SATURDAY 06 DECEMBER 2008

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00fqpk6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fv6k1)
Medical London - City of Diseases, City of Cures

Episode 5

For centuries, London was the world's largest city, and a frontline in mankind's battle against disease. Dr Richard Barnett explores how city life has been shaped by sickness and health.

London's geographical location has been both its blessing and its curse. The river has at different times offered the health hazards of both malarial swamp and open sewer, but it has also been a global trading route bringing exotic commodities and foreign cures.

Read by Tony Gardner.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fqpk8)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fqpkb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fqpkd)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00fqpkg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fqpkj)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Michael Mumisa.


SAT 05:45 A Voyage to Lundy (b008tzzk)
Episode 2

Writer and poet Gwyneth explores the history of Lundy, and how the remote island in the Bristol Channel may help change her life.

Producer: Penny Arnold

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2008.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00fqpkl)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00fr5l8)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00fr5lb)
Matt Baker finds out about a new project to revive the hydroelectric plant at Grassington in Yorkshire and others like it using a 2,000-year-old invention called Archimedes' Screw.


SAT 06:35 Farming Today This Week (b00fr5ld)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00fr5lg)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00fr5lj)
Presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis.

Jonah Fisher reports on Gordon Brown's call for world leaders to tell President Mugabe that 'enough is enough'.

Mark Devenport reports on the deal between the Conservatives and the Ulster Unionist Party.

Phil Mercer reports on a surge in binge drinking in Australia.

Author David Strahan and energy analyst Nick Macgregor discuss the fall in oil prices.

Back-bencher Bob Marshall-Andrews explains his anger at the police searching the offices of MP Damian Green with former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

Broadcaster Joan Bakewell and chairman of GMTV Clive Jones discuss whether older women are represented fairly on news programmes.

Thought for the day with Brian Draper of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

Conservative MP Peter Luff and former Labour MP Nick Raynsford discuss bipartisanship in politics.

Greg Wood, Martin Shankleman and Kevin Green, chief exec of the Recruitment and Employment Federation, discuss if the dramatic rise in unemployment in the US could soon be seen in the UK.

Cambridge University students discuss putting the first teddy bears into space.

Journalist Chris McGreal says there is no sense that Robert Mugabe has any control of the situation and that Zimbabwean people will endure. Botswana Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani says that the decision to get rid of the leader must be Zimbabwe's.

Entrepreneur Dao Tran-Boyd, retired saver Bryan Boardman and banker Peter McNamara discuss the impact of the latest fiscal and monetary policy measures.

Author Phillip Holland explains how some traditional phrases could become unknown within a generation.

Scholar Luke Nichter explains why 2,000 hours of recordings were made of Richard Nixon.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00fr5ll)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them. Presenter Clare Balding is joined by Chris Addison. With poetry from Murray Lachlan Young.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00fr5ln)
Commonwealth of Nations - Thailand - Djibouti

COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS
The Saga Rose’s penultimate voyage next year will visit countries like Australia, Malaysia and India as well as islands in the Caribbean and Pacific, in the Indian Ocean and in the Mediterranean; the cruise aims to take in many of the Commonwealth countries that were formerly run by or under the protection of the British.
Sandi Toksvig is joined by Emma Soames, the editor of Saga magazine to discuss the appeal of the Commonwealth of Nations to the older traveller in the 21st Century.

THAILAND
Andrea McNicoll spent twelve years living in Thailand and returns regularly to visit. The recent blockade of Thailand’s airports brought the tourist industry into sharp focus and Andrea shares her insight into the importance of tourism to the country and its effect on more rural areas.

DJIBOUTI
Freelance journalist and broadcaster, Rob Crossan recounts his adventures in Djibouti, a tiny state on the Horn of Africa, where he swam with whale sharks and heard the legend of a monster of the deep, on the shores of the Red Sea.


SAT 10:30 Talking about Lionel (b00fr715)
Eddie Mair tells the story of composer Lionel Bart, creator of Britain's most successful post-war musical, Oliver!

From the height of his dazzling fame in the 1960s, Bart endured a series of flops, leading to eventual bankruptcy, and he suffered serious health problems, including long battles with alcoholism and depression. He died aged 69 in 1999.

Eddie tells the story of this sensitive and troubled artist with the help of those who knew him intimately, including Tim Rice, Cameron Mackintosh, Miriam Karlin and Barbara Windsor.

Producers: Jo Coombs and Stewart Henderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00fr717)
A look behind the scenes at Westminster with Steve Richards.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00fr719)
BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the world's headlines. Introduced by Kate Adie.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00fr72x)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.

The one per cent rate cut - who will be the winners and losers and will mortagage lenders pass it on? Plus the latest on government plans to underwrite mortgage interest payments for some struggling homeowners, news of the customers of collapsed bank London Scottish and what happens tenants whose landlords fail to keep up the mortgage payments.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00fqmxv)
Series 25

Episode 2

Comedy sketches and satirical comments from Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and the team including Mitch Benn, Marcus Brigstocke, Laura Shavin and Jon Holmes.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00fr72z)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News Briefing (b00fr731)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00fqmxx)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate in Woking. The panel are Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews, shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change Greg Clark, Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lynne Featherstone MP and the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00fr733)
Jonathan Dimbleby takes listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00fr7kx)
Lynne Truss - Giving Up the Ghost

By Lynne Truss.

In a house full of carbon monoxide, firefighter Scott gets separated from his colleagues and begins to experience the last terrible moments of his friend Jacko's life, who had died in similar circumstances eight months earlier.

Scott ...... Adrian Bower
Alan ...... Struan Rodger
Philip ...... Jeff Rawle
Giggsy ...... Joe Absolom
Mike ...... Brendan Charleson
H/Jacko ...... Richard Nichols
Lucy ...... Sara McGaughey

Directed by Kate McAll.


SAT 15:30 Music Feature (b00fr51y)
Soul II Soul

Trevor Nelson tells the story of the influential band Soul II Soul, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2008. With its origins in the social unrest of 1980s Thatcherite Britain, the band grew to become a voice for young black people.


SAT 16:00 Weekend Woman's Hour (b00fr7rv)
Highlights of this week's Woman's Hour programmes with Jane Garvey. Including Lauren Booth on children living with alcoholic parents, artist Annie Freud recalls posing for her artist father as a teenager, the return of the fringe as a hair fashion statement and news of a new gel that could protect women against HIV infection. Laura Lee Davies and Angela McRobbie debate the boundaries of acceptability in today's teenage music culture, the history of female photographers in conflict zones and Sally Murer, reporter on a local newpaper, talks about her ordeal in the courts after being accused of breaching secrecy laws.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00fr7rx)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00fr7rz)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00fr7s1)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00fr7s3)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fr7s5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00fr7s7)
Clive Anderson presents an eclectic mix of conversation, comedy and music. He is joined by Julian Fellowes, Clarissa Dickson Wright and Henry Blofeld, and Julian Clary talks panto with Starsky and Hutch actor Antonio Fargas. Plus music from The Sweet Vandals and Alessi's Ark and comedy from Australian stand-up Wil Anderson.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b00fr7s9)
Series 5

Episode 8

As councils across the country begin their review of child protection policies, Will Self tells the story of the day Angela's family receive a visit from a social worker.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00fr7td)
Tilda Swinton, The Wizard of Oz, and Mekong Diaries

Joining Tom this week:

Theatre critic Susannah Clapp
Writer and television producer James Runcie
Journalist Miranda Sawyer

Julia

When she won an Oscar for her role in Michael Clayton earlier this year, the famously versatile British actress Tilda Swinton morphed from arthouse movie queen into international movie star. Now she takes the lead in French director Erick Zonca’s new film, Julia. Swinton plays an LA alcoholic who is sliding into oblivion - until she decides to kidnap a child. At which point she - and the plot - lurch chaotically into life…

Julia, directed by Erick Zonca, is on release nationwide, certificate 15.

Amazonia

Since the mid-Nineties, the Young Vic Theatre in central London has developed a reputation for delivering innovative Christmas shows, from The Grimm Tales to The Adventures of Tintin. This year’s offering, Amazonia, draws on Brazilian musical and dance culture to celebrate the life of the murdered environmental activist Chico Mendes. But does it measure up to the theatre’s own track record?

Amazonia by Colin Teevan is at the Young Vic Theatre until 24 January

Japan Car

What does a bonsai tree have in common with a Japanese hatchback? This exhibition, conceived by an architect and a graphic designer, and sponsored by seven Japanese car manufacturers, argues that in the years to come, cars will be small and green and beautiful…

Japan Car: Designs for the Crowded Globe is at the Science Museum in west London until 19 April.

The Wizard of Oz

It’s almost seventy years since one of cinema’s most famous films was released. But is it really such a triumph? Susannah Clapp challenges the prevailing wisdom; Miranda Sawyer and James Runcie defend what they both still see as a classic.

Mekong Diaries

Amid the vast sufferings of the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong dispatched trained artists down the ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’ into the heart of battle, to record the events in watercolours and drawings. Forty years on, this new book compiles their work, to reveal a surprisingly gentle aspect to a notoriously brutal conflict.

Mekong Diaries: Viet Cong Drawings and Stories 1964-1975 by Sherry Buchanan is published by the University of Chicago Press.


SAT 20:00 The Archive Hour (b00fr85x)
The King and Dr Cannon

Sean Stowell tells the strange story of a yogic doctor from Yorkshire and his role in the Edward VIII abdication crisis.

Dr Alexander Cannon was a qualified psychiatrist who practised hypnosis and, according to archives, used spirit mediums to 'advise' the King on how to deal with problems, including his heavy drinking. He also dabbled in the occult, which heightened the Church and prime minister Stanley Baldwin's concern about his role as a close confidante to the King.

New research and access to previously unheard tapes shed new light on the Yorkshire Yogi's part in the abdication crisis and suggests a cover-up between the Establishment and the contemporary press.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00fnbf3)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Episode 1

Adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic tale set in 15th-century Paris, dramatised in a collaboration between the BBC and Graeae, the disabled-led theatre company. Starring deaf actor David Bower, artistic director of Signdance Collective.

Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer, hides away in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral, friendless and ashamed of his appearance. When the bewitching gypsy Esmeralda arrives in Paris, Quasimodo falls in love with her from afar.

