Rethink (m00237zn)
Rethink... voting
One person, one vote - we're all equal in the voting booth, right?
But it hasn't always been this way, and just who can vote has changed many times since the Second World War.
Until 1951, business owners and some university graduates were allowed multiple votes. 18 year olds could vote for the first time in the 1970 general election, and In 2024 British expats who had lived outside the UK for longer than 15 years were given the vote.
There are anomalies too. Irish and Commonwealth citizens who have just arrived in the UK can vote as long as they're registered, but an EU citizen who's lived here for 20 years cannot, unless they become a British citizen.
And when it comes to the results, smaller parties say the First Past the Post system leaves them with few seats that don't reflect their level of support.
So is there a better way? Quadratic voting, which allows people to vote multiple times could be the answer. Ben Ansell speaks to one of its inventors, and asks, "is it time to rethink voting?"
Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Clare Fordham
Contributors
Glen Weyl, Microsoft Research
Rosie Campbell Professor of Politics at King's College London
Dr Hannah White the CEO of the Institute for Government
Rob Ford Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m00237zq)
A weekly programme looking at the science that's changing our world.
MON 21:00 Start the Week (m0023g5v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:45 Café Hope (m0023g5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0023g6w)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
MON 22:45 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (m002130w)
Episode 1
This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.
When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.
Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.
What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Written by Gabrielle Zevin
Abridged by Joseph Bedell
Read by Zoe Maltby
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:00 Limelight (m001r7tn)
The System - Series 3
The System - Method 5: Die
Five Methods for Overcoming Mortality.
Season finale of Ben Lewis’ propulsive thriller.
When the Children of the Green Man open the castle gates to a mob of gamers, it becomes clear that a storm is coming.
The fate of everyone is now in the hands of the few. But whose version of reality will win out?
Cast:
Maya… Siena Kelly
Jake … Jack Rowan
Coyote…Divian Ladwa
Robin…Ryan Sampson
Matt Finch…Rhashan Stone
Original music and sound design by Danny Krass
A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams
MON 23:30 American Paradox (m0023ftd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
TUESDAY 01 OCTOBER 2024
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0023g6y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023g66)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0023g70)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0023g72)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0023g74)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0023g76)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0023g78)
A reading and a reflection to start the day on Radio 4
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0023g7b)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 06:00 Today (m0023dpp)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Long View (m0023dpr)
Jonathan Freedland and guests make historical comparisons with current events
TUE 09:30 All in the Mind (m0023dpt)
Programme exploring the limits and potential of the human mind.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0023dpw)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m00237nb)
Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe create a playlist no computer could.
TUE 11:45 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023dpy)
In other Countries
In these five specially commissioned essays, Kerry Hudson explores the kindness of strangers - how tiny encounters (and larger actions) have turned the tide repeatedly in desperate circumstances.
They encompass topics such as the psychology of kindness in childhood, the vulnerability of travelling alone in places with troubled histories, how Kerry had to learn to rely on the strangers working in an underfunded health service in a foreign country while suffering from a life-threatening illness, the perils of life on the water and the generosities of the boating community experienced whilst living on a canal boat, and how kindness can sometimes come with unexpected caveats and conditions depending on what you look like and where you are from.
Born in Aberdeen, Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty and fear, in a succession of council estates, B&Bs and caravan parks with a single parent mother who suffered from challenging mental ill-health, compounded by addiction.
Kerry's first novel, Tony Horgan Horgan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, was published in July 2012 and was shortlisted for eight literary prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and Green Carnation Prize, and won Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel, Thirst, was developed with support from the National Lottery through an Arts Council England grant, and published in July 2014 before being shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize. Her first work of non-fiction, Lowborn (2019) became a Times bestseller and was hailed as ‘One of the most important books of the year’ by The Guardian. A follow-up to Lowborn, titled Newborn, was published in February 2024.
