SATURDAY 30 MAY 2009

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00kkfq6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00klbsg)
John Osborne - Radio Head

Episode 5

Lee Ingleby reads from John Osborne's exploration of the radio stations of Britain.

John explores the future of radio - is it digital, is it online and what will it sound like?

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kkfq8)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kkfqb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kkfqd)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00kkfqg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00kkfqj)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Katherine Meyer.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b00kkfql)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00kkfqn)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00kkg60)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b00kmg2r)
Series 12

Northumberland - Hulne Park

Clare Balding explores walks that are good for the mind, body and soul.

Clare joins blind walker Rob Davies at Hulne Park - part of the Duke of Northumberland's estate - where he shares his love of birdsong. Rob regularly joins Alnwick Health Walks in Northumberland and delights fellow walkers by sharing his extensive knowledge of birdsong, something he developed through an online group called 'blind-birders'.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b00kmg2t)
Farming Today This Week

Caz Graham finds Yorkshire cucumbers growing in what looks like loft insulation, Lincolnshire strawberries packed so cleverly they still taste of English summer after a flight to Saudi Arabia, and we witness the highest of hi-tech horticulture, under glass and spread over a site the size of 80 football pitches in Kent.

But is all this British know-how and innovation about to shrivel in a drought caused by a lack of funding for research and development? Caz Graham visits Warwick University to find out.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00kmg2w)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00kmg2y)
Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague.

Berlin correspondent Steve Rosenberg explains the details of the deal agreed with Canadian car parts maker Magna International to rescue GM in Europe.

Tory leader David Cameron has said MPs who claimed for 'phantom' mortgages on expenses should be investigated by the police, and prosecuted if warranted. Campaigner Michael Taylor explains why he is working towards making sure former minister Elliot Morley resigns.

US music producer Phil Spector has been jailed for at least 19 years for murdering an actress in 2003. Correspondent Peter Bowes explained what happened in the court in Los Angeles.

Jim Muir reports on those detained on suspicion of providing Israel with information enabling it to strike Hezbollah targets and leaders.

Europe editor Mark Mardell looks at how an increased vote for the UKIP would affect the UK's future in the EU. UKIP leader Nigel Farage discusses if an increased share of the vote could transfer to success in domestic elections.

The life of Moondog, the unusual American composer who died in 1999, is to be celebrated in a special event. Nicola Stanbridge meets those involved in the show.

Thought for the day with Canon David Winter.

Germany has agreed a deal with Canadian car parts maker Magna International to take over Opel, the European wing of US carmaker GM. Russian economy expert Chris Weafer and Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite, discuss the deal.

Sri Lankan officials have strongly denied allegations that more than 20,000 civilians were killed in recent fighting against Tamil rebels. Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC discusses if the UN should hold some sort of investigation to find out what really happened.

MPs have been going back to their constituencies to face the music over their expenses claims. Reporter Sarah Moore visits the constituency of Conservative backbencher Stephen Crabb, who explained himself at a public meeting in south Wales.

Reporter Jack Izzard visits Euston and St Pancras stations in London to ask what impression commuters get from the station. Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, president of the Royal Academy, and architecture critic Jonathan Glancey, of the Guardian, discuss if station regeneration is a positive thing.

Why are voters equally agitated about MPs who claimed for buying duck houses as those who 'flip' their properties to make a profit? Journalists Matthew Parris and Andrew Pierce discuss if perspective has been lost. Political editor Nick Robinson reports on the continuing saga of expenses.

Correspondent Chris Hogg reports from the South Korean town of Munsan, close to the border with the North, on how the claims have added to the tension that has built up over the pariah state.

It used to be that entertainers would spend their whole career working towards getting on television on a Saturday night. Magician Paul Daniels and comedian Jimmy Cricket discuss if instant celebrity, like that found on the Britain's Got Talent final, is a good thing.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00kmgrs)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them. Fi Glover is joined by journalist and broadcaster Ed Stourton. With poetry from Susan Richardson.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00kmgrv)
Homo sapiens originated in Africa but about 70,000 years ago, a small group left the continent and became the rest of the globe's ancestors. With Alice Roberts, John McCarthy discusses how early man migrated round the globe, overcoming climatic and geographic obstacles, and how those early travels resulted in the different races.

Surinam used to be known as Dutch Guyana and, despite being the smallest country in South America, is home to some of the most unspoiled rainforest in the world. Andrew Westoll used to study monkeys there and returned more recently to look at the country as a whole. He discovered a fascinating mix of peoples, cultures and environments and explains how the Surinamese hope ecotourism is the answer to protecting their forest.


SAT 10:30 Hunting Haydn's Head (b00kmgrx)
Simon Townley travels to Austria to learn how 'the father of the symphony' was separated from his head for 145 years. From 2009.


SAT 11:00 Beyond Westminster (b00kmgrz)
After the row about MPs' expenses, Elinor Goodman discovers how voters and candidates for the European elections are reacting.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00kmgs1)
BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the world's headlines. Introduced by Kate Adie.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00kmgs3)
Paul Lewis with reports on how the faster electronic payments system is working one year on; more complaints over financial services; and further planned pension protests.


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (b00kkd97)
Series 68

Episode 5

Sandi Toksvig chairs the topical comedy quiz. Panellists include Jeremy Hardy, Fred MacAulay and Danielle Ward.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00kmgs5)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00kmgs7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00kkdq8)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical discussion programme in Dartmouth, Devon. The panellists are the broadcaster Esther Rantzen, Secretary of State for Universities, Innovation and Skills, John Denham, Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve and Liberal Democrat MP Julia Goldsworthy.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00kmgs9)
Jonathan Dimbleby takes listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00kmh7k)
The Complete Smiley - A Murder of Quality

Dramatisation of the novel by John le Carré, his second to feature spymaster George Smiley, set in a public school in the early 1960s.

When the wife of one of the masters is found bludgeoned to death, Smiley, out of loyalty to an old friend, finds himself investigating her death - an investigation that lifts the lid on a world of hidden passions and murderous hatreds.

George Smiley ...... Simon Russell Beale
Fielding ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Ailsa ...... Marcia Warren
Rigby ...... Sam Dale
Rode ...... Geoffrey Streatfeild
Ann Snow ...... Alison Pettitt
Janie ...... Amanda Lawrence
Shane Hecht ...... Liza Sadovy
Snow ...... Matt Addis
D'Arcy ...... Philip Fox
Hecht/Vicar ...... Malcolm Tierney
Perkins ...... Benjamin Askew
Girl ...... Lizzy Watts

Directed by Marc Beeby.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b00kmh7m)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Jane Garvey visits the home of Marguerite Patten, the doyenne of British cookery for more than 60 years. She shares some old and contemporary cooking tips.

The number of MPs standing down at the next election appears to grow by the day - but who will take their place? To discuss what characteristics are needed to embrace and survive a term or more in Parliament, Jane is joined by Clare Short, Amanda Platell and Lynn Faulds Wood.

Biographer Claire Tomalin had always known her mother, Muriel Herbert, had been a published composer in the 1920s. But it was only after Muriel died that Claire discovered just what a formidable talent she had possessed, and how prolific she had been. Her 'art songs' were highly regarded in her day - James Joyce and WB Yeats let her set their work to music. Now Claire has put together a new recording of her mother's work.

Roma Tearne was only ten when she fled Sri Lanka with her parents. Open war had broken out on the island, and her Sinhalese mother had been outcast by her family for marrying a Tamil man. The family came to England in search of safety. But her parents never managed to integrate successfully into British society. In her new novel, Roma explores the themes which have marked the lives of her own family: identity, homeland and loss.

For many pregnancies, couples 'go public' at around 12 weeks. But if a woman has kept quiet about her pregnancy and miscarries, how do you deal with the loss without friends, family and colleagues' support? Woman's Hour explores why women tend to keep quiet about early pregnancy and what impact this has if they miscarry.

Plus another chance to hear a live performance by Little Boots.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00kmh7p)
Saturday PM

Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Carolyn Quinn, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b00kk226)
Evan Davis and his guests discuss how businesses can survive a recession, MPs expenses and the pros and cons of having a positive mental attitude in the workplace.

Evan is joined by Charlotte Hogg, managing director of Experian in the UK and Ireland, Dr Mike Lynch, chief executive of Autonomy, and Simon Woodroffe, founder of Yo! Sushi and Yotel.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00kmh7r)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00kmh7t)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kmh7w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00kmh7y)
An eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Peter Curran is joined by Helen Baxendale, Suggs and Nitin Ganatra.

Jo Bunting finds out about the often perplexing and somewhat hilarious government films used to promote Britain from the 1960s to the 1980s with documentary maker Jeff Simpson.

With comedy from political satirist Andy Zaltzman and music from Madness and Rokia Traore.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b00kmh80)
Series 6

Parliament of Rooks

Party leaders are promising to give power to the people, and scientists have discovered that rooks aren't so bird-brained. With a nod to Chaucer, playwright Steve Waters takes us to the Parliament of Rooks, where the birds are having their own crisis of leadership.

With David Hargreaves, Alex MacQueen, Sophie Stanton and Paul Rider.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00kmh82)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, Wallace Shawn at the Royal Court and Tracey Emin at the White Cube Gallery

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by historian Tristram Hunt, writer Kathryn Hughes and director of the ICA Ekow Eshun to discuss the cultural highlights of the week - featuring a haunted house, a shrinking room and some intimate animation.

The Little Stranger is a new novel by Sarah Waters and takes us back to the austere world of late 1940s Britain. A crumbling stately home in Warwickshire and the family which lives in straightened circumstances there become objects of increasing fascination for a local doctor. But his belief in the rational, scientific world is shaken by some strange goings on at the old house.

Four mathematicians in a room may sound like the set-up for a geeky gag, but it's also the starting point for the Spanish thriller Fermat's Room, written and directed by Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena. The four boffins have been brought together by the mysterious Fermat, but soon discover that their host plans to crush them in an ever-shrinking room unless they can solve a succession of puzzles.

Apart from his work as an actor, Wallace Shawn is also a distinguished playwright. A current season of his plays at the Royal Court includes a revival of Aunt Dan and Lemon, a play which was originally premiered there in 1985. Lemon is a reclusive young woman who reminisces about the powerful influence that family friend Aunt Dan had on her as child. A charismatic academic, Dan's legacy may not be what Lemon's liberal parents would have wished for.

Tracey Emin's first show of new work for four years is called Those who suffer Love. The show is intimate both in the revealing nature of pages from Emin's diaries and also in the content of her drawings. Although she describes it as 'essentially a drawings show', the exhibition also features animation, neon and sewn work.

