SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2017

SAT 00:00 Afternoon Reading (b00cqfyt)
Nick Walker - The Further Adventures of the First King of Mars, The King's Subjects
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik we commissioned Nick Walker to write the sci-fi adventure 'The First King Of Mars'. Now in five, thrilling action-packed episodes we continue the story where it left off.
The commander makes a shocking discovery when he finds a door in an underground tunnel.
Nick Walker's theatre work has been presented extensively in the UK as well as Europe, and the USA. His plays and short stories are often featured on BBC Radio 4 and 3 series of the late-night show The Bigger Issues. He is the author of two critically acclaimed novels Blackbox and Helloland, published in the UK, US, Australia, Japan and across Europe.
Performed by Peter Capaldi.
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 00:15 Philip Levene - The Disposal of Digby (b08hld40)
Deemed a security threat, an employee is swiftly "removed" in an unusual way.
Stars John Baddeley as Digby, Garard Green as Kendrick, Austin Trevor as Sir Gerald, Peter Pratt as Taxi Driver/Doctor, Margaret Wolfit as Miss Trevelyan, Valerie Kirkbright as Air Hostess and Peter Bartlett as Passport Official / Braithwaite.
Producer: Michael Bakewell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1964.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b01mk23j)
Series 14, The Skye Boat Song
For many hearing The Skye Boat Song brings back a wealth of childhood memories, as the words "Speed Bonnie Boat Like a Bird on the Wing" tell the story of the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie, dressed as a maid to the Isle of Skye, after this defeat at the battle of Culloden.
Originally written by Sir Harold Boulton and Anne MacLeod back in the 1870's, we explore the beauty of this song and how it continues to touch people's lives across the world in very different ways.
Contributors in this programme include:
The Queen's Piper, who has played this tune in happy and sad times, recalls playing it outside the Queen's window and leading Princess Margaret's cortege. A New Zealand artist shares his memories of time spent with his father, and the sound of him whistling the song on their way home as dusk fell. A sailor from the Isle of Skye, describes his connection with the spirituality of piece and the Loch on which he sails.
Acclaimed violinist Tasmin Little shares her own arrangement of the piece and explains why it works so well musically. An Australian mum, tells how important this song has been in connecting with the two girls she has adopted from China. Gaelic Singer Maggie MacInnes tells the history of the piece.
The programme includes music by Julian Lloyd Webber, The Corries and Pete Lashley.
Producer - Rachel Matthews.
SAT 01:00 Ruth Rendell - The Keys to the Street (b01nf2h0)
By His Own Hand
Mary Jago is shocked by Alastair's wedding present and Bean, once a suspect, has now vanished. Concluded by Claudie Blakley.
SAT 01:30 True Tales from the Crypt (b01mqq9g)
Roger Luckhurst goes in search of the original Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, and finds out that it may be more Western invention than Egyptian reality...
Since its earliest days Hollywood has been obsessed with the idea of the curse of the pharaohs, the mummy that reawakens to wreak vengeance on the world. Yet Egyptologists deny such curses exist in Egyptian tombs. The popular legend of the curse is thought to date from the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and his backer Lord Caernarvon in 1922, and Caernarvon's subsequent death from an infected mosquito bite. Newspapers were quick to alight on the idea of a curse, and equally quick to blame the curse for any subsequent death even tenuously connected with the excavation.
But Roger Luckhurst believes that the origin of the mummy curse story goes back far earlier than Caernarvon, back into the nineteenth century, when Britain's empire was at its zenith and two curse stories, centring on two swashbuckling sons of empire, Walter Ingram, and Thomas Douglas Murray, set Victorian society alight. What can these earlier tales tell us about the idea of the Mummy curse?
SAT 02:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b008900m)
Episode 5
Budding New York author Paul gets a job, but is still captivated by girl-about-town Holly Golightly. Truman Capote's New York novel. Read by Henry Goodman.
SAT 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s54j7)
Octavia Hill
How Octavia set up the National Trust, based on her belief in the importance of nature for the working class.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00h45n1)
Vita Sackville-West - All Passion Spent, Episode 5
Adaptation of the 1931 novel by Vita Sackville-West.
Lady Slane's decision about what to do with the vast fortune left to her by her friend Mr FitzGeorge outrages her family, but a visit from her great-granddaughter brings hope for the future.
Lady Slane ...... Honor Blackman
Mr FitzGeorge ...... Alec McCowen
Herbert Holland ...... John Nicholas
Carrie ...... Phyllida Nash
Kay Holland ...... Patrick Romer
Mr Bucktrout ...... Paul Nicholson
Mr Gosheron ...... Peter Ellis
Genoux ...... Sonia Elliman
Police Inspector ...... Russell Boulter
Deborah Holland ...... Annabel Scholey
Directed by Sara Davies.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01hj9w1)
Granta's Britain, The Magic Place
Four writers create a personal portrait, exploring their sense of identity and what it feels like to be at home in Britain.
This selection of original non-fiction is taken from Granta magazine's volume 'Britain'
'The Magic Place' written and read by Kapka Kassabova. A Bulgarian Kiwi novelist finds her sense of home in Scotland.
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Mike Walker - Up and Down in Silvertown (b00756dt)
4 Extra Debut. With her east London tower block due to come down, Flo's departure from Dunlop Point takes her back in time. Stars Anna Wing.
SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b05tkvkd)
Series 5, University of Essex
A quiz show hosted by Steve Punt where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from the University of Essex, The 3rd Degree is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners while delighting the current ones.
The Specialist Subjects in this episode are Politics, Literature and 20th Century History, and the questions range from the nihilistic anarchy of both Brothers Karamazov and Chuckle Brothers to My Little Pony and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quick-fire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.
The host, Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show also delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, including The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen, as well as a half-hour comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called The Genuine Particle.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 Are You From the Bugle? (b01jt2sc)
A Bit of Bad News
Butterthwaite's frustrated cub reporter Graham faces a steep learning curve. Stars Jeffrey Holland. From June 1996.
SAT 05:00 Romantic Friction (b0075w4v)
Episode 1
Lovelorn romance writer Anna is up against a deadline for her latest potboiler, a tale of love, suffering and jealousy. But her creative juices don't seem to be flowing as, after years of having a purely fictional love-life, she's met a real-live man.
She's also constantly thwarted by her characters, who keep leaping off the page into her living room to challenge her about their plotlines.
Michelle Read's 4-part comedy-drama stars Samantha Bond as Anna, Hugh Bonneville as Brian, Beth Chambers as Deirdre, Adjoa Andoh as the Fertility Doll and Michael Fenton Stevens as The Book.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2000.
SAT 05:30 Ability (b087p7m6)
Lost Voice Guy (real name Lee Ridley) won the BBC Radio Stand-Up Comedy Award in 2014. He is a funny guy. He also has cerebral palsy and can only speak via a computer. Ability uses Lee's experiences of coping with this disability and weaves them into a sitcom. It is based around Matt, who is leaving home for the first time to move in with Jess, his best friend from school. Matt's parents are worried, particularly his dad - they have always done everything for him. But Matt is determined even though his new carer, Bob, is not all he should be. Bob is new to the role, and although willing, he somehow manages to spend more time dealing weed and flogging knocked off TVs than cooking Matt's tea. But he treats Matt like an equal, and not all his previous carers have done that, and so the two form a bond. A bond that could lead Matt into an awful lot of trouble. Especially as Matt has never been above exploiting his circumstances if the situation arises - he's always known he could get away with murder (although he's never actually tried that of course.) But who would suspect the disabled guy? Could Matt and Bob become the new Del boy and Rodney? And if so, which is which?
Allan Mustafa plays Bob, Matt's carer. Best know for People Just Do Nothing, which he also co-created, Allan has never actually acted in anyone else's work. But he read this script and immediately got it. He loved the dark comedy and is indeed, the perfect Bob.
The sitcom is co-written by Sony nominated Katherine Jakeways and produced and directed by Jane Berthoud. Jane Berthoud says: "Katherine has brought her great expertise as a writer to this project, and always been careful to make sure Lee's voice in it was clear. Together they make a great team and have turned out an excellent script - funny, fast moving and even a touch poignant at times. Allan Mustafa is the perfect Bob, the rest of the cast were also brilliant and I can see a great future for these characters."
Lee says:"I'm really pleased with how Ability has turned out. I've had the idea behind this sitcom in my head for a few years now, so to finally get the chance to make it is an amazing feeling. Ever since winning the BBC New Comedy Award, the BBC have been very supportive and I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to work with some great people while writing this. It has been wonderful to hear my ideas come alive. Allan Mustafa is exactly how I imagined Bob to be.".
SAT 06:00 Diane Samuels - Kindertransport (b08hqzmt)
The discovery of a German copy of 'The Ratcatcher' begins to open doors to memories hidden away since the Second World War.
Diane Samuels' drama is set between Hamburg, Germany in 1939 and London, England in 1985.
Stars Francesca Annis as Evelyn, Stephanie Cole as Lil, Kate Hardie as Faith, Ruth Mitchell as Helga and Sarah Shanson as Eva. With Nigel Hastings.
Music by Ilona Sekacz.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
SAT 07:30 Yes Yes Yes (b00t5jmn)
Series 1, The Great Green Jacket Robbery
John Rawling relives the lead up to Nick Faldo's stunning victory in Augusta at the 1996 US Masters golf tournament.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01l5nbp)
The Smart Dumb Blonde
Pulitzer prize winning journalist Maureen Dowd argues that the so-called 'dumb blonde' of 1950s Hollywood was in fact smarter than she seemed. Marilyn Monroe and her ilk aspired to be brilliant in conversation as well as on camera; they wanted to pose with books as well as blonde hair; they understood the value of their sexual currency and they had enough sense to take advantage of their assets.
In this programme, Maureen Dowd brings together some of her most eminent friends and colleagues (amongst them, Harvey Weinstein and Mike Nichols) to travel back to a time when glamour and brains were not mutually exclusive. With the help of archive, film and music and some brilliant personal anecdotes, they'll debate why the figureheads of the 50s believed in education as a mark of status and success.
