The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
"The outer world flew open like a door, and I wondered - what is it that we're just not seeing?"
In the final essay from her book SIGHTLINES Scottish poet and travel writer Kathleen Jamie makes a few house calls and learns to dit-dit diddle-dit.
Five years after FINDINGS broke the mould of nature writing, award-winning Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie subtly shifts our focus on landscape and the living world, daring us to look again at the 'natural', the remote and the human-made.
"Kathleen Jamie, the Scottish poet, has written a book that transcends the definition of nature study ... SIGHTLINES is a work of intense purity and quiet genius and we're lucky to have it."
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
As the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal celebrates its 200th anniversary, Helen Mark takes a boat trip to find out about the canal's importance to the South Wales landscape. Helen is joined by David Morgan from British Waterways to find out more about the canal's history and Helen and David help local brewer, Buster Grant, to deliver his celebratory ales to local pubs in the way that they would have been delivered 200 years ago. Stopping off en route, Helen finds out more about the lime industry in the area from Nigel Gervis who still produces lime today which is used in maintenance work on the canal's locks and bridges. Helen also meets Ceri Cadwallader from the Blaenavon World Heritage Site to find out about the Forgotten Landscapes Project and the importance of the canal's industrial heritage and its place within the communities of Monmouthshire and Brecon today. And Helen jumps aboard a second boat with ecologist, Mark Robinson, to find out about the wildlife that now inhabits the banks of the canal.
Finally, Helen and David join forces to roll out the barrel as Buster's beer arrives at its final destination.
As the European Parliament backs a report warning that biodiversity loss is costing billions of euros every year, we examine how effectively farm conservation schemes are working. Charlotte Smith visits the Upton Estate in Oxfordshire, which is taking part in both the Higher Level and Entry Level Stewardship programmes. Farming Today has been following the estate's conservation work through the seasons. Charlotte finds out exactly what its manager Rob Allan will be planting to feed the wild birds next winter. She also sees the new homes which have been put up for Upton's burgeoning population of Tree Sparrows. And, wildlife advisor Marek Nowakowski shares his thoughts on how conservation schemes could be made more effective.
Morning news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague and Justin Webb, and featuring:
A new book is out that brings together aerial footage of many sites of ancient and Byzantine Greece. Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, the A G Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge University, describes the book's aerial photographs of the world's first Olympic hotels.
Has the man who is the lead counsel for the Leveson Inquiry, Robert Jay QC, become the star of the whole inquiry and is his style of questioning getting results? Lawyer Martyn Day and Clive Anderson, who is also a barrister, discuss.
MPs are demanding that the Immigration minister Damian Green explain the recent queues at Heathrow Airport's border controls. Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, outlines his concerns that the issue is damaging Britain's reputation.
As part of our party leader interviews, Alex Salmond MSP, leader of the Scottish National Party and Scotland's First Minister, speaks to the Today programme's Justin Webb ahead of the local elections on 3 May.
Tom Hodgkinson, Gay dads Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, Shepherdess Emma Gray and Inheritance Tracks from Richard Holloway
Anita Anand with "The Idler" editor Tom Hodgkinson, gay dads Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow talk about their decision to have a sixth child by a surrogate mother, Emma Gray on her life as a shepherdess, poetry from Matt Harvey, Caroline Cornish tells the story of her daughter's red dress, Jacquie Meredith explains how she was adopted by a stray cat, and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway's Inheritance Tracks
In the last Excess Baggage, John McCarthy talks to three inveterate travellers: Sara Wheeler, who has written on Africa and the Antarctic, explorer Benedict Allen who has travelled in Siberia and New Guinea and documentary maker Simon Reeve who has just returned from the Indian Ocean. He asks them why they are driven to explore the world and what is the point of travel.
The Qatar Philharmonic was established in 2008, the first western symphony orchestra in a Gulf state, and just one of a number of institutions intended to demonstrate the country's cultural ambitions.
Razia Iqbal visits Katar, the official cultural village of Doha, and talks to members of the orchestra, many of whom have been imported from Europe. And she interviews the country's 'culture queen', Sheikha Mayassa Al-Thani, daughter of the Emir of Qatar.
Produced by Francesca Panetta and Lucy Greenwell.
George Parker of The Financial Times looks behind the scenes at Westminster this week.
The government's problems have been gathering like storm clouds culminating in this week's news of an economy back in recession and a minister under siege for his dealings with the Murdoch press.
Conservative Andrea Leadsom, one of the government's new intake of eurosceptical MPs, and a former Labour business minister Pat McFadden look at the economic situation, while Lord Tebbit and Lord Reid consider how David Cameron could benefit from some "big hitters" in his party going out to bat for him.
Also in the programme the chair of the Treasury Select Committee Andrew Tyrie, talks about the important changes proposed for the Bank of England, and former chancellor Alistair Darling and the SNP's Stewart Hosie get down to the nuts and bolts of how Scottish independence would or would not work.
The British soldiers in Afghanistan have lost faith in their mission, there are fields full of opium poppies and the Taliban are everywhere. Quentin Sommerville talks of the mood among the troops as they prepare at last to return home.
After Charles Taylor, who'll next be taken to court to face charges relating to war crimes? Fiona Lloyd Davies has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo meeting one former rebel commander who is wanted for trial.
Ian Pannell has been talking to an English scholar in Syria whose library was destroyed as the struggle continues between protestors and the security forces.
What makes Kenyan athletes such fine distance runners? Claudia Hammond's been jogging through the Great Rift Valley learning some of the answers.
and Stephen Sackur went to Cairo to report on how the people's uprising there was faring but instead found himself captivated by a revolutionary TV chef whose recipes are being lapped up throughout the Middle East!
In Money Box with Paul Lewis: Britain's biggest bank admits it has failed to give customers their legal right to cancel recurring payments set up to pay for services like gym membership, internet security or payday loans. The Payment Services Regulations came into force in November 2009. But Lloyds TSB has written to a Money Box listener to say it's not bound by the law.
Lenders at one of the UK's biggest peer-to-peer lending sites go on strike and withdraw their capital to protest at a decision to cut the maximum lending rates. We speak to the founder of Encash about the rate cuts and take a look at the wider peer-to-peer lending industry.
Beware all 'suckers'. The Financial Services Authority have written to seventy six thousand people warning them that they are on a 'suckers' list and at risk of being targetted by fraudsters trying to con them out of their money. The list has been collated from info seized from dodgy companies which have been investigated by the FSA. It's the largest number of target victims that the FSA has ever contacted in one go. We speak to Jonathan Phelan, the FSA's head of unauthorised business and hear from one investor who has been stung 3 times by cold calling crooks.
And why you may be missing 6% a year from your investment returns. We hear from the author of a new book 'Monkey with a Pin' which exposes exactly how most private investors perform in real life. He believes that investors have been misled with exaggerated theoretical returns from equities, that the average investor doesn't even beat inflation and that they would have been better off leaving their money in a cash ISA over the last 20 years.
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig. With Jeremy Hardy, Rory Bremner, Justin Moorhouse and Roisin Conaty.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents a panel discussion of news and politics from Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent with Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan-Smith; Labour Peer and former Cabinet minister, Andrew Adonis; Nobel prize winner and Fellow of the Royal Society, biologist Sir John Sulston; and public policy editor of The Economist magazine, Anne McElvoy.
Call Jonathan Dimbleby on 03700 100 444, email any.answers@bbc.co.uk or tweet #bbcaq. The questions on Any Questions? were: Does the panel agree that the Culture Secretary should now face an inquiry into his ministerial conduct? Can people really feel safe when the economy's in the hands of two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of a pint of milk? Are current government benefit policies cleansing London of poor people and poor families? My question is, is an ever-increasing world population a burden or an asset? Timothy Less. Having made the pilgrimage down to Canterbury, what sins will you be seeking atonement for?
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.
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week including Johnny Ball, TV hero, on being a granddad; women in reggae with Carroll Thompson and Jacqueline Springer; the pianist Janina Fialkowska and a visit to Professor Vanessa's Wondershow. Presented by Jane Garvey.
Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, who has come under pressure to resign following the release of emails to the Leveson Inquiry. The compromising emails suggest that he or his office was providing inside information to the Murdoch family over the BSkyB takeover bid. He, however, insists that he behaved with complete integrity during the process.
Sarfraz Manzoor and his guests Lisa Appignanesi, Kevin Jackson and Natalie Haynes review the week's cultural highlights.
In his film Avengers Assemble Joss Whedon brings together Marvel action heroes Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye and the Black Widow as they battle to stop Loki from taking over the Earth with his alien army.
Michele Roberts' novel Ignorance revolves around two girls - Jeanne and Marie-Angele - who are schoolfriends in pre-war France but whose relationship and loyalties change as the Germans invade and the differences in their backgrounds becomes more significant.
Making Noise Quietly is a series of three short plays by Robert Holman which has been revived at the Donmar Warehouse in London by Peter Gill. Each play features characters whose lives are affected in one way or another by war.
To coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has put on an exhibition - Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames - curated by David Starkey. The exhibition aims to show how this waterway has been used as a stage to celebrate significant moments in the nation's life over the past five centuries.
The Wind in the Willows with Griff Rhys Jones is an ITV1 documentary which looks at what inspired Kenneth Grahame to write this much-loved children's classic.
Remember the lunch hour? You could leave your desk, meet friends in the pub, eat a three course meal, have a lunchtime affair even...That hour was your own: it didn't belong to your employer. No more. Now, one in five people in the UK never eat lunch. Only one in one hundred regularly take a full hour's break. How has such a huge social change happened? Why on earth did we let the lunch hour go so easily?
Matthew Sweet draws on archive recordings to explore what we have lost, and what the hidden costs might be. Wall Street's Gordon Gekko once said "lunch is for wimps" - why do we seem to have accepted his conclusion? When Churchill enjoyed several courses, washed down with wine and brandy, at midday in Downing Street it was thought to help, rather than hinder, his leadership of the country. Matthew talks to social historian Juliet Gardiner, and to historian Sir David Cannadine about Churchill's heroic dining. Sociologist Harriet Bradley offers insights into the rise of presenteeism and the impact of recession on our lunch time habits. Writers Tim Parks implores us to take a break for the sake of our health.
Matthew goes back to Hull, where he grew up, and remembers ham sandwiches at home with his mum, and factory whistles sounding out around the city, signalling the start of the lunch hour. He meets factory and office workers and asks why have we allowed ourselves to become so overwhelmed with the pressures of the working day that we don't have time to stop for a break?
Includes archive recordings from 1937 describing workers flocking to corner houses for lunch, Ernest Bevin urging wartime factory owners to give their workers proper meals and revelations from the 1980s about liquid lunches and office affairs.
Joyous all-star spring fever, led by Alfred Molina, Patricia Hodge, Jared Harris, Martin Jarvis and Rufus Sewell. A pig-napping romantic thriller! PGW's dialogue dances across the Blandings Castle lawns. Charming Earl of Ickenham (Uncle Fred) has received a plea from affably dotty Lord Emsworth to help foil a plot to steal his prize-winning pig. And to examine the sanity of eccentric Duke of Dunstable.