Hope Springs is a family drama on BBC1. Alex Kingston's Ellie persuades her gang of four female ex-cons to lie low with their swag in a picturesque Highland village until they can leave for a life of ill-gotten leisure in Barbados. Inevitably nothing goes quite to plan and the village isn't quite as sleepy as it seems.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00kmhl4)
Lynne Truss - Did I Really Ask That?

Lynne Truss shares her personal treasure trove of interviews with world famous writers.

Between 1980 and 1990, Lynne was a part-time arts journalist, meeting and interviewing many giants of the theatre, including Arthur Miller, Tom Stoppard, Simon Gray, Athol Fugard and Anthony Minghella. For over 20 years these cassettes gathered dust in her garage, but now Lynne airs them and finds out, with horror and humour, what her younger self was like as an interviewer, and what she learnt from meeting these great talents.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00khky8)
Mugsborough

1917

Dramatisation by Andrew Lynch featuring the characters of Robert Tressell's novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, picking up the story 10 years on.

The residents of Mugsborough hold wildly differing views of the Great War. The politically aware favour peaceful solutions, others are determined to avoid being sent to the Western Front. One returns from Flanders terribly injured and cannot find work and one child is still unaware of the tragic circumstances of her parentage.

Easton ...... Johnny Vegas
Old Misery/Hunter ...... Paul Whitehouse
Ruth ...... Shirley Henderson
Nora ...... Raquel Cassidy
Frankie ...... Iain McKee
Bert White ...... Des O'Malley
Bundy ...... Tom Pitts
Barrington ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Charlie Linden ...... Carl Rice
Elsie ...... Nicola Stephenson
Sweater ...... Rupert Degas
Slyme ...... Kevin Eldon
Crass ...... Arthur Smith
Rushton ...... Bill Bailey
Young Elizabeth ...... Yasmin Gerrard
Freddie ...... Jody Latham
Older Elizabeth ...... Joanna Neary
Mrs Meadows ...... Anne Waggott

Directed by Dirk Maggs.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00kmhl6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Unreliable Evidence (b00kjk0p)
The Law and Climate Change

Clive Anderson presents the series analysing the legal issues of the day.

Are our environmental laws robust enough to save the planet for humankind? The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, but can this be legally enforced? What law and penalties are available to force industry, individuals and even the government to reduce their carbon footprint?


SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (b00kj2f2)
Series 23

2009 Semi-final 3

Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz.

The questions cover every aspect of music - from the classical repertoire to world music, show tunes, film scores, jazz, rock and pop.

Three contestants battle it out in the third and last semi-final of the contest:

Andrew Feltham from Kent
Richard Grothusen from Blackpool, Lancashire
David Roy from Hertfordshire

Producer: Paul Bajoria

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2009.


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b00khm90)
Roger McGough introduces a reading of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's classic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, read by Finbar Lynch.



SUNDAY 31 MAY 2009

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00kmkp2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b007s1vf)
Murder She Thought - Series 1

Have a Nice Death

Compelling crime stories by women writers.

Antonia Fraser's psychological thriller, in which a best-selling author has a wonderful time in New York - until he receives a strange phone call.

Read by Rosalind Ayres.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kmkp6)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kmkp8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kmkpb)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00kmmf1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00kmn39)
The sound of bells from Tavistock Parish Church.


SUN 05:45 Letters to Mary (b00kjk4b)
Episode 3

Series in which three writers send an informal letter to the influential British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, updating her on the progress of her often radical ideas in the 250 years since her birth.

Writer and feminist Natasha Walter looks at Wollstonecraft's central work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

This was a book written in a hurry, during the turbulent years at the end of the 18th century when it seemed to some that the Revolution in France might truly be ushering in a new age of freedom and equality. Mary completed it in just six weeks, taking pages to the printers before the book was finished. Loosely argued and sometimes showing signs of the speed with which it was composed, her central argument is nevertheless as simple and powerful as ever - that the existence of inequality between the sexes did not prove that women were intrinsically inferior.

Natasha happily updates Mary on the immense advances that have been made in equality of the sexes since her day, considering how delighted she would be with the many opportunities which women now rightly take for granted in terms of education, careers and political engagement. But she also looks at Mary's own experience of family life and considers how, in this key area, there is still some way to go before Mary's dreams are truly achieved.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00kmn3c)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00kmn3f)
Ordinary Time

Mark Tully celebrates what award-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson has called 'the dear ordinary', and what GK Chesterton described as, 'the ecstasy of being ordinary'.


SUN 06:35 Living World (b00kmn3h)
Grass Snakes

Lionel Kelleway tries to get close to the grass snake and find out a little more about its private life. Grass snakes grow to a surprising five feet long; they are Britain's largest native snake, and yet we hear very little about them.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00kmn6y)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00kmn70)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00kmn72)
Roger Bolton discusses the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories, both familiar and unfamiliar.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00kmndk)
Treloar Trust

Richard Stilgoe appeals on behalf of Treloar Trust. Treloar Trust provides education, care, therapy, medical support and independence training to young people with physical disabilities from all over the UK and overseas.

Donations to Treloar Trust, should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal; please mark the back of your envelope Treloar Trust. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144 If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Treloar Trust with your full name and address so they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation worth another 25 per cent. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode.

Registered Charity No: 1092857.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00kmndm)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00kmndp)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00kmndr)
The Marvellous Work Behold Amazed

A service from St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge in London, for the Feast of Pentecost.

Featuring music from Haydn's Creation to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's death.

Led by Rev Alan Gyle and Rev Richard Coles.

Director of Music: Stephen Farr.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00kkdqb)
Newsflash from the Far East

Clive James observes that while democracy is the right system for governing a country, it's the wrong system for choosing a professor of poetry.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00kmndt)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg calls for the resignation of Alistair Darling, and Professor Peter Hennessey offers his opinion on whether people are any good with power when they get it. Plus, Hugh Sykes is in Pakistan, while Simon Schama, Kate Adie and David Aaronovitch take a look at the papers, and there's the quiz and a bit of Big Brother silliness.

Four people correctly identified that the quiz referred to the retirement of the Irn Bru chairman Robin Barr, one of only two people to hold the secret recipe to the drink, so all four are winners: Peet McKimmie, Henry Dagg, Henry Ashby and Tatiana Ashby.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00kmndw)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00kmndy)
Caroline, Countess of Cranbrook

Kirsty Young's castaway is Caroline, Countess of Cranbrook. Caroline has travelled the world to see how different zoos worked, spent years living in the jungle and, when she returned to Britain, taught herself how to be a farmer. She has become a champion of the countryside and, when a supermarket giant announced plans to open a store on her doorstep, she decided to take them on.

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

Favourite track: No. 54 Chorale: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Food in England by Dorothy Hartley
Luxury: Ink and a pen.


SUN 12:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b00kj9yv)
Series 2

Episode 4

John Lloyd invites Oliver James, John Hodgman and Charlotte Uhlenbroek to submit exhibits. With Sean Lock. From May 2009.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00kmv0x)
School Food

In September nutrient-based standards - already operating in primary schools- will be extended to all secondary school food. The aim is to continue the improvement in our children's diets started by Jamie Oliver five years ago, by ensuring school menus contain a prescribed balance of vitamins, minerals and energy sources. However, the Local Authority Caterers Association, who provide 90 per cent of the meals served in schools, fear it is overcomplicated and will create meals so unappealing that they will drive even more secondary school pupils out of the school gates and into the chippy.

Sheila Dillon joins delegates at the LACA summit to hear both sides of the argument. Previous Chair of LACA Pat Fellows puts the case against the nutrient standards. Joe Harvey, Director of the Health Education Trust and Chair of the Caroline Walker Trust (the body which devised the guidelines on which the nutrient standards are based) defends this attempt to improve children's diets.

Professor Jack Winkler and Sarah Sinclair, of the Nutrition Unit at London's Metropolitan University, recently undertook what appears to be the only independent research ever done in Britain on what school children eat outside the school gates ('fringe eating'), where children graze freely on chips, fizzy drinks and sweets. Sheila and Jack visit a north London high street to observe the fringe and find out what children don't like about school dinners - not, it turns out, the food, but the dining areas, the queues, or the lack of freedom.

Professor Winkler provides examples of successful schemes to provide healthier school fringe food. Eileen Steinbock, Head Nutritionist for Brakes, a catering company who supply restaurants and schools with meals and ingredients, suggests making the types of food children want, but with good ingredients.

Judy Hargadon, chief executive of the School Food Trust, set up by the government in 2005 to promote the education and health of children by improving the quality of food in schools, and the body charged with implementing the new school meal standards, defends the nutrient standards.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00kmv8j)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00kmv8l)
A look at events around the world with Shaun Ley.


SUN 13:30 Britain in Their Sites (b00kmv8n)
Episode 2

Tristram Hunt tells the story of architectural change in Britain over 60 years, tracing the country's changing idea of itself through three controversial public building projects.

In 1961, London's Euston Station and its famous Arch faced demolition. A landmark building in the history of railway architecture, battle raged over Euston's future. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was lobbied, banners were unfurled and British Rail architects drew up plans for a new, more modern station.

As he looks back at Euston's troubled reinvention, Tristram dissects the furious debates sparked by the demolition and asks what Euston tells us about the changing value of Britain's past and our enthusiasm for the future.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00kkd91)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and Bunny Guinness are guests of Middleton Cheney Garden Club near Banbury.

The final instalment in our sustainable gardening series looks at why rain water is such an invaluable resource.

Including Gardening weather forecast.


SUN 14:45 A Guide to Water Birds (b00kmv8q)
Episode 1

Brett Westwood presents a series of entertaining and practical guides to identifying many of the birds found on or near freshwater, aided by sound recordist Chris Watson.

Brett is joined by keen bird watcher Stephen Moss on the Somerset Levels to identify wet meadow waders including lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00kmw7b)
Mugsborough

1926

Dramatisation by Andrew Lynch featuring the characters of Robert Tressell's novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.

The threat of civil unrest is gripping the country. Socialist ideas and talk of revolution are in the air as workers and managers come to blows, and an illegitimate child with a tragic secret is used as a pawn in a bigger game.

Easton ...... Johnny Vegas
Old Misery/Hunter ...... Paul Whitehouse
Ruth ...... Shirley Henderson
Nora ...... Raquel Cassidy
Frankie ...... Iain McKee
Bert White ...... Des O'Malley
Bundy ...... Tom Pitts
Barrington ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Charlie Linden ...... Carl Rice
Elsie ...... Nicola Stephenson
Sweater ...... Rupert Degas
Slyme ...... Kevin Eldon
Crass ...... Arthur Smith
Rushton ...... Bill Bailey
Young Elizabeth ...... Yasmin Gerrard
Freddie ...... Jody Latham
Older Elizabeth ...... Joanna Neary

Directed by Dirk Maggs.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b00kmw7d)
Rose Tremain, Alaa Al-Aswany, Monty Don, Matthew d’Ancona and Peter Florence

Mariella Frostrup meets an engaging mix of authors at the Hay Festival and hears from Monty Don about his five best books.