Jump forward to today and American popular culture and politics has lost the drive which Marilyn's era possessed. Maureen Dowd argues that aspirations and originality are no longer valued; instead we live in a cookie-cutter world of reality tv, banal cinema and inane politicians. And, despite the seeming triumph of feminism, some of the world's most powerful and desirable women - from Sarah Palin to Kim Kardashian - are leading this trend. In the words of John Hamm, 'stupidity is certainly celebrated'.
Producer: Isabel Sutton
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 Parody Please (b08hr30m)
A surprisingly wide array of favourite radio personalities - Charlotte Green, Sandi Toksvig, Lyse Doucet and Ruth from The Archers - co-present this exploration of radio self-parody, which also contains contributions from Jan Ravens.
The history of radio's ability to parody itself goes back almost to the birth of radio. The range of this parody is so wide - news, current affairs, drama, the arts, phone-ins, investigative journalism - that the production team on this programme decided that a single presenter simply wouldn't do it justice. Parody Please is co-presented by a truly exceptional range of favourite radio voices, including Charlotte Green, Sandi Toksvig, Lyse Doucet and Ruth from the Archers, who collectively explore why radio is the best medium for parody, and its important role in our society, perhaps today more than ever.
Jan Ravens joined this roster of celebrities in order to talk with the distinguished radio critic Gilllian Reynolds in an interview which ranges across Band Waggon, The Private Life of Hilda Tablet, Delve Special, Radio Active, Down the Line, People Like Us, Dead Ringers, not to mention the unexpected late-night phone-in contributions of Sven the Norwegian.
Producer : Beaty Rubens.
SAT 12:00 Getting Nowhere Fast (b007zn0h)
Series 1, Episode 1
Ex-lovers turned cafe-bar owners Pam and Merv discuss love, life and a revamp. Stars Mervyn Stutter. From November 2001.
SAT 12:30 Country Matters (b00jzckm)
Episode 1
Dave and Cathy leave the city for Drayton Warlock's pastoral idyll. Stars Jonathan Tafler and Lesley Sharp. From April 1994.
SAT 13:00 Anne Brontë - Agnes Grey: Omnibus (b08hr6sn)
Determined to be a financially independent young woman, Agnes wonders how to find her way in the world. Starring Ellie Kendrick.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08hr771)
Michaela Strachan
TV presenter and environmentalist Michaela Strachan chooses 'Asimbonanga' by Johnny Clegg and 'Earth Song' by Michael Jackson.
SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kd8c)
Slapton Sands
Pam Ayres visits the Devon setting for the disastrous D-Day landing rehearsals of 1944. Pam talks to two American ex-servicemen and the locals of Slapton Sands who had to vacate their farms and villages in preparation.
Series in which poet and raconteuse, Pam Ayres takes to the open road, visiting eight places in Britain to hear tales from the people who live there.
Producer: Simon Elmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2000.
SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe (b007jnb2)
Series 1, Croeso to Whatsitsname
Carter Brandon takes his Uncle Mort on holiday to Wales. Peter Tinniswood's adventures with Stephen Thorne and Sam Kelly.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01l5nbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Diane Samuels - Kindertransport (b08hqzmt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Yes Yes Yes (b00t5jmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 The Twilight Zone (b08hrb5f)
Series 4, Probe 7, Over and Out
Lone astronaut Colonel Cook crash lands on a strange planet. Can - and will - he want to survive?
Written by Rod Serling and adapted by Dennis Etchison.
Stars Lou Gossett Junior, Tony Mockus Sr, Sam Derrence and Oksana Fedunyszyn - with Stacy Keach as the narrator.
Originally a cult sci-fi and horror TV series created by Rod Serling and broadcast in the USA on CBS from 1959 to 1964, The Twilight Zone was first adapted by American producer Carl Amari in 2002 as a 40-minute radio drama series.
Rod Serling had managed to electrify the new medium of television - so armed with a licence from CBS and the Serling estate, Amari's slick adaptions are based on the original TV scripts.
Actor Stacy Keach (best known here as TV detective Mike Hammer) takes Serling's original role as narrator - with a full cast, music and sound effects.
Produced and directed by Carl Amari and JoBe Cerny for Falcon Picture Group.
SAT 18:40 James Follett - Wicca (b007js70)
Episode 5
As the town of Pentworth remains cut off by an invisible wall - can Sergeant Malone prevent a trial that could lead to murder?
The second book in James Follett's 'The Silent Vulcan Trilogy'
Abridged in 8-parts by Miranda Davis.
Producer: Richard Bannerman
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2004.
SAT 19:00 Parody Please (b08hr30m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Mark Steel's in Town (b03pjfbj)
Series 5, Derry/Londonderry
Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 for a fifth series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and does a bespoke evening of comedy in each one.
As every high street slowly morphs into a replica of the next, Mark Steel's in Town celebrates the parochial, the local and the unusual. From Corby's rivalry with Kettering to the word you can't say in Portland, the show has taken in the idiosyncrasies of towns up and down the country, from Kirkwall to Penzance, from Holyhead to Bungay.
This edition comes from Derry/Londonderry in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, where the problems start with deciding which name to actually use. Mark also looks at the somewhat contentious history of the city, the impact of being the 2013 City of Culture, the local dialect, and the new bridge that's got everyone talking in this jam-packed half-hour show. (It would have been quicker, but he used the local trains.)
Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Trudi Stevens
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
SAT 22:30 Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management (b00g502t)
Episode 3
Comedy series in which comedian Will Smith seeks help and advice - primarily from his godfather Peter - on coping with the onset of middle age. Peter invites American rap star 10 Shot to help Will with his confidence and Will joins a self defence class to stop him being bullied by teenage girls. With Roger Allam, Jimmy Akingbola, Jill Cardo.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08j9k7j)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Damien Slash.
SAT 23:00 Rhod Gilbert's Bulging Barrel of Laughs (b00tkmcl)
Episode 1
Another chance to hear Rhod Gilbert's comedy show featuring comedy regulars Lloyd Langford and Greg Davies, along with Sarah Millican who takes a weekly look at The Six Stages of Woman.
This first episode features live music from Scouting for Girls, including their hit She's So Lovely, and the guest comedian is country and western singer Wilson Dixon. Find out whether whales can paint and what annoys Rhod about supermarket potatoes.
This series first broadcast on Radio 2 in September 2010 and was nominated for a Sony Award.

SUNDAY 12 MARCH 2017

SUN 00:00 The Twilight Zone (b08hrb5f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:40 James Follett - Wicca (b007js70)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:40 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Anne Brontë - Agnes Grey: Omnibus (b08hr6sn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08hr771)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kd8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe (b007jnb2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b01l5nbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Diane Samuels - Kindertransport (b08hqzmt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Yes Yes Yes (b00t5jmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Vita Sackville-West - All Passion Spent Omnibus (b007jxd3)
Lady Slane, 88, defies her children to embark on an independent life after her husband dies. Stars Honor Blackman.
SUN 07:15 A Box of Wittgensteins (b00fy2xf)
The Palais Wittgenstein
The great-niece of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Margaret Stonborough, talks to the artist and historian Michael Huey as she delves into six boxes of newly-inherited family archives. As she digs deeper into the talented but tortured lives of the Wittgensteins she finds her cramped London house becoming ever more crowded with her larger-than-life forbears.
The first object out of the box takes Margaret back to a soiree in Vienna in 1895 at the palatial house of an Austrian steel magnate, Karl Wittgenstein. He was the father of eight children including Ludwig the philosopher, Paul the left-handed pianist and Margaret's own grandmother, who was painted by Gustav Klimt. As the family gathered for the evening, records show that the composer Johannes Brahms arrived at the Palais Wittgenstein.
The readers are Sarah Finch, Nicholas Rowe and Dan Starkey.
SUN 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b04pvf6l)
Series 6, Terry Wogan
Comedian Rufus Hound is joined by the broadcaster Terry Wogan, whose diary describes his life in Limerick when he was 15.
The young Terry serves his first Mass, spends hours in the cinema, loves playing Subbuteo with his friends and - when he's tired - simply eats his lunch in bed.
Produced by Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpjp)
The Bishop Gains a Reputation
Clerical confusion abounds over the Archdeacon's tell-all book.
Starring Robertson Hare as the Archdeacon, William Mervyn as the Bishop, Jonathan Cecil as Bishop's Chaplain - the Reverend Mervyn Noote and John Barron as the Dean. With Michael Kilgarriff.
The ecclesiastical sitcom started life as a TV pilot in Comedy Playhouse, ahead of a run on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. Selected scripts were revised and re-recorded for radio.
Written and adapted by husband-and-wife team, Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps.
Producer: David Hatch.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1972.
SUN 08:30 ITMA - It's That Man Again (b007k30s)
From 30/10/1947
A pageant is planned and Tommy Handley has to write a play about the future of England.
With Jack Train, Lind Joyce, Hugh Morton, Deryck Guyler, Fred Yule, Joan Harben, Diana Morrison and Hattie Jacques.
It's That Man Again - ITMA made a radio superstar of Tommy Handley (1894-1949) and had more than 20 million devoted listeners to the BBC Home Service each week - with millions more around the world. The show's title came from a newspaper headline used in stories about Adolf Hitler in the lead up to the Second World War.
Catchphrases like "TTFN - Ta-Ta for now" and "Can I Do You Now, Sir?" coupled with a frenetic, topical approach made it utterly distinctive.
From 1939 to 1949, over 310 episodes were broadcast, breaking away from existing comedy and music hall conventions with an anarchic and irreverent style - created by its writer Ted Kavanagh.
BBC Variety Orchestra, conducted by Rae Jenkinsl.
Producer: Francis Worsley.
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in October 1947.