Delighting in such entertainment, Uncle Fred arrives at Blandings in the guise of "brain specialist" Glossop, with nephew Pongo posing as his secretary. Lively Polly Pott is the third imposter, secretly engaged to Dunstable's nephew Ricky and hoping to charm her prospective uncle-in-law. Emsworth's devious secretary Rupert Baxter (Jared Harris) spots them but can't call their bluff for fear of blackmail. Emsworth's sister Connie suspects they are jewel thieves. Bosham, Emsworth's son, thinks all is above board. But then Polly's detective Dad is called in. Will the pig-napping happen?
Uncle Fred ..... Alfred Molina
Lady Constance ..... Patricia Hodge
The Duke of Dunstable ..... Christopher Neame
Rupert Baxter ..... Jared Harris
Ricky Gilpin ..... Rufus Sewell
Horace Davenport ..... Lloyd Owen
Mustard Pott ..... Julian Holloway
Polly Pott ..... Sophie Winkleman
Lord Emsworth ..... Martin Jarvis
P.G. Wodehouse ..... Ian Ogilvy
Lord Bosham ..... Simon Templeman
Pongo Twistleton ..... Matthew Wolf
Beach ..... Kenneth Danziger
Valerie Twistleton ..... Moira Quirk
Webster/Footmen ..... Darren Richardson
Singing Gardener ..... Mark Holden
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
Clive Anderson and top legal experts discuss the best way to achieve justice in the wake of massive human rights violations in the Arab Spring countries. What role should the international community play in the process?
Libyan lawyer Elham Saudi and US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, Stephen Rapp, reflect on how successfully transitional justice was achieved in the past, in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Iraq, South Africa and Yugoslavia, and argue about the best way forward in Libya as well as in Egypt and Tunisia.
Should prominent members of the former Libyan regime, such as Saif Gadaffi, be tried in Libya, where they would face the death penalty, or dealt with in the International Criminal Court in The Hague?
Other guests on the programme are Claudio Cordone of the International Centre for Transitional Justice and Geoffrey Robertson QC who served as the first President of the Special Court in Sierra Leone.
Are criminal trials the best way to address the horrors of a long and brutal regime? Or are truth and reconciliation commissions better placed to allow a society to move forward? And if there are to be trials, should members of revolutionary forces also be prosecuted for human rights violations?
The evergreen general knowledge music quiz returns, with Paul Gambaccini welcoming music enthusiasts from around the UK aiming to prove the depth and breadth of their musical knowledge. One of them is destined to become the 26th annual Counterpoint champion in July.
The first programme features competitors from London, Wiltshire and Bedfordshire. As always on Counterpoint, they'll be faced with an unpredictable mix of questions covering many genres of music, from the classical repertoire through film music, jazz, show tunes, and the pop charts from the 1950s to the present day. There are plenty of musical extracts to identify, some familiar, others surprising.
Henry Newbolt's poem Vitai Lampada - better known to most by its rousing chorus "play up, play up and play the game!"- seems at first sight to be a product solely of its time and place: he wrote it at the end of the 19th century and it features cricket, war and a public school ethos about sport and leadership. However, as Peggy Reynolds unpacks the poem and talks to people who still know it, some surprises emerge.
SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2012
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01ghm85)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 The Greengrocer's Apostrophe (b01gnp4v)
Alice, Hanging in There
Comic tales inspired by those hand-written signs offering "Apple's and Banana's" which can be found in every town in Britain.
When Alice is cast aside from her high-flying career she finds a novel way to occupy her time. Armed only with a balaclava and a pot of paint, she starts to vent her anger on sloppy punctuation.
A story by Ronald Frame, read by Tracy Wiles.
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01ghm87)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01ghm89)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01ghm8c)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01ghm8f)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b01gnhrr)
The bells of St Andrew's Church, Hurstbourne Priors, Hampshire.
SUN 05:45 Profile (b01gngrd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01ghm8h)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01gnhrt)
To Fashion
In 'To Fashion' Irma Kurtz explores the notion that the garments we wear are a costume of choice. Once beyond the nursery, modesty orders us to cloak our skins, and sometimes our heads and faces too. To wear strategic covering in public is required practically everywhere by law as well as modesty. But we dress for more reasons than modesty and protection. The garments we choose are our costume, and sometimes a uniform, too. What we wear displays if not precisely where we originate and who we are, certainly who we wish we were and want to be seen as being.
To illustrate this theme we hear readings from Robert Herrick, Sebastian Horsley and P.G. Wodehouse. The music is by Sergei Prokoviev, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin and Paul Durand. The readers are Liza Sadovy, Col Farrell and Frank Stirling.
Producer: Ronni Davis
A Unique Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 Living World (b01gnhrw)
The Woodman's Butterfly
The Pearl Bordered Fritillary, sometimes called the 'April butterfly', is one of the first to emerge in Spring. A jewel of the woodland they have white 'pearl' markings on their wings but sightings are increasingly rare. The 2010 European Union target to halt the loss of bio-diversity has not been met for the UK's butterflies. Three quarters of species showed a decrease in either their distribution or population levels. The Pearl Bordered Fritillary is one such population with numbers declining by 42% over ten years.
Sarah Pitt finds one of the few remaining sites where they can be seen in England and finds out why they are also known as 'the Woodsman's butterfly'. This butterfly is termed a 'habitat specialist'. As it emerges from winter hibernation, its larvae feed only on leaves of violets. Woodland management techniques have changed over time and violets are no longer common in British woodland. What can be done to help the highly endangered Pearl Bordered Fritillary? Richard Fox and Gary Pilkington discuss the state of Britain's butterflies.
Produced and Presented by Sarah Pitt.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b01ghm8k)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01ghm8m)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b01gnhry)
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, meeting in London, say they'll offer alternative spiritual leadership to dissaffected members of the Church of England. They also want an alternative to the Archbishop of Canterbury as chairman of the Anglican primates meeting. Is this a way of keeping the Anglican communion together or splitting it asunder?
400 years ago a group of exiles returned from the Netherlands to set up the first Baptist congregation on English soil. Trevor Barnes reports on how they fared, and why - if you are descended from these pioneering non conformists - the roots of your family tree may dry up here.
The Catholic Education Service has suggested that Catholic pupils sign a petition against gay marriage. Is it legal for them to do so?
The message for David Cameron from young British Pakistanis at an Oxford conference is that multi-culturalism is working.
The latest plans to reform the House of Lords want to dramatically reduce the number of Bishops who sit there. How has their role developed historically and how have they contributed to the national debate?
And exploring Shakespeares church - with the help of a new App on your mobile phone.
Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b01gnhs0)
Starfish Greathearts Foundation
Jim Carter presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Starfish Greathearts Foundation.
Reg Charity: 1093862
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope Starfish Greathearts Foundation
Give Online www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b01ghm8p)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01ghm8r)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b01gnhs2)
Called Together
Called together. From Old Testament prophets to Mother Teresa, men and women from across the centuries have felt God is calling them to speak out and to minister to God's people. Michael Ford, a former journalist, leads the service. A number of students from Ripon College, Cuddesdon reflect on how they felt called to ministry from a variety of careers and backgrounds. The principal, the Revd Canon Professor Martyn Percy looks at how that sense of calling is tested and how it can extend to other careers and other paths.
Producer Clair Jaquiss.
SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b01ghgtd)
The rights of humans... and animals
"Could it be that human rights simply don't exist?" asks Will Self provocatively.
To illustrate his point, he writes: "One man's extraordinary rendition is another man's license to torture, which in turn is a flagrant denial of a third man's human rights". And he ponders how we can conceive of a person having any human rights, unless effective sanctions are in place to stop them being violated. He turns his attention to Syria and its "vicious dictator...actively and consistently violating the human rights of its own citizenry". But the UN Security Council is - he says - seemingly powerless to stop him.
It is all a long way, he suggests, from Article 1 of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." That - he points out - means that "no single one of the eight-and-a-half billion-odd human lives currently transpiring can be held to be of greater value that any of the others". Without the creation of an "independent global judiciary" and "an equally incorruptible international police force," he argues, this is little more than cant.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b01gnhs4)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b01gnhs6)
For detailed descriptions see daily programmes.
Writer ..... Mary Cutler
Director ..... Julie Beckett
Editor ..... Vanessa Whitburn
Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Alistair Lloyd ..... Michael Lumsden
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Tony Archer ..... Colin Skipp
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Tom Archer ..... Tom Graham
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Adam Macy ..... Andrew Wincott
Ian Craig ..... Stephen Kennedy
Peggy Woolley ..... June Spencer
Christopher Carter ..... William Sanderson-Thwaite
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Brenda Tucker ..... Amy Shindler
Alan Franks ..... John Telfer
Usha Franks ..... Souad Faress
Amy Franks ..... Jennifer Daley
Annabelle Shrivener ..... Julia Hills
Carl ..... Nicholas Bailey
Luke ..... David Perks
Doctor ..... Susan Jeffrey.
SUN 11:15 The Reunion (b01gnhs8)
Hong Kong Handover
In the last programme in this series of The Reunion, Sue MacGregor brings together five people who helped pave the way for the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China.
Hong Kong's 28th and last Governor Lord Chris Patten; General Bryan Dutton who was head of the British garrison; diplomat Hugh Davies who led the British negotiating team in the colony; legislator and pro-democracy campaigner Emily Lau lost her job on the stroke of midnight and influential Hong Kong businessman Sir David Tang who waved the British off.
In Hong Kong the clock was always ticking. Unlike her other colonial possessions Hong Kong was only ever on lease to Britain. A 99 year lease set to expire on the 30th of June 1997 when the territory would automatically revert to Chinese rule. By the eighties Hong Kong was the busiest container port in the word and the economic gateway to China. But no-one really knew what would happen in 97 when the lease ran out.
The killing of hundreds of demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, an act which brought a million people on to the streets of Hong Kong in protest, turned acquiescence at the thought of Chinese rule into fear. Hong Kong people started leaving in droves. Between 1984 and 1997 one sixth of the Hong Kong population emigrated, 66,000 in 1992 alone.
As Britain's withdrawal got underway there was still heated debate over how China would run the colony in the future. The 1984 Sino British Joint Declaration had provided a roadmap for Hong Kong's future but the devil was in the detail. Heated exchanges were still going on minutes before the highly orchestrated handover ceremony in which Governor Patten came face to face with those who had denounced him as a 'serpent' and a 'wrongdoer' who would be condemned for a thousand generations'.
Producer: Emily Williams
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b01gf5wk)
Series 9
Episode 4
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents. Tony Hawks, Arthur Smith, Lucy Porter and Graeme Garden are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as: Restaurants, Barbie dolls, Feet and Garlic.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b01gnhsb)
A Scramble for Eggs?
Sheila Dillon looks at changes to the UK's egg supply following the EU's ban on battery cages and how the food industry is dealing with shortages and escalating prices.
Although there may still be enough eggs on the shelves of our supermarkets, the programme discovers that egg products used in some of our most popular dishes are in ever shorter supply and some may even be replaced with egg substitute produced by the dairy industry.
Three different food producers explain how the use eggs on a large scale and the impact the EU changes have made on their access to supplies of whole, liquid and frozen products.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b01ghm8t)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b01gnjgr)
The latest national and international news, including an in-depth look at events around the world. Email: wato@bbc.co.uk; twitter: #theworldthisweekend.