Written and Read by Kerry Hudson
Commissioned and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0023dq1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m0023dq3)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m0023dq5)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m0023dq7)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
TUE 13:45 Continental Divides (m0023dq9)
Misha Glenny asks whether Europe is facing the same crises it went through in the 1930s.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0023dqd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0023dqg)
Daniel is Free by Hugh Costello
New drama from BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023dqj)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity
Episode 1
Comedy chat show taking the conversational long way round to a series final destination.
TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m0023dqn)
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.
TUE 16:00 Surrealism Remixed (m0023dqq)
Under The Surface
For Russell Tovey, the modern world is getting more Surreal at a time when the original art movement is 100 years old. Surrealism was pioneered by a group of young disrupters in Paris, and it was as meaningful and resonant then, as it is now, but for different reasons.
The first 'Surrealist Manifesto' was published in Paris in October 1924 by Andre Breton, who presented ‘Surrealism’ as nothing short of a revolution to liberate mankind, proposing that the world could be re-made by unlocking the power of dreams.
Surrealism emerged when Europe was disfigured by war and Breton and his fellow Surrealists were disillusioned by the strict rationality that had led to mechanised mass destruction. Many of the Surrealists were committed Marxists and for them, exploring their unconscious minds was a political act, designed to have a revolutionary impact. The Surrealist’s desire to remake their world by plumbing the depths of the unconscious mind was also inspired by that famous figure in the interpretation of dreams business, Sigmund Freud.
While Breton's manifesto is mainly concerned with writing, the ideas of Surrealism were also nurtured by visual artists who have now become household names: Rene Magritte, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and most famously, Salvador Dalí.
Surrealism rippled out from Paris via the ground-breaking International Surrealist Exhibition in London, during the Summer of 1936. This seemed to open a ‘portal into another way of seeing the world’ for many people who were interested in what this would mean for the future.
With Dawn Ades; Louisa Buck; Martin Creed; Darian Leader; Lisa Mullen; Vic Reeves; David Shrigley and Gavin Turk.
Producers: Melissa FitzGerald and Eliane Glaser
Sound Design: Tony Churnside
A Zinc Audio Production
TUE 16:30 When It Hits the Fan (m0023dqt)
Who's in the news for all the wrong reasons? With David Yelland and Simon Lewis.
TUE 17:00 PM (m0023dqw)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023dqy)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 18:30 Heresy (m00187xq)
Series 12
Episode 4
Victoria Coren Mitchell presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy.
Joining Victoria Coren Mitchell to commit heresy this week are Sally Phillips, Josh Widdicombe and Sathnam Sanghera.
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 (m0023dr0)
Susan faces a dilemma, and Tracy is on the warpath.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0023dr2)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
TUE 20:00 The Knock on the Door (m0023dr4)
Investigating the devastating effects of investigations related to child abuse images - even when charges are dropped. Jane Wakefield hears from individuals who say they were wrongly targeted and that police action wreaked enormous damage on their families and reputations, even though officers have eventually decided not to pursue criminal investigations. She hears how suspects' phones and other devices were seized with long waits for the police to examine them for evidence. Meanwhile their lives went on hold. The programme investigates how police track the people who trade in these awful images and examines concerns about the reliability of the reliance on IP (internet protocol) addresses for locating suspects.
Producer: Sarah Treanor
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0023dr6)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
TUE 21:00 World Of Secrets (m0023qk4)
Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods
Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods: 2. Executive suite
Sophia is working in Harrods and is spotted by Mohamed Al Fayed. She’s handed an incredible career opportunity. Soon she moves to work with her billionaire boss in his executive suite. Not everything is as it seems.
On the shop floor, Mohamed Al Fayed is known for the way he makes a dramatic entrance, flanked by security guards. “He’s coming, he’s coming”, staff call out, as they spring to attention. Celebrity customers in the 1990s, like pop superstar Michael Jackson, are shopping in the store.
This season of World of Secrets is about sexual abuse, and includes descriptions which some listeners might find distressing. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m00237z4)
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show, with insight from the people at the top.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0023dr8)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
TUE 22:45 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (m00213hx)
Episode 2
This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.