Quasimodo ...... David Bower
Esmeralda ...... Candis Nergaard
Frollo ...... Kevin Doyle
Madame Poutine ...... Susan Twist
Madame La Fayette ...... Rita May
Phoebus ...... Joseph Kloska
Mikael Leduc ...... Roger Morlidge
George ...... Garry Robson
Guillaume ...... Terence Mann

Written by Alex Bulmer
Directed by Polly Thomas


SAT 22:00 Weather (b00frkfd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b00fq311)
Michael Buerk chairs a debate on the moral questions behind the week's news. Clifford Longley, Kenan Malik, Michael Portillo and Claire Fox cross-examine witnesses.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00fpx7n)
Robert Robinson introduces the tenth heat of the perennial general knowledge quiz.


SAT 23:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00fnbqh)
Series 9

Ithaka

Peggy Reynolds explores the background, effect and lasting appeal of some well-loved poems.

By CP Cavafy. Peggy talks to people who have found inspiration in the poem's treatment of the journey of life, including the poet Ruth Padel, and Professor Edith Hall discusses its Homeric associations.



SUNDAY 07 DECEMBER 2008

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00frkh2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SUN 00:30 The Late Story (b007njhq)
Back Chat

The Wall

Series of specially commissioned stories exploring the traumatic and occasionally comical subject of back pain.

A girl's relationship with her father determines the frailties of her spine as an adolescent. Later, her husband and daughter will pull her through. By Julie Myerson, read by Niamh Cusack.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00frkqy)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00frkr0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00frkr2)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00frkr4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00frkr6)
The sound of bells from St Augustine's, West Monkton, Somerset.


SUN 05:45 Received Wisdom (b00fq32g)
Episode 2

Series in which MPs and peers from across the political spectrum share some pearls of wisdom with Guardian political sketchwriter Simon Hoggart.

Current and former MPs reveal their tips for keeping voters on-side and impressing the party bigwigs.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00frkr8)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00frkrb)
Stories from Scraps

Mark Tully considers one of the fastest-growing social networking activities in the country - not the much-publicised online communities, but scrap-booking. As more people discover this powerful method of accessing memories, they are building them into life stories which can lead to a healing sense of meaning, identity and integration.


SUN 06:35 Living World (b00frkrd)
Stalking Cranes

Lionel Kelleway joins Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the National Trust to witness the night roost of the crane, Britain's largest wading bird.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00frkrg)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00frkrj)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00frkrl)
Roger Bolton with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories, both familiar and unfamiliar.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00frkrn)
St Martin-in-the-Fields

Rev Nicholas Holtam appeals on behalf of the St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal, for help for homeless people in the capital and individuals in need across the United Kingdom.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00frkrq)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00frkrs)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00frltc)
Good Tidings to Zion

In a service for Advent, the Bishop of Manchester the Right Rev Nigel McCulloch explores the tidings of comfort to be found in Isaiah 40, vv1-11, and in excerpts from Handel's Messiah.

With the Very Rev Roger Govender and Rev Gilly Myers. The Manchester Cathedral Choir is directed by Christopher Stokes. Organist: Jeffrey Makinson.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00fqmxz)
Writers Room

Are we naturally able to think clearly when surrounded by mess, asks Clive James, because chaos is inherent in all our minds - even those of the great writers and thinkers. He reveals why he is glad the chaos of his own office is not featured in a new exhibition called ‘Writers’ Rooms’.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00frmkh)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 09:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b00frmkk)
Received with Thanks

Libby Purves finds out how the money raised by listeners last year for the 2007 BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal has been spent over the past 12 months. More than 700,000 pounds was raised for St Martin-in-the-Fields's work with homeless people and those in urgent need across the UK.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00frmkm)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00frmml)
Marcus du Sautoy

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the mathematician Marcus du Sautoy.

A professor of mathematics at Oxford University and a fellow of New College, he has recently been named as the next Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science. He has always been driven to try to demystify and popularise his field. It's clearly a task he takes seriously - his father has recently enrolled on an Open University course in maths and, he admits, when he took his young son to visit the Alhambra in Spain, he challenged him to find the 17 forms of plane symmetry in the palace.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Prelude to Parsifal by Richard Wagner
Book: The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
Alternative to Bible: Mahabharata
Luxury: My own trumpet.


SUN 12:00 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00fpx7x)
Series 3

Magician

Milton Jones bestrides the globe as an expert in his field, with no ability whatsoever.

Milton is a famous magician and illusionist who gets tangled up in a devilish plot to make the Bank of England disappear.

With Tom Goodman-Hill, Ingrid Oliver, Dan Tetsell.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00frp5w)
Markets

Bury and Newham, East London, have very different but thriving markets. Sheila Dillon finds out how have they do it and where markets sit in the current food retail landscape.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00frp5y)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00frp60)
A look at events around the world with Shaun Ley.


SUN 13:30 Women in Uniform (b00f07h5)
Episode 2

Former BBC correspondent Martin Bell travels to Afghanistan to investigate the growing numbers of women in the British military and how their jobs are increasingly taking them into the front line.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00frp62)
Peter Gibbs chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flowerdew and Matthew Biggs are guests of Hunsdon Gardening Club, near Ware in Hertfordshire.

Peter Seabrook, the Sun's Gardening Editor, Tim Rumball, editor of Amateur Gardening magazine, and Juliet Roberts, editor of Gardens Illustrated, discuss the RHS's lobbying for VAT to be dropped on plants and seeds.

Including the Gardeners' Question Time gardening weather forecast.


SUN 14:45 Wars of The Roses (b00frp64)
Episode 4

Wesley Kerr follows the Somerset town of Taunton in its bid to win the RHS Britain in Bloom competition.

Wesley finds out who the winners are at the Britain in Bloom awards, as dozens of finalists from across the country gather for a gala event at Chester Racecourse. Will Taunton have done enough to win the prestigious gold medal and be crowned Best Large Town in Britain?


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00frpx4)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Episode 2

Adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic tale set in 15th-century Paris, dramatised in a collaboration between the BBC and Graeae, the disabled-led theatre company. Starring deaf actor David Bower, artistic director of Signdance Collective.

Quasimodo ...... David Bower
Esmeralda ...... Candis Nergaard
Frollo ...... Kevin Doyle
Madame Poutine ...... Susan Twist
Madame La Fayette ...... Rita May
Phoebus ...... Joseph Kloska
Mikael Leduc ...... Roger Morlidge
George ...... Garry Robson
Guillaume ...... Terence Mann

Writer, Jack Thorne
Producer, Susan Roberts


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b00frpx6)
Amitav Ghosh

James Naughtie talks to the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh. He joins an audience of readers to discuss his novel The Glass Palace.


SUN 16:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00frqfn)
Series 9

I Am

Peggy Reynolds explores the background, effect and lasting appeal of some well-loved poems.

Peggy examines the poem's expression of feelings of dispossession engendered by the land grab of the agricultural enclosures of the early-19th century, and Clare's residency in a lunatic asylum at the time of writing it.


SUN 17:00 The Human Button (b00fq2sy)
Historian Prof Peter Hennessy speaks to the people who have operated Britain's nuclear deterrent over the years and today, including military commanders, politicians and former Vulcan bomber crew members. He visits Northwood, the headquarters from which the order to fire would come today, and Corsham, the secret nuclear bunker which, in the 1960s, would have been the location for an alternative government in the event of all-out war.


SUN 17:40 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b00frmkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00frsb8)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00frsbb)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00frsbd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00frsbg)
Peter White introduces his selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00frsbj)
At afternoon rehearsals, David and Lynda grumble as Kenton hasn't turned up again. Brenda arrives and explains that Mike isn't well either. Lynda decides to read his part, but struggles to direct at the same time. Eddie convinces Lynda that he should stand in as Dame Trot but Clarrie isn't happy - now she has to play Daisy the cow alone.

Later Clarrie and Eddie find David shouting through Kenton's letterbox trying to reach him. David mentions that it's his and Ruth's 20th wedding anniversary next week. They are planning to go out for a Chinese meal as it's their china anniversary. Eddie warns David not to stay out too long; he might catch a cold.

At Willow Farm, Roy finds an ill Mike out of bed preparing the house for the builders. Roy asks him to come to Birmingham for Christmas with Hayley and Abbie. Mike's pleased to accept.

Brenda arrives and is not happy to find Mike up and about in the dusty house, Mike doesn't need anyone nursing him but agrees to call Oliver to cover him at the dairy. Mike tells them to stop worrying - he'll be back at the panto in no time.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


SUN 19:15 Go4it (b00frsbl)
Children's magazine. Kirsten O'Brien learns about tales of ghostly hauntings at Ham House in London, said to be haunted by both man and beast, and gets a lesson in writing a horror story from Vampirates author Justin Somper.


SUN 19:45 Defining Moments (b007rhkq)
Series 1

Surrender

Series of stories about life-changing events from five emerging Irish writers.

An Irish police sergeant receives a letter which forces him to take decisive action, but not before he has indulged in one final act of selfish extravagance. By Claire Keegan, read by Jim Norton.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b00fq91h)
Sexual or Statistical Abuse - Credit Crunch Maths - VAT Cut

Sexual or Statistical Abuse?
Between 5 and 10% of girls suffer the most serious forms of sexual abuse, according to reports based on a paper published this week in The Lancet. These are shocking figures, but are they true? We investigate whether the statistics really support the claims of a hidden epidemic.

Maths and the Credit Crunch
Banks and hedge funds rely on highly paid mathematicians and economists known as "quants" to evaluate risk. Why didn't they see the credit crunch coming?

Paul Wilmott is a lecturer in financial mathematics and runs the profession's most popular website. He is a fan of quantitative finance - but he thinks that its misuse has played a part in creating the current banking crisis. It is all to do with a tendency for some mathematicians to get fixated on the numbers, whilst failing to think about the big picture.

VAT Cut
Many people have dismissed the recent reduction in the VAT rate from 17.5% to 15% as derisory. "A difference of £2.50 in a £100 is hardly light at the end of the tunnel," was the typical complaint. We explain why the news is worse than that.

Britain's Most Admired Companies
This week Management Today magazine announced that the drinks manufacturer Diageo is Britain's Most Admired Company.

The organisers claim the awards "offer a unique insight into the components of corporate reputation, by recognising key factors critical to business success."

All round brilliance or the halo effect? But is the survey based on flawed data?

Phil Rosenzweig, a professor at leading business school IMD in Geneva, claims the academics who spend months each year compiling the 'Most Admired' league tables are failing to take into account "the halo effect".

This is our tendency to perceive that a company which is doing wellfinancially is performing well in pretty much every field - from product quality and innovation through to the ability to attract and retain top talent.