SUN 13:30 The Invention of... (b016lbtm)
Germany
Germany Unified
In 1871, at the Palace of Mirrors in Versailles, the king of Prussia was crowned emperor of the newly unified German empire - a quite staggering event. This is the story of Germany's journey to define itself, indeed to stamp itself, on the European map.
"Everything was decided by military strength, but also by a revolutionary idea that there were parts of the map reserved for particular nations - blood and soil, and that if you pick up a handful of soil, this is German, and if you move fifty yards to the left, this is French." Professor Norman Davies.
Travelling from the great areas of conflict - Alsace Lorraine in the west to Konnigratz in the east - Misha Glenny brings to life moments in European history that have huge resonance today. Contributors include Dr Abigail Green of Oxford University, and Professor Michael Sturmer, a former advisor to Helmut Kohl.
The producer is Miles Warde.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01ghgk7)
Thrive, Reading
Eric Robson and the team are guests of gardening charity Thrive. Christine Walkden, Chris Beardshaw and Pippa Greenwood are on the panel.
Jeremy Scott, the 2010 Blind Gardener of the Year, meets a handful of gardeners making use of the therapeutic horticulture programs run by the charity. Pippa Greenwood investigates the current Busy Lizzie problem.
Questions answered in the programme:
Why does my Acer die back each year?
Is putting water-logged newspaper beneath plants a good drought-beater?
How can I rid my pond of blanket weed?
How can I prevent the roots of my Bay tree penetrating my soakaway?
How and when to cut back an Akebia Quinata?
How would you construct raised beds to stand on concrete? And what vegetables could you grow in them?
A section of my privet hedge has died apparently because it is 'stressed', how can I de-stress it and what plant can I fill the gap with? (The plant suggested was Thuja Plicata Atrovirens.)
When you plant daffodils along a wall, how is it that the flowers always turn to face you and not the wall?
Produced by Howard Shannon.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b01gnjgt)
Omnibus
Fi Glover presents an omnibus edition of Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: in today's programme, we meet Ciaron and Brendan, Irish brothers whose fraternal bond was tested to the limit when Brendan fell ill; from Radio Berkshire, the story of Jim and John who touchingly remember the biscuity pleasures of working at the Huntley and Palmers factory in Reading which closed in the 1970s, while from Stoke on Trent, the agonising tale of Stevie, the brother to Chris and son to Norman, who vanished while on holiday in Crete. And there's a chance too to hear just how the magic of these Listening Project encounters actually works from one of the team gathering the interviews across Britain.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a sort of snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer Simon Elmes
(Repeat).
SUN 15:00 Electric Decade (b01gnjw9)
Uncle Fred in the Springtime
Episode 2
Dramatised by Archie Scottney
Charismatic Uncle Fred (Alfred Molina) is still at Blandings Castle masquerading as a 'brain doctor'. The Duke of Dunstable's lunatic pig-napping scheme continues. He calls in nephew Ricky. Money is involved, and maybe a chance for Ricky to marry Polly Pott. Lord Emsworth's prize-pig Empress of Blandings is purloined - and hidden.
Will all end happily? Will true love triumph? Even happiness for the Pig? Will our ageing hero, Uncle Fred, be able to leave for London, feeling that 'there are no limits to what I can accomplish - in the Springtime'? All-star cast directed by Martin Jarvis.
Cast:
Uncle Fred ..... Alfred Molina
Lady Constance ..... Patricia Hodge
The Duke of Dunstable ..... Christopher Neame
Rupert Baxter ..... Jared Harris
Ricky Gilpin ..... Rufus Sewell
Horace Davenport ..... Lloyd Owen
Mustard Pott ..... Julian Holloway
Polly Pott ..... Sophie Winkleman
Lord Emsworth ..... Martin Jarvis
P.G. Wodehouse ..... Ian Ogilvy
Lord Bosham ..... Simon Templeman
Pongo Twistleton ..... Matthew Wolf
Beach ..... Kenneth Danziger
Valerie Twistleton ..... Moira Quirk
Webster/Footmen ..... Darren Richardson
Singing Gardener ..... Mark Holden
Director: Martin Jarvis
Producers: Rosalind Ayres and Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (b01gnjwc)
Russell Kane bringing comedy to his first novel The Humorist
Mariella Frostrup talks to comedian Russell Kane, who looks at the nature of humour in his first novel, The Humorist, through his protagonist Benjamin White, a leading critic for a satirical magazine called The Review, who is clinically unable to laugh - and is driven by this condition to pursue the concept of the killer joke to its logical conclusion. Russell Kane explains why writing is easier than stand up, talks about being a bibliophile and on how his love of writers from Flaubert to Trollope to Waugh is a constant source of inspiration.
Writing Britain - Wastelands to Wonderlands, at The British Library . Among its 150 exhibits are real gems including J.G Ballard's Crash, Katherine Mansfield's A Suburban Fairy Tale and Arthur Conan Doyle "at home" in the Strand Magazine. Jamie Andrews, senior curator at the British Library reveals how writers have both been inspired by and helped shape the nation's understanding of landscape and place
Updating The Classics: debut novelist Francesca Segal whose novel "The Innocents" transposes upper class New York of the 1870s into present day North West London's Jewish community talks with Professor of Literature at York University John Bowen about how and why to update the classics. Is there a danger of unfavourable comparisons - are there some books that ought to be left well alone?
Producer: Hilary Dunn.
SUN 16:30 A Foreigner Everywhere (b01gnjwf)
Paul Farley explores the American poet Elizabeth Bishop's extraordinary years in Brazil, and how her rootless, traveller's condition inspired her creativity.
Elizabeth Bishop has been called the poets' poets' poet', and her work, often complex and multilayered, examines the big themes of home, travel and identity. Though she's regarded as an American poet, for nearly two decades Bishop lived in Brazil, where she wrote much of her best work. Essentially an orphan from the age of five, and a constant observer, a 'foreigner everywhere', she speaks to our modern rootless condition, asking how and where we find a sense of 'home'.
The poet Paul Farley, explores how Bishop tackles questions of travel, and how she challenged approaches to other cultures in the early days of mass tourism. Bishop met the love of her life in Brazil, became deeply involved in the Brazilian political tumult of the 1960s, and made the trip of her life up the Amazon river. But her Brazil years also ended in tragedy.
In many ways a poet of our times, Paul explores how Bishop's often overlooked Brazil years offer a new way into her work and its relevance - a constant observer, portraying life in all its nuanced complexity.
Produced by Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 Nigerian Crossroads (b01gg7gb)
Mark Doyle investigates the Nigerian paradox. He reports from a Lagos international fashion show - and overflies a network of illegal oil refineries. He visits a polo club where relatively wealthy players favour Argentine ponies - and finds himself in a camp for displaced people which looks like it could be in war-torn Somalia.
Nigeria, the giant of West Africa, has the largest population of any African country. It's among the top dozen producers of oil in the world, and has a vibrant, growing economy. It's a country that could - perhaps should - be a significant player on the world stage. But Nigeria's communities are also torn apart by communal and religious violence. And in recent years a new, radical Islamist group has emerged to challenge the power of the state across the north of the country. Thousands have been killed as the police and the followers of the sect battle it out in places of worship, police stations and on the streets.
BBC Correspondent Mark Doyle has been visiting Nigeria for over twenty years. He finds the country to be sometimes inspiring and sometimes intensely frustrating. He asks whether Nigeria will grow into a confident democracy or whether it will collapse into a state of semi-permanent violence.
Producer: Sam Farmar.
SUN 17:40 Profile (b01gngrd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01ghm8w)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b01ghm8y)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01ghm90)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b01gnjwh)
Sheila McClennon makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio
This week, why It Started with a Sniff - not a Kiss, as we discover the history of the kiss. Shakespeare gives us a little touch of Harry in the night and a lovesick Malvolio gets his comeuppance for being a party pooper. A L Kennedy debunks the myth that madness produces great art whilst Evelyn Glennie has music that did drive some poor souls mad with the ghostly chimes of the Glass Armonica
How a dance company is letting visually impaired fans get closer than ever to help them understand the beauty of the ballet.
And the wonderful Mr Fan, barber and horse rider whose ever cheerful exterior hides a tale of true courage.
Twelfth Night - Radio 3
Shakespeare's Restless World - Radio 4
A Kiss is Never Just A Kiss - Radio 4
Sightlines - Radio 4
The Hedge - Radio 4
Art and Madness - Radio 3
If Chimes Could Whisper - Radio 3
Drunk Again - Ann Widdecombe Investigates - Radio 5live
Lunch is for Wimps - Radio 4
It's My Story - Radio 4
Mike Barfield - Radio York
Michael Grade - On The Box - Radio 2
In Touch - Radio 4
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Cecile Wright.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b01gnjwk)
Alan senses that Usha is pre-occupied, and assumes it's something at work. Before Usha can say anything, Amy bounces in to tell them Carl will be round later. Carl arrives with gifts for Usha and Alan. He's remembered that Alan likes Rioja. Usha comments that a good memory must be very useful - in his work. Carl freely talks about seeing Usha last week.
Alan invites Carl round for a meal but Carl can't make it this week as he's away on business. Alan really likes Carl.
Usha rings Ruth to see if she's free for lunch tomorrow.
There's no change with Adam. Alice plays a CD, in the hope that he can hear it. Jennifer just wishes Debbie could be there.
When Ian arrives, Peggy and Lilian are chatting to Adam about Darrel and Elona. Ian thinks it's good for Adam to hear something new. He agrees with Alice that everyone's got their own special relationship with Adam.
Ian and Jennifer tell Adam how much they love him and how everyone needs him back.
SUN 19:15 My Teenage Diary (b00x95hr)
Series 2
Meera Syal
Rufus Hound invites Meera Syal to read embarrassing extracts from her teenage diary and read it out in public for the very first time.
Producer: Victoria Payne
A TalkbackThames production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:45 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01gnjwm)
The Watch Trick
Another story from this insightful collection by the acclaimed writer, Jennifer Egan, which takes a pithy and sometimes poignant look at contemporary life in the United States.
Hidden desires surface when the hedonistic antics of an old friend challenge a married couple's complacency.
Reader: Fenella Woolgar
Abridger: Miranda Davies
Producer: Gemma Jenkins.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (b01ghgsy)
The formula that changed the world
The Long Rain
The numbers behind the drought, the hosepipe ban and how much difference recent rainfall (enough to shrink men's hands into the hands of wrinkled apes) has made.
The Midas Formula
The story of Black-Scholes, the equation that transformed Wall Street - and the arguments over whether it made the world a better place, or helped cause the financial mess we've all been dealing with for the past five years.
Tall Tories
Last week we discovered North Koreans really are shorter than their South Korean counterparts thanks to poor nutrition in the North. This week: are Labour MPs shorter than Conservative parliamentarians?
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Richard Knight.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b01ghgkc)
Lord Ashley, Levon Helm, Wendy Grant, Charles Colson, Val May
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Ashley, who as the Labour MP Jack Ashley, overcame deafness to become a champion of disabled people's rights
Also, Levon Helm, the drummer and singer of The Band - who backed Bob Dylan and recorded acclaimed albums of their own.