When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.
Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.
What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Written by Gabrielle Zevin
Abridged by Joseph Bedell
Read by Zoe Maltby
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:00 Marianna in Conspiracyland (m0023drb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Monday]
TUE 23:30 The Gift (m001r30k)
4. Race
The anxieties of navigating a newfound racial identity.
It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.
Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.
Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett
WEDNESDAY 02 OCTOBER 2024
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0023drd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023dpy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0023drg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0023drj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0023drl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0023drn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0023drq)
A reading and a reflection to start the day on Radio 4
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0023drs)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 06:00 Today (m0023ds4)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m0023ds6)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.
WED 09:30 The Coming Storm (m0023ds8)
S2: 4. The Jump
In the summer of 2023 a small budget thriller becomes a smash hit. Sound of Freedom is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a former officer at the Department for Homeland Security, who spent years undercover busting child sex trafficking rings before he quit and set up his own organisation.
The film was linked to QAnon, the conspiracy theory about a satanic cabal of paedophiles secretly running America. Q, the anonymous figure who posted cryptic messages in online forums, isn’t mentioned in the film. He’s stopped posting and the movement has withered. But Q’s ideas have seeped into the mainstream. Now they’ve merged with a bigger story about dark forces that have captured the institutions of America - the Federal Reserve, the FBI, and…. Hollywood.
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
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0023dsb)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 The Knock on the Door (m0023dr4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:45 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023dsf)
In Sickness
In these five specially commissioned essays, Kerry Hudson explores the kindness of strangers - how tiny encounters (and larger actions) have turned the tide repeatedly in desperate circumstances.
They encompass topics such as the psychology of kindness in childhood, the vulnerability of travelling alone in places with troubled histories, how Kerry had to learn to rely on the strangers working in an underfunded health service in a foreign country while suffering from a life-threatening illness, the perils of life on the water and the generosities of the boating community experienced whilst living on a canal boat, and how kindness can sometimes come with unexpected caveats and conditions depending on what you look like and where you are from.
Born in Aberdeen, Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty and fear, in a succession of council estates, B&Bs and caravan parks with a single parent mother who suffered from challenging mental ill-health, compounded by addiction.
Kerry's first novel, Tony Horgan Horgan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, was published in July 2012 and was shortlisted for eight literary prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and Green Carnation Prize, and won Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel, Thirst, was developed with support from the National Lottery through an Arts Council England grant, and published in July 2014 before being shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize. Her first work of non-fiction, Lowborn (2019) became a Times bestseller and was hailed as ‘One of the most important books of the year’ by The Guardian. A follow-up to Lowborn, titled Newborn, was published in February 2024.
Written and Read by Kerry Hudson
Commissioned and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m0023dsh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m0023dsk)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m0023dsm)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m0023dsp)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
WED 13:45 Continental Divides (m0023dsr)
Misha Glenny asks whether Europe is facing the same crises it went through in the 1930s.
WED 14:00 The Archers (m0023dr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Riot Girls (m000dqgv)
Dykes
Episode 3
Episode 3: Cis Man that is born of Cis Woman. 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, the backlash of Clause 28 in the late '80s, and the more recent fractures in the LGBTQ+ community. Starring Nichola McAuliffe, Jessica Turner and Jelena Budimir.
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
Andrea.....Heather Craney
Directed by Emma Harding
WED 15:00 Money Box (m0023dst)
The Money Box team invites listeners and a panel of experts to discuss one personal finance topic in depth.
WED 15:30 The Artificial Human (m0023dsw)
Can AI read emotions?
We got an email from a man named Chris, asking if AI could help him with something he’s been curious about for a long time. What are other people feeling?
Chris says he has absolutely no ability to read people’s facial expressions, or tell what emotion they might be feeling, and also, doesn’t know he’s feeling a certain emotion without a physical reaction within his own body, such as tears. So he wants to know, is there an AI app that could open up the emotional world for him.