According to Prof Rosenzweig, it is a phenomenon that is rife in the world of popular management science and in many of the leading business success books.

Is Fishing More Dangerous Than Boxing?
Boxers often defend their sport against those who would like to ban it by stating that it is less dangerous than fishing. Listener Su Heggerty asked us to investigate whether the boxers' claim is really true.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00fq91m)
John Wilson presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died. The programme reflects on people of distinction and interest from many walks of life, some famous and some less well known.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00fr72x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00frkrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b00fq6rl)
Blow-Back from Edinburgh?

David Runciman asks if political forces are pushing Edinburgh and London onto increasingly divergent paths, with radical implications for how the next Westminster general election will be fought and British government formed.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00frvtr)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00frvtt)
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster. Including The Draftsman's Contract.


SUN 23:00 Mind Changers (b00bcccq)
Case Study: The Man with a Hole in His Head

Claudia Hammond presents a series on case studies that have made a significant contribution to psychological research.

Phineas Gage was a railway worker in 19th-century Vermont who survived a bizarre accident. A metre-long iron rod shot through his head, changing him and the study of neuroscience forever.

Claudia visits Harvard Medical School Museum in Boston to see for herself what remains of The Man With The Hole In His Head. At the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in Ely, Cambridgeshire she meets clients with brain injuries similar to those suffered by Phineas Gage and discovers how far we've come in understanding and treatment since Gage suffered his appalling trauma on 13 September 1848.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00frkrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 08 DECEMBER 2008

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00fs7zq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00fq2yx)
The Sociology of Smell - Getting a Confession

SOCIOLOGY OF SMELL
In their new book The Guide to Perfumes Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez examine the sociology of smell from its aesthetic complexity, to its class, status associations, racial overtones and its gender implication. Laurie Taylor is joined by the fragrance expert Luca Turin, who describes perfume as an art, and Rod Watson, a sociologist of smell, to explore the hidden resonances of perfume. Why do we wear perfume, what do our choice of fragrance say about us?

GETTING A CONFESSION
Dr Elisabeth Carter, Research Associate of the University of Essex has studied the fine detail of police interrogation. She discusses the findings of her doctoral thesis called ‘An Investigation into the structure of the police interview’.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00frkr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fs814)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fs82c)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fs847)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00fs858)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fs86p)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Michael Mumisa.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00fs878)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00fs88c)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00fs89v)
Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis.

Environment analyst Roger Harrabin discusses whether a new agreement can be reached on climate change.

Lily Kember, of climate action group Plane Stupid, says that climate change is a global catastrophe waiting to happen.

James Appathurai discusses claims that the Taleban's presence in Afghanistan has grown.

Europe editor Mark Mardell considers how Germany is dealing with the economic downturn.

Chief Supt Ian Gruneberger, divisional commander at Stansted airport, says the protestors may face criminal prosecution.

Mike Thomson reports from the town of Bossangoa, in the Central African Republic, where alleged war crimes and human rights violations occurred.

Dr Paul Morris says dogs are much more socially complicated than was ever expected.

Thought for the day with John Bell of the Iona Community.

Ofsted inspector Sir Jim Rose says teaching children about emotional well-being and social skills should be compulsory.

Commercial director of Stansted airport Nick Bartham says the runway is now open following a protest from climate change group Plane Stupid.

Former US President Jimmy Carter discusses if Robert Mugabe can lead Zimbabwe out of its current humanitarian crisis.

Chris Difford, formerly of the band Squeeze, and music critic Neil McCormick discuss the recipe for a Christmas number one.

Ian Pannell and Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British ambassador in Afghanistan, discuss reports that the presence of the Taleban is growing in Afghanistan.

Desmond Browne QC says the potential injustice for unrepresented clients is almost infinite.

Sarah Robertson, of the Internet Watch foundation, and David Gerard, of Wikipedia, discuss if censorship of the internet should be allowed.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00fsxxl)
PROFESSOR GILLES KEPEL argues that Europe must take the lead in dealing with the threat of jihadism. He examines why certain European countries have been attacked while others haven’t and how what he sees as the failure of multiculturalism in countries like Britain and the Netherlands may have played a part in this. Beyond Terror and Martyrdom: The Future of the Middle East is published by Harvard University Press.

Did you know that there are four full-scale enclaves left in Western Europe? These are small towns and villages that are ‘owned’ by one country but situated in another. Journalist and writer VITALI VITALIEV argues that these places are a forum for examining our notions of identity and nationality and are a symbol of cross-cultural collaboration. Passport to Enclavia is published by Reportage Press.

SIMON JENKINS, Chairman of the National Trust and one of Britain’s most prominent journalists, explores the history of Wales through its buildings, from the stone huts of the druids to the industrial landscape of mining pits. Charting over 4,000 years of culture, Jenkins argues that the Welsh are not as proud of their architectural heritage as they should be. Wales: Churches, Houses, Castles is published by Allen Lane.

This week marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a landmark event which will be marked by political leaders and activists all around the world. Human rights expert FRANCESCA KLUG, of the London School of Economics and Commissioner on the Human Rights and Equality Commission, examines its relevance then and now and explores how the Declaration challenged Enlightenment thinking. We ask to what extent it remains an aspirational document.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00fsbll)
Coda

Episode 1

Toby Stephens reads from the playwright and diarist Simon Gray's candid and darkly comic account of coming to terms with terminal cancer.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00fsd90)
US businesswoman Carly Fiorina; The life of Elizabeth Bowen

US businesswoman Carly Fiorina on the glass ceiling in US politics and business. Plus, Hermione Lee and Penelope Lively on Elizabeth Bowen's fascinating life and literary career.


MON 11:00 Young Governors Take Control (b00fsxxn)
Episode 1

Clare English discovers what happened to the trainee prison governors featured in BBC Radio 4's The Young Governors, three years on. She finds out whether the reality of prison management matches up to their expectations and what is the impact of sentencing policy, mental health provision and public opinion on their work.


MON 11:30 Spending My Inheritance (b00fsyld)
To Your Very Good Health

Sitcom by Clive Coleman, starring Kris Marshall as cash-strapped forty-something Harry, who has to watch from the sidelines as his newly retired parents start spending their hard-earned cash on themselves.

With all their spending on exercise machines and looking after themselves, Harry's parents seem in better shape than he is.

Harry ...... Kris Marshall
Jo ...... Raquel Cassidy
Brian ...... Kenneth Cranham
Liz ...... Judy Parfitt
Jess ...... Antonia Thomas
Assistant ...... Manjeet Mann
Doctor ...... Inam Mirza

Directed by Sam Hoyle.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00fslxs)
Presented by Julian Worricker.

Carolyn Atkinson reports on how people who are already in financial difficulty are being re-targeted by companies offering to help with debt problems.

Internet service providers say the BBC's online television services are responsible for eating up too much of the UK's broadband capability and they want the BBC to pay to improve the broadband service. We speak to Michael Philips from BroadbandChoices.co.uk and Erik Huggers, BBC director of future media and technology.

The chief executive of Virgin Rail Group, Tony Collins, tells us what to expect from the completed West Coast upgrade.

The government has offered three billion pounds of investment in public transport in Manchester if residents back the city's proposed congestion charge. As the last day of voting draws closer, our reporter Mark Holdstock talks to people who are for or against the proposed charge.

According to the World Whisky Index, more people are investing in Scotland's pride and joy. We consult a specialist, Andrew Bell, to find out whether this is a viable investment.

Should flexible working be a right for everyone, or will the strain of trying to accommodate it put small firms out of business?

A look at the new rules for housing: we talk to experts Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, and Paul Rees of the National Housing Federation.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00fslyw)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00fslz8)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00fsylg)
The penultimate heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, chaired by Robert Robinson at the BBC's Maida Vale studio.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00frsbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00fsylj)
The End of the Alphabet

Juliet Stevenson and David Haig star in an adaption of C S Richardson's The End of the Alphabet, a charming and thought provoking debut novel short-listed for the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

"Those who knew him described Ambrose Zephyr as a better man than some. Wanting a few minor adjustments, they would admit, but didn't we all. His wife described him as the only man she had loved. Without adjustment."

Ambrose Zephyr and Zappora Ashkenzai (known as Zipper) live contentedly in London, their world one of work, friends and their abiding love for each other, their routines settled and certain. Until the day, sometime around his 50th birthday, that Ambrose learns that he has only one month to live. In response he makes frantic plans to travel the globe, alphabetically, from Amsterdam to Zanzibar, with his beloved wife at his side. And if he wants to travel at this time, she will go, wherever the journey takes them and whatever her own feelings may be.

Juliet Stevenson .... Zipper
David Haig .... Ambrose
Adam Godley .... the Narrator/Freddie
Carolyn Pickles .... Kitts/Pru.
Philip Fox .... Doctor/Mr Umtata
Adaptor .... Penny Leicester
Director .... Di Speirs.


MON 15:00 Money Box Live (b00fsyll)
Paul Lewis and a panel of experts take your questions on carers' rights and finances.


MON 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fssf8)
80 Not Out

At the Forest's Edge

A poignant story of the relationship between a father and his decidely independent daughter, as he tries to fulfill his wife's wishes and bring the family together. By David Pownall, read by Alec McCowen.


MON 15:45 Wide Awake at Bedtime (b008m3vs)
Episode 1

Stewart accompanies a group of Brownies from Manchester on a visit to a huge aquarium in Hull called The Deep.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00frp5w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00fsyln)
Ernie Rea explores the place of faith in today's world, teasing out the hidden and often contradictory truths behind the experiences, values and traditions of our lives.


MON 17:00 PM (b00fswc1)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fswdl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


MON 18:30 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00ft1cd)
Series 3

Health Guru

Milton Jones bestrides the globe as an expert in his field, with no ability whatsoever.

Milton is a health and diet guru who plans to take over the world by means of a walnut shell and nettle face scrub.

With Tom Goodman-Hill, Ingrid Oliver, Ben Willbond.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00fsm1f)
At Home Farm, Brian wishes Hannah good luck on her first day. Tom explains that Jazzer will be showing her the ropes and Brian tells them they need to move the pigs from the bottom of the field.

Brian goes to collect Jennifer from the airport. She had a lovely time. Debbie and Marshall seem very happy and spend every spare minute together. Brian tells Jennifer that Lilian's found a new carer for Jack. When Jennifer calls and discovers that the carer is arriving at The Lodge that day for a chat.