Wendy Grant - the neuropathologist who came out of retirement to warn that Mad Cow Disease could affect humans
Charles Colson - special counsel to Richard Nixon - who carried out dirty tricks against the President's opponents, but later found God.
And Val May, the theatre director who established the reputation of the Bristol Old Vic.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (b01gng5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 on Saturday]
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b01gnhs0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (b01ghc50)
Through the Mill
In the 19th century the Lancashire cotton industry was at the heart of the world's industrial revolution and the main engine of the British economy. In the 20th century it started a long decline. Today a few remaining textile manufacturers are finding ways of surviving huge global competition. Peter Day finds out how they are doing it.
Producer: Sandra Kanthal.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b01gnjyl)
Preview of the week's political agenda at Westminster with MPs, experts and commentators. Discussion of the issues politicians are grappling with in the corridors of power.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b01gnjyn)
Episode 101
Nick Watt of The Guardian analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b01ghc4m)
Francine Stock meets with Tom Hiddleston to discuss his role in The Avengers Assemble.
Directors Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley discuss their much praised micro-budget film Black Pond, starring Chris Langham.
Janet McTeer reveals who she modelled herself on for the role of a man in Albert Nobbs.
Critic Scott Jordan Harris reports from Ebertfest in Illinois.
Producer: Craig Smith.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b01gnhrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 30 APRIL 2012
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b01ghm9y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b01gg8hx)
Raoul Moat - the media story; Indian sex workers
The sad story of the hunt for the lone gunman Raoul Moat had many of the ingredients of classic crime fiction: a countryside location; an outsider against the law and an extraordinary set of tragic circumstances that unfolded over time. In this edition of Thinking Allowed Laurie Taylor speaks to Michael Rowe, a criminologist at the centre of the crisis. He gave countless media interviews at the time and has now conducted a study of how 24 hour news media used the rubric of crime fiction to present events in a gripping way. He argues, however, that it was a method in which truth and understanding seem to have been amongst the victims.
Also on the programme Prabha Kotiswaran discusses her ethnographic study of the daily and nightly life of prostitutes in two of India's cities.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b01gnhrr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmb0)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01ghmb2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmb4)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b01ghmb6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01gnq8r)
with the Revd Alison Jack.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b01gnq8t)
Dairy farmers say a decision to cut the amount they are paid for milk with just four days' notice could cost them thousands of pounds and could force some out of business altogether. Milk processor Dairy Crest will pay 2p a litre less to around 500 of its UK farmers from the start of May. The National Farmers' Union has described the move as exploitation and warned other processors may now follow suit. Dairy Crest says it is acting to secure the future of its dairies in a very challenging market.
There are still 1.3 million acres of common land in England and Wales alone but the Foundation for Common Land fears many in the UK are being abandoned. Charlotte Smith takes a walk around a centuries-old common in the Chilterns to find out what makes them special.
This programme is presented by Charlotte Smith and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.
MON 05:57 Weather (b01ghmb8)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 06:00 Today (b01gnq8w)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by James Naughtie and John Humphrys, including:
07:30 Is wind farm planning too easy?
07:50 Is Roy Hodgson the right choice for England?
08:10 Pakistan reaction to the murder of Khalil Dale.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b01gnq8y)
Creativity: Jonah Lehrer
On Start the Week Andrew Marr discusses creativity with the writer Jonah Lehrer. In his latest book, Imagine, Lehrer unpicks the creative process in both science and art, to ask where inventiveness and imagination spring from, and how they can be harnessed. Experimental sound artist, Scanner, talks about creating unique musical compositions and his latest collaboration with the Heritage Orchestra at the Brighton Festival; and the novelist Joanna Kavenna considers the importance of nourishing creative ideas in writing fiction. She argues that everyone is born creative, although as we get older this innate imaginative ability is often suppressed or side-lined. Finally, the chemist, Rachel O'Reilly, explains the importance of the creative process in scientific research and how blue-sky thinking aids developments in nano-materials and technology.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b01gnq90)
Pico Iyer - The Man within My Head
Episode 1
"The high, thin light was turning the shacks and shanties on the hills to gold as I put my thoughts of Graham Greene behind me."
The travel writer Pico Iyer (author of Video Nights in Kathmandu, Falling Off The Map) has always wandered the world with a mentor 'looking on'. Whether it be Bogota, Cuba, California, Japan, the man inside Iyer's head, as he puts it, is always Graham Greene. And it is Greene's fights with faith, his reservations about innocence, his generous spirit, that are really inspiring. In the course of five episodes and from various destinations the author describes his fascination for the great man..
Pico Iyer is in Bogota where he first tells us that his mentor whilst wandering the globe is Graham Greene. Abridged in five parts by Katrin Williams and read by Paul Basely
Producer Duncan Minshull.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01gv92z)
Prof Robert Winston, bisexuality, supporting friends in crisis
Dolls' house restoration, Professor Robert Winston assesses longterm health issues for IVF children, exploring attitudes towards bisexuality, how to support a friend through a crisis.
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Produced by Catherine Carr.
MON 10:45 44 Scotland Street (b01gvkw5)
Series 1
Episode 1
A dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's acclaimed series based on the residents of a fictitious tenement building in a real Edinburgh New Town street, inspired by Maupin's Tales of The City.
Anthropologist Domenica MacDonald observes the lives of her neighbours and the neighbourhood in Edinburgh's New Town. Pat, a new young tenant, arrives at 44 Scotland Street to flat share with Bruce. Bruce is a surveyor with more of an eye for the ladies than a sound property. We're introduced to five-year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and intellectual mother Irene - he's learning the saxophone, speaks Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about many subjects. And then there's Matthew, setting up the Something Special Gallery with little knowledge of artists or paintings!
With its multiple-occupancy flats, Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the New Town, verging on the Bohemian, where haute bourgeoisie rubs shoulders with students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia.
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy, 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith.
CAST:
DOMENICA..........CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
RAEBURN TODD.........CRAWFORD LOGAN
BRUCE............JAMES MACKENZIE
IRENE..................ROSALIND SYDNEY
BERTIE.................EUAN LEE
MATTHEW..............SAMUEL KEEFE
Music by Tom Cunningham
Producer/director: David Ian Neville.
MON 11:00 Mind Changers (b01gvkw7)
Donald Broadbent and the Cocktail Party
When Donald Broadbent died in 1993 he left a legacy which still influences our understanding of how we process the complex information that is all around us and focus on what is salient to us. With his innovative dichotic listening experiments, Broadbent moved from his original filter model of selective attention to an understanding of the 'cocktail party effect', whereby significant information, such as our own name, intrudes on our consciousness, even when it's embedded in auditory information we're not apparently attending to. In the programme Claudia Hammond illustrates the point with examples of dichotic listening experiments that listeners can try themselves.
By applying an information processing model to attention, Broadbent launched the cognitive revolution in psychology in Britain. As Director of the Medical Research Council's Applied Psychology Unit from 1958 to 1974, Broadbent propagated his belief that psychology should be applied to practical problems, such as optimising human performance by the design of aircraft cockpits or nuclear reactor control rooms. He became a regular expert contributor on radio and TV, promoting psychology to the public.
Meeting psychologists who studied and worked with Broadbent - Professor Susan Gathercole of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Professors Alan Baddeley of York University and Dylan Jones and Andy Smith of Cardiff University - Claudia Hammond builds a picture of the man and his ground-breaking work, learning that noise has a far greater impact on our efficiency at work than we realize.
MON 11:30 Mr Blue Sky (b01gvkw9)
Series 2
With Deepest Sympathy
Written by Andrew Collins
Harvey Easter (played by Mark Benton), 46, is the eternal optimist. He is able to see the good in every situation, the silver lining within every cloud, the bright side to every bit of bad news.
This, however, is his downfall. Someone for whom the glass is always half-full can be difficult to live with, as his wife of 19 years, Jacqui (played by Claire Skinner), knows all too well. Even as life deals Harvey and the Easter family a series of sadistic blows, Harvey looks on the positive side. It's pathological with him. The way Jax sees it, instead of dealing with the problems of their marriage and their teenage kids, Harvey's optimism is actually his way of avoiding engagement with the big issues.
Mr Blue Sky is about one man battling to remain positive in moments of crisis, and one woman battling to live with someone who has his head in the clouds.
In this episode, the Easter family travel to Middlesborough to help Harvey's miserable, hypochondriac, racist mum Lou through a difficult time, and Charlie learns about mobile phone etiquette at a Catholic funeral mass and an Italian wake.
Cast
Harvey Easter ..... Mark Benton
Jacqui Easter ..... Claire Skinner
Charlie Easter ..... Rosamund Hanson
Robbie Easter ..... Tyger Drew Honey
Kill-R ..... Javone Prince
Lou Easter .... Sorcha Cusack
Priest .... Angus Deayton
Producer: Anna Madley
An Avalon Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b01gvkwc)
Rising food prices and soundalikes on adverts
The boss of Britain's largest mobile phone company is demanding the government give the go ahead to roll out the new generation of mobile broadband- known as 4G - this summer.
The much criticised Care Quality Commission says its carrying out unannounced visits to care homes as part of its plan to beef up its inspection programme.
Voicing over adverts is big business to the lucky owners of distinctive voices but could you tell a sound alike from the real thing?
Pricey food is here to stay so how should consumers and manufacturers respond to ensure we can still eat well and within budget?
The boss of the leading Green Energy company explains why we must continue to invest in renewable power despite the prospect of cheap and plentiful gas recovered from shale making electricity harvested from the sun, sea and wind relatively even more expensive.
MON 12:57 Weather (b01ghmbb)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b01gvkwf)
As the Speaker agrees to a request for the Prime Minister to answer an urgent question about the handling of News Corporation's bid to take over BSkyB, the Conservative Party Chairman, Lady Warsi, tells us Labour is obsessed with the issue.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is to review its operations in Pakistan after the murder of the British aid worker, Khalil Dale. A friend of his tells us that all he ever wanted to do was to make the world a better place.
And is Roy Hodgson the right man for England? The West Brom boss is meeting with the FA today - We have a profile of the man who loves world literature as much as football.
MON 13:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvkwh)
Treason and Plots
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 11. TREASON & PLOTS - A tabloid history of Shakespeare's England, told through a collection of contemporary accounts of plots to murder Elizabeth I and James I.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b01gnjwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b01gvlfm)
Helen Macdonald - Through the Wire
Helen Macdonald's drama documentary tells the story of the British POWs who survived incarceration in German camps in World War Two by studying the birds that flew freely all around them. While some of their fellow prisoners plotted escape and dug tunnels, men like John Buxton, Peter Conder and George Waterston looked hard at the birds that flew overhead on migration and also at those that chose to fly through the camp wire, like redstarts and goldfinches, and breed amongst the prisoners and their guards. With days, even years, to spare but without any binoculars or other equipment, the birdmen turned watching into their way of getting through the war. They enlisted the help of other prisoners and even some of their guards (bird study was a major field in Germany) and they recorded their observations using scraps of old cigarette packets to write on. After the war their studies were often published and became, and in cases remain, key texts for the bird species they were writing about. Several of the birdmen went on also to become major figures in ornithology and bird conservation. Using scientific papers, monographs, letters and diary entries Helen Macdonald, poet, falconer and scholar of wartime ornithology, has created a drama about men sitting still and straining their eyes looking at the sky. The music is by Olivier Messiaen, the French composer and bird lover, who was also incarcerated in another nearby prison camp by the Germans, where he listened to the birds he heard and inspired by them and the accidental collection of instruments and players there were in his camp, wrote his modernist masterpiece, The Quartet for the End of Time.