SUN 09:00 What Happened, Miss Simone?: Omnibus (b08hrgfd)
'I was born a child prodigy darling. I was born a genius.' The story of soul legend Nina Simone. Read by Alibe Parsons.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08hrgq0)
Om Puri
Esteemed Indian actor Om Puri chooses 'Jinhen Naaz Hai Hind Par' by Mohammed Rafi and 'Aa Chal Ke Tujhe' by Kishore Kumar.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08hrh07)
75 years, Theresa May
4 Extra Debut. From Abba to Mozart. Theresa May shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From November 2014.
SUN 11:00 TED Radio Hour (b08hrj0w)
Series 4, The Hero's Journey
Guy Raz explores why are we drawn to stories about heroes? And what do they tell us about ourselves? With Dame Ellen MacArthur.
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
SUN 11:55 The Listening Project (b03dvxz8)
Life Gets Cluttered - Lynn and Gordon
Fi Glover introduces a conversation about the challenges of de-cluttering. If boxes haven't been unpacked in 25 years, should they be got rid of? Not easy when they're full of memories.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 12:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 ITMA - It's That Man Again (b007k30s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Vita Sackville-West - All Passion Spent Omnibus (b007jxd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 A Box of Wittgensteins (b00fy2xf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Helen Dunmore - Birdcage Walk: Omnibus (b08hrjh4)
Episode 1
Radicals, property and love in 1790s Bristol. A mysterious burial. A body is hidden in the Gorge. Read by Hattie Morahan.
SUN 15:45 Polly Coles - Remembering the Grass (b08hrk75)
At the turn of the 20th century, an English family in India comes to terms with the harsh conditions. Read by Tessa Worsley.
SUN 16:00 HG Wells (b08hrkd4)
The Wonderful Visit
Everyday life in a small English village is completely disrupted when the vicar accidentally shoots and wounds an angel who's somehow flown off-course.
Stars Bernard Cribbins as the Vicar, Richard Pearce as the Angel, Margot Boyd as Miss Hinijer, Norman Bird as Dr Crump and Kim Wall as The Storyteller.
Published in 1895, the original book is preceded by 'The Time Machine' and followed by 'The Island of Doctor Moreau'.
Dramatised by Stephen Gallagher.
Music by Mia Soteriou.
Director: Martin Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b08hrl93)
Poems from the Pennines
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Poems From The Pennines'.
Poet Simon Armitage walks the route of his 'Stanza Stones' - a series of commissioned poems carved into six stones along the Watershed of the Pennine moorland from Marsden to Ilkley in West Yorkshire. The poems take the theme of water in six different states - rain, mist, snow, puddle, dew, and beck and look at our relationship with water and our moorland. The area is close to Simon Armitage's heart as he grew up in Marsden and still lives locally.
Simon talks about the creative process of writing the poetry and the challenge of writing poems that may be read on the moors for a thousand years to come. He also reveals the history of people carving words on the rocks on the moors and looks at the nature of our relationship with water.
Producer: Laura Parfitt
Made for BBC Radio 4 by White Pebble Media and first heard in 2012.
SUN 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b04pvf6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Sheila Hodgson - The Lodestone (b08hrlvf)
Cambridge scholar, MR James searches for an ex-student - an artist whose hand is guided by eerie, dark forces.
Sheila Hodgson portrays MR James as the diarist of a series of fictional ghost stories - as he gets caught up in a series of strange, inexplicable events. Hodgson fleshed out of many of MR James's "Stories I Have Tried to Write".
Stars David March as MR James, Mark Straker as Francis Lippiat and Moir Leslie as Eleanor Howard.
Director: David Johnstone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
SUN 18:45 Book at Bedtime (b06py0lt)
The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains, Episode 5
Chilling revenge for a terrible crime is at the heart of Neil Gaiman's multi-award-winning novelette, inspired by a Hebridean myth and originally commissioned by Sydney Opera House for the Graphic Festival with celebrated illustrator Eddie Campbell.
5/5. The dwarf's terrible secret is finally revealed.
Reader: Bill Paterson
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Abridged and produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:00 TED Radio Hour (b08hrj0w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 The Listening Project (b03dvxz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:55 today]
SUN 20:00 What Happened, Miss Simone?: Omnibus (b08hrgfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08hrgq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08hrh07)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b04pvf6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Down the Line (b0129bj8)
Series 3, String Theory and Popular Science Fiction
Gary Bellamy tries to raise the bar on his phone-in show with a chat about string theory. Stars Rhys Thomas. From January 2008.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08j9kkl)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Damien Slash.
SUN 23:00 The In Crowd (b007jp55)
Series 4, Episode 1
Compulsive Liars Anonymous and a birthday shock. Manchester sketch show with Kate Ward, Smug Roberts and Robin Ince. From June 2004.
SUN 23:30 Jon Ronson On (b01rlrjz)
Series 7, 11:11
Writer and documentary maker Jon Ronson returns for another five-part series of fascinating stories shedding light on the human condition.
In the first programme, he investigates confirmation bias - or why so many people look for evidence that confirms their pre-existing beliefs.
Jon believes he may be susceptible to confirmation bias himself. Over the last two years he has kept noticing that the time on his phone is 11.11. After looking on the internet, he found out there are many other people also doing this, including Uri Geller who first started noticing the number 11 over twenty years ago. Jon has also discovered that a particular community of people believe 11.11 is a sign for a new spirit guide who will come to earth, coincidentally known as Monjoronson. He speaks to the owner of the Monjoronson web domain, Ron Besser, and asks if it is possible that Jon himself is the spirit guide they're looking for.
Jon talks to other people who have been affected by confirmation bias, including an Oxford academic who believes her fate can be determined by looking at two lip balm pots.
The journalist David Aaronovitch says he believed the delusions he had while suffering intensive care psychosis after a routine operation were real.
Lotfi Raissi, the first person to be charged in connection with the September 11th attacks, tells Jon he believes his arrest was down to confirmation bias because he fitted a certain profile. A judge found there was no evidence to link Raissi to any form of terrorism.
Finally Jon speaks to the lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who believes people who are prone to confirmation bias are more likely to be recruited to police forces.

Producer: Lucy Greenwell
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.

MONDAY 13 MARCH 2017

MON 00:00 Sheila Hodgson - The Lodestone (b08hrlvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 Book at Bedtime (b06py0lt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Vita Sackville-West - All Passion Spent Omnibus (b007jxd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 A Box of Wittgensteins (b00fy2xf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Helen Dunmore - Birdcage Walk: Omnibus (b08hrjh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Polly Coles - Remembering the Grass (b08hrk75)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 HG Wells (b08hrkd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b08hrl93)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b04pvf6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jnm7)
At Bertram's Hotel, Episode 1
Deceptively mild amateur sleuth, Jane Marple is being treated to a short holiday in London by her niece. Staying at the dignified, unostentatious Bertram's Hotel, tucked away in a back street of busy Mayfair - here guests can indulge in comforts of a bygone age.
But Miss Marple begins to feel uneasy. Something sinister lurks beneath the polished veneer. Why are so many major crimes associated in some way with the hotel or somehow implicate the eminently respectable people staying there?
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple, Sian Phillips as Bess Sedgwick, Maurice Denham as Canon Pennyfather, Jillie Meers as Miss Gorringe, John Hartley as Michael Gorman, Geoffrey Whitehead as Mr Humfries and Geoffrey Bayldon as Colonel Luscombe.
Dramatised in five-parts by Michael Bakewell.
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
MON 06:30 Smile (b01jg73p)
Historian and author Kate Williams goes in search of the modern winning smile.
The wide and toothy smile is all around us and used in many different and persuasive ways, from the delight of meeting up with friends, beautiful people beaming down from billboards persuading us to buy their product, to politicians vying to win our votes, the broad and confident smile is very much at the centre of communication in today's society. However this hasn't always the case, with open mouthed smiling deemed a sign of madness and undignified.
We discover the impact of dentistry and films on our changing relationship with our smiles, the role gender and culture play, why most of us hate smiling in photographs and Jenni Murray explains why she would never broadcast without one.
Producer: Andrea Kidd.
MON 07:00 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076sdr)
Series 2, Lulu's Back in Town
Musician Roy panics when his wife's vivacious sister takes best pal George out for dinner. Stars Don Warrington. From June 2005.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b08gwy5l)
Series 77, Episode 3
Just A Minute is 50 years old this year! Nicholas Parsons has been hosting since day one, and continues to host with skill and panache! This week our panellists are Paul Merton, Jenny Eclair, Marcus Brigstocke and Just A Minute newbie, Al Murray. The panel will endeavour to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation.
What has Jenny got to say about flying saucers? What is Marcus's hidden talent? Does Paul ever play second fiddle? And we find out what Al's ideal pub consists of.
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.
Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08htpmg)
Series 2, No Man at the Helm
The Corners are trying to sell their London house - but things are becoming unhinged...
Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner, Charlotte Mitchell as Mary, Roberta Tovey as Trudi, Jill Riddick as Amanda, Hugo Keith-Johnston as Robin, David Tate as the Agent, Norman Mitchell as Mr Weston and Aline Waites as Mrs Weston.
The second series of comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Not in Front of the Children originally ran for four series from 1967 to 1970 on BBC TV. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
Wendy Craig won a Best Actress BAFTA award for the TV version of Not in Front of the Children in 1969. This was the first of several housewife roles that Wendy Craig was to play on television. Later series included And Mother Makes Three/Five and Butterflies.
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1970.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jll5)
Series 1, Sergeant Wilson's Little Secret
Confusion reigns for Sergeant Wilson when Mrs Pike reveals news of a "new arrival".
Six years after legendary sitcom Dad's Army started on BBC TV, these specially adapted radio versions began recording with the original cast.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, James Beck as Private Walker, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Private Pike, John Laurie as Private Frazer, Bill Pertwee as Warden Hodges, Pearl Hackney as Mrs Pike and John Snagge as the announcer.
Adapted from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original BBC TV scripts by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1974.