Jazzer and Hannah try to move the pigs' arks but they're stuck in the mud. Hannah has to crawl into the arc and push from the inside, and when it suddenly moves forward Hannah gets covered in mud - she tells Jazzer it's his turn next.

Jazzer and Hannah head to the pub for lunch, but get a call from Tom telling them to come back immediately. Brian isn't happy that they haven't moved the pigs yet. Hannah explains they've moved the arks, done the usual jobs, and were planning on moving them after lunch. Brian realises he's jumped the gun. Hannah seems to have learnt the most important lesson - how to handle Jazzer.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00fswdz)
David Simon, creator of the acclaimed TV series The Wire, and his wife, crime writer Laura Lippman discuss what it's like to have two writers living in the same household and the crossover between fact and fiction in their work.

Comedian Natalie Haynes and music writer Dave Hepworth give their verdict on some of this year's Christmas records from artists as diverse as Glasvegas and Aled Jones:

The Feeling - Feeling Like Christmas
Status Quo - It’s Christmas Time
Chris Difford and the Decorations - Let’s Not Fight This Christmas
Glasvegas - Christmas Album - A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)
George Michael - December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)
Terry Wogan and Aled Jones - Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth
Wombats - Is This Christmas

The Daily Mail's Georgia Coleridge joins Mark Lawson to discuss her selection of books to give younger readers this Christmas.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00fswkg)
To The North

Arrivals

Deborah Paige's dramatisation of Elizabeth Bowen's romantic novel, set in London and Paris in the inter-war years.

Bright young widow Cecilia Summers and her sister-in-law Emmeline share a happy house in 1920s London. But a chance encounter changes everything.

Narrator ...... Margaret Tyzack
Cecilia Summers ...... Catherine McCormack
Mark Linkwater ...... Julian Rhid-Tutt
Emmeline Summers ...... Zoe Waites
Julian Towers ...... Adrian Scarborough

Directed by Deborah Paige.


MON 20:00 Things We Forgot to Remember (b008kh18)
Series 3

The Darien Scheme

Michael Portillo presents a series revisiting the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal but forgotten importance.

The real reason behind the 1707 Act of Union which saw England and Scotland merged was a disastrous colonial expedition. But why did a small settlement in what is now Panama bring a nation to its knees and why it has been reduced to such a tiny footnote in the story?


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00fq3qz)
Spain

The BBC's Madrid correspondent Steve Kingstone examines the growing antagonism between Spain's Socialist government and the Roman Catholic Church, who have clashed over changes to religious and social education in schools. Many fear that this conflict could further dilute the Catholic values that some people feel define Spain's national identity.


MON 21:00 Behind the Scenes with Carbon Dioxide (b00ft1rs)
Chris Rapley tells the story of Joseph Black, the Scottish Enlightenment chemist who described carbon dioxide for the first time. The birth of modern chemistry is charted against the modern-day realisation of the threat to our planet posed by greenhouse gases.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00fsxxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00fsx36)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fsxbn)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah. Including reports on the plea to be entered by a top 9/11 suspect, military intervention in Zimbabwe and the discovery of new letters from Oscar Wilde.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fsxgh)
La's Orchestra Saves the World

Episode 1

Emilia Fox reads from the new novel by Alexander McCall Smith. In a sleepy Suffolk village in 1939, a young widow forms an amateur orchestra to entertain the locals and soothe her own broken heart.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b00fq2sr)
Michael Rosen investigates what happens when our ability to communicate breaks down.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fsxm2)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.



TUESDAY 09 DECEMBER 2008

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00fs7yc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fsbll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fs7zs)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fs816)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fs82f)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00fs849)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fs85b)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Michael Mumisa.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00fs86r)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00fs88f)
Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis.

Justin Webb explains the details of an expected $15billion bail-out of US car firms.

Sarah Rainsford and Dr Othon Anastasakis discuss the riots in Greece.

What impact will the government's clampdown on the sale of cigarettes have on small shopkeepers? Reporter Bob Walker speaks to newsagent Jinderpaur Sangha.

Nick Higham reports on Britain's first vacuum-powered refuse collection system.

Prof Michael Clarke, of the Royal United Services Institute in London, says that under the Geneva Convention, Blackwater guards could be viewed as mercenaries.

Nick Bryant listens to some of Shane Warne: The Musical.

Thought for the day with the Right Rev James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool.

David Cameron says the government's plan for a 20 billion pound tax giveaway is a mistake.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Chris Ogden, of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, discuss if banning tobacco displays is the latest step towards making smoking tobacco illegal.

Oliver Postgate, the creator of children's programmes The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog and Bagpuss, has died at the age of 83. Controller of Cbeebies Michael Carrington and Sandra Kerr, the voice of Madeleine and the mice in Bagpuss, remember a creative mind.

Irish minister Dick Roche says Ireland will have a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Nicola Stanbridge reports on the bankers turning to music to pay the bills.

Literary editor Boyd Tonkin and professor of Renaissance Studies Gordon Campbell discuss the legacy of Milton.

Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate is remembered by listeners.

Juergen Zimmerer, of the University of Sheffield, and human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC discuss the UN's Genocide Convention.


TUE 09:00 The Long View (b00ft1ts)
Retail Difficulties: Gamages in 1930

Jonathan Freedland presents the series that looks for the past behind the present.

Jonathan explores the parallels and differences between what shops today can learn from the bleak festive season of 1930, when department stores began to be threatened by the new variety stores.


TUE 09:30 Bad Habits (b00ft1tv)
Procrastination

Comedian and writer Richard Herring explores some of the bad habits and personal failings which directly or indirectly affect all of us in our daily working lives.

Richard investigates how much time British workers spend on personal emails and what managers do to crack down on it. He also speaks to writer Charlie Brooker, who blames the internet for his tendency to continually put things off.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00fwfwk)
Coda

Episode 2

Toby Stephens reads from the playwright and diarist Simon Gray's candid and darkly comic account of coming to terms with terminal cancer. Gray's doctor delivers bad news.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00fsglg)
Lads mags age limit; Diabetes care at school

Should lads mags be given an 18 certificate to ensure children can't get hold of them? Plus, why are some schools unable or unwilling to support pupils with diabetes?


TUE 11:00 World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations (b00ft1tx)
Philippa Forrester and Brett Westwood present the series following the movement and migration of animals across the planet, from the European eel to the African white-eared kob antelope. A team of wildlife specialists are joined by zoologists and conservationists around the world to present regular reports.


TUE 11:30 I Was... (b00ft1wg)
Series 1

Ernest Hemingway's La Secretaria

Andrew McGibbon analyses great artists at a significant time in their careers but from the perspective of someone who worked for them, inspired them, employed them or even did their job for them while no one was looking.

Valerie Danby Smith was Ernest Hemingway's secretary in the final two years of his life, accompanying him, his wife and their entourage on bullfighting tours of Spain, trips to New York, and stays in his beloved house in Havana, Cuba. As their relationship blossomed Ernest even proposed to her - while he was still married to his wife - and later confided in Valerie that he was planning to commit suicide after learning he was going blind.

This is a moving story of love and duty and how an innocent convent educated girl in a chance encounter in Spain finds herself the willing pupil of one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century who was determined to teach Valerie everything he could about the art of writing and why a courageous engagement of life was vital to that art.

Producers: Andrew McGibbon and Nick Romero
A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00fslwp)
Call You and Yours

Presented by Julian Worricker.

Flexible Working.

Should flexible working be a right for everyone or will the strain of trying to accommodate it put small firms out of business? We hear listeners' views.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00fslxv)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00fslyy)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


TUE 13:30 Music Feature (b00ft26k)
The Golden Oriole

Ornithologist and nature writer Stephen Moss explores a crucial period in the life of the French composer Olivier Messiaen, when his fascination for collecting and using birdsong in his music flourished and became a refuge from the agony of his wife's slow death.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00fsm1f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00ft3fw)
Eight Feet High and Rising

Comedy by Ali Taylor. Liam, an 8ft 6ins recluse, lives with his mother, who is too fat to leave the house. Desperately short of money, she advertises for people to pay to come look at her giant son. Into their lives comes Sarah Jane, a dog-agent who reckons Liam can be 'really big'.

Liam ...... James Alexandrou
Ethel ...... Candassai Liburd
Pat ...... Marcella Riordan
Sarah-Jane ...... Julia Deakin
Diane ...... Sophie Pemberton
Sandra ...... Manjeet Mann
Teacher ...... Inam Mirza

Children played by Antonia Thomas, Nathan Adabadze, Sophia Crawford, Finnian Tweed.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b00ft3h9)
Church Spires

Church Spires
A Making History listener has just returned from a trip to Turkey and was rather taken with the minarets, or tall spires, found on Mosques. Could it be, she wondered, that British crusaders saw these back in the 11th and 12th centuries and then introduced them here? Making History consulted Dr Richard Plant at Christie’s Education in London who explained that the church spire was more of a technological innovation of the French gothic than a cultural or spiritual introduction.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fsw3r)
80 Not Out

A Shocking Accident

Series of five stories read by distinguished actors who are now in their eighties.

A young man tries to hide the embarrassing facts of his father's death from his fiancee. By Graham Greene. Read by Jill Balcon.


TUE 15:45 Wide Awake at Bedtime (b008nbz3)
Episode 2

Stewart accompanies a group of year nine students staying over in Birmingham's Science museum.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00ft3jq)
Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00ft3m2)
Series 17

Luciano Pavarotti

Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.

Luciano Pavarotti is nominated by the music promoter Harvey Goldsmith, the man behind the Pavarotti in the Park concert. The opera director John Copley and Anne Midgette of the Washington Post join the discussion.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00fsw9w)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fswc3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


TUE 18:30 Listen Against (b00ft3nq)
Series 2

Episode 4

Martin Jarvis reads from a Haynes manual - and it's time to oversee the winter hibernation of Steve Wright in the Blue Peter garden.

More damage from the past seven days of BBC radio.

Like Radio 4's Feedback but with less virulence, Listen Against rearranges the reality of BBC radio - until it's too confused to cry.

Written by and starring Jon Holmes.

With Alice Arnold.

Producer: Sam Bryant

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00fsm11)
Eddie is rehearsing the Dame's lines for the panto whilst milking, much to Ruth's amusement. Eddie was amused by David shouting through Kenton's letterbox. Ruth wonders what she's going to get David for their wedding anniversary. She leaves to ring Alistair about an ill cow.