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b00kmz2c)
Roger McGough introduces requests for poems by Robert Frost and Edward Thomas. Read by Peter Marinker and Philip Franks.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b00kjjpf)
Badly Behaving Bankers

Allan Urry investigates more claims of bad behaviour on the part of bankers, and follows the David and Goliath struggle of a group of small business owners who are battling to force one of the high street giants to take responsibility for the decisions that they claim left them in ruins.


SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b00kmh80)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz2f)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00kmz2h)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kmz2k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00kmz2m)
Frank Cottrell-Boyce introduces his selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00kmz2p)
Under-used Eddie is pleased that Tony still needs him to spread the woodchip mulch on the new wetland drainage system.

Later in the pub he teases Mike about his younger woman! Mike protests that Vicky is great, and they're really getting on well together. Eddie says he's only joking, and that Mike and Vicky should meet up with him and Clarrie soon. He then finds out from Mike when Oliver and Caroline are going to be away, saying Clarrie needs to know as she wants a Grange Farm rose for her display for the flower festival - and she needs a photo of Oliver too.

Tom and Brenda contrive to get Mike, Pat and Tony together so that they can announce their engagement to them. They all meet up at Bridge Farm at lunchtime. Everyone is amazed and warm in their congratulations, but Mike makes a point of having a quiet word with Tom as soon as he can. He's seen Brenda very upset recently and he wants Tom to know that her happiness really matters to Mike. Tom is able to reassure him that he has learned from his recent mistakes. Brenda's happiness means everything to him too. He loves her, and he won't let her down.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


SUN 19:15 Americana (b00kmz2r)
Matt Frei presents an insider guide to the people and the ideas shaping the United States today.

Matt gauges the health of the nation in an interview with one of America's top agony aunts, and reveals the city you'd least expect to be beating America's economic blues, by attracting some of the country's top entrepreneurial talent.

And as politicians in Washington argue over who knew what about the use of torture, the programme asks what happens when the soldiers who carried out the abuse return home to civilian life.


SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b0082b6y)
The Closed Door

Wednesday

Series of stories by Dorothy Whipple, an often overlooked writer of the interwar years who was described by JB Priestley as 'the Jane Austen of her age'.

A divorced mother prepares for another painful meeting with her estranged children. Read by Stella Gonet.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b00kk36n)
Given that MPs' pay and expenses has been dominating news bulletins for weeks, has the BBC been a touch hypocritical in its coverage given that, in the opinion of a significant number of its listeners, it isn't open when it comes to the sums it pays its own journalists and presenters?

Plus listeners' thoughts on the end of Go4It, the tribute programme to Clement Freud and the poetry of Bono.

Finally, The Reunion's presenter, Sue MacGregor, and producer, David Prest, take us behind the scenes of the programme, which has touched many listeners.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00kkd93)
Matthew Bannister talks to Dr Harold Brown and Rachel York about the life of physicist Herbert York; Bill Smith about diver Carl Spencer; Ken Livingstone, Tony Benn and Nick Jones about trade union leader Ken Gill and Professor David Bradbury and Pamela Howard about the life of French theatre director Roger Planchon.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00kmgs3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00kmndk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 The Report (b00kk0xr)
MPs Expenses

Simon Cox gets behind the headlines engulfing MPs about their expenses and explores how the system of allowances was allowed to get out of control. The programme charts the origin of the row back to the enactment of freedom of information laws and reveals how proposed changes, which could have averted the crisis, were repeatedly thwarted by MPs themselves.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00kmz3s)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00kmz3v)
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster.

Including The Condensed History of Big Ben:

The Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster is celebrating 150 years of almost continuous time telling. To mark the occasion Adam Long, co-founder of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and his two friends Simon Jermond and Giles Terera take a whirlwind musical tour of all things Ben.

It's a story of arduous neo-Gothic design, bells that kept cracking and the invention of something called a double three-legged gravity escapement mechanism.

So join Adam for a quirky look back at a century and a half of faithful ticking.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b00kkd95)
Francine Stock takes a look back at the 1960s with a man who gave us some of its defining images - director Richard Lester. He made the Beatles' films Help and Hard Day's Night and the quintessential 60s sex comedy The Knack.

But by the end of the decade, it was all very different. And two of Lester's films - Petulia and The Bed Sitting Room - dared to say that. Now, after years of neglect, those films are available again. Lester revisits the 60s as they lost their swing.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00kmn3f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 01 JUNE 2009

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00kmz6j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00kjjyw)
Betting Shops - Women on the Line

The betting shop is an egalitarian space; unlike pubs there is no necessity to buy, and as long as your behaviour does not impact on anyone else's you can do what you want. It also brings people of different backgrounds and ethnicities together in a unique way. Although gambling carries a stigma and people often campaign against opening more betting shops in their communities, Rebecca Cassidy tells Laurie that they are incredibly cosmopolitan and tolerant, and are emblematic of changes that are happening in Britain.

Laurie also hears from Miriam Glucksmann, who has updated a study of women working on assembly lines which she first published anonymously nearly 30 years ago.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00kmn39)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz7t)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kmzbn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz97)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00kmzcy)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00kmzdb)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Katherine Meyer.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00kmzk2)
With 800 million birds going through Britain's slaughterhouses every year, a painless death is not always top of the agenda. A new report identifies many areas of concern and is calling on the government to act. Cax Graham investigates.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00kn8vw)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00kmztq)
Presented by Evan Davis and Sarah Montague.

David Cowling, editor of the BBC's political research unit, discusses whether small parties will be able to capitalise on the current anger at mainstream politics in the upcoming local and European elections.

Independent consultant John Ralfe looks at the overall cost of MPs' pensions to the taxpayer.

Spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross Simon Schorno describes the situation in Pakistan's Swat valley.

A species of bumblebee which became extinct in the UK in 2000 but which survived in New Zealand is to be reintroduced to Britain by 2010. Dr Pete Brotherton, head of biodiversity at Natural England, explains how the plan will work.

Britain's Got Talent's runner-up Susan Boyle has been taken to a private clinic after being examined under the Mental Health Act. Reporter Colin Paterson discusses the impact the contest and resulting fame allegedly had on Ms Boyle.

British academic Danny Blanchflower discusses the possible impact of quantitative easing and interest rates cuts on the UK economy.

Gavin Pretor-Pinney, of the Cloud Appreciation Society, and veteran weatherman Michael Fish discuss the possible discovery of a new type of cloud.

Thought for the day with Clifford Longley.

Jonathan Beale reports from Detroit on how problems in America's car industry are affecting its workers and Martin Leech, the former head of Ford/Maserati in Europe discusses the future of General Motors.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses the moral and political damage caused by the ongoing expenses scandal.

Historian Professor Niall Ferguson has said he believes the recession is far from over and will soon give rise to a major political crisis. Professor Ferguson explains the reasons for his statements.

The Civic Society Initiative has been launched as a replacement for the Civic Trust, which went bankrupt last month. Griff Rhys Jones, former president of the Civic Trust, explains what the new initiative will do and why it is needed.

South Korean car maker Kia is to begin making cars at a new plant in the US, on the border between Georgia and Alabama. Correspondent Steve Evans reports from the plant.

Can graphs be beautiful? Professor Hans Rosling explains the importance of making data accessible to everyone.

On Day 25 of the expenses scandal, political editor Nick Robinson reflects on the impact it has had on Prime Minister Gordon Brown and on UK politics in general.

Britain's Got Talent's runner-up Susan Boyle has been taken to a private clinic after being examined under the Mental Health Act. Fred O'Neil, her friend and former voice coach, and media consultant Steve Hewlett discuss the effect that participating in the programme had on Ms. Boyle.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00knpc9)
Andrew Marr sets the cultural agenda for the week. His guests include historian Antony Beevor on his new book, D Day; creator of the hit TV series The Wire, David Simon; and leading physicist Michio Kaku on 'The Physics of the Impossible'.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00kmzyv)
Claire Harman - Jane's Fame

Episode 1

Alice Krige reads from Claire Harman's exploration of Jane Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings to Hollywood movies.

The myth of Jane Austen is of a demure spinster, unobtrusively writing masterpieces in the corner of the family sitting room. The reality was of an ambitious and spirited young woman who was part of a lively, bookish family and keenly attuned to the literary world of her time.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00kn0kj)
Honey bee crisis; Hanan al-Shaykh; Escala

How to address the loss of the UK's bee population discussed. Plus, Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh on her difficult childhood; and classical crossover group Escala perform live.


MON 11:00 Governors Needed (b00knpcc)
State Schools

Reeta Chakrabati sets out to discover what is involved in being a school governor and how influential their work is on the success or failure of a school. They are the largest volunteer body in the UK but in certain areas there is a severe shortage; it involves a lot of work and its commitment in unpaid and largely unseen.

Reeta examines the role of governors in state schools. She talks to Phil Revell, chief executive of the National Governors Association, who is deeply concerned about the number of governing bodies who do not operate as effectively as they should. Reeta visits several schools to find out how the system works and whether it always follows that a successful school has a successful governing body.


MON 11:30 Newfangle (b00knpvw)
Episode 1

Sitcom by Adam Rosenthal and Viv Ambrose, set hundreds of thousands of years ago among a tribe of proto-humans.

Newfangle is bottom of the tree; despised by his mother, savaged by alpha male Alf on a daily basis and ignored by Snaggle, his favourite female. But Newfangle is a hominid with big ideas. He invents language, which he hopes will transform his situation, only to find that words have a way of being twisted to new and unpleasant uses.

Newfangle ...... Russell Tovey
Snaggle ...... Pippa Evans
Crag ...... Gabriel Vick
Coco ...... Maureen Lipman
Alf ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lucy ...... Amy Shindler

An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00kn0kv)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.

An investigation by Greenpeace has exposed links between some of Britain’s biggest brands and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00kn1bb)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00kn1bq)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


MON 13:30 Counterpoint (b00knqp7)
Series 23

2009 Final

Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz.

The questions cover every aspect of music - from the classical repertoire to world music, show tunes, film scores, jazz, rock and pop.

Three contestants battle it out in the final to be the 2009 Counterpoint Champion:

Alan Douglas from Worcestershire
David Roy from Hertfordshire
Peter Whitehead from Kent

Producer: Paul Bajoria

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00kmz2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00knv8n)
The Tent

Comedy by Tom Green. Gavin and Fay bravely attempt to plan their long-overdue wedding. It could be in a 19th century 'medieval' castle or it could be the zoo, but it definitely won't be the church.