MON 09:00 Quote... Unquote (b04fyz5d)
Quote ... Unquote, the popular quotations quiz, continues its 50th series.
In almost forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian KcKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov... have all graced the Quote Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of celebrity guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the famous panel to share their favourite anecdotes.
Episode 4
Writer, actor, director and comedian - Chris Addison
Scientist, author and broadcaster - Professor Jim Al-Khalili
Actress, writer and comedian - Katy Brand
Political Biographer - John Campbell
Presenter ... Nigel Rees
Producer ... Carl Cooper.
MON 09:30 The World As We Know It (b00fd7zl)
The End
Housemates Donna, Johnny, Patrick and Abigail discover they are the last people left on Earth. Comedy starring Meera Syal. From May 1999.
MON 10:00 Peter Tinniswood (b05xgv09)
Crossing the Frontier
Jean is 38, attractive and married. She decides to go on a cruise without her husband.
On the first night out, she sees a row of lights sticking straight out to sea. She feels as if she's entering a strange land with different customs, different values. As if she is becoming a different person.
Peter Tinniswood's drama afloat stars Shirley Dixon as Jean, David Buck as Roy and Stephen Thorne as Richard.
Producer: Shaun McLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1985.
MON 11:00 Three Stories by Edith Pearlman (b01rqhw9)
Binocular Vision
"These stories are an exercise in imagination and compassion.. a trip around the world.."
ANN PATCHETT, author of Bel Canto
Edith Pearlman has been writing stories for decades and is in her mid seventies. Recognition duly arrived in America with various awards, but only recently has her collection, Binocular Vision, been acclaimed in Britain. Now there's chance to hear three of the tales on radio, and be acquainted with a voice that is compelling and new to us..
1. Binocular Vision
A young girl picks up her father's binoculars and observes the neighbours
across the road. There are surprises in store..
Reader Lydia Wilson
Producer Duncan Minshull.
MON 11:15 James Follett - The Twisted Image (b007mf16)
Two police officers discover the body of a local businessman's wife in the boot of his Rolls-Royce, stolen from outside his shop in the new town centre.
It should be an open and shut case - only the new town centre won't be built for another five years...
James Follett's futuristic whodunit stars Douglas Blackwell as Detective Inspector Simmonds, Joan Matheson as Mrs Francis and Peter Wickham as Detective Sergeant Colt
Producer: Margaret Etall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
MON 12:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08htpmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jll5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Miss Marple (b007jnm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Smile (b01jg73p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089jbx)
Episode 6
As Holly returns from holiday in Havana, Fred is approached by a stranger...
Henry Goodman continues Truman Capote's vivid and witty novel about the relationship between young writer, Paul Varjak and captivating girl-about-town, Holly Golightly, in 1940s New York.
With her tousled blond hair and upturned nose, dark glasses and chic black dresses, Holly Golightly is top notch in style and a sensation wherever she goes. Her brownstone apartment vibrates with martini-soaked parties as she plays hostess to millionaires and gangsters alike. Yet Holly never loses sight of her ultimate goal - to find a real life place like Tiffany's that makes her feel at home.
Truman Capote's 1958 novella abridged in 10-parts by James Robertston.
Born in New Orleans in 1925, Truman Capote left school at 15 to work for the New Yorker - his first, and last, regular job. He's the author of many highly praised books, including A Tree of Night and Other Stories, The Grass Harp, In Cold Blood, Music for Chameleons and Answered Prayers. Truman Capote died in 1984.
Producer: Bruce Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
MON 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s8djt)
Healing in the Open Air
How the rural landscape came to be seen as a place of moral, physical and spiritual healing for First World War veterans.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01hw6g7)
In the Van, Episode 1
Written by Clare Bayley.
Recently promoted MI5 agent, Yasmin Zafiri is on her first stake out facing weeks, rather unglamorously, in a van, and with an unexpected supervisor. On Yasmin's first day in the MI5 surveillance van, she discovers her lover Jonathan is also on the case. They begin to eavesdrop on secret lives and test their own relationship.
Yasmin has the same pressures of many young professional women, but she also has the safety of hundreds of ordinary citizens in her hands. She's an MI5 agent making decisions to prevent a terrorist attack while struggling to preserve her relationship with fellow agent Jonathan.
It gives an insight into the pressures and preoccupations of an ordinary woman doing an extraordinary job for MI5. By hearing the conversations she is intercepting, we glimpse the invasion of privacy that phone tapping involves. Increasingly identifying with this loving, resourceful immigrant family, Yasmin's success in MI5 and her future marriage come at the cost of their happiness.
The drama was recorded on location in a flat and a vehicle parked in the streets of north London, creating the believable,tense interior world of one woman in a crisis, living the life of a spy. More real than TV's Spooks, and more movingly up-to-the-minute than Smiley.
Writer Clare Bayley's plays have won Fringe Firsts and and been produced at the National Theatre.
Cast:
Yasmin ....... Amber Agar
Jonathan ...... Matt Rawle
Rachid ........ Nitzan Sharron
Samira ....... Sirine Saba
Bob ...... Felix Dexter
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b01gf5sk)
Sightlines, Aurora
Read by: Maureen Beattie
Abridged by: Pete Nichols
"The outer world flew open like a door, and I wondered - what is it that we're just not seeing?"
In the opening essay from her new book SIGHTLINES, the Scottish poet and travel writer Jamie takes us to a world of ice and aurora and silence.
Five years after FINDINGS broke the mould of nature writing, award-winning Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie subtly shifts our focus on landscape and the living world, daring us to look again at the 'natural', the remote and the human-made.
"Kathleen Jamie, the Scottish poet, has written a book that transcends the definition of nature study ... SIGHTLINES is a work of intense purity and quiet genius and we're lucky to have it."
Philip Hoare
The Sunday Telegraph
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Peter Tinniswood (b05xgv09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Quote... Unquote (b04fyz5d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 The World As We Know It (b00fd7zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076sdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (b08gwy5l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k378)
Episode 1
Two women on the run take refuge in a remote Scottish country house and come up against a force from legend.
The storyline for Marty Ross's supernatural thriller is based around the notion, found in old Scottish folk tales, of the Beatha Greimach - literally 'The Breath Thief' - a celtic demon said to lure victims into a kiss which would drain the soul from their bodies.
The central characters are two young women - Kate and Colleen - who are on the run from a women's prison in the Scottish highlands and who are given refuge in a vast country mansion by a charming but rather enigmatic host, Adam Strachan.
Stars Claire Knight as Kate, Suzanne Donaldson as Colleen and Liam Brennan as Strachan.
Producer: Bruce Young
Made for BBC 7 by Radio Scotland. First broadcast in 2007.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076gy7)
Fi Glover & Steve Jones
Sue MacGregor and her guests - geneticist, Steve Jones and broadcaster, Fi Glover - discuss books by Charles Kingsley, Alexander McCall Smith and Samantha Weinberg. From 2003.
A Fish Caught in Time by Samantha Weinberg
Publisher: Fourth Estate
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Polygon
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Publisher: Puffin.
MON 19:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08htpmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jll5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Miss Marple (b007jnm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Smile (b01jg73p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Three Stories by Edith Pearlman (b01rqhw9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 James Follett - The Twisted Image (b007mf16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b08gwy5l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive (b00d10m3)
Series 4, Episode 2
A master chef and his cooks whip up a frenzy of topical comedy. With Dave Gorman, Simon Evans and Will Smith. From August 2008.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (b08h0g4t)
Series 50, 10/03/2017
Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and guests present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.
This week we look at Philip Hammond's budget and hear from Kerry Godliman in the week of International Women's Day. Lucy Porter gives us the lowdown on the French Presidential election and Pippa Evans helps us feel less overwhelmed.
Plus intelligence specialist Julian Fisher.
Featuring: Luke Kempner.
With Additional Material by: Benjamin Partridge, Andy Woolton, Ben Hillyar, David Mayes and Jenny Laville
Producers: Adnan Ahmed and Joe Nunnery
BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:30 The Sofa of Time (b00hxnfl)
Where the Brave Go Shopping
With heroics to perform, Milford and Parker pop into Bravemart. Stars Mark Heap, Nick Frost and Kevin Eldon. From October 2002.

TUESDAY 14 MARCH 2017

TUE 00:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k378)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076gy7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Miss Marple (b007jnm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Smile (b01jg73p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089jbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s8djt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01hw6g7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b01gf5sk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Peter Tinniswood (b05xgv09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Quote... Unquote (b04fyz5d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The World As We Know It (b00fd7zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076sdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (b08gwy5l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jnmr)
At Bertram's Hotel, Episode 2
An old acquaintance of amateur sleuth, Miss Marple is about to receive a nasty shock...
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple, Frederick Jaeger as Chief Inspector Davy, Sian Phillips as Bess Sedgwick, Maurice Denham as Canon Pennyfather, Jillie Meers as Miss Gorringe, John Hartley as Michael Gorman, Preston Lockwood as Archdeacon Simmons, David Timson as Inspector Campbell and Geoffrey Bayldon as Colonel Luscombe.
Dramatised in five-parts by Michael Bakewell
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
TUE 06:30 Spellbound: Siouxsie and the Banshees (b01n9z0v)
As the bright white heat of punk faded few bands survived and emerged from the aftermath, stronger and more unique than Siouxsie and the Banshees. Led by the unmistakable force of Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, the Banshees carved a musical legacy that is without parallel.
Originally meeting as part of the 'Bromley Contingent' that gravitated around punk pioneers The Sex Pistols, Susan Janet Ballion met Steven Bailey at a Roxy Music concert at Wembley in 1975, bonding over suburban boredom, a love of Bowie, Hitchcock and 'Cabaret' style nocturnal fun. Armed with a handful of ideas, suburban isolation, borrowed equipment, the duo entered the furnace of punk intent on smashing down the established musical order and sculpting a dark and alluring legacy.