Alistair is on his way to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting and spies Kenton looking surprisingly well outside Jaxx. Kenton tries to ask him about his meeting but Alistair is interrupted by Ruth's phone call.

At Keeper's Cottage, Joe receives a Christmas card from Mildred but it doesn't cheer him up. He hopes she's well enough to enjoy Christmas.

Kenton arrives home to find Ruth waiting. He admits he feels better but doesn't think he needs to go to the rehearsals. However when he finds out Eddie is filling in for Mike he decides to start attending from now on.

Alistair congratulates Ryan for doing so well at the GA meeting. When they come out, Alistair finds his car has been towed away. Ryan gives him a lift home but Alistair asks to be dropped nearby, so Shula won't see. Ryan's impressed with the village, and Alistair's house. They agree they'll catch up at the next meeting.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00fswdn)
Tomorrow Stockholm hosts the annual prize giving for Nobel laureates. This year the Literature prize was won by the French writer Jean Marie Gustave Le Clezio. The Permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Horace Engdahl, was reported as having criticised US writers for being too insular so Front Row asked a selection of US writers and critics for their response to this claim - we hear from the novelists John Updike and Toni Morrison, playwright Edward Albee and literary critic Harold Bloom.

Multiple award-winning children's author, Cornelia Funke, was once described by Time Magazine as 'the German JK Rowling' and her fantasy novels regularly feature in international best-seller lists. One of them, Inkheart, has just been made into a film - starring Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, and Andy Serkis. Inkheart is the tale of a man who's so skilled at reading stories that characters from them spring into real-life. Unfortunately there's a drawback: whenever a fictional character comes to life, someone from the real world is sucked into the book to replace them…
Children's author Jamila Gavin and Mark Lawson review the film and assess how successfully it captures the spirit of the original book.

Damian Kelleher selects the year’s books for 8 - 14 year olds

French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard was taught by the wife of Olivier Messiaen. As he prepares to play in a concert marking the 100th anniversary of Messiaen's birth, Aimard discusses the need to keep playing contemporary classical music and reveals the programme he has chosen as the director for next year's Aldeburgh festival.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00fswly)
To The North

Connections

Deborah Paige's dramatisation of Elizabeth Bowen's romantic novel, set in London and Paris in the inter-war years.

Cecilia has resumed her relationship with sound and steady Julian Towers. Meanwhile, Emmeline has been secretly meeting the dubious Mark Linkwater.

Narrator ...... Margaret Tyzack
Cecilia Summers ...... Catherine McCormack
Mark Linkwater ...... Julian Rhid-Tutt
Emmeline Summers ...... Zoe Waites
Julian Towers ...... Adrian Scarborough

Directed by Deborah Paige.


TUE 20:00 Digging Deep (b00ft470)
Reporter Richard Phinney travels to Guinea to find out about the work being undertaken there by Global Alumnia, a mining company that says it is focusing on aid as much as profits as it builds one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest industrial projects.

This start-up company, with no tangible assets, shocked the mining industry when it closed a deal to develop one of the world's richest mineral deposits. It pledged to hire teams of aid workers to consult villagers, provide health and water services, develop state-of-the-art environmental protection plans and resettle displaced families in decent living conditions.

Richard discovers whether or not the company has been delivering on these promises.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00ft472)
Peter White with news and information for the blind and partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00ft474)
Electronic Mental Health Records - Space Therapy - Invisible Smile

ELECTRONIC MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS
Depending on where you live, it's possible that anything you say during a mental health consultation could be recorded on a computer and shared with other staff. Not every Trust is using computerised records yet and there are strict rules about who can and can’t look at them. But a new bill announced last week in the Queen’s Speech which will allow civil servants to share data about any of us, including health data, could affect this. Dr Hashim Reza, a Psychiatrist for Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, shows Claudia Hammond how RiO, the computer system being rolled out across London, works. Claudia discusses the implications of the system with Mike Kingham, a Forensic Psychiatrist at the Trevor Gibbens Unit in Kent, Rob Agnew, a Clinical Psychologist who's used RiO, and Harry Cayton, Chair of the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care.

SPACE THERAPY
When astronauts in orbit get stressed or depressed, there’s a psychiatrist on Earth they can call. Claudia asks NASA psychiatrist Gary Beven how he monitors the mental state of his colleagues in space. With plans for longer missions to the Moon and Mars, astronauts could spend up to two and a half years in space. Even a conversation with the team back on Earth will have a forty five minute delay.

Could a virtual therapist on a laptop help an astronaut cope with the mental pressures of being in space? Dr James Cartreine from Harvard Medical School has devised a special computer programme which aims to do just that.

INVISIBLE SMILE
In every face-to-face conversation we can't help but decode the facial expressions of the person we're talking to. So how would our ability to communicate be affected if we couldn't smile or frown at all?

In their new book, The Invisible Smile, Jonathan Cole, a consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology at Poole Hospital, and Henrietta Spalding from the charity Changing Faces, examine the rare condition Moebius Syndrome. Henrietta was born with the syndrome, which is characterised by an absence of facial expression. Claudia asks the authors what an immobile face reveals about how we all communicate.


TUE 21:30 The Long View (b00ft1ts)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00fsx0k)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fsx3d)
National and international news with Ritula Shah. Including reports on the reasons behind the Greek riots; Barack Obama's economic rescue plan; and is children's TV in decline?


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fwg8p)
La's Orchestra Saves the World

Episode 2

Emilia Fox reads from the new novel by Alexander McCall Smith.

Keen to do her bit for the war effort and inspired by a trumpet-playing air force officer, La decides to start an orchestra to boost morale.


TUE 23:00 Danny Robins Music Therapy (b00ft476)
Episode 4

Danny Robins harnesses the power of music to improve the world and solve listeners' problems.

Danny campaigns for bagpipes to be celebrated rather than reviled and tries his hand at writing a 'Winterval' No 1 hit single.

With Isy Suttie and special musical guest rapper Doc Brown.

Producer: Ben Walker

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fsxlr)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



WEDNESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2008

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00fs7yf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fwfwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fs7zv)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fs818)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fs82h)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00fs84c)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fs85d)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Michael Mumisa.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00fs86t)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


WED 06:00 Today (b00fs88h)
Presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague.

GP Dr John Canning discusses whether doctors should decide if people are well enough to work.

The Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, has been arrested and charged with trying to sell the US senate seat that was made vacant when Barack Obama was elected President. Justin Webb reports.

David Sillito visits a new exhibition of costumes at the V&A called Magnificence of the Tsars.

Paul Wood and George Papakonstantinou, who speaks for Greek opposition party the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, reflect on recent events in Greece.

Dr Robert Massey explains why there is no need to panic about the black hole at the centre of our galaxy.

Prof Nicholas Christakis thinks everyone is overreacting to the risks of nut allergies.

Thought for the day with Prof Mona Siddiqui.

Robert Peston explains mining firm Rio Tinto's attempt to cut costs by $2.5 billion a year.

Journalist Ray Long explains the background to the arrest of the Governor of Illinois for trying to sell Barack Obama's vacated senate seat.

Director John Zaritsky explains his decision to make a documentary showing a man committing suicide. Dame Joan Bakewell and MP Phil Willis discuss whether the moment of death should be shown on television.

Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell discusses how benefit claimants 'can play their part' in the economy.

Andrew Hosken follows the riots in Greece.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, and Michael Wills, minister of state for justice, discuss if the Human Rights Act is a 'villain's charter'.

Jonathan Baume and Sue Cameron discuss the relationship between political parties and the civil service.

Journalists Jeff McAllister and Jim Schiuto discuss the problems facing US newspapers.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00ft492)
Lively and diverse conversation with Libby Purves and guests.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00fwfwm)
Coda

Episode 3

Playwright and diarist Simon Gray's account of coming to terms with terminal cancer. Gray begins to pay a great deal more attention to the Obituaries section of the newspapers.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00fsglq)
Greenham Common; Premature labour; Sharia law

The legacy of Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. Plus, a charity which aims to raise funds for research into premature labour, and the case for and against Sharia law in Britain.


WED 11:00 In Living Memory (b00ft494)
Series 9

Episode 3

Chris Ledgard examines the controversy surrounding Carl Andre's sculpture Equivalent VIII, or the Tate Bricks as it came to be known, which was displayed at the Tate Gallery in 1976. He talks to Andre, journalist Colin Simpson whose report sparked the debate and former Tate employees about the press reaction to the work and its use of public money.


WED 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (b00wmp26)
Dead Side of the Mic

Episode 1

Simon Brett's actor-cum-amateur sleuth gets embroiled in a suspicious death at London's Broadcasting House. Stars Bill Nighy.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00fslwr)
Presented by Peter White.

We report why one company, which bought homeowners' properties on the premise that they could rent it back, is now being investigated by Trading Standards officers.

Why is it so difficult to trace the source of meat? We speak to Barney Kay from the National Pig Association to find out more.

Reporter Melanie Abbott looks at the latest from the Select Committee inquiry into the way that pubs are run.

The Sound of Music is so popular that Salzburg's tourist board estimates that 40 per cent of overnight stays in the city are by fans of the film. We take a look at the problems faced by a local entrepreneur who is trying to capitalise on its popularity by turning the Von Trapp house into a hotel.

Upfront fees for selling a home, house swaps and ditching local newspaper ads: we look at how estate agents are trying to stay afloat during the economic downturn. We are joined by Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, and Richard Sayer, an estate agent from the North East of England.

The rising cost of energy could make some of Britain's abandoned collieries viable again. We look at what a return to coal would mean for certain areas.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00fslxx)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00fslz0)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00ft5kf)
Steve Hewlett presents a topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00fsm11)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz (b00ft5kh)
Series 1

No Foes Shall Stay His Might

By Sebastian Baczkiewicz.

Haddonfield is a powerful City banker. More powerful than he has any right to be. But perhaps that's because he's also a collector of the occult and has some very potent items in his collection. He's recently captured that rarest of things - a young girl who is also a werewolf. Now, he's after Pilgrim himself.

Pilgrim ..... Paul Hilton
Haddonfield ..... Adrian Lukis
Freya ..... Alex Tregear
Doris ..... Susan Engel
Mirabella ..... Janice Acquah
Macadam ..... Dudley Sutton
Trent ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Wilson ..... Donnla Hughes
Guide / Guard ..... Inam Mirza
Girl ..... Agnes Bateman

Directed by Marc Beeby.


WED 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00frp62)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Sunday]


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fsw3t)
80 Not Out

A Madman's Manuscript, by Charles Dickens

Series of five stories read by distinguished actors who are now in their eighties.