Fay ...... Sian Reeves
Gavin ...... Jeremy Swift
Anna ...... Joanna Scanlan
Rebecca ...... Janice Acquah

Ukulele played by Hester Goodman

Directed by Toby Swift.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00kmhl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00kn2xs)
Red or Dead?

Series charting the history of America, written and presented by David Reynolds.

How the powerful Second World War alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union hardened into the Cold War.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00kmv0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00knv8q)
As British troops are withdrawn from Iraq, Ernie Rea discusses whether Just War Theory, expounded by St Augustine, is rendered null and void by modern forms of warfare.


MON 17:00 PM (b00kn32d)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kn342)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


MON 18:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b00knwyq)
Series 2

Episode 5

John Lloyd and Sean Lock invite guests Jon Richardson, Roger Law and Kate Adie to increase the collection. From June 2009.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00kn2wk)
Helen tentatively breaks the news of Tom and Brenda's engagement to Annette. Embarrassed Annette makes herself scarce. Later, when Helen invites her to Bridge Farm on Friday for a celebratory meal, Annette says she already has plans.

Lilian is surprised by a visit from a stranger demanding to see Matt. She is disconcerted when Matt clearly knows the woman, but it soon becomes clear that she is married to an ex-employee of C3PL. Bringing her young child with her, Sarah has come to give Matt a piece of her mind. To Lilian's astonishment, he invites her in.

Sarah lays it on the line. Her husband is more or less unemployable because of his association with C3PL. They have sold their home and are moving away, to live with her parents. Does Matt have the smallest idea how it feels to lose everything in this way? And has he even bothered to find out how they are? Matt remains calm, and takes it on the chin. She's right, and he accepts his share of the blame. As she leaves, he gives her some money.

When Lilian comes back in, Matt is clearly disturbed by the encounter. She tries to talk to him, but he leaves.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00kn34g)
Critic Matt Thorne reviews Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation, the fourth film in the sci-fi humans versus cyborgs franchise.

Poet and editor Alan Jenkins has collected the published and unpublished poems of Ian Hamilton, the founder of The Review magazine and presenter of BBC book series Bookmark from 1984 to 1987. Former Arts minister Grey Gowrie has edited a selected edition of poems by Stephen Spender, the poet friend of WH Auden and Christopher Isherwood who took part in the Spanish Civil War. They discuss their approach to editing these poetry books.

On the day Danny La Rue's death is announced, comedian Barry Cryer remembers the cross-dressing cabaret star.

Anne Michaels' 1997 debut novel Fugitive Pieces won the Orange Prize and has been translated into more than 20 languages. The film version, starring Stephen Dillane as a man orphaned in the Nazi occupation of Poland, is on release in cinemas around the country just as her second novel, The Winter Vault, is published. Anne Michaels talks to Mark Lawson about the 12-year gap between her two novels, and why she prefers not to talk about herself.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00kn3s7)
Writing the Century 9

Episode 1

Series exploring the 20th Century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Vanessa Rosenthal.

Returning to the 1950s diaries of Linton Andrews, editor of The Yorkshire Post.

It is 1954, and Linton's rise from provincial to national prominence continues through his work as chairman of the Press Council and his respected editorials. But his wife Pinkie hankers after the quieter life of retirement.

Linton ...... Russell Dixon
Pinkie ...... Alexandra Mathie
Rebecca West ...... Ann Rye
Renate ...... Szilvi Naray-Davey
Henry Bate ...... Martin Oldfield
Stan ...... Matt McGuirk

Directed by Gary Brown.


MON 20:00 Hearts and Minds (b00knxmx)
Episode 2

Nick Fraser considers the proper role of intellectuals in relation to world events and world conflict.

The Cold War was fought on intellectual as well as strategic grounds, but did intellectuals abandon their own standards in the battle for 'hearts and minds'? Nick considers the matter in the run-up to the centenary of the birth of Isaiah Berlin, one of Britain's foremost political philosophers and opponents of Soviet communism, and takes the figures known as 'liberal anti-communists' during the Cold War as an historic peak of the Western intellectual's power and influence.

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 20:30 Analysis (b00kp7yg)
No Escape

Richard Weight asks why prison policy is so difficult to unlock and whether anyone has the key. Crime is not getting any worse but the number of inmates has almost doubled in the last 20 years. What is more, the majority of prisoners reoffend, with an annual cost to the Treasury of more than 12 billion pounds.

Featuring contributions from:

Jonathan Aitken, former MP and prison inmate
Professor Andrew Coyle, Professor of Prison Studies
Baroness Corston, author of the Corston report on women's prisons
Frances Crook, Director, Howard League for Penal Reform
David Hanson MP, prisons minister
Kenny MacAskill MSP, Scottish cabinet secretary for justice
Ex-offenders from the Open Book Project, Goldsmith's College.


MON 21:00 Inside the Virtual Anthill: Open Source Means Business (b00kp806)
Gerry Northam goes behind the scenes to investigate 'open source' computer software. Much has been said about the likes of free web browser Firefox and the operating system Linux, but little about how thousands of programmers scattered around the world collaborate in a 'virtual anthill' to create products that rival more commercial offerings. Gerry finds out how it is done and shows how its ethos is being applied to other kinds of business, with some startling results.

A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00knpc9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00kn54c)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00kn62h)
News from a global perspective with Ritula Shah.

What does the General Motors bankruptcy mean for the US economy?

Are Alistair Darling's days as Chancellor numbered, as he defends himself over his expenses?

The latest news on the Air France plane missing over the Atlantic.

How do Italians see the Berlusconi scandal?

President Obama outlines his hopes for the Middle East.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00kn6hb)
The Outlander

Episode 6

Denica Fairman reads from the novel by Gil Adamson, set in Canada in 1903.

Widowed by her own hand, Mary Boulton is a fugitive. For now she has stopped running, in the care of Rev Bonnycastle. But her brothers-in-law are still on her trail.


MON 23:00 Off the Page (b00cm9p8)
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Dominic Arkwright, Catherine Townsend, Neil McCormick and Kathy Lette discuss the tricky art of romantic bust-up. From 2008.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00kn7ty)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.



TUESDAY 02 JUNE 2009

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00kmz56)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00kmzyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz6l)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kmz99)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz7w)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00kmzbq)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00kmzd0)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Katherine Meyer.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00kmzjl)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00kmztd)
Presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague.

French and Brazilian authorities are searching an area of the Atlantic for any sign of the Air France plane which disappeared in a thunder storm. French military spokesman Commander Christophe Prazuck discusses the possibility of finding survivors.

Mark Easton explains the results of a survey into MPs' standing with the public.

The scale of the war damage to the main city in the Swat valley has become clear, as fears are expressed about the humanitarian situation in the region. Correspondent Barbara Plett looks at whether the military operation is receiving widespread support.

Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer and George Pitcher, of the Telegraph, discuss if the threat of prosecution for those who help somebody to kill themselves overseas should be lifted.

Jeremy Bowen explains how US President Barack Obama hopes to bring peace to the Middle East.

Scientists have located 38 emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica by using satellites to look for stains from the animals' droppings. Peter Fretwell, lead author of the research, discusses the identification of ten previously unknown colonies.

Thought for the day with Canon Lucy Winkett of St Paul's Cathedral.

A substantial majority of the electorate believe that MPs have forfeited the right to regulate themselves, a survey for the BBC suggests. Conservative leader David Cameron discusses how faith can be restored in politicians.

President Obama has said the US can help kick-start meaningful peace talks in the Middle East. North America editor Justin Webb talks to the US president about how the situation in the area can be stabilised.

Reporter Dil Neiyyar reports on the growing enthusiasm for allotments.

Sir Ken Macdonald, former director of public prosecutions, discusses whether those involved in assisted suicide abroad are likely to be prosecuted.

Labour MP and Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz and Alf Hitchcock, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, discuss if there has been a kind of 'arms race' that has resulted in youngsters carrying a knife.

Correspondent Kevin Connolly discovers what happens to the car dealers GM is dumping in New Mexico.

Why did Air France's airbus disappear over the Atlantic? Kieran Daly, editor of airline news service Air Transport Intelligence, discusses what could have caused the aircraft to vanish.


TUE 09:00 What's the Point of...? (b00kp822)
Series 2

The British Zoo

Quentin Letts takes a witty but thought provoking look at the British Zoo.


TUE 09:30 The Flight from Tehran: British-Iranians 30 Years On (b00gkrty)
Sister, Guard Your Veil

Exiles from the Iranian revolution talk to British-Iranian writer David Mattin about leaving their homeland and family behind to make a new life in Britain.

David hears how women's lives changed dramatically under the Ayatollah's regime and why, with modifications to family law and enforced adoption of the hijab in public, some women felt they had to leave. That included a bookish young girl who had been educated abroad and found herself on trial when she applied for a job at the university.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00kvg9l)
Claire Harman - Jane's Fame

Episode 2

Alice Krige reads from Claire Harman's exploration of Jane Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings to Hollywood movies.

The last years of Jane Austen's life were a period of concentrated writing and business with publishers. Though largely cut off from the fashionable literary world, her fame was nonetheless beginning to spread.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00kn0gc)
Families with disabled children; Bryony Lavery

How different is life for families with disabled children compared with 30 years ago? Plus, playwright Bryony Lavery on the Cold War; and Nicola MacLeod on adventure racing.


TUE 11:00 Nature (b00kp9jc)
Series 2

Seabirds - Canaries on the Cliffs

Chris Sperring explores declining seabird numbers and asks if it represents a crisis or just a blip.

Visit any windy, spray laden seabird colony in the spring and early summer and every sense is fired by the sound, sight and smell of thousands upon thousand of birds flying to and fro with fish to feed their young that are perched precariously on every ledge.

Or that is how it should be. In many seabird colonies it is now much quieter and many traditional nesting ledges are empty. Seabird ecologists are increasingly concerned about how many species are fledging young, and in some areas none are successful in raising chicks at all.

These worrying signs are increased by looking at the number of birds that are washed up dead on beaches during the winter months. Once the seabirds have left the cliffs in the summer they spend the rest of the year out at sea. But many are now succumbing to starvation and end up washed ashore. There are definitely signs that the North Sea is changing and that seabirds are finding it harder to cope.