Miranda Sawyer talks to Siouxsie about the legendary gig at the infamous 100 Club as well as her and Steven Severin's part in TV folklore by appearing on the Today show where the Sex Pistol's Steve Jones and John 'Rotten' Lydon' swore at presenter Bill Grundy revealing to the nation the filth and the fury of punk rock.
Through Banshee's biographer and fan Mark Paytress, journalist Alexis Petridis and acclaimed producer Nigel Gray, Sawyer unearths how the band quickly bolted from the fading spark of punk and carved out an unparalleled legacy of five albums in five years. From 1978's stark, Velvet Underground inspired 'The Scream' through band fall-outs, commercial and critical success, to the neo-psychedelic, post punk of 'Kaleidoscope', the hugely influential dark wave 'JuJu' and the quixotic, exotic and erotic and 'A Kiss in the Dreamhouse' this a unique insight into a genre and era defying band.
TUE 07:00 Girlies (b08hypz0)
Episode 1
When five 30-something Asian women get together for "girlie" evenings, friendships are tested, marriages analysed, and secrets exposed.
Four-part comedy serial written by Sudha Bhuchar and Shaheen Khan.
Stars Ameet Chaana as Ramesh, Bharti Patel as Vinny, Zita Sattar as Tula, Roger Liddle as Dan, Alice Arnold as Marianne, Sophie Levy as Alia, Nyla Levy as Sara, Shaheen Khan as Jabeen, Sudha Bhuchar as Sonal, Sakuntala Ramanee as Samina, Charubala Chokshi as Masi, Susan Sheridan as Karan, Ameet Chaana as Ramesh, Shiv Grewal as Salim, Burt Caesar as Ali and Omar Salimi as Javed.
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Kristine Landon-Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
TUE 07:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04n3388)
Series 1, Longevity
A new series from multi-award winning comic Mark Watson where he attempts to answer the big questions and make sense of life, nimbly assisted by Tim Key and Tom Basden.
Mark and his two henchmen tackle academic and abstract topics. Themes will be examined from every angle, torn apart, laughed at and put back together again in an effort to understand ourselves and the world around us, and make it a slightly better place using stand-up, poetry, songs and dippy interactions.
This week Mark looks at "Longevity". It's the big one - dear old Mr Death. Can we beat him? Since time began, his win/lose record has been around 190 billion/1 (that's accepting Jesus rose from the dead, and maybe allowing a few draws for people who've been cryonically frozen, etc). Much of the world seems to be obsessed with the task of trying to defy age' and deny the inevitable - but is there actually a case for not wanting to live too long, because the world starts to become too confusing and your place in it less and less secure?
Mark dishes up some examples of ways this is already happening to him. Key and Basden attempt to persuade Mark the true glory of life is in enjoying it, not drawing it out endlessly. Everyone asks the question - who really wants to live forever?
Mark Watson is a multi-award winning comedian - his awards include the inaugural If.Comedy Panel Prize 2006. He is assisted by Tim Key, winner of an Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2009, and Tom Basden who won the the If.Comedy Award for Best Newcomer in 2007.
Written and performed by Mark Watson, Tim Key and Tom Basden.
Produced by Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00g2gm2)
From 22/02/1971
Trouble at sea, a laughing tax inspector and a right royal surprise.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With Terence Brady, Pauline Yates and Josephine Gordon. Pianist: Gordon Langford
Written by Terence Brady, John Graham, Allan Scott and Chris Bryant, Gerald Wiley ( Ronnie's Barker's pseudonym) and Gordon Langford.
Producer John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1971.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b01cjlny)
Computaclanger
The bungling bureaucrats' get-rich-quick schemes backfire and cause havoc. Stars Richard Murdoch. Re-recorded May 1980.
TUE 09:00 The Now Show (b08h0g4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b00805vh)
Series 1, Episode 2
Pam's absent hubby returns, so Merv tries to woo his ex and find somewhere to live. Stars Mervyn Stutter. From November 2001.
TUE 10:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007jpr7)
Miss Honeychurch, Giotto and Too Much Beethoven
1905: Cousins Lucy and Charlotte arrive at the Pensione Bertolini in Florence to discover they've not been given their promised rooms.
EM Forster's 1908 novel dramatised in four parts by David Wade.
Stars Cathy Sara as Lucy Honeychurch, Sheila Hancock as Charlotte Bartlett, John Moffatt as Mr Emerson, Gary Cady as George Emerson, Stephen Moore as Mr Beebe, Barbara Jefford as Miss Lavish, Anna Cropper as Miss Alan and David Collings as Mr Eager.
Pianist: Terence Allbright
Director: Glyn Dearman.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
TUE 11:00 Three Stories by Edith Pearlman (b01rv805)
Unravished Bride
"These stories are an exercise in imagination and compassion.. a trip around the world.."
ANN PATCHETT, author of Bel Canto
Edith Pearlman has been writing stories for decades and is in her mid seventies. Recognition duly arrived in America with various awards, but only recently has her collection, Binocular Vision, been acclaimed in Britain. Now there's chance to hear three of the tales on radio, and be acquainted with a voice that is compelling and new to us..
2. Unravished Bride
They are introduced at somebody's wedding and their meetings will go on for a year. But these are meetings with a difference..
Reader Laurel Lefkow
Producer Duncan Minshull.
TUE 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b0076xnx)
Rachel Joyce - To Be a Pilgrim
By Rachel Joyce.
Maureen believes Harold hasn't got up out of the chair since he retired six months ago. But one day he opens a letter and everything changes.
Harold ...... Anton Rodgers
Maureen ...... Anna Massey
Queenie ...... Niamh Cusack.
TUE 12:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00g2gm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b01cjlny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Miss Marple (b007jnmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Spellbound: Siouxsie and the Banshees (b01n9z0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089kf3)
Episode 7
Fred comes to a realisation, while Holly Golightly reacts badly over the arrival of some sad news. Read by Henry Goodman.
TUE 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sbcdh)
Gertrude Jekyll and the Suburban Countryside
How gardens became more than just lawns and borders, and transformed instead into a microcosm of the natural world.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j10h2)
In the Van, Episode 2
MI5 agents Yasmin and her fiance Jonathan are on surveillance of suspected terrorists in a van in North London. They continue eavesdropping on targets Rachid and Samira, probing their daily lives and questioning their own. Are they onto something big? Have they really stumbled across bomb making supplies being collected from the party balloon suppliers?
Cast:
Yasmin ....... Amber Agar
Jonathan ...... Matt Rawle
Rachid ........ Nitzan Sharron
Samira ....... Sirine Saba
Bob ...... Felix Dexter
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b01gk4rq)
Sightlines, Pathologies
Read by: Maureen Beattie
Abridged by: Pete Nichols
"The outer world flew open like a door, and I wondered - what is it that we're just not seeing?"
In the second essay from her new book SIGHTLINES, Jamie recalls how the loss of her mother affected her and took her on an unlikely journey
Five years after FINDINGS broke the mould of nature writing, award-winning Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie subtly shifts our focus on landscape and the living world, daring us to look again at the natural, the remote and the human-made.
"Kathleen Jamie, the Scottish poet, has written a book that transcends the definition of nature study ... SIGHTLINES is a work of intense purity and quiet genius and we're lucky to have it."
Philip Hoare
The Sunday Telegraph
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007jpr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Puzzle Panel (b00yb2vg)
Episode 6
More testing brain teasers with Chris Maslanka, Paul Lamford, Val Gilbert and Professor David Singmaster. From July 1998.
TUE 16:30 Babblewick Hall (b01nchms)
Series 1, Episode 4
The rakish Thomas Berridge stands between Fenton and a glamorous political career. Stars Nick Le Prevost. From January 1996.
TUE 17:00 Girlies (b08hypz0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04n3388)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k387)
Episode 2
Fugitives Kate and Colleen hide from the police, but who is hiding with them? Stars Claire Knight and Suzanne Donaldson.
TUE 18:30 And The Academy Award Goes To ... (b008wtbx)
Series 1, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Paul Gambaccini traces the history of the Oscars and tells the story behind award-winning films.
Director Milos Foreman recalls how the film reflected his views on the Iron Curtain and how the script came to influence mental healthcare in America. Louise Fletcher recalls the experience of acting alongside the mixed cast of amateurs and professionals including Jack Nicholson.
TUE 19:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00g2gm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b01cjlny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Miss Marple (b007jnmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Spellbound: Siouxsie and the Banshees (b01n9z0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Three Stories by Edith Pearlman (b01rv805)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b0076xnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04n3388)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Kerry's List (b01s7yvx)
Series 1, Episode 2
The second in a four-part sketch show co-written by and starring comedian and actress Kerry Godliman.
Kerry is a married mother of two, a stand up comedian and has two children. Her life can only properly function with her daily list - if she didn't compile this vital list, her life would simply fall apart.
Each week, this series looks at a different list and delves into Kerry's madcap world by looking at various elements of that week's list in sketches, narrative and stand up.
In this second episode, Kerry's List includes cancelling the organic food box, adopting a panda, searching through the baby's poo, being grateful, changing the water in the fish tank, learning the oboe and selling the Cath Kidston Potting Shed.
Joining Kerry is her husband Ben (played by her real husband Ben Abell) and her five year old daughter Elsie (played by Melissa Bury) together with a range of bizarre characters - including an enthusiastic council environment worker, some disgruntled satsumas, a bored therapist, a Fairy Jeanmother and a very keen gym instructor.
Any busy parent who's ever compiled a list of their own will relate to Kerry Godliman's incident filled world.
The cast includes David Pusey (who co-wrote the series), Bridget Christie, Lucy Briers, Rosie Cavaliero and Nicholas Le Prevost.
Kerry Godliman is fast establishing herself as a highly skilful stand up comic and actress, from her recent appearances on Live at The Apollo (BBC 1), Derek (C4) and Our Girl (BBC 1).
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 Concrete Cow (b00768y0)
Series 1, Episode 1
Dr Jekyll's telling off, and Radio 4's new quiz for pedants. Sketch show with Robert Webb and Olivia Colman. From August 2002.