So Aleks and Kevin explore the surprisingly complex study of emotion, first with Professor Andrew McStay, who runs the Emotional AI Lab at Bangor University. Andrew takes us through the long history of how people have tried to codify and translate emotions with technology, and the limitations, even potential risks of using AI to read people’s emotions.
And then, we go talk to Dr. Amir-Hossein Karimi, who leads the collaborative human AI Reasoning Machines (CHARM) lab at the University of Waterloo. The team there have been working on an Emotion Recognition AI, primarily to help people with Autism if they cannot recognise emotions in others. He talks about how the AI was created, exactly what it’s capable of, and discusses the role engineers can play in helping people with this particular problem, in tandem with a raft of experts from different disciplines who all can bring their knowledge into the system to help people understand what others may be feeling.
But should this kind of AI be used at all? Do the potential benefits outweigh the limitations and the risks of deploying such technology? Aleks and Kevin find out.
And remember, if you have a question about AI that you’d like us to answer for you, get in touch with theartificialhuman@bbc.co.uk
WED 16:00 The Media Show (m0023dsy)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world
WED 17:00 PM (m0023dt0)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023dt2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 18:30 1. Phil Wang and Su Pollard (m0023dt4)
In a new series for Radio 4, comedian Ivo Graham chats to celebrity obsessives about the things they love.
This week, comedian Phil Wang and national treasure Su Pollard join Ivo. Phil shares his obsession with Crooners and the golden age of Jazz, while Su Pollard tells Ivo why Tomatoes are her fixation.
Ivo also delves into the audience to hear their obsessions, and he's joined on stage by Very Obsessed Person, or VOP, Adam "Tango" Holland, who lives for extreme endurance running.
Hosted by Ivo Graham
Featuring Phil Wang, Su Pollard and Adam 'Tango' Holland
Written by Ivo Graham and Matthew Crosby
Additional Material by Sharon Wanjohi and Peter Tellouche
Recorded at RADA Studios by Chris MacLean
Sound editing by Charlie Brandon-King
Production Coordinators: Katie Baum and Jodie Charman
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies, a BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4
An EcoAudio certified production
Show image: Matt Stronge
WED 19:00 The Archers (m0023dt7)
Azra has a lot to contend with, and suspicions arouse for David.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m0023dt9)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 20:00 AntiSocial (m00237mf)
Adam Fleming helps you work out what the culture war arguments are really about.
WED 20:45 Profile (m0023dtd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
WED 21:00 The Long View (m0023dpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 All in the Mind (m0023dpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0023dtg)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
WED 22:45 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (m00213wk)
Episode 3
This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.
When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.
Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.
What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Written by Gabrielle Zevin
Abridged by Joseph Bedell
Read by Zoe Maltby
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:00 Follow the Rabbit (m0023dtj)
5. The Hotel on the Hill
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.
Chris is struggling to find paranormal proof and is feeling sorry for himself. But when his mum tells him about a haunted local hotel, he is thrust into an exciting new case. The hotel is owned by Philip and Jasper. Philip denies the hotel is haunted but Jasper is convinced paranormal activity is occurring - with several claims from guests backing him up. Chris is about to begin his investigation when he bumps into Danny Robins, who is at the hotel doing his own investigation. But who will be the first to find the ghost?
Cast
Chris Relish: Tom Lawrinson
Kathleen Relish: Jo Enright
Jasper: James Baxter
Philip: Joby Mageean
Hotel Man 1: Owen Cooper
Hotel Man 2: Steve Brody
Sharon: Chelsea Halfpenny
With a special guest appearance by Danny Robins
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 (m0023dtl)
Series 12
Episode 4
Jon Holmes brings you the week's biggest stories like you've never heard them before.
WED 23:30 The Gift (m001r7hf)
5. Health
How can life change when a home DNA test reveals you may be predisposed to serious illness?
It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.
Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.
Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett
THURSDAY 03 OCTOBER 2024
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0023dtn)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023dsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0023dtq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0023dts)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0023dtv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0023dtx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0023dtz)
A reading and a reflection to start the day on Radio 4
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0023dv1)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 06:00 Today (m0023gm0)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0023gm2)
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas.
THU 09:45 Glued Up: The Sticky Story of Humanity (m001y86n)
How glues helped us fly
In this series, materials scientist Mark Miodownik charts the journey of human progress through the sticky substances that have shaped us.
In episode three he explores how adhesives have unlocked radically new designs for aircraft, letting us build planes that flew higher, faster and further than ever before.
He learns how, during WWII, adhesives allowed Britain to build a fighter plane that could outstrip anything else in the sky.
And he hears how glues are used to create the strong and lightweight stuff that planes are made out of today – materials that will be central to the goal of environmentally sustainable flight.
Contributors:
Christopher Wilk, Victoria and Albert Museum
Ginger Gardiner, Composites World
Producer: Anand Jagatia
Presenter: Mark Miodownik
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0023gm4)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 This Cultural Life (m0023gm6)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 11:45 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023gm8)
On the Water
In these five specially commissioned essays, Kerry Hudson explores the kindness of strangers - how tiny encounters (and larger actions) have turned the tide repeatedly in desperate circumstances.
They encompass topics such as the psychology of kindness in childhood, the vulnerability of travelling alone in places with troubled histories, how Kerry had to learn to rely on the strangers working in an underfunded health service in a foreign country while suffering from a life-threatening illness, the perils of life on the water and the generosities of the boating community experienced whilst living on a canal boat, and how kindness can sometimes come with unexpected caveats and conditions depending on what you look like and where you are from.
Born in Aberdeen, Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty and fear, in a succession of council estates, B&Bs and caravan parks with a single parent mother who suffered from challenging mental ill-health, compounded by addiction.
Kerry's first novel, Tony Horgan Horgan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, was published in July 2012 and was shortlisted for eight literary prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and Green Carnation Prize, and won Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel, Thirst, was developed with support from the National Lottery through an Arts Council England grant, and published in July 2014 before being shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize. Her first work of non-fiction, Lowborn (2019) became a Times bestseller and was hailed as ‘One of the most important books of the year’ by The Guardian. A follow-up to Lowborn, titled Newborn, was published in February 2024.
Written and Read by Kerry Hudson
Commissioned and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m0023gmb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m0023gmd)
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show, with insight from the people at the top.
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m0023gmg)
Greg Foot investigates the so-called wonder products making bold claims.
THU 12:57 Weather (m0023gmj)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m0023gml)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
THU 13:45 Continental Divides (m0023gmn)
Misha Glenny asks whether Europe is facing the same crises it went through in the 1930s.
THU 14:00 The Archers (m0023dt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0023gmq)
The Real Agatha Christie - A Daughter's a Daughter
Adapted by Malcolm McKay from the novel by Agatha Christie
Ann Prentice ….. Nancy Carroll
Dame Laura Whitstable ….. Sylvestra Le Touzel
Sarah Prentice ….. Natalie Mitson
Richard Cauldfield ….. Tom Goodman-Hill
Gerry Lloyd ….. Tom Glenister
Lawrence Steene ….. Taheen Modak
Directed and Produced by Catherine Bailey
In her autobiography Agatha Christie refers several times to her regret that she has never been regarded as a serious novelist. Perhaps to rectify this she wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott; one of which is A Daughter’s A Daughter. The books, now published under the Agatha Christie name, are generally regarded by many as her finest work and show a very different side of her talent.
Attractive widow, Ann Prentice, lives a quiet life with her vivacious and lively daughter, Sarah. While her daughter is away, Ann decides to marry Richard Cauldfield, a reliable but uninspiring businessman. On her return Sarah takes violently against Richard and begins a campaign to get rid of him. Resentment and jealousy corrode the relationship between the two women.
Finally, Anne reluctantly terminates her engagement and she and her daughter attempt to resume the close relationship they once had. But neither is happy. Both begin to seek solace in alcohol and shallow relationships.