Locked in his prison cell, a man recalls the treacherous machinations which led him into a loveless marriage and the events leading up to a gruesome murder.

By Charles Dickens, and read by Donald Sinden.


WED 15:45 Wide Awake at Bedtime (b008pf5c)
Episode 3

During a nocturnal visit to the Eureka! Museum for Children in Halifax, the programme investigates a giant brain.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00ft5kk)
Cocaine Girls in the West End - Orgasm

Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.

Was the Imperial era the result of repressed sexuality? A new book claims that forbidden desires lie behind the West's great cultural output. Laurie talks to Robert Muchembled, author of Orgasm and the West, and historian Joanna Bourke.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00ft474)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b00fsw9y)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fswc5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


WED 18:30 Clare in the Community (b008z5wk)
Series 4

The Long Goodbye

Ray's colleagues celebrate his civil partnership and Brian reassesses his life after his not-very-near-death experience.

Comedy by Harry Venning and David Ramsden. Clare Barker is a social worker with all the politically correct jargon but none of the practical solutions.

Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Helen ...... Gemma Craven
Irene ...... Ellen Thomas
Megan ...... Nina Conti
Simon ...... Andrew Wincott
Counsellor ...... Anna Bengo
Ainsworth ...... Lloyd Thomas
Troy ...... Ben Onwukwe.

Producer: Katie Tyrrell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2008.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00fsm13)
Tom and Tony are constructing Peggy's new summerhouse. Once it's finished, they come inside and Jack gets confused by the amount of people in the room. Tom takes Jack into the lounge to calm down.

Tony comforts Peggy. The carer, Barney, seems nice and has good references. Peggy decides she will take him on. In the evening Peggy and Jack sit out in their new summerhouse and enjoy looking at the stars.

Neil needs to dash to the shop, as the bathroom suite for the flat's been delivered and left on the pavement. Just as he and Susan try to leave, Mike pops round asking to use the bathroom - the builders have turned his water off.

Later Neil visits Mike and finds him with no water, central heating or power. The building work won't be finished until Christmas, so Neil insists that Mike stays with them before he makes himself seriously ill. Mike doesn't want to impose. Susan returns from a fraught rehearsal, where Eddie and Kenton have been squabbling over who plays the Dame, so Mike starts to leave. However Susan insists he stays, and Mike agrees. Being in that house just isn't that good for his health!

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00fswdq)
A special edition from Liverpool looking back at the city’s year as European Capital of Culture, and exploring what the future holds once the banners come down.

The writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, pop star turned cultural broker Jayne Casey, and the poet Paul Farley are all natives of Liverpool. They discuss how culture has changed their city.

Members of the studio audience share their thoughts on Liverpool’08

Award-winning poet Paul Farley reads a new poem commissioned by Front Row and inspired by Liverpool’s year as Capital of Culture.

The comedian, actor, and television presenter returns to the city of his birth with an all-star Liverpool cast in a new production of Cinderella. He talks to John Wilson about his hopes for the city as the New Year approaches and what it’s like playing Buttons to Cilla Black’s Fairy Godmother.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00fswn1)
To The North

Foreign Travel

Deborah Paige's dramatisation of Elizabeth Bowen's romantic novel, set in London and Paris in the inter-war years.

Markie decides to accompany Emmeline on a business trip to Paris, leaving Cecilia adrift, having rejected Julian's proposal of marriage.

Narrator ...... Margaret Tyzack
Cecilia Summers ...... Catherine McCormack
Mark Linkwater ...... Julian Rhid-Tutt
Emmeline Summers ...... Zoe Waites
Julian Towers ...... Adrian Scarborough

Directed by Deborah Paige.


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00ft5km)
Michael Buerk chairs a debate with Clifford Longley, Kenan Malik, Melanie Phillips and Claire Fox about legalising assisted dying. Has the public's opinion on the subject shifted or is the right to life being undermined and euthanasia being introduced by the back door?


WED 20:45 The Draftsman's Contract (b00ft5kp)
Episode 1

Shaun Ley examines the work of the people who actually write our country's legislation - the Parliamentary draftsmen - and whether laws should be gender-neutral, simpler and fewer.


WED 21:00 World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations (b00ft1tx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00ft492)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00fsx0m)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fsx3l)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig. Including reports on the pound's record low against the euro and the BBC obtains a draft UN report accusing the Rwandan government of colluding with DRC rebels. And what do Sarah Palin, the Beijing Olympics and Heath Ledger have in common?


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fwg8f)
La's Orchestra Saves the World

Episode 3

Emilia Fox reads from the new novel by Alexander McCall Smith.

La meets Feliks Dabrowski, a wounded Polish airman, and is shocked to find herself falling for his charm and good looks.


WED 23:00 15 Minute Musical (b00ft60f)
Series 5

A Christmas Gordon

Series of brief musical comedies by Dave Cohen, David Quantick and Richie Webb.

Gordon Brown is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future - none of which bring any Christmas cheer.

With Richie Webb, Dave Lamb and Mel Hudson.


WED 23:15 Self-Storage (b00ft621)
Series 2

Episode 6

Sitcom by Tom Collinson about a man living in a storage unit.

Dave has finally found a new place to stay, but can he go through with it?

Dave ...... Reece Shearsmith
Geoff ...... Mark Heap.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fsxlt)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



THURSDAY 11 DECEMBER 2008

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00fs7yh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fwfwm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fs7zx)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fs81b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fs82k)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00fs84f)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fs85g)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Michael Mumisa.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00fs86w)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


THU 06:00 Today (b00fs88k)
Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague.

Mark Easton considers the Tackling Knives Action Plan.

Postmen are being told to walk at a set speed of 4mph in order to deliver more mail, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) claims. Gavin Lee discusses.

Sarah Mukherjee reports on an inquiry into the security of UK food supplies.

Rear Admiral Scott Lidbetter and Brigadier Alan Mallinson discuss the delay of the entry into service of two new aircraft carriers so money can be spent instead in Afghanistan.

Angus Stickler visits Edmonton to discover the extent of gang violence.

Cristina Odone, whose brother Lorenzo lived for many years with a fatal disease, as documented in the film Lorenzo's Oil, discusses the recent cases of assisted suicide.

Thought for the day with The Right Reverend Lord Harries.

Robert Peston discusses Britain's switch from financial prudence to heavy borrowing.

Politician Brian Paddick and actor Femi Oyeniran discuss the effectiveness of stop and search in reducing knife crime.

Economist Steven Bell discusses the pros and cons of having a weak pound.

Rebecca Jones talks to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies about the dedication of his new work to Sir Paul McCartney.

Andrew Hosken reports from Athens on the mood there following the recent unrest.

Bob Gibson of the CWU discusses claims that delivery staff are being told to walk at a set speed of 4mph in order to deliver more mail.

Prof Don Braben explains the new prize being launched by UCL in the hope of uncovering the next Einstein.

Columnist Jan Moir and Roger Royle of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund discuss whether the Royal Variety Show is still relevant.

Camilla Batmanghelidjh, of the charity Kids' Company, discusses the use of the term 'gangs'.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00ft63q)
The Fire of London

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Great Fire of London which destroyed up to a third of the city in 1666. Samuel Pepys described the scene in his diary:“all over the Thames, with one's face in the wind, you were almost burned with a shower of firedrops…and in corners and upon steeples, and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the City, we saw the fire …It made me weep to see it.”The London that rose from the ashes was a visible manifestation of ideas; of the politics, religion, economics and science of the heady Restoration period. Christopher Wren, of course, but also Robert Hooke, The Royal Society, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Restoration court of Charles II and, inevitably, building regulations. With Lisa Jardine, Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London; Vanessa Harding, Reader in London History at Birkbeck, University of London and Jonathan Sawday, Professor of English Studies at the University of Strathclyde


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00fwfwp)
Coda

Episode 4

Playwright and diarist Simon Gray's candid account of coming to terms with terminal cancer. An overcrowded airport provides the material for a darkly comic tableau.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00fsglv)
Learning poetry by heart; Violence in teen relationships

Daisy Goodwin on the merits of memorising and reciting poetry. Plus, why violence occurs in teen relationships and what can be done about it, and three concertina players.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00ft64c)
Australia's Northern Territory

Lorena Allam investigates the Australian government's intervention in the remote Aboriginal areas after claims of rampant alcoholism and child abuse. Last year, army, police, doctors, nurses and bureaucrats were sent there in a billion-dollar state-run bid to curb violence and improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal families. But Lorena finds that their work has had mixed results, and in some cases has led to poorer diets, premature babies and even an increase in teenage suicides.


THU 11:30 Drawn to Be Wild (b00ft64f)
Jenny Eclair explores the world of outrageous animated ladies and considers why certain creations have upset censors and infuriated moralists over the years.

Popular characters such as Betty Boop, Minnie the Minx and Wonder Woman have frequently challenged stereotypes of how 'good girls' should look and behave. Examining today's female comic book heroes, Jenny discovers how far we have come from being offended by Betty Boop's garter.

With contributions from comic strip enthusiasts Paul Gravett and Mel Gibson.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00fslwt)
Presented by Peter White.

Lambeth Council in London is coming under criticism from some of its own councillors for opening - and then closing - three cultural information centres. BBC London's Marc Ashdown reports.

According to the charity advisory website Intelligent Giving, some fundraisers are living up to their nickname of 'chuggers', or charity muggers. One man who spent three months working for a street fundraising agency gives an insider's view.

The car industry has been one of the largest victims of the economic downturn. Paul Everitt, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and Matt Sanger of What Car? magazine analyse the situation.

An increasing number of personal genetic testing companies are being set up, including some in the UK, which claim to analyse your DNA and tell you the likelihood of developing a whole range of illnesses. Ben Hammersley reports.

Brookside Close in Liverpool, home of the former long-running soap, is up for auction. Stephanie Power visits the street with local estate agent Phil Furling and TV presenter and property developer Simon O'Brien, who played original Brookside cast member Damon Grant.

Reporter Jon Douglas visits a Woolworths store as the chain holds closing down sales, and Bryan Roberts, research director at Planet Retail, gives his views.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00fslxz)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00fslz2)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


THU 13:30 Open Country (b00fr5lb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00fsm13)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00ft64r)
The People's Princess

By Shelagh Stephenson.

Facing financial ruin, George, Prince of Wales was obliged to marry his first cousin Princess Caroline of Brunswick. But if he had been expecting a docile partner with whom he could maintain appearances, George had seriously underestimated his wife-to-be.

George IV ...... Alex Jennings
Caroline of Brunswick ...... Rebecca Saire
Henry Brougham ...... Julian Rhind Tutt
Lord Sidmouth ...... Chris McHallem
Lord Liverpool ...... Richard Howard
Sir Robert Gifford ...... Mark Lambert
Lady Jersey ...... Jill Cardo
Mr Majoucci ...... Nial Cusack

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.


THU 15:00 Journey of a Lifetime (b00d4611)
2008: Emily Ainsworth

The latest winner of the BBC/Royal Geographical Society's annual competition for travellers who want to fulfil their dream journey to the back of beyond.

Emily Ainsworth takes a dream trip to perform with a family circus in Mexico.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00frkrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fsw3w)
80 Not Out

Complimentary Souls

Series of five stories read by distinguished actors who are now in their eighties.

Comic story of American excess in Europe and lost love rekindled after many years. By EF Benson, read by Liz Smith.


THU 15:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b00frmkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 Bookclub (b00frpx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00ftb7n)
Plague in the Great Gerbils of Kazakhstan - Eternity and the Earth After Us

Plague in the Great Gerbils of Kazakhstan
The underground world of Kazakhstan's great gerbils harbours a deadly secret: the bubonic plague. Instead of dying out with the Great Fire, the Black Death continues to thrive in groups of wild animals across Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Clues to how it spreads come from the coffee percolator! The mathematical 'percolation' theory describes how substances move through the gaps between something like coffee grounds, and can be applied to the spread of plague through a population. With the risk of cross-transmission and the apparent rise in human deaths from the plague, scientists need to find ways of controlling it.

Infectious disease expert Mike Begon from the University of Liverpool joins Quentin Cooper to discuss the unique transmission of the disease through gerbil populations, and how work on an early warning system could help prevent future outbreaks in both wildlife and humans.

To look at the wider implications of wildlife disease, animal epidemiologist Andrew Cunningham from the Zoological Society of London explains how plague and other illnesses can drive species to extinction. He also discusses how controlling global trade and crates of bananas could help stop wildlife diseases in their tracks.

Eternity and the Earth After Us
When it comes to global change and the future of the Human species, we’re getting used to tales of gloom and doom. Time to cheer up, says science writer Michael Hanlon. In his new book ‘Eternity our next billion years’ he argues that, though the road ahead may be rocky, our descendents will survive and even flourish for many millennia. He's not suggesting that everything will go smoothly.

There may be famines and epidemics, earthquakes and volcanoes, floods and wars. But, he argues, though millions may die, our species will come through. He certainly doesn't agree that this could be our final century.

We may even learn to deflect asteroids of the sort that may have killed the dinosaurs. Other cosmological cataclysms such as a nearby exploding star or a passing black hole have not affected Earth in its 4.5 billion year history so are unlikely now, he suggests.

As a geologist at Leicester University, Jan Zalasiewicz also takes a long perspective. But he has seen many species come and go in the fossil record and imagines a similar fate for humans. In his own book, ‘The Earth After Us’ he describes the legacy that will be left in the rocks by human civilisation, as it might be revealed by alien geologists after a hundred million years.

Both guests speculate on the even longer term: if our descendants still survive, what will they have evolved into? Will they be masters of the Galaxy? What will happen to Earth when the sun finally runs out of fuel and swells into a red giant? What will be our physical legacy in trillions of years time when even the protons of normal atoms have decayed?


THU 17:00 PM (b00fswb0)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fswc7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


THU 18:30 Act Your Age (b00ftb87)
Series 1

Episode 3

Simon Mayo discovers which generation is the funniest. With Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter and Roy Walker. From December 2008.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00fsm15)
It's Advent Lunch at Glebe Cottage. Jennifer and Alan discuss picking up Amy from university. Jennifer admits that Chris is collecting Alice. Alan thinks they must be keen on each other for it to have lasted through the term. Shula arrives with homemade mince pies and Jill worries there will be food left over. Alan wishes he could take it to The Elms homeless shelter. Pip has helped by asking her schoolmates to donate food.

Alan has Mabel coming to stay - it's a big step towards Mabel accepting his marriage to Usha. Shula is pleased to hear that Mabel is visiting but things are still awkward between her and Alan. Once he's left, Shula tells Jill that she'll never have the same relationship with Alan or the church.

Ryan calls in on Alistair to return some gloves which were left in his car and stays for a cuppa. Ryan admits he knew Alistair didn't want to introduce him to Shula but understands why. Alistair is grateful and shows Ryan out of the back door just as Shula arrives through the front. She asks if he was talking to someone and Alistair tells her he must have been talking to himself.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00fswds)
Kirsty Lang and writer & academic Jerry Brotton review Michael Grandage's new production of Twelfth Night, which stars Derek Jacobi as Malvolio, with Victoria Hamilton as cross-dressing Viola.

Simon Tofield is a hand-drawn animator, who has worked with BAFTA and Oscar award-winning teams for 11 years. Recently he shot to online fame through three short films about his charismatic and beloved cat. Following over 18 million hits on his "Simon's Cat" YouTube channel, the RSPCA commissioned a film to promote their Pet Obesity campaign over the Christmas period. Simon still uses elements from his flip book days in his work, and talks about how his celebrated pet cats contribute when he’s at work.

Writer and journalist Christina Hardyment selects this year’s audio books for Christmas.

William Burroughs was one of the more infamous figures to emerge from the beat generation of writers and artists. His novels have had a lasting influence on popular culture, with much of his work characterised by the 'cut up' technique first pioneered by Brion Gysin. The Royal Academy's GSK Contemporary season includes an exhibition of Burroughs' art work and work inspired by him, including a short film by Malcolm McLaren. Kirsty Lang discusses Burroughs' life and work with McLaren, his close friend José Ferez and Royal Academy curator David Thorp.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00fswpg)
To The North

Altered Timetable

Deborah Paige's dramatisation of Elizabeth Bowen's romantic novel, set in London and Paris in the inter-war years.

Emmeline feels the strain of keeping her relationship with Markie secret and, although Cecilia and Julian continue to see each other, the possibility of their falling in love seems as remote as ever.

Narrator ...... Margaret Tyzack
Cecilia Summers ...... Catherine McCormack
Mark Linkwater ...... Julian Rhid-Tutt
Emmeline Summers ...... Zoe Waites
Julian Towers ...... Adrian Scarborough

Directed by Deborah Paige.


THU 20:00 A Social Selection (b00ftbgf)
Episode 1

Reporter Andrew Bomford examines the grammar school selection system in parts of England.

He follows a group of ten-year-olds as they prepare to sit their 11-plus exams. Many of the children he meets have been professionally coached and have spent long hours during their summer holidays working on practice papers. Will all the hard work pay off on results day?


THU 20:30 Analysis (b00ftbgh)
My DNA

Ben Hammersley investigates the predictive genetics industry, which advocates claim could extend a person's lifespan by 20 years. Online companies can claim to tell people their chances of contracting a whole host of diseases and, with costs falling, such information is becoming much more accessible. Ben examines the concerns of sceptics and asks whether this is information we really want to have and what the consequences might be for the medical world.


THU 21:00 Leading Edge (b00ftbgk)
Anamorphic Art and Genes That Make You Eat More

Anamorphic Art
The National Gallery is holding a conference on the art and maths of anamorphosis, where the laws of perspective are taken to the extreme. Geoff meets Jim Hunt, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and artist Patrick Hughes in front of the best known anamorphic painting, Holbein’s The Ambassadors.

Genes That Make You Eat More
Professor Colin Palmer of the University of Dundee has discovered a gene that makes children eat more. The gene effects how much of a certain type of food they eat and those who have the gene seem to eat more of the highest calorie foods.

Melting Ice May Cool the Planet
Professor Rob Raiswell of the University of Leeds has discovered that as ice bergs and glaciers melt in the Southern Oceans they increase the amount of plankton in the sea. The plankton absorb carbon dioxide which could help counteract climate change.

The future of the Orang-utan
Conservationists estimate there are abut 50,000 orangutans in the forests of Borneo, and another 7,000 in Sumatra. In protected areas they’re doing well, but elsewhere deforestation driven by mining and the creation of palm oil plantations is posing a threat to their survival.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00ft63q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00fsx0p)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fsx3s)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fwg8h)
La's Orchestra Saves the World

Episode 4

By Alexander McCall Smith. Duty leads La to make a heartbreaking decision. Read by Emilia Fox.


THU 23:00 The Penny Dreadfuls (b00gpbcs)
More Brothers Faversham

Titus Faversham

The story of Victorian Britain's greatest sporting hero.

The comedy trio's swashbuckling family romp.

Written by and starring Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck.

With Miles Jupp and Ingrid Oliver.

Script edited by Richard Turner.

Producer: Julia McKenzie

Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2008.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fsxlw)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



FRIDAY 12 DECEMBER 2008

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00fs7yk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fwfwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fs7zz)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fs81d)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fs82m)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00fs84h)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fs85j)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Michael Mumisa.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00fs86y)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00fs88m)
Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague.

Andy Gallacher explains why a 14 billion pound emergency bailout for US carmakers has collapsed in the Senate.

Environment correspondent Roger Harrabin reports from a UN conference in Poland on what the latest climate change deal hopes to achieve.

Two solicitors who made millions of pounds from miners' compensation claims have been struck off for professional misconduct. Journalist Andrew Norfolk and Lord Lofthouse discuss who is to blame.

Paul Armorgie, newly elected to parliament in Sark, explains the effects of business closures.

Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, explains how credit card companies should help consumers and consumer affairs minister Gareth Thomas discusses how the government will give more help to struggling customers.

Archaeologists have found the oldest surviving brain in Britain, which dates back to the Iron Age. Dr Richard Hall of the York Archaeological Trust explains its significance.

Political editor Nick Robinson discusses the possibility of a mass influx of Zimbabwean refugees to the UK.

Thought for the Day with Sir Jonathan Sacks.

A 14-year-old girl talks to reporter Zubeida Malik about her ordeal of being raped by a gang of schoolboys.

A second German politician has broken with diplomatic convention and criticised the UK government's response to the economic downturn. Foreign Secretary David Milliband discusses the government's response.

Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire discusses how fast people walk in different places in the world.

Authorities in Glasgow have begun a series of face-to-face meetings with street gangs to urge them to put down their weapons.

Nicola Stanbridge meets the Canadian singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara.

Dr Rob Atkinson of the RSPCA and Miranda Stevenson, from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, discuss whether animals should be kept in captivity.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00frmml)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00fwfwr)
Coda

Episode 5

Toby Stephens reads from the playwright and diarist Simon Gray's candid and darkly comic account of coming to terms with terminal cancer. Gray experiences the joy of a christening.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00fsgm3)
Olympic sportswomen; Regional newspapers

Sports presenter Eleanor Oldroyd and rower Katherine Grainger on Olympic sportswomen. Plus Margaret Watson, the longest serving reporter on one newspaper, and mistletoe tips.


FRI 11:00 It's My Story (b00b55tc)
Bravo November

John McDonald presents the history of the Boeing Chinook Bravo November helicopter, which has served the RAF with distinction for many years. He recalls stories of heroism spanning over a quarter of a century, from the Falklands War to today's conflict in Afghanistan.


FRI 11:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b00ftbs5)
Series 2

Cousin Wacko

Sitcom written by and starring Sanjeev Kohli and Donald McLeary, set in a Glasgow corner shop.

Ramesh's nephew arrives from India, complete with impressive shopkeeping skills, much to Alok's disgust.

Ramesh ...... Sanjeev Kolhi
Dave ...... Donald McLeary
Alok ...... Kayvan Novak
Sanjay ...... Omar Raza
Father Henderson ...... Gerard Kelly
Ted ...... Gavin Mitchell
Narinder ...... Hardeep Singh Kohli
Gordon ...... Tom Urie
Joan Begg ...... Marjory Hogarth

Directed by Iain Davidson.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00fslww)
Presented by Peter White.

What will the Manchester congestion charge mean for the future of road pricing outside London? We bring you a live discussion on the outcome and analysis of this controversial vote.

With the cost of food rising, the Environment and Rural Affairs Select Committee has started an inquiry into how secure our food supply is. Melanie Abbott joins them to discuss the issue with stall holders at Borough Market in London.

Every year the Plain English Campaign gives awards for what it considers to be good and bad uses of the English language. Journalist Stephen Armstrong gives us an analysis of this year's winners and losers.

As part of our music industry series, reporter Henrietta Harrison looks at the increasing trend of consuming music on your mobile phone.

As consumers shun fizzy drinks in favour of healthier options, the market for water with vitamins is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. But just how healthy are these waters?

Nearly 50 million pirated DVDs were produced in the UK last year, costing the industry an estimated 500 million pounds. We look at what the authorities are doing to tackle this illegal trade.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00fsly1)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00fslzb)
National and international news with Brian Hanrahan.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00ftcgg)
Poisonous Pork? - Retail Sales - Street Numbers - LIBOR

Poisonous Pork?
Supermarkets withdrew Irish pork from their shelves this week following the discovery that meat from some farms had up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safe limit.

Vast quantities of food have had to be destroyed, up to 100,000 Irish pigs are to be culled and jobs in the Irish food industry have already been lost. Are these costs worth paying when weighed against the risks of eating what the tabloids have labelled "poisonous pork" contaminated with "cancer causing chemicals"?

Chris Elliott, Professor of Food Safety at Queen's University Belfast and Simon Wessely, a professor of psychiatry and specialist in communication of risk help presenter Tim Harford weigh up whether or not he should tuck into a potentially contaminated Irish sausage sandwich.

Retail Sales
There has been yet more bad news about the economy. The British Retail Consortium announced that "like for like sales" were down 2.6% on this time last year. BBC Business Correspondent Nils Blythe explains why things are not as bad for the retailers as they look.

Street Numbers
Our reporter Chris Bowlby unravels the mysteries of the UK's house numbering systems. He discovers why some streets are numbered odds on one side and even on the other; why some local authorities have banned the use of the number 13; and he visits Bewdley in Worcestershire, home to the most confusingly numbered street in Britain.

LIBOR
The London Interbank Offered Rate - LIBOR - has been dubbed the financial world's most important number. Published each day in the UK, it is the rate at which the banks lend to each other and it influences over $150 trillion (£100 trillion) of funds worldwide.

Tim Harford takes a behind-the-scenes look at how LIBOR is set. The Libor number is compiled by putting together the estimates of the cost of borrowing from at least eight banks, discarding the highest and lowest of the sample to leave an average rate which then becomes the daily 'Libor Fix'.

But the figure's validity is being questioned, with critics dubbing it "the rate at which banks won't lend". Presenter Tim Harford is granted exclusive access to the operations centre where the daily rate is compiled.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00fsm15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00ftcjr)
Life Savings

By Sarah Wooley. Wealthy entrepreneur Des Dixon prepares to celebrate Christmas with his ex- and current wives, when he suffers a heart attack and loses much of his fortune as his Bank of Scotland shares plummet. Both events prompt him to rethink his legacy, which involves disinheriting his two grown-up children from his first marriage.

Des ...... Stuart McQuarrie
Betsy ...... Julie Austin
Morag ...... Monica Gibb
Diana ...... Samantha Young
Cardiologist/Mark ...... Grant O'Rourke

Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.


FRI 15:00 Ramblings (b00ftcpt)
Series 11

Mither Tap

Clare Balding climbs Mither Tap, part of Bennachie, a range of hills west of Aberdeen, in the company of a group of anthropologists.


FRI 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fsw3y)
80 Not Out

The Iceman Returneth

Series of five stories read by distinguished actors who are now in their eighties.

After lying frozen for thousands of years, an iceman begins to thaw. Memories return to him of a family and a battle - but the man who has discovered him starts to blame him for all manner of incidents. By Stephen Wyatt. Read by Bernard Cribbins.


FRI 15:45 Wide Awake at Bedtime (b008s8rr)
Episode 4

Stewart Henderson joins children at sleepover events around the UK and meets the Midnight Ramblers at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew. Out in the arboretum, they look out for nocturnal wildlife that wakes up just when they are usually dropping off.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00ftczz)
John Wilson presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died. The programme reflects on people of distinction and interest from many walks of life, some famous and some less well known.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00ftd01)
Helen Mirren, The star of The Queen and Prime Suspect discusses her latest film and a couple of others just released on DVD for the first time, Caligula and Michael Powell's Age Of Consent.

Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride And Prejudice talks about making movies for teenage girls.

Catherine Hardwicke, the director of the phenomenally popular adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's novel Twilight, talks about dealing with the weight of expectation from the legions of fans of the vampire series.

Frank Cottrell Boyce, the award-winning writer of the novel and film Millions, recommends three films for teenagers.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00fswb2)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fswc9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00ftd03)
Series 25

Episode 3

Comedy sketches and satirical comments from Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and the team including Mitch Benn, Marcus Brigstocke, Laura Shavin and Jon Holmes.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00fsm17)
Kenton begs Lynda to appoint him as Dame Trot's understudy but she won't change the casting. Mike arrives, still feeling ill but determined not to let his cold keep him down. Kenton and David practise their slapstick routine but David has a nasty cough and Kenton worries he's coming down with his flu. Lynda tells David he better not fall ill. They can't afford to lose another cast member.

Ruth and Usha are Christmas shopping. Ruth has bought David a china tankard for their 20th wedding anniversary. Usha discusses Mabel visiting for Christmas and hopes it might be the start of them rebuilding their relationship.

They spot Will and Nic enjoying themselves at the ice rink and stop to chat. Nic thinks it's nice that people care so much about Will. As he drops Nic off at home he gives her presents that he's bought for Jake and Mia. But he makes sure Nic tells them they're from Santa, not from him.

Later at Brookfield, Ruth arrives home to find David making himself hot honey and lemon. He's still got a nasty cough. Ruth tries to get him up to bed - although David's more interested in the presents she's bought.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00fswdv)
Presented by John Wilson.

John reports on the campaign by the National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland to save two major Titian paintings for the nation.

John finds out whether the recent turmoil on the financial markets has dampened the ardour of possible donors and investigates rumours that the deadline will be met, talking to: Nicholas Penny, Director, National Gallery; Michael Clarke, Director, National Gallery of Scotland; David Jaffe, Senior Curator, National Gallery; Ed Vaizey MP, Shadow Culture Minister; Linda Fabiani MSP, Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture; Godfrey Barker, Art and auctions expert; Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of Arts & Business.

Graham Linehan, Writer of The IT Crowd and actor Chris O'Dowd discuss filming in front of a live audience, moon landings and the latest series of the Channel 4 comedy which recently won the Emmy for Best Comedy at the 36th International Emmy Awards.

Ever-mindful of the need to provide listeners with cultural knowledge, art critic Rachel Campbell-Johnson joins John to consider the range of inspired items to be found in gallery and museum shops - and come up with gift-suggestions for The 12 Days Of Christmas…


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00fswrp)
To The North

Departures

Deborah Paige's dramatisation of Elizabeth Bowen's romantic novel, set in London and Paris in the inter-war years.

Cecilia fears for Emmeline, who is tortured by suspicions of Markie's infidelity.

Narrator ...... Margaret Tyzack
Cecilia Summers ...... Catherine McCormack
Mark Linkwater ...... Julian Rhid-Tutt
Emmeline Summers ...... Zoe Waites
Julian Towers ...... Adrian Scarborough

Directed by Deborah Paige.


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00ftd05)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate in Hagley in the West Midlands. The panel are immigration minister Phil Woolas, shadow security minister Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones Liberal Democrat spokesman David Laws and political editor of The Spectator, Fraser Nelson.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00ftd07)
National Identity

Forget proud traditions and cultural exports - a nation's identity is bolstered if Americans know about it. Just ask the Canadians, says Clive James, as he explores the question of national identity and why it really is preferable to see Santa and his elves in Lapland rather than in the New Forest.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b007cpf5)
What I Heard about Iraq

Eliot Weinberger's long and continuing prose poem draws on reports, newspapers, official utterances and eye-witness accounts to paint a terrifying picture of the war in Iraq.

Adapted for radio by Simon Levy.

With Tony Pasqualini, Bernadette Speakes, Darcy Halsey, Marc Casabani, Ryun Yu.

Directed by Tim Dee.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00fsx0r)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fsx3z)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig. There was an open verdict in the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, but what are the lessons to learn? Featuring a look at Europe and climate change, and an examination into whether one person can change the course of history.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fwg8k)
La's Orchestra Saves the World

Episode 5

By Alexander McCall Smith. Fifteen years on from the end of WWII, a chance encounter stirs up old feelings. Read by Emilia Fox.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00ft3m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fsxly)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.