SATURDAY 05 DECEMBER 2009

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00p352h)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p6yws)
The Hair of the Dog and Other Scientific Surprises

Episode 5

Karl Sabbagh book explores the surprising science behind seemingly trivial assumptions.

A ship that repaired itself; how the earliest telephones worked without bells; why it's a good thing for skyscrapers to sway; and how Europe to America in an hour, by train, may one day become a reality.

Read by Toby Longworth.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier.

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p352k)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p352m)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p352p)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00p358j)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p358l)
Daily prayer and reflection with Andrew Graystone.


SAT 05:45 Running Away (b00f671m)
Andrew Sachs

Actor Andrew Sachs needs little persuasion to take a well-earned break from penning his autobiography and enjoy a grand day out at the zoo - and a stroll down memory lane.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00p358n)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00p3nz0)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00p3nz2)
Gloucestershire Wildlife ER

Helen Mark visits Vale Wildlife Rescue, a hospital where wild animals and birds are taken when they're found injured in Gloucestershire and the surrounding region. Perhaps surprisingly, the hospital provides good indicators of the health of local wildlife: it's possible to tell which species are flourishing by the numbers brought in. They also run wildlife rehabilitation courses for people who want to know what to do when they come across an injured animal or bird.

Helen talks to the staff, and meets patients and long-term residents, including owls, buzzards, foxes, deer....and a skunk. A colony of skunks has sprung up in the nearby Forest of Dean and one was recently brought into the Rescue centre. The family who captured the skunk tell of their adventure, and why it is that skunks are now to be found living wild in the UK.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b00p3nz4)
Farming Today This Week

From robotic milking machines to meat grown in a petri-dish, Farming Today This Week takes a close look at the innovations and advances in agricultural technology that will help to feed future generations.

Charlotte Smith puts research and development under the spotlight and meets the farmers and scientists striving to take agriculture forward.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00p3nz6)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00p3nz8)
Presented by John Humphrys and James Naughtie.

American student Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, have been found guilty of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in a drunken sex game two years ago. Ms Knox has been sentenced to 26 years in prison and Mr Sollecito to 25 years in prison. Correspondent Dominic Hughes reports from Perugia.

Conservative leader David Cameron is in Afghanistan to meet British troops. He has promised to double the allowance paid to soldiers returning from the combat and pledged to set up a war cabinet and appoint a national security advisor, if he wins the next election. Political editor Nick Robinson analyses Mr Cameron's defence policies.

The inquiry into the 2003 Iraq invasion has been hearing from leading public figures for a fortnight. Many revelations have come to light, including the influence of the Blair-Bush bond. Correspondent Peter Hunt reflects on the week's events.

A High Court judge has ruled that the South African Zulu tradition of bull slaying can continue, despite attempts by animal rights activists to ban it. The killing is a symbol of gratitude for the harvest. Correspondent Karen Allen reports from Johannesburg.

Steelmaker Corus has confirmed it will cut production at its Teesside factory, putting 1,700 people out of work. The company said it has struggled to find new orders for the site in Redcar since an Italian-led consortium pulled out of a deal to for the supply of its products earlier this year. Peter Rogan, engineering team leader at the Lackenby site in Redcar, discusses the job losses.

The United Nations has adopted a Bob Dylan song as its unofficial anthem for the climate change summit in Copenhagen. Correspondent Barbara Plett reports on the preparations for the summit.

The British Trust for Ornithology is celebrating 100 years of 'ringing' at their annual conference today. Ringing birds with small tags and has provided almost all the existing data on migration patters, and has ranged from the use of metal to sophisticated satellite tags. Dr Phil Atkinson, head of international research at the British Trust for Ornithology, discusses the historical importance of ringing.

Thought for the Day with Rev Rob Marshall, an Anglican priest.

President Obama announced his long-awaited Afghan policy earlier this week. 30,000 troops are to be sent to the region over the next six months, with an exit strategy planned to commence in 2010. Professor Akbar Ahmed, former Pakistan high commissioner in London and currently the chairman of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington DC, discusses the implications of the speech and strategy for Pakistan.

Conservative leader David Cameron has promised to maintain a long-term commitment to Afghanistan if he wins the next general election. On a visit to the country, he pledged to double the allowance paid to soldiers returning from the region and to set up a war cabinet. Mr Cameron discusses his Afghan policies.

An Italian court has convicted American student Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend of murdering British student Meredith Kercher. The case has taken two years to complete and gripped the world. American journalist Andrea Vogt, who has been following the case, reacts to the sentence.

Do you prefer to write with a keyboard or pen? A typewriter belonging to American novelist Cormac McCarthy has sold for 150,000 pounds at an auction in New York. The old light blue Olivetti machine was used by the novelist for 50 years, and has shocked some writers who use a computer to work. Crime writer Ian Rankin, who uses a computer, and author Philip Henshaw, who writes his works with a green pen, discuss writers' implement of choice.

How do you balance scientific facts with public policy? Scientists are faced with pressure to present evidence on issues of public policy and to lobby for a particular outcome. Leaked emails from the University of East Anglia which imply that climate change data was manipulated have demonstrated the clash between politics and science. Correspondent Tom Feilden reports on the latest 'emailgate' developments, and Professor Malcolm Grant, President and Provost of UCL, discusses how far politics should rely on science.

UN peacekeepers have been in Haiti for more than five years to restore order. Many are wondering why they have remained in the country, which has seen a huge drop in the number of murders, rapes and kidnappings. US authorities have scaled down travel warnings for the country and former president Bill Clinton has been calling on richer nations to invest there. But, with legislative elections due next year, tensions remain high and there are fears that the current situation could be the calm before the storm. In the last of three reports, correspondent Mike Thomson examines Haiti's political climate.

Royal Bank of Scotland's decision to pay out huge bonuses has come under criticism from the Treasury and the public, who want


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00p3nzb)
The Rev Richard Coles is joined by Industry Leader for Technology at Google Sarah Speake. With poetry from Matt Harvey.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00p3p53)
Actor Richard Johnson, star of Hollywood films, stage and radio, was interested in environmental issues long before they became a widespread concern. He talks to Sandi Toksvig about his latest real-life role as the founder of a responsible tourism website which enables people to find and compare green destinations. He has also taken up travel writing for a newspaper and reveals how it has led him to go white water rafting at the age of 82.

Angola is often described as war-torn although the civil war, which ravaged the country for decades, is now over. Sandi meets Mike Stead, formerly 'our man in Luanda', about why he has written a guide to a country where there are few tourists and whose facilities for them can be measured by the fact that it has, apparently, only one working escalator.


SAT 10:30 Bob Marley: The Chrysler Year (b00p3p56)
Lifelong reggae fan Jonathan Charles traces the missing year when Bob Marley dropped out of the Jamaican music scene and spent a year driving a forklift truck in the Chrysler car factory in Wilmington, Delaware.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00p3p58)
Peter Riddell of The Times takes soundings on whether or not President Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan will work.

He also unpicks the latest drive for independence by the SNP in Scotland, and hears why a record-breaking number of MPs are standing down at the general election.

There's also a look at the latest reforms on conduct and expenses in the House of Lords. What's to be done about peers who don't show up?


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00p3pkz)
Kate Adie introduces BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the headlines.

It's been a turbulent few days in the history of Guinea on Africa's west coast. The country's military leader was attacked as those around him argued over who would be blamed for a massacre of opposition supporters in September. Mark Doyle's just back from the capital Conakry, where he heard repeated demands for those responsible for the killings to be brought to justice.

The days ahead will reveal much about the world's determination - or lack of it - to confront the challenge of global warming. Will the nations gathered at the Copenhagen summit strike the kind of deal that will really make a difference? We'll hear the politicians talk, and watch the activists march. But far from the conference chamber, almost unnoticed, some of the world's poorest people will be struggling to cope with the hard realities of climate change. David Shukman explains what the rising temperatures mean for one neighbourhood in Bolivia.

'The earthquake itself was terrifying. The shaking and shaking went on forever,' said a survivor on the South Pacific island of Samoa. But what came next was even worse. Dozens of people were swept to their death in the tsunami triggered by the quake. All that was about two months ago. And now Samoa's people are gradually coming to terms with the aftermath of the disaster. John Pickford is just back from Samoa and says its society has been drawing on all its traditional resilience.

'Africa's time has come'. Those were the words of the South African delegation as the country claimed the right to stage the World Cup. It's still more than six months to the kick-off, but already you can feel the anticipation mounting. Andrew Harding says there are, of course, all the usual worries. Will there be enough hotel rooms, transport and so on? And in a country which has become associated with incidents of violent crime, will the World Cup visitors be safe?

Muslims around the world have just celebrated one of the major events in their calendar, Eid al-Adha. It's a time deeply imbued with notions of sacrifice and obedience to God. But the festival is also an occasion for dressing smartly, visiting relatives, handing out presents and eating! And as Luke Freeman explains, the tradition of the feast means that one particular animal suddenly finds itself in a rather awkward spot.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00p3pl1)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.

Card transaction fees anger airline customers, but how can you avoid them?

Home insulation grants get squeezed.

Money Box listeners debate 'feckless' borrowers.

And how to be taxed as a foreigner, even if you're born here.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00p34yr)
Series 29

Episode 2

Tonight Steve Punt & Hugh Dennis assess the threat of the nuclear family; Marcus Brigstocke meets his nemesis; Mitch Benn seeks independence for Alex Salmond and Jon Holmes explains why Dubai is worse than Margate.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00p3pl3)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00p3pl5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00p34yt)
Eddie Mair chairs the topical debate from Stratford-upon-Avon. Panellists include director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti, broadcaster John Sergeant, associate editor of The Times Daniel Finkelstein and columnist AA Gill.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00p3pl7)
Eddie Mair takes listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00817zc)
Dover Beats the Band

Comedy thriller by Joyce Porter, dramatised by Paul Mendelson.

Inspector Dover, with less than total enthusiasm, investigates the murder of a mild-mannered philatelist in a holiday camp. His sergeant, however, cares a bit too much. But as the investigation begins to uncover a sinister conspiracy, even Scotland Yard's laziest detective becomes determined to catch the killer.

Chief Inspector Dover ...... Kenneth Cranham
Sergeant McGregor ...... Stuart McQuarrie
Dr Hirst/Nora Hull ...... Joanna Tope
Captain Maguire/Sven ...... Michael Mackenzie
Sir Egbert Rankin/Rupert Pettit ...... Finlay McLean
Inspector Telford/Osmond ...... Nick Underwood
Sandra/Doreen Knapper ...... Lucy Paterson
Mavis/WPC Elvira Marchmount ...... Samantha Young

Other parts played by members of the cast.

Directed by David Ian Neville.


SAT 15:30 Tales from the Stave (b00p2cq0)
Series 5

Bach's B-Minor Mass

There are very few scores anywhere in the world of more value than Bach's famous Mass. So fragile is it that the Berlin library where it's kept (the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) allows only a very few people ever to see it, let alone touch it.

Choral conductor Simon Halsey and the Bach soprano Deborah York join Frances at the Library to get closer to the great German composer's extraordinary industry and to catch a glimpse of his humanity. It is often half-jokingly said that, to his fans, Bach is not so much a composer as a religion; but here, in his neat hand, are the crossings out and re-workings of a man still seeking to perfect music, much of which was written earlier in his life.

