SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2010

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00w247v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00w48g8)
Giles Tremlett - Catherine of Aragon: Henry's Spanish Queen

Episode 5

A compelling account of the life of the Spanish Infanta who changed the course of Tudor history. At Henry's urging, Parliament has passed the Act of Succession annulling the marriage of the king and queen. However Catherine still has influential allies across Europe.

Yolanda Vazquez reads Giles Tremlett's new biography of Catherine of Aragon, the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henry's five other wives put together.

Abridged by Alison Joseph
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w247x)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w247z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w2481)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00w2483)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00w249l)
No programme information found


SAT 05:45 iPM (b00w249n)
"I've been a rape victim, mental health patient and murderer." An actor explains how she trains public sector workers for real life challenges and gives Eddie Mair a masterclass. Newsnight's Kirsty Wark reads 'Your News', and Professor Heinz Wolff uses science to explain what iPM is all about. With Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey. ipm@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00w2485)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00w2487)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00w6kzn)
Ardtornish

In Open Country this week, Helen Mark visits Ardtornish Estate in Morvern, in the western Highlands of Scotland. The estate covers around sixty square miles of hill, woodland, rivers and lochs and has been in the Raven family for three generations. Hugh Raven describes himself as the present 'steward' of Ardtornish, working on behalf of the whole family and the local community, and, along with his wife, Jane Stuart-Smith, is building on groundwork laid down at Ardtornish by his late brother, Andrew Raven.

Helen is here to see how the way Ardtornish is managed has changed over the years, and chief among those changes is the way in which the climate is being exploited. The estate is harnessing the power of the rainfall, which is never in short supply in this part of the world, to supply electricity to the National Grid. Estate manager Angus Robertson and farm stock manager James Laurie discuss how Ardtornish's natural qualities and produce can help secure its future, while Faith Raven, who was born as her father bought the estate, and estate gardener Ian Lamb, tell Helen why change and continuity can go hand in hand in the Highlands.

Producer: Moira Hickey.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b00w6l3j)
Farming Today This Week

With just 27 days until Christmas, Charlotte Smith sees how farmers are preparing festive food. From turkeys to geese, nuts to parsnips, it's the busiest time of year for many farmers. It's also the time of year when the money is made. A visit to one Warwickshire turkey farm shows the farming system which results in a profit of £10 per bird. And in the week when Bernard Matthews passed away, Farming Today This Week looks at the legacy of the most famous turkey farmer of them all.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Melvin Rickarby.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00w2489)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00w6l3l)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphreys and James Naughtie, including:
08:10 Labour's Peter Hain on reforming the party;
08:18 Is it inappropriate for the police to use horses to charge demonstrators?
08:22 Tony Blair and Christopher Hitchens' Toronto debate on the motion that religion is a force for good in th world.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00w6l3n)
Fi Glover with novelist and screenwriter Nick Hornby, poet Murray Lachlan Young, a man who was in a band with a very young David Bowie, a headteacher who was caught up in the Montserrat volcano eruption and who helped her pupils through the aftermath by encouraging them to write poems and stories, a woman who extols the virtues of keeping pigs as pets, and the Inheritance Tracks of comedian and author Alexei Sayle.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00w6l3q)
Human Rights - Patagonia

John McCarthy meets the human rights advocate Bianca Jagger and asks her about a lifetime of travel from her home country of Nicaragua and student protests in the Paris of the sixties to her recent work in the state of Orissa in India protesting at the effects on the local tribes of aluminium processing there. John also talks to the Welsh actor Matthew Rhys about his trek on horseback across Patagonia. He joined a group of Welsh Patagonian riders recreating the original nineteenth century journey from the Atlantic to the Andes in search of fertile land to settle.

Producer: Harry Parker.


SAT 10:30 Me and My Mobile (b00w6ljy)
In the last twenty-five years mobile phones have revolutionised our lives- ever since Ernie Wise made the first mobile call in the UK in 1985. Could we imagine not walking around with our mobile in our pockets as instant communication and often a portable office. For Radio Four, Dom Joly explores our relationship with mobiles during the past quarter of a century, where they've changed the way we work, socialise, communicate, get our news, pay our bills, do business.

When phones were first launched they were the size of a briefcase, cost about £2,000 and had a battery life of little more than 20 minutes. They were an immediate status symbol, now there are nearly two phones per head for every man, woman and child living in the UK, and as many as ten thousand of them are stolen each month. They've become small, sleek, slim objects of desire. When did we fall in love with our phones, and whatever did we do before them?

Producer: Anna Horsbrugh-Porter
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00w6lkd)
Steve Richards of The Independent looks behind the scenes at Westminster
The Education Secretary Michael Gove presented his White Paper on Schools in England this week.
He is regarded in some circles as a radical reformer, in the mould of Tony Blair when it comes to the pursuit of excellence in education. Others point to mishaps in his handling of his brief, and question his ability as a politician.
The journalist and writer John Rentoul sees him as an "heir to Blair", but Nic Dakin a new Labour MP who was previously a teacher for 30 years, has mixed views on his performance.

Ed Miliband has been mocked for announcing that his party policy review would start with a blank sheet of paper. But how should an opposition leader plot a route for a return to power? Charles Clarke, who helped Neil Kinnock re-build the Labour party in the 1980s, and George Eustice MP, who worked at Conservative Central Office with both Michael Howard and David Cameron during their years in opposition, offer advice to the new Labour leader.

Think tanks may well feel that a coalition government could pave the way for a greater cross fertilisation of ideas in social policy.
Will Straw who set up the successful website Left Foot Forward, has now joined the think tank IPPR-the Institute for Public Policy Research. Does he see a chance for new ideas to thrive?

In 1976 the then Labour government, was forced to seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund to pay off its public debt. How different were the circumstances then to what the Irish government is now facing? Lord Donoughue who worked for the Prime Minster James Callaghan at the time, and Mark Durkan an SDLP MP for Westminster, with a constituency which borders the Irish republic, evaluate the extent of Ireland's woes.
The Editor is Marie Jessel.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00w6lkj)
Why Pakistan's flood victims feel they've been let down by their rulers.

A victim of the China's Cultural Revolution who emerged from prison and made a fortune.

Russia's policemen fail to see the funny side of a campaign of ridicule.

And a ticklish problem brings acute embarrassment for the BBC in New York.

For weeks this summer the world watched Pakistan drown beneath monsoon floods. Whole towns and villages were lost under a racing, muddy tide as the River Indus burst its banks. Fourteen million people were affected in the worst disaster of its kind in the country's history.... The waters receded some time ago. But as Jill McGivering has been finding out, for many of those who lost everything.....the homeless and the hungry....the misery is unending...

It was the humble bicycle that first set China in motion. It got the masses on the move. The bike was a cheap and efficient solution to the transport problems of a poor nation.... But China is no longer poor. Now more and more of it's people are able to get off their bike...and get behind the wheel of a car. And as Peter Day explains, this change of gear has set some businessmen off down the road to extraordinary wealth....

It's an age old question. Who will guard the guardians...? Who watches the watchman..? It troubled the ancient Greeks, and it troubles modern Russians. They often regard their policemen as brutal and corrupt. Almost every day there's a scandal. And even Prime Minister Putin has said that most Russians cross the street at the very sight of a man in uniform.... But Lucy Ash has been talking to a group that's found its own way of confronting the country's lawless lawmen.....

On From Our Own Correspondent we've focused recently on Yemen's serious image problem. The West sees the country as a source of terrorism. Airline bomb plots have been traced back to Yemen, where Al Qaeda has taken root. And on this programme we've heard from young Yemenis who were aghast at the way the world now regards their nation. But just at the moment, Yemen has a chance to show itself in a very different light. Our correspondent Justin Marozzi has been watching it rise to the challenge of hosting a big regional soccer tournament....

The United Nations headquarters stands among the skyscrapers on New York's waterfront. As they gaze out across the East River, the UN's diplomats are used to contemplating trouble in far away places....epidemics, coups, invasions and so on.... But now they've got trouble very much closer to home... In fact their building itself has been invaded.... And Barbara Plett has found her own BBC office right on the front line....


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00w6lkx)
On Money Box today/tomorrow:

Paul Lewis looks at bank overdraft charges a year on from a crucial court case. Are we paying more or less for going in the red?

Plus: the regulator gets tough with energy firms. Is there true competition for consumers?

How your house could be at risk for clocking up credit card debts or loan arrears.

And why UK plc could make a profit from the money we plan to lend to Ireland.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00w243n)
Series 32

Europe faces the music - with special guest Jon Culshaw

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis return with another series of the topical comedy show with stand-up, skits and sketches. Jon Holmes raises an eye brow at the new toy Transformer from America; Mitch Benn sings about the Pope and prophylactics; Laura Shavin reads us the nursery tale of Three little piggies and the student rioters and Jon Culshaw brings Simon Cowell, Graham Norton, George Bush, Tony Blair and Boris Johnson along for the party.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00w248c)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00w248f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00w243v)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical discussion from North Leamington School in Leamington Spa with questions for the panel including editor of the New Statesman Jason Cowley, shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, business minister Ed Davey and director of the Centre for Policy Studies, Jill Kirby.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00w6llk)
Any Answers? Listeners respond to the issues raised in Any Questions? If you have a comment or question on this week's programme or would like to take part in the Any Answers? phone-in you can contact us by telephone or email. Tel: 03700 100 444 Email: any.answers@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00w6lqz)
The Caretaker

Davies... David Warner
Aston... Tony Bell
Mick... Daniel Mays
David Warner and Daniel Mays star in Harold Pinter's dark comedy. Two brothers shelter an elderly, homeless man after a fight in a café. But his problems are far from over.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b00w6mfb)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Presented by Jane Garvey. Paternity leave: was Simon Hoggart right to call Ed Miliband a 'wuss' for taking time off? Lindy Cameron on running a reconstruction team in Afghanistan. Sophie Grigson discusses how to get the best from the humble root vegetable. Do unhappy singles benefit from therapy? Novelist Katy Regan and journalist Tanya Gold discuss.

Women facing rising unemployment in a recession with Ceri Goddard of Fawcett and economist Len Shackleton. The cause of the rise in rickets among middle-class children. India Knight and Joan Smith on the benefits of Christmas with family or friends.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00w6n6j)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00w249n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00w248h)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00w248k)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w248m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00w6nlr)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Clive is joined by Simon Le Bon, lead singer of 80's New Wave pop sensation Duran Duran with hits like Rio and Girls on Film. Mark Ronson has produced their thirteenth studio album All You Need I Now which is out next year and the single of the same name will be released in December. They begin a world tour in the New Year.

The EMMY, BRIT and BAFTA award-winning composer Howard Goodall has written the music for the new West End musical adaption of the romantic hit film of the seventies, Love Story.

Columnist, political commentator and sports fanatic Matthew Norman talks about his new book counting down the 101 greatest torments in sport...

And Arthur Smith talks to the woman who managed Spike Milligan for over 35 years, Norma Farnes. Her book 'Memories of Milligan' is a collection of interviews from those who knew him best including Barry Humphries, Eric Sykes and George Martin.

With music from Indie singer-songwriter Joan As Police Woman and atmospheric Newcastle 5-piece Let's Buy Happiness.

Producer: Cathie Mahoney.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b00w6nm5)
Series 9

Episode 5

Carnival by Janice Okoh.

In a week that once again saw students protesting on the streets Janice Okoh tells the story of single mother Lorraine and daughter Nicole and how they are affected by the proposed changes to student fees.

Lorraine ..... Clare Perkins
Nicole ..... Deeivya Meir
Dean ..... LLoyd Thomas

Producer: David Hunter.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00w6nm7)
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests the critics John Mullan and Bill Feaver and comedian Natalie Haynes review the week's cultural highlights including The American.

The American is Anton Corbijn's second film and stars George Clooney as a hitman holed up in a picturesque Italian hill town, considering his future.

I, Claudius - adapted from the books of Robert Graves by Robin Brooks - is a six-part drama on BBC Radio 4 set in ancient Rome. The 1976 television adaptation won Derek Jacobi a BAFTA for his performance as Claudius and he's back again, but this time he's Augustus.

To The Manor Born stars Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles are reunited in Sir Peter Hall's production of The Rivals. It's the first time they have appeared onstage together and they play Mrs Malaprop and Anthony Absolute respectively in Sheridan's romantic comedy set in Bath.

Leila Abdoulela won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2000. Her third novel - Lyrics Alley - is a family saga set in 1950s Sudan in which the strains between tradition and modernisation are played out in a wealthy merchant's household.

Bridget Riley: Paintings and Related Work is an exhibition at the National Gallery in which the veteran British abstract artist has chosen to juxtapose her own work with pieces by Mantegna, Raphael and Seurat which have influenced her.

Producer: Torquil MacLeod.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00mtnq7)
Self on Ballard

The writer Will Self, who came to know J.G. Ballard well in his final years, journeys upriver through the life and imagination of the seer of Shepperton. From his suburban anonymity, Ballard charted the realms of innerspace and the madness of the modern world with a cool eye and visionary prose. Written & presented by Will Self. With readings by Anna Massey.

Producer: Mark Burman.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00w13n6)
Hans Fallada - Alone in Berlin

Episode 2

From the Novel by Hans Fallada. Dramatised for radio by Shelagh Stephenson.

Primo Levi's declaration that Alone in Berlin is "the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis" is bold and unequivocal. English readers have had to wait 60 years to explore the 1947 novel in which Otto Quangel, a factory foreman (Ron Cook) and his wife Anna (Margot Leicester) believe themselves morally obliged to take on the full might of the Nazis.

When their son is killed "for Führer and Fatherland", the Quangels begin to write anonymous postcards, denouncing the war and the regime, and leave them on the stairwells of public buildings in Berlin. Over two years, the cards become their life. Trapped through a trivial mistake, by their nemesis, Inspector Escherich of the Gestapo (Tim McInnerny) they are put on trial for their lives, but find a strange freedom in a mocking defiance and then in a terrible silence.

Alone in Berlin is a grim but heroic story told with laconic determination by a man who lived through the war in Berlin. It is about the quiet moral triumph of a seemingly inconsequential couple - it points to a courage which lay in the hearts of most true Germans, if only angst and overwhelming fear hadn't been allowed to gain the upper hand.