Producer: Tim Dee.
MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b01gvlfp)
Series 26
Episode 2
(2/13)
Which perfectly genteel musical instrument might George Bernard Shaw have been moved to describe as 'a snarling abomination'? And, at the other end of the spectrum, can you remember the title of the Monkees' surreal film comedy, made in 1968?
Paul Gambaccini puts these and many other questions to the competitors in the second heat in the 2012 series of the wide-ranging general knowledge music quiz. Music lovers from Gateshead, London and Hitchin in Hertfordshire line up this week to face Paul's questions on every musical genre, from the core classical repertoire to film music, jazz, show tunes, classic rock and pop.
As always, they'll be expected to pick a specialist musical topic to answer individual questions on - from a list of which they've had no prior warning.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b01gnhsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Ampers-Fan (b01gvlfr)
The dark horse of the keyboard, the ampersand exists to join things together, yet remains set apart. Whilst everyone can read and understand the ampersand, or the & symbol, how many of us know where it came from?
Alistair Sooke traces the history of the funny little character that has quietly given joy to so many, from a bored medieval scribe right the way through to a modern day digital font designer. Delighting type designers throughout the centuries as a chance within a font to create a small piece of art, it is a joyful moment in a functional resource. Speaking to Ampersfans Alastair enters into a world of letterpress, punchcutting and typography and discovers how the ampersand can be found at every step of the way, bringing a joyful flick of a tail to the dullest document.
If you thought the ampersand was a bright young thing in the world of type, you couldn't be more wrong; first credited to Marcus Tiro around 63 BC, combing the letters e and t from the Latin word "et". Fighting off competition from his nemesis, the "Tironian Mark", Alastair then tracks the ampersand to 16th Century Paris where it was modelled in the hands of type designer to the King, Claude Garamond, then back across the sea to William Calson's now famous interpretation, designed with a joyful array of flourishes and swirls. Alastair will discover how the ampersand became a calling card for many typographers, showcasing some of their best and most creative work.
A simple twist of the pen, the ampersand has managed to captivate its audience since print began, in Ampersfan Alistair tries to pin down this slippery character down once and for all.
Producer: : Jo Meek & Gillian Donovan
A Sparklab Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 16:30 The Digital Human (b01gvlft)
Series 1
Capture
Aleks Krotoski asks not just what technology can do for us but also what is it doing to us and the world we're creating? Each week she takes us on a journey to where people are living their digital lives to explore how technology touches everything we do both on and offline.
Taking broad themes of modern living as a starting point she charts the experiences of homo digitas; both the remarkable and the mundane, to understand how we are changing just as quickly as the advances in our technology.
What does the deluge of images from digital photography mean for our memory when every second is being recorded, edited and posted online for posterity? Are the identities we create in social media no more than exercises in personal branding, to be managed and protected like any other product? And as traditional churches struggle to leverage technology to spread their faith do the behaviours we all display online have more in common with religion than rationality?
The time for wonder at the digital world is over, we live with it in every day. The question really is who are we now because of it?
MON 17:00 PM (b01gvlfw)
Eddie Mair presents full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01ghmbd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b01gvlfy)
Series 9
Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents. Danielle Ward, Henning Wehn, Tom Wrigglesworth and John Finnemore are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as: Bats, Cars, Orange and Dr. Johnson.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b01gvlg0)
Jennifer notices Adam's eyelids flutter and calls out to the nurse. Jennifer calls Ian to tell him there's been a response, and then rings Debbie. She promises she'll come as soon as she can. She sends Adam all her love, and just wishes she was there to say it herself.
Usha tells Ruth about the shock of discovering that Carl is married. She can't bear to be the one to wreck things for Amy, and doesn't know what to do. Ruth thinks she should tell Alan but Usha's not sure if she should speak to Amy first. Her worry is that Amy might already know he's married. Ruth doesn't think so, and whatever the situation Alan will support Amy. Usha knows how vulnerable he is where Amy's concerned. She can't take the risk of talking to him until she's sure Amy doesn't know
Adam comes round. His throat is sore but he manages to ask why he's in hospital. Ian tells him he just needs to rest. Jennifer's delighted when Adam recognises her. She's plays him a recorded message from Debbie, sending her love. Adam thinks it's nice. He calls out to Ian, who assures Adam he's there.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b01gvlg2)
Leonardo Da Vinci reviewed; Maxim Vengerov interviewed
With John Wilson.
Professor Robert Winston surveys a major exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's anatomical drawings, on show at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
Acclaimed violinist Maxim Vengerov reveals why he unexpectedly stopped performing as a soloist, and why he's now returning to the concert platform.
Poet Lemn Sissay discusses how his poem for the Olympic Park, inspired by a local match factory, has gained a new meaning following the news about the possible placement of surface-to-air missiles in the area.
Andrew Collins decides whether American Reunion, the latest film in the American Pie series, is fully or half-baked.
Producer Stephen Hughes.
MON 19:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvkwh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:45 today]
MON 20:00 It's My Story (b01gvlg4)
Remembering Millie
Millie died when she was 22 months, but the impact of her life and death is still emerging. "Remembering Millie," celebrates her life through the stories of her family, friends, neighbours, a teacher at her brother's school, a hairdresser who cut her hair once, and even people who never met her.
At 20 weeks into their 3rd pregnancy, Martin and Frances discovered that their unborn daughter had a rare neurological genetic condition. Her head and brain were not developing properly. Professionals said she might not have a face and strongly advised a termination. But they went ahead with the pregnancy, and not only did Millie unexpectedly survive the birth, but she lived longer than anyone had predicted. She remained the size of a newborn, had a flat nose and cleft palate, never sat up and was fed by a tube her whole life; yet she touched the lives of everyone who met her.
When Martin and Frances move away from Oxford where Millie was born and is buried, they negotiate feeling that they've left her behind. In the new place with new people they continue to keep her memory alive. Millie's grandmother says, "she goes on being, because she's remembered so much, and a friend observes, "the family's moving on, and thriving, loving and enjoying life, and this isn't because Millie isn't there any more, it's because Millie WAS there."
In the programme her parents speak openly about how Millie has affected them and in tears describe her death. Music and readings from the funeral underpin the programme, and capture the sorrow, but also the joy of Millie's life. There's so much that's positive in the family's testimony, and in those of people who knew and loved Millie, or whose lives have been changed by Millie's story, that the programme both challenges and comforts in equal measure.
Producer: Anna Scott-Brown
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b01ghc47)
The Marriage Breakers of Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, twenty percent of girls are married before their fifteenth birthday. Jemy is likely to be one of them. She is thirteen years old and due to marry a cousin in three days time.
Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Oli is touring the slums of Dhaka, telling parents not to marry off their daughters.
And in the wards of the Dhaka Medical College lies Poppy, awaiting an operation to repair a body broken by childbirth at the age of twelve.
This week's Crossing Continents looks at the issue of Child Marriage, through the eyes of these three children.
It is a practice still rife in Bangladesh despite being illegal. Some call it modern day slavery. Child brides drop out of school and are rarely able to undertake any paid work. Often they become victims of domestic violence. And many, like Poppy, suffer severe health problems as a result of giving birth at a young age.
They lose their childhood completely.
But campaigners are fighting back, trying to persuade rural villagers not to marry off their daughters so young. Reporter Angus Crawford joins them as they try to track down Jemy and halt her wedding. But can they reach her in time?
Producer: Tony Smith.
MON 21:00 Material World (b01ghc4p)
In this Week’s programme Gareth Mitchell looks at the future of road transport. According to transport researchers the car as we know it will have to become a thing of the past if traffic is to continue flowing. Drivers will need to be more like passengers and leave much of the decision making about what vehicles do on our roads to computerised transport management systems.
It’s just over a century since scientists first showed that cosmic rays can come from distant stars. Subsequent research into their effects here on earth has led to the worrying conclusion that they could destroy much of our global communications infrastructure. We hear about those early cosmic ray pioneers and the role of hot air Balloons in determining where they come from, with Professor Alan Watson from Leeds University. And speak to Dr Christopher Frost from The Rutherford Appleton laboratory’s Neutron Irradiation facility, who is trying to recreate the effects of those rays to see how they affect modern electronics.
And from our ‘So You Want to be a Scientist’ experiment, we look more widely at what makes us talk the way we do.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b01gnq8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b01ghmbg)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b01gvlg6)
As Spain falls into a double dip recession, is discontent with austerity growing across Europe?
The Prime Minister is forced to answer an urgent question about Jeremy Hunt.
Fifty years of children's advertising - how much has changed since the first 'Mr Potato Head' advert?
With Ritula Shah.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01gvlg8)
John Galt - Annals of the Parish
Episode 1
John Galt's masterpiece of small-town Scottish life, written in 1821. Reverend Micah Balwhidder settles in his study to pen an account of his fifty year ministry in the parish of Dalmailing.
Balwhidder's appointment in 1760 tears the community apart as the young minister is placed in his post by an absentee landowner - inciting the rage of the parishioners.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring and read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b01gg7fy)
Losing Your Parents' Language
What's it like to lose the language spoken by your parents? Michael Rosen goes to meet families in which parents and children have different mother tongues. He meets those who have made the decision to bring their children up in English, and asks their children what it's like when your parents speak a language you can't understand. He also talks to parents who want to ensure that their language continues down the generations, and fear "losing" their children to English.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01gvlgb)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster, where the Prime Minister is forced to answer an urgent question on his refusal to launch a separate inquiry into the conduct of the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over his handling of News Corporation's bid for full control of BSkyB.
The House of Lords debates its own future ahead of Government plans to create a largely-elected second chamber.
The Immigration Minister, Damian Green, is questioned about lengthy delays for passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport.
And the mystery of the missing House of Lords umbrellas is solved.
TUESDAY 01 MAY 2012
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b01ghmc9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b01gnq90)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmcc)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01ghmcf)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmch)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b01ghmck)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01hn5lh)
with the Revd Alison Jack.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b01gvljn)
As another major dairy company drops the price it pays to farmers, Caz Graham asks whether milk is now too cheap. A visit to an RSPB project in Cumbria reveals how wildlife-friendly farming could help reduce our water bills. And Farming Today visits the high fells of the Lake District to look at the tradition of farming common land.
Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Melvin Rickarby.
TUE 06:00 Today (b01gvljq)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphrys and James Naughtie, including:
07:30 Will ISP's block Pirate Bay?
07:50 How is the local election campaign panning out?
08:10 IAG's Willie Walsh and Immigration minister Damian Green debate the UK's borders
08:20 John Peel's record collection.