All this is overseen by Laura Whitstable, an old friend of Anne’s. She questions both mother and daughter to see if they can discover what they truly want from their lives. Finally, the two women confront their darkest desires and previous actions. In an extraordinary scene they realise how much jealousy and revenge has coloured their relationship. After a series of painfully honest and powerful admissions they achieve peace.
THU 15:00 Open Country (m0023gms)
These Debatable Lands
Helen Mark visits 50 square miles that were neither England nor Scotland. The Debatable Lands, between Carlisle and Gretna, were, for hundreds of years, home to untameable crime families that frightened powerful Lords and Kings. For governments in London and Edinburgh it was safer to leave them to their own laws and moral codes. They left behind a legacy of tower houses dotting a landscape that still feels cut off from the nations either side of the border.
Helen explores the landscape of the Border Reivers, from the extraordinary natural life of the Solway Firth salt marshes to the tangle of rivers and bogs that still give the region a distinctive flavour.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0023fss)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Word of Mouth (m0023gmv)
Social media and language
Michael talks to linguist Dr Andreea Calude about her research into how language is used on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter/X.
Dr Andreea Calude is the author of The Linguistics of Social Media: An Introduction.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.
Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz Read less
THU 16:00 Rethink (m0023gmx)
Rethink... pricing
Why do you get different prices every time you try and book an airline ticket, or a hotel? Big data means that companies can figure exactly what you are willing to pay online and can shift the price you face to match that.
It might feel unfair, but dynamic pricing, drip pricing and now personalised pricing are part of the modern economy.
The depth of information available to companies means that they know the price a market will bear, and interest rates set by a central bank will make little difference to how much they charge customers.
Data-gathering software also enables competitors to draw similar conclusions about their market, and set prices accordingly. Regulators are playing catch-up, but what other strategies could be used to combat anti-competitive pricing led by algorithms? And what needs to change to ensure buyers can work out if they're getting a fair deal?
Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Clare Fordham
Contributors:
David Dayen, writer and journalist, and the executive editor of The American Prospect magazine.
Tom Smith, partner at Geradin, and former Legal Director at the UK Competition and Markets Authority.
Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, Professor of consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University.
Martyn James, consumer rights campaigner and journalist.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0023gmz)
A weekly programme looking at the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m0023gn1)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023gn3)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 18:30 Olga Koch: OK Computer (m0023gn5)
Series 3
Love
Comedian and computer scientist Olga Koch tackles the thorny issue of love with her digital assistant Algo. Join them for the third series of award-nominated stand-up as they ask the question: “What is love?” Baby don’t hurt me.
Performed by Olga Koch
Written by Olga Koch and Charlie Dinkin
Featuring Rajiv Karia as Algo
Additional material from Rajiv Karia, Peter Tellouche and Christina Riggs
Produced by Benjamin Sutton
A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m0023gk1)
There’s a shocking request for Will, while Jill makes a friend.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m0023gn8)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.
THU 20:00 The Media Show (m0023dsy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m0023fpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 The Warsaw Ghetto: History as Survival (m001l975)
2. The Coming of the Ghetto
The extraordinary Oyneg Shabes archive that secretly recorded daily Jewish existence in the Warsaw Ghetto – brought to life 80 years on from the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Between 1940-43 a group of dedicated writers, led by historian Emanuel Ringeblum, clandestinely recorded daily life & death in the Warsaw Ghetto. The project became a race against time -history as survival. Anton Lesser narrates. Episode 2-The Coming of the Ghetto. With Elliot Levey as Emanuel Ringeblum.
In the middle of Europe, in the middle of the 20th Century, a half million Jewish men, women & children were herded into a prison city within a city. How do you tell the world about your life and fate? Historian and activist Emanuel Ringelblum devised and directed a clandestine archive- codename Oyneg Shabes (Joy of the Sabbath) to chronicle every aspect of their existence. He recruited over 60 gatherers to write, collect & compile; diaries, essays, poems, photographs, statistical studies, art, ephemera -a historical treasure buried as the Ghetto was extinguished so that the world might read and understand. Listen to their stories
Episode 2-The Coming of the Ghetto. In the first months of the German occupation the young social historian & aid worker Emanuel Ringeblum began to nightly compile notes on everything he saw & heard. The origins of Oyneg Shabes.