Cast:
Otto Quangel ..... Ron Cook
Anna Quangel ..... Margot Leicester
Escherich ..... Tim McInnerny
Trudel Bauman ..... Jasmine Hyde
Eva Kluge ..... Christine Kavanagh
Enno Kluge ..... Ian Bartholomew
Emil Borkhausen ..... Richard McCabe
Frau Rosenthal ..... Joanna Munroe
Inspector Rusch ..... John McAndrew
Judge Fromm ..... Andrew Sachs
Inspector Zott ..... Nickolas Grace
Inspector Prall ..... Sam Dale

Director: Eoin O'Callaghan.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00w248p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b00w2190)
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Michael Portillo, Melanie Phillips, Clifford Longley and Matthew Taylor.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00w195w)
(5/17)
Russell Davies welcomes four more contestants bidding to become Brain of Britain, in the fifth heat of the current series, from the BBC Radio Theatre in London.
Producer: Paul Bajoria

Producer Paul Bajoria
Presenter Russell Davies.


SAT 23:30 Lunch Poems (b00w13qb)
The poet Frank O'Hara was at the very centre of the explosion in New York's artistic life that took place in the nineteen-fifties and sixties.

Friend and champion of Abstract Expressionists such as Pollock and de Kooning, O'Hara worked at the Museum of Modern Art; during his lunch hours, he'd explore the city at its most vibrant peak before stopping off at the Olivetti typewriter store to write the poems that would eventually appear as the collection 'Lunch Poems'.

In this programme, Paul Farley heads to New York to see what it is about this collection- and the man that created it- that ensures its continuing popularity today. Along the way he meets some of the current crop of the city's poets, as well as O'Hara's long time friend and now elder statesman of verse, John Ashbery.

Producer: Geoff Bird
An All Out Production for BBC Radio 4.



SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2010

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00w49j1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b00chwbg)
Urban Welsh

Twelve Beer Blues

Stories by Welsh writers. In Tristan Hughes's tale, the morning after the night before brings mixed memories for Dylan. Read by Ian Puleston-Davies.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w49j3)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w49j5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w49j7)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00w49j9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00w6nv1)
The bells of Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire.


SUN 05:45 Wall in the Mind (b00w2192)
Episode 3

Lynsey Hanley, the author of "Estates: An Intimate History" explores the complexities of class and social mobility in her own life and in British society more widely.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00w49jc)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00w6p8f)
I Don't Believe in Being Lost

Broadcaster Anita Rani explores the significance of being lost, both physically and spiritually. Drawing on a broad range of music and texts, from the Qawwali of Sufi Islam to the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm, Anita illustrates the importance of losing oneself in culture and spirituality.

In some ways, Anita doesn't believe in being lost if there's a map, a signpost or even a person to ask, it's possible to get where you need to be. On another level we are all incredibly lost throughout our lives. From birth until death there's no plan and no map, just meanderings and different destinations. How does this feeling of being lost manifest itself in our existence, physically, mentally and spiritually?

Anita reflects on the nature of being lost with Reverend Peter Owen Jones, priest, award-winning television presenter and author, described by the Times as "the bravest vicar in Britain". Peter has journeyed deep into the wilderness in the footsteps of St Anthony. In a hermit's cell in the heart of the Egyptian Sinai Desert, he lived alone. The experience, he says, withered his illusions and allowed him to see things as they really are.

Producer: Jo Coombs
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 Living World (b00w6phn)
12/18. Many people are unaware of the importance the British Isles plays in the survival of Ancient Trees. We all look at these venerable old trees in parkland but do we ever think that they should actually be viewed as the Old Masters of the British countryside?

In this week's Living World, Lionel Kelleway travels to the Croft Abbey estate in Herefordshire. Here, inside the hollow belly of a 700-year-old oak, Lionel meets Brian Muelaner, an Ancient Tree advisor with the National Trust, and professor of mycology Lynne Boddy. Apart from the inherent beauty an individual tree has in a parkland landscape, as a group, Ancient Trees are vital to the survival of many fungi in the landscape. And without fungi, the trees would be unable to survive at all. With a changing climate, can this symbiotic relationship have a future? Or are we seeing the last of these trees forever?

Croft Abbey estate is remarkable because of its continuity of ownership over many generations by the same family who, like us, valued their ancient trees for aesthetic, not commercial, value. Hidden away in a corner of the parkland is Britain's oldest sessile oak, gnarled and twisted by age, but at over 1000 years old it could live for many centuries to come. Nearby, an avenue of sweet chestnuts, planted from seeds washed up after the Spanish Armada failed in its mission, majestically recreate the Spanish fleet's formation at sea on the hill.

Presented by Lionel Kelleway
Produced by Andrew Dawes.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00w49jf)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00w49jh)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00w6pk6)
More than twenty years after the first World Aids Day, our reporter Trevor Barnes asks if HIV prejudice is still an issue in the UK and if the Government takes HIV seriously.

They maybe the most unlikeliest of pairings, but classical music group The Priests and poet Shane MacGowan are hoping that together their version of Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth will be the Christmas Number One. Father Eugene O'Hagan tells our Presenter William Crawley how their fans have reacted to the news.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury explains to William why he's backing the 'Not Ashamed' Campaign, which offers Christians across the UK the chance to stand up and speak out on behalf of the Christian faith.

A number of Teaching Unions, Educationalists, Religious Bodies and the British Humanist Association have written a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Education, seeking an end to compulsory worship in publicly funded schools in England. Brian Lightman, the General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders and the Reverend David Holloway, a Trustee of The Christian Institute, debate the issue.

The General synod has voted to press ahead with the Anglican Covenant, a worldwide deal designed to keep Anglicans around the world united. Backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Covenant will now be sent to dioceses for consideration. But the traditionalist lobby group GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference) rejected the covenant, saying it was "no longer appropriate". We hear from Bishop Martyn Minns, a member of the Secretariat of the GAFCON Primates' Council and Dr Graham Kings, Bishop of Sherborne in the Diocese of Salisbury.

E-mail: sunday@bbc.co.uk

Series producer: Amanda Hancox.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00w6pk8)
Women and Children First

Juliet Stevenson presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Women and Children First.

Donations to Women and Children First should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Women and Children First. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. You can also give online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Women and Children First 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: 1087417.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00w49jk)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00w49jm)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00w6pkn)
A Vision for City People

The first of our series of services for Advent which visits 4 cities across the nations of the United Kingdom exploring the meaning of incarnation in daily city life.
Live from Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh,
with Greyfriars Choir and the Edinburgh Singers.
Led by the Rev Ruth Halley. Preacher: The Minister, the Rev Richard Frazer.
Readings: Isaiah 2: 1-5
1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11
Hymns: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Lo! He comes with clouds descending (Helmsley)
People Look East (Besancon)
I will always bless the Lord (Ps 34) (Taladh Chriosta)
Anthem: O thou the central orb (Wood)
Musical Director: John Gormley.
Organist: Henry Wallace
Producer: Mo McCullough.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00w243x)
Sex and Religion

Joan Bakewell compares the tensions in the Catholic and Anglican church over policy on homosexuality, contraception and the status of women priests, reflecting that organised religion tends to lag behind attitudes in secular society.

Producer: Sheila Cook.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00w6pkz)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00w6pnw)
For detailed synopses, see daily episodes

Written by: Keri Davies
Directed by: Kim Greengrass
Editor: Vanessa Whitburn

Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
Alistair Lloyd ..... Michael Lumsden
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Helen Monks
Josh Archer ..... Cian Cheesbrough
Nigel Pargetter ..... Graham Seed
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter ..... Jack Frith
Tony Archer ..... Colin Skipp
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Jolene Perks ..... Buffy Davis
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Clarrie Grundy ..... Rosalind Adams
William Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Nic Hanson ..... Becky Wright
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Kirsty Miller ..... Annabelle Dowler
Lewis Carmichael ..... Robert Lister
Jazzer McCreary ..... Ryan Kelly
Harry Mason ..... Michael Shelford.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00w6pny)
Robert Harris

Kirsty Young's castaway is the best-selling writer Robert Harris.

He was, apparently, a political junkie from a young age; he was just six when he wrote the essay: 'Why me and my dad don't like Sir Alec Douglas Home' and he also had an early realisation that he wanted to grow up to be a writer. His first novel - Fatherland - imagined a world after the Nazis had won World War II. It sold more than three million copies and made him a household name. "I can remember I wrote the opening sentence and I practically had to go and lie down afterwards," he said, "the possibilities of it - and the feeling that I'd finally arrived at what I wanted to do - it was overwhelming."

Record: Every Day I write the book - Elvis Costello
Book: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
Luxury: A nightly fragrant bath.


SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b00w1bf9)
Series 58

Episode 3

Nicholas Parsons presides over the grandaddy of all panel games where the idea is to see who has the gift of the gab.

This week's programme comes from the Lowry Centre in Salford where the panellists are Paul Merton, Tony Hawks, Kit Hesketh-Harvey and Alun Cochrane.

The panellists are given subjects on which they must speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation. A task much more difficult than it sounds...

This week Paul has to speak on the subject of What Nicholas Keeps in his Wallet; Kit talks about Seeing the Dentist, Tony declaims on the subject of The Age of the Dinosaur and Alun explains What Makes Me Furious.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00w6pp0)
Best Drinks Producer, Food & Farming Awards

A distiller, a brewer and a cider maker - but who will be the first winner of the Food and Farming Awards Best Drinks Producer Award? Oz Clarke joins Sheila Dillon in Birmingham's NEC to reveal all.

Food writer and critic Charles Campion and restaurateur and writer Mark Hix were the judges for this category and talk Sheila through the finalists.

In this first year of the Best Drinks Producer category the judges were overwhelmed with nominations for innovative entrepreneurs making all manner of juice, perry, teas, and wines. But the three drinks chosen - a cask ale, a spirit and a traditional cider - have been made in these islands throughout our history.

Sipsmiths are one of a new generation of artisan distillers riding the coat-tails of pioneer distiller Julian Temperley who battled H M Customs for the right to distil. Simpsmith's were awarded the first London distillers licence in nearly 200 years, and now produce a London gin and a barley vodka from their west London residential neighbourhood distillery.

Mike Henney's Herefordshire ciders are the result of a hobby that got out of hand. From airing cupboard tinkering via farmers markets the brand is now sold throughout the country's main supermarkets, making good quality cider accessible to all. Henney's ciders all have protected name status, with apples sourced from within Herefordshire and the cider is made in a traditional way.

Wye Valley Brewery is a family business started by Peter Amor and now run by his son Vernon. It brings new meaning to local produce - beers are only sold within 50 miles of the brewery, the majority of hops are grown within 7 miles, and one beer, the Dorothy Goodbody Imperial Stout, even used Herefordshire malting barley.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00w49jp)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00w6pp2)
A look at events around the world.


SUN 13:30 What Happened at Copenhagen? (b00w6pp4)
It was the biggest gathering of world leaders outside the United Nations. 15,000 delegates from 192 countries (including over 100 heads of state or government), watched by thousands of journalists and harangued by thousands of activists, travelled to Copenhagen in December 2009 for the UN climate summit.

Hyped in advance by some as the most important conference the world has ever seen, it fizzled out in exhaustion and recrimination without a binding global deal nor a plan or timetable for creating one. Its conclusion was a limited agreement between a select group of countries, of which the rest of the world merely agreed to take note.

It's a story of good intentions gone wrong, of the ambitions of politicians from a tiny host nation who briefly saw themselves as saviours of the world, and a tale of mistrust, complex diplomatic wrangling and in some cases a diametric clash of vision about the very nature of human progress - topped by the emergence of new and powerful forces in global politics.

So why did such a massive effort lead to such a small result? Presented by the BBC's environmental analyst Roger Harrabin, this programme tells the story of what really went on behind the scenes in the international negotiations.

Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00w243d)
Manchester City

Eric Robson chairs a programme from Manchester City. He is accompanied by Pippa Greenwood, Matthew Biggs and Bob Flowerdew.
In addition, Pippa Greewood visits the birthplace of the RSPB - Fletcher Moss Gardens; and local gardener and broadcaster Paul Peacock discusses the programmes on offer to a gardening volunteer.

Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 In The Footsteps of Giants (b00rzvfm)
Paul Davies on Carl Sagan

Within a series of passionate explorations, Paul Davies looks back on the life of Carl Sagan. Sagan's public lectures laid the groundwork for Davies' own fascination with the universe. Both scientists have played key roles in SETI (the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and both have championed the popularisation of science.

Paul Davies returns to the Boyd Orr Lecture Hall at Glasgow University where Sagan delivered his Gifford lecture 'The Search for Who We Are', meeting up with Martin Hendry, Senior Lecturer in Astronomy at Glasgow University who also attended the lecture and was similarly inspired. Looking back at Carl's work, he reflects on the similarities to his own life and career.

Producer: Lucy Adam.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00w6q37)
I, Claudius

Augustus

Dramatisation by Robin Brooks of Robert Graves' scandalous histories of Roman political vice.

Young Claudius grows up in the turbulent household of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, and Livia, the wife who matched his achievements with her ambition. The Imperial Couple disregard their young grandson as they inch towards absolute power. But that won't save Claudius from heartbreak.

Claudius ..... Tom Goodman-Hill
Augustus ..... Derek Jacobi
Livia ..... Harriet Walter
Tiberius ..... Tim McInnerny
Julia ..... Alison Pettitt
Athenodorus ..... Sam Dale
Cato ..... Jude Akuwudike
Thrasyllus ..... Sean Baker
Young Claudius ..... Harvey Allpress
Young Herod ..... Felix Zadek-Ewing
Young Germanicus ..... Harry Child
Camilla ..... Lauren Mote
Young Postumus ..... Ryan Watson
Young Livilla ..... Holly Gibbs
Other parts played by Adeel Akhtar, Tony Bell, Christine Kavanagh, and Sally Orrock.

Specially composed music by David Pickvance.
Directed by Jonquil Panting.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b00w6q42)
Mariella Frostrup speaks to writers Peter Ackroyd and Kevin Crossley-Holland about the legend of King Arthur.

Novelist Philip Kerr talks about his new book Field Grey.

And writer Paul Bailey discusses the life, work and letters of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lamedusa, author of The Leopard

Producer:Sally Spurring.


SUN 16:30 David Walliams on Philip Larkin (b00w6q44)
Actor David Walliams is a great admirer of Philip Larkin's poetry, and to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the poet's death he talks to former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, who wrote a widely acclaimed biography of Larkin, about why he finds this poetry so appealing. Walliams chooses a selection of the poems he likes best, some well-known and some far less so, to explore the central themes that recur throughout Larkin's work. It's a fascinating three-way meeting of minds: the actor, the biographer and the poet they both admire.