TUE 09:00 Children of the Olympic Bid (b01gvljs)
Series 7
Episode 2
For the past seven years, Peter White has been following the teenagers widely credited with being London's secret weapon when it unexpectedly succeeded in its bid to host the Games
Peter has followed these teenagers from their dramatic appearance alongside Sebastian Coe in Singapore, through their sporting triumphs and failures, GCSE's, A-levels and University courses, successful and unsuccessful love affairs, emigration, rows with parents, and in one case a brush with the police. As the games approach he finds out what has happened to them and those who live and train alongside them - from Ellie, the poster girl of the bid, who has now been selected for the British swim team, to Danielle, the dancer, who has been chosen to take part in the opening ceremony.
When Sebastian Coe presented London's bid for the Games to the IOC in 2005 he was flanked on the stage by 30 East End youngsters who represented the rich cultural diversity of their community. Faces of young sporting hopefuls appeared on billboards and the hopes and dreams they embodied became those of the nation. Radio 4's commitment to following their lives has resulted in tremendous access to youngsters from very different backgrounds as they emerge into adulthood and deal with issues ranging from romance to the direction they should take.
TUE 09:30 One to One (b0174gk2)
Evan Davis talks to Penny Gadd
Evan Davis continues his exploration into deception by talking to those who've had cause to be economical with the truth. We think of truth and falsehood as simple binary concepts. Statements surely have to be one or the other. Well not quite. In these interviews Evan meets people who've found themselves on the fuzzy boundary between truth and falsehood. This week he meets Penny Gadd who lead life as a married man but who became more and more aware that she needed to change sex. She'd concealed her feelings for years and as in so many deceptions she'd concealed them from herself too.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b01gvljv)
Pico Iyer - The Man within My Head
Episode 2
"The high, thin light was turning the shacks and shanties on the hills to gold as I put my thoughts of Graham Greene behind me."
The travel writer Pico Iyer (author of Video Nights in Kathmandu, Falling Off The Map) has always wandered the world with a mentor 'looking on'. Whether it be Bogota, Cuba, California, Japan, the man inside Iyer's head, as he puts it, is always Graham Greene. And it is Greene's fights with faith, his reservations about innocence, his generous spirit, that are really inspiring. In the course of five episodes and from various destinations the author describes his fascination for the great man..
Pico Iyer's recalls schooldays in Oxford and then a remarkable decision to commute to California!
Reader Paul Bazely
Producer Duncan Minshull.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01gvn1z)
Gillian Gilbert - back on stage with New Order; Emma Woolf on recovering from anorexia; Dressing for a wedding - how to look chic rather than stuffy; Employment rights for club workers; Sexting and teens. Presented by Jane Garvey.
TUE 10:45 44 Scotland Street (b01gyk32)
Series 1
Episode 2
A dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's acclaimed series based on the residents of a fictitious tenement building in a real Edinburgh New Town street, inspired by Maupin's Tales of The City. Bruce has his eye on Pat as his new tenant, and five-year old Bertie has issues!
Anthropologist Domenica MacDonald observes the lives of her neighbours and the neighbourhood in Edinburgh's New Town. Pat, a new young tenant, arrives at 44 Scotland Street to flat share with Bruce. Bruce is a surveyor with more of an eye for the ladies than a sound property. We're introduced to five-year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and intellectual mother Irene - he's learning the saxophone, speaks Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about many subjects. And then there's Matthew, setting up the Something Special Gallery with little knowledge of artists or paintings!
With its multiple-occupancy flats, Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the New Town, verging on the Bohemian, where haute bourgeoisie rubs shoulders with students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia.
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy, 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith.
CAST:
DOMENICA................CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
DR FAIRBAIRN.................CRAWFORD LOGAN
BRUCE............................JAMES MACKENZIE
IRENE..............................ROSALIND SYDNEY
BERTIE.........................................EUAN LEE
PAT.........................................BELLE JONES
MATTHEW..............................SAMUEL KEEFE
STUART.................................TOM FREEMAN
Music by Tom Cunningham
Producer/director: David Ian Neville.
TUE 11:00 Nature (b01gvn21)
Series 6
In Search of the Japanese Sika
If you're up early enough in Purbeck, Dorset and you're lucky enough to spot a deer, it's most likely to be a Japanese sika deer. This area has the largest population in England and the deer are often to be seen grazing on the salt marshes and heath that are such an important part of the landscape here. And if you're travelling on one of the Brownsea Island ferries you might even see one in the water, swimming to or from the island - sika are good swimmers.
In evolutionary terms sika deer are recent arrivals to the UK, having been introduced from the Far East into deer parks a little over 150 years ago. Some escaped, others were released and they bred successfully in the countryside beyond park boundaries. Today the Japanese sika is free living in the wild and is now widespread across northern and western mainland Scotland and in the Scottish Borders, well established in Northern Ireland and found in concentrated pockets in England. The sika in Purbeck originate from deer introduced to Brownsea Island under the mistaken view that the surrounding water would contain them.
Naturalist, Chris Sperring, is up at the crack of dawn to join Angela Peters of the National Trust and Toby Branston of the RSPB as they begin the Spring count of sika deer in Purbeck. He talks to ecologist Dr Anita Diaz of Bournemouth University and discovers why sika are doing so well in this part of the world, what impact they're having on one of the country's most biodiverse areas and just what makes these elegant and beautiful animals tick. He also finds out how conservation organisations like the RSPB and National Trust are managing the delicate balance of deer, people and internationally important habitats.
Presented by Chris Sperring
Produced by Karen Partridge.
TUE 11:30 Conjuring Halie (b01gvn23)
Cerys Matthews celebrates the life of one of her musical heroines, the great gospel singer Mahalia ("Halie") Jackson, who died in 1972. Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world at the height of her popularity, inspiring singers like Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples. But she was also one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights movement in America, described by the legendary historian and broadcaster Studs Terkel as one of the bravest people he'd ever met.
As a child she suffered illness, poverty and deprivation. The Church was her shelter. During the late 1920s, at the height of the great migration, she toured Illinois performing in churches. But it was in Chicago that she made her name and carved out a place for herself as the first professional gospel singer. She refused to sing secular music, a pledge she kept throughout her professional life. Even Louis Armstrong couldn't persuade her to sing jazz with him. By the 1950s and 60s, touring across Europe, she was being described as "the greatest spiritual singer alive." Throughout, she remained a close friend and comrade of Martin Luther King, travelling with him to the deepest parts of the segregated south and often singing at gatherings where he spoke including at the famous march on Washington.
In this programme Cerys shares her passion for Mahalia with another huge fan, Sir Tom Jones. She also talks to gospel singer Vermettya Royster and to the Reverend Stanley Keeble both of whom knew and played with Mahalia. We also hear archive recordings of the historian Studs Terkel talking with Mahalia in the years when they became close friends. We hear from blues and gospel writers Val Wilmer and Viv Broughton. As well as hearing her live performances.
Produced by Sarah Cuddon
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b01gvn25)
Call You and Yours: Are we over-anxious about children using technology?
Call You & Yours with Julian Worricker. Do we overreact about children and technology? The received wisdom is that youngsters spend too much time in front of computer screens these days, and the result is that their social skills are lacking..and some aspects of their basic education might be suffering too. But maybe that received wisdom is wrong, it's the result of outdated thinking, and actually by becoming so computer savvy at such a young age, our children are preparing themselves for a hi-tech future. Join the discussion on 03700 100 400, or you e-mail via the Radio 4 website.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b01ghmcm)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b01gvn27)
A committee of MPs which has been investigating phone-hacking at the News of the World has concluded that a number of News International executives misled Parliament over what they knew about phone hacking. A majority of MPs also found that Rupert Murdoch was "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company". We speak to the Committee Chairman, John Whittingdale and Labour MP Tom Watson.
Also today, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on the state of the economy, phone hacking, and his party's fortunes.
TUE 13:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvn29)
Sex and the City
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 12. SEX & THE CITY - A delicate glass goblet reveals the twin seductions of Venice: its sought after luxuries and its equally sought after lecherous women.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b01gvlg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b00tmtz4)
What the Bishops Knew
'What the Bishops Knew' by Hugh Costello fictionally explores an accusation of child abuse by a Catholic Priest in Ireland and how over several decades this was allegedly covered up within the hierarchy of the Church in an attempt to protect its reputation.
Mary Dowdall - Brid Brennan
Bob McCabe - Mark Lambert
Barry Glynn - Patrick Fitzsymons
Barry, aged 10 - Peter Gilmore
Fr Brand - Kevin Flood
Monsignor Milligan - Pat Laffan
Professor McGovern - Niall Cusack
Bishop Culleton - Gerard Murphy
Cardinal Finnerty - Des Nealon
Director Eoin O'Callaghan
The writer:
As well as being a regular writer for R4, Hugh Costello is an Emmy Award nominated screenwriter (Bernard and Doris with Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon). He is loathe to see himself as the scourge of the Catholic Church but his interest in its affairs has lead him to write a number of plays about the Vatican; Conclave and My Dear Children of the Whole World.
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
Please find details of organisations which offer advice and support below.
The Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service has been in existence since 1977 and has developed over the years into a highly reputable child protection agency. Today the charity is not only involved in developing child protection policies and safe practice but in recognition of the wider issues, offers help and support to all those affected by abuse as well as those seeking to provide pastoral care. They can offer support to anyone affected by abuse within the church or not. Contact them by phone on 0845 120 45 50, 24 hours a day or visit www.ccpas.co.uk
Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors is a support group for women and men from Christian backgrounds who have been sexually abused by Ministers or Clergy, as children or as adults. They support both survivors who have remained within their Christian communities and for those who have left. Contact them by phone on 0808 801 0340, Tuesdays from 2-
5pm and Wednesdays & Thursdays from 6-
9pm, or log onto www.macsas.org.uk
The National Association for People Abused in Childhood is a charity that offers support, advice and guidance to adult survivors of any form of childhood abuse. You can contact them on 0800 085 3330 Monday to Thursday between
10am and
9pm and Friday between
10am and
6pm or visit www.napac.org.uk
Stop it Now! UK and Ireland works to protect children and prevent child sexual abuse. Their helpline offers confidential advice, information and support to anyone with concerns about child sexual abuse and helps callers take the action that is in the best interests of children. The helpline is available to any adult who is concerned that an adult or child they know is sexually abusing a child, or is at risk of doing so; is concerned about their own thoughts or behaviour towards children, including an interest in child pornography; or is a parent or carer of a child whose sexual behaviour or interests they find worrying. Contact the Freephone Helpline on 0808 1000 900,
9am to
9pm Monday to Thursday and on Fridays from
9am -
7pm, or visit www.stopitnow.org.uk. There is also an email address and Emails received are anonymised to preserve confidentiality. That address is help@stopitnow.org.uk
Samaritans provides confidential non-judgemental emotional support, 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which could lead to suicide. Contact the Samaritans by phone on 08457 90 90 90, 24 hours a day, or log onto www.samaritans.org.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b01gvn2c)
Helen Castor presents Radio 4's popular history programme in which listener's questions and research help offer new insights into the past.
Today: the origins of May Day and why a pagan festival was adopted by nineteenth century socialists; how the people of Plymouth survived a royalist siege; Quaker relief in revolutionary Russia; and the desperate war of attrition between Italy and Austria in the Dolomites.
Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b01gvn2f)
Genetically Modified Brunch
Genetically-modified crops provoked scepticism and outright objection from many environmentalists and food campaigners when they were first launched in the 1990s.
A new wave of GM crops is on the way but this time, the scientists claim, they will offer clear benefits to the public. There will be orange juice that helps you lose weight, grains fortified with the zinc our bodies need and new sustainable sources of Omega-3. In 'Costing the Earth' investigates the second generation of GM and asks if, this time, British consumers will welcome them onto the supermarket shelves.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b01gvn2h)
Interpreting
Michael Rosen investigates the world of interpreting. We meet interpreters in business, sport and even psychotherapy, discover how there's more to the job than just language skills, and hear a report on the work of interpreters in the new Russia.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m0001p3g)
Series 27
Edward Said
Edward Said was a man, who, in his own words, lived two quite separate lives. First there was the scholar and literary critic of Columbia University, and then there was the fierce critic of American and Israeli policies in the Middle East. In the United States he was an academic superstar, but his views - on Palestine in particular - made him an intensely divisive figure. He died of leukemia in 2003.
In Great Lives, Alexei Sayle explains to Matthew Parris why Edward Said, a man he met twice and described as "very noble and fiercely intelligent", inspired him. Edward Said once described the Palestinians as 'the victims of the victims'. This eloquence, on a subject that in America was taboo, still impresses Alexie Sayle today.
Producer: Toby Field
TUE 17:00 PM (b01gvn2m)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01ghmcp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b01gvq3l)
Series 8
Rosicrucian Armageddon 2
Ed Reardon leads us through the ups and down of his week, complete with his trusty companion, Elgar, and his never-ending capacity for scrimping and scraping at whatever scraps his agent, Ping, can offer him to keep body, mind and cat together.
Ed joins the modern gaming fraternity when he meets Graham Pearson - the man who gave the world 'Rosicrucian Armageddon' - and is hired to add some authentic 'oldenspeak' to its sequel - 'Rosicrucian Armageddon 2'. Whilst he tries to get to grips with NPC's, orbs and the Quest for the Grail his daughter unexpectedly arrives complete with son, Smile, Japanese tea infuser, dream catcher and native American chants to purge Ed's flat.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b01gvq3n)
Susan and Pat wonder who Lynda will choose to be May Queen. Tracy's had no joy in job-hunting. Susan thinks Tracy should brush up on her computer skills. Pat remarks that Tom's trying to teach Tony how to use their upgraded software.
Pat wishes Adam's situation would stop Brian pressing ahead with the big dairy, but she doesn't suppose it will. There's a meeting this week to see if they can appeal against the planning permission.
Jennifer's pleased Adam is out of intensive care. Brian is sure he'll be fine now he's made a step in the right direction. Jennifer's worried there might be other damage.
Brian meets the dairy consultants. Their tender will be ready by the end of the week.
Tom thinks Tony is getting the hang of the computer system, and leaves him to it. When Tom goes to see how Tony's doing, he can't find an order that Tony reckons he's done. It looks like he forgot to save it, and now it's lost. Tony feels despondent but Tom encourages him not to give up.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b01gvq3q)
Mark Haddon; Turner Prize shortlist; Norah Jones
With John Wilson.
Novelist Mark Haddon found fame with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an adventure story from the perspective of a boy with Asperger syndrome. His latest book is The Red House which explores modern life through the prism of a family holiday.
The shortlist for the 2012 Turner Prize for art is announced today. Critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston gives her verdict on the contenders.
Norah Jones, singer-songwriter and daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar, achieved great success with her debut album Come Away with Me, which sold more than 10 million copies. Her new album Broken Little Hearts details a recent break-up. She reflects on why this is such a rich theme in her music.
Roy Hodgson is the new manager of the England football team but that's not the only thing he shares with predecessor Fabio Capello. Both men are fans of the artist Wassily Kandinsky. Football writer Jim White reflects on why the artist might particularly appeal to these football heavyweights.
Producer Rebecca Nicholson.
TUE 19:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvn29)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Life and Death on the Frontline (b01gvq3s)
The recent deaths in Syria of the journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik have once again highlighted the dangers faced by correspondents and media teams reporting from areas of war and conflict. 10 journalists have died in Syria already this year and last year the International News Safety Institute recorded more than 120 deaths of journalists and media staff around the world.
After 30 years reporting from hot-spots around the world, the BBC's World Affairs Editor, John Simpson reflects on what it's like to work in the face of frequent danger, on the personal pressures and doubts as well as the relationship between front-line journalists and their managers back at base. He examines the pressure to "get the story" and how journalists on the ground judge the boundaries beyond which they should not stray. Simpson also looks at recent developments to improve the safety of journalists through training, support and the work of organisations aiming to raise international awareness. He asks whether the focus of these efforts is right or whether in the end it largely comes down to experience, judgement and luck.
In a world that has come to expect news and eye-witness reporting almost instantly from every corner of the globe are the dangers faced by journalists who seek to shine a light on some of the ugliest aspects of the human story a price worth paying?
Producer: Richard Clemmow
A Perfectly Normal Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b01gvq3v)
News of blind Chinese activist, Chen Guangcheng
We have an update on blind Chinese activist, Chen Guangcheng, whom Peter first met and interviewed in 2004. BBC Correspondent Martin Patience and TV producer and friend of Chen, Stephen Hallett, give their perspectives on Guangcheng's current situation having recently escaped from house arrest in his home in Southern China.
Lee Kumutat meets visually impaired students from main stream schools who come together at New College Worcester for a GCSE revision course which gives them the opportunity to meet other blind students, some for the first time, in a special school environment.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b01gvq3x)
In April next year changes to the way the NHS in England will make GP groups responsible for 65 billion pounds of health budgets. These groups will decide what services patients need for all clinical services including mental health. But are all GPs confident of their expertise in mental health to do this? And what safeguards are in place to ensure enough good quality mental health is delivered to everyone across the country? Claudia is joined by Paul Burstow, the government minister for Care Services, Claire Murdoch, chief executive of Central and North west London NHS Foundation Trust and Sophie Corlett, Director of external relations at the mental health charity, Mind to discuss the reforms and their impact on mental health. As many as one in five people go online to look for love but what is the psychological of online dating? Is there a right way to write a profile to maximise your chances of romance and do sites that offer to match you with suitable partners actually work? Claudia talks to Eli Finkel, associate professor of psychology at Northwestern university who has recently published one of the largest reviews of what relationship science reveals about the means of finding love online.
TUE 21:30 Children of the Olympic Bid (b01gvljs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b01ghmcr)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b01gvq3z)
Culture committee says Rupert Murdoch is not fit to lead a major company - are they right?
Marine Le Pen tells her voters to abstain in this weekend's elections - will they follow her advice?
Honduras: the murder capital of the world.
With Robin Lustig.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01gyks3)
John Galt - Annals of the Parish
Episode 2
John Galt's 1821 masterpiece of small-town Scottish life. Reverend Micah Balwhidder continues his account of his fifty year ministry in a rural parish.
Settled in his study at the end of his career, Balwhidder remembers how news of trouble in the Americas trickled through to the sleepy town of Dalmailing in 1769.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring and read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
TUE 23:00 Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool (b01gvq41)
The Periwinkle and the Hermit Crab
1/3. The Periwinkle and the Hermit Crab.
The Periwinkle played by Bill Wallis and the Hermit Crab played by Geoffrey Palmer, reveal the truth about life in a rock pool, in the first of three very funny salty tales, written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with a soundscape by Chris Watson, and recorded at the QEH Theatre in Bristol as part of BBC Radio 4's 'More than Words' festival.
For the joke-loving Periwinkle, life is all about entertaining his neighbours as he roves around the rocks annoying the Hermit Crab, the Sea Anemone, the Goby Fish, the Limpet, and the Lugworm with his terrible jokes. But life in the rock pool isn't all laughter and fun as the Periwinkle reveals when he recalls his encounter with a giant gull - and a near- death adventure!
Meanwhile the Hermit Crab stuck in shell with a Ragworm who doesn't do their fair share of the housework, a parasitic barnacle and worst of all an Anemone on his roof who spends all her time exercising; thump, thump, thump. There's no peace 'down below' for the crab. And just when it looks like life couldn't get any worse, a crowd of children arrive at the rock pool with their fishing nets. The Hermit Crab scuttles into the back of his shell for safety and waits for the worst to happen!
Periwinkle : Bill Wallis
Hermit Crab : Geoffrey Palmer
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss
Sound design by Chris Watson
Produced by Sarah Blunt.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01gvq43)
Moves that could lead to a radical reshaping of the House of Lords come under fire as peers complete a marathon two-day debate on their future.
And MPs and Peers turn out for the end, or prorogation, of the longest session of Parliament in living memory ahead of next week's Queen's Speech.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.
WEDNESDAY 02 MAY 2012
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01ghmdn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b01gvljv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmdq)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01ghmds)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmdv)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b01ghmdx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01hn5lr)
with the Revd Alison Jack.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b01gvqnb)
Leading researchers are sending an open letter to a group of anti-GM protesters pleading with them to reconsider destroying vital trial crops. In the unprecedented letter, the team of scientists from Rothamsted Research are urging the group to talk and not trash their plants. Protesters say they plan to take the action to stop any potential cross pollination with existing wheat strains in the environment.
And as rain batters many parts of the UK, farmers say the water damage is already costing them thousands of pounds. Cath Mackie is in water logged Tewkesbury to meet a dairy farmer whose cattle were quickly brought back inside when the pastures flooded, whilst reporter Sarah Falkingham is with potato farmers as they dig ditches and pump out fields near Selby in Yorkshire.
This programme was presented by Cath Mackie and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.
WED 06:00 Today (b01gvqnd)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague, including:
07:50 Is the MP's verdict on hacking right?
08:10 Can GM researchers and anti-GM protesters see eye-to-eye.
08:30 Should we do more with our waste water?
WED 09:00 Midweek (b01gvqng)
Ruth Joseph; Maria Friedman; Michael Cockerell; Mathew Prichard
Libby Purves is joined by food writer Ruth Joseph, musical theatre star Maria Friedman, documentary maker Michael Cockerell and grandson of Agatha Christie, Mathew Prichard.
Ruth Joseph is a cook and food writer. Food has always been intrinsic to Jewish life and to her own - from the age of eleven Ruth cared for her late mother who had anorexia as a direct result of her experiences during the Holocaust. Ruth's new cook book, co-written by Simon Round, 'Warm Bagels & Apple Strudel' combines traditional and modern influences - for example explaining why chicken is synonymous with the Friday night Shabbat dinner and unleavened bread with the Passover feast. 'Warm Bagels & Apple Strudel' is published by Kyle Cathie.
Maria Friedman is one of Britain's leading musical stars. Three-time Olivier award-winner, she's appeared in many Sondheim musicals including Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Passion and Anyone Can Whistle as well as Chicago and The King and I. She is performing in a one-off concert Maria Friedman - Sondheim & Me, as part of Chickenshed's Talking Points programme, at The Rayne Theatre, in London.