TUE 11:30 Vienna and the Shadow of The Third Man (b00kp9jk)
Tour guide Dr Brigitte Timmermann uncovers Graham Greene's Vienna and takes us in the footsteps of his classic 1949 film, The Third Man. Walking through the city, she tells the stories that have fascinated generations of film buffs, from Soviet master spy Kim Philby's role in the film to tales of Sir Carol Reed and Graham Greene's late night visits to Vienna's seediest bars. With the help of fellow devotees, Brigitte explores Vienna's hidden history and examines why The Third Man has remained largely unpopular in the place which inspired it.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00kn0kl)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00kn0qm)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00kn1bd)
Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman discusses MPs' expenses and the prospects for the forthcoming local and European elections.

Plus Peter Hodge, the General Secretary of the Normandy Veterans' Association, discusses plans to commemorate D-Day.


TUE 13:30 Performing to the Red Light (b00kp9jy)
Episode 1

Terence Curran goes behind the scenes to experience the recording process as different classical performers prepare for the studio. Among them is the pianist Kathryn Stott. There are also interviews with notable performers including Emma Johnson and Stephen Hough, producers and record company executives who discuss the little-known psychological aspects behind making a classical recording.

Terence explores how performers cope with the demands of making their first recording.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00kn2wk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00kphpk)
On Ego

Collaboration between neuropsychologist Paul Broks and theatre director and writer Mick Gordon.

Lecturer Alex is convinced that people are just a bundle of neurons. When his wife falls ill, he finds he has basic questions to answer about what it really means to be a person. But that is just part of an unfolding experience that questions not only his identity but his very existence.

Derek ...... Henry Goodman
Alex ...... Elliot Levey
Alice ...... Susan Lynch

Directed by Mick Gordon.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b00kpjhs)
Vanessa Collingridge presents the series exploring ordinary people's links with the past.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00kpv72)
Three Stories By Giovanni Verga

Gramigna's Mistress

Series of stories about farming folk by the Sicilian writer of the 1870s, laced with dry humour.

Peppa is due to marry Finu, then runs off to join some hot-shot she has never even met. Apparently it's his reputation that does it!

Read by Dermot Crowley.


TUE 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00kn2yk)
A World Half-Slave, Half-Free

Series charting the history of America, written and presented by David Reynolds.

Truman and Stalin square off over the Berlin blockade and the Soviet Union tests a nuclear bomb.


TUE 16:00 The Eureka Years (b007yvyq)
Series 3

1905

Adam Hart-Davis explores spectacular years in the history of science. Albert Einstein develops a theory of relativity with some help from his shaving mirror and a passing train.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b00kpvbq)
Natalie Haynes and Monty Halls

Kate Mosse and her guests - comedian, Natalie Haynes and and marine biologist and explorer, Monty Halls - discuss favourite books by Mark Dunn, Rowland White and Rafael Sabbatini.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn,
Publisher: Methuen

Vulcan 607 by Rowland White,
Publisher: Transworld

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabbatini,
Publisher: Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2009.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00kn301)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kn32g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


TUE 18:30 That Reminds Me (b00ks4hl)
Another chance to hear the late Sir Clement Freud entertain an audience at the 2000 Edinburgh Fringe Festival with reminiscences, jokes and anecdotes.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00kn2w5)
Neil hears from Gordon Armstrong, former captain of the Ambridge Wanderers football team. He's having a reunion up in the Yorkshire Dales, and he's inviting Neil. Susan's encouraging, but Neil is sidetracked by another reminder from a feed company. He can't pay them until he gets the money for the last lot of weaners he sold. He'll have to chase up the invoice again.

Later, after giving it some thought, Neil decides he will go to the reunion.

Ruth tells Joe he can't sell cider at Brookfield's imminent open day.

Jill and Susan both put their names down for the flower festival organised by the WI in the church. Lynda is distressed to hear from Jill that she has not been successful in the first ballot for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. However, all is not yet lost as Jill will be entered automatically in the next one. Joe is unsuccessful too, and Lynda is very fed up about it. Phil suggests an idea that cheers her up. Why not have their own plinth at the village fete? People could make a donation for their fifteen minutes of fame. They'll put the idea to the committee.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00kn344)
Arts news and reviews.

Simon Russell Beale talks to Mark Lawson about playing George Smiley in The Complete Smiley, Radio 4 's new dramatisation of the John Le Carre novels, and about leading the British and American cast of two plays - The Winter's Tale and Tom Stoppard's new version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard - at the Old Vic Theatre in London. Both plays are directed by Sam Mendes in the inaugural season of The Bridge Project, which is set to combine UK and US theatrical talents in an internationally performed pair of classic plays each year from 2009 to 2011.

A new exhibition at the Design Museum in London bills itself as 'celebrating visionary design from London's creative mavericks'. Thomas Heatherwick, Ron Arad and Zaha Hadid are among the contributors to the exhibition which celebrates and examines the city of London and its wealth of talent in all aspects of design. On the outdoor terrace overlooking the Thames near Tower Bridge, Paul Smith, Wayne Hemingway and Neville Brody discuss their ideas for better urban living.

As the recession deepens and the supermarkets' battle for customers becomes ever more cut-throat, new Channel 4 series I'm Running Sainsbury's follows shelf-stackers who are given the chance to trial their own big ideas about how to give the supermarket the edge. Critic Rachel Cooke reviews.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00kn4km)
Writing the Century 9

Episode 2

Series exploring the 20th Century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Vanessa Rosenthal.

Returning to the 1950s diaries of Linton Andrews, editor of The Yorkshire Post.

Linton has an important engagement in London, and hearty celebrations are in order.

Linton ...... Russell Dixon
Pinkie ...... Alexandra Mathie
Renate ...... Szilvi Naray-Davey
The Queen ...... Victoria Brazier
Edith/Mrs Mann ...... Martine Dunn
Arthur Mann/Hugh Cudlip ...... Martin Oldfield
Courtier ...... Matt McGuirk

Directed by Gary Brown.


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b00kpvfs)
Preserving Jobs for British Workers

Jenny Cuffe asks if the government policy of tightening immigration rules to help preserve jobs for British workers is being undermined by employers who are intent on bringing overseas workers as a way of driving down pay.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00kpvfv)
Is public transport getting better for blind and visually impaired people? Peter Barker, Professor of the Inclusive Environment at Reading University, talks to Peter White. Australian visitor Lee Kumutat give us her impression of the London Underground.

Mani Djazmi reveals good news on the availablility of accessible books for children, and talks to Simon Jackson who won two gold medals in cycling at the recent Paralympics World Cup.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00kpvfx)
Law for Emotion - Mental Health Liaison Officers - Visual Neglect

Claudia Hammond speaks to the UK's first Mental Health Liaison Officer to see how he can help those with mental health problems have better experiences when dealing with police.


TUE 21:30 What's the Point of...? (b00kp822)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00kn53j)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00kn5zd)
News from a global perspective with Ritula Shah.

Jacqui Smith is to step down as home secretary; is the government losing control only two days before the elections?

As President Obama prepares to address the Islamic world, a report on the search for Pakistan's soul.

Is consumer confidence on the up?

Is North Korea preparing to anoint a new leader?


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00kn6f9)
The Outlander

Episode 7

Denica Fairman reads from the novel by Gil Adamson, set in Canada in 1903. With horse dealers from Montana in town, Mary and McEchern hit upon a new business venture.


TUE 23:00 Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better (b00d0sjl)
Series 2

Patience

The comedian examines the virtue of holding your horses. With poetry and songs by Tim Key and Tom Basden. From August 2008.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00kn7v0)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



WEDNESDAY 03 JUNE 2009

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00kmz58)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00kvg9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz6n)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kmz9c)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz7y)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00kmzbs)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00kmzd3)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Katherine Meyer.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00kmzjp)
Anna Hill looks at a booming future for UK-produced wine. It could become one of the biggest wine producing countries in Europe within the next 70 years, according to some scientists. At the moment, wine production in this country is a drop in the global wine lake, but as climate change warms the UK, grape production could significantly increase.

Anna finds out why the Director of Animal Health in Wales is shocked at the increase in the amount of bovine TB, after returning to work in the country from a four year absence.


WED 06:00 Today (b00kmztg)
Presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague.

Correspondent David Loyn considers if multinational US companies can be held responsible for human rights abuses overseas.

The Green Party is hoping the current political turmoil will cause voters to turn away from the big parties in the European elections. Party leader Caroline Lucas discusses the party's prospects.

Correspondent Quentin Sommerville reports on how the Chinese are remembering the events at Tiananmen Square.

Publisher Mark Holland describes a new online service which gives easy access to historical literary works.

The family found dead under the cliffs at Beachy Head in Sussex has been named. A friend of the family, Hugh Huddy, talks about the tragedy.

Historian Richard Holmes gives a tour of Winston Churchill's secret World War II bunker in London.

Thought for the day with Akhandadhi Vas, a Vaishnav Hindu teacher and theologian.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg discusses the elections and expected government re-shuffle.

The prime minister needs to 'take control' of his party ahead of the European elections, the party's former deputy leader Roy Hattersley says. Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer considers how Gordon Brown can demonstrate his authority.

Labour's Deputy Leader Harriet Harman says that Labour has work to do and 'we are going to do it' - and rejects suggestions that the government is in chaos.

Correspondent Frank Gardner reports that an al-Qaeda cell is believed to have killed a British hostage.

Great tits change their voice in urban areas, scientists at Aberystwyth University have discovered. Animal behaviour expert Dr Rupert Marshall, the leader of the research, explains how this can be proved.

Political editor Nick Robinson analyses if Gordon Brown will remain Labour party leader.

Kate Adie, a BBC correspondent in Beijing at the time of the Tiananmen protests, and Jonathan Fenby, China director at the research service Trusted Sources, discuss if the slaughter could have been prevented in 1989.

Correspondent Bob Walker visits Derbyshire, where Labour has held power for almost thirty years but faces the prospect of losing overall control.

Political commentator Anthony Howard, political columnist Steve Richards and Julia Clark of Ipsos Mori, discuss why protest votes might be used in the European elections.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00kpw1x)
Libby Purves is joined by Lawrence Anthony, Jerry Springer, Marty Portas and Sebastian Brooke.

Lawrence Anthony is a conservationist and founder of The Earth Organisation. In his book The Elephant Whisperer, he tells the story of how he took on a herd of traumatised elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand. He was their last chance of survival, battling to create a bond with the elephants and save them from execution. The Elephant Whisperer is published by MacMillan.

Jerry Springer is known throughout the world for his television show, The Jerry Springer Show. He has also been the Mayor of Cincinnati, a political pundit, lawyer, award-winning newscaster, country recording artist and progressive talk-radio broadcaster. He is about to make his West End debut playing Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago for six weeks at the Cambridge Theatre.

Mary Portas is one of the UK's foremost authorities on retail and brand communications, known in the trade as The Queen of Shops. In a new three-part series for BBC Two - Mary Queen of Charity Shops - she tries to change the nation's attitude towards charity shops and prove that they can be a good place to shop. Mary is opening a Living and Giving Shop at the Westfield Centre in London.

Sebastian Brooke is a sculptor and the founder of The MEMO Project (Mass Extinction Memorial Observatory). It will be a stone monument bearing the images of all the species of plants and animals known to have become extinct in modern times. It will incorporate a bell to be tolled for all extinct species, including the great many 'unknown' species which it is believed perish each year, unseen by scientists.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00kvg9d)
Claire Harman - Jane's Fame

Episode 3

Alice Krige reads from Claire Harman's exploration of Jane Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings to Hollywood movies.

The 19th century taste for the great, sprawling novels of Dickens, Thackeray and others left Jane Austen in relative obscurity for some decades. But public interest flared up again with her nephew's publication of the first biography in 1870, and gained a momentum that was now unstoppable.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00kn0gf)
George Eliot: her life and work

A special programme celebrating the life and work of the writer George Eliot. Contributors include Brenda Maddox, Kathryn Hughes, Ruth Livesey and Zoe Heller.


WED 11:00 The Race to Dover (b00kpw1z)
BBC cricket correspondent and keen pilot Jonathan Agnew tells the story of the competition held in July 1909 to become the first pilot to fly across the English Channel.

Louis Bleriot, a 37-year-old engineer with a badly burned foot, took the prize offered by Lord Northcliffe, owner of the Daily Mail. Jonathan finds out what happened to the favourite, the young international playboy and sportsman Hubert Latham, and climbs into the cockpit of the first flying machine to make the crossing, the Bleriot XI.


WED 11:30 Spread a Little Happiness (b00knp6s)
Series 1

Episode 2

Comedy by John Godber and Jane Thornton, set in a Yorkshire sandwich bar.

Another day at the breadface, but now Jodie's anxieties aren't just about her sandwich business. Though she rather likes having Hope around, her husband Dave isn't so keen.

Hope ...... Suranne Jones
Jodie ...... Susan Cookson
Dave ...... Neil Dudgeon
Milkman ...... Shaun Prendergast
Workman ...... Ben Crowe

Directed by Chris Wallis.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00kn0kn)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00kn0qw)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00kn1bg)
Reaction to the resignation of the communities secretary Hazel Blears, and Jacqui Smith tells the programme why she wanted to step down as home secretary.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00kpw5b)
Steve Hewlett is joined by Ben Brown, the BBC's veteran war correspondent and presenter who has just written his first novel, Sandstealers. Set in Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq, it is a fictional account of issues facing foreign correspondents, including the addictive nature of war reporting and the psychological effect it can have on journalists in later life.

Following the news that Britain's Got Talent runner-up, Susan Boyle, has been admitted to a private London clinic suffering exhaustion and feeling 'emotionally drained', we look at the vetting process contestants go through before they are allowed to appear on reality programmes and the duty of care they are owed after they sign on.

And as a new feature-length documentary about the impact of overfishing on our oceans is released in cinemas, we discuss the future for funding this kind of journalism.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00kn2w5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00jz0xj)
Places Where They Sing

Written and directed by Ellen Dryden.

Thomas has composed his first work for the amateur choir he founded. The performance is imminent. Thomas' unpredictable behaviour is upsetting the choir - and his wife Joanna.

Thomas ...... Anton Lesser
Joanna ...... Phoebe Nicholls
Vicky ...... Claire Rushbrook
Angela ...... Abigail Thaw
Matthew ...... Jonathan Dryden Taylor

Music composed by Derek Bourgeois.

A First Writes Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00kpw5d)
Vincent Duggleby and a panel of guests answer calls on financial issues.


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00kvh1x)
Three Stories By Giovanni Verga

Getting to Know The King

Series of stories about farming folk by the Sicilian writer of the 1870s, laced with dry humour.

It should be an honour taking the King in your wagon, but after the fireworks and trumpets die down and the journey beckons, Cosimo begins to worry. Read by Dermot Crowley

Read by Dermot Crowley.


WED 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00kn2ym)
The Suburban Republic

By David Reynolds. After the war, Americans turn their attentions back home, building homes and highways and creating suburbs.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00kpw9j)
British Constitution - Anciet Rome and Modern America

Leading constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor tells Laurie Taylor that the age of the mass political party is over, but it still rules in our system of government.

Mass political parties started in the 1870s as a response to the advent of mass suffrage. 50 years ago, nearly one in ten people belonged to a party; it has now declined to one in 88, yet they still have a huge role in administering power in our democracy. It is that anomaly which constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor claims lies behind the frustration and disillusionment that so many people feel towards our political system. He discusses his book, The New British Constitution, with Laurie.

Also, why is the idea of Rome so powerful in the American imagination? How is Roman politics used to play the political game in the US? Laurie talks to Margaret Malamud, author of Ancient Rome and Modern America.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00kpvfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b00kn303)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kn32j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


WED 18:30 Elvenquest (b00kpw9l)
Series 1

Episode 6

Finally the Sword of Asnagar is found. But is Sam a traitor? Fantasy comedy starring Darren Boyd and Dave Lamb. From June 2009


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00kn2w7)
Concerned that Eddie and Joe are sneaking up to Grange Farm to uncover their supposed hoard with the metal detector, Clarrie tips Ed the wink. So when Joe and Eddie are busy digging, Oliver arrives with Ed. Since they thought he was away at a conference, this is a bit of a shock.

Ed explains that, just as Eddie suggested, he told Oliver all about the tump and the coins they found there. So Oliver has come to see what they find. Cornered, and well aware that he and Ed had no such conversation, Eddie can only agree. Unfortunately, all they find is some old machinery. Clarrie apologises to Oliver, but he's not angry. In fact, he says they can dig on the farm any time and they'll split the findings between them.

Mike is courting Vicky enthusiastically, bringing her flowers and taking her to Grey Gables for lunch. Vicky is delighted that Tom and Brenda are engaged. She loves a happy ending. By the end of the day she has invited herself to the engagement meal at Bridge Farm on Friday.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00kn346)
Marilynne Robinson, the winner of the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction, talks live from the ceremony at The Royal Festival Hall in London. The other shortlisted authors were Ellen Feldman, Samantha Harvey, Samantha Hunt, Deidre Madden and Kamila Shamsie.

Based on the hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, the musical comedy Sister Act has opened on the London stage, starring Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior and Patina Miller in the lead role. Goldberg is co-producer of the stage version of the story of a club singer who witnesses a murder and is placed in protective custody in a convent, where she disguises herself as a nun. Novelist Sarah Dunant was at the opening night and delivers her verdict.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind was a global best seller and one of the most successful books in Spanish publishing history. His latest novel, The Angel's Game, revisits some of the characters and gothic detail which helped make The Shadow of the Wind such a success. John Wilson talks to the author about how to follow up such a publishing phenomenon.

This year's Venice Biennale features artists from more countries than at any time in the event's 104- year history. The United Arab Emirates are among the newcomers, with an exhibition entitled It's Not You, It's Me. John Wilson talks to UAE pavilion curator Tirdad Zolghadr and to Dubai-born artist Lamya Gargash about her photographs of one-star hotels in the Emirates.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00kn4kp)
Writing the Century 9

Episode 3

Series exploring the 20th Century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Vanessa Rosenthal.

Returning to the 1950s diaries of Linton Andrews, editor of The Yorkshire Post.

Linton is insensitive about Pinkie's loss, which creates tension when they visit Downing Street.

Linton ...... Russell Dixon
Pinkie ...... Alexandra Mathie
Renate ...... Szilvi Naray-Davey
Dr Hawbrook ...... Malcolm Raeburn
Edith/Mrs Mann ...... Martine Dunn
Anthony Eden ...... Martin Oldfield
Lady Eden ...... Victoria Brazier

Directed by Gary Brown.


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00kpw9n)
Michael Buerk is joined by Claire Fox, Melanie Phillips, Clifford Longley and Kenan Malik to consider what has become of moral authority.

It doesn't just apply to MPs; the moral authority of the institutions and professions that we used to turn to as a source of wisdom and guidance has been undermined, or even fatally flawed. And now it seems we cannot even trust our poets to be true prophetic voices. So where do we look to for moral authority now, and does it even matter? Did any of these bodies ever truly deserve our trust? Is it better to rely on our own moral judgement, rather than abdicating it to something or someone else?

Witnesses:
Esther Rantzen, journalist and television presenter
Dr Catherine Cowley RA, Assistant Director for the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life
George Monbiot, environmental campaigner
John Lloyd, author of What the Media are Doing to Our Politics.


WED 20:45 Bong! The Condensed History of Big Ben (b00ksk4j)
The Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster is celebrating 150 years of almost continuous time telling. To mark the occasion Adam Long, co-founder of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and his two friends Simon Jermond and Giles Terera, take a whirlwind musical tour of all things Ben.

It is a story of arduous neo-Gothic design, bells that kept cracking and the invention of something called a double three-legged gravity escapement mechanism.


WED 21:00 Nature (b00kp9jc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00kpw1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00kn53l)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00kn5zh)
News from a global perspective with Ritula Shah. In this edition

Another cabinet resignation. How long can Gordon Brown last, and is it now time for an election?

Twenty years after Tiananmen, what young Chinese want now.

President Obama arrives in the Middle East. We hear what the Arab world hopes from his visit.

Should the MMR vaccination be compulsory?


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00kn6fc)
The Outlander

Episode 8

Denica Fairman reads from the novel by Gil Adamson, set in Canada in 1903. The landslide has left the town in ruins; who has survived and who has perished?


WED 23:00 Self-Storage (b01gykv4)
Series 1

Job Hunting

Living in a storage unit and separated from his wife, Dave tries to get his life back on track by getting a job.

But help from fellow Storage Garden tenant Geoff means it's harder than he expected...

Stars Reece Shearsmith and Mark Heap.

Sitcom written by Tom Collinson and Barnaby Power.

Dave ...... Reece Shearsmith.
Geoff ...... Mark Heap.
Ron ...... Tom Goodman-Hill.
Judy ...... Rosie Cavaliero.
Sarah ...... Susan Earl.

Producer: Ed Morrish

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.


WED 23:15 Peacefully in their Sleeps (b007ycdm)
Sister Cecilia of Caracas

Spoof obituary series by Chris Chantler and Howard Read.

Roydon Postlethwaite charts the many munificent achievements of the lifelong humanitarian peace worker who campaigned tirelessly against landmines yet smoked like a chimney.

Roydon Postlethwaite ...... Geoff McGivern
Sister Cecilia ...... Liza Sadovy
Actor ...... Chris Chantler
Colin ...... Dan Antopolski
David Something ...... Howard Read
Gloria Blamly ...... Janice Connolly
Stanley Cashew ...... Geoffrey Whitehead.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00kn7v2)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



THURSDAY 04 JUNE 2009

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00kmz5b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00kvg9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz6q)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kmz9f)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz80)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00kmzbv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00kmzd5)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Katherine Meyer.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00kmzjr)
With more than one in three sawmills closing and England's foresters receiving less than all their European colleagues, there are calls for government to ease regulation to revive Britain's dying woodland industry. Charlotte Smith investigates.


THU 06:00 Today (b00kmztj)
Presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis.

Middle East expert David Makovsky discusses whether Barack Obama's speech in Cairo will arouse expectations that cannot be fulfilled.

A round-robin letter demanding Gordon Brown's resignation has been seen by journalists. James Naughtie reports on the mood in Westminster after recent events.

Solicitor Astrid Coates explains the case of a patient who died after mistakes during treatment for throat cancer.

Science correspondent Pallab Ghosh reports on how Neil Armstrong's famous moon landing words may have been wrongly quoted.

The BBC has been attacked by the Public Accounts Committee for not releasing the information on how much it pays its top radio presenters. Committee chairman Edward Leigh and Jeremy Peat of the BBC Trust discuss whether the information should be released.

Arts correspondent Rebecca Jones visits an exhibit by artist Steve McQueen and former Velvet Underground member John Cale.

Thought for the day with Dr David Wilkinson, principal of St John's College, Durham.

It is 20 years since tanks crushed protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Correspondent John Simpson was reporting for the BBC that day and Andrew To was in Tiananmen just before the massacre. They discuss the events and how the anniversary is being commemorated.

'You can best serve the country by stepping down as party leader', a draft email to Gordon Brown signed by MPs says. Political editor Nick Robinson reports on how many Labour politicians could sign it.

Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under President Clinton, and Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, discuss President Obama's speech in Cairo and his prospects for the Middle east.

The BBC is launching an online collection of George Orwell's work to mark the 60th anniversary of the publication of his novel 1984. Jean Seaton, the BBC's official historian, talks about the collection.

Dr Kelly Berube and Dr Peter Kohl discuss if there is still a need for animal testing.

Nicola Stanbridge investigates whether the music label Factory Records contributed significantly to the regeneration of Manchester.

Ever heard of thriller writer Eric Ambler? Mark Mazower, professor of history at Columbia University, and Joyce Fowell, Eric Ambler's sister, discuss why he has virtually disappeared.

Author Reza Aslan and Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of Al Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, discuss the high expectations of President Obama's speech.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00kpzd6)
The Trial of Charles I

Melvyn Bragg and guests Justin Champion, Diane Purkiss and David Wootton discuss the trial of Charles I, recounting the high drama in Westminster Hall and the ideas that led to the execution.Begun on 20th January 1649, the trial culminated in the epoch-making execution of an English monarch. But on the way it was a drama of ideas about kingly authority, tax, parliamentary power and religion, all suffused with personal vendettas, political confusion and individual courage. It was also a forum in which the newly-ended Civil War and the events of Charles's reign were picked over by the people who had experienced them. Melvyn and guests recount the events of the trial, explore the central arguments and see whether, 350 years later, we can work out who really won.Justin Champion is Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London; Diane Purkiss is a Fellow and tutor at Keble College, Oxford; David Wootton is Professor of History at the University of York.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00kvg9g)
Claire Harman - Jane's Fame

Episode 4

Alice Krige reads from Claire Harman's exploration of Jane Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings to Hollywood movies.

By the early years of the 20th century, the cult of 'Divine Jane' had seized Britain and America. For the soldiers of the First World War, she came to represent an Englishness that was far removed from the terrible realities of life in the trenches.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00kn0gh)
Sarah Waters; George Orwell's women

Author Sarah Waters on the possibility of ghosts. Plus, the women in the life of George Orwell; and Anne Owers on the role gender plays in staff-prisoner relationships.


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b00kpzd8)
BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the world's headlines. Introduced by Kate Adie.


THU 11:30 Scum (b00kpzdb)
Critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode examines the history of and controversy surrounding the film Scum.

Originally made by the BBC in 1977, its brutal depiction of life in the borstal system was deemed to be too controversial for broadcast and it was banned by the Corporation. However, it was then re-made for the cinema two years later and became one of the most infamous British films of the 1980s. Mark investigates the accuracy of the film and offers a portrait of its uncompromising director Alan Clarke.

Featuring new interviews, including screenwriter Roy Minton, actor Mick Ford, former director of BBC television Alasdair Milne and the producers of both the BBC and theatrical versions.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00kn0kq)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00kn0r0)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00kn1bj)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


THU 13:30 Off the Page (b00kpzdd)
Welcome to the Real World

Dominic Arkwright is joined by clinical psychologist Oliver James, author of The Selfish Capitalist and Britain on the Couch; French journalist Agnes Poirier; and Annie Caulfield, creator of the Radio 4 series Reasons to be Cheerful, to discuss why people avoid confronting reality, and what happens when they do.

Produced by Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00kn2w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00kpzdg)
Avenues of Eternal Peace

By Lucy Caldwell. Kai-Liang and Chang Li meet and fall in love in their first year at university. Becoming increasingly involved in the world of student politics, they join the protests in Tiananmen Square, where their passions and ideas are put to the ultimate test.

Kai-Liang ...... David Tse
Student Kai-Liang ...... David Lee
Chang Li ...... Ping Ping Wong
Xie Huan Yue ...... Gabby Wong
Zhao Ziyang ...... Richard Woo
Mother/Woman ...... Su Lin Looi
Grandmother ...... Pik-Sen Lim
Young Kai-Liang ...... James Ang
Documentary Producer ...... Nick Hardin

Students played by May Chan, Jonathan Chan-Pensley, Steven Lim, Monica Sayer, Alan Wai

Directed by Heather Larmour.


THU 15:02 Ramblings (b00kmg2r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00kmndk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00kvh1q)
Three Stories By Giovanni Verga

Wolf-hunt

Series of stories about farming folk by the Sicilian writer of the 1870s, laced with dry humour.

Lollo says he is setting a trap for a local animal but really it will be for a human, someone close to his heart.

Read by Dermot Crowley.


THU 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00kn2yp)
Korea - The Cold War Turns Hot

Series charting the history of America, written and presented by David Reynolds.

The US army clashes with Chinese and Soviet-backed forces in Korea, while Senator Joseph McCarthy stokes up fears of communist spies back in America.


THU 16:00 Open Book (b00kmw7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00kpzdj)
Archaeologists have, for the first time in 150 years, presented a crudely-fashioned hand axe that helped change our view of human origins. Last seen just a few months before Darwin published On Origin of Species, the stone axe showed that humankind had been on the planet far longer than anyone had ever realised. This artefact was lost among hundreds of similar prehistoric tools in the vaults of the Natural History Museum in London, until it was rediscovered by Clive Gamble. Clive showed it to Quentin as enthusiasts arrived to see it.

Should we be able to test ourselves instead of going to a doctor? It is now easy for us to get hold of self-test genetics kits over the internet for conditions like Alzheimer's or breast cancer. At the Cheltenham Science Festival, consultant clinical geneticist Professor Peter Farndon talked about their reliability and what problems self testing can lead to, when we get potentially life-changing results without professional support.

Quentin also visits Tewksbury to talk about the flooding of Gloucestershire rivers with Professor Lindsey McEwen of the University of Gloucestershire. She looks at historical records to understand the patterns of floods on the Severn and Avon.

And science writer Simon Singh tells Quentin about his hopes for changing the English libel laws to allow more freedom for science journalists.


THU 17:00 PM (b00kn305)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kn32l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


THU 18:30 Hut 33 (b00wbkxg)
Series 2

Where Boffins Dare

The codebreakers are threatened with being sent to Burma after making yet another mistake with a message.

In an attempt to redeem themselves before their superiors, they set out to capture a German spy.

James Cary's sitcom set at Bletchley Park - the top-secret home of the Second World War codebreakers.

Charles …. Robert Bathurst
Archie …. Tom Goodman-Hill
Minka …. Olivia Colman
Mrs Best …. Lill Roughley
Gordon …. Fergus Craig
Joshua … Alex McQueen

With Ben Willbond.

Producer: Adam Bromley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00kn2wb)
Jennifer is very concerned about Lilian, who is still not speaking to her. She asks Adam to see if he can intervene, and he promises to try. On his way, he makes a point of speaking to David about the cricket. Adam isn't happy with the way the team are shaping up this season. He thinks it's all too friendly and they ought to get a bit more competitive. David isn't sure. After all, the cricket is supposed to be fun. But Adam thinks that as captain, Alistair should sharpen things up.

When Adam calls on Lilian he finds her extremely worried about Matt, who keeps disappearing without telling her where he's going, and won't talk to her. She feels very lonely. Adam tells her that Jennifer would love to be more of a support, but Lilian gives the idea short shrift.

Tom meets Brenda after her exam. She's very concerned about Vicky, who it appears is coming to the engagement meal tomorrow. She's finding it hard seeing her Dad so besotted with someone Brenda doesn't really like. Tom distracts her by stopping outside a jewellers, then taking her in and buying her a beautiful sapphire engagement ring.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00kn348)
Arts news and reviews.

Jude Law is the latest actor to take on the role of the Danish prince in Hamlet, in a new production directed by Michael Grandage of the Donmar Warehouse. David Tennant got rave reviews for his interpretation, but is Jude Law a worthy successor? Critic Peter Kemp gives his verdict.

The controversial former footballer Eric Cantona recently appeared in French Film and he returns to the big screen in Ken Loach's latest film, Looking for Eric, in which the footballer plays himself. The hero of Manchester United in the 1990s appears at a crisis point in the life of Steve, a depressed football fanatic postman, to offer some of his trademark philosophical life coaching. Eric Cantona and the film's writer Paul Laverty talk to Mark Lawson about making the transfer from pitch to screen.

Novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls has written widely for television, with credits including Cold Feet and Tess of the D'Urbervilles with Billie Piper. Following the success of his 2004 novel Starter For Ten, he discusses the TV-influenced structure he created for his third novel, One Day.

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson play two strangers whose chance meeting in an airport bar leads to an unexpected day of romance in Last Chance Harvey. Writer Gaylene Gould reviews.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00kn4kr)
Writing the Century 9

Episode 4

Series exploring the 20th Century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Vanessa Rosenthal.

Returning to the 1950s diaries of Linton Andrews, editor of The Yorkshire Post.

Linton worries about the situation in Hungary and Suez, while Pinkie argues for his retirement from The Yorkshire Post.

Linton ...... Russell Dixon
Pinkie ...... Alexandra Mathie
Dr Hawbrook ...... Malcolm Raeburn
Annie ...... Ann Rye
Scott ...... Lloyd Peters

Directed by Gary Brown.


THU 20:00 The Report (b00kq560)
Somali Pirates

Rob Walker travels to Somaliland to uncover the truth behind the hijack and ransom of a Danish ship, and asks who benefits from modern-day piracy.


THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b00kq562)
Evan Davis and guests consider whether we have entered a new era of austerity. Are we growing vegetables in our gardens at home, instead of dining out at expensive restaurants? Are we turning up our noses at gas-guzzling cars, not just because we can't afford them, but because they offend our new sensibilities of prudence and caution?

Evan talks to Dr Shumeet Banerji, chief executive of management consultants Booz and Co, Rita Clifton, chairman of Interbrand London, and hedge fund manager Hugh Hendry, founder of Eclectica Asset Management, about whether they believe we are in for a long, hard slog or if they can see light at the end of the economic tunnel.

They also discuss the subject of consultants; with two of them on the panel, Evan quizzes them about why they have such a bad name. Is there really any justification for highly-paid senior executives to pay someone else to help them make their decisions?


THU 21:00 Leading Edge (b00kq564)
Attitudes to Darwin

Geoff Watts examines attitudes to Darwin and his theory of evolution, both during his own time and now. Even today, 150 years after it was first published, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection arouses passions. Indeed, for some it seems just as controversial now as it was in Victorian times.

Geoff is joined by Dr Eugenie Scott, Director of the US National Center for Science Education, which has challenged attempts to teach creationism in American schools, and by Dr Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge. He is co-author of a recent report in which he seeks to 'rescue Darwin' from the crossfire between atheists and creationists.

Dame Gillian Beer, Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge and author of Darwin's Plots: Evolutionary Narrative in Darwin, George Eliot and Nineteenth-Century Fiction, describes how Darwin's own cautious attitude to human evolution and the value of religion changed over the years.

Plus a report from a Darwin exhibition in Turkey and a creationist museum in the USA, highlighting the front line in the battle for public acceptance between evolutionary science and creationist religion.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00kpzd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00kn53n)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00kn5zl)
The World Tonight

Robin Lustig in Gdansk marks the 20th anniversary of the day in which voters in Poland brought down the communist government and set all of eastern and central Europe on a path which, within just a few short months, swept away the Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall and Soviet hegemony.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00kn6fh)
The Outlander

Episode 9

Denica Fairman reads from the novel by Gil Adamson, set in Canada in 1903.

The railroad is up and running again after the landslide and, rifles across their backs, Mary's brothers-in-law are in town.


THU 23:00 Down the Line (b012xpl8)
Series 3

Bad Manners and Modern Liberal Parenting

Britain's got bad manners - should we bring back hanging? Gary Bellamy takes the calls. Stars Rhys Thomas. From February 2008.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00kn7v4)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Robert Orchard.



FRIDAY 05 JUNE 2009

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00kmz5d)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00kvg9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz6s)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00kmz9h)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00kmz82)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00kmzbx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00kmzd7)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Katherine Meyer.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00kmzjt)
Nearly 2,000 dairy farmers have lost out on thousands of pounds and face an uncertain future following the collapse of the Dairy Farmers of Britain milk co-operative. Charlotte Smith finds out what went wrong.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00kmztl)
With John Humphrys and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00kmndy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00kvg9j)
Claire Harman - Jane's Fame

Episode 5

Alice Krige reads from Claire Harman's exploration of Jane Austen's rise to pre-eminence from humble family scribblings to Hollywood movies.

The use of Jane Austen's name knows no generic boundaries. At the beginning of the 21st century we are witness to the spectacle of the young woman who happily limited her scope to 'three or four families in a country village' being marketed as a global brand.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00kn0gk)
Violence within the family; Avocados

The violence that some older Asian women use to control the younger female members of their family. Plus, women in the early Christian church; and the history of the avocado.


FRI 11:00 The Shock of the Knee (b00gmdxp)
Fashion writer Colin McDowell recalls the rise of the miniskirt and Yves Saint Laurent's 1959 House of Dior collection, which introduced hemlines above the knee, and the shocked reactions of society.

The press were agog at these developments, and even some Dior staff thought that Saint Laurent's designs had gone too far. At the same time in Britain, short skirts became increasingly popular with young women.

McDowell talks to one of the most important designers of the period, Mary Quant, as well as representatives of today's fashion industry, and wonders if womenswear will ever be as shocking again.

An All Out production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 Electric Ink (b0116gvm)
Series 1

Episode 1

Maddox is an old school journalist struggling to keep up with new technology.

He feels the art of finding stories is being forgotten and he is not about to let that happen.

Old hacks meet new media in Alistair Beaton’s satire set in the changing world of the newspaper industry.

Maddox ...... Robert Lindsay
Oliver ...... Alex Jennings
Amelia ...... Elizabeth Berrington
Tasneem ...... Zita Sattar
Masha ...... Debbie Chazen
Freddy ...... Ben Willbond
Announcer ...... Matt Addis

With additional material by Tom Mitchelson.

Director: Sally Avens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2009.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00kn0ks)
Consumer news and issues with Peter White.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00kn0r6)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00kn1bl)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00kn2wb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00kr6hj)
Series 2

Top Dog

Series of four plays by Nick Warburton, set in an idiosyncratic restaurant in the Fens.

A well-dressed stranger turns up with an unusual request. He is a rough diamond, the salt of the earth, but Jack doesn't like the look of him.

Warwick ...... Trevor Peacock
Jack ...... Sam Dale
Marcia ...... Kate Buffery
Samuel ...... John Rowe
Zofia ...... Helen Longworth
Mulloway ...... Malcolm Tierney
Bernard ...... Paul Rider

Directed by Claire Grove.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00kr7bc)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Bob Flowerdew, Matthew Biggs and Pippa Greenwood answer questions sent in by post and email.

Including 3.40 Gardening weather forecast.


FRI 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00kn2yr)
Defended to Death

Series charting the history of America, written and presented by David Reynolds.

In the 1950s the country enters a period of unprecedented prosperity, despite the growing threat of nuclear war.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00kr7bf)
Matthew Bannister 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 (b00kr7bh)
Francine Stock talks to Stephen Daldry, the director of Billy Elliot, about his adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's novel, The Reader, which garnered an Oscar for its star Kate Winslet.

The American duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, whose films tackle social issues, discuss their latest film Sugar, about a young basketball player from the Dominican Republic trying to break into the American league.

Plus a tribute to a great British star, Stanley Baker, dubbed the first working-class hero of British cinema.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00kn307)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00kn32n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b00kr7bk)
Series 68

Episode 6

Sandi Toksvig chairs the topical comedy quiz. Panellists are Jeremy Hardy, Francis Wheen, Andy Hamilton and Sue Perkins.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00kn2wf)
It's the meal at Bridge Farm to celebrate Tom and Brenda's engagement, and Vicky is in party mood. As soon as she arrives she's flirting with Tony. When Tom and Brenda arrive, she welcomes them with such enthusiasm that Mike can barely get past her to see the ring for himself. Meanwhile, Annette - who didn't actually have anything better to do - is sitting on her own in the pub. It's her lucky day, says Jazzer, coming to sit beside her. He doesn't have anything else to do either...Taking her courage in her hands, Annette agrees to go and see the Borchester nightlife with him - and stay over at his flat to save the cost of a taxi home.
Tom and Brenda escape from Vicky for a bit to make the coffee after the meal. Brenda assures him that Vicky isn't spoiling the evening for her - she just wishes she'd let Mike get a word in edgeways occasionally. Helen comes in, exercised by a text she's just had from Annette. She's staying over with a friend and won't be back tonight. Helen wonders where she could be.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00kn34b)
Arts news and reviews.

A new documentary on TS Eliot promises fresh insights into the poet's life and work, after his second wife Valerie granted the filmmakers access for the first time to her personal archives. Poet Peter Porter discusses whether this new access really offers a more revealing take on the man and his work.

The impressionist and satirist Rory Bremner is returning with a new series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune. After the recent events in politics, he is unlikely to be short of material. Rory Bremner discusses the ebb and flow of subjects ripe for satire.

John Wilson reports from two schemes in the UK - Big Noise in Scotland and In Harmony in England - which give children in deprived areas the chance to learn a musical instrument and be part of an orchestra. The schemes are modeled on the hugely successful El Sistema project from Venezuela, which in the past 34 years has rescued thousands of children from extreme poverty and, under conductor Gustavo Dudamel, produced the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra.

Author Melvin Burgess is well known for his controversial novels for young adults, including Junk and Doing It, which feature drug taking and underage sex. His latest novel, Nicholas Dane, is no exception: a modern-day take on Dickens' Oliver Twist which exposes the brutal sexual abuse that took place in some children's care homes in the UK in the 1980s. He discusses what he learned from Dickens and why he felt the story had to be told.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00kn4kt)
Writing the Century 9

Episode 5

Series exploring the 20th Century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Vanessa Rosenthal.

Returning to the 1950s diaries of Linton Andrews, editor of The Yorkshire Post.

It is 1957 and Linton is finally resigned to retiring. Pinkie is delighted and relieved, but then something happens to ruin their plans.

Linton ...... Russell Dixon
Pinkie ...... Alexandra Mathie
Dr Hawbrook ...... Malcolm Raeburn
Commander Colville ...... Martin Oldfield

Directed by Gary Brown.


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00kr7bm)
In the wake of the local and European elections, Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate in Billingshurst, West Sussex. Panellists are Guardian journalist Polly Toynbee, Northern Ireland secretary and former Conservative MP Shaun Woodward, shadow local government spokesman Caroline Spelman and Liberal Democrat peer, Jenny Tonge.


FRI 20:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00kr7bp)
Series 1

Sloths

Sir David muses on the natural history of the sloth - perhaps the most lethargic beast in the animal world, and one that he has admitted to wanting to be.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

Producer: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2009.


FRI 21:00 America, Empire of Liberty Omnibus (b00kr7br)
Red or Dead?

Omnibus edition of the series charting the history of America, written and presented by David Reynolds.

After Second World War, America rebuilds its economy and moves out into the suburbs, while facing up to Soviet communism and the threat of nuclear war.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00kn53q)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00kn5zn)
Gordon Brown reshuffles his Cabinet.

Labour lose seats in local government.

Labour backbenchers call for the Prime Minister to resign.

All the latest political news and analysis of the bigger picture.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00kn6fk)
The Outlander

Episode 10

Denica Fairman reads from the novel by Gil Adamson, set in Canada in 1903. Pregnant, arraigned for murder and certain to hang, surely Mary is beyond help?


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b00kpvbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00kn7v6)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.