The poems are read by Philip Larkin, Tom Courtenay and Patrick Romer.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b00w1zy4)
Care Homes: When An Inspector Calls

A new law regulating care homes in England came into force last month. All homes must be registered and ensure they meet certain standards of quality and safety. The regulator - the Care Quality Commission - is promising to monitor homes and take action against those who fail to meet standards.
But unions say the numbers of inspectors has been cut. They are warning of fewer inspections and say staff are so overstretched they could miss vital warning signs of abuse or neglect. Worried relatives say they feel their concerns are not being heard.
Fran Abrams asks whether the elderly in care homes are being adequately protected.

Producer: Paul Grant.


SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b00w6nm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00w49jr)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00w49jt)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w49jw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00w6q46)
On Pick of the Week John Waite discovers that a Caribbean theme seems to have been running through the radio schedules. While Bob Marley was preaching One Love, Peter Tosh was stirring up more revolutionary ideas. There's a handy translation session on the street language it spawned. A Caribbean take away has won a prestigious Food and Farming Award. And there's some Cuban music that'll have you dancing in the aisles. Join John for his "bang shabby" Pick of the Week.

Me and My Mobile
City Teachers
How Roald Dahl shaped British Pop
Off the Page
A Charles Paris Mystery: Murder in the Title
Moeran's last Symphony
Arise Black Man: the Peter Tosh Story
Lucy Montgomery's Variety Pack
Front Row
The Food and Farming Awards
World Routes
Len Goodman's Dancing Years
I'm a Celebrity, Get Me into Here
Catherine of Aragon: Henry's Spanish Queen
Outlook

PHONE: 0370 010 0400
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Cecile Wright.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00w6q48)
Jill's delighted for Amy, who's now a qualified midwife. She has job interviews lined up in Birmingham and Felpersham. Alan's keen on Felpersham, as Amy could live at home.

Alan's surprised to see Pat at church. She's after a bit of spiritual uplift after a trying week. Jill's pleasantly surprised to see Kenton there, but stunned and delighted when Pip steps up to the organ to play Phil's favourite Advent hymn 'Waiting For A Wonder'. Pip doubts she'll be able to keep on playing the organ when she's at university. She's keen on Felpersham's Agriculture and Farming Business Management course. Alan notes she really does take after her granddad.

Amy finds Pat in the churchyard, at John's grave. Pat tells Amy that Helen's not finding pregnancy as straightforward as she'd hoped. Helen blames herself for her baby being small for dates, even though it's not necessarily a worry. Pat accepts Amy's kind offer to drop in on Helen for a chat.

Nigel misses the service to stay at the antiques fair and support Lewis. He's pleased to hear Pip played wonderfully. Jill tells Nigel he'll make a terrific dame in the panto. She thinks it's an inspired piece of casting.


SUN 19:15 Americana (b00w6q4g)
As Americans continue to celebrate, and recover from, the Thanksgiving holiday, Americana examines US food choices and "going without". Professor and UN special advisor, Jeffrey Sachs, discusses the increase in poverty and hunger across the nation. Nationally renowned California chef Alice Waters explains why she thinks everyone can, and should, care about eating organic food and the customers and staff at The Dinner Bell restaurant in Mississippi offer a different view. Squirrel hunter Hovey Smith steps into his backyard in rural Georgia to share some hunting tips and a family recipe for squirrel stew.


SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b00c83jk)
SOS: Save Our Souls

Ghosts

Short stories to mark the 100th anniversary of the international distress call.

In Colette Paul's tale, a retired woman is jolted out of her comforting routine by the intrusion of a voice from her past.

Read by Barbara Rafferty.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b00w236t)
Aspiring comedian Richard Hanrahan desperate to break into BBC radio pitches his talents directly to the woman who can say yes.... Or ... er no thanks.

Praise for 'Atching Tan' - a play about, written by and acted by travellers. All information can be found online.
If you hate digital radio you'll be dreading 2015 - Tim Davie, the BBC's head of radio, tries to reassure you. And a Radio 4 fan and her Radio 1 loving step-daughter swap stations for a week.

Email the team: feedback@bbc.co.uk

Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00w243g)
On Last Word this week:

Ingrid Pitt - best known as a voluptuous vampire in Hammer Horror films.

Foreign correspondent John Bulloch - an expert on the Middle East who worked in war zones around the world.

The furniture designer Robin Day who produced the polyprop stacking chair which sold in millions around the world.

Professor Dudley Williams whose work on antibiotics helped to tackle the superbug MRSA.

And Bernard Matthews, the Norfolk Turkey farmer whose catch phrase "It's Bootiful" made him a household name.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00w6lkx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00w6pk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b00w228b)
Growing Pains

In the middle of a recession renewed economic growth is always considered the great panacea that will get us out of the mess we are in. However, is this really the way to tackle the problems of a finite world? Peter Day wonders if our reliance on growth is not a snare and a delusion.
Producer: Sandra Kanthal.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00w49jy)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00w6q9m)
Carolyn Quinn previews the week's political events with George Parker of the Financial Times.

She discusses the big stories at Westminster with Conservative MP Andrea Leadson and Labour MP Alison McGovern.

Mandy Baker reports on complaints from some peers that the procedures of the House of Lords are chaotic and absurd and should be reformed.

Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics explains how local government will respond to cuts in spending amounting to - in England - 28%.

Programme Editor: Terry Dignan.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b00w6q9p)
Episode 29

BBC Radio 4 brings back a much loved TV favourite - What the Papers Say. It does what it says on the tin. In each programme a leading political journalist has a wry look at how the broadsheets and red tops treat the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond. This week Nick Watt of The Guardian takes the chair and the editor is Catherine Donegan.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b00w243j)
Oscar winning British producer Graham King discusses his adventures in Hollywood and his working relationship with Martin Scorsese.

The writer of Of Gods And Men discusses the real-life drama behind his film about the conflict between North African monks and Islamist terrorists

Nikki Bedi's tour of Britain's community cinemas continues at The Star And Shadow in Newcastle, which is staffed entirely by volunteers

Colin Shindler reveals what British critics thought of Elvis's 1960 effort G.I. Blues and why they wanted to return to sender.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00w6p8f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2010

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00w49qm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00w20zb)
Civic Core - Public convenience

Laurie Taylor talks to Professor Harvey Molotch from New York University about his book examining public conveniences from a sociological, architectural and town planning perspective. Laurie also discusses the idea of a 'civic core'- who volunteers in their community and how? - and talks to Professor John Mohan about his research paper exploring volunteerism. They are joined by Professor Su Maddock.

Producer Chris Wilson.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00w6nv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w49qp)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w49qr)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w49qt)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00w49qw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00w77d2)
with Kevin Franz, a member of the Religious Society of Friends and Lead Mental Healthcare Chaplain in Greater Glasgow.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00w77dn)
Farmers say they are running out of non-GM animal feed. And tenant farmers fear too many farms are being sold off by cash-strapped councils. Charlotte Smith visits a farmer in South Birmingham who fears a rent rise could force him out of business.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Fran Barnes.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00w49qy)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00w77dz)
Including Sports Desk at 6.25am, 7.25am, 8.25am; Weather 6.05am, 6.57am, 7.57am. Thought for the Day 7.48am.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00w77g4)
Andrew Marr travels back to Egypt in the 1950s to a time of religious pluralism and openness with the writer Tarek Osman. As Egypt votes in parliamentary elections, Tarek, asks what has happened in the intervening years. Francis Spufford imagines a very different world with his account of the Soviet Union under Kruschchev, and what could have happened if the dream of plenty had come true. Turkey's best-selling female novelist, Elif Shafak, argues against the constraints of identity politics and the pigeon-holing of multi-cultural writers. While Vicky Kaspi believes that we should be looking to outer space to stimulate curiosity and creativity: the astrophysicist and cosmologist researches some of the universe's most mysterious objects.

Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00w77g6)
Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams

Episode 1

Kenneth Williams was the stand-out comic actor of his generation. Beloved as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows and radio comedies, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles.

But he was a complicated character which often showed in his erratic behaviour - he could be affectionate one minute then spiteful the next, ever the extrovert in public he would return to his tiny sparsely decorated flat alone and he turned down more than his fair share of professional opportunities.

Since the publication of edited extracts from his diaries, much controversy has surrounded Williams's personal and professional lives. But journalist and author Christopher Stevens has been granted access by the estate to Williams's complete archive - the forty-three volumes of diaries and hundreds of unseen letters to and from the star. He has also interviewed many of Williams's friends and colleagues (some who have never spoken publicly before about their time with Kenneth).

Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams (the first full-length authorised biography) traces the complex contradictions that characterised an extraordinary life.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Read by Nicholas Boulton

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00w77g8)
Presented by Jane Garvey. Why people are coming out gay at a younger age. A recent report by the gay campaign group Stonewall has found that people are revealing their sexual identity at a younger age than previous generations. Jenni Uglow the biographer of Elizabeth Gaskell talks about the new Woman's Hour drama "Wives and Daughters" and we discuss how rape continues to be used as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN Special representative on Sexual Crime in conflict Margot Walstrom talks to Jane and the Gynaecologist Dennis Mukwege who specialises in reconstructive surgery for victims of rape talks about his work at the Pansie Hospital.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00w77h3)
Elizabeth Gaskell - Wives and Daughters

Episode 1

Episode One

It's an exciting day for young Molly Gibson as she prepares for her first visit to the Hollingford gala. But her experience there gives her widowed father Dr Gibson a new idea. Elizabeth' Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s is dramatised by Theresa Heskins.

Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew
Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan
Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall
Hyacinth Kirkpatrick . . . . . Julia Hills
Lady Cumnor . . . . . Claire Neilson
Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey
Mrs Goodenough . . . . . Kate Layden
Coxe . . . . . Henry Devas
Wynne . . . . Iain Batchelor
Bethia/Miss Rose . . . . . Toni Midlane
Squire Hamley . . . . . Paul Greenwood
Mrs Hamley . . . . . Jilly Bond
Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot

Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild

Notes

Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story.

Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.


MON 11:00 Power to Persuade: The Story of NLP (b00w77k3)
Thousands claim NLP has changed their lives, but what exactly is it and is there any scientific evidence that it works?

NLP - Neuro-Linguistic Programming - is a psychological approach originally developed in 1970s California by John Grinder and Richard Bandler. It was radically different from mainstream therapies of the time, offering its users fast results instead of the years of commitment required for psychoanalysis.

Today NLP has found its way into all walks of life, spawning numerous practitioners and schools and offering many different ways to improve, from curing phobias or depression to becoming a better teacher, athlete or manager. Its most prolific gurus are multi-millionaires and, in the case of Paul McKenna, household names.

But for all its commercial success and numerous devotees, NLP is seen by its critics as just another pseudo-science without robust evidence to support its claims. So does NLP genuinely help with powerful behavioural change, or can its achievements be explained by the placebo effect?

William Little, journalist and author of The Psychic Tourist, finds out for himself what it's like to experience NLP techniques, meets those who have used it to change their lives and interviews its co-founder Richard Bandler, the charismatic exponent of so-called "persuasion engineering".


MON 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (b00w77k5)
Murder in the Title

Episode 2

By Jeremy Front
Based on the novel by Simon Brett

Charles has been the victim of an attempted stabbing. Can he find the murderer before he strikes again or will Charles be fired from the cast first?

Directed by Sally Avens

As ever, Charles is his own worst enemy, a louche lush who can resist anything except temptation especially in the form of women and alcohol. His intentions may be good but somehow the results always go wrong.

He's been out of work so long now he feels he may never get a job and he's driving Frances his semi-ex-wife mad. So when he's offered a small role in an awful play up in Rugland she nearly pushes him out the door.

The production is as creaky as anything Charles has ever appeared in but the next play the theatre is scheduled to do is much more controversial. Soon a protest group has formed calling for a 'Porn Free Rugland'. And nasty accidents begin to befall members of the cast and crew.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00w77k7)
Julian Worricker finds out why there's growing concern over the increasing use of civil recovery agencies by retailers to recover the billions of pounds they lose every year through shoplifting.

What the British Airways and Iberia merger will mean for the companies and the customers and how the marketing men are making the most of the forthcoming Royal Wedding.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00w49r0)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00w77kk)
National and international news.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00w7854)
(6/17)
Four more contestants join Russell Davies in Manchester for the latest heat in the long-established general knowledge contest. This week they are from Swansea, Manchester, Northwich in Cheshire and Middle Rasen in Lincolnshire. The winner goes through to the 2011 semi-finals, with a chance of being named the 58th annual Brain of Britain.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00w6q48)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00w7856)
Blue Eyed Boy

A powerful and moving documentary-drama by Helen Cross, which tells the true story of her father, Lawrence, the evacuee who never went home. Told through improvised interviews and re-created actuality, the play is constructed as a documentary, as if it were happening now.

In 1944, when he was five years old, Lawrence Duncomb (Albie D'Urso) was evacuated from Blitz-torn London to Willerby, a village on the outskirts of Hull, and taken in by a childless couple. Lawrence had never eaten at a table before, never said prayers, never slept alone in a bed or had to mind his manners. Lilian (Jane Godber) is determined to raise him as a well-mannered Christian. She wants this substitute-child to accept and be grateful for all that she's offering. Her husband (John Godber) also knows she's desperate at the thought of the boy leaving her after the war. Soon Lilian starts to dream of ways of keeping him, even against his will.

Finely judged and authentic performances from a quality cast bring a poignant realism to this true story. The play concludes with an interview with the real Lawrence. He says he never stopped missing his mother and when he finally tracked her down as an adult, her first words were: 'I've been waiting for you to call.'

Director...Mary Ward-Lowery.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00mtnq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 15:45 The Empire of Climate (b00w7858)
Cultures of Climate

Eminent geographer Professor David Livingstone wants us to see that climate is more than just the weather outside our window - it's an empire that has shaped our lives throughout history.

In the Western world, we live very cushioned lives, so that climate rarely impacts on us in a disastrous fashion. When it does - like the floods that hit parts of the UK in 2007 - we're left shocked and surprised by the ferocity of what climate can do. David explores the way human beings are shaped by weather patterns; "climate has always been a moral issue - not just a description of the weather" he says.

We are used to talking about climate change - or how WE influence the climate. In today's programme David takes us back to a time in history when people were used to thinking about climate in terms of how it influenced us.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00w6pp0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b00w78gr)
Series 3

Randomness

Physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince are joined by the Australian comedian and musician Tim Minchin and mathematician Alex Bellos to discuss randomness, probability and chance. They look at whether coincidences are far more common than one might think and how a mathematical approach can make even the most unpredictable situations... well, predictable.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem.