TUE 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08jtph0)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats to Kerry Howard.
TUE 23:30 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b00ls6bt)
Series 1, Episode 4
South Londoner Arthur invites Stewart Lee and Reginald D Hunter round, with music from Sophie Ellis-Bextor. From July 2009.

WEDNESDAY 15 MARCH 2017

WED 00:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k387)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 And The Academy Award Goes To ... (b008wtbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Miss Marple (b007jnmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Spellbound: Siouxsie and the Banshees (b01n9z0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089kf3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sbcdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j10h2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b01gk4rq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007jpr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Puzzle Panel (b00yb2vg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Babblewick Hall (b01nchms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Girlies (b08hypz0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04n3388)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jnn6)
At Bertram's Hotel, Episode 3
The morning paper brings some very alarming news for Miss Marple - and a police investigation.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple, Frederick Jaeger as Chief Inspector Davy, Maurice Denham as Canon Pennyfather, Jillie Meers as Miss Gorringe, John Hartley as Michael Gorman, Geoffrey Whitehead as Mr Humfries and Patrick Allen as Sir Ronald Graves.
Dramatised in five-parts by Michael Bakewell
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
WED 06:30 Not Just Funny Animal Voices (b00yjt8q)
Johnny Morris became a household name thanks to the much-loved children's TV programme Animal Magic.
From 1962 to 1983 he created comic voices for the creatures which appeared on the show. In the 1970s he was joined by the then unknown Terry Nutkins, who'd been discovered working at a safari park and offered the role as Johnny's side-kick. Johnny became Terry's mentor and close friend; a friendship which lasted until Johnny's death in 1999.
Now, for this programme, Terry explores Johnny's life and work, and explains that what made him unique was 'Not Just Funny Animals Voices' but a colourful life and broadcasting career stretching back to 1946.
Terry revisits the Animal Magic studio for the first time in years and recalls how Johnny would offer him a small measure of gin from a flask he kept in his dressing room. It was Johnny's ways of calming his nerves.
Of course, one of the major events in Johnny's life was when Animal Magic ended in 1983. For the first time the man who axed that programme - the former head of the BBC Natural History Unit, John Sparks - speaks about making that decision and how he broke the news to Johnny.
Johnny was discovered by Desmond Hawkins (who founded the Natural History Unit). They met in their local pub where Johnny would hold court, spinning characterful yarns. Hawkins spotted his talent and asked him to write short stories for the Home Service.
One of his producers was Tony Soper, who tells Terry Nutkins about working with Johnny on radio programmes like Pass the Salt, and one-offs like a short film about a cormorant called Plapp. Johnny wasn't keen on Plapp because, according to Tony, Johnny only liked 'soppy animals'. Nevertheless they made the film, despite shooting it on a 'toy' camera which only recorded for 30 seconds at a time.
Tony also recalls working with Johnny on Animal Magic when it first began, and describes the tension between them - Tony wanted to make 'straight nat-hist' films and wasn't keen on Johnny's anthropomorphic approach. Of course it was this idiosyncratic style which led to Animal Magic being taken off air in 1983.
Also on the programme, Mirielle Farrow - a close friend of Johnny's - discusses his marriage to a much older woman and wonders whether his passion for cats was a substitute for never having children of his own.
Presenter: Terry Nutkins. Producer: Karen Gregor.
WED 07:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b0076t23)
Series 4, Episode 3
Robin is encouraged to bond with the baby and other fathers. Derek tries to tag along to every event, which leads to chaos. Stars Brian Capron. From August 2005.
WED 07:30 It's Jocelyn (b08gy87v)
Series 2, Friends
It's Jocelyn returns for a second series of sketches and stand-up from the wonderful mind of Jocelyn Jee Esien.
In episode three, Jocelyn talks about friendship, Princess Pay As You Go gets into podcasting and the traffic wardens have a meeting about a meeting.
This series Jocelyn is joined by Paul Whitehouse as a cockney funeral director, as well as the vocal talents of Ninia Benjamin, Curtis Walker, Dee Kaate, Gavi Chera and Karen Bartke.
The producer is Suzy Grant and It's Jocelyn is a BBC Studios production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007jncb)
The New NAAFI
Pertwee's potent beer sparks an explosive opening ceremony aboard HMS Troutbridge.
Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Commanding Officer, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Myrtle, Tenniel Evans as the Nunkyl and Michael Bates as the Professor.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman and George Evans.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in June 1972.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
Hancock in the Police
When Bill and the lad take to the beat, the crime rate soars after they meet Sid.
Starring Tony Hancock, Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1957.
WED 09:00 Genius (b00brvcm)
Series 1, Neil Innes
From bunk chairs to helium-filled bubble wrap, Dave Gorman asks Neil Innes to select the public's best loopy idea. From November 2005.
WED 09:30 Second Holmes (b016px9c)
The Case of the Missing Link
The grandsons of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson meet a member of the Moriarty family. Stars Peter Egan. From February 1983.
WED 10:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007jpty)
Good Men and Violets
Lucy Honeychurch has witnessed a murder, but George's actions disturb her more. Stars Sheila Hancock and John Moffatt.
WED 11:00 Three Stories by Edith Pearlman (b01s032m)
Fidelity
"These stories are an exercise in imagination and compassion.. a trip around the world.."
ANN PATCHETT, author of Bel Canto
Edith Pearlman has been writing stories for decades and is in her mid seventies. Recognition duly arrived in America with various awards, but only recently has her collection, Binocular Vision, been acclaimed in Britain. Now there's chance to hear three of the tales on radio, and be acquainted with a voice that is compelling and new to us..
3. Fidelity
Victor Cullen is a renowned travel writer, a stickler for research. Then one day he starts making his journeys up..
Reader Peter Marinker
Producer Duncan Minshull.
WED 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b00fz12l)
Tony Staveacre - Wodehouse in Hollywood
In 1930 MGM shipped PG Wodehouse out West and thrust $104,000 into his hand - in return for zilch. The stories and novels that Wodehouse created out of his Hollywood experience were his satiric riposte to those that had made a dishonest man out of him. Comedy combining Wodehouse's own writing with dramatised fictional scenes by Tony Staveacre.
PG Wodehouse......Tim McInnerny
Ethel Wodehouse.....Fenella Woolgar
Sam Marx......Rowe David McClelland
Dorothy......Fiona Clarke
Clarence......Declan Wilson
Thalberg/Bobby......Paul Ryder
Directed by Stefan Escreet.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007jncb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Miss Marple (b007jnn6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Not Just Funny Animal Voices (b00yjt8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089m5n)
Episode 8
After receiving tragic news, Holly Golightly tries to look to the future, but Paul has concerns. Truman Capote's story read by Henry Goodman.
WED 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sf8ky)
The Brotherhood of Ruralists, part 1
The designer explains how Mother Nature inspired a group of 1970s artists to paint rural life in the countryside.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j116p)
In the Van, Episode 3
Written by Clare Bayley.
Yasmin Zafiri, and her supervisor and fiance Jonathan, are getting frustrated both with the lack of progress on their stake out and with each other. Yasmin discovers Jonathan's parents and their boss know nothing of their relationship. But the suspects they are following are expecting a visitor from abroad which will change everything. A breakthrough is just around the corner.
Cast:
Yasmin ....... Amber Agar
Jonathan ...... Matt Rawle
Rachid ........ Nitzan Sharron
Samira ....... Sirine Saba
Bob ...... Felix Dexter
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b01gk6c0)
Sightlines, The Woman in the Field
Read by: Maureen Beattie
Abridged by: Pete Nichols
"The outer world flew open like a door, and I wondered - what is it that we're just not seeing?"
In the third essay from her book, SIGHTLINES, Scottish poet and travel writer Kathleen Jamie recalls how a simple cup shaped her future.
Five years after FINDINGS broke the mould of nature writing, award-winning Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie subtly shifts our focus on landscape and the living world, daring us to look again at the natural, the remote and the human-made.
"Kathleen Jamie, the Scottish poet, has written a book that transcends the definition of nature study ... SIGHTLINES is a work of intense purity and quiet genius and we're lucky to have it."
Philip Hoare
The Sunday Telegraph
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007jpty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Genius (b00brvcm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Second Holmes (b016px9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b0076t23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 It's Jocelyn (b08gy87v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k391)
Episode 3
Two women, two Adams. But what is the connection? Are they demon or liberator? Stars Claire Knight and Suzanne Donaldson.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00vrxk3)
On the Road
"The facts are that four out of five male children start life predisposed in favour of adventure," wrote Peter Fleming in 1933. "They do it because they want to. It suits them. It is their cup of tea."
In a travel themed edition of Off The Page, Dominic Arkwright asks domestic obsessive Lucy Mangan and Johnny Green, the former road manager of the Clash, if this is really the case. Writer Justin Marozzi weighs in with a compelling account of a mercury drinker he met in Uzbekistan, while debate centres on whether the nomadic urge is innate.
"When I first went out On The Road with punk rock terrors the Clash," write Johnny Green, "it was madly exciting, beyond my considerable wildest dreams." To which Lucy Mangan replies, who was feeding the cat ?
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007jncb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Miss Marple (b007jnn6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Not Just Funny Animal Voices (b00yjt8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Three Stories by Edith Pearlman (b01s032m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b00fz12l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 It's Jocelyn (b08gy87v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Goodness Gracious Me (b007jv3v)
Series 1, Episode 3
Bhangraman must save the world - and the downside of keeping a cow as a family pet
Stars Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Nitin Sawhney, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.
Gold Winner of the Sony Radio Academy Awards. The sketch comedy show originally ran on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998, later transferring to TV on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001.
Scripted by Sharat Sardana, Richard Pinto and the cast.
Produced by Gareth Edwards and Anil Gupta.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1996.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08jtpx2)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to Kerry Howard.
WED 23:00 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b01pp6xb)
Series 2, Showbiz
Sarah Siddons, Richard Burton and Caradog (Cor Mawr). Determining the ultimate heroes of Wales. From January 2013.
