SATURDAY 02 JANUARY 2010

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00pg5vh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:15 Dear Darwin (b00gdvwx)
Episode 5

Five leading scientists address letters to Charles Darwin, expressing their thoughts on his work and legacy.

Prof Baruch Blumberg received the 1976 Nobel Prize for his work on viral infection. He and his colleagues discovered the Hepatitis B virus, diagnostic methods for its detection, and the vaccine. The vaccine, the first anti-cancer vaccine, is now one of the most commonly used world-wide and has prevented many cases of disease and death. He describes the central issues that viruses - unknown to Darwin - raise for biologists looking at the role of cooperation in the history of life; and further, how evolution proved to be fundamental in his later work for NASA, searching for life elsewhere in the universe.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00ph6xr)
Vincent van Gogh - The Letters

Episode 5

Mark Rylance, Joseph Cohen-Cole and Julius D'Silva read from a new edition of Van Gogh's prodigious correspondence.

Vincent is recovering in hospital following the incident in which he severed his own earlobe. Gauguin has left the yellow house in Arles for good, but the two artists still correspond. Although Vincent recovers physically from the incident, he decides to commit himself to a mental asylum only weeks after leaving hospital.

Abridged by Doreen Estall.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pg5vk)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pg5vm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pg5vp)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00pg5vr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00pg5vt)
Prayer for the Day

Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Jenny Wigley.


SAT 05:45 A Box of Wittgensteins (b00fy2xf)
The Palais Wittgenstein

The great-niece of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Margaret Stonborough, talks to the artist and historian Michael Huey as she delves into six boxes of newly-inherited family archives. As she digs deeper into the talented but tortured lives of the Wittgensteins she finds her cramped London house becoming ever more crowded with her larger-than-life forbears.

The first object out of the box takes Margaret back to a soiree in Vienna in 1895 at the palatial house of an Austrian steel magnate, Karl Wittgenstein. He was the father of eight children including Ludwig the philosopher, Paul the left-handed pianist and Margaret's own grandmother, who was painted by Gustav Klimt. As the family gathered for the evening, records show that the composer Johannes Brahms arrived at the Palais Wittgenstein.

The readers are Sarah Finch, Nicholas Rowe and Dan Starkey.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00pg5vw)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00physm)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00physp)
SouthWest Shipwrecks

Helen Mark explores Devon and Corwall to investigate why so many shipwrecks still happen.

The grounding of the MSC Napoli in Lyme Bay in January 2007 made headlines around the world. The hull of the 62,000-tonne vessel cracked in waters off The Lizard, and while being towed to safety the situation worsened and she was grounded off Branscombe Beach. Several containers also fell overboard and were washed ashore, leading to scavengers coming from across the UK. The 50 million-pound cleanup operation and breakup was only completed in July 2009. Helen Mark revisits the famous beach to find out how the wreck and the drama affected their lives and landscape.

Modern wrecks still happen and the European Maritime Agency records show an increase in the number of ships sunk in European waters in recent years. Helen meets master mariner and lecturer Paul Wright to find out why these accidents still happen. She also learns about the HMS Scylla, a decommissioned frigate which was deliberately sunk off the south-west coast.

One reason for the danger is that our records of the sea bed can be surprisingly out of date. Some charts still have recordings made by the Victorians with a lead weight. Other areas have not been charted at all. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are at the start of a 100-year project to accurately scan the seabed using modern 3D technology. But their findings are also discovering lost ships and submarines and revealing more about the geology of our sea floor.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b00physr)
Farming Today This Week

Charlotte Smith follows a year in the life of four groups of people taking the plunge into farming. The UK needs an estimated 60,000 new entrants to agriculture over the next 10 years to maintain our food supplies. This year economics, animal disease and the weather have all been major challenges to those coming into the business. Charlotte discovers if they have survived the year and if they have managed to make farming pay.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00phzck)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00phzcm)
With Sarah Montague and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00phzcp)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them. Fi Glover is joined by Mark Radcliffe. With poetry from Kate Fox.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00phzcr)
Sandi Toksvig talks to American writer and broadcaster Garrison Keillor about his travelling life, his influences and inspiration, about Minnesota and of course about the fictional community of Lake Wobegon.


SAT 10:30 The iPod Series (b00phzvj)
Jane Austen's iPod

A rare insight into the family life of Jane Austen through her favourite songs. She collected songs all her life, but many of them have only just come to light, in manuscripts inherited by one of her descendants. Jazz singer Gwyneth Herbert performs some of these songs.

Professor Richard Jenkyns inherited a pile of music manuscripts which are only just being looked at by the Austen scholars. He shows us what he found: some have been laboriously copied out by Jane herself - among the music manuscripts in Jane's handwriting is a piano piece which he believes she composed.

David Owen Norris brings him together with scholars Deirdre Le Faye and Samantha Carrasco at Jane Austen's house in Chawton, Hampshire. Together they cast a new light on one of our best-loved and most enigmatic writers.

Some of the songs included are:

A romantic song by Robert Burns, to which she changed the words, so that the final words referred to herself -"the charms of your Jane."

A tragic French song, "Les Hirondelles", which ends with imprisonment and death. Jane's sister in law Eliza had lived in France, and her first husband was guillotined in the Terror.

"The Ploughboy" - a popular song of the time, witty, and with a politically subversive message about corrupt politicians who are only interested in money, and manage to buy their way into power.

"Goosey Goosey Gander" - Jane had a lot of nursery rhymes, and was constantly surrounded by boisterous nephews and nieces.

Producer: Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 Beyond Westminster (b00phzvl)
Looking at politics beyond and outside the Westminster parliament.

The 2010 general election is likely to be marked by the biggest turnover of MPs since the Second World War. There will be lots of new faces, but what about those backbench MPs who have already announced their intention to stand down in the wake of what has been a miserable year for the House of Commons? Jim Hancock considers what lies in store for a former parliamentarian in the world beyond Westminster and talks to some of those who are saying goodbye about what has gone wrong in Parliament and what needs changing.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00phzvn)
Kate Adie introduces BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the headlines.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00phzvq)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00pg5rl)
Series 29

Episode 6

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis review the highlights of the year's Now Show programmes, with contributions from the regular team plus Andy Zaltzman, Carrie Quinlan, Paul Sinha and others.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00phzvs)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00phzvv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Correspondents' Look Ahead (b00pg5tn)
Stephen Sackur is joined by some of the BBC's top correspondents to give their predictions about what will shape our world in the year ahead. Will the global economy turn the corner and rejoin the path to growth? Will the US and its allies defeat the Taleban in Afghanistan or will they pull out? And will China start to assert its new-found power across Asia?


SAT 14:00 Listeners Look Ahead (b00pmcb6)
2010

Stephen Sackur hosts a phone-in during which listeners have the opportunity to air their views on the events which will dominate the news in 2010.

Phone 03700 100 444 to have your say.


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00phzvx)
Noel Coward - Private Lives

Comedy by Noel Coward. Divorced couple Amanda and Elyot meet again on their second honeymoons.

Amanda ...... Helena Bonham Carter
Elyot ...... Bill Nighy
Sibyl ...... Andrea Riseborough
Victor ...... Paul Ritter
Louise ...... AnnaRose Cattanach

Pianist: Colin Guthrie

Directed by Sally Avens.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b00pj0ws)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Jane Garvey celebrates some of the most inspirational achievers who appeared on the programme last year.

Katie Piper is a former model and TV presenter who suffered a horrific attack, arranged by her former boyfriend. Acid was thrown into her face, causing extensive third-degree burns and blindness in one eye. She has had over 30 operations and her life has changed beyond recognition. Katie and her mother Diane talk about what happened.

Shirley Williams was born to politics. As well as being influenced by her mother, the author and pacifist Vera Brittain, her father George Catlin, a leading political scientist, encouraged her to have high ambitions for herself. She left the Labour party after 35 years of membership to co-found the Social Democratic Party as one of the Gang of Four. Jenni talks to her about her extraordinary life and career in politics.

Jane visits Marguerite Patten, the doyenne of British cookery for more than 60 years. During the Second World War it was her job to insist that the nation made the most of the limited ingredients available, even if this meant creating bananas and cream from parsnip, sugar and banana flavouring.

As last year marked the 150th anniversary of district nursing, Irene Sankey, now in her late 90s, shares her experiences of working as a district nurse in the 1940s.

And an unusual inspirational high achiever: a performance from Miss Behave, a female sword swallower.


SAT 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00pj0wv)
2nd January 1990

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

Reorganisation begins in Romania as fledgling political parties take shape.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00pj0wx)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Ritula Shah, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00pj0wz)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00pj0x1)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00pj0x7)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pj0xb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00pj0xk)
Clive Anderson celebrates a year of top entertainment in 2009.

With Stephen Fry, June Whitfield, Des O'Connor, Alison Steadman, Dara O Briain, June Brown, Gerry Anderson, Jon Culshaw and Rachael Stirling.

Plus comic interludes from John Shuttleworth, Isy Suttie, Stop Messing About's Robin Sebastian and Nigel Harrison, and poet and comedian Tim Key.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b00pj0xr)
Fabio Capello

As World Cup year begins, England's football hopes centre on manager Fabio Capello. But despite intense media attention this art-loving Italian remains a distant, mysterious figure. Chris Bowlby looks for the man behind the stern facade.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00pj0xy)
At the beginning of 2010 the influence of technology on how we make art, how we experience art and how art is delivered to us has never been greater. This special edition of Saturday Review looks at how art has been shaped by technology over the last ten years and how it may be affected in the future.

Writers Paul Morley and John Lanchester and critic Susannah Clapp explore the blurring of the boundaries between visual art, music, theatre and technology, with insights from artist Grayson Perry, theatre director Katie Mitchell and journalist Cory Doctorow.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00pq8vp)
The New York '77 Blackout

An exploration of the blackout on 13 July 1977 that plunged a sweltering and near-bankrupt New York City into chaos as the lights went out at 9.27pm. Music stations switched to rolling news and the sound of store alarms was the prelude to a night of fear and unprecedented lawlessness.

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00pdzg9)
Matilda

Episode 2

Dramatisation by Charlotte Jones of Roald Dahl's modern children's classic about a cool, calm, pint-size five-year-old genius.

Matilda is determined to save the school and her favourite teacher Miss Honey from the vicious grip of its terrifying headmistress, Miss Trunchbull.

Narrator ...... Lenny Henry
Matilda ...... Lauren Mote
Miss Trunchbull ......Nichola McAuliffe
Mrs Wormwood ...... Claire Rushbrook
Mr Wormwood ...... John Biggins
Miss Honey ...... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Michael ...... Ryan Watson
Lavender ...... Sinead Michael
Nigel ...... Bertie Gilbert

Directed by Claire Grove.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00pj0y6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Unreliable Evidence (b00pg5d3)
Justice Denied in the Civil Courts?