Simon Halsey has described the B-Minor Mass as 'Bach's greatest hits', since in many ways it is a compilation of pieces he had composed over a number of years. The Berlin score isn't simply a fair copy of this assembly, but shows Bach still hard at work, changing his mind, rewriting - a phrase shifted here, a key modulated there - introducing new instrumentation and striving for something better.

There is also an incredible technological story to tell. Bach's pages are literally thick with music - so thick that in many places the ink has actually burned through the paper, leaving it almost impossible to read. So the Library has had to split the single pages open and insert a protective sheet to stabilise the ink-burn.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b00p3pl9)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Highlights of this week's Woman's Hour programmes with Jane Garvey.

Delia Smith's advice on cooking turkeys, puddings and more festive fare; black and white relationships in the era depicted by Andrea Levy's novel Small Island; childbirth and identifying those at risk of serious mental health problems; singer Annie Lennox on World AIDS Day; is there a need for a female alternative to Viagra?; and performance from cabaret artist Camille O'Sullivan.


SAT 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p3plc)
5th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Mrs Thatcher faces her first leadership challenge.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00p3plf)
Saturday PM

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


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00p3plh)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00p3plk)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00p3plm)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p3plp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00p3plr)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Clive is joined by the Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable, entertainer Lionel Blair and restaurateur Oliver Peyton.

Emma Freud talks to professional time waster Robin Cooper, a man who delights in sending organisations and clubs absurd letters and phone calls, with humourous results.

With music from singer-songwriter Lissie and the soul-jazz sounds of Michael Olatuja.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b00p3plt)
Series 7

Ghost Writing

The trial of alleged Nazi guard John Demjanjuk has begun in Munich. Jeremy Front looks at why it's still important to confront one's past. Performed by David Schneider and Geoffrey Hutchings.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00p3q4b)
Steven Soderbergh's latest film The Girlfriend Experience and the V&A's new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by writers Susan Jeffreys and Miranda Sawyer and musician Pat Kane to discuss the cultural highlights of the week.

Debbie Allen's Broadway all-black production of Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof comes to London. A powerful Southern family gathers at a birthday celebration for patriarch Big Daddy, who is unaware he is dying. In a scramble to secure their part of his estate, family members hide the truth about his diagnosis from him and Big Mama. Tensions mount between their son, alcoholic former football hero Brick, and his beautiful but sexually frustrated wife Maggie, 'the Cat'. As their troubled relationship reaches a stormy climax, family secrets are revealed.

Director Steven Soderbergh's latest film The Girlfriend Experience tells the story of Chelsea, a 2,000 dollar-an-hour escort in Manhattan. Her services include a 'girlfriend experience' where she'll dress with the client in mind, go to dinner and a movie and listen attentively to talk about work and finances. Clients can buy her time but do they ever get the real her? Former porn star Sasha Grey plays Chelsea.

The Victoria and Albert museum's new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries have taken seven years and 31.75 million pounds to create. Collections are presented in continuous displays to tell the story of European art and design from the fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the Renaissance period. More than 1800 works of art are on display, including important loans from the British Library, the British Museum and the National Gallery.

We've also been looking at the yearly annuals of political cartoons including the Daily Telegraph's financial strip Alex, the Peter Brooks cartoons in the Times and Matt, the Telegraph's front page cartoonist.

And enjoying The Art of Russia, a new BBC4 series in which presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon traces the prehistoric elements of Russian culture through the influence of Byzantine art.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00p3q4d)
The Turner Prize Turnaround

As the Turner Prize reaches its 25th year, art critic Waldemar Januszczak considers its transformation from a widely criticised award to a much anticipated and often controversial annual spectacle. Januszczak looks back at the art and artists that have grabbed the headlines and investigates how the Turner Prize has influenced the appreciation of modern art in Britain, with millions now visiting Tate Modern.

The programme includes new interviews with Turner Prize-winner Damien Hirst, Tate director Nicholas Serota and art critics Matthew Collings and Sarah Kent.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00p1fj2)
Book 1: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Part 1

Dramatisation by Shaun McKenna of John le Carre's classic novel featuring intelligence officer George Smiley.

Ever since the capture and torture of their agent in Czechoslovakia, the British Secret Intelligence Service has been in trouble. Now, the government has been forced to call George Smiley back from retirement to investigate the whole incident and to seek out the mole they believe to be at the heart of the service.

George Smiley ...... Simon Russell Beale
Ann Smiley ...... Anna Chancellor
Jim Prideaux ...... Anthony Calf
Peter Guillam ...... Ewan Bailey
Oliver Lacon ...... Alex Jennings
Ricki Tarr ...... Jamie Foreman
Irina ...... Vera Filatova
Mendel ...... Kenneth Cranham
Connie Sachs ...... Maggie Steed
Magyar ...... Peter Majer
Roddy Martindale ...... Philip Fox
Bill Roach ...... Ryan Watson

This episode is available until 3.00pm on Sunday 2nd May as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00p3qg6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b00p2z8m)
Michael Buerk chairs a debate on the moral questions behind the week's news. Michael Portillo, Matthew Taylor, Claire Fox and Clifford Longley cross-examine witnesses.

Can science ever be truly morally neutral? The leaking of e-mails from the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit has raised the issue of where should we draw the line between science and campaigning? In a complex world of competing interests, it's vital that we have an independent and rational method to judge and inform policies. But is it naive to expect scientists to put their personal views aside when dealing with such an important issue? Do we rely too much on scientific evidence to shape policy and is it driving out political and moral debate in society?

Witnesses:

Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist Green Peace

Professor John Milbank, Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at Nottingham University

Dr Ben Goldacre, full-time medic, science journalist and author of Bad Science

Professor Lewis Wolpert, Emeritus Professor in Cell and Developmental Biology at University College, London.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00p28w7)
Russell Davies chairs the eighth heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, with contestants from the Midlands.


SAT 23:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00p1ftk)
Series 10

An Arundel Tomb

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

Philip Larkin was disappointed by his 'Tomb poem': one of the pivotal details was wrong and another, he discovered, had been invented by a Victorian restorer 500 years later. 'Muddle to the end,' he complained, and yet it is now one of his best-loved and most quoted poems.



SUNDAY 06 DECEMBER 2009

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00p3qpg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Original Shorts (b008pvmz)
Series 3

Not in Front of Jack Hawkins

New short stories by well-known authors.

Christopher Matthew's perceptive tale of past and present, in which memory plays tricks at a celebratory memorial service.

Read by Martin Jarvis.

A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p3r41)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p3r43)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p3r45)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00p3r47)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00p3r49)
The sound of bells from St Clement Danes, London.


SUN 05:45 Political Roots (b00p6qpf)
Liberals

Richard Reeves examines the intellectual and philosophical roots of the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00p3r4c)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00p3r4f)
Striving for Imperfection

Classicist Llewelyn Morgan considers the problem of aspiring towards perfection, and how an acceptance, and even celebration, of our failings may be the better path to follow.

With readings from Orhan Pamuk, Horace and WB Yeats and music from Jascha Heifetz, John Foulds and Alessandro Scarlatti.

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 Living World (b00p3sx9)
Tufty of Thirlmere

The ear tufts of the red squirrel are what help make this much-loved species of the British countryside such an icon for conservation. As the autumn colours of the Lake District intensify, Lionel Kelleway sets off on a quest to find his own autumnal Tufty in the mixed woodlands of Thirlmere.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00p3sxc)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00p3sxf)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00p3sxh)
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 (b00p71gw)
BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal

St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal supporting homeless and vulnerable people. Presented by Rev Nicholas Holtam.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00p3sxm)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00p3sxp)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00p3sxr)
The Day of His Coming

On the second Sunday of Advent, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is the preacher at a service from the University of Huddersfield reflecting on the great choruses of Handel's Messiah during the BBC's Sing Hallelujah weekend.

Led by Rev Peter Whittaker with the Huddersfield Choral Society, conducted by Joseph Cullen.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00p34yw)
Impact

Clive James reflects that in a democracy we must never be complacent about any government initiative and warns of the dangers that a new plan for calculating funding for universities may pose to academic freedom.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00p3sxt)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 09:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b00p6s4j)
Received with Thanks

Libby Purves finds out how the money raised by listeners last year for the 2008 BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal has been spent over the past 12 months.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00p3sxw)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00p3sxy)
Baroness Scotland

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland.

She is the government's chief law officer, a position as significant as it is isolated. She was on course to be the first female High Court judge before a life in politics intervened and she joined the government. Before she took on her current role she thought she understood the pressures that came with it. In fact, she says, that only became evident once she was in office: 'It is a huge responsibility and it is, and it always will be, a fairly lonely one'.

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

Record: Pie Jesu with Sarah Brightman
Book: A bound version of her children's (and their cousin's) prose and poems.
Luxury: A luxurious bathroom.


SUN 12:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b00p2b01)
Series 52

Episode 3

The perennial antidote to panel games pays a visit to the Festival Theatre in Chichester, with Jack Dee taking the chairman's role.

Regulars Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden are joined by David Mitchell.

With Colin Sell at the piano.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00p3sy0)
Food Memoir

Food Memoir has been a growing trend in food writing in recent years. The combination of food writers' recollections and relevant recipes has proved a hit with countless readers. Simon Parkes explores this trend and asks why it's so popular. He talks to Josceline Dimbleby, who is in the middle of writing her own food memoir, Italian food writer Anna del Conte talks about Risotto with Nettles and Yasmin Alibhai Brown discusses The Settler's Cookbook, both published in 2009.

In the studio, Kathryn Hughes, biographer of The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton, and journalist, novelist and critic John Lanchester discuss the genre and dissect some of the new and not-so-new publications.

What attracts established food writers to this literary style? How difficult is it to get right? Do the recipes get in the way of a good story, or is it the other way round? What works and what doesn't?


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00p3sy2)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00p3sy4)
A look at events around the world with Shaun Ley.


SUN 13:30 The House That Jazz Built (b00p315y)
Celebrating 50 years of Ronnie Scott's, Paul Merton looks back at the origins of Ronnie Scott's, Britain's most famous jazz venue, and examines its impact in the world of music.

Ever since his trips in the late-1940s to the jazz clubs of New York's 52nd Street, Ronnie Scott dreamt of opening his own London venue. His vision came true when the first Ronnie Scott's club opened on Gerrard Street, Soho, in 1959.

The initial plan was purely to provide a base for British jazz musicians to jam. However, the club quickly developed a reputation for featuring the best in modern jazz and soon provided a platform for the world's greatest jazz musicians. It became a Mecca for jazz music fans and a popular hang-out for politicians, comedians and actors.

In 1965 it relocated a short distance to Frith Street, where it remains one of the world's most celebrated jazz rooms, complete with its own studio and record label.

Recorded on location at Ronnie Scott's, the programme features interviews with leading jazz artists Salena Jones, Ian Shaw, Jay Phelps and James Pearson, and features music and archive from personalities associated with the venue during its 50-year history.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00p34yh)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Chris Beardshaw, Bunny Guinness and Bob Flowerdew are guests of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society in Edinburgh.

The programme takes a guided tour of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Includes gardening weather forecast.