WED 23:30 Paul Sinha's Citizenship Test (b038zf13)
Episode 4
Paul Sinha is proudly British. He also loves a quiz. So you would have thought that the UK Citizenship Test, which newcomers to this country must pass to become citizens, would have been right up his street. But the questions in the 2012 and 2013 Home Office guides seem either bizarrely easy - "Where is Welsh most widely spoken?" - or infuriatingly vague - "What happened in the First World War?".
So Paul has created his own test, to better reflect the things that aspiring migrants should understand before they can call themselves British. In this final episode of the four-part series, he looks who and what Britons consider to be "great", and social cohesion - from what you need to know about weddings and marriage to the 2011 summer riots.
The series intertwines the sort of comedy Paul has become known for on The Now Show, The News Quiz, and Fighting Talk, as well as his own Radio 4 shows The Sinha Test and The Sinha Games, and the command of facts and figures he demonstrates on the ITV quiz show The Chase, with a dash of the patriotism that has seen him banned from the bar at the United Nations.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha.
Producer: Ed Morrish.

THURSDAY 16 MARCH 2017

THU 00:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k391)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00vrxk3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Miss Marple (b007jnn6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Not Just Funny Animal Voices (b00yjt8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089m5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sf8ky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j116p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b01gk6c0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007jpty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Genius (b00brvcm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Second Holmes (b016px9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b0076t23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 It's Jocelyn (b08gy87v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jnnq)
At Bertram's Hotel, Episode 4
Just as one mystery is cleared up, Miss Marple becomes involved in another...
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple, Frederick Jaeger as Chief Inspector Davy, Sian Phillips as Bess Sedgwick, Maurice Denham as Canon Pennyfather, Jillie Meers as Miss Gorringe, John Hartley as Michael Gorman and Patrick Allen as Sir Ronald Graves.
Dramatised in five-parts by Michael Bakewell
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
THU 06:30 Warpaint: The Story of Camouflage (b00768wm)
Patrick Wright recalls the efforts of the artists who pioneered the use of military camouflage during the First World War. Solomon J Solomon painted designs on the first British tanks, and Norman Wilkinson protected ships from torpedoes with dazzle paint. From August 2002.
THU 07:00 In the Chair (b007jpw1)
Episode 1
At last maverick crime reporter, George Cragge is retiring from the BBC to the delight of executives attending his retirement party. But his retirement is cut short by an urgent phone call - a serial killer is murdering dentists in London...
Mark Tavener's six-part satirical comedy thriller stars Michael Williams as George Cragge, Barry Foster as DCI Frank Jefferson, Hugh Laurie as the Prime Minister, Richard Griffiths as Crichton-Potter, John Bird as Martin, Stephen Fry as Charles Prentiss, Rebecca Front as Marcia Mallon, Kenneth Cranham as Jim Hardie, Geoffrey Whitehead as Director of Personnel, Simon Greehall as the Chancellor, Jonathan Keeble as John and Susie Brann as Caroline.
Music by Paul Mottram.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
THU 07:30 Meet David Sedaris (b064zp7v)
Series 5, Leviathan
One of the world's funniest storytellers is back on BBC Radio 4 doing what he does best. This week: Leviathan deals with a family gathering for Thanksgiving at the seaside and there's another instalment from his diary (3/6)
Produced by Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 Jim the Great (b0116h49)
Series 1, A Patron of the Arts
Perpetually hard-up monarch Jim manages to slip off to the pub - and appear in public.
Historical regal romp starring Jimmy Edwards.
With Joan Sanderson, Julian Orchard, John Baddeley, Andrew Palmer, Ronald Baddiley and David Ryall.
Jim The Great ran for 2 series on BBC Radio 2 between 1976 - 1979.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1977.
THU 08:30 Know Your Place (b0195ds4)
Jumpers
Will caretaker Ramsay have the head for heights for a dangerous job? Stars Roy Dotrice and Patricia Hayes. From June 1983.
THU 09:00 All the Way From Memphis (b00jnlsm)
Series 1, Episode 6
James Walton's pop music history quiz with Tracey Macleod, Andrew Collins, Anthony Wilson and Richard Curtis. From January 2005.
THU 09:30 Country Matters (b00k2fkz)
Episode 2
Dave learns how the fete unearths the unscrupulous side of village life. Stars Jonathan Tafler and Lesley Sharp. From May 1994.
THU 10:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007qx2z)
A Proposal and a Bathing Party
Lucy Honeychurch returns to England much changed after her disturbing trip to Italy. Stars Julia McKenzie and Sheila Hancock.
THU 11:00 Winifred Holtby - Why Herbert Killed His Mother (b018sr28)
Very beautiful as a baby, Herbert turns out to be a very different adult. Short story read by Anna Massey.
THU 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01jrjfz)
Moya O'Shea - Digging for Victory
By Moya O'Shea
When a family decide they have no option than to take destiny into their own hands they discover digging another room under their flat isn't as simple as they first thought.
Directed by Tracey Neale
Moya O'Shea's radio work includes 'Theo' which was voted most popular drama by the listeners of Radio 7 (now Radio 4Extra) and 'A Town Like Alice' winner of a Sony Award.
THU 12:00 Jim the Great (b0116h49)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Know Your Place (b0195ds4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Miss Marple (b007jnnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Warpaint: The Story of Camouflage (b00768wm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089kv5)
Episode 9
Girl-about-town Holly Golightly hits New York's headlines for all the wrong reasons. Read by Henry Goodman.
THU 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00shgb5)
The Brotherhood of Ruralists, part 2
How John Seymour's 1976 Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency proved a huge hit with disaffected city dwellers keen on a rural life.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j0z63)
In the Van, Episode 4
Written by Clare Bayley.
MI5 officer Yasmin finds her sympathy for her suspects growing - but an unwanted guest forces Rachid to jeopardise everything he loves and brings the Yasmin's new career into harsh reality.
Cast:
Yasmin ....... Amber Agar
Jonathan ...... Matt Rawle
Rachid ........ Nitzan Sharron
Samira ....... Sirine Saba
Bob ...... Felix Dexter
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b01gk6qd)
Sightlines, The Gannetry
Read by: Maureen Beattie
Abridged by: Pete Nichols
"The outer world flew open like a door, and I wondered - what is it that we're just not seeing?"
In the fourth essay from her book SIGHTLINES Scottish poet and travel writer Kathleen Jamie introduces us to the world of Gannets - and more.
Five years after FINDINGS broke the mould of nature writing, award-winning Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie subtly shifts our focus on landscape and the living world, daring us to look again at the natural, the remote and the human-made.
"Kathleen Jamie, the Scottish poet, has written a book that transcends the definition of nature study ... SIGHTLINES is a work of intense purity and quiet genius and we're lucky to have it."
Philip Hoare
The Sunday Telegraph
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007qx2z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 All the Way From Memphis (b00jnlsm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Country Matters (b00k2fkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 In the Chair (b007jpw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Meet David Sedaris (b064zp7v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k3b0)
Episode 4
It's party time for Adam, but his guests prove to be far from ordinary. Stars Claire Knight and Suzanne Donaldson.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b00dnwsm)
Series 16, William Hogarth
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
Eighteenth-century satirist and painter William Hogarth is nominated by Private Eye editor Ian Hislop. The art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon joins the discussion.
THU 19:00 Jim the Great (b0116h49)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Know Your Place (b0195ds4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Miss Marple (b007jnnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Warpaint: The Story of Camouflage (b00768wm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Winifred Holtby - Why Herbert Killed His Mother (b018sr28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01jrjfz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Meet David Sedaris (b064zp7v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed (b039q25j)
Series 2, Jury
Jury: DS Nick Mohammed has his day in court, but the judge seems unimpressed by his testimony. As ever, he is assisted by longsuffering constables Colin and Anna. Written and performed by Nick Mohammed, with Anna Crilly, Colin Hoult, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Will Andrews. Producer: Victoria Lloyd and Tilusha Ghelani.
NEW SERIES
Call 999! Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed (Life's Too Short, Miranda and 10 O'Clock Live) returns for a second series of his critically acclaimed Radio 4 sitcom. "Delightfully bonkers!" The Guardian.
This time around Nick is tackling some major crimes - and assisting with some major public events. He's joined by special constables Colin Hoult (Being Human) and Anna Crilly (Lead Balloon), who aid and abet him in everything he does. With special guests Margaret Cabourn-Smith, and Will Andrews.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08jtq5j)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to Kerry Howard.
THU 23:00 Rubbish (b0077128)
Series 1, Outsourcing
Local government officer Martin ends up as acting head, but is soon out of his depth. Stars Reece Dinsdale. From November 2006.
THU 23:30 Hut 33 (b01jz3p2)
Series 3, Spitfire Poker
The Bletchley Park code breakers try help raise money for the town's spitfire fund.
Stars Tom Goodman-Hill as Archie, Robert Bathurst as Professor Charles Gardner, Fergus Craig as Gordon, Alex MacQueen as 3rd Lt. Joshua Featherstonhaugh-Marshall, Olivia Colman as Minka and Lill Roughley as Mrs Best.
Written by James Cary.
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.

FRIDAY 17 MARCH 2017

FRI 00:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k3b0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b00dnwsm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Miss Marple (b007jnnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Warpaint: The Story of Camouflage (b00768wm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089kv5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00shgb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j0z63)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b01gk6qd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007qx2z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 All the Way From Memphis (b00jnlsm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Country Matters (b00k2fkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 In the Chair (b007jpw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Meet David Sedaris (b064zp7v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jnp6)
At Bertram's Hotel, Episode 5
The police ask Miss Marple to take part in a little experiment.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple, Frederick Jaeger as Chief Inspector Davy, Sian Phillips as Bess Sedgwick, Maurice Denham as Canon Pennyfather, Jillie Meers as Miss Gorringe, Tracy Wiles as Elvira Blake, Gavin Muir as Ladislaus Malinowski and Patrick Allen as Sir Ronald Graves.
Dramatised in five-parts by Michael Bakewell.
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
FRI 06:30 The Real Patron Saints (b00768nd)
Saint Patrick
Associated with the Shamrock, how did a 5th-century British preacher become Ireland's patron saint? Ian Hislop investigates.
FRI 07:00 Romantic Friction (b00764dy)
Episode 2
As love blossoms for romance writer Anna, her characters become increasingly annoyed by the lack of authorial presence in their plot lines.
Not only does Anna keep having Lady Chatterley fantasies, but she's worried Brian only wants her as a friend...
Michelle Read's four-part comedy-drama stars Samantha Bond and Hugh Bonneville.
With Beth Chambers, Michelle Read, Kammy Darweish, Adjoa Andoh, Andrew Wincott, Sue Elliott-Nicholls and Michael Fenton Stevens.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2001.
FRI 07:30 Boswell's Lives (b053bq4l)
Series 1, Boswell's Life of Freud
by Jon Canter
Comedy as James Boswell Dr Johnson's celebrated biographer pursues other legends to immortalise. Today he attempts to write a biography of Sigmund Freud but finds it is Freud who is asking all the questions.
Directed by Sally Avens
Other celebrities that have their lives penned by James Boswell will include - Maria Callas (Arabella Weir), Harold Pinter (Harry Enfield) and Boris Johnson (Alistair McGowan).
Jon Canter is an award winning comedy writer for both television and radio. He recently penned the radio series 'Believe It' starring Richard Wilson but his work goes back to Spitting Image. He is also the author of several books and has been called our greatest living comic novelist.
Miles Jupp is an actor and stand up. He is best known for playing Nigel in the series 'Rev' and is a regular contributor to R4 panel games and 'Have I Got News For You' on BBC1. In March he will open in a new play at the National Theatre: 'Rules For Living'.
Henry Goodman has recently been seen as Sir Humphrey Appleby in the stage version of Yes Minister and Arturo Ui. Films include 'The Damned United', The Life and Death of Peter Sellars' and 'Notting Hill'.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00qpjy6)
Series 2, Episode 5
Singing dogs - and the tale of Martin Copperwick
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs plus TV and cinema parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Tim Brooke-Taylor Graeme Garden, Johnnie Mortimer & Brian Cooke and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Songs by Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden with music by Dave Lee.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in November 1965.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jyxq)
The Scarlet Capsule
Professor Ned Quatermass unravels a mystery around some enigmatic blue serge suits. Stars Spike Milligan. From February 1959.
FRI 09:00 The 3rd Degree (b05v7tjp)
Series 5, De Montfort University
A quiz show hosted by Steve Punt where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from De Montfort University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners while delighting the current ones.
The Specialist Subjects in this episode are Film, Forensic Science and Contour Fashion. So there are questions on X-rated films, the analysis of blood spatter patterns and the history of lingerie. And also Gogglebox.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quick-fire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.
The host, Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show also delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, including The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen, as well as a half-hour comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called The Genuine Particle.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 09:30 Are You From the Bugle? (b01jzq5m)
Butterthwaite White Hell
Will snow play havoc with Graham's chances of landing a story? Stars Jeffrey Holland and Robert Beck. From June 1996.
FRI 10:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007qvgf)
The Triumph of Phaeton
Engaged to Cecil but haunted by her dreams of George, Lucy Honeychurch feels muddled. Stars Sheila Hancock and Julia McKenzie.
FRI 11:00 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
The tragic tale of the sailor who dances and the miller's daughter who waits. Read by Sheila Mitchell.
FRI 11:15 DJ Britton - Moliere Imaginaire (b0076kgs)
When Harriet and Gwyn start a new life in France with their dream gite in the Languedoc, everything goes wrong. But this is Molière country, where present-day solutions can be found in the spirit of the past.
DJ Britton's drama stars Bill Wallis as Poquelin, Rachel Atkins as Madeleine, James Loye as Rupert, Mared Swain as Sioned and Melanie Walters as Harriet.
Producer: Alison Hindell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00qpjy6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jyxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Miss Marple (b007jnp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Real Patron Saints (b00768nd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (b0089htv)
Episode 10
With the police hot on her tail, Holly Golightly makes decisions about her future. Concluded by Henry Goodman.
FRI 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00skxgk)
Villadom in the Cotswolds
How the idea of escaping to the countryside, seen as a modern symbol of city dweller angst, is as old as the Romans.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01j0xm8)
In the Van, Episode 5
Written by Clare Bayley.
MI5 officer, Yasmin, on her fist stake out, is deeply compromised. Acceptance in MI5 and her future marriage to Jonathan come at the cost of suspects Rachid and Samira's happiness. Can Yasmin bring herself to carry out the decisive move?
Cast:
Yasmin ....... Amber Agar
Jonathan ...... Matt Rawle
Rachid ........ Nitzan Sharron
Samira ....... Sirine Saba
Bob ...... Felix Dexter
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b01gk6v3)
Sightlines, On Rona
Read by: Maureen Beattie
Abridged by: Pete Nichols
"The outer world flew open like a door, and I wondered - what is it that we're just not seeing?"
In the final essay from her book SIGHTLINES Scottish poet and travel writer Kathleen Jamie makes a few house calls and learns to dit-dit diddle-dit.
Five years after FINDINGS broke the mould of nature writing, award-winning Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie subtly shifts our focus on landscape and the living world, daring us to look again at the 'natural', the remote and the human-made.
"Kathleen Jamie, the Scottish poet, has written a book that transcends the definition of nature study ... SIGHTLINES is a work of intense purity and quiet genius and we're lucky to have it."
Philip Hoare
The Sunday Telegraph
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 EM Forster - A Room with a View (b007qvgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The 3rd Degree (b05v7tjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Are You From the Bugle? (b01jzq5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Romantic Friction (b00764dy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Boswell's Lives (b053bq4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Marty Ross - Catch My Breath (b007k3bt)
Episode 5
The truth about Isla is revealed, and aid arrives from an unexpected quarter. Stars Claire Knight and Suzanne Donaldson.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b01mqp1r)
Series 14, Brothers in Arms
An exploration into the enduring appeal of the Dire Straits classic, Brothers in Arms.
Although thought to have been written by Mark Knopfler in response to the Falklands war in the mid 80's, it's a piece that people now associate with many other conflicts ; military, personal and social.
Dire Straits bass player, John Illsley explains why it remains such a special piece for the band, while Marines chaplain, Nigel Beardsley, recalls the important part it's played in the lives of so many soldiers in Iran and Afghanistan and why it's now often heard at military funerals.
The Irish playwright, Sam Millar describes why he based a very personal play around the song and Snuffy Walden, music director of the hit American TV show, The West Wing, talks about how the series writer, Aaron Sorkin insisted on it being used in its entirety during a crucial episode.
Prof Alan Moore of Surrey University explains how it's Knopfler's brilliant use of harmony that gives the song the sense of yearning that has made it into one of the most enduring pop songs of the last century.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00qpjy6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jyxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Miss Marple (b007jnp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 The Real Patron Saints (b00768nd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 DJ Britton - Moliere Imaginaire (b0076kgs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Boswell's Lives (b053bq4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Spotlight Tonight with Nish Kumar (b08hpklp)
Series 1, 15/03/2017
We all like to think we know about the news and yet, whilst jokes about Boris Johnson's haircut are all well and good, do you still have that nagging suspicion there's important things going on beneath the headlines you'd like to know about? Well, help is at hand! Nish Kumar is here to cast his spotlight on the week's most talked about news items, taking an in-depth look at the biggest stories from the past seven days to scrutinise what's actually going on beneath the bluster.
Recorded on the day of transmission, Spotlight Tonight brings you the most reactive up to date in-depth look at the news.
Starring Nish Kumar & Sarah Campbell.
Written by Robin Morgan, Sarah Campbell, Max Davis, Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch, Nish Kumar, and Tom Neenan.
It was produced by Matt Stronge and was a BBC Studios Production.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08k1qyz)
Arthur Smith is joined by Grainne Maguire for a St Patrick's Day Party! They chat to Ireland's finest, Eleanor Tiernan and Chris Kent.
FRI 23:00 Everyone Quite Likes Justin (b01mqmgl)
Series 2, Episode 3
by Justin Moorhouse and Jim Poyser
Justin's still living with his father-in-law, still working with his ex-wife and still calling on his Gran for her words of wisdom. This week he also has to cope with a visit from his dad.
Justin ..... Justin Moorhouse
Gran ..... Anne Reid
Lisa ..... Christine Bottomley
Bryn ..... Lloyd Langford
Ray ..... Paul Copley
Miles ..... Rob Rouse
Dad ..... John Henshaw
Tanya ..... Victoria Elliott
Producer: Steven Canny
In one version of his life, Justin is a loveable celebrity who is successful, funny, and stopped in the street by adoring fans. He's the man who has everything.
In the more realistic version he's a DJ in a slightly shabby local radio station who gets hassled by the occasional oddball on the street. And he's the man who hopes for everything.
And at home? Well, it's chaotic. His wife has left him, taking custody of his 8-year-old son Justin jnr. So he's back on the market. So he's currently living in his father-in-law's spare room in Bury. The only person who understands him is his Gran, living in luxury in an old folk's home in Warrington. Oh, and his producer Bryn but this might not be such a good thing.
Everyone Quite Likes Justin is written by Justin Moorhouse and Jim Poyser. Justin is a comedian who sells out gigs across the country. He has also written plays, a previous show for Radio 4 and the first series of Everyone Quite Likes Justin. Jim Poyser is a writer and producer of enormous experience in both radio and television.
Recorded in front of an audience in Manchester.
FRI 23:30 The Skivers (b00hr7g8)
Series 3, Episode 1
Calm down, dear! Special guest Michael Winner joins in the sketch show fun with Nick Golsen and Tim de Jongh. From January 1997.