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

Civil Court cases, from personal injury to unlawful detention, are increasingly being settled out of court. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, has warned that the civil justice system is failing. But can the system afford to give everyone their day in court?

An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00pfpdb)
Russell Davies chairs the twelfth and final heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, with contestants from the north of England.


SAT 23:30 The Kalevala: Finland's National Epic (b00pf0kd)
Storyteller and musician Nick Hennessey travels to Finland to explore the mythical world of the country's national poem, The Kalevala.

First published in 1835, this 50-chapter epic inspired a 19th-century artistic awakening and remains a cornerstone of contemporary Finnish culture. Speaking to musicians and critics, Hennessey finds out how the poem helped shape the nation.



SUNDAY 03 JANUARY 2010

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00pj2dj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:15 Einstein's Fiddle (b008fcf4)
Physicist Brian Foster explores the role of music in the life of Albert Einstein.

Although best known for his towering scientific achievements, Einstein was a fine amateur violinist and occasionally played in public. Indeed, he once said that he got the most joy in his life from playing the violin. When he was due to receive his Nobel Prize in 1922, he was in Japan, not only meeting other physicists but also giving performancesof the Kreuzer Sonata, one of the most challenging pieces in the repertoire.

Music also played a role in his work as a physicist. He would often break off from a particularly difficult piece of work to play his violin in the hope of seeking inspiration. And he found parallels between the beauty and harmony he saw in scientific laws and the music of composers such as Mozart, which he felt reflected the inner beauty of the universe itself.


SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b009fplh)
Pier Shorts

Four Battenburgs

Stories by new writers, inspired by Brighton's Palace Pier.

By Michael Odell.

All teachers want a bright class, but can a child be too clever by half? Little Tommy Spence turns a school model-making project into a life-or-death situation.

Read By Stephen Tompkinson.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pj2dl)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pj2dn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pj2dq)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00pj2ds)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00pj2dv)
The sound of bells from St Mary's Church in Abergavenny.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b00pj0xr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00pj2dx)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00pj2dz)
Earth's Crammed With Heaven

Mark Tully considers where heaven is to be found, in conversation with his friend and veteran documentary maker Jonathan Stedall.

The readers are William Gaminara, Emily Raymond and Frank Stirling.

A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b00pj2f1)
When Kerala farmer Jacob Mathew read Rachael Carson's classic Silent Spring, he, like many counterparts in Europe and the USA, decided to turn his back on pesticides. It wasn't an instant success but now he has also embraced a traditional style of farming - tall trees for timber, bamboo to help conserve water and soil and a mix of traditional spices, fruits and vegetables in place of rubber trees - and his business is thriving. Steve Peacock visits him at Haritha Farms' The Pimenta and finds he has another thing in common with European farmers - the need to diversify. So among the tall trees, spices and wildlife is another crop - tourists.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00pj336)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00pj338)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00pj3yh)
Jane Little 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 (b00pj3yk)
Kidscape

Anna Raeburn appeals on behalf of Kidscape.

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

Registered Charity Number 326864.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00pj3ym)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00pj3yp)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00pj3yr)
Choral Matins for Epiphany from Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.

Preacher: Very Rev Dermot Dunne

Director of Music: Judy Martin

Organist: Tristan Russcher.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00pg5tq)
A weekly reflection on a topical issue from Lisa Jardine.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00pj3yt)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.

The programme hears from the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, Kim Howells MP, on Yemen and terrorism; veteran China watchers Sir Christopher Hum, Jonathan Fenby and Steve Tsang on Sino-British relations; and William Brittan-Catlin, author of Offshore: the Dark Side of the Global Economy.

Plus, the George Orwell file in the BBC archive is opened, there's an informed look at the work of Ian Dury, and a trip to the Forest of Dean to see work on a new replica of Stephenson's Rocket at the Flour Mill workshop.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00pj3yw)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00pj3yy)
John Copley

Kirsty Young's castaway is the opera director John Copley.

Throughout his sixty year career he's worked with all the greats at the major opera houses of the world. He introduced Luciano Pavarotti to a London audience, charmed Georg Solti with his piano playing and was even called upon to stand in for Maria Callas. He was just ten years old when he first saw an opera and he loved it straight away; "I caught opera," he says, "like the measles".

Record: Janet Baker singing Handel's Ariodante
Book: Grove's Operatic Dictionary of Music
Luxury: My 49-year-old double bed.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.


SUN 12:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b00pfr4w)
New Year Special

David Mitchell hosts a special New Year's edition of the game show in which panellists are encouraged to tell lies and compete to see how many items of truth they are able to smuggle past their opponents. The panel includes Rob Brydon, John Lloyd and Stephen Fry.

A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.

Part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00pj3z0)
School Dinner Revolution

Sheila Dillon is joined by guests including Jeanette Orrey of the Food for Life Partnership. Known as the school cook who inspired Jamie Oliver, government advisor Jeanette discusses her latest initiative, the School Cooks Network.

A hot and healthy daily meal should be taken for granted by all our children and young people. And that's why school meals have been consistently high on the government's agenda, (with a little help from celebrity chefs and dinner ladies). The latest development is a commitment to free school meals for another half a million pupils from low-income families.

Faced with complex new nutritional standards, school cooks all over Britain are pushing the boundaries in finding ways of improving the quality of school dinners, using fresh local produce and working within tiny budgets. And ideas of healthy eating and cooking are filtering their way into the curriculum; cooking clubs are multiplying, and increasing numbers of schools have their own kitchen gardens.

Producer: Sukey Firth.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00pj3z2)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00pj3z4)
A look at events around the world with James Robbins.


SUN 13:30 Bach Fever! (b00pfsln)
Exploring the uses and abuses of Bach's music, from the jazz Bach craze of the 1960s to the electronic edifice of Wendy Carlos' Switched on Bach recordings. It has provided an incredible resource for pop invention, jazz improvisation, acapella swing, electronic futurism, rock guitar and plain kitsch.

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00pg5rd)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

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

Also this week, Chris Beardshaw explores the Garden Museum for artefacts and garden tool prototypes.

Including gardening weather forecast.


SUN 14:30 Water Song (b0076zv4)
4 Extra Debut. From dripping stalactites to the roar of a waterfall, wildlife recordist Chris Watson explores the soundscape of water.


SUN 14:45 Joan Armatrading's Favourite Choirs (b00bbxpd)
The Kingdom Choir

Joan Armatrading visits choral assemblies across the country.

Joan reunites with a choir very close to her heart, who performed with her in a tribute song to Nelson Mandela. She hears what distinguishes Gospel singing and how the message and the music come together in praise.

A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00pj463)
Edith Wharton - The Custom of the Country

Episode 1

Dramatisation by Jane Rogers of Edith Wharton's 1913 satire of marriage and money in early 20th-century American society.

When the beautiful Undine Spragg arrives in New York, she sets her sights on Ralph Marvell, but will he live up to her expectations?

Undine Spragg ...... Rebecca Night
Mrs Spragg ...... Barbara Barnes
Mrs Heeny ...... Lorelei King
Abner Spragg/Popple ...... Jonathan Keeble
Peter Van Degan ...... William Houston
Mr Dagonet ...... Paul McCleary
Laura Fairford ...... Provence Maydew
Elmer Moffatt ...... Tom Hollander
Ralph Marvell ...... Dan Stevens
Mabel Lipscombe ...... Tessa Nicholson

Directed by Nadia Molinari.


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b00pj4s2)
Alexander McCall Smith

World-wide bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith meets readers to discuss the first in his series of humorous novels set in Edinburgh - 44 Scotland Street. The presenter is James Naughtie.

The book tells the story of the interlocking lives of the inhabitants of adjoining flats in a house in the Georgian New Town of Edinburgh - their comic adventures, their foibles and accidents, their chance criss-crossings day-to-day.

McCall Smith talks about the challenges of writing one thousand words a day, and how readers would advise him on where to take the story next, and what they thought he should do with characters they didn't like. He also explains how a few real people - novelist Ian Rankin, art gallery owner Guy Peploe - turned up in the stories.

January's Bookclub choice: Unreliable Memoirs (Vol 1) by Clive James

Producer: Dymphna Flynn.


SUN 16:30 Miles Jupp's Muscular Lines (b00pj4s4)
Can a book of poetry for boys which inspired young men at the beginning of the 20th century work its magic on a new generation? Comedian Miles Jupp revisits his old prep school with a book of Muscular Lines to see if the stirring verse about battles, exploration and moral values is relevant today. Some of today's heroes and explorers reveal the poems that keep them going when times get tough.


SUN 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00pjj15)
3rd January 1990

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

In Panama, General Noriega gives himself up to US forces.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:00 From Tsunami to Drought (b00pfv05)
Andrea Catherwood chairs a series of presentations at the Royal Geographical Society organised by conservation charity Earth Watch, each offering novel solutions to global drought, with a Dragons' Den-style panel and an audience quizzing them about their ideas.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b00pj0xr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00pjj17)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00pjj19)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pjj1c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00pjj1f)
Liz Barclay introduces her selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.

All Bar Luke - Radio 4
Living with the In-Laws - Radio 4
Legion of Swine - Radio 4
Today - Radio 4
The People's Classical Chart - Radio 2
The Class of 2009 - Radio 2
Big in Samoa - Radio 4
The Beatles: Here, There and Everywhere - Radio 2
The Unbelievable Truth - Radio 4
Beyond Belief - Radio 4
The Frost Collection - Radio 4
My Mad Grandad - Radio 4
Van Gogh: Seeing Red - Radio 4
Vincent van Gogh: The Letters - Radio 4
Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium - Radio 4
The Now Show - Radio 4
Rob Brydon's World of Elvis - Radio 2.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00pjj6b)
Helen's planning a healthy eating promotion for Ambridge Organics, and assures Pat it's not just a distraction to take her mind off Leon.

Susan tells Helen that Annette's not been on top form, Helen's concerned, and tries to interest Annette in her new healthy recipes but Annette's struggling to show any enthusiasm. She has a moment's panic when Helen light-heartedly suggests there must be a mystery man in her life. Annette insists there's not, then quickly escapes to her room.

Susan has seen Pat's notices for next week's meeting, to choose the 'Save The Shop' committee. She calls in on Pat to talk about the kind of people they need. Susan thinks they've already got a good steering committee and doesn't think busy professionals will want to give up their time. But she's interrupted when Kathy arrives.