SUN 14:45 Joan Armatrading's Favourite Choirs (b00bbxp3)
Warrington Male Voice Choir

Joan Armatrading visits choral assemblies across the country.

She meets a long-established male voice choir that is devoted to promoting peace and reconciliation, a mission which assumed greater poignancy after the Warrington bombing in 1993.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00p3sy6)
Book 1: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Part 2

Dramatisation by Shaun McKenna of John le Carre's classic novel.

George Smiley, called back from retirement, tries to piece together the events of the past to find the mole he believes is tearing apart the British Secret Intelligence Service.

George Smiley ...... Simon Russell Beale
Ann Smiley ...... Anna Chancellor
Control ...... John Rowe
Peter Guillam ...... Ewan Bailey
Percy Alleline ...... Bill Paterson
Ricki Tarr ...... Jamie Foreman
Toby Esterhase ...... Sam Dale
Bill Haydon ...... Michael Feast
Roy Bland...... David Hargreaves
Sam Collins ...... Nicholas Boulton

This episode is available until 3.00pm on Sunday 2nd May as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b00p3v2j)
John Irving

James Naughtie and readers talk to celebrated American author John Irving about his novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany.

The novel starts with a shock - the eponymous hero hits a foul ball in a baseball match and kills his best friend's mother. It then moves through to spooky premonitions during an amateur performance of A Christmas Carol, to a drunken psychiatrist driving down school steps, to a bloody end during the Vietnam war. Yet there is pattern and meaning in such bizarre antics, and part of the fun for the reader is to work them out.

Irving reveals the mysteries of one of fiction's most extraordinary characters, Owen Meany - the little guy with the falsetto voice.


SUN 16:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00p3v2l)
Series 10

My Last Duchess

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

The height of English Gothic, a poem in which an aristocrat tacitly admits to having done away with his young wife - a Medici no less. Peggy Reynolds teases out the many layers of Robert Browning's chilling but groundbreaking poem.


SUN 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p3v2n)
6th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

East Germany's leader Egon Krenz resigns.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b00p2hnt)
Iraqi Refugees

US troops have handed control for security in Iraq back to the Iraqi government, which was supposed to be the first sign that normality was returning to the streets. So why are thousands of Iraqi refugees still refusing to return home? Kate Clark invesigates.


SUN 17:40 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b00p6s4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00p3v2q)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00p3v2s)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p3v2v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00p3v2x)
Laurie Taylor introduces his selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.

He's Not the Messiah, He's a Very Naughty Boy - Radio 2
Adventures in Poetry - Radio 4
Front Row - Radio 4
The Good Days - Radio 3
Tales From The Stave - Radio 4
Exchanges at the Frontier - World Service
Brick by Brick - Radio 4
Book of the Week: The Hair of the Dog and Other Scientific Surprises - Radio 4
Midweek - Radio 4
In Living Memory - Radio 4
The BBC National Short Story Award - Radio 4
A Jewel in the Comedy Crown - Radio 4
Today Programme - Radio 4
Victoria Derbyshire - Radio 5live
The House That Jazz Built - Radio 4.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00p3v6p)
Joe leaves Vicky a message, saying they should crack on with making the kissing boughs. He persuades Lynda to 'donate' some box hedge. As she cuts it, Joe tells her about Jim's interest in Blossom Hill Cottage. Lynda delights in talking about Oscar, but when Joe pipes up that Caz must want her own mum, Lynda snaps at him, and promptly nicks herself with the secateurs. When Joe calls back for the cuttings, Lynda apologises for biting his head off.

Caz and Lynda are careful with each other after last week's spat. When Caz tells Lynda that she's had an e-mail from her mum, Lynda senses her disappointment that it was just a few lines.

Helen's looking forward to meeting up with her old friends. Going alone means she won't worry about Leon feeling left out but she feels guilty that Annette's going to be home alone. Leon's obviously thought about that too, and turns up armed with drinks. Annette's flustered but invites him in. After he's plied her with drink and compliments, Leon comes on strong. Annette makes a feeble attempt to stop him, but when he kisses her a second time, she doesn't want him to stop.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


SUN 19:15 Americana (b00p3wpn)
Matt Frei presents an insider guide to the people and the stories shaping America today. Combining location reports with lively discussion and exclusive interviews, the show provides new and surprising insights into contemporary America.

Matt talks to Joe Lockhart, President Bill Clinton's press secretary during his impeachment trial, and columnist Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times. The three discuss the week's top news including President Obama's plans for Afghanistan and joblessness rates in the US, and offer some public relations advice to Tiger Woods.

Americana gathers an informal town hall in Forsyth, Georgia to hear the thoughts and reactions of 'average Joes' to President Obama's decisions on Afghanistan and the challenges ahead.

Matt talks to farmers from the open stretches of the United States as they prepare for their civilian deployments to Afghanistan.

As the ban on smoking in restaurants takes place across the state of Virginia, Matt talks to local bar owner Barry Pruitt about the last puffs in his bar and about the fading romance between the tobacco leaf and Virginia.

Retired four-star General Jack Keane shares his thoughts on President Obama's strategy for Afghanistan.


SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b0080dyv)
Sputnik

Drinking Vodka in the Afternoon

A selection of stories celebrating the Russian satellite which started the space race in 1957.

By Tania Hershman.

In an Irish village, Mary Margaret receives lessons from a mysterious Russian.

Read by Niamh Cusack.

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b00p346w)
Roger Bolton airs listeners' views on BBC radio programmes and policy.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00p34ym)
Matthew Bannister presents the obituary series.

Marking the lives of the actor Richard Todd, Professor Humphrey Kay, Cecilia Vajda and William Miller.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00p3pl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00p71gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b00p33wz)
Small Wonder

Microloans have brought credit to millions of poor people shunned by the conventional banking system, but now commercial financial institutions are jumping on the microlending bandwagon. Peter Day wonders whether a microloan bubble is about to burst.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00p3wpq)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00p3wps)
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster. Including Political Roots.


SUN 23:00 1989: Day by Day Omnibus (b00p3wpv)
Week ending 5th December 1989

A look back at the events making the news 20 years ago, with Sir John Tusa.

Margaret Thatcher and her challenger, Sir Anthony Meyer, submit their nomination papers as the fight begins for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the Vatican; he, along with George Bush meet in Malta and declare the Cold War over.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00p3r4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 07 DECEMBER 2009

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00p3wxh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00p2z8g)
Anthropology of Wall Street - Rural Idyll

Anthropology in an unusual setting: Wall Street. Laurie Taylor talks to the anthropologist who gave up her academic life for over a year to become an investment banker in order to study life on Wall Street. She explains why she immersed herself in the culture of high finance, high risk and high reward and why she thinks it was the culture of Wall Streeters which brought the world's financial system to the edge of catastrophe.

Also in the programme, Laurie asks if there is such a thing as an idyllic English village life. While some media reports suggest that life in rural communities is seriously under threat and even dying, Laurie talks to the geographer who thinks that, far from it, village life is thriving and in many places a new kind of idyllic life is being created. Did the rural idyll ever exist and what form might it take in the 21st century?


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00p3r49)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p3xdr)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p405n)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p3xjr)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00p4h3t)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p4jrx)
Daily prayer and reflection with Andrew Graystone.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00p4jw1)
Cumbrian farmers call for government help to save their land. Charlotte Smith hears that the flood waters have left behind banks of gravel weighing millions of tons. Fields by rivers have been destroyed, and farmers have to foot the bill.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00p50f3)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00p4jww)
Presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis.

The 2009 United Nations Climate Change conference opens today in Copenhagen. Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-chairman of the IPCC, spoke of the effect of the leaked emails from East Anglia at the weekend. A survey commissioned by the BBC World Service has found concern about climate change has risen. Environment analyst Roger Harrabin outlines the ambitions for the summit.

Former shadow home secretary David Davis is calling on the government to make a statement in response to claims that it misled Parliament over the extraordinary rendition of two Pakistanis by British forces to a secretive US prison in Afghanistan in February 2004.

Environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee reports from East Anglia about an arable farmer who started farming worms to turn rubbish into compost. It's become so successful that he's giving up the rest of his farming activities to concentrate on the worms.

What does a large influx of inexperienced MPs mean for a parliament and for a government? Veteran political commentator Anthony Howard on the changes in the House of Commons after the next election.

The government is to announce a major shift in mental health policy in England, with a new emphasis on tackling depression. Professor Til Wykes, a clinical scientist at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London, Lewis Appleby, national director for Mental Health, and Dr Lynne Friedl, author of the World Health Organisation's report Mental Health, Resilience, and Inequalities, discuss the new strategy.

Thought for the Day with Dr Colin Morris.

Wealthy Conservative backer Lord Ashcroft, who has donated more than five million pounds to the Tories in recent years, has come under concerted pressure from Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians to say whether or not he pays tax in the UK.

Gordon Brown is expected to announce Labour's plans for slashing public spending by 12 billion pounds over four years. Economics editor Stephanie Flanders outlines the cuts and Prof Colin Talbot from Manchester University Business School explains the government's strategy.

Delegates from 192 countries are gathering in the Danish capital Copenhagen for the opening of the long-awaited UN summit on climate change. The conference has been described by some scientists as the most important the world has ever seen. Climate change secretary Ed Miliband outlines the conference's aims.

The Treasury is drawing up plans to levy a one-year windfall tax on the bonuses paid to some UK-based bankers. Business editor Robert Peston explains Chancellor Alistair Darling's aims.

From the Today programme's audio advent calendar - memorable moments from the programme this year, Evan Davis learns how to play Bohemian Rhapsody on a comb.

The psychological needs of many Britons are going unfulfilled, according to a report by the think-tank the Young Foundation. The organisation's director, Geoff Mulgan, explains how the government is lagging behind public opinion.

The 2010 edition of Who's Who goes on sale today. Richard Fitzwilliams was the editor of International Who's Who for 16 years and says it should be more up to date.

As the UN summit in Copenhagen begins, our science correspondent Tom Feilden looks at the state of the scientific evidence about global warming.

A BBC investigation into the effects of commercial logging in Borneo has been told of the rape and abuse of tribal women and girls - some as young as ten. Logging companies have been accused of turning a blind eye to the allegations for nearly a decade. In recent months the Penan tribe - armed with blow-pipes - have been blockading roads in an attempt to halt logging companies entering their ancestral lands. Angus Stickler reports.

The author of a new book, The Value of Nothing, argues that we have a misplaced notion of value and free markets are blinding us to other ways of seeing the world. The book's author, Raj Patel, and the director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs discuss the current economic model.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00p50f5)
Andrew Marr explores whether the Enlightenment or communism is more relevant today, with Tzvetan Todorov defending the role of 18th-century thought and Tariq Ali demanding a re-evaluation of communist ideals. Andrew Graham-Dixon champions Russian art, and, on the 60th anniversary of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, Janine di Giovanni celebrates its enduring appeal.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p5ysq)
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi

Episode 1

Kenneth Cranham reads from Andrew McConnell Stott's account of the life of one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, who became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.

The two-year-old Joseph Grimaldi is propelled onto the stage at Sadler's Wells by his ruthless, ballet master father, the Signor. The infant Joe enters the somewhat sordid and perilous world of 18th-century theatre, where he is drilled daily in the arts of mime, acrobatics and buffoonery. When the Signor finally dies of the syphilis that has threatened his sanity for decades, the nine-year-old clown Joe is forced to become breadwinner for the Grimaldi family.