MON 17:00 PM (b00w78gt)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w49r2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b00w78h2)
Series 58

Episode 4

The grandaddy of all panel games with Nicholas Parsons in the chair. This week Paul Merton, Sheila Hancock and Ian MacMillan are panellists. This week the programme is a guest of the British Library as part of its Evolving English Exhibition.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00w78jh)
Amy drops into Ambridge Organics to see Helen. Amy's looking smart - she's on the way to a job interview. Helen's not there, and Kirsty hopes she's taking it easy. Tony brings in a delivery. When he remembers that Amy is a midwife he can't help telling her about how stressed Helen is.

Later, vulnerable Helen tells Kirsty that Tony just can't accept her having her child.

At the panto rehearsal, Harry and Fallon get deeply involved and question Lynda's script. Harry suggests some new lines which Fallon thinks are wonderful, though Lynda is a bit miffed. She accepts the changes at first but when they start to get a bit silly, she puts her foot down. They promise to stop it and respect Lynda's hallowed words.

Later, Amy calls in to see Helen. Helen tells her about her upset when she found the baby was small for dates. Amy gives her some sound advice. Tony calls with a casserole from Pat, and tells Helen that if she does feel down, she only has to give them a call. Helen can't be wholehearted in her response, knowing how Tony feels about the baby.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00w78jk)
BBC National Short Story Award; Secretariat reviewed

The winner of the BBC National Short Story Award 2010 is announced live tonight, and presented with a £15,000 cheque by James Naughtie, chair of the judges. The awards ceremony, broadcast from the Free Word Centre in London, includes the announcement of the runner-up who receives £3,000. The shortlisted authors are David Constantine, Aminatta Forna, Sarah Hall, Jon McGregor and Helen Oyeyemi.

Sports journalist and broadcaster Eleanor Oldroyd reviews Secretariat, a new Disney film which chronicles the life of a renowned American race horse, winner of the 1973 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.

Mark Lawson speaks to the winners of the 56th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards, including Sir Michael Gambon, honoured for his longstanding stage career, most promising playwright Anya Reiss, who wrote her winning debut play aged 17, and Rory Kinnear, who won Best Actor, and explains the pressures of playing Hamlet.

Producer Jack Soper.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00w77h3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Things We Forgot to Remember (b00w78jt)
Series 6

3. The Violent Side of Indian Independence

The struggle for Indian independence is remembered most for the peaceful protests inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. In this week's Things We Forgot To Remember Michael Portillo discovers the seam of violence that ran alongside the peaceful civil disobedience. In particular he looks at the pivotal role played by India House, a villa in North London that became a base for those plotting against British rule in India. He also investigates how in the First World War , Germany tried to destabilise the British Empire by exploiting Indian disaffection.

Producer: James Crawford.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00w227k)
The Primorsky Partisans

Russia's police are out of control. They are often referred to as "werewolves in epaulettes" because so many officers prey on the public rather than protect them. Even Prime Minister Vladimir Putin complains about the lawlessness of the country's law enforcers. He once said upstanding citizens cross to the other side of the street as soon as they see a man in uniform.
The crimes police commit range from bribe taking to kidnapping, drug trafficking, torture and murder. This brutality is accompanied by corruption. Illegal raids of businesses by police are commonplace as well as the subsequent jailing of their owners on false charges. Victims of police abuse are often helpless in a system of cover-ups long established in the law enforcement forces.
Earlier this year, a group of six young men in Primorye, the remote Maritime region of Russia's Far East, decided to fight back. They declared a guerrilla war against the police with the sole purpose of killing as many cops as they could. Their attacks have included shooting of traffic policemen on roads, raiding a village police station and stabbing to death the officer on duty. Bare-chested and brandishing pistols, the 'Primorsky Partisans' posted videos on the internet to explain the motives behind their actions.
This summer the gang's exploits gripped the Russian public's imagination. Many people in the Far East and beyond supported them: a poll on Ekho Moskvy radio indicated that 60-75 percent of listeners sympathised with the "young Robin Hoods" and would offer them help.
In June the authorities launched a manhunt with tanks and helicopters. Eventually two members of the group died in a shoot-out with police while the rest were captured and are now behind bars awaiting trial.
The local government of the Maritime Region is jittery about the case and is reluctant to comment. Local police and the prosecutor's office dismiss them as gangsters. Lucy Ash visits Kirovskiy, the home village of the young men, to investigate what drove the men to act in such an extreme way.

Producer: Ibrat Jumaboyev.


MON 21:00 Material World (b00w227y)
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to the scientists who are publishing their research in peer reviewed journals, and he discusses how that research is scrutinised and used by the scientific community, the media and the public. The programme also reflects how science affects our daily lives; from predicting natural disasters to the latest advances in cutting edge science like nanotechnology and stem cell research.
Producer: Roland Pease.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00w77g4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00w49r4)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00w794q)
More wikileaks revelations about US diplomacy: is the damage done?

Panorama allegations broadcast tonight about FIFA

And land grabbing in Mali

With Ritula Shah.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00w794s)
Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

Episode 1

Dawn French's debut novel, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, is told from three very different perspectives.

Yet each is a member of the Battle family - perfectly average, perfectly dysfunctional. Mo is about to hit the big 50, and some uncomfortable truths are becoming quite apparent: she doesn't understand either of her teenage children, which as a child psychologist, is fairly embarrassing. She has become entirely grey. Inside, and out. Her face has surrendered, and is frightening children. Dora is about to hit the big 18 . . . and about to hit anyone who annoys her, especially her precocious younger brother Peter who has an incurable Oscar Wilde fixation.

A Tiny Bit Marvellous is the story of a modern family whose members all live in their own separate bubbles sinking towards meltdown. It is for anyone who has ever shared a home with that weird group of strangers we call 'relations'.

Read by:
Dawn French
Lenny Henry
Sam Barnett and
Beattie Edmondson

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Off the Page (b00w227t)
Favourite Child

Who was it in your family, and do you have one amongst your own children? It's the great taboo.

Dominic Arkwright is joined by Rebecca Abrams, who bravely admits that she found it hard to love her first child after her second child was born. David Akinsanya grew up in care, aware that he was nobody's favourite child. And Bidisha has always known she is the most favoured. Why is it that even as adults it matters so much? New writing and honest, revealing talk in Off The Page.
Producer Beth O'Dea.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00w794v)
The latest events at Westminster.



TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2010

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00w4f58)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00w77g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w4f5d)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w4f5g)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w4f5j)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00w4f5l)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00w79d6)
with Kevin Franz, a member of the Religious Society of Friends and Lead Mental Healthcare Chaplain in Greater Glasgow.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00w79gx)
Farmers battle snow and ice to keep animals fed and watered. Anna Hill finds out that the early cold snap could result in fewer lambs next Spring. Also, as tenant farmers face an uncertain future in many parts of the UK, Anna visits one Norfolk farmer who farms on council land. He explains why he's confident the future's bright. And scientists say a trial proves that vaccinating badgers against TB does seem to prevent them getting the disease.

Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Fran Barnes.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00w79gz)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Sarah Montague, including:
07:50 Health secretary Andrew Lansley on the future of public health.
08:10 Wikileaks secret documents suggest China is prepared to abandon North Korea.
08:30 Prime Minister of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.


TUE 09:00 Taking a Stand (b00w79h1)
Fergal Keane talks to Claudia Wallace. Mexico has become one of the kidnap capitals of the world as drug gangs seek to consolidate their power. Claudia's brother Hugo was one of the many hundreds who go missing each year. He was abducted in 2005 and his body has never been found. Believing the police to be involved in his disappearance, Claudia and her mother Isabel decided to investigate the case themselves, sometimes wearing disguises to eavesdrop on those they knew were involved. They discovered Hugo had been lured to an apartment by an attractive woman and killed the night he was taken, his body is disposed of in black bin liners. But extraordinarily they managed to bring 5 of his kidnappers to justice, a rare occurrence in Mexico. And they have pressed for, and achieved, changes in the law on kidnapping.


TUE 09:30 I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Into Here (b00w79h3)
Episode 2

When Spitting Image came to an end, Roger Law decided it was time for a fresh start. Having made one attempt to emigrate to Australia in the 1960s, thwarted by the cultural attaché who told him that it was 'a one way ticket to hell' , Ten years ago, Roger decided to give it a second shot. He's now living in Bondi Beach concentrating on in-depth surfing, and he's never looked back.

Roger is not the only one and in this series he meets up with other new Australians. This week he continues his down under probe and talks to the Brits who are captains of industry in their new found lands.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wfhck)
Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams

Episode 2

Now an established star of the Carry On films, Kenneth is offered a role in an exciting new radio comedy series

Kenneth Williams was the stand-out comic actor of his generation. Beloved as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows and radio comedies, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles.

Since the publication of edited extracts from his diaries, much controversy has surrounded Williams's personal and professional lives. But journalist and author Christopher Stevens has been granted access by the estate to Williams's complete archive - the forty-three volumes of diaries and hundreds of unseen letters to and from the star.

Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams (the first full-length authorised biography) traces the complex contradictions that characterised an extraordinary life.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Read by Nicholas Boulton

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00w79h5)
Presented by Jane Garvey. MI5 is looking to recruit more women and blame the grisly BBC drama 'Spooks' for putting them off. Jane discusses whether this is the case with Annie Machon, an ex-MI5 Intelligence Officer and MI5 historian Professor Christopher Andrew. The government want to encourage women to breastfeed and believe making offices more breastfeeding-friendly is the answer. We ask if this is the best way forward. A new exhibition at the Royal Academy looks at the relationship between art, fashion and idenity. Jane was given a tour of the show. And sex noises - are they a turn-on or a turn-off?


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wfhfy)
Elizabeth Gaskell - Wives and Daughters

Episode 2

Episode Two

Dr Gibson realises his daughter has become a young woman, and has to prescribe strong medicine for one of his apprentices. Meanwhile Molly has to prepare herself for an unexpected trip. Elizabeth' Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s is dramatised by Theresa Heskins.

Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew
Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan
Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall
Hyacinth Kirkpatrick . . . . . Julia Hills
Lady Cumnor . . . . . Claire Neilson
Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey
Mrs Goodenough . . . . . Kate Layden
Coxe . . . . . Henry Devas
Wynne . . . . Iain Batchelor
Bethia/Miss Rose . . . . . Toni Midlane
Squire Hamley . . . . . Paul Greenwood
Mrs Hamley . . . . . Jilly Bond
Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot

Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild

Notes

Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story.

Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.


TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b00w79h7)
Series 1

Episode 31

31/40. We take a look at British farmland and ask how fit it is for wildlife to flourish. The little known Blue Pimpernel is a diminutive flower of arable land and now very rare. Early in the autumn we went to the Midlands to find some, and discovered what changes to farming arable land have been needed to allow this wild flower to re-emerge.

And you have probably heard of Africa's "big five" - but have you heard of Britains "Big Six" - these are the six farmland birds in the UK all severely in decline and all of whom would benefit we're told, from the same joined up farming as the Blue Pimpernel arable-loving flower above is. The argument is, get this six right and the rest will follow. But what species are they? And can the UK do it - we'll ask if the funding and leadership is in place to sort out Britains farmland birds.

And to South America and the Maned Wolf. Mark Brazil has had a close encounter with this "shaggy fox with long legs" - one of the rarest mammals in the world and perhaps one of the least understood. We're with Mark in South America and talking to the experts too from the IUCN's Species Survival Commission.

Presented by Brett Westwood
Produced by Mary Colwell
Series Editor Julian Hector.


TUE 11:30 Decoding Basquiat (b00w79m5)
Fifty years after the birth of one of America's most enigmatic visual artists, Benjamin Zephaniah explores the poetry in Jean Michel Basquiat's text-filled canvasses.

By the time he died in 1988 Basquiat had achieved a unique feat: rising from graffiti artist to international star. Basquiat's prodigious talents and 'cool status' made him a hero of the converging disco, hiphop and no-wave music scenes.

Still a teenager he found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Madonna and David Byrne in Studio 54. By 1983 Basquiat had given up graffiti and was one of the most sought-after art commodities on the planet, surrounded by a string of sometimes contradictory mythologies: bohemian, ladies man, genius, drug addict, poet, inarticulate.

From his use of symbols like the crown and the copyright sign, to his references to medical terms, jazz records and Greek myths; text is a consistent, and often overlooked aspect of his work.

In Decoding Basquiat, poet Benjamin Zephaniah travels to Basquiat's hometown of New York to read between the lines of his graffiti-inspired paintings. Speaking with gallerists, musicians and graffiti writers who knew Jean Michel, can we use the text in his work to get beyond the Basquiat myth? Was Jean Michel purposefully trying to confuse us?

Contributors include: music journalist Greg Tate, gallerist Annina Nosei, art historian Richard Marshall and Basquiat's longterm girlfriend Suzanne Malouk.

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00w7bgh)
As Britain's worst November snowfall for decades disrupts roads, schools and airports, we ask what plans are in place as forecasters warn of colder days to come. Share your experiences on Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker by calling 03700 100 444 (lines open at 10am on the day) or email youandyours@bbc.co.uk.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00w4f5n)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00w7bgk)
National and international news.


TUE 13:30 Stevie's Wonder Men (b00w7bly)
You may not have heard of Malcolm Cecil or Robert Margouleff but you'll certainly be familiar with their work. These two electronic music boffins helped transform Little Stevie Wonder in to one of the greatest song writers in pop music. They produced and engineered four albums that are widely regarded as "Stevie's classic period." Four albums that featured his most enduring songs such as Living For the City, Superstition, Higher Ground and You Are the Sunshine of My Life. Stevie was at the height of his creative powers but Margouleff and Cecil were his sonic architects, steering him away from the bubble gum pop sound of Motown.
Central to Margouleff and Cecil's production style was their creation, TONTO. The Original New Timbral Orchestra was a huge, room-sized super-synthesiser developed with the express purpose of making this new, intimidating technology work together as a giant electronic ensemble. Margouleff and Cecil manipulated its futuristic controls, while Stevie played its keyboards. The results turned out to be timeless. Their pioneering electronic developments in sound and production proved hugely influential to black popular music in the 1970s.
As well as Stevie Wonder, Margouleff and Cecil have worked with a whole host of big name artists such as The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, George Harrison and Devo. So why have you never heard of them? Broadcaster and fan Stuart Maconie investigates their story and argues we should be celebrating these forgotten men of pop instead of consigning them to Rock 'n' Roll's backroom staff.
Contributors include Robert Margouleff, Malcolm Cecil, Pete Townshend, Michael Sembello, Steve Hillage and music historian Mark Sinker.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00w78jh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00fq1br)
Michael Butt - The Babington Plot

Documentary-style drama by Michael Butt that tells the story of the 1586 plot to assassinate Elizabeth I and return England to Catholic rule under Mary, Queen of Scots. The story is told from the perspective of several of the conspirators - some genuine, some government spies that had infiltrated the group.