Having tried unsuccessfully to entice Kenton with a cosy night in, Kathy moans to Pat that he's off out with Jim - again! Pat sympathises with Kathy's situation. If it's this bad now, Kathy wonders - only half-joking - what it's going to be like when Kenton's new bar is up and running. She may never get to see him at all.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


SUN 19:15 Americana (b00pjj6d)
Host Kevin Connolly is joined by journalist Farai Chideya to discuss the beginning of 2010. What will be the big stories? What might the decade have in store for America?

Kevin talks with Tea-Party Conservatives about what the ideal US government would look like if Tea Partiers continue to succeed in making a powerful impression on the masses dressing up in colonial attire and raising their voices.

Comedian Margaret Cho talks about what will be funny in 2010, how to make jokes and complain even if things are going your way.

The American football season is coming to a close, with College Bowl football games still to come. Match-ups of college teams bring droves of American fans to bars and parties across the nation. Kevin visits a sports bar in Washington DC to get a sense of the excitement and to talk with Washington Post sports writer Gene Wang.


SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b00b0t4n)
An Italian Bestiary

The Chestnuts and the Wild Pigs

Stories by Julia Blackburn about life and survival for the animals and people of Liguria in Northern Italy, where she has made her home.

The wild pigs are the real lords of the forest.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b00pg5r8)
Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers everywhere, in the news, in politics and in life.

An Open University co production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00pg5rg)
John Wilson presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died. The programme reflects on people of distinction and interest from many walks of life, some famous and some less well known.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00phzvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00pj3yk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b00pg5pj)
Project Alcatraz

What makes a businessman turn gangsters into employees? Peter Day talks to Alberto Vollmer of the Santa Teresa Rum Company in Venezuela. He tells Peter how the theft of a security guard's gun led him to set up a project which has cut crime in his area by 40 per cent and has now become an integral part of this 200-year-old family business.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00pjk17)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00pjkkj)
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster. Including More Than A Game.


SUN 23:00 1989: Day by Day Omnibus (b00pjkyx)
Week ending 2nd January 1990

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

The world comes to Romania's aid, playwright Vaclav Havel is elected President of Czechoslovakia, and Gorbachev and Bush welcome a new decade.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00pj2dz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 04 JANUARY 2010

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00pjls0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00pg5d1)
Mobility to Higher Education

As part of Radio 4's University tour, Laurie Taylor travels to the University of Bedfordshire where he's joined by an audience of students and panel to discuss class and social mobility.

In 2003 Tony Blair announced he wanted half of all 18 to 30-year-olds to participate in higher education by 2010. While numbers are up, a report from the Higher Education Statistics Agency suggests their social background has barely changed, with the middle classes still making up the majority of University students. So does education provide a means to social mobility, is social mobility even a meaningful expression and has society ignored class barriers in favour of focusing on identity politics?

Laurie is joined by Lynsey Hanley, Guardian journalist and author of Estates - an Intimate History; Richard Reeves, Director of the think tank Demos; Danny Dorling Professor of geography at Sheffield University and by Dick Hobbs, sociologist at the London School of Economics. They discuss these and other questions of class barriers, social divides and whether Britain will ever shed its class system and the divisions it creates.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00pj2dv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlxd)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pjm0c)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlz0)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pjm0y)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00pjm6s)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Jenny Wigley.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00pjp9b)
Charlotte Smith hears that farming methods must change if we want to feed the world. There are warnings that unless rural wages rise, the countryside will become merely a theme park and a retirement home.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00pk7hy)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00pjpmz)
With Evan Davis and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 In Our Time (b00pk7j0)
In Our Time: The Royal Society and British Science

The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 1

As part of the BBC's year of science programming, Melvyn Bragg looks at the history of the oldest scientific learned society of them all: the Royal Society. Melvyn travels to Wadham College, Oxford, where under the shadow of the English Civil War, the young Christopher Wren and friends experimented in the garden of their inspirational college warden, John Wilkins. Back in London, as Charles II is brought to the throne from exile, the new Society is formally founded one night in Gresham College. When London burns six years later, it is two of the key early Fellows of the Society who are charged with its rebuilding. And, as Melvyn finds out, in the secret observatory in The Monument to the fire, it is science which flavours their plans.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pls5b)
Willie Daly - The Last Matchmaker

Episode 1

Dermot Crowley reads from the memoir by traditional Irish matchmaker Willie Daly. Telling tall tales of true love, this is a fascinating journey through modern rural Ireland and its recent past.

Abridged by David Jackson Young.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pjpwz)
Ruthie Henshall on Chicago; Fathers and childcare

Ruthie Henshall on her musical career. Plus, the fathers taking on full-time childcare, and women in ancient Greek myth.


MON 11:00 Mother Was A Blackshirt (b00pk7zp)
In 1914 Norah Elam was placed in a Holloway prison cell with Emmeline Pankhurst for her involvement with the Suffragette movement. In 1940 she returned to the same prison with Diana Mosley, but this time for her involvement with the fascist movement.

James Maw explores this story and how Norah Elam's fascist philosophy grew directly out of her involvement with the suffragettes, and how subsequently the British fascist movement became largely driven by women. James tells how the first British fascist movement was founded by a woman, and that it was the leading lights of the Suffragettes who, along with Oswald Mosley, founded the British Union of Fascists.

Blackshirts targeted young women from an early age; James begins with the story of his own mother, whom - at the time working in an ink factory - they attempted to recruit when she was 16 in 1937.

Francis Beckett recounts how his mother was recruited when she was sent by the Pitman's secretarial agency to work at Mosley's headquarters and how he has been vehemently anti-fascist all his life and has worked tirelessly to clear the family name of the stigma he feels.

Angela McPherson had no idea until recently the role her own grandmother played at the very centre of the fascist movement; she had subconsciously blocked out disturbing memories of the events and stories her grandmother told her as a child, which were to affect her family until the present day.

James learns how powerful fascist women became and what the long-term effects their right-wing beliefs had on their children and grandchildren.


MON 11:30 Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off (b00pk7zr)
Series 4

Las Vegas

He's back! But this time, he's got a computer! Budleigh Salterton's most famous citizen has been grounded by both the Home Office and his father, so he's set up GWH Travvel ("2 Ms, 2 Gs, 2 Vs - bit of a mix up at the printers").

Run from his bedroom in Budleigh Salterton, with the help of his long-suffering former Primary School teacher Mr Timmis and the hindrance of his sister Charlotte, it's a one-stop Travel/Advice/Events Management/Website service, where each week his schemes range far and wide - whether it's roaming the country lecturing would-be overlanders on how to pack a rucksack ("If in doubt, put it in. And double it"), or finding someone a zebra for a corporate promotion ("I'll look in the Phone Book - how hard can it be? Now, "A to D"...), GWH Travvel stays true to its motto - "We do it all, so you won't want to".

This time, it's Viva Las Vegas as Giles accidentally gets three wives in a row and loses the jackpot as he tries his hand at poker and roulette - and comes up the exact opposite of trumps. The game is Texas Hold 'Em, the flop is huge, Giles has the nuts and we're crying all the way to the river, and no-one has a clue what any of that means. Because, as the old saying goes - what happens in Vegas. makes everyone in Budleigh Salterton very cross indeed.

Starring Marcus Brigstocke as Giles.

Giles Wemmbley Hogg ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Tommy "Tomahawk" Hayes ..... Kerry Shale
Nadine ..... Matilda Ziegler
Mr Timmis ..... Adrian Scarborough
Charlotte Wemmbley Hogg ..... Catherine Shepherd
Tony ..... Lou Hirsch
Mikey ..... David Armand

Written by Marcus Brigstocke & Jeremy Salsby.

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00pjqc3)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00pjsr9)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00pjvq9)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00pk7zt)
Russell Davies chairs the first semi-final of the perennial general knowledge contest, with heat winners Mrs Ali Arnold from High Wycombe, Ms Marie Coyle from London, Rob Hannah from Torquay and Roger Johnson from Chelmsford competing for a place in the final.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00pjj6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 McLevy (b00pk7zw)
Series 6

Jack O' Diamonds

Series of stories about David Ashton's Victorian detective based on real-life Edinburgh policeman Inspector James McLevy.

Jean Brash plans revenge on a sadistic client, but the malign Mr Caleb Grant has a finger in every criminal pie in Edinburgh and is not a man to cross lightly.

McLevy ...... Brian Cox
Jean Brash ...... Siobhan Redmond
Mulholland ...... Michael Perceval-Maxwell
Roach ...... David Ashton
Hannah ...... Colette O'Neil
Caleb Grant ...... Graham Crowden
Donald McIver ...... Andrew Neil
Jack Brennan ...... Robin Laing
Nugent ...... Lewis Howden
Mary Rintoul ...... Molly Innes

Directed by Patrick Rayner.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00pr3d8)
Carry On Britain

Carolyn Quinn looks at the Carry On films and asks what they tell us about British society between the late 1950s and the late 1970s.


MON 15:45 The Beatrix Potter Guide to Business (b00lg9d9)
The Startup Duck

Richard Collins reveals the links between the worlds of business and Beatrix Potter.

Jemima Puddleduck learns important lessons about how not to get her new business off the ground. With commentary from startup kings Dharmesh Shah and Sanjiv Menezes and private equity director Janet Brooks.

Dramatised scenes written by John Peacock. Directed by Celia de Wolff.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00pj3z0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00pmcd6)
Aid

Ernie Rea and guests discuss the place of faith in international aid and development. To what extent are western aid agencies in danger of imposing secular values on developing countries by failing to address spiritual matters alongside physical needs?


MON 17:00 PM (b00pk56w)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pk5bt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b00pk8z6)
Series 56

Episode 1

Nicholas Parsons chairs the devious word game. Panellists Paul Merton and Julian Clary reveal, among other things, what they think of New Year's Eve parties, and David Mitchell and Gyles Brandreth discuss the art of writing a book.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00pjvqw)
Pip spends ages getting ready for college but comes down looking amazing. David can't quite cope with Pip suddenly looking like a leggy supermodel. Ruth's got her own reservations but if it helps Pip to fit in at college then it's worth it. When Pip gets home, she's very non-committal but it seems to have gone ok - and she got some good results in her mocks.

Kenton and Jim have hit a complete difference of opinion. Jim wants to aim at the mature and discerning customer, while Kenton insists the young, trendy bars are always full and buzzing because they work! Kenton wants to discuss it on Wednesday when they go out again. For now he just wants Jim to cast his eye over some sound system brochures.

Fallon tells Jolene that it turns out she's the girl Jazzer has been obsessing about. It's so weird that it's freaked her out and she doesn't know what to do. Jolene feels sorry for Jazzer, and wonders what Fallon's real feelings are. It would be a shame to lose a good friend, so Fallon should at least be honest with Jazzer. Fallon agrees. It's no good putting it off, she'll go and see Jazzer tomorrow.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00pk6x0)
The 2009 Costa Book Awards are announced live on Front Row by the award's director, Bud McLintock. The categories are Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book. Critics Alex Clarke and Michael Prodger discuss the selections.

Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin star in It's Complicated, a romantic comedy about a middle-aged divorced couple. Rachel Cooke reviews.

The American novelist Walter Mosley has finished writing his acclaimed Easy Rawlins mystery series for now. In his home city of New York he discusses America's continuing issues with race, his latest novel The Long Fall, and whether or not he's left Easy behind.

Edie Falco from The Sopranos stars as the title character in the new television series Nurse Jackie, about a strong-willed nurse in a New York City emergency room. Boyd Hilton reviews.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pk6x2)
Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Episode 1

Dramatisation by Ayeesha Menon of the novel by Vikas Swarup, author of Q and A, which was filmed as Slumdog Millinaire. Vicky Rai, notorious son of a prominent Indian politician, shoots dead a waitress at a trendy Delhi restaurant. At a lavish society party to celebrate his acquittal, he is himself murdered. Who did it?

Suspect number one: the mobile phone thief with big dreams.

Arun Advani, an investigative journalist ...... Rajit Kapur
Vicky Rai, a rich Delhi playboy ...... Zafar Karachiwala
Mamta Rai, a politician and Vicky's mother ...... Radhika Mital
Munna Mobile, a mobile phone thief ...... Anand Tiwari
Shabnam Saxena, a Bollywood actress ...... Shernaz Patel
Larry Page, an American tourist ...... Gary Richardson
Eketi, a tribesman ...... Rohit Malkani
Ashok Rajput, a welfare officer ...... Kenny Desai
Champi/Drunk girl in car ...... Radhika Apte
Reshma/Barkha Das ...... Anahita Uberoi
Ritu ...... Ira Dubey
Bilal/Inspector Brar ...... Ankur Vikal
Saira/Ruby Gill ...... Megha Burman
Pappu Pager ...... Jaimini Pathak
Chief Minister Pandey/Chief Melambe/Abu Khaled ...... Jayant Kripalani
Detective Gupta, private detective ...... Kenny Desai
Abu Technical/Tribesman ...... Pushan Kripalani
Abu Omar/Biddy/Driver ...... Nadir Khan
Jay Chaterjee/Judge Mishra ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Gulabo/Mrs Gill/Reporter ...... Ayeesha Menon
Raman Johar/Bill Bakshi ...... Ashwin Mushran
Elizabeth Brookner ...... Karla Singh
Inspector Yardav ...... Ravi Khote
Sohrab ...... Caran Arora

Production team:

Line producer in India: Nadir Khan
Assistant director: Toral Shah
Photography: Ameet Mallapur
Script editor: Mike Walker
Sound: Ayush Ahuja
Additional editing: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Putnam
Sound design: Nick Russell-Pavier

Produced and directed by John Dryden

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 20:00 In Search of the British Work Ethic (b00pk8z8)
Episode 1

Journalist Melanie Phillips embarks on a personal journey to explore what work means to some of the most vulnerable and socially-excluded people in Britain. Melanie is known for her uncompromising views on the 'workshy' beneficiaries of the welfare state but will her theories stand up in the face of the complex and difficult lives of the people she meets?

In this first programme Melanie travels to the north-east of England to meet unemployed young people who are struggling to find their way into the labour market and a married couple who are desperate to move themselves into work and away from dependency.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00pg5fg)
Sri Lanka's Fragile Peace

The BBC's Colombo correspondent Charles Haviland travels around Sri Lanka, the island nation which saw an epic battle to defeat the feared Tamil Tiger militants seven months ago.

The conflict may be over but many say Sri Lanka remains on a war footing - an island full of restricted areas, where refugees are on the move and newspaper editors still face death threats.

Crossing Continents tells the untold story of a fragile society, as people from the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority return to bombed-out villages and towns.

Charles Haviland explores Sri Lanka and asks if the government and army that won the war can now win the peace.


MON 21:00 The Vox Project (b00pk98g)
The Actor's Voice

Clare Balding, with the help of the Cognitive Neuro-Science department of University College, London, investigates all aspects of the human voice and the way we use it.

Cicely Berry, the voice coach of the Royal Shakespeare Company, divulges the secrets of the trained speaker.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 21:30 In Our Time (b00pk7j0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00pk725)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00pk74q)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

Why Al Qaeda has established itself in Yemen.

The election campaign starts in earnest.

What will the next year hold for Afghanistan?


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pk74s)
Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

Episode 6

Indira Varma reads from the novel by Tove Jansson.

Anna is discomfited by Katri's unusual honesty. But what game is she playing?

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne.

A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b00pftm5)
A sweet relief for some and painfully uncomfortable for others, silence can be one of the most powerful tools in speech. From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates the times when staying silent can speak volumes.


MON 23:30 Art for Schools (b00dzk96)
Children's writer and illustrator Jackie Morris tells the story of how, in the late 1940s, one woman persuaded artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Lowry to donate prints to be distributed around British schools.

Determined to help widen access to art, Brenda Rawnsley established the School Prints scheme, at first commissioning British artists such as Lowry and Henry Moore, and then taking a portable printing press to France to persuade some of the most well-known artists in the world to take part. Jackie Morris tells the story of the scheme and the woman behind it, and considers how art education has been viewed in Britain since.

A White Pebble Media production for BBC Radio 4.



TUESDAY 05 JANUARY 2010

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00pjlrk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pls5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlvn)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pjlz2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlxg)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00pjm0g)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00pjm6h)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Jenny Wigley.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00pjp8y)
New EU rules mean that all newborn sheep must be electronically tagged, but at what cost for sheep farmers and why is it necessary?

A rise in business rates could threaten the future of livestock markets.

And ahead of the Oxford Farming Conference, Farming Today ask a cross-section of the agricultural community what they want to hear from Hilary Benn's vision for the future of food production.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00pjpmp)
With James Naughtie and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 In Our Time (b00pk9s1)
In Our Time: The Royal Society and British Science

The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 2

As part of the BBC's year of science programming, Melvyn Bragg looks at the history of the oldest scientific learned society of them all: the Royal Society. Programme two begins in the coffee house Isaac Newton and the fellows of the early 18th century frequented. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, we learn how Newton's feud with the Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed tested the lines between government-funded research and public access. In the age of exploration, senior fellows accompany naval expeditions, such as Cook's expedition to Tahiti and subsequent discovery of Australia. International relations are fostered between scientists such as Benjamin Franklin, whose house in London serves as live-in lab and de facto American embassy. By the end of the century the President, Sir Joseph Banks, successfully embeds the Royal Society in the imperial bureaucratic hub of the new Somerset House. But while senior fellows concentrated on foreign fields, a more radical, dissident science and manufacturing base wrought the Industrial Revolution right under their noses.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pmbws)
Willie Daly - The Last Matchmaker

Episode 2

Dermot Crowley reads from the memoir by traditional Irish matchmaker Willie Daly. Telling tall tales of true love, this is a fascinating journey through modern rural Ireland and its recent past.

Willie is inducted into the family business by his grandfather.

Abridged by David Jackson Young.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pjpwn)
Maya Fiennes on yoga; Caste discrimination in the UK

Maya Fiennes on Kundalini yoga. Plus, how widely has caste prejudice been imported to Britain from the Indian sub-continent?


TUE 11:00 Nature (b00pk9s3)
Series 4

Britain's Rarest Trees

If you thought that all the world's rarest trees were only in virgin rainforest or on remote tropical islands, then prepare to be surprised. Brett Westwood joins botanist Tim Rich from the National Museum of Wales to look for the whitebeam trees, which are found nowhere else in the world. Ley's whitebeam near Merthyr Tydfil has only 17 specimens growing in the wild, and new species are still being described from the Avon Gorge in Bristol. Thanks to analysis of their DNA we know more than ever about these trees and their conservation presents some fascinating challenges.


TUE 11:30 Who Was Opal? (b00pk9y9)
Journalist Melanie McFadyean investigates the strange life of Opal Whiteley, a child prodigy from Oregon, whose childhood diary was a huge hit in the early 1920s, but whose aristocratic claims were disputed and ultimately brought her to a sad end in a British psychiatric hospital.

Opal's diary described, in an amusing, poetic style, her upbringing in the backwoods lumber camps at the beginning of the 20th century, and her intimate relationship with the natural world - a relationship in which many of the animals she knew, and even some of the trees, were given names, often taken from classical literature.

But it was the story behind the diary's publication that first raised eyebrows - Opal, as an adult, claimed to a publisher that the original diary had been ripped apart by a jealous sister, but the piecies were preserved for years in a hatbox. Opal was encouraged to paste the diary back together, and the manuscript for the book was transcribed from the results.

Many people were sceptical about the diary's reconstruction, but scepticism turned to outright suspicion when Opal turned her back on her Oregon family, as a result of implications in the diary that she was an orphan and that her real father was a member of the French royal family. Opal's diary still divides opinion in America.

During the Second World War, Opal lived in a London flat, along with thousands of books. But her mental condition deteriorated and she was placed in Napsbury Hospital, near St Albans, in 1948, where she spent the next 44 years until her death in 1992. We hear from people who met her and knew her, hear extracts from the diary, and musical clips from a musical about her life.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00pjqbv)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00pjslp)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00pjvbd)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


TUE 13:30 The Rock Island Line (b00pkbff)
The story of how Lonnie Donegan's recording of The Rock Island changed the course of popular music forever. Folk singer and musician Huw Williams talks to The Quarrymen and Peter Donegan, tracing the origins of The Rock Island Line from John Lennon's prized 78 via the prisons of the Southern American states to the railroad itself. The programme includes a brand new recording of The Rock Island Line featuring The Quarrymen and Pete Donegan.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00pjvqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00pr5jk)
ID

Dark thriller by Tajinder Singh Hayer about Asian identity in modern Britain. A confused Asian man walks into a Manchester police station and says he needs help because he thinks he's going to kill. He can't remember a thing, not even his name. An attention seeker? Maybe an amnesiac? Or is it something more complicated?

Robert ...... Zubin Varla
Sonia ...... Shivani Ghai
Atkins ...... Andrew Westfield
Reena ...... Rina Mahoney
Steven ...... Luke Broughton
Mr Ali ...... Armand Beasley
Anne ...... Eileen O'Brien.


TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00pkbfk)
The first recorded proposal for a Severn Barrage was in 1849 - not to produce electricity but to produce a large, reliable, harbour. Since then many different ideas have been put forward for using the huge tidal drop of the Severn Estuary to produce electricity. None have so far been built and this week you want to know the panel's views on why this might be.