Narration by Anton Lesser with Elliot Levey. Warsaw Streetscape Helen Beer and Mame Loshn/ Krystena Bell & Syrena Youth Theatre. Translation by Elinor Robinson. Historical adviser Samuel Kassow. Written & produced by Mark Burman.
For more information on the Oyneg Shabes/Ringeblum archive go to the website of the Jewish Historical Institute https://cbj.jhi.pl/
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0023gnb)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (m002138f)
Episode 4
This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.
When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.
Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.
What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Written by Gabrielle Zevin
Abridged by Joseph Bedell
Read by Zoe Maltby
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:00 The Today Podcast (m0023gnd)
Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week.
THU 23:30 The Gift (m001rgrb)
6. Secrets
In this last episode, as Jenny's own results land in her inbox, she hears how at home DNA tests have brought family secrets - once thought long buried - out into the light.
It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a future foretold in our genes.
Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.
Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett
FRIDAY 04 OCTOBER 2024
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0023gng)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023gm8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0023gnj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0023gnl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0023gnn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0023gnq)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0023gns)
A reading and a reflection to start the day on Radio 4
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0023gnv)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 06:00 Today (m0023gjg)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0023qbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0023gjj)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m0023gjl)
How Food can Fix the World
Dan Saladino looks at ten planet changing ideas for the future of food, from a farm out at sea to a pioneering rethink on how we can feed cities. Dan meets the scientists, entrepreneurs and risk-takers focused on transforming the health of the planet, and us.
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
FRI 11:45 The Kindness of Strangers by Kerry Hudson (m0023gjn)
At Home
In these five specially commissioned essays, Kerry Hudson explores the kindness of strangers - how tiny encounters (and larger actions) have turned the tide repeatedly in desperate circumstances.
They encompass topics such as the psychology of kindness in childhood, the vulnerability of travelling alone in places with troubled histories, how Kerry had to learn to rely on the strangers working in an underfunded health service in a foreign country while suffering from a life-threatening illness, the perils of life on the water and the generosities of the boating community experienced whilst living on a canal boat, and how kindness can sometimes come with unexpected caveats and conditions depending on what you look like and where you are from.
Born in Aberdeen, Kerry Hudson grew up in poverty and fear, in a succession of council estates, B&Bs and caravan parks with a single parent mother who suffered from challenging mental ill-health, compounded by addiction.
Kerry's first novel, Tony Horgan Horgan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, was published in July 2012 and was shortlisted for eight literary prizes, including the Guardian First Book Award and Green Carnation Prize, and won Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel, Thirst, was developed with support from the National Lottery through an Arts Council England grant, and published in July 2014 before being shortlisted for the Green Carnation Prize. Her first work of non-fiction, Lowborn (2019) became a Times bestseller and was hailed as ‘One of the most important books of the year’ by The Guardian. A follow-up to Lowborn, titled Newborn, was published in February 2024.
Written and Read by Kerry Hudson
Commissioned and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0023gjq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 AntiSocial (m0023gjs)
Adam Fleming helps you work out what the culture war arguments are really about.
FRI 12:57 Weather (m0023gjv)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m0023gjx)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.
FRI 13:45 Continental Divides (m0023gjz)
Misha Glenny asks whether Europe is facing the same crises it went through in the 1930s.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0023gk1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m00238rb)
Central Intelligence
Central Intelligence: Episode 4
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 influential figures. 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 4, with failures mounting, a US war hero is appointed to shake up the CIA. But there is a spy hiding in plain sight.