Presenter ...... Stephen Greif
Robert Poley ...... Burn Gorman
Thomas Salisbury ...... Sam Barnett
Aloysius Skeres ...... Chris Pavlo
Thomas Phelippes ...... Jonathan Tafler
Robert Bull ...... Stephen Critchlow
Gilbert Gifford ...... Inam Mirza
Don Mendoza ...... Malcolm Tierney
Mistress Bellamy ...... Marlene Sidaway
Jane Tichbourne ...... Janice Acquah
Agnes Lauren ...... Jill Cardo
Shepherd ...... Dan Starkey
Casey ...... Paul Rider

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.


TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00w7bnk)
We all know that stormy weather can damage property, blow down trees, or bring devastating floods. But this week one listener wants to know whether an Atlantic storm could have been responsible for a leak in a central heating system?

We review the many sightings of waxwings you've sent in from around the country. Discuss the best way of classifying birds and ask what can be done to prepare for the catastrophic eruption of a supervolcano.

And the programme kicks off with a graphic encounter between a crow and a rabbit.

On the panel today are science writer Dr Jo Baker; Professor Philip Stott an environmental scientist from the University of London, and conservationist Derek Moore.

Contact:

Home Planet
BBC Radio 4
PO Box 3096
Brighton
BN1 1PL

Or email home.planet@bbc.co.uk

Or telephone: 08700 100 400

Presenter: Richard Daniel
Producer: Toby Murcott
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00w7btq)
Chattering

Black and White Dog

Black and White Dog is the first in our selection of short stories from Louise Stern's debut collection. In this story about love and family, a memory from Beth's childhood casts a shadow. What sets Beth apart is that like Stern herself she has grown up deaf, and reveals a world that is at times unfamiliar and hard to grasp, but one that at the same time is instantly understood.

Alan Warner says: "An amazing debut. Vibrantly perceptive, gentle, funny and profound."

The reader is Sasha Pick.

Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Allard.


TUE 15:45 The Empire of Climate (b00w7bts)
The Body of Climatic Opinion

Eminent geographer Professor David Livingstone wants us to see that climate is more than just the weather outside our window - it's an empire that has shaped our lives throughout history.

In the Western world, we live very cushioned lives, so that climate rarely impacts on us in a disastrous fashion. When it does - like the floods that hit parts of the UK in 2007 - we're left shocked and surprised by the ferocity of what climate can do. David explores the way human beings are shaped by weather patterns; "climate has always been a moral issue - not just a description of the weather" he says.

In today's programme Professor Livingstone looks at how our global geography has been divided into the pestilential and the paradisial, the healthy and the harmful. Whole regions of the world have been cast as nourishing; others as noxious. And these mental maps have had immediate effects on human behaviour. He believes lessons from history about the effects of climate on our bodies should act as a cautionary tale.


TUE 16:00 Anatomy Of... (b00s0b3c)
A House Fire

From the makers of the Sony award-winning Anatomy of a Car Crash, the last in this new series dissecting often neglected everyday dramas that change ordinary lives forever.

When Clive Tempest and his daughter Sarah set off from their Gloucestershire home on Halloween almost eighteen months ago to visit their sister who was in hospital, it seemed perfectly natural to leave Anna Tempest at home with a fire burning in the grate. How could they know that ancient timbers embedded in the chimney fabric would choose that night to ignite? They returned to find flames leaping from their 17th century home. Anna was safe and fire-fighters at work, but the damage, already evident, was only beginning.

The family, fire crew and those who assessed the damage talk about that evening and the weeks and months that followed as they tried to move on from the catastrophe that had engulfed them. They recall the slow process leading to the rebuilding of the family home and coming to terms with the losses both real and intangible that the fire caused.

Producer: Tom Alban.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b00w7btw)
Timothy West and Amanda Craig

Sue MacGregor presents her final edition in front of an audience at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre.

Sue's guests are actor Timothy West and novelist Amanda Craig who join her to discuss books by Sebastian Faulks, Irene Nemirovsky and RC Sherriff.

A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
Publisher: Vintage

Journey's End by R C Sherriff
Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics

The Dogs and the Wolves by Irene Nemirovsky, Sandra Smith (Translator)
Publisher. Vintage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00w7bty)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w4f5q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 The Odd Half Hour (b00w7bv1)
Series 2

Episode 3

Learn about a brand new pension plan.

Hear Madeline the naughty cellist upset yet another conductor.

Comedy sketch show which answers the questions you probably never asked:

Starring Kevin Bishop, Stephen K Amos, Doon Mackichan, Justin Edwards and Jessica Ransom.

Written by Madeleine Brettingham, Jason Hazeley, Joel Morris, Steve Dawson, Andrew Dawson, Timothy Inman, Stephen Carlin, James Kettle and Dale Shaw.

Producer: Simon Mayhew-Archer

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00w7bv3)
Jolene is trying to think what to write in a Christmas card to Sid's daughter Lucy. Fallon helps, also suggesting they enclose a lovely picture of Sid.

Kenton wants to take Kirsty out to lunch, but Ian's got in first - Kirsty is minding the shop while Ian takes Helen for lunch. Kenton goes to the Bull, taking the opportunity to find out how Fallon thinks Jamie is.

Ian and Helen talk about her pregnancy. Helen says that Amy was very helpful yesterday. Then she tells him how her dad came round. As far as she's concerned he couldn't wait to get away. She's very sad. Ian offers to help her by painting the baby's nursery. Helen wishes her dad could be more like Ian.

Jolene and Kenton have a heart to heart. Jolene admits she's thought about moving away. Everywhere she looks, she still sees something that reminds her of Sid. Kenton wonders if she'd really like to be somewhere that didn't remind her of him?

Helen goes to see Pat and apologises for losing it last week. Then she delights her mum by shyly telling her the names she's been thinking of for the baby.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00w7bv5)
Ricky Gervais; Megamind; and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year

With Mark Lawson.

Award-winning writer and comedian Ricky Gervais reflects on success, returning to stand-up, the art of being funny, and why he's not afraid to tackle controversial subjects in his work.

Mark reports from the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, with judge John Inverdale discussing the contenders, and an interview with the winning writer.

The animated superhero comedy Megamind features the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt and Tina Fey. Critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews.

Producer Ella-mai Robey.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wfhfy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b00w7bv7)
Europe's Missing Millions

Europe's Missing Millions

Over the last seven years, the European Union has paid out billions of Euros in grants designed to revitalise Europe's poorest regions.

But an investigation for File on 4 has revealed the extent to which these payments are open to widespread fraud, abuse and mismanagement.

Angus Stickler tracks how money has gone astray across the 27 member states and asks why funding continues in regions with proven records of corruption and fraud. Throughout the EU there is evidence that money has been wasted or even stolen. In Southern Italy, money has gone to Mafia-controlled construction companies and bogus energy projects. Across the EU expensive projects lie unused and unfit for purpose, despite receiving funding of millions of Euros.

The EU has created its own anti-fraud agency, OLAF, to stop these abuses, but are critics right when they claim it's underfunded and ineffective?

File on 4/Bureau of Investigative Journalism co-production.

Producer: Gail Champion
Editor: David Ross.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00w7bv9)
Leonie Watson joins Peter to review Fix The Web, a new initiative to give bind web users a place to report inaccessible websites. They will then follow up and try to resolve the problem.
Tony Sheaman joins some blind chefs on an Action for Blind People scheme, in Birmingham and under the watchful eye of Jo Miller tries his hand at making a quiche.
Mani Djazmi meets Pete Torkington from Andover, who is partially-sighted himself and has devised a new GPS app for Android mobile phones, which will help blind people determine their location.
The app is free for people to download.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00w7bvc)
Life in and out of Asylums - Digital Memories - Work Capability Test

John O'Donoghue's first admission to a psychiatric hospital came when he was 16 years old. He experienced the final days of the huge old asylums like Claybury and Friern Barnet well as ECT, homelessness and prison. He tells Claudia Hammond about how education turned his life around. He's a poet and now teaches creative writing. This year his memoir, Sectioned: A Life Interrupted, scooped the MIND Book of the Year prize.

Digital Memories:
When family members die, many of us inherit photos and maybe even old love letters. But in the digital age, with huge amounts of data stored on hard drives, servers and even in the cloud, how will our family members make sense of our digital legacy ? Dr Richard Banks and Dr Abigail Sellen from the Microsoft Research Laboratory at Cambridge University talk to Claudia Hammond about technology heirlooms, digital curation and the emotional importance of memories.

Mental Illness, fairness and the Work Capability Test:
All In the Mind hears from Linda in Carlisle, Cumbria, who suffers from depression, panic attacks and agoraphobia but failed the new, compulsory medical assessment and lost her benefits. Sue Thomson from DACE, Disability Association Carlisle and Eden tells Claudia Hammond how her organisation is overwhelmed by the number of people who've been judged as being fit for work after the controversial new medical, but who want to appeal. And, in the wake of Professor Malcolm Harrington's critical report into the WCA, Jane Harris from Rethink calls for the mass migration of claimants on Incapacity Benefit onto the new benefit to be halted, until the current medical assessment can be judged as being fit for purpose.

Producer: Fiona Hill.


TUE 21:30 Taking a Stand (b00w79h1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00w4f5s)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00w7bvf)
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis.

Fears that European economic woes are spreading. And a special report from Ireland.

Tuition fees - we speak to protestors and a Liberal Democrat MP.

And, why would a teacher in Birmingham take up a post in Somalia?

The World Tonight with Ritula Shah.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wbq1x)
Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

Episode 2

Dawn French's debut novel, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, is told from three very different perspectives. Yet each is a member of the Battle family - perfectly average, perfectly dysfunctional.

Life gets more complicated for Mo and Peter whose respective attraction to Noel grows apace. Meanwhile, the dog is pregnant, and Dora wants to be on X Factor.

Read by:
Dawn French
Lenny Henry
Sam Barnett and
Beattie Edmondson

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Beautiful Dreamers (b00w7byd)
The Stardiver

Nat travels to Tuscany to meet the Uzbek dissident and billionaire Mikhail Azazev, as he prepares freefall from beyond the Karman Line - an altitude of over 100 kilometres. Featuring contributions from Simon McBurney and Kevin Eldon.

Writers ..... James Lever and Nat Segnit.
Producers ..... Steven Canny and Sasha Yevtushenko.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00w7byh)
Sean Curran and team with the top stories from Parliament, including: the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg defends the Government's policy on university tuition fees - as students mount a third day of protests against plans to raise fees in England. Editor: Rachel Byrne.



WEDNESDAY 01 DECEMBER 2010

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00w4gxt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wfhck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w4gxw)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w4gxy)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w4gy0)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00w4gy2)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00w7c3n)
with Kevin Franz, a member of the Religious Society of Friends and Lead Mental Healthcare Chaplain in Greater Glasgow.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00w7c3q)
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Fran Barnes.


WED 06:00 Today (b00w7c3s)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and James Naughtie, including:
07:50 Are Christians being made to feel ashamed of their faith?
08:10 Should the government cap public sector executive pay?
08:20 The secret security agent who threw himself into President Kennedy's car at the moment of his assassination.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00w7c3v)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Xander Rawlins, Jane Milligan, Mary Ward, Mark Logue and Matthew Kelly.

Xander Rawlins is a Captain in the Grenadier Guards. He releases his debut single '1000 miles Apart' this month, a song that was written whilst he was serving on the front line in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. He performed off-the-cuff concerts which he found was a way of bringing everyone together, and his two acoustic guitars travelled with him throughout his 6 month, 8000 mile tour of duty.

Mark Logue is the grandson of Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist to King George VI, soon to feature in a film with Colin Firth. Mark is custodian of the Logue Archive and has written a book, 'The King's Speech', with Peter Conradi, based on recently discovered diaries of his grandfather. His grandfather was famously dubbed by one newspaper in the 1930s 'The Quack who saved a King'. 'The King's Speech is published by Quercus.

Jane Milligan is an actor and the youngest child of the comic genius Spike Milligan. Mary Ward OBE, a former teacher co-founded the theatre company Chickenshed in 1974 with the aim of involving everyone, often people who had been excluded from other places. Chickenshed will be performing the show Badjelly's Bad Christmas, based on the children's book Badjelly The Witch, which Spike Milligan wrote for his daughter Jane when she was six years old. It's on at the Rayne Theatre, Southgate, London, N14 4PE with a cast made up of performers aged from 7 to 50+ years.

Matthew Kelly is the award-winning actor who is playing King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot in Birmingham this Christmas. Winner of an Olivier Award for Best Actor for Of Mice and Men, he returned returned to acting after a successful television career presenting ITV's Stars In Their Eyes and Game for a Laugh. Spamalot is at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wbp36)
Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams

Episode 3

Kenneth meets two young men who become great friends and provide the closest thing Williams ever had to a love affair.

Kenneth Williams was the stand-out comic actor of his generation. Beloved as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows and radio comedies, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles.

Since the publication of edited extracts from his diaries, much controversy has surrounded Williams's personal and professional lives. But journalist and author Christopher Stevens has been granted access by the estate to Williams's complete archive - the forty-three volumes of diaries and hundreds of unseen letters to and from the star.

Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams (the first full-length authorised biography) traces the complex contradictions that characterised an extraordinary life.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Read by Nicholas Boulton

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00w7c3x)
Presented by Jane Garvey.

The renaissance of sherry drinking Often dismissed as a tipple enjoyed by grandmothers at Christmas, sherry has shaken off its 1970s image, and is currently enjoying a revival among young drinkers. We talk to wine expert Sarah Abbott and Alvaro Marcos Garcia, the Head Sommelier and wine buyer for Home House Private Club in London.

Should former sex offenders be allowed to adopt children?

Blogging in Iran and the case of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman and mother of five, recently sentenced to hang.


WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wbpws)
Elizabeth Gaskell - Wives and Daughters

Episode 3

Episode Three

Molly hears all about the Hamley Brothers while becoming a good friend to the ailing Mrs Hamley. She is reunited with her father when he arrives bearing some intriguing news. Elizabeth' Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s is dramatised by Theresa Heskins.

Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew
Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan
Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall
Hyacinth Kirkpatrick . . . . . Julia Hills
Lady Cumnor . . . . . Claire Neilson
Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey
Mrs Goodenough . . . . . Kate Layden
Coxe . . . . . Henry Devas
Wynne . . . . Iain Batchelor
Bethia/Miss Rose . . . . . Toni Midlane
Squire Hamley . . . . . Paul Greenwood
Mrs Hamley . . . . . Jilly Bond
Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot

Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild

Notes

Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story.

Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.


WED 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b00w7c3z)
Series 6

A Taste of Home

Alan Dein explores the lives of those making and buying chapattis as Bradford families mark Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Festival of Sacrifice.

The emergence of businesses based solely on providing warm fresh chapattis to accompany meals cooked at home meets a yearning for something provided in Pakistan where such sellers are commonplace. In addition, as Alan discovers, there's a social aspect to the queues forming as all sorts of people wait to take this final part of the meal back home. From Parveen's son, Aman, sent to buy 25 chapattis for a get together involving brothers, sisters, cousins and aunts, to eleven year old Alina, who already has her sights set on following her parents into a legal career and can't wait to get her warm food back home where it will sit alongside a feast prepared for family friends.

Thousands of chapattis and nan breads are made at Chach Valley every day by four men, one recently arrived from Pakistan. At Eid, in mid-November, Muslims share food and remind themselves of their own sacrifices. These are hard times in this part of Bradford and cultural and economic pressures leave the older generations worrying about what will happen to the young

But the relentless turnover as the chapatti orders flow - each batch carried off to tables across the city - is a reminder of what can bring people together. The ties between families but also the links between communities as those in the snaking queue wait their turn. The popularity of businesses providing chapattis and little else besides has taken many by surprise but whether it's a taste of the past, a sign of the times or just a convenient by product of both it's certainly something exciting and new

Producer: Sue Mitchell.


WED 11:30 Hazelbeach (b00w7c41)
Series 3

Episode 3

In which Ronnie decides to become a psychic vet, while Nick explores the joys of the sink plunger.

By Caroline and David Stafford

Ronnie Hazelbeach ..... Jamie Foreman
Nick ..... Paul Bazely
Chloe ..... Claire Harry
Andrea ..... Joanna Monro
Policeman ..... Lloyd Thomas

Directed by Marc Beeby.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00w7c43)
Consumer affairs with Winifred Robinson.

The government is offering a loan to make homes more energy efficient. It is expected that £6,500 could be spent on heating efficiency make-overs, repayable over 25 years via our energy bills.

The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has invited the likes of McDonald's, KFC and Pepsi-Co to advise on future policy designed to combat obesity and other food and drink related conditions.

Careers and life advice to teenagers and young people has become the subject of major savings by local authorities; the careers and guidance industry is worried. Private initiatives are stepping up to the plate but do we have the necessary regulatory in place to ensure quality?

Businesses are asking the public for good ideas to help them gain a competitive edge. As so-called 'crowd sourcing' spreads to local government, is it a great idea or cheap exploitation?

After decades of agitating to end daylight saving, there's a better than ever chance that it'll happen this time. Government ministers say they won't kill a private members bill that's seeking the evidence to support the case for synchronising our time with Europe.

The immigration cap could harm care in the UK which has come to depend on non-EU labour to deliver its services say practitioners; but critics say it is about time we learned how to care for our own.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00w4gy4)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00w7c8q)
National and international news.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00w7c8s)
Michael Grade was chairman of the BBC and then ITV and is now heading to the House of Lords. Last week, he suggested that Channel 4 should drop its adverts and that licence fee payers should take over its funding. As a new Conservative peer, what changes would he try to bring about in the TV industry?

With traditional journalism, many of this week's stories from Wikileaks could have commanded their own headlines and front page coverage for days. How far does the volume of stories work affect their impact and the ability of journalists to call the relevant people to account. In effect, is Wikileaks burying its own bad news? Columnist Ian Birrell discusses this with Janine Gibson, editor of the Guardian website.

And, as Virgin Media launches its new video on demand service, TiVo, Steve asks chief executive Neil Berkett whether there really is a demand for this service.

The producer is Simon Tillotson.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00w7bv3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


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

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

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

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

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


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00w7c8v)
Vincent Duggleby and a team of experts will tackle your insurance questions on this afternoon's Money Box Live.

If heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures have caused damage to your home or car you may have a question about making a claim or finding alternative cover.

Or perhaps you live in an area affected by floods and need advice about dealing with loss adjusters or rising premiums?

Whatever your insurance question, phone lines open at 1.30 this afternoon and the number to call is 03700 100 444. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher. The programme starts after the three o'clock news. That number again 03700 100 444.


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00w7c8x)
Chattering

Window Washer

Window Washer is the next in our selection of short stories from Louise Stern's debut collection. In this story sculptures about the voice and silence belonging to a client give Christian, a window cleaner, pause for thought. What sets Christian apart is that like Stern herself he is deaf, and reveals a world that is at times unfamiliar and hard to grasp, but one that at the same time is instantly understood.

Alan Warner says: "An amazing debut. Vibrantly perceptive, gentle, funny and profound."

The reader is Harry Lloyd.

Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Allard.


WED 15:45 The Empire of Climate (b00w7c8z)
Climate, Race and Immmigration

Eminent geographer Professor David Livingstone wants us to see that climate is more than just the weather outside our window - it's an empire that has shaped our lives throughout history.

In the Western world, we live very cushioned lives, so that climate rarely impacts on us in a disastrous fashion. When it does - like the floods that hit parts of the UK in 2007 - we're left shocked and surprised by the ferocity of what climate can do. David explores the way human beings are shaped by weather patterns; "climate has always been a moral issue - not just a description of the weather" he says.

In today's programme David explores a very old idea that persists - with no small consequences today - that human culture flourishes in certain climates but degenerates in others. And how that philosophical argument has been used to underpin racist thinking, prevent philanthropical donations, and prevent aid from being sent to Africa.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00w7c91)
Politically connected firms - Gangs and Territory

Professor Laurie Taylor explores the connections between politics and business with economist Mara Faccio, who talks about her new research into the subject. Laurie also talks to criminologist Judith Aldridge and discusses her research about how territory influences youth gangs. They are joined by Peter Squires from Brighton University.

Producer: Chris Wilson.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00w7bvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b00w7c93)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w4gy6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Lucy Montgomery's Variety Pack (b00w7c95)
Series 1

Episode 2

Meet Daisy, the chattering public school girl's, parents and find out why the Mona Lisa has been dumped by the Laughing Cavalier.

Plus, a Police Officer who can't find the right words, a street survey that probes too far and Candi Karmel's sister makes an appearance.

A multi-paced, showcase for the exceptional talent of Lucy Montgomery.

With Philip Pope, Sally Grace, Waen Shepherd and Natalie Walter.

Written by Lucy Montgomery with additional material by Steven Burge and Dan Tetsell.

Music by Philip Pope

Producer: Katie Tyrrell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00w7ccj)
Tony is very worried about Helen. He hates being so distanced from her. Pat tries to help, saying she thinks Helen has turned a corner, but Tony isn't so sure.

Pat and Kathy talk about Jamie. Kathy is very worried about his education. Pat remembers how tricky it was with Tom. When Tony comes in he isn't particularly welcoming to Kathy and she's a bit embarrassed. Later, Pat protests that Kathy's lonely; she's just trying to be supportive.

Kate takes Phoebe out, reluctantly taking Ruairi too. They go out for a pizza. Kate is focussed on Phoebe, who isn't looking forward to Kate going away. Kate doesn't pay a lot of attention to what Ruairi is eating, and when Phoebe asks if they can go to Laser Fray instead of the cinema, Kate says yes.

Ruairi finds the whole laser experience a bit much, and is sick. Jennifer is not impressed. Then Kate explains that she's worried about Phoebe. Kate's going to have to break it to her that she's going to South Africa for longer than she thought at Christmas.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00w7ccl)
Alex Ross, Richard Eyre, Angela de la Cruz

Mark Lawson speaks with Alex Ross, author of The Rest Is Noise, an award-winning book charting the story of music in the 20th century.

Richard Eyre, Tom Hollander and Lisa Dillon discuss the rules of farce as they prepare to open a production of Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear at the Old Vic.

Based on a true story, Of Gods And Men explores the last few months in the life of a small community of Christian monks caught in the middle of a conflict between the Algerian government and Islamic fundamentalists.

John Wilson meets Turner Prize shortlisted artist Angela de la Cruz in her studio to discuss the sculptures she makes from twisted, ripped and apparently broken paintings. Sitting in a wheelchair and speaking through an interpretor, Angela talks about the stroke she suffered in 2005 and the effect it had on the work she now makes.

Producer: Robyn Read.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wbpws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00w7ccn)
It's reported this week that scientists in America, have for the first time, managed to reverse the effects of ageing in animals. The experiment was carried out on mice at Harvard. Before the treatment their skin and other organs were equivalent to those of an 80 year old human. After the injection of a drug that switches on a key enzyme, the mice grew so many new cells that they'd almost completely rejuvenated. The results raise some difficult questions.

No one would argue that we should work on drugs that alleviate the problems of old age, but should we actively try to extend life itself? In the UK by 2031, more than a fifth of the population will be over 65 and the fastest growing population will be those aged 85 and over. It's not just a question of the cost, but how we value the old in society. Despite plans for legislation, allegations of ageism are common place. Are we stuck with an out of date attitude to the old that has too often resulted in them being shuffled off in to age reservations as soon as they hit three score years and ten? Has our culture, which so values youthfulness come to terms with the improvements to the physical and mental capabilities of the elderly? Or are the old themselves partly to blame? Desperately clinging on to their youth with pills, potions and plastic surgery. Is the search for eternal youth hubris, or a natural part of the human condition? If we assist in extending life, will that inevitably mean assistance ending? When it comes to age, when is enough enough?

The Moral Maze chaired by Michael Buerk with Melanie Phillips, Kenan Malik, Matthew Taylor and Claire Fox.


WED 20:45 The Joy of Ceps (b00wgpyj)
They grow like...mushrooms, so why is there so little known about Britain's fungal world? Expert mycologist Alan Bennell of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh reveals all.


WED 21:00 Frontiers (b00w7ccr)
The end of Moore's Law?

Ever smarter, faster and cheaper silicon chips have driven the computing revolution but many believe this rapid pace of technological change is about to grind to a halt.

We take it for granted that mobile phones today do as much, or more, than the cumbersome personal computers we bought just a decade before. But many industry insiders believe silicon chip manufacturers are about to hit the buffers. And without the hardware to support them, computers may not continue to evolve at the astonishing rate to which we have grown accustomed.

Arranging transistors a thousand times smaller than a human hair on a silicon chip isn't easy but the ability to manipulate such miniscule entities is just one of the challenges chip manufacturers are facing and it's probably not the most serious.

When transistors are smaller than this, silicon starts to lose the very properties that make it so useful for building logic circuits. "It's like having light switches that are made from soggy pieces of pasta. They just don't work," says Rich Howard.

In 1965, Intel employee Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors that manufacturers could fit on a silicon chip would double every two years. At the time a naive and rather glib remark that has since become known as Moore's Law and has driven the rapid pace of technological change that we've witnessed over the last four decades. But now even Moore himself is clear: this dramatic rate of progress must soon come to an end.

Roland Pease asks if this is really the end for Moore's Law, or is there something new around the corner to fuel the next technological step to smaller and faster devices.


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00w7c3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00w4gy8)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00w7cgt)
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wbq87)
Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

Episode 3

Dawn French's debut novel, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, is told from three very different perspectives. Yet each is a member of the Battle family - perfectly average, perfectly dysfunctional.

Dora sits her A-Level exams but focuses on her social life. Noel flirts with Mo, and Peter flirts with Noel, with dramatic consequences.

Read by:
Dawn French
Lenny Henry
Sam Barnett and
Beattie Edmondson

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 Bespoken Word (b00w7cgw)
Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week features two incredible women: queen of the salacious, Hastings poet Salena Godden, plus one of the most exciting new talents, Indigo Williams.

Salena Godden is the most mischievous of today's female performance poets. She has travelled the world performing and writing, as well as television and radio presenting. As the title of one of her best known pieces "Hunger is the Best Sauce" suggests, she's the queen of the salacious. Her performances are legendary, from London's Book Slam to festivals around the country where she regularly performs her showstopper "Lick It".

She has hosted workshops in schools across Britain and in New York to inspire teenagers to write fiction and/or poetry. She hosts The Book Club Boutique, Soho's hippest literary salon, celebrating all things 'Books, Booze and Boogie-Woogie', featuring poets including Laura Dockrill, John Hegley, Niall O'Sullivan, Aoife Mannix, Francesca Beard, Paul Lyalls and Kate Tempest. As a writer she's been published in a myriad of both mainstream and art-house literary magazines and anthologies.

Bespoken Word was the first programme on British radio or television devoted to performance poetry. It is now in its seventh year. The guest presenter this week is Whitbread winning author Patrick Neate.

Producer: Graham Frost
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:15 The Cornwell Estate (b00w7cgy)
Series 2

Switzerland McNaughtiehorse

Written by Phil Cornwell.

Phil Cornwell brings six edgy comic characters to life in a new series of The Cornwell Estate, starring Tony Gardner (Fresh Meat), Roger Lloyd Pack (Only Fools and Horses, Vicar of Dibley), Simon Greenall (Alan Partridge) Daisy Haggard (Psychoville) Ricky Champ (Him and Her, BBC3) Jill Halfpenny (Eastenders, Legally Blonde) and Cyril Nri.

Switzerland McNaughtiehorse, Switzy to his associates is a Bronx, New York ex-pat living on the Cornwell Estate. He is a dedicated anglophile too and finds the differences in American and British culture fascinating, especially when it comes to his special line of work - 'waste disposal'. Phil Cornwell stars.

Created by Phil Cornwell and Andrew McGibbon.
Additional material by Nick Romero

Producer/Director: Andrew McGibbon
A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00w7ch0)
Ed Miliband accuses the Prime Minister of being "complacent" about the state of the UK's economic recovery.
But David Cameron says Mr Miliband is "determined to talk the economy down". MPs continue their debate on fixing the length of this Parliament. While peers ask why more members of the Lords are being created when the Government says it wants to reform the Upper House and cut its size. Sean Curran and team report on today's events in Parliament.