There's also the many and varied techniques that birds use to see into water, and how fish spot them coming. Is it possible to exploit the ocean's dead zones to produce valuable crops? And just how is it that electricity knows to stick to the cable and not electrocute the birds so cheekily perched upon them?

We also hear the results of the survey of the impact of fireworks on roosting birds.

On the panel are marine biologist Helen Scales, ornithologist Graham Appleton and Professor Philip Stott, environmental scientist of 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: The Time Being (b00pmcqb)
Series 4

Jules

Series of original stories by unpublished writers.

Jules has been diagnosed as having cancer. But for a number of reasons, not all of them noble, her best friend Kate finds it hard to be as supportive as she should.

By Tamara Pollock, read by Nicola Walker.

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:45 The Beatrix Potter Guide to Business (b00lkjyg)
Kings of Credit

Richard Collins reveals the links between the worlds of business and Beatrix Potter.

Margaret Thatcher famously held Ginger & Pickles to be the only business book worth reading. Not only an instructive manual in cornershop economics, this deceptively simple tale of a shopkeeping cat and dog also turns out to be a blueprint for how to wreck an entire economy. With Supermarket chairman Edwin Booth and BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders.

Dramatised scenes written by John Peacock. Directed by Celia de Wolff.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00pkbh9)
Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00pkbmf)
Series 20

Nero

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

Christopher Biggins champions the life of the Roman Emperor Nero, a man whose modest talent for poetry was overshadowed by his debauchery, extravagance and tyranny.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00pk56y)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pk5bk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Sneakiepeeks (b00pkbmh)
Echo

When the members of the Beagle Team take on their next mission, they find themselves in competition with old rivals, the Terrier Team.

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

Bill ...... Richard Lumsden
Sharla ...... Nina Conti
Mark ...... Daniel Kaluuya
Mrs Davies ...... Tessa Nicholson
Customer 2 ...... Ewan Bailey
Edward Barraclough MP ...... Paterson Joseph
Norris ...... Joe Thomas
Ros ...... Lucy Montgomery
Customer 1 ...... Harry Venning
Customer 3 ...... Neil Brandr

Other parts played by the cast.

Producer: Katie Tyrrell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2010.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00pjvqc)
Lilian's next prison visit is confirmed for Friday. Matt has insisted he doesn't want to see anyone else. Jennifer understands but as Brian has agreed to take Peggy to The Laurels, Jennifer can still accompany Lilian on the journey, and do some shopping while Lilian visits Matt. Lilian's really pleased. She'd been dreading going there on her own again.

Jazzer thinks he's been a complete idiot, and knows Fallon's ignoring him. Tom points out he doesn't know what Fallon's thinking. Tom and Helen are discussing Helen's healthy-eating promotional flyers when Fallon unexpectedly turns up, and Tom cheerfully sends her off to talk to Jazzer.

Jazzer's totally taken aback, especially when Fallon insists he needn't feel bad about what he said. She doesn't want it to spoil what they had - he's the best friend she's got. When Fallon insists Jazzer comes to see her at the pub, he's more than happy to oblige.

Jazzer tells Tom that Fallon wants everything to be hunky-dory, so Tom was right about seizing the moment. It looks like his big gesture might have paid off after all!

Episode written by Simon Frith.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00pk6lm)
Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road, about a man trying to get his young son to safety in a bleak and hostile post-apocalyptic world, has been made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen. Diane Roberts reviews.

Jonathan Miller, who curates a new exhibition, On the Move, talks about 19th-century photographic techniques for capturing movement and how they led to cinema and Impressionist painting.

The screenwriter and author MR Hall discusses his new crime novel, The Disappeared, which focuses on a couple of British students who vanish without trace.

As Australian premier Kevin Rudd reveals he has written a children's book, comedian Danny Robins wonders what other world leaders might pen for underage voters.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pnngd)
Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Episode 2

Dramatisation by Ayeesha Menon of the novel by Vikas Swarup, author of Q and A, which was filmed as Slumdog Millinaire. Vicky Rai, notorious son of a prominent Indian politician, shoots dead a waitress at a trendy Delhi restaurant. At a lavish society party to celebrate his acquittal, he is himself murdered. Who did it?

Suspect number two: the Bollywood actress with the guilty secret.

Arun Advani, an investigative journalist ...... Rajit Kapur
Vicky Rai, a rich Delhi playboy ...... Zafar Karachiwala
Mamta Rai, a politician and Vicky's mother ...... Radhika Mital
Munna Mobile, a mobile phone thief ...... Anand Tiwari
Shabnam Saxena, a Bollywood actress ...... Shernaz Patel
Larry Page, an American tourist ...... Gary Richardson
Eketi, a tribesman ...... Rohit Malkani
Ashok Rajput, a welfare officer ...... Kenny Desai
Champi/Drunk girl in car ...... Radhika Apte
Reshma/Barkha Das ...... Anahita Uberoi
Ritu ...... Ira Dubey
Bilal/Inspector Brar ...... Ankur Vikal
Saira/Ruby Gill ...... Megha Burman
Pappu Pager ...... Jaimini Pathak
Chief Minister Pandey/Chief Melambe/Abu Khaled ...... Jayant Kripalani
Detective Gupta, private detective ...... Kenny Desai
Abu Technical/Tribesman ...... Pushan Kripalani
Abu Omar/Biddy/Driver ...... Nadir Khan
Jay Chaterjee/Judge Mishra ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Gulabo/Mrs Gill/Reporter ...... Ayeesha Menon
Raman Johar/Bill Bakshi ...... Ashwin Mushran
Elizabeth Brookner ...... Karla Singh
Inspector Yardav ...... Ravi Khote
Sohrab ...... Caran Arora

Production team:

Line producer in India: Nadir Khan
Assistant director: Toral Shah
Photography: Ameet Mallapur
Script editor: Mike Walker
Sound: Ayush Ahuja
Additional editing: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Putnam
Sound design: Nick Russell-Pavier

Produced and directed by John Dryden

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 20:00 Under Surveillance (b00pkbmk)
Journalist and writer Phil Harding investigates and evaluates Britain's rapidly increasing use of CCTV systems for tackling crime and asks if they are really being effective. Closed circuit television has become part of our every day lives; on high streets, on the bus and in most of our shops we are frequently being watched by CCTV cameras. But how likely are they to prevent crime and how useful are they as a detection method? Also, who is watching us and are their systems and methods working? What is the evidence that backs up our obsession with CCTV?


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00pkbmm)
Peter White talks to actress and comedian Kitty McGeever about her life and the impact her relatively recent sight loss has had on her life.

Kitty was the first blind actor to be cast as a permanent character in a UK soap, Emmerdale, which she is loving. She has also just been made guardian of her late best friend's 16-year-old daughter and is in in the midst of moving house.

She demonstrates to Peter her CD book which has audible labels telling her which CD is which. She also uses a colour detector as she is very particular about her clothes and the gadget enables her to match her colours.

Kitty also tells Peter that one of her favourite gadgets in the kitchen is a pair of long-armed heat-resistant oven gloves, to prevent her burning her hands.

She says that unlike Bill Roache in Corrie, she probably wouldn't be in Emmerdale for 50 years as she would hate being told when she could have her hair cut.


TUE 21:00 Case Notes (b00pkbmp)
Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is thought of as a disease of the past, but in our British cities it is still very much a fact of life. Dr Mark Porter hears from Natalie, a 24-year-old mother of two, who has had successful treatment for TB in her kidneys. Doctors think she may have caught it when she was working in a care home.

The treatment for TB involves at least six months of taking a number of different antibiotics. The experts explain how - although it's difficult for patients to keep taking them once they start feeling better - it's crucial to be cured, and to avoid resistant strains of the disease from developing.

The BCG vaccine is not routinely given these days. Instead certain 'at risk' communities are targeted. Teenagers on gap years, who may not have been vaccinated, might want to think about getting the vaccine which will offer them protection against TB on their travels.


TUE 21:30 In Our Time (b00pk9s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00pk70r)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00pk727)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

President Obama gives his response to intelligence failures over the failed airline terrorist attack.

The UK braces itself for more severe weather.

What connects Spain's prime minister to Mr Bean?

Iceland tries to resist repaying money lost in the financial collapse.

Is locally-produced food really the best option?


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pk74v)
Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

Episode 7

Indira Varma reads from the novel by Tove Jansson.

After visiting Liljeberg the boat maker, Katri starts to make plans for her brother Mats.

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne.

A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Jon Ronson On (b00pnt6h)
Series 5

Fear of Flying

The writer Jon Ronson looks at one of our deepest fears. When Vicky Coren realised her fear of flying was stopping her travelling, she sought help from a specialist councillor. He cured her - only to die a year later in an air crash.

Mike Thexton tells Jon of his ordeal on board a hijacked plane, waiting to be shot for 12 hours. And comedian Danny Robins is terrified of death - so terrified that Jon decides to send him to a near death experience festival in Spain in order to try to cure his phobia. Finally, Jon finds a scientist who is working on finding an answer to eternal life.

Producer: Laura Parfitt
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00pkbxh)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.



WEDNESDAY 06 JANUARY 2010

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00pjlrm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pmbws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlvq)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pjlz4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlxj)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00pjm0j)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00pjm6k)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Jenny Wigley.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00pjp90)
The Conservatives attack the government's new food strategy, calling it a 'Soviet-style' plan'. Charlotte Smith reports from the Oxford Farming Conference; she talks to secretary of state Hilary Benn about the strategy and asks farmers if it will benefit them.


WED 06:00 Today (b00pjpmr)
With Justin Webb and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk and Weather.


WED 09:00 In Our Time (b00pkth7)
In Our Time: The Royal Society and British Science

The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 3

As part of the BBC's year of science programming, Melvyn Bragg looks at the history of the oldest scientific learned society of them all: the Royal Society. The 19th century blooms scientifically with numerous alternative, specialist learned societies and associations, all threatening the Royal Society's pre-eminence. Attempts to reform the membership criteria - marking scientific leadership's painful transition from patronage to expertise - are troubled, and organisations such as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (now the BSA) excite and enliven scientific discourse outside of London. Science becomes a realistic career and a path of improvement, and by the time HG Wells writes science fiction at the end of the 19th century, there are sufficient numbers of interested, informed readers to suggest that Edwardian society contained the beginnings of a scientific society.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pmbw4)
Willie Daly - The Last Matchmaker

Episode 3

Dermot Crowley reads from the memoir by traditional Irish matchmaker Willie Daly. Telling tall tales of true love, this is a fascinating journey through modern rural Ireland and its recent past.

How the cultural and social changes of the 1960s began to impact on life in rural Ireland.

Abridged by David Jackson Young.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pjpwq)
Poet Sinead Morrissey; Trust after an affair

Poet Sinead Morrissey on her new collection. Plus, speech therapy for children, and rebuilding trust after an affair.