Abridged by Viv Beeby.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00p4kb1)
Alesha Dixon; Stillbirth guidelines; Tracksuit bottoms

Pop star Alesha Dixon on absent fathers. Plus stillbirth guidelines; labiaplasty; and how the tracksuit bottom has been given a radical makeover.


MON 11:00 Policing Britain (b00p5x4w)
The Police and the Public

Andy Hayman, former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, examines the challenges facing policing in Britain today.

When Andy Hayman left the Metropolitan Police in 2008 he was assistant commissioner, Special Operations, in overall charge of counter-terrorism. He had to deal with the suicide bomb attacks on London and the tragedy of the de Menezes shooting. Andy's 30-year career started straight out of school with the police in Essex and took him to the position of chief constable of Norfolk.

In this series he takes a critical look at the challenges facing the police service in Britain today. He goes back on the beat and talks to former colleagues and those who work with the police at every level to ask the question, 'Do we have the policing we need in Britain today?'

A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:30 Tickets Please (b00p5xc2)
Episode 4

After delays caused by lightning, a 20-piece orchestra in coach G practices. This offers Robin a plangent background for his declaration of love.

But can he seize his chance before the train arrives at Exeter St David's?

Sitcom on rails by Mark Maier.

Robin........Jeremy Swift
Nadine.......Alex Kelly
Peter......Malcolm Tierney
Carol......Tessa Nicholson
Carl........Nicholas Boulton
Diana.......Melissa Advani
Linda.........Kate Layden
Keith.....Stephen Hogan

Other parts played by Philip Fox, Piers Wehner and Joseph Cohen-Cole

Producer: Peter Kavanagh

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00p4l7x)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00p4lnq)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00p4lp9)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00p5xc4)
Russell Davies chairs the ninth heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, with contestants from the south of England.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00p3v6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00p5xc6)
Zero Degrees of Separation

Three community writing groups from the Isle of Mull, Northern Ireland and London perform their own short plays.

The Bank Van, by Carla Lamont, Derek Crook, Kirsty Lamont and Colin MacIntyre.
With Stewart Cattanach, Christopher Barlow, Andrea McKenna, Roddy Wyness and Mary-Jean Devon.

Crosswords, by Ballycastle Writer's Group.
With Daire Buckley, Arlene Brown, Michael Duffin, Rab Coyles, Harry McKeirnan.
Guitarist: Lee Cartwright.
Directed by Lou Stein

Shame on You, by The Original Writer's Group, Battersea.
With Zoe King, Christine Brennan, Becca Thackery and members of the group, with Rebecca Noon and Liam Clarke.

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00p3q4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 15:45 Darwin: My Ancestor (b00gvrhk)
Episode 1

Writer and poet Ruth Padel investigates the qualities of her great great grandfather Charles Darwin and attempts to discover the man behind the science.

Ruth explores how Darwin developed the sense of wonder and curiosity about nature which would be so crucial to his work. She investigates how important his childhood collecting was to him and asks how his enthusiasm developed into a scientific understanding of the world around him. Among her interviewees are Darwin's biographer Janet Browne, geologist Richard Fortey, writer and fellow Darwin descendant Randal Keynes and Darwin scholar Gillian Beer.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00p3sy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b00p5yxj)
Series 1

Extraterrestrial Life

Series in which physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince take a witty, irreverent and unashamedly rational look at the world according to science.

Robin and Brian are joined by alien abduction expert Jon Ronson and Seth Shostack from the SETI Institute in California to discuss science conspiracies, UFOs and the search for ET.


MON 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p4pm5)
7th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

The Czech prime minister Ladislav Adamec resigns.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 17:00 PM (b00p4py4)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p4q2l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b00p604t)
Series 52

Episode 4

The perennial antidote to panel games pays a visit to the Festival Theatre in Chichester, with Jack Dee taking the chairman's role.

Regulars Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden are joined by David Mitchell.

With Colin Sell at the piano.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00p4lt5)
Annette hears Leon leave in the early hours. As she watches him drive away she feels nothing but frustration at her stupidity.

Caz is missing Justin, and stifles her tears as she tries to comfort a restless Oscar. As Caz catches up on some sleep, Lynda wants to take Oscar for a stroll to settle him. Robert's not sure she should do so without Caz's permission but Lynda insists she'll be back before Caz wakes.

Lynda takes Oscar into the shop. Clarrie tells her that Pat's had a few responses to the questionnaire. Lynda thought there might have been a bit more support.

Clarrie notices that Annette's not herself. When Helen turns up, Annette tries to avoid her questions but ends up bursting into tears. Helen wants to know what's wrong and tries to comfort her.

Caz wakes up, and isn't happy that Lynda's taken Oscar out. Leonie doesn't help matters, saying that Lynda just can't wait to get her hands on him. As Lynda arrives back, Caz snaps at her. Robert tries to explain that Lynda thought she was doing her a favour but Caz is angry and things get rather heated. Robert comforts Lynda and assures her he'll make sure everything is fine.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00p4q57)
Sky Television is attempting to revive the art of the silent movie, commissioning a series of silent short films from some of the biggest names in contemporary drama including Richard Eyre, William Boyd and Guy Hibbert. Kirsty Lang and film historian Ian Christie assess the results and consider the pros and cons of silent performance.

John Wilson reports live from the BBC National Short Story Award ceremony in central London, speaking to chair of judges Tom Sutcliffe and revealing the winner of the 15,000 pounds prize.

Violinist Sarah Chang talks to Kirsty Lang about her latest recording of the Bruch and the Brahms Violin Concertos and her 20-year career - and she's not yet 30!


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00p4qhh)
Writing the Century 11: 1963-1966 - All My Trials

Episode 1

Series exploring the 20th century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Pat Cumper from documents held at the Black Cultural Archives.

Amy Barbour-James was born in England in 1906 to Guyanese parents. Her father was a British civil servant and a founder member of the League of Coloured Peoples. In 1963, Amy is living in London with her sister Muriel as The Big Freeze grips the country.

Amy ...... Janice Acquah
Muriel ...... Ellen Thomas
Joyce/Cathy ...... Fiona Clarke
Ade ...... Declan Wilson
Bank Manager ...... Rob Pickavance

Original music by Nicolai Abrahamsen.


MON 20:00 Things We Forgot to Remember (b00p604w)
Series 5

Joan of Arc

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

Michael explores the myth and memory of Joan of Arc, and discovers that another French woman deserves just as much, if not more, credit for saving France in its hour of need.

Battered by decades of war, riven by internal divisions and with large swathes of the country occupied by the English, Charles VII's France was on its knees in the 1420s. To its rescue came a young woman, Joan of Arc. Under her inspiration the fortunes of the country were turned round and France appeared saved. Joan's place in history was confirmed as she was burned at the stake at the age of 19.

But Joan's notoriety eclipses the contribution made by another of her contemporaries, who did as at least as much to secure the future of the French nation and its monarchy. She was Yolande D'Aragon, the King's mother-in-law. It was Yolande who used her position to secure the French monarchy by marriage, diplomacy and force. It was she who invited the young Joan to court, who provided her with her armour and who acted as her sponsor as an emblem of hope for the troops. It was also Yolande who ditched Joan as soon as she became a liability and spent the next decades making laws and allegiances to strengthen the French crown.

Michael investigates why her 40 years of service have been forgotten, buried in the mythology that has grown around Joan.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00p315w)
Pakistan Drugs

Julia Rooke accompanies former heroin dealer, Urfan Azad, on a journey back to the remote mountain madrassa in north west Pakistan where he received drugs rehabilitation and spiritual healing. But during their journey Urfan reveals how young recovering addicts and criminals were given military training and that some went on to fight in Afghanistan.


MON 21:00 Frontiers (b00p604y)
GM Crops

Negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen are hoping to agree a new global climate treaty to limit greenhouse emissions.

Richard Hollingham discusses the way biotechnology can help us develop new crops able to withstand harsher growing conditions. He talks to some of the biotech companies that want the European Commission to relax its attitude towards GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Richard also talks to the EC itself about its policy on GM products.

Crops genetically adapted for climate change need to be drought and pest resistant and able to thrive in poor quality soil. They also need to provide improved yields. These crops are controversial, especially in Europe. Historically, European legislators have taken a very cautious attitude towards genetically modified food and animal feedstuff.

Currently, the European Commission permits the import of genetically modified cotton, maize, oilseed rape, soybean and sugar beet for human and animal consumption. So far, the EC has issued just a single licence permitting one variety of GM maize to be grown in Europe.

At present, there are about 50 GM products awaiting approval from the European Commission, of which 19 are for cultivation. The companies that produce biotech crops want the EC to relax its moratorium on new product approvals. Apart from the obvious commercial opportunities, they argue that if Europe relaxes its attitude towards GM crops, developing nations will be more likely to accept them too, and it is the developing nations that will be most affected by climate change. In that sense, Europe is becoming a crucial battlefield as companies lobby to get new crops licensed for cultivation.

There is still huge opposition within Europe to genetically modified crops. But is climate change beginning to alter the terms of the debate? If the world is to sustain its current population levels at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to cultivate traditional crops, have we now reached the point when Europe needs to take a more tolerant attitude towards the cultivation of GM crops?


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00p50f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00p4r7p)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p4r86)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

Another soldier dies in Afghanistan, bringing the total this year to 100.

Student protests in Iran turn violent.

Surname meshing: the new trend.

The Copenhagen summit begins - what will success look like?

Are quangos an easy target for politicians?


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00p4rjj)
Riceyman Steps

Episode 6

Robert Powell reads from the 1923 novel by Arnold Bennett about the poignant struggles of everyday London life.

The corrosive desire for thrift begins to dominate married life at Mr Earlforward's bookshop. Henry's refusal to eat properly is beginning to affect his health, but Violet has plans to tempt him.

A Waters Partnership production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b00p2hfw)
Michael Rosen asks whether English is one language or a thousand.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p4rjx)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



TUESDAY 08 DECEMBER 2009

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00p3wx1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p5ysq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p3x30)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p404k)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p3xdt)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00p4h3k)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p4jqd)
Daily prayer and reflection with Andrew Graystone.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00p4js0)
The food strategy for the 2012 Olympics has been described as the largest ever peace-time food effort. But Anna Hill hears claims the strategy has missed out on its ambitions to be the greenest, most sustainable sporting event.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00p4jw3)
With John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Choice (b00p607d)
Michael Buerk interviews people who have made life-altering decisions and talks them through the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences.

Michael talks to Dr Warren Hern about his choice to carry out abortions despite death threats.


TUE 09:30 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633v)
Agents and Audiences

Series in which Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the laborious process of creating successful pilot programmes.

Paul examines two groups at the sharp end of the process - the agents who have to break bad news about unsuccessful pilots to their clients and the audiences whose response can make the difference between success and failure. Featuring an interview with John Grant of the Conway van Gelder Grant agency.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p5yss)
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi

Episode 2

Kenneth Cranham reads from Andrew McConnell Stott's account of the life of one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, who became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.