THURSDAY 02 DECEMBER 2010

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00w4h69)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wbp36)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w4h6c)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w4h6f)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w4h6h)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00w4h6k)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00w7clb)
with Kevin Franz, a member of the Religious Society of Friends and Lead Mental Healthcare Chaplain in Greater Glasgow.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00w7cld)
As fertile Lincolnshire receives more than 30 cm of snow, Charlotte Smith hears claims the UK may run short of fresh vegetables unless the weather changes. Farming Today is told that even imports from France and Italy can't save the day, as snow is causing havoc on the continent.

Even Christmas Trees are now suffering in the snow. On a trip to the Elvedon estate in Norfolk Anna Hill discovers freezing temperatures make the trees vulnerable to cracking while they are being transported, and icy conditions make it hard to get them out of the ground.

And as councils across the country look to sell off their farms, fears are raised that people trying to get a first foot on the farming ladder may now struggle. Somerset County Council will sell more than half of its farms; one tenant describes the devastating impact this has had on his business and his family life. The Council say the sale is essential to reduce a debt of more than £300 million.

Presented by Charlotte Smith, produced by Melvin Rickarby.


THU 06:00 Today (b00w7clg)
Morning news and current affairs with James Naughtie and Justin Webb, including:
07:50 Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt on the World Cup bid.
08:10 Why does snow cause such disruption?
08:20 Has Hillary Clinton's position been undermined by Wikileaks?


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00w7clj)
Cleopatra

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Cleopatra. The last pharaoh to rule Egypt, Cleopatra was a woman of intelligence and charisma, later celebrated as a great beauty. During an eventful life she was ousted from her throne and later restored to it with the help of her lover Julius Caesar. A later relationship with another Roman statesman, Mark Antony - and Cleopatra's subsequent death at her own hands - provided Shakespeare with the raw material for one of his greatest plays. Today Cleopatra is still an object of fascination, her story revealing as much about the Roman world as it does about the end of the age of the Pharaohs.With:Catharine EdwardsProfessor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of LondonMaria WykeProfessor of Latin at University College LondonSusan WalkerKeeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum at the University of OxfordProducer: Thomas Morris.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wbp38)
Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams

Episode 4

Tom and Clive join Williams on holiday but, as ever, if Kenneth does something he loves every day, he begins to hate it.

Kenneth Williams was the stand-out comic actor of his generation. Beloved as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows and radio comedies, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles.

Since the publication of edited extracts from his diaries, much controversy has surrounded Williams's personal and professional lives. But journalist and author Christopher Stevens has been granted access by the estate to Williams's complete archive - the forty-three volumes of diaries and hundreds of unseen letters to and from the star.

Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams (the first full-length authorised biography) traces the complex contradictions that characterised an extraordinary life.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Read by Nicholas Boulton

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00w7cmf)
Presented by Jane Garvey. The politics of employing a nanny and what judgements we make about other people's childcare choices. Teenagers and porn - what's the best way to tackle a conversation about what your son or daughter might be viewing online. Pandas and how an attempt to persuade them to breed will decide the success of an international rescue plan. As the government attempts to crack down on cheap alcohol, we ask how far our binge drinking culture is linked to aggression and violence among young women.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wbpwv)
Elizabeth Gaskell - Wives and Daughters

Episode 4

Episode Four

As Molly comes to terms with her father's news, we hear how he came to his momentous decision. Still at Hamley Hall, Molly begins to see Roger in a more sympathetic light. Elizabeth' Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s is dramatised by Theresa Heskins.

Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew
Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan
Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall
Hyacinth Kirkpatrick . . . . . Julia Hills
Lady Cumnor . . . . . Claire Neilson
Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey
Mrs Goodenough . . . . . Kate Layden
Coxe . . . . . Henry Devas
Wynne . . . . Iain Batchelor
Bethia/Miss Rose . . . . . Toni Midlane
Squire Hamley . . . . . Paul Greenwood
Mrs Hamley . . . . . Jilly Bond
Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot

Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild

Notes

Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story.

Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00w7cmh)
Georgian fir cones

The Christmas tree industry is worth almost a billion pounds a year in Europe alone. Most of the ones around us now, covered in baubles and tinsel didn't start life in the UK or even Scandinavia, but in one small village, in the mountains of Georgia close to the border with Russia. Angus Crawford travels to the small town of Ambrolauri in the shadow of the Caucasus mountains. There men risk their lives climbing the big firs to harvest the seeds of Abies Nordmanniana, the Nordman pine. More than forty million are sold in Europe every year. The harvesters are paid little and many are given no safety equipment. If they fall they may be injured or killed. The pine cones they gather are sold abroad and it's foreign companies that make profits from growing and selling the crop. Meanwhile Georgia's villages are dying. Families can't make enough money from farming and move away. Most of those who remain have to live on less than three pounds a day. But things are changing. One Danish firm is working with local people to put more of the profits from the business back into their hands. They pay their workers above the market rate, process the seed locally and for every tree sold abroad money is sent back for development projects. There's talk of starting nurseries near Ambrolauri to feed growing markets in Eastern Europe and bring more foreign capital into the country. Money that Georgia desperately needs. Its economy is still only 60% of what it was in Soviet times, and it now imports eighty per cent of its food. The rusting hulks of abandoned factories litter the countryside. But now some Georgians are asking if the pine cone trade can provide a model of how to breathe new life into their country's crumbling economy.


THU 11:30 Brubeck at 90 (b00w7cmk)
'Take 5' by the Dave Brubeck Quartet is possibly one of the best known jazz pieces of all time. For many it reflects the hip West coast sound of fifties America and its success propelled Brubeck on to the international stage. In light of the sad passing of this jazz great, Radio 4 gives you another chance to hear a remarkable programme. In Autumn 2010 Paul Gambaccini traveled to the Connecticut home of the jazz legend to explore his music and career reflecting his war years, world famous Quartet, best known tunes and family. In the programme we hear about the Dave Brubeck Quartet classic line up featuring - drummer Joe Morello, bassist Eugene Wright and saxophonist Paul Desmond. The huge success of Paul Desmond's composition 'Take Five' was followed by many tunes played in Brubeck's unusual time signature best know of which - is 'Blue Rondo A La Turk'. What distinguishes Brubecks experiments in time is his innate sense of song and commitment to musical populism. As we hear, in 'Brubeck at 90' we discover Dave as still harvesting the highest awards his nation and his profession can offer, including the BBC Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award and most recently the Kennedy Center Honour in America alongside Bruce Springsteen, Robert Di Niro and Mel Brooks. A remarkable night as Brubeck rubbed shoulders with President Obama and got the surprise of his life as we hear in this revealing programme in the month of his sad passing one day shy of his 92nd birthday.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00w7cnb)
Consumer affairs with Winifred Robinson. In the the next few weeks proposals will be announced by the Government for the piloting of a new dentistry contract. The current contract, which was introduced in 2006, has been widely criticised by both the profession and the public. There are plans for dozens of NHS dental practices around the country to trial new ways to deliver services, improve patient access and test new ways of measuring quality.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00w4h6m)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00w7cwt)
National and international news.


THU 13:30 Off the Page (b00w7cww)
My Own Private Utopia

How, and where, and with whom, do you want to lead your life ? Most of us don't ask ourselves this very often, preferring instead to slide along, taking what may be acceptable and conventional as enough. But what if you do pursue an answer, as one of our guests, Tobias Jones, is trying to do, in a ten acre wood?

The full title of Thomas More's work Utopia included the words, "A truly golden little book, no less beneficial than entertaining, of a republic's best state ...." But has Utopia ever been achieved ? Rob Penn and Amanda Mitchison think definitely not. The problem is the presence of other people, and so a private Utopia is the best that can ever be achieved. Rob Penn, presenter of a recent tv documentary about building the perfect bike, outlines very clearly what it means to him.

But Tobias Jones, author of the Dark Heart of Italy and Utopian Dreams, argues very clearly that the woodland life he is now establishing with his family and guests should not be so easily dismissed. As Kurt Vonnegut said, "Human beings will be happier not when they cure cancer or get to Mars ... but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again."

Dominic Arkwright presents. The producer is Miles Warde.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00w7ccj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00w7cwy)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

An Exceptionally Wicked Lady

Written and dramatised by Alexander McCall Smith

The first of two plays adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's enormously successful and popular series set in Botswana.

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi face an old adversary while a letter from America sets the agency a seemingly impossible task.

Director: Gaynor Macfarlane.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b00w6kzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00w6pk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00w7db7)
Chattering

The Deaf School

The Deaf School is the last in our selection of short stories from Louise Stern's debut collection. The school is the place where the solitary schoolboy Ray is captivated by Joey's beautifully signed stories. In this story, Stern reveals a world that is at times unfamiliar and hard to grasp, but one that at the same time is instantly understood.

Alan Warner says: "An amazing debut. Vibrantly perceptive, gentle, funny and profound."

The reader is Debora Weston.

Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Allard.


THU 15:45 The Empire of Climate (b00w7dlc)
Climate, Mind and Brain

Eminent geographer Professor David Livingstone wants us to see that climate is more than just the weather outside our window - it's an empire that has shaped our lives throughout history.

In the Western world, we live very cushioned lives, so that climate rarely impacts on us in a disastrous fashion. When it does - like the floods that hit parts of the UK in 2007 - we're left shocked and surprised by the ferocity of what climate can do. David explores the way human beings are shaped by weather patterns; "climate has always been a moral issue - not just a description of the weather" he says.

In today's programme David explores the idea that our minds and brains register in deep ways the imprint of the climate. For some it even extends into the interior reaches of our internal worlds. And why that conviction has given an added sense of urgency to the global warming debate.


THU 16:00 Open Book (b00w6q42)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00w7dlf)
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to the scientists who are publishing their research in peer reviewed journals, and he discusses how that research is scrutinised and used by the scientific community, the media and the public. The programme also reflects how science affects our daily lives; from predicting natural disasters to the latest advances in cutting edge science like nanotechnology and stem cell research.
Producer: Roland Pease.


THU 17:00 PM (b00w7dnt)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including at 5.57pm Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w4h6p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Bleak Expectations (b00w7dnw)
Series 4

A Painful Life Further Re-Miserabled

Pip and Harry put to sea with Captain Beehab in a bid to thwart a sea-going Mister Benevolent and rescue Ripely.

But fate has other plans and they are shipwrecked. Pip soon finds himself on a desert island that holds many surprising secrets.

Mark Evans's epic Victorian comedy in the style of Charles Dickens.

Sir Philip ..... Richard Johnson
Young Pip Bin ..... Tom Allen
Gently Benevolent ..... Anthony Head
Harry Biscuit ..... James Bachman
Grimpunch ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Ripely ..... Sarah Hadland
Pippa ..... Susy Kane

Producer: Gareth Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00w7dq7)
Will finds out that Brian has bought one of Eddie's Christmas trees. Will suspects that Eddie nicked them from the Estate so it's a bit awkward for him. He asks Eddie forcefully where the trees came from, but Eddie isn't letting on.

Kate's feeling the pressure. Jennifer is still cross with her for upsetting Ruairi, though Brian thinks he's fine. Kate is longing to see Nolly and Sipho but not looking forward to leaving Phoebe. She suggests they have a little early Christmas celebration before she goes. Then she asks if Brian would buy Phoebe a laptop for Christmas so they can talk on Skype while Kate's away.

While David takes one of the Herefords for slaughter for the Christmas market, Pip and Ruth go off to view another university. It's a bit of a distance away. Ruth thinks it's great but Pip has her reservations. She prefers Felpersham. She thinks it makes financial sense to stay at home too. Ruth says she seems to have made up her mind.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00w7dr2)
Cecilia Bartoli; Simon Amstell, Dexter Dalwood

Kirsty Lang interviews mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, whose career began following her appearance on an Italian TV talent show. She talks about singing Vivaldi and other lesser known Italian composers.

Children's author and critic Damian Kelleher (author of Life Interupted) reviews two new shows for children:
My Dad's a Birdman at the Young Vic is by Carnegie Medal winning children's author David Almond (Skellig), with a soundtrack by The Pet Shop Boys.
Beauty and the Beast at the National Theatre is devised by director Katie Mitchell - best known for her radical takes on classic plays including Chekov's The Seagull and Three Sisters.

Comedian Simon Amstell explains how being shy as a child led him into stand-up, what really happened when he made Britney Spears cry and why he'd rather be asking the questions in an interview.

Turner Prize Interview: John Wilson visits Dexter Dalwood in his studio to hear why the real people of his titles - including Truman Capote, Kurt Cobain and David Kelly - are never seen in his paintings. Dexter reveals the stages a new work must pass through before it heads to either a gallery or the rubbish bin.

Producer: Gavin Heard.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wbpwv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Report (b00w7dr4)
Free Schools and Academies

The Government wants all schools in England to become academies: state-funded but independent of local authority control. In the summer, Education Secretary Michael Gove predicted that more than 1,000 schools would opt for the new academy status. Four months on, there are fewer than 100 new academies. Some headteachers are now locked in dispute with trade unions - and even parents - over plans to convert their schools. Is the Government's flagship education initiative in danger of stalling? Reporter James Silver reports from the education front-line on the latest Government drive to turn all local authority-managed schools into free-standing academies. And he asks who will be the winners and losers as the policy goes ahead.

Producer: Andy Denwood.


THU 20:30 In Business (b00w7dyx)
Operation Robot

The revolution in the operating theatre is only just beginning, but robotic surgery could change the way we think about healthcare ... and the way surgeons work. Peter Day looks at what surgeons are able to achieve with robots now and at the proto-types for healthcare in the future. He asks how significant these advances could be for health in Britain and for British business and hears from the robot pioneers: surgeons, engineers and business people.
Producer : Caroline Bayley.


THU 21:00 Saving Species (b00w79h7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00w7clj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00w4h6r)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00w7f21)
England loses its bid to host the 2018 World Cup

Extreme weather: other parts of Europe grind to a halt

New revelations from wikileaks

With Robin Lustig.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wbqcb)
Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

Episode 4

Dawn French's debut novel, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, is told from three very different perspectives. Yet each is a member of the Battle family - perfectly average, perfectly dysfunctional.

Oscar confides in Nana Pamela, Dora celebrates her 18th birthday but Mo is a far from dutiful mother, on account of a date with Noel.

Read by:
Dawn French
Lenny Henry
Sam Barnett and
Beattie Edmondson

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 Elvenquest (b00w7f23)
Series 2

Episode 3

The Quest for the Sword of Asnagar continues.