WED 11:00 Based on a True Story (b00g63pz)
The first production of Howard Brenton's play Never So Good brought to life on stage the experiences of Harold Macmillan. In this programme, which reflects on real life events set against their fictional portrayal, Peter Curran discusses the production with Brenton, Jeremy Irons, who played Macmillan, and Lord Alexander Stockton, the grandson of Macmillan and his close companion in later life.Producer Kevin DawsonA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 11:30 Ballylenon (b00pktqz)
Series 7

Episode 6

The question as to exactly how long Councillor Maconchy has been dead is silenced when the sisters claim to have observed Guard Gallagher wearing one of Muriel's dresses...

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
Matthew Addis ...... Aubrey Frawley
Mark Lambert ...... Terry Black

Pianist: Michael Harrison

Director: Eoin O'Callaghan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00pjqbx)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00pjslr)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00pjvbg)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00pktr1)
The government has signalled its intention to allow product placement on commercial television and, with the consultation period ending this week, there's been a flurry of arguments for and against the change. Steve Hewlett discusses this with Richard Lindley of Voice of the Listener and Viewer, Claire Heys of independent production company Tiger Aspect and Ian Twinn of the advertisers' body ISBA, which has come out against the changes.

As the first 3D television channel is announced in the US, Sky TV shows Steve how its 3D programming could look when it starts broadcasting programmes later this year. Several of the major television manufacturers are launching 3D sets at a technology fair in Las Vegas tomorrow.

Thomas Gensemer, of Blue State Media, gives his views on how social media helped Barack Obama's presidential campaign and how that experience might be used in the next UK general election. Blue State Media has been credited with helping the campaign to raise over 500 million dollars and mobilise over ten million activists.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00pjvqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00c5zsj)
Life of Penguins

By Katie Hims.

Merle is a penguin keeper at London Zoo. When her sister Beth fails to make a date at the cinema, she goes searching for her. She soon realises that Beth has been abducted by aliens - not for the first time.

Merle ...... Abigail Davies
Linus ...... Matthew Wilson
Gina ...... Serena Bobowski
Frank ...... Dominic Hawksley
Beth ...... Madeleine Bowyer
Ania ...... Ania Tomaszewska
Chris ...... Chris Nelson

Directed by Boz Temple-Morris

A Boz Temple Morris production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00pktr3)
Vincent Duggleby and a panel of guests answer calls on tax and self assessment.

Guests:

Jane Moore, tax manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales
Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
John Whiting, tax policy director, Chartered Institute of Taxation.


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading: The Time Being (b00pmcqd)
Series 4

The Painter and the Dybbuk

Series of original stories by unpublished writers.

In Jewish folklore a Dybbuk is the wandering soul of a dead person that enters the body of a living person and controls his or her behaviour. A painter's talent has so far kept him alive in Auschwitz. But as he starts on a portrait of one of the guards, he wonders just who is in control.

By Claire Griffiths, read by Nicholas Farrell.

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:45 The Beatrix Potter Guide to Business (b00pk55s)
Keeping Track of Stuff

Richard Collins reveals the links between the worlds of business and Beatrix Potter.

The Tale of Samuel Whiskers is a sinister story of rats behind the skirting boards and kittens going missing. Beatrix Potter wrote it just as her own royalties from Peter Rabbit were mysteriously disappearing. Our reading of the tale offers advice on how to run a rolling audit from Eddie Stobart CEO Andrew Tinkler and Penguin UK managing director, Sally Floyer.

Dramatised scenes written by John Peacock. Directed by Celia de Wolff.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00pktr5)
The First World War was the first conflict in which Britain used conscription, and it was the same law, the 1916 Military Service Act, which made it possible for people to 'conscientiously object' and opt out of bearing arms. It was not an easy status to achieve or an easy option to take, however, because 'conchies', as they were known, were attacked, stigmatised, imprisoned and considered effeminate. Laurie Taylor discusses a new study which explores the mixed feelings and confused anxieties the British public felt toward conscientious objectors in a period when traditional masculinity was already under great strain.

Also, Laurie talks to Emma Robertson about her study into music at work. It was banned in most factories in the 19th century, until Cadbury and Rowntree started introducing hymns in their workplaces to raise morale as well as productivity.


WED 16:30 Case Notes (b00pkbmp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b00pk570)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pk5bm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Ayres on the Air (b00m6f4m)
Series 3

In the Doghouse

Pam Ayres returns with a new series packed with poetry, anecdotes and sketches.

Poems include Toaster, about Pam's son's dog and its phobia; I'm the Dog Who Didn't Win a Prize, written by Pam after she was asked to be a judge at a competition; and Tippy Tappy Feet, about the things you miss when your best friend goes to the great kennel in the sky.

Pam is joined on stage by actors Geoffrey Whitehead and Felicity Montagu for sketches on what dogs talk to each other about and how a new puppy can cause more excitement in some families than a new baby.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00pjvqf)
Brenda's suddenly in demand. Pat wants her to do the PR for the community shop once the committee's up and running, and David asks if she'll produce a leaflet to send out with their beef. Brenda's pleased to help - especially as David's job would be paid. When she mentions it to Mike, he suggests they could have a joint leaflet for the beef and the new milk round. David's unsure but when Brenda points out they'd be reaching each other's customers, he starts to see the benefits and agrees to talk to Mike.

Fallon tells Jolene that she and Jazzer are sorted. Jolene's unsure exactly what is sorted, especially when she sees Jazzer watching Fallon like a dog pining for a bone.

Pat asks Kathy to be secretary on the shop committee. Kenton needs Kathy's help too. He takes her to a quiet bar in Felpersham. She quite likes it but Kenton wants to move on. The next bar is appallingly dreary. Kathy wants to go elsewhere but Kenton wants to stay and soak up the atmosphere. It's just what he's been looking for and he's going to bring Jim here tomorrow. This could be the answer to all his problems. It's perfect!

Episode written by Simon Frith.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00pk6lp)
'Nasty' Nigel Lythgoe, the original TV super-judge on Popstars back in 1999, returns to British TV; Canadian writer Margaret Atwood picks her favourite moment of genius in scientific history; prolific American novelist Joyce Carol Oates on writing A Fair Maiden; and the Royal Mail's new series of stamps of classic album covers, including New Order, Led Zeppelin and Ziggy Stardust.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pnngg)
Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Episode 3

Dramatisation by Ayeesha Menon of the novel by Vikas Swarup, author of Q and A, which was filmed as Slumdog Millinaire. Vicky Rai, notorious son of a prominent Indian politician, shoots dead a waitress at a trendy Delhi restaurant. At a lavish society party to celebrate his acquittal, he is himself murdered. Who did it?

Suspect number three: an American who has come to India to marry his mail-order bride.

Arun Advani, an investigative journalist ...... Rajit Kapur
Vicky Rai, a rich Delhi playboy ...... Zafar Karachiwala
Mamta Rai, a politician and Vicky's mother ...... Radhika Mital
Munna Mobile, a mobile phone thief ...... Anand Tiwari
Shabnam Saxena, a Bollywood actress ...... Shernaz Patel
Larry Page, an American tourist ...... Gary Richardson
Eketi, a tribesman ...... Rohit Malkani
Ashok Rajput, a welfare officer ...... Kenny Desai
Champi/Drunk girl in car ...... Radhika Apte
Reshma/Barkha Das ...... Anahita Uberoi
Ritu ...... Ira Dubey
Bilal/Inspector Brar ...... Ankur Vikal
Saira/Ruby Gill ...... Megha Burman
Pappu Pager ...... Jaimini Pathak
Chief Minister Pandey/Chief Melambe/Abu Khaled ...... Jayant Kripalani
Detective Gupta, private detective ...... Kenny Desai
Abu Technical/Tribesman ...... Pushan Kripalani
Abu Omar/Biddy/Driver ...... Nadir Khan
Jay Chaterjee/Judge Mishra ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Gulabo/Mrs Gill/Reporter ...... Ayeesha Menon
Raman Johar/Bill Bakshi ...... Ashwin Mushran
Elizabeth Brookner ...... Karla Singh
Inspector Yardav ...... Ravi Khote
Sohrab ...... Caran Arora

Production team:

Line producer in India: Nadir Khan
Assistant director: Toral Shah
Photography: Ameet Mallapur
Script editor: Mike Walker
Sound: Ayush Ahuja
Additional editing: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Putnam
Sound design: Nick Russell-Pavier

Produced and directed by John Dryden

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b00pkttp)
The Law and Drugs

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

There is a growing body of opinion in the legal world that the 'war on drugs' has failed and that decriminalisation of drugs is the only way ahead. What are the shortcomings of the existing Misuse of Drugs Act, and how might drug use be regulated in a decriminalised future?

An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 20:45 More Than A Game (b00pktv2)
The Fight

Professor Anthony King reports on one of the most famous matches in boxing history, the rematch in 1938 at Yankee Stadium in New York, between the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis of the United States and Max Schmeling of Germany. Two years earlier in 1936, in the same stadium , Schmeling , to everyone's astonishment, had knocked out Louis in the 12th round. For Adolf Hitler and his propaganda chief, Josef Goebbels, it was a triumph of white over black. By 1938, the rematch had taken on even greater value, for the Germans, for the Jews, and for black and white Americans. On the night of the fight, millions of people around the world, many with little previous interest in boxing, were glued to their radios. In the U.S. , 64 per cent of all Americans who owned a radio, tuned in. The match lasted less than a round, Schmeling was sensationally knocked out. But after the war, it was Schmeling who prospered. He helped Louis financially and was a pallbearer at the Brown Bomber's funeral.


WED 21:00 Nature (b00pk9s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 In Our Time (b00pkth7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00pk70t)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00pk729)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.

Labour in crisis - two former cabinet ministers call for a leadership election.

What will happen in Iraq in 2010?

More snow chaos: the latest weather and transport news.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pk74x)
Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

Episode 8

Indira Varma reads from the novel by Tove Jansson.

While Mats shows the plans for his boat to Liljeberg, Anna becomes strangely assertive with Katri.

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne.

A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 Weird Tales (b00vknmp)
Series 2

Connected

WEIRD TALES: Connected
By Melissa Murray

Hoarder of horror Lovecraft returns for a new series to share more of his chilling tales.

When her brother-in-law is killed in a car crash, Steph is overcome with sadness. One day, feeling maudlin, she rings his mobile number. She just wants to hear his voice really. The next day he rings her back...