The young Grimaldi begins to make his mark as a comic performer on the unruly stages of Georgian London. But just when he seems to have finally found happiness with his new wife and child, tragedy strikes. Joseph seeks consolation in work - and making others laugh - with a new comic creation that will change the face of clowning forever: the pantomime clown Joey, complete with full make-up of white face, blood-red mouth and blackened brows.

Abridged by Viv Beeby.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00p4kb3)
Tamzin Outhwaite; Kitchen knife skills

Actor Tamzin Outhwaite on musicals. Plus, chef Marianne Lumb on essential kitchen knife techniques; and the changing face of children's play.


TUE 11:00 Mind Your Slanguage (b00p60hx)
Benjamin Zephaniah explores the moral panic surrounding language change and asks why Jamaican patois remains the slang of choice for British teenagers.

In 2007, Manchester Academy banned street slang from their classrooms, and reported soaring exam results the following year. Most linguists agree that the key to using street slang successfully is 'appropriacy' - the ability to turn it on and off in different situations. So why do young people today appear less able to discern appropriacy than they were 20 years ago? Is banning slang the answer or, as some experts suggest, should teachers and parents try learning it?

Including contributions from Ann Widdecombe MP, BBC 1Xtra DJ Ras Kwame and Tony Thorne of the Slang and New Language Archive, King's College, London.


TUE 11:30 Going to Pieces in the Box (b00p61zg)
Janet Ellis, host of the 1980s Children's BBC series Jigsaw, presents a celebration of the history and the art of the jigsaw puzzle.

More art - typically sentimental, traditional art - has made its way into more homes via the jigsaw puzzle than virtually any other medium. While it has since become the purveyor of comforting landscapes to the masses, it started life as an educational tool championed by the likes of philosopher John Locke. In 1760, London mapmaker John Spilsbury mounted one of his maps on hardboard and cut it into pieces to help children learn geography.

Janet tells the story of how, since then, it has become such a core feature of childhoods across the world. She hears how jigsaws hit their first major peak during the Great Depression, when 10 million a week were bought by families looking for cheap pastimes, and how they were used by immigration officers on Ellis Island to determine who should be allowed into the land of the free. Janet also explores how popular culture has flirted with the jigsaw, in novels and films as diverse as Mansfield Park, Citizen Kane and, most powerfully, Georges Perec's novel, Life: A User's Manual. She hears from academics and enthusiasts including Margaret Drabble, who explain the jigsaw's great allure.

Janet hears how jigsaws continue to be incredibly popular, having evolved into 3-D puzzles and of course made their way onto the internet, where no young children's games site is without one.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00p4l56)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00p4lff)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00p4lns)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


TUE 13:30 Tales from the Stave (b00p61zj)
Series 5

Tippett: A Child of Our Time

Frances Fyfield tracks down the stories behind the scores of well-known pieces of music.

Using the pencil-written score and private notebooks and letters, Frances unpacks the creative story behind Sir Michael Tippett's oratorio, A Child of Our Time. With its Spiritual Choruses mixed with the stark modernity of its forbidding message, it stands now as one of the most powerful statements about man's potential for inhumanity to man.

As the letters and notes reveal, the inspiration for the peace was the shooting in 1938 of a German diplomat in Paris by an enraged 17-year-old Jewish boy, powerless to stop the Nazi atrocities against his family in Germany. His actions, twisted by Nazi propaganda, provoked Kristalnacht - a rising against Jewish people and property which resulted in the burning of synagogues and Jewish shops and houses.

Already a passionate political thinker, Tippett tried to express his feelings through a three-part oratorio that described the way a man, the child of the title, can be coralled into an act of self-destruction. And set against this dark journey are the spirituals, one of which - 'Steal away to Jesue' - he had heard and been inspired by on a radio broadcast. Like Bach's chorales, they remain a way into the piece for many listeners, commenting on the moods and reflecting on the anger, despair and resignation of the child's journey.

As well as revealing Tippett's workings and worryings over the music, the British Library's archive also throws light on the way the libretto developed, being sent for improvement to poet TS Eliot, who promptly sent it back advising the composer that he was managing quite well on his own.

Joing Frances are Sarah Walker, who sang the vital mezzo soprano role in a recording made in 1991 with the composer himself conducting; music scholar and writer Paul Banks and graphologist Ruth Rostron.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00p4lt5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00p61zl)
Winter Storm

By Bernard MacLaverty.

On a Midwinter's day in Iowa in 1996, Scottish poet Andrew Younger steps from his office on a university campus and is engulfed by a severe blizzard. Lost and disorientated, Andrew muses upon the events which have led to him being stranded alone, so far away from home.

Andrew ...... John Gordon Sinclair
Lorna ...... Maureen Beattie
Cleaner ...... Wendy Seager
Kris ...... Michael Goldsmith
Angela ...... Melody Grove.


TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00p61zn)
When sea level rises are discussed the focus is, unsurprisingly, on the shrinking land mass. We are, after all, terrestrial creatures. But what about the vast numbers of creatures that live in the seas and oceans? Listeners ask if more water will provide them with more opportunity, and if so could we exploit their gain, replacing farm land with fisheries? Creative thinking is required to solve many of the world's problems so could a need for fresh water in arid countries, a surfeit at the poles and a glut of unused oil tankers be combined in an elegant solution to water shortages?

Also, could the move towards burning biomass for energy be boosting an undesirable global trade, just how efficient is evolution and the seaweed invasion that never was.

On the panel are sustainable development expert Dr Ros Taylor of Kingston University, marine biologist Professor Graham Underwood of the University of Essex and Professor Philip Stott, an environmental scientist from the University of London.

If you have any comments on the topics discussed or any questions you might want to put to future programmes, please do let us know.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p62dq)
Defining Moments

The Lost Weekend

Series of short stories by new Irish writers.

By Hugo Kelly, read by Katherine Parkinson.

A single woman seizes an opportunity to get away for a weekend, only to discover that there are some things that you just can't escape.


TUE 15:45 Darwin: My Ancestor (b00h6tpp)
Episode 2

Writer and poet Ruth Padel investigates the qualities of her great great grandfather Charles Darwin and attempts to discover the man behind the science.

Ruth explores how her ancestor established relationships as a husband and father and became a family man, able to blend playing with children and working on scientific experiments. She investigates how Darwin's curiosity about nature found expression in the study of his children and she also explores the unique relationship between Darwin and his wife Emma. Ruth also travels to Darwin's home, Down House in Kent, to follow his footsteps in the places that he loved to walk.

Among her interviewees are Darwin biographer Janet Browne, writer and fellow Darwin descendant Randal Keynes and Darwin experts from Down House.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00p62jn)
Michael Rosen meets the consultants who will teach you how to speak more clearly, write more grammatically and even become a published author - at a price.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00p62v6)
Series 20

Henry V

Matthew Parris presents the biographical series in which his guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes discusses the life of Henry V and tries to separate fact from myth, with the help of historian Juliet Barker.


TUE 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p4plj)
8th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

East Germany elects a new leader amid fears that the country is descending into lawlessness.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00p4pvp)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p4py6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Sneakiepeeks (b00p6307)
Honeytrap Hotel

Comedy by Harry Venning and Neil Brand about a team of inept, backstabbing surveillance operatives.

Beagle Team infringe every civil liberty in the book in the name of national security.

Bill .... Richard Lumsden
Sharla .... Nina Conti
Mark .... Daniel Kaluuya
Tony Savage .... Kevin Eldon
Geoff .... John Biggins
Ted .... Shaban Arifi
Nanny/Milij .... Alex Tregear
Mr Smith .... Nigel Hastings
Mrs Smith .... Kate Layden
Bishop .... Ewan Hooper

Producer: Katie Tyrrell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00p4lsn)
Robert insists on talking with Leonie. He tells her that her attitude isn't helping the situation with Caz and Lynda. Leonie insists it's Lynda who's causing the problems. Robert won't hear it, and points out that Lynda is the most thoughtful person he's ever met. Eventually Leonie realises she may have been hard on Lynda and agrees to give them space to work things out.

Brenda shows Nigel her leaflets for 'Deck The Hall'. She thinks the fairies will be magical. She's also had an idea about dressing up in Victorian costume over the weekend. Nigel and Elizabeth are impressed with how she's thrown herself into the project.
Vicky can't wait to get started on the kissing boughs but she and Joe are disappointed at their slow progress. Brenda turns up looking for Mike, and shows her leaflets to Joe and Vicky. Vicky tells Brenda that Joe's angling for an invitation to lunch. Brenda points out that he's a Grundy and asks if Vicky's sure about getting involved in the cruck barn event. But the Grundys have been great friends of Mike's for years, so Vicky sees this as the perfect way to get to know them better herself.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00p4q2n)
Painter Richard Wright, whose work includes large-scale frescos, discusses winning the 2010 Turner Prize, worth 25,000 pounds.

Antonia Quirke reviews Where The Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze and featuring the voices of Forest Whitaker and James Gandolfini.

Georgia Coleridge offers her festive pick of books for children aged under nine.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the man dubbed 'the Walt Disney of computer game design', discusses his most famous character, Super Mario.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00p4qt5)
Writing the Century 11: 1963-1966 - All My Trials

Episode 2

Series exploring the 20th century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Pat Cumper from documents held at the Black Cultural Archives.

Amy Barbour-James and her sister, Muriel, have escaped The Big Freeze and are visiting friends in Trinidad. But Muriel takes a turn for the worse.

Amy ...... Janice Acquah
Muriel ...... Ellen Thomas
Audrey ...... Mona Hammond
Joyce/Cathy ...... Fiona Clarke
Ade/Dr Beaubrun ...... Declan Wilson

Original music by Nicolai Abrahamsen.


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b00p66f4)
Cost-cutting in Forensic Science

The government's forensic science service is crucial to taclking crime, but is shedding hundreds of jobs and closing half its laboratory facilities in a drive to make the organisation more commercial. Fran Abrams investigates whether or not the aggressive cost-cutting in beginning to hit the way the service operates and consequently undermine justice.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00p66f6)
Peter White with news and information for the blind and partially sighted.

In Touch meets Rima Canawati, an award-winning human rights worker from Bethlehem, and catches up with jobseeker Ian Kelly, who returned from travelling in the Far East to discover a tough employment culture.

Plus the latest in kitchen technology, the multilingual microwave.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00p66f8)
Working Memory - Mental Illness and Domestic Violence

Should working memory, or our capacity to learn, replace IQ as a more accurate way of measuring intelligence? Dr Tracy Alloway from the University of Stirling and Professor Robert Logie from the University of Edinburgh debate what working memory testing can reveal about future academic success.

Also in the programme, a woman speaks up about the 15 years of domestic violence she endured and its effect on her mental health. Dr Louise Howard describes the links between mental illness and domestic violence and highlights new attempts to educate mental health professionals to address the issue.

And listeners reveal their suggestions for a new name for schizophrenia, and Brian Dillon discusses the English malady, hypochondria.


TUE 21:30 The Choice (b00p607d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00p4r59)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p4r7r)
National and international news and analysis with David Eades.

A series of bombs kill more than 100 in Baghdad.

Will public services suffer in an era of cost cutting?

Greece's deepening economic woes.

Is this century really warming up?

How green is President Obama's hometown of Chicago?

Why Audrey Hepburn's dresses are up for auction.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00p4rh1)
Riceyman Steps

Episode 7

Robert Powell reads from the 1923 novel by Arnold Bennett about the poignant struggles of everyday London life.

Both Elsie and Violet are increasingly anxious about Henry's weakened state and his refusal to acknowledge that he is ill. Elsie's loyalty prompts her to take matters into her own hands and have a quiet word with the doctor.

A Waters Partnership production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Vent (b01f9xz7)
Series 3

Stirrings in the Night

Ben and Mary's love life is in jeopardy, so Blitz recruits Lord Byron to offer the couple some useful relationship advice.

Dark sitcom about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.

Written by Nigel Smith.

Ben ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitz ...... Leslie Ash
Nurse ...... Jo Martin
Derek ...... Stephen Frost
Marley/Lord Byron ...... Spencer Brown
Bea ...... Scarlett Milburn-Smith

Director: Nigel Smith

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p4rjl)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



WEDNESDAY 09 DECEMBER 2009

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00p3wx3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p5yss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p3x32)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p404m)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p3xdw)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00p4h3m)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p4jqg)
Daily prayer and reflection with Andrew Graystone.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00p4js2)
Anna Hill tries to decipher a bit of jargon. PDOs, PGIs and TSGs are all labels used by farmers and food producers to prevent others imitating their product. The labels involve years of work, and thousands of pounds of investment. Anna finds out what the acronyms mean and why more British products aren't on the list.

Also the latest on the Farming Today bees as the amount of honey they've produced this year is totted up. Fellow beekeepers beware, the Farming Today bees have set a high target!


WED 06:00 Today (b00p4jw5)
With Justin Webb and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00p66s2)
Libby Purves is joined by Simon Callow, Cedric Robinson, Chanee Brule and Jacqui Dankworth.

Simon Callow
Renowned actor Simon Callow is appearing at the Riverside Theatre in London in two plays by Charles Dickens - Dr Marigold and Mr Chops can be seen from 9 December 2009 until 31 January 2010.

Cedric Robinson
Cedric is the holder of the historic title of Queen's Guide to the Sands, which was introduced in 1936. In this job, he has led hundreds of thousands of walkers across the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay. His autobiography Sandman has been published by Great Northern Books.

Chanee Brule
Chanee has studied gibbons since he was a young boy in France and is now a world expert at match-making for gibbons - the only apes to match faithfully for life and which can't survive in the wild without a partner. He also runs and DJs at the music radio station Radio Gibbon in Borneo. Chanee's story is told in Natural World: Radio Gibbon on Thursday 10 December at 9.00pm on BBC2.

Jacqui Dankworth
Jacqui is a singer but her first love was acting where she performed with the RSC and the Royal National Theatre. The daughter of the jazz musician and composer Sir John Dankworth and the singer Dame Cleo Laine, she released her first album in 2003. Her latest album Back to You is now out and she is currently touring the UK. Track 1 The Secret of Life by James Taylor is played on the programme.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p5ysv)
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi

Episode 3

Kenneth Cranham reads from Andrew McConnell Stott's account of the life of one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, who became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.

Grimaldi is at the height of his powers, and his extraordinary performance in the new pantomime, Mother Goose, makes him a fully-fledged star of the Georgian stage. Yet, with the dizzying excitement of success comes a resurgence of his old melancholy, as he struggles to cope with this unexpected fame.

Abridged by Viv Beeby.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00p4kb5)
Women in the boardroom; Scary books for children

How many women on the board of directors can make a difference? Plus, reading children scary books; and the Sally Bercow effect.


WED 11:00 In Living Memory (b00p66s4)
Series 11

The Mapplethorpe Affair

When a Birmingham art student borrowed a book of photographs from her university library, she sparked a controversy that left the vice-chancellor facing a possible prison sentence. Chris Ledgard examines the work of iconic photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and opens the book West Midlands Police wanted to burn.


WED 11:30 Ballylenon (b00p67dy)
Series 7

Episode 3

Phonsie Doherty treats Muriel Maconchy to a meal, and Bernie Gallagher is back in town...

Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in 1959.

Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.

Muriel Maconchy ...... Margaret D'Arcy
Vera Maconchy ...... Stella McCusker
Phonsie Doherty ...... Gerard Murphy
Vivienne Hawthorne ...... Annie McCartney
Stumpy Bonner ...... Gerard McSorley
Guard Gallagher ...... Frankie McCafferty

Pianist: Michael Harrison

Director: Eoin O'Callaghan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00p4l58)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00p4lfh)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00p4lnv)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00p67f0)
Peter Fincham, ITV's director of television, talks about the success of X Factor this year and whether the BBC was right to schedule Strictly Come Dancing against it. And is ITV too dependent on Simon Cowell?

With reports that the Royal Family has reminded newspaper editors of their duty to respect their privacy, we hear if the media really does have to operate under stricter rules than when the paparazzi were chasing Princess Diana.

The editor of the London Evening Standard, Geordie Greig, tells the programme how the paper's advertising revenue has tripled on some days, compared to last year, since he started to give the paper away for free rather than charge 50 pence for it as before.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00p4lsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00p67f2)
One in A Million

Crime thriller by Peter Kesterton about guilt, mathematical proof and statistics.

Maths lecturer Jonathan is arrested for an attempted assault on a young woman. The case against him is overwhelming: the attacker's DNA has been found on the victim and the forensic scientists show that there is a million to one chance that the DNA is Jonathan's. Can Jonathan uses his statistical knowledge to get himself off the hook?

Jonathan Lambert ...... Andy Morton
Robinson ...... Christian Rodska
Chloe ...... Alex Tregear
Katrina/Forensic scientist ...... Saskia Portway
Mrs Lambert ...... Pameli Benham
Lawyer ...... Jilly Bond

Directed by Jolyon Jenkins.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00p67tn)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on tax and the pre-budget report.

Guests:

Leonie Kerswill, tax partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Ian Johnson, tax partner, Grant Thornton
Anita Monteith, technical manager, Tax Faculty, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p62ds)
Defining Moments

The Westlink Upgrade

Series of short stories by new Irish writers.

By Colin Carberry. A young couple begin to realise their relationship has changed - they have fallen in love. Read by Ciaran McMenamin.


WED 15:45 Darwin: My Ancestor (b00hc944)
Episode 3

Writer and poet Ruth Padel investigates the qualities of her great great grandfather Charles Darwin and attempts to discover the man behind the science.

Ruth explores the losses which Darwin experienced in his life, how he coped with them and in what ways they shaped his view of the world. He saw three of his children die, one of which affected him particularly deeply and caused him to lose much of his religious belief. He also had to cope with the death of his mother when he was a boy, the loss of his own health and almost losing his research for On the Origin of Species.

Among Ruth's interviewees are Darwin biographer Janet Browne, writer and fellow Darwin descendant Randal Keynes and the former Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00p67tq)
Solo Living - Response to Wall Street

The number of people living in single person households has doubled since 1971. Why are more people living alone and what are the consequences for the environment and the economy? How do ideas in the popular press of the single lifestlye really match reality? Laurie Taylor talks to Lynn Jamieson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, and to Jan MacVarish from the University of Kent about one of the biggest demographic shifts since World War Two.

Also in the programme, Laurie discusses anthropological research into the culture of Wall Street. How much is the global economy influenced by the culture of bankers; are wider, brutal economic forces the more powerful player? Laurie talks to Professor of Sociology Robin Blackburn, from the University of Essex.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00p66f8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p4pll)
9th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Mikhail Gorbachev warns that the Communist Party faces the threat of extinction.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 17:00 PM (b00p4pvr)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p4py8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00p67ts)
Series 3

Episode 4

Laura Solon presents her third series of sketches, monologues and one-liners.

This week unwelcoming neighbour Annabelle quizzes an unsuspecting soul over his windchimes; useless entrepreneur, Carole Price, takes another swing at selling her bad ideas to the world and someone travels back from the very near future to warn a man about his blind date.

Starring Laura Solon, with Rosie Cavaliero, Ben Moor and Ben Willbond.

Producer: Colin Anderson.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00p4lsq)
Jennifer gives Ruth a message for David from Brian for the parish council. She's sure they'll be happy that there's a restrictive covenant on the land to prevent houses being built on it.

Peggy's worried about the state of Jack's shirt, so she's going to do his ironing from now on. She also wants to tell Hazel where Jack is, and appreciates Jennifer's offer to help track her down, even though Jennifer doesn't think Peggy has any obligation to her.

Helen and Ruth discuss Pip's suggestion to have carbon footprint details on their food labels. Helen isn't sure if people are interested enough but agrees they have to try.

Helen's feeling guilty for not spending time with Annette lately and suggests a girly night in. Realising she's cornered, Annette suggests they ask Kirsty too. When the door goes, she's shocked to see it's Leon. Helen's also surprised, but is pleased to see him, especially when he pulls her to him and kisses her. Annette tells Helen she doesn't feel up to socialising and asks if she'd mind going out with Leon so that she can veg out in front of the TV, which is all she feels like doing.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00p4q2r)
English playwright and novelist Michael Frayn discusses his collection of travel writing, from the sixties and seventies, which became the starting point for some of the novels and plays he later wrote.

In the late 1950s, abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko accepted a commission to provide a series of murals for The Four Seasons, the opulent restaurant in The Seagram Building, a dazzling new skyscraper which was under construction in New York. At first Rothko was excited at being given a special place where his paintings could be seen together, but gradually he became disillusioned with the restaurant, finally deciding that it was an inappropriate home for his art. Red, a new play starring Alfred Molina as Rothko, has just opened, charting his work on the murals and his falling out of love with The Four Seasons. Sarah Churchwell reviews Red, and discuss its exploration of Rothko's belief that art and ideas are inseparable.

Front Row's very own personal shoppers offer advice on what classical music CDs to buy this Christmas. Helen Wallace (BBC Music Magazine) and James Inverne (Gramophone) answer questions from listeners who have a particular musical quandary and want help buying classical CDs.

Last year Front Row visited Liverpool's Black-E centre - one of the oldest community arts centres in the country - as it played its part in the city's Capital of Culture celebrations. Now the Black-E has won 50,000 pounds of lottery funding to organise its 40 year archive. Geoff Bird visited the centre and spoke to Elvis Costello, who launched his professional career there, as a 16-year-old schoolboy, in 1971.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00p4qsx)
Writing the Century 11: 1963-1966 - All My Trials

Episode 3

Series exploring the 20th century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Pat Cumper from documents held at the Black Cultural Archives.

Amy Barbour-James is struggling to stay on top of her work at the Crown Agents Office and find the money to pay for her sister's care in Trinidad. She decides to search for a nursing home in London.

Amy ...... Janice Acquah
Audrey ...... Mona Hammond
Milly ...... Ellen Thomas
Joyce/Nurse ...... Fiona Clarke
Dr Beaubrun ...... Declan Wilson
Amy's Boss ...... Rob Pickavance

Original music by Nicolai Abrahamsen.


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00p681y)
It's that time of year again when the forces of greed and conspicuous consumption do battle with guilt and pious sentiment. So how do you have a merry and a moral Christmas? Michael Buerk and the panel settle down around the festive table to try to find out.

Witnesses:

Ruth Rosselson, writer, Ethical Consumer Magazine

Julian Baggini, philosopher and author

Jonathan Bartley, director of Ekklesia, a web-based think-tank promoting theological ideas in the public sphere.

Susie Boyt, author and journalist.


WED 20:45 Political Roots (b00p71ys)
Labour

Richard Reeves delves into the Labour Party and explores the background and philosophy of senior cabinet member Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury.


WED 21:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b00p5yxj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Monday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00p66s2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00p4r5c)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p4r7t)
Labour's last roll of the dice - will the Pre-Budget Report win over voters?

Alan Johnston returns to the Palestinian Territories.

Why finding Osama is back on the US agenda.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00p4rh3)
Riceyman Steps

Episode 8

Robert Powell reads from the 1923 novel by Arnold Bennett about the poignant struggles of everyday London life.

Henry has issued a stern warning to Elsie that she has been stealing food from a dying man, but his bluff is called when he takes a turn for the worse and the doctor is summoned. Dr Raste declares that he will call for Henry the following morning to take him to the hospital.

A Waters Partnership production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 The Ladies (b00gdhnr)
Series 1

Episode 4

Series of comedy sketches by Emily Watson Howes set in a ladies' public toilet, featuring various female characters as they come and go.

Audrey has personal toilet problems of her own as a neurotic Egyptologist tries to come to terms with her heavy workload.

With Emily Watson Howes, Kate Donmall, Suzanne Hislop, Fran Moulds.


WED 23:15 All Bar Luke (b00dgjgg)
Series 3

The Hen Night

Poignant comedy drama series by Tim Key.

Luke is trapped in the hen party from hell when the love of his life appoints him chief bridesmaid.

An Angel Eye Media production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p4rjn)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Robert Orchard.



THURSDAY 10 DECEMBER 2009

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00p3wx5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p5ysv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p3x34)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p404p)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p3xdy)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00p4h3p)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p4jqj)
Daily prayer and reflection with Andrew Graystone.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00p4js4)
Why a disagreement over food labelling almost created sausage wars in one East Anglian town.

Charlotte Smith also hears how the country's biggest fruit and veg market has had its nose put out of joint by the Olympic Games, and the programme visits the first whisky distillery in England for over a century.


THU 06:00 Today (b00p4jw7)
With James Naughtie and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00p693b)
Pythagoras

Melvyn Bragg and guests Serafina Cuomo, John O'Connor and Ian Stewart discuss the ideas and influence of the Greek mathematician Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans.The Ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras is probably best known for the theorem concerning right-angled triangles that bears his name. However, it is not certain that he actually developed this idea; indeed, some scholars have questioned not only his true intellectual achievements, but whether he ever existed. We do know that a group of people who said they were followers of his - the Pythagoreans - emerged around the fifth century BC. Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss what we do and don't know about this legendary figure and his followers, and explore the ideas associated with them. Some Pythagoreans, such as Philolaus and Archytas, were major mathematical figures in their own right. The central Pythagorean idea was that number had the capacity to explain the truths of the world. This was as much a mystical belief as a mathematical one, encompassing numerological notions about the 'character' of specific numbers. Moreover, the Pythagoreans lived in accordance with a bizarre code which dictated everything from what they could eat to how they should wash. Nonetheless, Pythagorean ideas, centred on their theory of number, have had a profound impact on Western science and philosophy, from Plato through astronomers like Copernicus to the present day.Serafina Cuomo is Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck College, University of London; John O'Connor is Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Saint Andrews; Ian Stewart is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p5ysx)
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi

Episode 4

Kenneth Cranham reads from Andrew McConnell Stott's account of the life of one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, who became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.

As Grimaldi takes the art of pantomime into new directions, with the use of satire and lampoonery, he becomes known as the Hogarth of the Georgian stage, drawing admiration from Lord Byron and the Prince of Wales. But, though still only in his 30s, the years of physical comedy begin to take their toll on the body of the great clown.

Abridged by Viv Beeby.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00p4kb7)
Irish abortion law; Arabella Dorman; Buying gifts for men

Irish abortion law discussed. War artist Arabella Dorman on Afghanistan. Plus, buying presents for men: how to avoid disaster.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00p6b3m)
Nablus

Six years ago, the second Palestinian Intifada - or uprising - was raging in the West Bank town of Nablus. This was an era when Palestinian militants regularly battled the Israeli Defence Force in the streets. The BBC's Alan Johnston reported from Nablus in those dark, dangerous days. Now, on his first assignment back in the Middle East since he was kidnapped in Gaza, he returns to the town to find out how life has changed.

He finds a community transformed: Israeli checkpoints have been dismantled, Palestinian troops patrol their own streets, and the economy is on the up; Nablus is breathing once more. But in the absence of a more lasting Middle East peace settlement, the mood is far from optimistic, and the outlook is complicated by disturbing allegations of human rights abuses within the occupied territories emanating from the Fatah/Hamas split in Palestinian politics.


THU 11:30 Open the Vaults (b00p6rr0)
Razia Iqbal examines the tradition of banks as patrons of art - a role which dates back to 14th-century Italy.

She also asks what responsibility comes with owning great art, particularly in light of the 2007-2008 UK banking crisis.

Producer: Henrietta Harrison

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00p4l5b)
Consumer news and issues with Peter White.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00p4lfk)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00p4lnx)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


THU 13:30 Off the Page (b00p6rr2)
Me Time

Having it all is no longer enough - if you haven't factored some 'me time' into your diary you're missing out.

Dominic Arkwright asks journalist Anna Raeburn, clinical psychologist Oliver James and writer Phoebe Gibson to explain how it works.

Producer: Christine Hall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00p4lsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00p6rr4)
Getting to Four Degrees

By Sarah Woods. What if we can't limit global warming to two degrees? What if it reaches four degrees - or more? Three real-life climate change experts spin one average family into the future, to look at life on a warmer planet.

With Professor Kevin Anderson, Mark Lynas and Dr Emma Tompkins.

Ian ...... Don Gilet
Sue ...... Kate Ashfield
Chloe ...... Amber Beattie
Jack ...... Ryan Watson
Grandad Bill ...... Bruce Alexander
Louisa ...... Melissa Advani
Narrator ...... Emerald O'Hanrahan

Directed by Jonquil Panting.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b00p3nz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00p71gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p62dv)
Defining Moments

Art

Series of short stories by new Irish writers.

By Anne Harris, read by Jemma Regrave.

On a weekend abroad, a woman realises that Rome may not be quite the city of romance after all.


THU 15:45 Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (b00p6s4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 Bookclub (b00p3v2j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00p6s4l)
In the USA, fuelled by more than 100 million dollars from the Federal Recovery Act, the Ocean Observatories Initiative has just begun. It plans to create an unprecedented network of underwater surveillance equipment in the earth's oceans. Europe and Asia also have plans for networks of ocean observatories. Quentin Cooper finds out how monitoring the oceans deeps, second by second, will help us understand scientific questions as far ranging as the process of ocean circulation and the impact of future climate change.

As politicians and climate scientists in Copenhagen struggle to reach agreement on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, some scientists are wondering if they can reduce climate change by engineering the Earth. Geoengineering might involve reflecting sunlight back into space or removing some of the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Quentin Cooper hears from a geoengineer who thinks it's possible. And the latest from the launchpad of NASA's WISE satellite mission, due to blast off to map the entire sky in infrared.


THU 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p4pln)
10th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

The president of Czechoslovakia swears in the country's first non-communist majority government in 41 years.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 17:00 PM (b00p4pvt)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p4pyd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100 (b00p6sd5)
World Politics

Political comedian Andy Zaltzman presents a decade-by-decade comic analysis of the third millennium, covering the 2000-2009 period of what is already shaping up to be a troubled thousand years.

Andy applies his signature mix of stand-up, sketches, facts and blatant lies to the subject of world politics.

With Rory Bremner, Bridget Christie, Lucy Montgomery and Kim Wall.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00p4lss)
Things are still strained between Lynda and Caz as they wave Leonie off. It's time for Oscar's bath but Caz doesn't need Lynda's help. Lynda's hurt but is there if Caz needs her.

Vicky's enjoyed making kissing boughs with Joe. Clarrie tells them that Jim plans to settle in Ambridge but Kathy's not pleased that he and Kenton are turning Jaxx into a bar.

Annette's drinking alone in The Bull. She wants to see Fallon when she gets back. Clarrie thinks she'll have a long wait.

Lynda and Robert have been in the Bull but she's lost her scarf so goes back to see if she's left it there. Joe tells her that Clarrie's got it. Clarrie thinks Lynda looks tired. She understands that families can be hard work but tells Lynda they're worth it.

Annette's left the Bull but sees Fallon returning so goes back. Fallon's buzzing at how well the gig went, and is pleased to chat. She tells Annette how strangely Jazzer's behaving, and reckons he must have met someone. She tells Annette how well she and Rollo work together, and how incredible it is when you find some guy you really click with. Annette agrees it must be.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00p4q2t)
Kirsty Lang talks to Heidi Thomas about writing the BBC period drama Cranford and having to make up storylines and characters that weren't in Gaskell's original. How will Judi Dench and her formidable group of women cope with the prospect of a new railway in the village?

Patrick Wright discusses an exhibition of three painters - John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert and Stanley Spencer - at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Film director Sally Potter, the subject of a major retrospective at the BFI Southbank, talks about guerrilla film-making and the why a film can be improved by mistakes.

And critic Damian Kelleher chooses the best of this year's books for children over the age of nine.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00p4qsz)
Writing the Century 11: 1963-1966 - All My Trials

Episode 4

Series exploring the 20th century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Pat Cumper from documents held at the Black Cultural Archives.

It is 1964 and Amy's sister is thousands of miles away, in hospital in Trinidad. Amy faces a dilemma about what is best for both of them.

Amy ...... Janice Acquah
Joyce ...... Fiona Clarke
Ade ...... Declan Wilson
Amy's Boss ...... Rob Pickavance

Original music by Nicolai Abrahamsen.


THU 20:00 The Report (b00p6t26)
Climate Change Sceptics

Emails taken from the one of the world's major climate research centres have been a boon for climate sceptics who claim manipulation of the data, and a 'major blow' for green activists who are calling for resignations and apologies. Simon Cox looks at why a group of climate scientists decided to play hardball against the sceptics, and, as President Obama heads for the Copenhagen summit, what affect the row could have on his climate change bill.


THU 20:30 In Business (b00p6t28)
Sugaring the Pill

Brazil has been pioneering the use of ethanol for its vehicles for over three decades. Ethanol emits 90 per cent less emissions than gasoline. As world leaders debate climate change in Copenhagen, can Brazil convince the rest of the globe that sugar really is good for you?


THU 21:00 What Scientists Believe (b00p6t2b)
Episode 1

Philosopher Stephen Webster investigates the links between scientists' personal beliefs and their scientific work. He wants to know how an individual scientist's personal, psychological and intellectual qualities map onto their chosen area of science. How much of a scientist's personality is reflected in their work? Should subjective private beliefs be a part of objective scientific outcomes? What happens if tensions develop between a scientist's beliefs and the formal demands of science? If tensions arise, how can they be resolved?

Stephen meets medical consultant Philip Kilner. Philip first trained as a doctor and then left medicine and retrained as a sculptor, concentrating on water sculptures and fluid dynamics. He then returned to medicine.

Philip is now a Consultant and Reader in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. One of his water sculptures, Single Cavity Flowform, is on display at the hospital. Philip talks to Stephen about the combination of artistic and scientific insights help him interpret images of the heart.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00p693b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00p4r5f)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p4r7w)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.

France is backing the British idea of a one-off supertax on bank bonuses.

Egypt is building an underground wall along its border with the Gaza Strip.

Who's smarter? Dogs or cats?


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00p4rh5)
Riceyman Steps

Episode 9

Robert Powell reads from the 1923 novel by Arnold Bennett about the poignant struggles of everyday London life.

After a year's absence, Elsie's sweetheart Joe has returned - but he is desperately ill and now she has two patients to cope with

A Waters Partnership production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 Chain Reaction (b0090s0r)
Series 4

David Tennant interviews Richard Wilson

Who'd believe it! The Time Lord and the famous TV pensioner have a no-holds-barred relay race discussion.

Chain Reaction is the tag talk show with a twist where the guest becomes the interviewer in the next show.

Based on the original 1991 BBC Radio 5 programme of the same name, Chain Reaction is a simple idea of big name stars from the world of entertainment interviewing others whose work they appreciate and admire.

Recorded with an audience, the interviews focus on the life, career and the passions of the interviewee but often prove to be as revealing about the interviewer.

Producer: Tilusha Ghelani.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2008.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p4rjq)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2009

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00p3wx7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p5ysx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p3x36)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p404r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p3xf0)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00p4h3r)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p4jql)
Daily prayer and reflection with Andrew Graystone.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00p4js6)
Cornish sardines have joined Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Dovedale Cheese and Jersey Royal Potatoes on the list of British foods which qualify for special EU protection to preserve traditional and regional foods.

Also, Cath Mackie meets a smallholder looking to make her fortune in honey and Dr Jonathan Scurlock from the National Farmers Union tells us why farmers are gathering in Copenhagen, ready to join climate talks.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00p4jw9)
With James Naughtie and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00p3sxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00p5ysz)
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi

Episode 5

Kenneth Cranham reads from Andrew McConnell Stott's account of the life of one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, who became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.

His body crippled by the years of on-stage clowning, Grimaldi is forced finally to pass the baton to his son, JS. But the young pretender finds the constant comparisons with his famous father hard to bear, and seeks solace in the hard-drinking, hard-living circle of the great actor Edmund Kean. Meanwhile, his father is determined to fill the family's pockets with a final farewell performance; so, on 28th June 1828, barely able to stand on his crippled legs, Grimaldi staggers on to the stage of a packed Drury Lane Theatre.

Abridged by Viv Beeby.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00p4kb9)
MS and vitamin D; Bauhaus women

The link between MS and vitamin D discussed. Plus, the little-known female Bauhaus artists, and surviving the party season.


FRI 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b00p6thc)
Series 5

Fragile Isle

Documentary series telling original stories about real lives in Britain today.

Alan Dein travels to Canna, one of the Small Isles in North West Scotland. With a population of 17, six of whom are children, Canna is at a critical point. There are just enough people to keep the island community going. If any leave it will put huge pressures on the others. If new people come, it will inevitably change the fragile balance that exists in such a small, tightly-knit group of people. Alan explores the connections between the different families and how they relate to the island as well as managing to feel connected to the wider world.

Neil has come from Wales with his family and is the island gardener; Magda is Basque and is the archivist of an enormous collection of Gaelic songs and stories; Murdo and Gerry are the farmers; John and Sheila run the guest house; Ellidh is the teacher in the school where two of the four pupils are her own children; Geoff, her husband, looks after their two year old twins at home. What they all have in common is that they work for the Scottish National Trust, which owns the island and controls its population size. It also controls the destiny of a young community trying to put down roots.


FRI 11:30 The Richest Man in Britain (b00p6v3r)
The Meltdown

Sitcom by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment.

Trillionnaire rocker Dave Mabbutt buys some last-minute holiday Euros and promptly brings down the entire international monetary system.

Dave Mabbutt ...... Mark Williams
Dom ...... Russell Tovey.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00p4l5d)
Consumer news and issues with Peter White.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00p4lfm)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00p4lnz)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00p6v3t)
Tim Harford and the More or Less team ask if claims made about energy efficient lightbulbs are true and if economies can grow forever. And they meet one of their greatest heroes: Sesame Street's Count von Count.

An Open University co production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00p4lss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00p6v3w)
Number 10 - Series 3

Immortality at Last

Series of plays by Jonathan Myerson depicting life inside Downing Street.

The removal men are in - Adam Armstrong is finally standing down as PM and the new Conservative leader, Simon Laity, is moving in to Number 10. It seems the whole team will be out of a job - but there is a surprising last-minute offer from an unexpected quarter.

Adam ...... Antony Sher
Monica ...... Sasha Behar
Polly ...... Penny Downie
Bill ...... Bill Paterson
Steve ...... Stephen Mangan
Simon Laity ...... Damian Lewis
Nathan Toltz ...... Mike Sengelow
Doctor Crawston ...... David Shaw Parker
Miss (Jaaey) Twining ...... Charlotte West Oram
Susan O'Reilly ...... Flora Montgomery
Toby in Number 10 ...... Jo Kloska
Reporters ...... Scott Cherry, Theo Fraser

Directed by Clive Brill

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00p6vlb)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Matthew Biggs answer questions from gardeners in Wallasey, Merseyside.

The team investigate the restoration of Liverpool's famous Stanley Park, and Matthew Wilson thumbs through some all-time classic garden literature.


FRI 15:45 Darwin: My Ancestor (b00hjxfk)
Episode 4

Writer and poet Ruth Padel investigates the qualities of her great great grandfather Charles Darwin and attempts to discover the man behind the science.

Ruth explores the way in which Darwin became a writer and was able to turn scientific theory into readable prose. She looks at the works he read in his early life that shaped his literary imagination and investigates how his writings on the Beagle voyage marked the beginning of his career as an author. Ruth also investigates the continuing power of his books and asks how later novelists were affected by his work.

Among her interviewees are Darwin scholar Gillian Beer, geologist Richard Fortey, writer and fellow Darwin descendant Randal Keynes and the former Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00p6vld)
Marking the lives of Irish folk singer Liam Clancy, ex-director of Radio Free Europe Jim Brown, campaigner for ordination of women Barbara Cawthorne and writer Geoffrey Moorhouse.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00p6vlg)
Spike Jonze reveals why he made significant changes to Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book Where The Wild Things Are.

Martin Scorsese, Professor Jeffrey Richards and writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce wax lyrical about Thorold Dickinson's neglected classic The Queen Of Spades.

Andrew Collins on The Way Of The Jarmusch.

Professor Ian Christie discusses the work of production designer John Box, who turned North Wales into China for The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness.


FRI 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p4plq)
11th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

The forced repatriation of the Vietnamese Boat People begins, despite protests and pleas from around the world.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00p4pvw)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p4pyg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00p6vlj)
Series 29

Episode 3

Tonight Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis explore the taxing complexities of class; Mitch Benn waxes lyrical about the twinning of Swindon with Disneyland and Jon Holmes is up in arms about Christmas decorations.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00p4lsv)
Helen shows Peggy the collage of photos that Tony and Pat have made for Jack. Peggy's pleased Jack's getting lots of visitors, and Helen's pleased that Peggy is too. Peggy's decided to offer the village a ten year lease on the shop.

The stallholders are arriving for the antiques fair at Lower Loxley. Everything's going like clockwork. Bert tells Lewis he's been practicing for his role as Charles Dickens, even though he hasn't got his costume completed yet. When Peggy turns up, Lewis asks how she's coping. He understands what she's going through.

Clarrie drops off a pie for Lynda, Robert and Caz. Oscar's really restless and Caz is at her wits' end but Clarrie soon has him settled. She assures Caz that it's all about confidence - she'll soon find the knack herself.

Helen wants to know what's bugging Annette. Annette insists she's fine but Helen won't give up. Annette sharply tells her to give it a rest but admits she's dreading Christmas with no-one to share it with. Helen promises to make sure she's not lonely. Annette asks if Helen's planning to bring Leon back later. Helen's uncertain but Annette assures her it's fine - she'll probably go out anyway.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00p4q2w)
Four-time BAFTA-winning comic Harry Hill discusses his hit Saturday night show TV Burp. Hill reveals how his trademark big-collar and glasses costume came about and why TV Burp has put him off watching TV.

A bookseller has discovered a book belonging to the late Harold Pinter which the playwright was so moved by that he 'liberated' it from a library in 1950. Ed Maggs, who found the book while cataloguing Pinter's collection of more than 2,000 books, reveals the title in question and Adrian Whittle of Southwark Council tots up the late return fee.

Actor Alexander Hanson discusses his performance in the new production of A Little Night Music which opens on Broadway and stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00p4qt1)
Writing the Century 11: 1963-1966 - All My Trials

Episode 5

Series exploring the 20th century through diaries and correspondence of real people, dramatised by Pat Cumper from documents held at the Black Cultural Archives.

It is 1965, and Amy is living alone in London following the death of her sister, Muriel. Amy decides to visit an old friend.

Amy ...... Janice Acquah
Joyce/Cathy ...... Fiona Clarke
Ade ...... Declan Wilson
Bank Manager/Cabby ...... Rob Pickavance

Original music by Nicolai Abrahamsen.


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00p6vll)
Eddie Mair chairs the topical debate from Bracknell, Berkshire. The panellists are Northern Ireland secretary Shaun Woodward, shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May, David Laws, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on children, schools and families, and Dr Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Science.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00p6vln)
Hermie's Ghost

A weekly reflection on a topical issue. Clive James reflects on the media coverage of man-made global warming and the need for minds to be open.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00p6vt9)
Then We Came to the End

Dramatisation by Jeff Young of the tragi-comic novel by Joshua Ferris.

A dysfunctional company of misfits in an advertising agency try to come to terms with the effects of the downturn, as boom turns to bust and the lay-offs begin.

The Voice ...... James Marsters
Tom Mota ...... Gregory Itzin
Benny Shassburger ...... Stuart Pankin
Benny's Dad ...... Alan Mandell
Karen Woo ...... Sandra Tsing Loh
Hank Neary ...... Chuma Gault
Marcia Dwyer ...... Sarah Rafferty
Lynn Mason ...... Susan Sullivan
Chris Yop ...... Fred Willard
Co-ordinator ...... Jeanie Hackett
Carl Garbedian ...... Kyle Colerider-Krugh
Marilynn ...... Shannon Cochrane
Joe Pope ...... Reed Diamond
Genevieve ...... Jen Dede

Music by Ed Millington.

Directed by Kate McAll.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00p4r5h)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p4r7y)
With Robin Lustig.

The EU offers seven billion euro to 'mitigate' the effects of climate change.

Would a dose of Irish medicine be good for Britain's deficit?

And is anyone still sending Christmas cards?


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00p4rh7)
Riceyman Steps

Episode 10

Robert Powell reads from the 1923 novel by Arnold Bennett about the poignant struggles of everyday London life.

Henry Earlforward has learnt that his wife Violet died shortly after being operated on; the doctors' verdict was that her undernourished state contributed to her death. The shock galvanises him into a final nocturnal visit to his office, where he discovers that Elsie had violated the sanctity of his safe.

A Waters Partnership production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00p62v6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p4rjs)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.