Vidar and his team are outside the Citadel of Gondola which is being laid siege to by the amassed hordes of the evil Lord Darkness. But when they get searched on their way into the Citadel - there's been a lot of trouble with 'suicide fairies' - Sam comes across a love potion in Vidar's belongings and his mind unsurprisingly turns from defending the citadel to making his move on Penthiselea.

But the path of true love is never a steady one and Sam's plans for marital bliss soon fall apart when he discovers time with an amorous Penthiselea isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Vidar drinks the love potion by mistake.

Fantasy-based sitcom set in Lower Earth written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto.

Sam …. Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness …. Alistair McGowan
The High Priestess of Gondola …. Christine Kavanagh
Dean/Kreech …. Kevin Eldon
Vidar …. Darren Boyd
Amis – The Chosen One …. Dave Lamb
Penthiselea …. Sophie Winkleman

Producer: Sam Michell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00w7f25)
The latest news from Westminster.



FRIDAY 03 DECEMBER 2010

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00w4h78)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00wbp38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00w4h7b)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00w4h7d)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00w4h7g)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00w4h7j)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00w7f2t)
with Kevin Franz, a member of the Religious Society of Friends and Lead Mental Healthcare Chaplain in Greater Glasgow.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00w7f2w)
Charlotte Smith hears about the struggle to get milk tankers to snow bound farms, how supermarkets are keeping stocked, and why sheep can predict when winter's coming.

And, as more councils consider selling off their tenant farms, the Country Land and Business Association argues they might not be the best way into the modern farming industry.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00w7f3n)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Justin Webb, including:
07:42 As UK model railways celebrate 100 years, John Humphrys has a play with Peter Snow's train set.
07:51 Did England ever have a chance to win the 2018 World Cup bid?
08:10 Frank Field explains how we need to rethink the way we tackle poverty.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00w6pny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00wbp3b)
Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams

Episode 5

Now a regular on television chat shows and Radio 4's Just a Minute, Kenneth is invited to direct Joe Orton's play, Loot.

Kenneth Williams was the stand-out comic actor of his generation. Beloved as the manic star of Carry On films and as a peerless raconteur on TV chat shows and radio comedies, he was also acclaimed for serious stage roles.

Since the publication of edited extracts from his diaries, much controversy has surrounded Williams's personal and professional lives. But journalist and author Christopher Stevens has been granted access by the estate to Williams's complete archive - the forty-three volumes of diaries and hundreds of unseen letters to and from the star.

Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams (the first full-length authorised biography) traces the complex contradictions that characterised an extraordinary life.

Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Read by Nicholas Boulton

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00w7f6h)
Is it right to drop your schoolchild off at a student demonstration? The writer Brendan O'Neill says that some parents are guilty of reliving their own days of youthful radicalism through their children. Is he right?

Science has taken away the doubt over paternity now that DNA tests are available - but is it is it always a good ideas to know who the biological father is?

Hansa's restaurant in Leeds celebrates its 25th anniversary - and is staffed entirely by women. Woman's Hour talks to its founder.

As part of a series of programmes across the BBC to mark International Day of Disabled People, the actor Julie Fernandez from the TV comedy 'The Office' tells us about the challenges of being disabled and fashionable.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wbpwx)
Elizabeth Gaskell - Wives and Daughters

Episode 5

Episode Five

Molly has to come to terms with many changes in her life. The changes to the house are not all to her taste, and she is called to Mrs Hamley's bedside. Finally she is burdened with an important secret by the Hamley brothers. Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s is dramatised by Theresa Heskins.

Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew
Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan
Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall
Hyacinth Kirkpatrick . . . . . Julia Hills
Lady Cumnor . . . . . Claire Neilson
Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey
Mrs Goodenough . . . . . Kate Layden
Coxe . . . . . Henry Devas
Wynne . . . . Iain Batchelor
Bethia/Miss Rose . . . . . Toni Midlane
Squire Hamley . . . . . Paul Greenwood
Mrs Hamley . . . . . Jilly Bond
Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot

Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild

Notes

Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story.

Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.


FRI 11:00 City Teachers (b00w7f6k)
Episode 2

Peter Curran follows three former city high fliers through their year of PGCE teacher training. They were all previously working in the corporate and financial sectors and decided to go into teaching when the 2008 recession hit. Despite their professional experience this will be one of the most challenging years of their lives.

Peter rejoins the trainees as they take up their second school placements. The teaching profession needs sensitive and intelligent people; it also needs motivated leaders. We discover whether our trainees have these qualities. We also examine in what ways their pupils might benefit from this influx of enthusiastic career changers. We explore how the teaching world as a 'community' compares with that.

Producer: Sarah Cuddon
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 Electric Ink (b01jjtn5)
Series 2

Episode 1

Maddox has lost the job of news editor and now faces being sued.

Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson's comic satire set in the struggling world of newspapers. .

Maddox ..... John Sessions
Oliver ..... Alex Jennings
Freddy ..... Stephen Wight
Carol ..... Polly Frame
Masha ..... Debbie Chazen
Keith ..... Sam Dale

Producer ..... Sally Avens

A group of dysfunctional journalists attempt to cover major news stories at the same time as grappling with the demands of working in a multi-platform environment, watching circulation figures plummet and the recession causing half the workforce to be laid off.

At the heart of the comedy is the relationship between Maddox Bradley, a journalist who mourns the day of proper investigative journalism, and Freddy, the online editor who will regurgitate a press release quite happily and call it a story. But they have a grudging respect for the each other as Freddy helps Maddox stay afloat in the world of Twitter, Facebook and podcasting and Maddox shows Freddy how to sniff out the real story. Both are at the mercy of Oliver, the pragmatic editor more concerned with keeping his job, and Carol, the news editor who believes that circulation will increase if they run pieces on Big Mac eating orang-utans and 'intelligent' skunks rather than Maddox's moral crusading diatribes. And only Masha, the Russian head of online communities, who wants to give away all their content because that is true democracy, knows Freddy's secret; that he's a posh boy from Eton rather than a hyper-cool kid from the street; well that's what Freddy thinks anyway.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00w7f70)
The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley responds to your questions on social care.

In the final part of our Care in the UK season Peter White puts your comments and concerns to the person who has ultimate responsibility for social care in England - the Secretary of Sate for Health Andrew Lansley. We also have reports from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Commission on Funding of Care and Support, the body set up by the government to look at how social care should be funded, has launched a 'call for evidence'. We ask its chair Andrew Dilnot why.

And we speak to some of those whose expertise the Commission will be calling upon.

Matthew Flinton is the head of policy at BUPA which operates in 190 countries, runs care homes in the UK, Spain, Australia and New Zealand and provides health and life insurance.

Richard Humphries is a senior fellow at the Kings Fund which conducted its own review into social care funding back - a review which the Commission has said it will consider as part of its work.

And James Lloyd is a social care expert who has worked for the International Centre on Longevity and has just set up his own think-tank The Strategic Society Centre.

Email your questions or comments to youandyours@bbc.co.uk.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00w4h7l)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00w7f72)
National and international news.


FRI 13:30 Feedback (b00w7f74)
The BBC is the subject of its own news bulletins yet again. Roger speaks to the BBC's deputy director of news to find out how BBC radio reacts to stories about the Corporation.

After a tense week in the Dontenville household, Radio 4 nut Heather and her Radio 1 loving stepdaughter Jenni reveal how they got on after a week of listening to each other's stations.

The BBC Trust is looking for new members for its Regional Audience Councils - it could be you!

Email the team: feedback@bbc.co.uk

Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00w7dq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00w7f87)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Canoeing for Ladies

written and dramatised by Alexander McCall Smith

The second of two plays adapted from Alexander McCall Smith's enormously successful and popular series set in Botswana.

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have to face the dangers of crocodiles, hippos and a tiny canoe as their case takes them to the Okovango Delta to trace a safari guide. There is also the problem of Phuti's aunt to solve, as well as the necessity of confronting their old adversary, Violet Sepotho.

Director: Gaynor Macfarlane.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00w7f89)
Anne Swithinbank's garden, Devon

Bob Flowerdew, Matthew Biggs and Eric Robson pay fellow panellist Anne Swithinbank a visit at her home in Devon. Here they answer some of the questions sent into the programme.

Also, part one in a two-part series on growing houseplants, presented by houseplant expert, Anne Swithinbank.

Producer: Lucy Dichmont
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 The Empire of Climate (b00w7f8c)
Climate's Moral Economy

Eminent geographer Professor David Livingstone wants us to see that climate is more than just the weather outside our window - it's an empire that has shaped our lives throughout history.

In the Western world, we live very cushioned lives, so that climate rarely impacts on us in a disastrous fashion. When it does - like the floods that hit parts of the UK in 2007 - we're left shocked and surprised by the ferocity of what climate can do. David explores the way human beings are shaped by weather patterns; "climate has always been a moral issue - not just a description of the weather" he says.

In the last programme in the series, David explores why fears over the influence we are having on climate change, are fundamentally fears about the influence a changed climate will have on us.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00w7f8k)
On Last Word this week:

The Very Reverend Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark and outspoken supporter of women bishops and gay clergy.
We have a tribute from his friend the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Also Leslie Nielson, deadpan comic star of Airplane and The Naked Gun,
Sir Maurice Wilkes, who built one of the world's first working computers,
Peter Christopherson who designed album covers for bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and was a member of the performance art group Throbbing Gristle
And feminist art critic Rozsika Parker who also trained as a psychotherapist.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00w7f9j)
Award winning composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett discusses his career in films, from Murder On The Orient Express to Far From The Madding Crowd

Francine Stock meets Gareth Edwards, the director of a new science fiction movie called Monsters, who created the special effects on his laptop in his bedroom.

Nikki Bedi meets the member of Chorley Community Cinema who dons fancy dress for each screening, a trend that's catching on around the country

Chilean drama, The Maid, is reviewed and given marks out of a hundred by some members of The Abergavenny Film Society.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00w7f9l)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including at 5.57pm Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00w4h7n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00w7f9v)
Series 32

Wiki leaks - nudge nudge, wink, wink

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis return with another episode of the topical comedy show with stand-up, skits and sketches about wiki leak revelations and the culture of the nudging, rather than nannying state. With icy weather all around us Marcus Brigstocke thinks the time is right to talk about global warming; Andi Osho says goodbye to Wagner and Mitch Benn does a music salute to his hero Brian Blessed.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00w7fbc)
Nigel's busy with Deck the Hall at Lower Loxley. It's all coming together. Elizabeth briefs the workers who are decorating the hall itself with fresh greenery. Lewis praises her; it looks wonderfully festive. He lets her know how the ice rink is getting on and they compliment each other on jobs well done.

On their way to the NFU lunch, Ruth wonders if Pip would be better going to a university away from home where she could sow a few wild oats. David thinks she's already done wild oats (with Jude), and Ruth sees what he means. Ruth tells David about Joe giving Christmas rides on Bartleby's trap and doing some heavy bargaining to get the maximum number of TEAs.

Later, as David and Ruth return happily from their lunch, they realise that something is wrong. A large amount of hay has been stolen from one of their barns. Furious, they realise the thieves have used their own loader to do it.

Since thieves are clearly in their area, David decides to organise a meeting to warn everyone else to be vigilant. Eddie offers to spread the word. David would love to catch the culprits.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00w7fd5)
Upstairs Downstairs, Jeff Kinney, The Otolith Group

With Kirsty Lang.

The much-loved 70s TV series Upstairs Downstairs is about to return to our screens, in a new version starring Jean Marsh, Eileen Atkins, Ed Stoppard and Keeley Hawes. It's 1936 and diplomat Sir Hallam Holland and his wife, Lady Agnes, are moving into their new home: 136 Eaton Place. With the help of former housemaid Rose Buck, they set about returning the house to its former glory. But with storm-clouds gathering in Europe, the future looks uncertain. Rachel Johnson, author and editor of The Lady, reviews.

A stick figure of an 11 year old boy has become a publishing phenomenon. He's the creation of Jeff Kinney - the man behind The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series. Kinney discusses why, despite selling millions of books, he still feels like a failed cartoonist and a failed writer.

In the fourth of his conversations with the nominees for this year's Turner Prize, John Wilson meets Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar of The Otolith Group, an art-film collective. Their Turner Prize show at Tate Britain, featuring videos, academic texts and essays, has baffled many visitors. But, according to Kodwo Eshun, to have their work described as pretentious is "a badge of honour".

Front Row meets some of the people who create magical effects in stage productions - from flying to disappearances - including Paul Kieve, who designed the illusions in The Invisible Man, and Gary Hardy-Brown, one half of The Twins, whose speciality is flying without wires.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00wbpwx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00w7fd7)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical discussion from Gillotts School in Henley-on-Thames with questions for the panel including Theresa May, Home Secretary and writer Alain De Botton.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00w7fd9)
Living Forever

Joan Bakewell reflects on the ageing process and the efforts by scientists to reverse it and she considers the attractions and the drawbacks of adding many more years to the human span.

Producer: Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 A History of the World in 100 Objects Omnibus (b00w7fdy)
The World of Our Making (AD 1914-2010)

Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, finally completes his mamouth global history as told through objects from the Museum's collection. In this final episode, he brings us to the world of our own making. The 20th century saw objects used to express the power of totalitarian regimes, the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the end of Europe's colonial empires. Technological innovations have changed the way we relate to each other and the material world. The invention of man-made materials like plastic resulted in mass production and consumption on an unprecedented scale. More objects have been produced in the last 100 years than ever before. Yet many of these new objects are ephemeral and disposable. This raises questions about the environment, global resources, and sustainability. But, as has been true for almost 2 million years, the objects we use to face these challenges will go on to reveal our history to future generations.


Producer: Paul Kobrak.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00w4h7q)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00w7fgc)
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00wbqjc)
Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

Episode 5

Dawn French's debut novel, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, is told from three very different perspectives. Yet each is a member of the Battle family - perfectly average, perfectly dysfunctional.

Dora fixes a secret date on Facebook, but thanks to Oscar, Dad finds out and stirs himself to action. Mo plans to run away with Noel. Will the Battles ever be the same again?

Read by:
Dawn French
Lenny Henry
Sam Barnett and
Beattie Edmondson

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b00w7btw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00w7fgf)
Sean Curran with today's news from the Commons and the Lords. MPs debate Daylight Saving, Peers look at arms exports. And the Leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas tells us how Parliament's procedures should change. Editor: Rachel Byrne.