Steph ..... Fiona Glascott
Ray ..... Joseph Kloska
Jamie ..... Piers Wehner
Lovecraft ..... Stephen Hogan
Mother ..... Kate Layden
Jan / Flight Attendant ..... Melissa Advani
Passenger ..... Ewan Hooper
Shop Assistant ..... Rhys Jennings
Passerby ..... John Biggins
Passerby 2 / Estate Agent ..... Tessa Nicholson

Directed by Mary Peate

Introduced by the mysterious H.P. Lovecraft, Weird Tales is a series of three chilling and intimate plays for the late night slot on Radio 4.

Drawing the audience into a claustrophobic and disturbing world, the plays set out to explore the characters' deepest fears and torments. The series will concentrate on the psychological element of the horror genre stirring the imagination of the listener.

One hundred years ago, H.P. Lovecraft created The Necronomicon, a grimoire of lost souls, magical rites and forbidden lore. Locked away, he is after new stories, new blood, to add to his collection. From ghosts to demons, the plays draw the audience into a claustrophobic and disturbing world, exploring the audience's deepest fears and neuroses.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00pkvgd)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



THURSDAY 07 JANUARY 2010

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00pjlrp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pmbw4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlvs)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pjlz6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlxl)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00pjm0l)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00pjm6m)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Jenny Wigley.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00pjp92)
Charlotte Smith hears that a shortage of food scientists could threaten future food supplies. The government's chief scientist says the world must increase food production by 50 per cent order to feed a growing population, and that GM foods could be the answer.


THU 06:00 Today (b00pjpmt)
With Evan Davis and James Naughtie. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00pkx5q)
In Our Time: The Royal Society and British Science

The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 4

As part of the BBC's year of science programming, Melvyn Bragg looks at the history of the oldest scientific learned society of them all: the Royal Society. The horrors of the First World War were a shocking indictment of the power of science. Picking up the thread at this hiatus in scientific optimism, this programme, recorded in the current home of the Royal Society in Carlton House Terrace in London, looks at the more subtle, discreet role the Society played in the 20th century, such as secretly arranging for refugee scientists to flee Germany, co-ordinating international scientific missions during the Cold War and quietly distributing government grant money to fund the brightest young researchers in the land. As ever more important scientific issues face the world and Britain today, the programme asks how well placed the Royal Society is to take an important lead in the future.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pmbw6)
Willie Daly - The Last Matchmaker

Episode 4

Dermot Crowley reads from the memoir by traditional Irish matchmaker Willie Daly. Telling tall tales of true love, this is a fascinating journey through modern rural Ireland and its recent past.

Coming from a line of traditional Irish matchmakers, Willie's father made his last match a month before he died - finding a wife for his son.

Abridged by David Jackson Young.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pjpws)
Novelist Nadifa Mohamed; Photographer Elinor Carucci

Somali novelist Nadifa Mohamed on her father's stories; and photographer Elinor Carucci on recording a family's most intimate moments.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00pkxy2)
Uganda: Battling the Witch-Doctors

Tim Whewell investigates the causes of a horrific spate of child sacrifices in Uganda and follows a former witch doctor who is now committed to stamping out the practice.


THU 11:30 The Frost Collection (b00pkxy4)
Series 2

Episode 3

Sir David Frost and guests look back at some of the most memorable interviews of his long career. With Esther Rantzen, Peter Kellner and Joan Bakewell.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00pjqbz)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.


THU 12:30 Face the Facts (b00pky9h)
High Rise - Low Safety

John Waite presents the investigative consumer series.

The deaths of six people in a tower block fire in London in July 2009 have revealed poor to non-existent fire safety standards in some similar residential buildings. At many there was no fire risk assessment - one has even been condemned as too unsafe for people to live in. We reveal that it had been visited by the fire service on a regular basis because of broken lifts, yet only after the London fire did it become clear the building was unsafe.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00pjslt)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00pjvbj)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


THU 13:30 Questions, Questions (b00pky9k)
Stewart Henderson answers those intriguing questions from everyday life.

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00pjvqf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00pl1gx)
The Killing of the TSR2

By Robin Brooks. The true story of the struggle to build TSR2, the British-built world-beating fighter jet that never was. Years ahead of its time technologically, it was scrapped by the Labour government in 1965, after just one supersonic test flight.

Wing Commander Roland Beamont/Harold Wilson ...... Ewan Bailey
Sir George Edwards ...... Bruce Alexander
Sir Malcolm/Harold Macmillan ...... Jon Glover
Davis ...... Joseph Cohen-Cole
Narrator ...... Piers Wehner

With Rhys Jennings, Nigel Hastings, John Biggins, Kate Layden and Emerald O'Hanrahan.

Directed by Jonquil Panting.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b00physp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00pj3yk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading: The Time Being (b00pmcqg)
Series 4

Smell My Fleece

Series of original stories by unpublished writers.

With four fewer teeth and a mouth stuffed with cotton wool, Debra isn't having the easiest of days. And then she meets Dale. A curious tale of dentistry, stalking and poetry.

By Anna Towers, read by Claire Foy.

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 15:45 The Beatrix Potter Guide to Business (b00pk54y)
The Perils of Success

Richard Collins reveals the links between the worlds of business and Beatrix Potter.

Beatrix Potter wrote about American animals in Timmy Tiptoes specifically for the US market to combat piracy of her hugely successful books. Potter went public to defend the rights of business while remaining fiercely protective of her own privacy. Business guests Gerald Ratner and Cory Doctorow reflect on self-interest and the thin line between public and private when success has you in its spotlight.

Dramatised scenes written by John Peacock. Directed by Celia de Wolff.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 16:00 Bookclub (b00pj4s2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00pl1gz)
Got an experiment you want to conduct? A pet theory you want to test? Then this might be what you've been waiting for. Throughout 2010, Material World will be providing a unique opportunity for ordinary people to do some extraordinary science. Quentin Cooper gives the details.


THU 17:00 PM (b00pk572)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pk5bp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Deep Trouble (b00t6sjh)
Series 2

Episode 1

A new crew member and a noxious gas make their mark on nuclear submarine HMS Goliath. Stars Jim Field Smith. From May 2007.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00pjvqh)
Tom tells Ruth he's seen Pip's new image - and thinks she looks really cool. Ruth and Tom are intrigued to know who's looking round Greenacres. They're surprised to see it's Jim, who's quite impressed by the building, which replaced the Old Police House

Fallon asks after Annette. Helen tells Fallon she thinks she's ok - just a bit quieter than usual.

Jim tells Kenton that he's thinking of making an offer for Greenacres, assuring Kenton it won't affect his plans for the bar. Kenton takes Jim to the bar he found yesterday. At first Jim thinks it's an ideal model for their bar but as time passes, he realises it's completely empty. He knows why Kenton brought him here, and admits defeat. Kenton can have his tapas and surround sound. Kenton tells Jim he's making a wise decision.

Jazzer tells Tom that he and Fallon are getting along fine. Tom's not sure what that means but Jazzer insists she knows how he feels and everything's cool. He's happy to let things take their natural course. Jazzer invites Fallon to a gig on Saturday. Once he assures her that it's no big deal and there's no pressure, she agrees to go.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00pk6lr)
Ian Dury biopic Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll; American writer Jonathan Lethem; British documentary film-makers Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson; and artist Emily Prince's ongoing war memorial project.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pnngk)
Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Episode 4

Dramatisation by Ayeesha Menon of the novel by Vikas Swarup, author of Q and A, which was filmed as Slumdog Millionaire. Vicky Rai, notorious son of a prominent Indian politician, shoots dead a waitress at a trendy Delhi restaurant. At a lavish society party to celebrate his acquittal, he is himself murdered. Who did it?

Suspect number four: Vicky Rai's mother, an ambitious and corrupt politician increasingly embarrassed by her son's activities.

Arun Advani, an investigative journalist ...... Rajit Kapur
Vicky Rai, a rich Delhi playboy ...... Zafar Karachiwala
Mamta Rai, a politician and Vicky's mother ...... Radhika Mital
Munna Mobile, a mobile phone thief ...... Anand Tiwari
Shabnam Saxena, a Bollywood actress ...... Shernaz Patel
Larry Page, an American tourist ...... Gary Richardson
Eketi, a tribesman ...... Rohit Malkani
Ashok Rajput, a welfare officer ...... Kenny Desai
Champi/Drunk girl in car ...... Radhika Apte
Reshma/Barkha Das ...... Anahita Uberoi
Ritu ...... Ira Dubey
Bilal/Inspector Brar ...... Ankur Vikal
Saira/Ruby Gill ...... Megha Burman
Pappu Pager ...... Jaimini Pathak
Chief Minister Pandey/Chief Melambe/Abu Khaled ...... Jayant Kripalani
Detective Gupta, private detective ...... Kenny Desai
Abu Technical/Tribesman ...... Pushan Kripalani
Abu Omar/Biddy/Driver ...... Nadir Khan
Jay Chaterjee/Judge Mishra ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Gulabo/Mrs Gill/Reporter ...... Ayeesha Menon
Raman Johar/Bill Bakshi ...... Ashwin Mushran
Elizabeth Brookner ...... Karla Singh
Inspector Yardav ...... Ravi Khote
Sohrab ...... Caran Arora

Production team:

Line producer in India: Nadir Khan
Assistant director: Toral Shah
Photography: Ameet Mallapur
Script editor: Mike Walker
Sound: Ayush Ahuja
Additional editing: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Putnam
Sound design: Nick Russell-Pavier

Produced and directed by John Dryden

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.

Show less


THU 20:00 The Report (b00pl1h1)
Retrial Laws in Scotland

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 modified the ancient legal principle of double jeopardy in England and Wales so that a person acquitted of a serious crime could be re-tried. Now in Scotland there is a clamour to change the law too, and the government is committed to introducing legislation in 2010.

But there are voices of dissent, as Simon Cox finds out. And if the law is changed, will it enable the reopening of the case that is driving the Scottish debate? Helen Scott and Christine Eadie were murdered in 1977 after they were seen leaving the World's End pub in Edinburgh. Angus Sinclair was tried for the killings in 2007, but the case collapsed due to insufficient evidence.

In England and Wales, meanwhile, only a handful of double jeopardy cases have returned to court. Is the law working as it should?


THU 20:30 In Business (b00pl1h3)
New Age

Many of the world's biggest countries are on the threshold of a new era where an increasing number of old people will have to be supported by a shrinking younger workforce. Peter Day finds out whether this is a threat to the way we live now or an opportunity for new kinds of business.


THU 21:00 Adventures in Junk (b00j022h)
Alan Dein discovers the surprising history of the adventure playground. The very first adventure playground opened in Emdrup, Denmark in 1943. As resistance grew against the Nazi occupation, two men pioneered a unique space, the children's world turned upside down.