Cast:
Eloise Page..........Kim Cattrall
Allen Dulles..........Ed Harris
Richard Helms..........Johnny Flynn
Frank Wisner..........Geoffrey Arend
Young Eloise Page..........Elena Delia
Clover Dulles..........Laurel Lefkow
General Bedell-Smith..........Kerry Shale
Kim Philby..........Rufus Wright
James Jesus Angleton..........Philip Desmeules
Virginia Hall..........Jennifer Armour
President Truman..........Eric Meyers
Admiral Hillenkoetter..........Matthew Marsh
Colonel Smiley..........Wayne Forester
David Lilienthal..........Adam Sina
Macy Dulles..........Will Hislop
Bido..........Andi Jashy
Original music by Sacha Puttnam
Production:
Created by Greg Haddrick & Jeremy Fox
Episode 4 written by Felicity Packard
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 (m001hp90)
Series 1
Series 1 - 8. The Screams of the Dead
Crowds gather as a woman speaks. Her child is dead from cancer. And there are countless more. Are the dumps to blame? Under armed guard, one priest decides to speak out at risk of his life.
"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 (m0023gk3)
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts.
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0023gk5)
Andrew, Is That You?
Katie has just moved out to the suburbs with her husband Patrick. She misses London, her friends, her life, and feels isolated and a little lonely. She finds solace in Andrew, her neighbour, who she develops feelings for – “Andrew loves Labradors, is obsessed with the sound of the rain, musicals and Jean-Claude Van Damme films…are you kidding me?! It’s like someone made a male version of me…”
When Andrew dies, Katie spirals. She’s unable to process her grief, which leads her to believe that a stray dog who turns up on their doorstep is the reincarnation of Andrew.
The Cullen Brothers are a pair of award-winning writers from Bristol. The worlds and stories they create often blend genres, featuring hyper-real dialogue and characters that an audience can root for. The brothers wrote the R4 series ‘The Attendant’ starring Will Merrick, Patricia Allison and Kenneth Collard which was based on their internationally acclaimed short film of the same name and starred Isy Suttie and Robert James-Collier.
Written by The Cullen Brothers
Read by Isy Suttie
Sound Design by Ilse Lademann
Produced by Alison Crawford
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0023gk7)
Weekly obituary programme telling the life stories of those who have died recently.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m0023ds6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m0023gk9)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0023gkc)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0023gkf)
Series 115
Episode 5
Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0023gkh)
Writer: Keri Davies
Director: Kim Greengrass
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Jill Archer…. Patricia Greene
Pat Archer…. Patricia Gallimore
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy
Brad Horrobin…. Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Azra Malik…. Yasmin Wilde
Khalil Malik…. Krish Bassi
Zainab Malik…. Priyasasha Kumari
FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m0023gkk)
Prisons
As The Shawshank Redemption turns 30, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore how films and TV have portrayed prison.
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0023gkn)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0023gks)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.
FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m0023gkx)
The ideas shaping our lives today - with artists and thinkers in debates and interviews.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0023gl1)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (m002143t)
Episode 5
This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.
When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.
Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.
What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Written by Gabrielle Zevin
Abridged by Joseph Bedell
Read by Zoe Maltby
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:00 Americast (m0023gl5)
Join the Americast team for insights from across the US.
FRI 23:30 The Gift (m001w6z0)
Bonus Episode: Hacked
October 6th, 2023 - the day before Hamas launches its attack on Israel - a data set stolen from at-home DNA testing company 23andMe is posted on the dark web. A hacker under the username Golem claims it contains millions of data points relating to Ashkenazi Jews living globally. A vast repository of 23andMe's account holder's personal information is then offered to anyone willing to pay for it - including names, birth dates, genetic ancestry and location details. Not only is it 23andMe's biggest ever security breach but apparently it's been motivated by racism.
Jenny Kleeman recently confirmed her Ashkenazi Jewish identity through a 23andMe test. Her mum and dad had done so a few years previously. In this bonus episode of The Gift, Jenny investigates the 23andMe breach to discover what happened, who was targeted and if information as sensitive as our genetic code - including her own - can ever be stored safely.
Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett