The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 16 MARCH 2019

SAT 19:00 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04xdpjy)
Foundations

Dr Jago Cooper reassesses the achievements of the Inca Empire. He begins in Peru, where evidence is still being uncovered that challenges preconceptions about its origins and significance. Venturing from the coast to the clouds, he reveals how the Inca transformed one of the most challenging landscapes in the world to ward off the worst effects of the climate, and created sophisticated systems of communication. He shows how one of many independent societies became a commanding empire - not through force, but by using subtle methods of persuasion.


SAT 20:00 Hunters of the South Seas (b05sz1fr)
The Whale Hunters of Lamalera

Writer Will Millard explores the extraordinary people of the Coral Triangle in the Western Pacific. Boasting the richest waters on the planet, the Coral Triangle is home to people who have adapted to ocean life like nowhere else.

In this episode, Will heads to the Indonesian village of Lamalera, the Coral Triangle's most notorious community, which has survived for centuries by hunting whales. Does such a practice have a place in the modern world?


SAT 21:00 Trapped (m0003f0t)
Series 2

Episode 9

Thorhildur’s confession to Asgeir brought a new sense of hope, but with everyone chasing down different leads and being too busy to speak to each other events take a catastrophic and disturbing turn. When everyone recovers from the shock, tracking down the killer has become not just a matter of public safety, but a personal vendetta. Meanwhile Andri has to contend with keeping Thorhildur safe. Now she has handed the police the lead they so desperately needed, he must get her out of town before the killer realises what has happened.

In Icelandic and English, with English subtitles.


SAT 21:50 Trapped (m0003f0w)
Series 2

Episode 10

Having found the true reason for the chemical pollution at the lake, the true identity of the killer is now clear to Andri and Hinrika but it’s not enough. Once more they are one step behind and it is a race against the clock to stop even more harm coming to the people they love. By the time they can finally lay the case to rest, darker family secrets still will have floated to the surface.

In Icelandic and English, with English subtitles.


SAT 22:45 Top of the Pops (m00037t8)
Janice Long and Simon Mayo present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 18 June 1987, and featuring Samantha Fox, Whitesnake, Tom Jones, ABC, Chris Rea, Janet Jackson, Curiosity Killed the Cat, The Firm and Broken English.


SAT 23:20 Top of the Pops (m00038ls)
Peter Powell and Simon Bates present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 25 June 1987 and featuring Chris Rea, Bruce Willis, Pet Shop Boys, Terence Trent D'Arby, Prince, Simple Minds, Cliff Richard, The Firm and John Farnham.


SAT 23:50 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC (b06ns4gf)
Smash hits from 60 years of great cover versions in performance from the BBC TV archive. Reinterpretations, tributes and acts of subversion from the British invasion to noughties X Factor finalist Alexandra Burke. Artists as varied as The Moody Blues, Soft Cell, Mariah Carey and UB40 with their 'retake' on someone else's song - ultimate chart hits that are, in some cases, perhaps even better than the original.

Arguably The Beatles, alongside Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys, introduced the notion of 'originality' and self-generating artists writing their songs into the pop lexicon in the 60s. One of the most fascinating consequences of this has been the 'original' cover version, a reinterpretation of someone else's song that has transformed it into pop gold with a shift of rhythm, intent and context. The pop cover has proved a remarkably imaginative and durable form and this compilation tracks this pop alchemy at its finest and most intriguing.


SAT 00:50 Promises & Lies: The Story of UB40 (b084j56n)
One of the most commercially successful acts of all time, UB40 enjoyed decades of huge success, selling over 70 million records with global hits including Red Red Wine, Can't Help Falling in Love and I Got You Babe.

But stardom and fame came at a price, and the band found themselves victims of their own success - bankrupt and penniless.

Ali Campbell, Robin Campbell, Astro, Brian Travers, Mickey Virtue and Jimmy Brown recount their phenomenal rise to fame and speak with candour about their ongoing dispute that has split a family and a band as they continue to tour as two separate groups - both using the name UB40.


SAT 01:50 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04xdpjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:50 James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain (m00037sz)
Episode 2

The concluding episode of the series, introduced and narrated by model train enthusiast James May, follows Hornby’s new management team in a desperate attempt to save the company.

In this episode Ken, head of audio development, is sent on a top-secret mission to capture the sound of a steam locomotive for its potential use in a brand new model.

Simon Kohler, Hornby’s number two, tries to rejuvenate the tired Scalextric brand name with a flashy new advert, but there is a problem: with the company strapped for cash, the budget is miniscule and it will have to be made entirely with in-house staff.

Meanwhile, the company takes on its first female product designer, Caitlin Williams. Fresh out of university, Caitlin is put on the Scalextric design team and we go behind the scenes to see what it takes to produce her first car.

In the climactic finale, we see Simon take on two of his biggest rivals as Hornby’s 2019 range includes two products that have the competitors fuming, leading to a dramatic showdown.



SUNDAY 17 MARCH 2019

SUN 19:00 Sold! Inside the World's Biggest Auction House (b084kqsg)
Episode 2

In part two of the series following a year in the life of the world's largest auction house Christie's, global president Jussi Pilkannien and his team chart the highs and lows of auctions in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is a story full of drama as we find out if Brexit spooked the art market and if Christie's' big push into Asia is paying off.

With rare access to some of the richest collectors in the world, we find out how and why they buy at Christie's and where they put some of the world's most expensive artworks. We meet the auction experts who find treasure in unexpected places - an umbrella stand that turns out to be worth millions and an exceptional Rubens which has not been seen in public for 150 years. But in a year of turmoil, will such works sell well? What are Christie's doing to make sure the 250th anniversary sale, on which they have staked their reputation, is a success? And what is happening in China that makes Jussi so convinced that it is the future?


SUN 20:00 James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain (m00037sz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:50 on Saturday]


SUN 21:00 Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy (b018ct00)
Broadly considered a brand that inspires fervour and defines cool consumerism, Apple has become one of the biggest corporations in the world, fuelled by game-changing products that tap into modern desires. Its leader, Steve Jobs, was a long-haired college dropout with infinite ambition, and an inspirational perfectionist with a bully's temper. A man of contradictions, he fused a Californian counterculture attitude and a mastery of the art of hype with explosive advances in computer technology.

Insiders including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, the chairman who ousted Jobs from the company he founded, and Jobs' chief of software, tell extraordinary stories of the rise, fall and rise again of Apple with Steve Jobs at its helm.

With Stephen Fry, world wide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and branding guru Rita Clifton, Evan Davis decodes the formula that took Apple from suburban garage to global supremacy.


SUN 22:00 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fq8)
Introduction

A night of new short films made to mark the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web, introduced by BBC Radio 1’s Dev. Commissioned by BBC Arts in partnership with the British Film Institute. From some of the best new film-makers across the country, these stories reflect on life today in the digital world and surprise us with thoughts on what might come next.

Exploring themes such as internet dating, the gig economy, privacy and online bullying, the 11 short films - commissioned by the BBC and the British Film Institute - explore the digital landscape through the eyes of both digital natives and those who remember life before the arrival of the internet.


SUN 22:02 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqc)
First Cuts: Skin

Drama set in an undisclosed future, where developments in technology mean less personal privacy, Skin explores questions of our autonomy and essential humanness - and what it is to experience love and loss in the futuristic age.


SUN 22:14 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqf)
Toni_with_an_i

Upbeat drama about 14-year-old oddball Toni who is having a tough time with the bullies at school. One day, the internet and a passion for performance saves her.


SUN 22:26 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqh)
Binge Watching

Drama. In a near future, virtual reality allows a person to see life through the eyes of someone very different. Are our experiences being shared or commodified?


SUN 22:33 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqk)
ill, actually

Short documentary. Three young people share the challenges of being chronically ill in a curated online world. When the internet allows you to be anyone, why be ill?


SUN 22:46 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqm)
Roger

Drama about a cutting-edge gig-work app. Lena embarks on a job as a 'Roger'. Unnerved by her new role, she strives to build a relationship with her employer through unexpected means.


SUN 22:59 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqp)
Have We Met Before?

Short docudrama exploring the history of sex in the homosexual community from the 1970s to the present day, and how the internet has changed the way gay men meet forever.


SUN 23:11 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqr)
Janitor of Lunacy

Drama. A young woman descends into a digital wormhole via her obsession with a BDSM account run by an unknown user. The film examines social media’s ability to behave organically while also distorting subjective reality.


SUN 23:23 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqt)
Without Bounds to Beat

Experimental documentary that recounts a town’s revival of an ancient folk tradition, placing it in contrast to today’s digital technologies.


SUN 23:32 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqw)
My Sweet Prince

Alcopops. Cigarettes. MSN Messenger. VHS tapes. Boys. Set on the Isle of Wight, fragments of the director’s own teenage video diaries collide with the fictional story of 15-year-old Tommy, in this short film about the evolution of identity and online exploration of sexuality in the early noughties.


SUN 23:44 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fqy)
LilMissCandy786

Experimental short drama. In search of an identity, Candy wanders through the digital landscape, leaving fragments of herself behind.


SUN 23:50 Born Digital: First Cuts (m0003fr0)
Outlying

The remote Isle of Rum covers 40 square miles, but is home to just 30 people. Despite its isolation, a community scheme is about to deliver super-fast, fibre optic broadband.


SUN 00:00 Rich Hall's Countrier Than You (b08j8lqb)
Award-winning comedian Rich Hall takes a country music journey from Tennessee to Texas to look at the movements and artists that don't get as much notoriety but have helped shape the genre over the years.

With the help of prominent performers and producers including Michael Martin Murphey, Robbie Fulks and Ray Benson, Rich explores the early origins of country music in Nashville and Austin. He visits the rustic studios where this much-loved sound was born and discovers how the genre has reinvented itself with influences from bluegrass, western swing and Americana.

Rich also explores how the music industries differ between these two cities and how they each generated their own distinct twist on the genre, from cosmic country and redneck country to the outlaw artists of the 1970s. Through Working Dog, a three-minute self-penned soap opera about a collie dog, Rich illustrates how different styles can change.

As he unearths the roots and inner workings of country music, Rich finds it's more than just music - it's a lifestyle.


SUN 01:30 A Scottish Soldier: A Lost Diary of WWI (b0brk5dm)
Thousands of black soldiers fought in the First World War. Poet Jackie Kay tells the story of one of them - Arthur Roberts. Arthur grew up in Glasgow and joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1917. He fought at Ypres and kept a detailed diary, which gives us a unique account of the war. Arthur's evocative writing and sketches paint a vivid first-hand picture of life in the trenches. Like Arthur, Jackie Kay is a black Glaswegian, and she explores what it was like being black 100 years ago.


SUN 02:00 Being the Brontes (p03kcd3l)
To mark the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth, Martha Kearney, novelist Helen Oyeyemi and journalist Lucy Mangan travel to Haworth Parsonage, the home of Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne, to discover the inspiration behind their classic novels Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey.

Just two years before the books were published, prospects for the three unmarried sisters were bleak. Their brother was battling alcoholism, Charlotte was hopelessly in love with a married man and their father was going blind. But by 1848 they were a literary sensation. To find out how this extraordinary turnaround happened, Martha, Lucy and Helen each immerse themselves in the life of a Bronte sister. From everyday routines at the Parsonage to walks on windswept moors, from harsh schooldays to misadventures as governesses, the trio learn how the Brontes combined literary genius with real-life experience to create some of the best-loved novels in the English language.


SUN 03:00 Sold! Inside the World's Biggest Auction House (b084kqsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



MONDAY 18 MARCH 2019

MON 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (m0003g0m)
Series 1

18/03/2019

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 A Stitch in Time (b09p6mxw)
Series 1

Dido

Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore. She looks at Dido Belle, the 18th-century daughter of an enslaved African woman brought up at Kenwood House in London.


MON 20:00 Coast (b081ywv3)
The Great Guide

The Heart of England's South Coast

Neil Oliver and Tessa Dunlop present the ultimate guide to the heart of England's south coast - a stretch book-ended by two pebble beaches at Brighton and Chesil. To try to capture what makes these 'sunshine' shores so special, Neil selects his pick of Coast stories from the past ten years, as well as searching out exciting new ones for our guide. He hops on and off a full flotilla of boats, including Sir Ben Ainslie's prototype yacht for the America's Cup, a Southampton superyacht, a vessel at the heart of a project to reinvigorate the Solent oyster population and an offshore powerboat. Neil finds out why this coast is a maritime leader, a geological marvel and a holidaymaker's dream.


MON 21:00 Me, My Selfie and I with Ryan Gander (m0003g0r)
Celebrated conceptual artist Ryan Gander investigates the selfie – the icon of a new kind of self-regard that hardly existed just ten years ago. He discovers the roots of the selfie go back hundreds of years before smartphones. In the age of social media, when we are told to be our best selves and live our best lives, he investigates what that really means and what technology is doing to our sense of self.


MON 22:00 Storyville (b092s5vv)
Silk Road: Drugs, Death and the Dark Web

Documentary looking at the black market website known as the Silk Road, which emerged on the darknet in 2011. This 'Amazon of illegal drugs' was the brainchild of a mysterious, libertarian intellectual operating under the avatar The Dread Pirate Roberts. Promising its users complete anonymity and total freedom from government regulation or scrutiny, Silk Road became a million-dollar digital drugs cartel.

Homeland Security, the DEA, the FBI and even the Secret Service mounted multiple investigations in the largest online manhunt the world had ever seen. But it would be a young tax inspector from the IRS, who had grown up in the projects of Brooklyn, who would finally crack the case and unmask 'DPR'.

With unparalleled access, Silk Road is a thrilling cat-and-mouse crime story for the digital age, bristling with intrigue, mayhem... and murder.


MON 23:30 Our Little Sister (m0003g0v)
Sisters Sachi, Yoshino and Chika, who live together in their grandmother's charming but dilapidated house, receive news that their estranged father has died. When they attend his funeral and meet their orphaned half sister Suzu, they invite her to move in with them and together take on the responsibility of having a teenager to bring up.

In Japanese with English subtitles.


MON 01:30 Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA (b0b49rq2)
Series 1

Episode 2

This episode is set in the American metropolis - the soaring new cities of the East Coast with their futuristic skylines and lofty skyscrapers. But instead of looking up at the futuristic towers, Waldemar Januszczak explores the squalid boxing rings painted by George Bellows, Reginald Mash's decadent awaydays on Coney Island and the crazy escape into theosophy and abstraction mounted by Thomas Wilfred. The film culminates in the harsh immigrant experience of Ellis Island and the profound impact that rootlessness had on the art of Mark Rothko.


MON 02:30 Me, My Selfie and I with Ryan Gander (m0003g0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 03:30 A Stitch in Time (b09p6mxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]



TUESDAY 19 MARCH 2019

TUE 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (m0003f2c)
Series 1

19/03/2019

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 A Stitch in Time (b09q047h)
Series 1

The Black Prince

Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore. She looks at Edward the Black Prince.


TUE 20:00 The Art of Japanese Life (p054md5m)
Series 1

Cities

Dr James Fox explores how the artistic life of three great Japanese cities shaped the country's attitudes to past and present, east and west, and helped forge the very idea of Japan itself.

Beginning in Kyoto, the country's capital for almost a thousand years, James reveals how the flowering of classical culture produced many great treasures of Japanese art, including The Tale of Genji, considered to be the first novel ever written. In the city of Edo, where Tokyo now stands, a very different art form emerged, in the wood block prints of artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige. James meets the artisans still creating these prints today, and discovers original works by a great master, Utamaro, who documented the so-called 'floating world' - the pleasure district of Edo.

In contemporary Tokyo, James discovers the darker side of Japan's urbanisation, through the photographs of street photographer Daido Moriyama, and meets one of the founders of the world-famous Studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata, whose haunting anime film Grave of the Fireflies helped establish anime as a powerful and serious art form.


TUE 21:00 Storyville (m0003f2f)
The Internet's Dirtiest Secrets: The Cleaners

7,000 miles from Silicon Valley in downtown Manila, a secret team of content moderators have a target of 25,000 Facebook, Google and Twitter posts to delete each day. Trawling through the world’s most violent, disturbing and highly contentious online material - in the form of terrorist videos, child pornography, self-harm material and political propaganda - 'the cleaners' are individually responsible for deciding what stays online and what gets removed. This film explores the hidden and complex world of digital content moderation where undesirable material is 'cleaned' from the internet by a hidden army of nameless people.

The Cleaners raises important questions for all of us who use these platforms daily without knowing what goes on behind the scenes: Who are these people that 'clean up' social media and what criteria do they operate by? Where does content moderation end and censorship begin? And what happens when their split-second decisions affect the lives of people in political hotspots like Myanmar or Istanbul?


TUE 22:25 Secrets of Silicon Valley (b0916ghz)
Series 1

The Disruptors

Jamie Bartlett uncovers the reality behind Silicon Valley's glittering promise to build a better world. The tech gods believe progress is powered by technology tearing up the world as it is - a process they call disruption. He visits Uber's lavish offices in San Francisco and hears how the company believes it is improving our cities. But in Hyderabad in India, Jamie sees for himself the human consequences of Uber's utopian vision - drivers driven to suicide over falling earnings. Riding shotgun in a truck as it drives itself for more than a hundred miles on a highway, Jamie asks what the next wave of Silicon Valley's global disruption - the automation of millions of jobs - will mean for all of us. In search of answers, he gets a warning from an artificial intelligence pioneer who is replacing doctors with software - an economic shock is coming, faster than any of us have realised. Jamie's journey ends in the remote island hideout of a former Facebook executive who has armed himself with a gun because he fears this new industrial revolution could lead to social breakdown and the collapse of capitalism.


TUE 23:25 Secrets of Silicon Valley (b091zhtk)
Series 1

The Persuasion Machine

Jamie Bartlett reveals how Silicon Valley's mission to connect the world is disrupting democracy, helping plunge us into an age of political turbulence. Many of the Tech Gods were dismayed when Donald Trump - who holds a very different worldview - won the American presidency, but did they actually help him to win? With the help of a key insider from the Trump campaign's digital operation, Jamie unravels for the first time the role played by social media and Facebook's vital role in getting Trump into the White House. But how did Facebook become such a powerful player?

Jamie learns how Facebook's vast power to persuade was first built for advertisers, combining data about our internet use and psychological insights into how we think. A leading psychologist then shows Jamie how Facebook's hoard of data about us can be used to predict our personalities and other psychological traits. He interrogates the head of the big data analytics firm that targeted millions of voters on Facebook for Trump - he tells Jamie this revolution is unstoppable. But is this great persuasion machine now out of control? Exploring the emotional mechanisms that supercharge the spread of fake news on social media, Jamie reveals how Silicon Valley's persuasion machine is now being exploited by political forces of all kinds, in ways no one - including the Tech Gods who created it - may be able to stop.


TUE 00:25 The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich (b07l6bd0)
Medieval art historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells the incredible story of a book hidden for centuries in the shadows of history, the first book ever written in English by a woman, Julian of Norwich, in 1373.

Revelations of Divine Love dared to present an alternative vision of man's relationship with God, a theology fundamentally at odds with the church of Julian's time. The book was suppressed for 500 years. It re-emerged in the 20th century as an iconic text for the women's movement and was acknowledged as a literary masterpiece.

Janina follows the trail of the lost manuscript, travelling from Norwich to Cambrai in northern France to discover how the book survived and the brave women who championed it.


TUE 01:25 The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun (b08h99sb)
Margaret Mountford travels to Egypt's Valley of the Kings to discover the story of an unsung hero of British photography - Harry Burton, the man whose images of the Tutankhamun excavation created a global sensation in the 1920s.

As she explores the spectacular locations where Burton worked, including Tutankhamun's tomb, she investigates how his photographs inspired a craze for Egyptian designs and made the archaeologist Howard Carter an international celebrity. She discovers why Burton's images are still studied today by Egyptologists around the world. And she works with a present-day photographer, Harry Cory Wright, to find out how Burton pushed the boundaries of photographic art to create his extraordinary and influential pictures of the world's most famous archaeological discovery.


TUE 02:25 A Stitch in Time (b09q047h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:55 The Art of Japanese Life (p054md5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH 2019

WED 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (m0003g0l)
Series 1

20/03/2019

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 A Stitch in Time (b09qrf0s)
Series 1

Marie Antoinette

Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through their clothes. She looks at Marie Antoinette.


WED 20:00 The Mekong River with Sue Perkins (b04t0b30)
Episode 3

Sue reaches Laos, one of the poorest and least developed of all the Mekong nations. It's a country shaped by both Buddhism and Communism and has hardly changed for centuries. Today, the beauty of its landscapes and people is bringing in foreign tourists. Sue meets Bounsom, a fisherman who's turned to tourism. Next, she visits Luang Prabang, once the Royal City of Laos and now a Unesco World Heritage site, famed as the centre of Buddhism. Thought to be the home of more monks than anywhere else in Asia.

Laos is on the verge of huge and irreversible change - massive dams are being built to harness the power of the river. Sue visits the Xayaburi hydroelectric dam, south east Asia's biggest and most controversial engineering project. It's the first dam to be built across the Lower Mekong and will block the flow of the river, changing water levels, blocking fish migration and destroying fish stocks. Sue is told about the merits of the dam by the vice minister for energy and mines. When the waters rise, thousands of people will be forced to leave their homes, so she is given a tour of their new village, complete with electricity. Having seen the effects of damming in Vietnam and Cambodia, Sue grapples with the complexities of projects such as this. While the Xayaburi Dam will bring economic benefits to Laos and beyond, the industrialisation of the Mekong will harm the livelihoods of tens of millions of people downstream.

Foreign investment is coming to Laos on projects beyond the dams. The government has tempted Chinese developers with tax incentives to create tourist playgrounds in an area branded as the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. Sue visits a Las Vegas-style casino, built for Chinese VIPs who aren't allowed to gamble in their own country.


WED 21:00 How to Go Viral: The Art of the Meme with Richard Clay (m0003g0q)
Art historian Professor Richard Clay immerses us in the febrile world of viral media, exploring the popularity and meaning of internet memes, from LOL cats to emoji, pratfall videos to ‘dank’ alt-right satire. Playfully fusing the conventions of a BBC Four authored documentary with a throwaway YouTube video style, the film examines the rise and rise of this new visual language and asks what makes a few memes cut through and spread so intensely, while the vast majority fall quietly by the wayside.

To explore this question, Richard Clay experiments with devising and releasing his own memes, applying what he finds out in interviews with meme creators and influencers. These include Tom Walker, the comedian who plays YouTube sensation Jonathan Pie; Amanda Brennan, meme ‘librarian’ at Tumblr; Richard Dawkins, the biologist who coined the word ‘meme’; Christopher Blair, a self-proclaimed liberal troll; and Sam Oakley from LADBible, a video creator company that reaches a billion people a month.


WED 22:00 The Joy of Data (b07lk6tj)
A witty and mind-expanding exploration of data, with mathematician Dr Hannah Fry. This high-tech romp reveals what data is and how it is captured, stored, shared and made sense of. Fry tells the story of the engineers of the data age, people most of us have never heard of despite the fact they brought about a technological and philosophical revolution.

For Hannah, the joy of data is all about spotting patterns. Hannah sees data as the essential bridge between two universes - the tangible, messy world that we see and the clean, ordered world of maths, where everything can be captured beautifully with equations.

The film reveals the connection between Scrabble scores and online movie streaming, explains why a herd of dairy cows are wearing pedometers, and uncovers the network map of Wikipedia. What's the mystery link between marmalade and One Direction?

The film hails the contribution of Claude Shannon, the mathematician and electrical engineer who, in an attempt to solve the problem of noisy telephone lines, devised a way to digitise all information. Shannon singlehandedly launched the 'information age'. Meanwhile, Britain's National Physical Laboratory hosts a race between its young apprentices in order to demonstrate how and why data moves quickly around modern data networks. It's all thanks to the brilliant technique first invented there in the 1960s by Welshman Donald Davies - packet switching.

But what of the future? Should we be worried by the pace of change and what our own data could be used for? Ultimately, Fry concludes, data has empowered all of us. We must have machines at our side if we're to find patterns in the modern-day data deluge. But, Fry believes, regardless of AI and machine learning, it will always take us to find the meaning in them.


WED 23:00 Hollywood's Brightest Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (b09jhrlt)
Documentary about Hollywood wild-child Hedy Lamarr. Fleeing to America after escaping her Nazi sympathiser husband, Hedy Lamarr conquered Hollywood. Known as 'the most beautiful woman in the world', she was infamous for her marriages and affairs, from Spencer Tracy to JFK. This film rediscovers her not only as an actress, but as the brilliant mind who co-invented 1940s wireless technology.


WED 00:25 Beyond the Walls: In Search of the Celts (b0bt8w56)
Historian Dr Eleanor Barraclough travels through some of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes – Hadrian’s Wall, the Lake District and Offa’s Dyke – in search of new evidence to reveal the true story of the mysterious ancient British tribes often called the Celts.

According to the official history books, the Celts were defeated and pushed to the edges of Britain by waves of Roman and Anglo Saxon invaders. However, a growing body of evidence suggests this is not the full story.

To help give the Celts back their proper place in our history, Eleanor examines freshly discovered treasures, new archaeological evidence from real photographs and clues hidden in ancient poetry to reveal a fresh narrative - one that suggests the relationship between our ancient British ancestors and those who came to conquer them was much less repressive, and far more co-operative, than we have thought.


WED 00:55 The Missing (b04n9p9c)
Series 1

Eden

2006. Tony and Emily Hughes' life changes forever when their five-year-old son Oliver goes missing on a family holiday to France. A huge manhunt led by Julien Baptiste, one of France's finest detectives, is launched. The French police face an uphill struggle in their mission to find the young boy - Oliver seems to have disappeared into thin air. Tony and Emily are in a foreign land - they do not speak the language and do not understand the rules. As their desperation and the profile of the case grows, Tony and Emily find themselves thrown into a media maelstrom, learning the hard way that not everyone they meet is willing to operate in their best interests.

Present day. Eight years on from Oliver's disappearance, the fallout has resulted in the end of Tony and Emily's marriage. Tony refuses to believe that Oliver is dead and doggedly continues his search to find his son. After years of searching, Tony is given new hope when a shred of evidence emerges. This reignites the interest of Julien Baptiste, the lead French detective at the time of the disappearance, who returns to Chalons Du Bois to try and finally get to the bottom of what happened to Oliver Hughes.


WED 01:55 The Missing (b04nyq1y)
Series 1

Pray for Me

2006: Three days since Oliver's disappearance, and with little information to go on, suspicion immediately falls on a known paedophile living in the area. With police protocol keeping Tony and Emily firmly in the dark, Tony is tempted when ambitious journalist, Malik Suri, comes forward with illegally obtained information on the suspect in custody. Then the suspect is released with a seemingly concrete alibi. A generous benefactor reaches out to Tony and Emily when they are at their lowest ebb, offering a financial reward for anyone coming forward with information relating to Oliver's disappearance.

Present day: Tony's attempt to reopen the investigation gathers momentum as he and Julien finally find the first bit of solid evidence. While Tony continues on his mission to find out the truth about what exactly happened to his son, both Emily and Julien have to deal with problems in their own lives.


WED 02:55 The Missing (b04ph76g)
Series 1

The Meeting

2006: The investigation into Oliver's disappearance continues. Tony's past comes back to haunt him. Ian Garrett continues to offer support and the friendship between him and Tony deepens. An undercover police officer in Paris comes forward with possible information about Oliver Hughes.

Present day: Tony and Julien are relieved that the case has now officially been reopened. Emily returns to Chalons Du Bois and finally begins to face the demons from her past. Progress into the case is initially slow but a shocking new lead emerges.



THURSDAY 21 MARCH 2019

THU 19:00 DEC Cyclone Idai Appeal (m0003x7c)
Ore Oduba makes a Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for the victims of Cyclone Idai.

You can give by calling 0370 60 60 610 (standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply) or send a cheque to DEC Cyclone Idai Appeal to DEC, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA.


THU 19:05 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4f1y)
Food and Shopping

The railways changed what we eat and the culinary tastes of the population. Moving produce around at speed was suddenly possible - fresh meat, wet fish, dairy, fruit and veg were now widely available. And it was in London where arguably the nation's diet changed the most. With a new system of rapid transport it was now possible for the capital to enjoy food supplies from all corners of the nation. Diets improved in terms of the variety and quality of food available. Victorian men and women developed a taste for one particular dish that would be popular with the masses for generations to come - fish and chips.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (m0003f2k)
Simon Bates presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 July 1987 and featuring ABC, Atlantic Starr, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Black, Billy Idol, a-ha, Broken English, Pet Shop Boys and Simple Minds.


THU 20:00 The Crusades (b01bbrcc)
Clash of the Titans

In the second episode of this three-part series, Dr Thomas Asbridge offers a piercing examination of the Third Crusade and the two renowned figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart, king of England, and the mighty Muslim sultan Saladin, unifier of Islam. Drawing on fascinating eyewitness accounts and contemporary records, Dr Asbridge constructs an insightful and nuanced picture of these men and their fiercely fought struggle for the Holy Land.

Almost perfectly matched as adversaries, these two titans of holy war clashed during a year-long campaign that raged across Palestine. Both were willing to commit appalling atrocities in pursuit of victory. Each brought the full force of his military genius, guile and cunning to bear, all in pursuit of the ultimate prize: Jerusalem. Dr Asbridge reveals how this shattering conflict brought Saladin and Richard to their knees, even as it served to forge their legends.


THU 21:00 A Timewatch Guide (b06zdll0)
Series 2

Queen Elizabeth I

Vanessa Collingridge examines the life of Elizabeth Tudor, with particular interest in how documentary television and the BBC has examined her legacy and interrogated her reign. Using Timewatch and other BBC archive stretching back over 60 years, Vanessa looks at her upbringing, her conflicts with her enemies including Mary, Queen of Scots, and her greatest victory against the Spanish Armada. The programme seeks to understand how Elizabeth I created a legacy that we still live with today, and examines how that legacy has changed over the centuries.


THU 22:00 Blackadder (b0078vyl)
Blackadder II

Money

Sitcom set in Tudor England. Edmund is in trouble when he is visited by a debt-collecting bishop armed with a red-hot poker.


THU 22:30 Blackadder (b0078w0y)
Blackadder II

Beer

Comedy series set in Tudor England. There are problems in the Blackadder household due to an embarrassing incident with a turnip, an ostrich feather and a puritanical fat aunt.


THU 23:00 Blackadder (b01jhk72)
Blackadder II

Chains

Classic historical comedy. The evil Prince Ludwig kidnaps both Blackadder and Lord Melchett, and the Queen remembers Blackadder's earlier advice to have nothing to do with any ransom notes. Is our hero doomed, or does Baldrick have a cunning plan?


THU 23:30 Top of the Pops (m0003f2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:00 The Missing (b04sn6t1)
Series 1

Gone Fishing

2006: The case is thrown into disarray when someone with important information is found murdered. Tony is horrified as he begins to realise that someone close to him isn't the person he claimed to be.

In the present day Julien is intent on reinvestigating the links between the dead witness and Oliver's disappearance. The stress of the reopening of the case starts to take its toll on Emily and Mark's relationship.


THU 01:00 The Missing (b04t1z49)
Series 1

Molly

2006: Tony and Emily's pleas to reinvestigate a suspect again fall on deaf ears. Tony decides to take matters into his own hands and has a violent confrontation with life-changing consequences.

In the present day, Tony and Julien retrace their steps in Paris as they try and find out the whereabouts of a man who they believe to be involved with Oliver's disappearance.


THU 02:00 The Missing (b04tr8jm)
Series 1

Concrete

In 2006, both Tony and Emily are struggling. In the present day, Tony and Julien make a breakthrough.


THU 03:00 The Missing (b04v5pzc)
Series 1

Return to Eden

In 2009, with no significant progress made in the case, Tony and Emily's marriage hangs by a thread - but a surprise turn of events brings them both back to Chalons du Bois for the first time since 2006.

In the present day, the information that Tony, Julien and Emily received gives them a tenuous lead. With Tony and Emily back in Chalons du Bois and finally making progress in the case, there is a thawing in their relationship.



FRIDAY 22 MARCH 2019

FRI 19:00 World News Today (m0003f2n)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m0003f2q)
Gary Davies presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 9 July 1987 and featuring Shakin' Stevens, a-ha, Black, Genesis, Jackie Wilson, Mel and Kim, Heart, The Christians, Pet Shop Boys and Terence Trent D'Arby.


FRI 20:00 Kenny Rogers: Cards on the Table (b04pl3kw)
Examining the life and career of the artist who 'knows when to hold 'em and knows when to fold 'em', this documentary chronicles Kenny Rogers's remarkable rise to the top of his game and the golden era of country music he ushered in.

With an exclusive, candid interview from Rogers himself and performance footage gathered on his recent Through the Years tour, this honest and eye-opening film provides a backstage pass to a remarkable 50-year career of performing and recording.

Associates and luminaries provide personal insight into how the poor, music-obsessed boy from Houston, Texas went on to become a superstar with over 120 million albums sold worldwide. Singer, songwriter and producer Kim Carnes recalls how the New Christy Minstrels folk group - of which she and Kenny were members in the late 1960s - was like a 'school on the road' that provided them both with a springboard from which to explore other musical ambitions. Actor and musician Mickey Jones recounts his time with Kenny in the band The First Edition, whose hit single Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) made Kenny an unlikely poster boy for the psychedelic generation. Longtime friend Lionel Richie reveals how a trip to the bathroom played a crucial role in the recording session for Lady, one of Kenny's biggest hits.

Away from music, the programme reveals how Kenny's drive and ambition - what he describes as his 'impulsive-obsessive' nature - led to success in other fields: according to the renowned photographer John Sexton, the country music legend was determined to master the art of photography (Kenny was recently awarded an honorary Master of Photography degree by the Professional Photographers Association).

For over half a century, Kenny has kept us entertained with some of the best-known and best-loved music ever recorded. With a career spanning everything from jazz to folk, 60s psychedelia to R&B, perhaps his real legacy lies in the fact that he introduced a trailblazing pop sensibility to country music.


FRI 21:00 The Secret Science of Pop (b08gk664)
Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Leroi believes data science can transform the pop world. He gathers a team of scientists and researchers to analyse over 50 years of UK chart music. Can algorithms find the secret to pop success?

When the results are in, Armand teams up with hit producer Trevor Horn. Using machine-learning techniques, Armand and Trevor try to take a song by unsigned artist Nike Jemiyo and turn it into a potential chart-topper.

Armand also takes a scientific look at pop evolution. He hunts for the major revolutions in his historic chart data, looking for those artists who transformed the musical landscape. The outcomes are fascinating and surprising, though fans of the Fab Four may not be pleased with the results. As Armand puts it, the hallmark of The Beatles is 'average'.

Finally, by teaming up with BBC research and development, Armand finds out if his algorithms can discover the stars of the future. Can he predict which of thousands of demo tracks uploaded to BBC Introducing is most likely to be a hit without listening to a note?

This is a clash of science and culture and a unique experiment with no guarantee of success. How will the artists react to the scientist intruding on their turf? And will Armand succeed in finding a secret science of pop?


FRI 22:00 Duran Duran: There's Something You Should Know (b0b7szrg)
With exclusive access, the band open up about their extraordinary career and talk candidly about the highs and lows they have endured together over four long decades. This is the band at their most relaxed, intimate and honest. We spend time with John at his LA home, Simon pays a visit to his former choir master, Roger goes back to where it all started in Birmingham, and Nick dusts off some of the 10,000 fashion items that the band have meticulously catalogued and collected over the course of their career. Joining the conversation is fellow new romantic and singer Boy George, lifelong fan and record producer Mark Ronson, friend, fan and supermodel Cindy Crawford, and Highlander film director Russell Mulcahy.

Charting their trajectory over four decades, the story is told through seven of their albums. Each record uncovers a compelling chapter in the band’s journey - the fame, the fortune, the melt downs, the hits, the flops, the exotic videos, the tours, the fans, the partying and the supermodels.


FRI 23:00 Glam Rock at the BBC (b094mcwn)
A spangly celebration of the outburst of far-out pop and fuzz-filled rock that lit up the British charts in the early 1970s. Top of the Pops is our primary arena and its gloriously gaudy visual effects are used here aplenty! The compilation also utilises footage from a selection of BBC concerts as well as from Crackerjack and Cilla. It features classic BBC TV performances from T. Rex, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Alice Cooper, Suzi Quatro, Slade, The Sweet, Elton John, Queen, Sparks and many more.


FRI 00:00 The Missing (b04vwdgm)
Series 1

Till Death

The truth about Oliver's disappearance finally comes to light, as the action moves between 2006 and 2014. But what does the future hold in store for Tony, Emily, Julien and Mark after all this time? Can any of their relationships ever be whole again?


FRI 01:00 The Missing (b07zfth2)
Series 2

Come Home

A young British woman stumbles through the streets of Eckhausen in Germany and collapses. Her name is Alice Webster, and she was abducted from the same town 11 years ago. Her return sends shockwaves through the tight-knit local community, as her family are thrown into turmoil.

As the search for the abductor gathers pace, Alice also appears to hold vital clues to the whereabouts of a second missing girl, Sophie Giroux, whose disappearance was investigated back in 2003 by French detective Julien Baptiste.

Two years on, Alice's parents Sam and Gemma are barely speaking, whilst Alice's brother Matthew has become violent and withdrawn. Meanwhile, Julien is in Iraq, following a clue that he believes is key to finding the person who abducted the girls.


FRI 02:00 The Missing (b080bw3b)
Series 2

The Turtle and the Stick

After Alice returns to her family home, the Websters struggle to deal with the trauma she has suffered. As Matthew is faced with an unbearable request, Gemma's suspicions about what happened to her daughter begin to grow. The Royal Military Police and the German police agree to share jurisdiction over the case and launch a search for the second missing girl. During a search, Julien discovers a key clue that points the investigation towards a local suspect.

In 2016, war journalist Stefan Andersson is helping Julien make his way to Azwya across an active warzone. What is Julien doing out in Iraq? And will he make it home unscathed? Meanwhile, back in Eckhausen, Gemma and Sam continue to drift apart, while RMP staff sergeant Eve Stone has to deal with her father.


FRI 03:00 The Missing (b0813q5n)
Series 2

A Prison Without Walls

Julien returns to Paris to visit the father of Sophie Giroux, but Remy isn't all that pleased to see him. Meanwhile, Alice is upset by an argument in the house and begs her brother, Matthew, to act against his better judgment in order to help her feel safe. When another unforeseeable trauma hits the Webster family, it looks set to tear them apart for good.

In Iraq, Julien finally comes face to face with the Awol British soldier he has been searching for - but not in the way he expected. The trail of evidence looks like it leads back to Germany, but will Julien and Stefan make it out alive? Back in Eckhausen, Gemma channels her energy into searching for the truth of what happened to her daughter, uncovering a vital clue.




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

A Scottish Soldier: A Lost Diary of WWI 01:30 SUN (b0brk5dm)

A Stitch in Time 19:30 MON (b09p6mxw)

A Stitch in Time 03:30 MON (b09p6mxw)

A Stitch in Time 19:30 TUE (b09q047h)

A Stitch in Time 02:25 TUE (b09q047h)

A Stitch in Time 19:30 WED (b09qrf0s)

A Timewatch Guide 21:00 THU (b06zdll0)

Being the Brontes 02:00 SUN (p03kcd3l)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 MON (m0003g0m)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 TUE (m0003f2c)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 WED (m0003g0l)

Beyond the Walls: In Search of the Celts 00:25 WED (b0bt8w56)

Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA 01:30 MON (b0b49rq2)

Blackadder 22:00 THU (b0078vyl)

Blackadder 22:30 THU (b0078w0y)

Blackadder 23:00 THU (b01jhk72)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:00 SUN (m0003fq8)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:02 SUN (m0003fqc)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:14 SUN (m0003fqf)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:26 SUN (m0003fqh)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:33 SUN (m0003fqk)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:46 SUN (m0003fqm)

Born Digital: First Cuts 22:59 SUN (m0003fqp)

Born Digital: First Cuts 23:11 SUN (m0003fqr)

Born Digital: First Cuts 23:23 SUN (m0003fqt)

Born Digital: First Cuts 23:32 SUN (m0003fqw)

Born Digital: First Cuts 23:44 SUN (m0003fqy)

Born Digital: First Cuts 23:50 SUN (m0003fr0)

Coast 20:00 MON (b081ywv3)

DEC Cyclone Idai Appeal 19:00 THU (m0003x7c)

Duran Duran: There's Something You Should Know 22:00 FRI (b0b7szrg)

Glam Rock at the BBC 23:00 FRI (b094mcwn)

Hollywood's Brightest Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story 23:00 WED (b09jhrlt)

How to Go Viral: The Art of the Meme with Richard Clay 21:00 WED (m0003g0q)

Hunters of the South Seas 20:00 SAT (b05sz1fr)

James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain 02:50 SAT (m00037sz)

James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain 20:00 SUN (m00037sz)

Kenny Rogers: Cards on the Table 20:00 FRI (b04pl3kw)

Me, My Selfie and I with Ryan Gander 21:00 MON (m0003g0r)

Me, My Selfie and I with Ryan Gander 02:30 MON (m0003g0r)

Our Little Sister 23:30 MON (m0003g0v)

Promises & Lies: The Story of UB40 00:50 SAT (b084j56n)

Railways: The Making of a Nation 19:05 THU (b07x4f1y)

Rich Hall's Countrier Than You 00:00 SUN (b08j8lqb)

Secrets of Silicon Valley 22:25 TUE (b0916ghz)

Secrets of Silicon Valley 23:25 TUE (b091zhtk)

Sold! Inside the World's Biggest Auction House 19:00 SUN (b084kqsg)

Sold! Inside the World's Biggest Auction House 03:00 SUN (b084kqsg)

Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy 21:00 SUN (b018ct00)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b092s5vv)

Storyville 21:00 TUE (m0003f2f)

The Art of Japanese Life 20:00 TUE (p054md5m)

The Art of Japanese Life 02:55 TUE (p054md5m)

The Crusades 20:00 THU (b01bbrcc)

The Inca: Masters of the Clouds 19:00 SAT (b04xdpjy)

The Inca: Masters of the Clouds 01:50 SAT (b04xdpjy)

The Joy of Data 22:00 WED (b07lk6tj)

The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun 01:25 TUE (b08h99sb)

The Mekong River with Sue Perkins 20:00 WED (b04t0b30)

The Missing 00:55 WED (b04n9p9c)

The Missing 01:55 WED (b04nyq1y)

The Missing 02:55 WED (b04ph76g)

The Missing 00:00 THU (b04sn6t1)

The Missing 01:00 THU (b04t1z49)

The Missing 02:00 THU (b04tr8jm)

The Missing 03:00 THU (b04v5pzc)

The Missing 00:00 FRI (b04vwdgm)

The Missing 01:00 FRI (b07zfth2)

The Missing 02:00 FRI (b080bw3b)

The Missing 03:00 FRI (b0813q5n)

The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich 00:25 TUE (b07l6bd0)

The Secret Science of Pop 21:00 FRI (b08gk664)

Top of the Pops 22:45 SAT (m00037t8)

Top of the Pops 23:20 SAT (m00038ls)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (m0003f2k)

Top of the Pops 23:30 THU (m0003f2k)

Top of the Pops 19:30 FRI (m0003f2q)

Trapped 21:00 SAT (m0003f0t)

Trapped 21:50 SAT (m0003f0w)

Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC 23:50 SAT (b06ns4gf)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (m0003f2n)