They were forged in the ideas of modernist and radical architects and exported to a postwar Britain by the campaigning Lady Allen of Hurtwood. The rubble and rubbish of the nation's shattered cities were now reimagined as spaces for all sorts of adventures.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00pkx5q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00pk70w)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00pk72c)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.

President Obama gives more details of security intelligence failings.

The cold snap is going to last for a week. Is Britain well placed to manage conditions?

Warnings that Sudan could descend into feuding before critical elections.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pk74z)
Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

Episode 9

Indira Varma reads from the novel by Tove Jansson.

Tempers flare at the rabbit house.

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne.

A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 House on Fire (b00pl1h7)
Series 1

Moving In

Comedy by Dan Hine and Chris Sussman.

Vicky and Matt, previously strangers, have decided to buy a house together in these credit crunch times. It's day one, and only one person can have the spacious top bedroom. Who will get it, and what are they prepared to do to secure it?

Vicky ...... Emma Pierson
Matt ...... Jody Latham
Col Bill ...... Rupert Vansittart
Julie ...... Janine Duvitski
Peter ...... Philip Jackson

With Fergus Craig and Colin Hoult.

Directed by Clive Brill and Dan Hine

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00pkvgg)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



FRIDAY 08 JANUARY 2010

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00pjlrr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pmbw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlvv)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00pjlz8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00pjlxn)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00pjm0n)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00pjm6q)
Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Jenny Wigley.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00pjp94)
As the coldest snap in 30 years takes hold, Anna Hill asks farmers across the UK how they are coping with the snow and ice.

And at what ages should farmers retire? Cath Mackie finds out what farmers themselves think.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00pjpmx)
With Sarah Montague and James Naughtie. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00pj3yy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pmbw8)
Willie Daly - The Last Matchmaker

Episode 5

Dermot Crowley reads from the memoir by traditional Irish matchmaker Willie Daly. Telling tall tales of true love, this is a fascinating journey through modern rural Ireland and its recent past.

A salutary tale warning against messing with the path of true love.

Abridged by David Jackson Young.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pjpwv)
Elizabeth Gaskell anniversary; School days extended

Woman's Hour examines the place of Elizabeth Gaskell in the canon of English Literature. Plus; should the school day be increased to 10 hours?


FRI 11:00 NHS Punters Speak Out (b00plwqm)
Episode 1

With the help of dissatisfied NHS patients, Liz Barclay asks if the growing popularity of online feedback can really make a difference to standards of health care and treatment.

The culture of customers offering brickbats and bouquets to service providers has now extended beyond hotels and coffee chains to the NHS. Hospital rating websites invite patients to grade their hospital stay out of five stars, and to leave comments about the care they received.

Liz invites NHS patients who have used one of these patient rating websites to discuss their experiences and puts their points to the hospitals where they were treated.

She asks if the idea of online feedback can be really be applied to our health service and if it can genuinely improve standards of care. Critics suggest the sites are merely window-dressing and that NHS patients are not 'consumers'. Some health professionals claim that the sites can easily just become places where personal scores are settled against NHS staff.


FRI 11:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00plzyg)
Series 5

Yes Count Arthur

Outraged by an optician's dispute, Arthur seeks high office in the council elections. Stars Steve Delaney. From January 2010.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00pjqc1)
Consumer news and issues with Peter White.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00pjslw)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00pjvbl)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00plzyj)
Tim Harford presents the magazine which looks at numbers everywhere, in the news, in politics and in life.

An Open University co production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00pjvqh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00plzyl)
Family Soup

Comedy by Elizabeth Lewis. Charlie's ability to write his weekly family newspaper column is sorely tested when his family decamp to Italy, leaving him with a hyperactive father-in-law and a tame rat.

Charlie ...... Philip Jackson
Marmaduke ...... Howell Evans
Heulwen ...... Manon Edwards
Frank ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Carys ...... Lynne Seymour

With original music by David Chilton.

Directed by Gordon House.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00pm0dh)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

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

Matthew tells the story of Liverpool cotton merchant Arthur Bulley and his love of plants.

Bunny explores the skills needed for willow weaving by meeting a group of students on a course, and explains how to create some stunning designs.

Including gardening weather forecast.


FRI 15:45 The Beatrix Potter Guide to Business (b00pk550)
Tiddly Widdly Widdly Mrs Tittlemouse

Richard Collins reveals the links between the worlds of business and Beatrix Potter.

Mrs Tittlemouse and an intrusive toad offer a view of the relationship between management consultants and their clients. With business guests Greg Dyke, author and consultant David Craig and private equity director Janet Brooks.

Dramatised scenes written by John Peacock. Directed by Celia de Wolff.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00pm0dk)
Matthew Bannister marks the lives of Rear Admiral Sam Salt, Percy Sutton, Yves Rocher, the Right Reverend Monsignor Graham Leonard and Craigie Aitchison.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00pm0dm)
Francine Stock talks to Lord Of The Rings star Andy Serkis about playing singer Ian Dury in a new biopic, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

Director John Hillcoat discusses the challenges of adapting Cormac McCarthy's award-winning novel The Road

Writer and director James Dearden looks back at the career of his father Basil Dearden, the film-maker responsible for Victim, The League Of Gentlemen and The Blue Lamp.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00pk574)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00pk5br)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b00pm0dp)
Series 70

Episode 1

Sandi Toksvig chairs the topical comedy quiz. The panellists are Jeremy Hardy, Sue Perkins, Danielle Ward and Fred Macaulay.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00pjvqk)
Lilian's delighted to see Matt although he quickly picks up that she came with Jennifer, and insists he doesn't want anyone else to see him in prison. Matt's hopeful that Lilian will soon be able to visit once a week. Driving back, Lilian tells Jennifer just how difficult it is to see Matt in prison.

Indignant Susan's heard that Pat wants Kathy to be secretary of the shop committee. Annette loses patience with her and storms off just as Helen comes into the shop.

Feeling bad about their tiff, Susan calls at the flat but Annette's out. Helen invites Susan in, but as she quickly moves Annette's rubbish, she comes across a pregnancy test, which she hastily hides.

When Annette comes back, Helen apologises for being a useless friend lately but insists that Annette must talk to her if she's got a problem. Annette insists she hasn't, and remains calm when Helen produces the pregnancy test, explaining with a shrug that she had sex, was worried she was pregnant so took a test. No big deal. And yes, she's pregnant. Helen's in shock but Annette insists she doesn't care who the father is. She's not keeping the baby. She's going to have an abortion.

Episode written by Simon Frith.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00pk6lt)
Art critics Waldemar Januszczak and Charlotte Mullins look ahead to important and interesting UK art exhibitions in 2010.

Kirsty Lang talks to playwright Frank McGuinness, whose latest play was inspired by Greta Garbo's visit to Ireland in 1967.

All this week, Radio 4 has been celebrating moments of genius - flashes of scientific brilliance that changed the way we see the world. Eoin Colfer, author of the latest instalment of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, turns to flight pioneers the Wright brothers for his moment.

Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, about Hollywood in the 1970s, has now turned his attention to the actor Warren Beatty in his new biography, Star. Peter Biskind discusses his tricky relationship with the actor, director and producer, and, inevitably, Beatty's fondness for the opposite sex.

This month sees the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons, the long-running animated series created by Matt Groening. To mark the celebrations we hear from one of the show's stars, Dan Castellaneta.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pnngm)
Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Episode 5

Dramatisation by Ayeesha Menon of the novel by Vikas Swarup, author of Q and A, which was filmed as Slumdog Millionaire. Vicky Rai, notorious son of a prominent Indian politician, shoots dead a waitress at a trendy Delhi restaurant. At a lavish society party to celebrate his acquittal, he is himself murdered. Who did it?

Suspect number five: a tribesman, Eketi. Brought to Delhi by his one-legged welfare officer, Eketi is unwittingly used to help carry out a long-overdue act of vengeance.

Arun Advani, an investigative journalist ...... Rajit Kapur
Vicky Rai, a rich Delhi playboy ...... Zafar Karachiwala
Mamta Rai, a politician and Vicky's mother ...... Radhika Mital
Munna Mobile, a mobile phone thief ...... Anand Tiwari
Shabnam Saxena, a Bollywood actress ...... Shernaz Patel
Larry Page, an American tourist ...... Gary Richardson
Eketi, a tribesman ...... Rohit Malkani
Ashok Rajput, a welfare officer ...... Kenny Desai
Champi/Drunk girl in car ...... Radhika Apte
Reshma/Barkha Das ...... Anahita Uberoi
Ritu ...... Ira Dubey
Bilal/Inspector Brar ...... Ankur Vikal
Saira/Ruby Gill ...... Megha Burman
Pappu Pager ...... Jaimini Pathak
Chief Minister Pandey/Chief Melambe/Abu Khaled ...... Jayant Kripalani
Detective Gupta, private detective ...... Kenny Desai
Abu Technical/Tribesman ...... Pushan Kripalani
Abu Omar/Biddy/Driver ...... Nadir Khan
Jay Chaterjee/Judge Mishra ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Gulabo/Mrs Gill/Reporter ...... Ayeesha Menon
Raman Johar/Bill Bakshi ...... Ashwin Mushran
Elizabeth Brookner ...... Karla Singh
Inspector Yardav ...... Ravi Khote
Sohrab ...... Caran Arora

Production team:

Line producer in India: Nadir Khan
Assistant director: Toral Shah
Photography: Ameet Mallapur
Script editor: Mike Walker
Sound: Ayush Ahuja
Additional editing: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Putnam
Sound design: Nick Russell-Pavier

Produced and directed by John Dryden

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00pm0dr)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate from the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, London. The panellists are transport minister Sadiq Khan, Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, Liberal Democrat energy and climate change spokesman Simon Hughes and writer and columnist for The Guardian Polly Toynbee.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00pm0dt)
Lisa Jardine welcomes the advent of electronic books but retains her passion for the printed page.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00d10m9)
The Listener

Julian Simpson's fast-paced psychological thriller about a man trying to uncover his true identity, set against the backdrop of a war on terror.

Mark Willis ...... Mark Bazeley
Mia ...... Indira Varma
Doctor Gruber ...... Nicola Walker
Samson ...... Mark Lewis Jones
Charlie ...... Jimmy Akingbola
Lenny ...... Paul Panting

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00pk70y)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00pk72f)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.

Northern Ireland's First Minister meets DUP members amid allegations of a corruption cover-up.

Kazakhstan's nuclear fuel bank: will it stop proliferation?

The alleged 'Detroit bomber' appears in court.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pk751)
Tove Jansson - The True Deceiver

Episode 10

Indira Varma reads from the novel by Tove Jansson.

Mats asks Anna and Katri to view the finished boat. But as spring comes, who has been the true deceiver?

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne.

A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00pkbmf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00pkvgj)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.