Michael Cockerell is an award-winning documentary maker. His latest film features four controversial and colourful characters who regularly made headlines in the Seventies. Sir Jimmy Goldsmith, the billionaire financier; the Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Robert Mark who was on a mission to root out corruption from Scotland Yard; campaigning Labour peer Lord Longford and General Sir Walter Walker who sought to set up his own private army to save the country from a takeover by the Marxists. 'The Lost World of the Seventies' forms part of BBC Two's current Seventies season.
Mathew Prichard is Agatha Christie's grandson and chairman of Agatha Christie Limited. He has edited the book 'The Grand Tour' about Agatha's trip around the British Empire in 1922. The book is a collection of Agatha's letters and photographs which she sent mainly to her mother from her year-long round-the-world trip.
'The Grand Tour - Letters and photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922 is published by HarperCollins.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b01gvqnj)
Pico Iyer - The Man within My Head
Episode 3
"The high, thin light was turning the shacks and shanties on the hills to gold as I put my thoughts of Graham Greene behind me."
The travel writer Pico Iyer (author of Video Nights in Kathmandu, Falling Off The Map) has always wandered the world with a mentor 'looking on'. Whether it be Bogota, Cuba, California, Japan, the man inside Iyer's head, as he puts it, is always Graham Greene. And it is Greene's fights with faith, his reservations about innocence, his generous spirit, that are really inspiring. In the course of five episodes and from various destinations the author describes his fascination for the great man..
Pico Iyer hits the hot and sultry streets of Havana, and of course Graham Greene is with him once more..
Reader Paul Bazely
Producer Duncan Minshull.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01gvqnl)
New research shows discrimination against fat women - Susie Orbach on the politics of obesity in the workplace. Teaching children about cancer; Is it time to change the law against forced marriage? As the Women's Library faces radical cuts, we debate if, or should, the teaching women's history survive the recession. Presented by Jenni Murray.
WED 10:45 44 Scotland Street (b01gyk57)
Series 1
Episode 3
A dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's acclaimed series based on the residents of a fictitious tenement building in a real Edinburgh New Town street, inspired by Maupin's Tales of The City. Pat's the centre of attention at home and work but there could be tears before bedtime.
Anthropologist Domenica MacDonald observes the lives of her neighbours and the neighbourhood in Edinburgh's New Town. Pat, a new young tenant, arrives at 44 Scotland Street to flat share with Bruce. Bruce is a surveyor with more of an eye for the ladies than a sound property. We're introduced to five-year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and intellectual mother Irene - he's learning the saxophone, speaks Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about many subjects. And then there's Matthew, setting up the Something Special Gallery with little knowledge of artists or paintings!
With its multiple-occupancy flats, Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the New Town, verging on the Bohemian, where haute bourgeoisie rubs shoulders with students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia.
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy, 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith.
CAST:
DOMENICA................CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
BRUCE............................JAMES MACKENZIE
IRENE..............................ROSALIND SYDNEY
BERTIE.........................................EUAN LEE
PAT.........................................BELLE JONES
MATTHEW..............................SAMUEL KEEFE
BIG LOU...............................ANITA VETTESSE
Music by Tom Cunningham
Producer/director: David Ian Neville.
WED 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b01gvqnn)
Series 10
The New Estate
In the first of a new series of documentary stories from contemporary Britain, Alan Dein captures the dramas of young families just moving into Cardea: a brand new housing estate on the outskirts of Peterborough. Just two years ago, Cardea was just open fields - now it's a burgeoning community.
Two families in particular attract Alan's attention. Sara Jane and Stacey are both expectant mums in their early twenties. Together with their partners, they're about to embark on a new life on a new-build estate.
Cardea represents a fresh start for both women after an often difficult past. Sara Jane was brought up on council estate and vowed that she wanted a different upbringing for her own children. At the same time, Stacey hopes that her ambitions to become a midwife - thwarted through ill-health - might yet bear fruit as she starts out in a new home.
Alan follows the young families up to and beyond moving day, talking to them about their hopes and fears for the future.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
WED 11:30 My First Planet (b01gvqnq)
Series 1
Inglorious Barters
Written by Phil Whelans
A queue for the loo and a rogue backrub threaten to blow up the colony. And just what is Lillian's "Special Skill"...?
A sitcom set on a shiny new planet where we ask the question - if humankind were to colonize space, is it destined to succumb to self-interest, prejudice and infighting? (By the way, the answer's "yes". Sorry.)
Welcome to the colony. We're aware that having been in deep cryosleep for 73 years, you may be in need of some supplementary information.
Personnel
Unfortunately, Burrows the leader of the colony has died on the voyage, so his Number 2, Brian (Nicholas Lyndhurst) is now in charge. He's a nice enough chap, but no alpha male, and his desire to sort things out with a nice friendly meeting infuriates the colony's Chief Physician Lillian (Vicki Pepperdine - "Getting On"), who'd really rather everyone was walking round in tight colour-coded tunics and saluting each other. She's also in charge of Project Adam, the plan to conceive and give birth to the first colony-born baby. Unfortunately, the two people hand-picked for this purpose - Carol and Richard - were rather fibbing about being a couple, just to get on the trip.
Add in an entirely unscrupulous Chief Scientist, Mason and also Archer, an idiot maintenance man who believes he's an "empath" rather than a plumber, and you're all set to answer the question - if humankind were to colonize space, is it destined to succumb to self-interest, prejudice and infighting? (By the way, the answer's "yes". Sorry.)
Produced & directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive Television Ltd Production for BBC Radio 4
with special guest
Carshalton Richard Bond.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b01gvrx9)
Whiplash payments and Kobe beef
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
The government is meeting insurance companies to discuss ways of cutting the £2 billion compensation bill for whiplash injuries sustained in motor accidents.
Animal welfare groups are calling on councils to clamp down on pet markets which they say are not legal 'hobby clubs' as claimed but illegal trading events.
Small businesses have criticised the cost of services such as web design and marketing support available in the UK.
Steaks from Kobe cows in Japan are the world's most expensive and sought after cuts of meat and they are advertised for sale on menu is upmarket restaurants in the UK but how can this be when the Japanese do not export it.
WED 12:30 Face the Facts (b01gw1dp)
Radioactive Legacy
A pretty town on the Fife coast remains under threat of an unwelcome distinction. A corner of Dalgety Bay could still become the first place in Britain to be branded as radioactive contaminated land if the Ministry of Defence does not follow through on a plan to deal with radioactive particles washing up on its shore. The MOD's accused of causing the contamination in the first place: aircraft containing potentially hazardous radium were smashed up and buried after the Second World War. The MOD's investigating the scale of the problem and ways it might be put right, but has not promised a full and final clean-up of the bay. That's despite calls for it to do so from the local MP and former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and a recent discovery of particles far more radioactive than those previously found. Yet Face the Facts reveals how the MOD has cleaned up other sites deemed far less radioactive; how it's sold off contaminated land for development with radium undetected; how a lack of records means it does not know where similar sites might be and how a confidential government report we've seen from the 1950s warned of the danger of radium dumps being forgotten or, in the case of privately-owned land, deliberately concealed.
Presenter: John Waite
Producer: Jon Douglas.
WED 12:57 Weather (b01ghmdz)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b01gvrxh)
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, calls for OFCOM to speed up its investigation into whether BSkyB is a 'fit and proper' owner of a broadcasting licence.
Following yesterday's critical Select Committee report, a major News Corporation shareholder tells us he wants to see new, independent members on the company's Board.
And the former head of the UK Border Force, Brodie Clark, warns against moving staff to make up shortfalls at Heathrow Airport in an attempt to try to reduce long waiting times at the country's borders.
WED 13:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvrxk)
From London to Marrakech
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 13. FROM LONDON TO MARRAKECH - Sunken gold from West Africa sheds light on the complex relationship Elizabethan England had with the Moors of the Mediterranean.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b01gvq3n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b00tmtb4)
What the Nun Discovered
What the Nun Discovered by Harriet O'Carroll
Sr. MaryJo returns home to Ireland after 25 years as a missionary in Uganda, to a disillusioned public and a Church which has lost so much of its moral authority. But with an honesty and simplicity learned in another continent she sets in train a quiet but radical revolution.
MaryJo - Marcella Riordan
Fr Paul - Pat Laffan
Sr Frances - Lise-Ann McLaughlin,
Sr Agnes - Julia Dearden
Sr Bernadette - Stella McCusker
Cathy - Ali White
The Mayor - Des Nealon
Director Eoin O'Callaghan.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b01gvrxp)
Financial phone-in.
WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b01gvq3x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b01gvrxt)
Nationhood; recognising transgender
What drives people to make the often difficult choices to change their bodies and change their gender? How is the everyday affection for one's country changing in English life? Laurie Taylor discusses issues of transsexuals and the body modifications they choose. Also the place of ordinary English nationalism, as he meets the joint winners of The British Sociological Association's Philip Abrams first book prize.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b01gvrxy)
The future of BSkyB with or without Rupert Murdoch
In today's programme with Steve Hewlett:
Just a day after MPs say Rupert Murdoch is not fit to run a major international company, satellite broadcaster BSkyB posts big profits. It won't have escaped NewsCorp's attention that, if all had gone according to plan last summer, it would now own all of BSkyB and would now have all those profits to itself. In the current political climate, what are the prospects of NewsCorp launching a new bid for the 61% it does not already own? Mathew Horsman of Medatique and Theresa Wise discuss the future of BSkyB and whether NewsCorp will sell if buying all the shares becomes too problematic.
Ashley Highfield is the chief executive of Johnston Press and tells Steve how he sees local paper surviving in the digital age. Later this month, some of Johnston's long-standing daily papers are going weekly.
And Mihir Bose looks at the treatment the new England manager Roy Hodgson can expect from some newspapers simply because he is not the papers' favourite, Harry Redknapp.
The producer is Simon Tillotson.
WED 17:00 PM (b01gvry2)
Eddie Mair presents coverage and analysis of the day's news.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01ghmf1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 The Castle (b00tbcdp)
Series 3
Four Wiseguys and a Funeral
Hie ye to The Castle, a rollicking sitcom set way back then, starring James Fleet ("The Vicar Of Dibley", "Four Weddings & A Funeral") and Neil Dudgeon ("Life Of Riley")
In this episode, when some gangsters from De Warenne's past pay a little visit, Henry becomes a made man and Charlotte becomes an unmade woman. Plus a clever sting and a souped-up getaway sheep.
Cast:
Sir John Woodstock ....... James Fleet
Sir William De Warenne ....... Neil Dudgeon
Lady Anne Woodstock ....... Martha Howe-Douglas
Cardinal Duncan ........ Jonathan Kydd
Lady Charlotte ........ Ingrid Oliver
Master Henry Woodstock ........ Steven Kynman
Merlin ........ Lewis Macleod
Written by Kim Fuller & Paul Alexander
Music by Guy Jackson
Producer/Director: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b01gvry6)
Amy suggests she could accompany Carl on a business trip. They could have two whole nights together.
Jim and Jill watch Lynda rehearsing the children's maypole dance. Jill remarks that George will be doing a slug patrol again when he's finished. Jim's pleased that Borchester Land has gifted an unused field to the village as a 'Field in Trust'.
Lynda's come up with a theme for this year's village fete: village games, in the spirit of the Olympic movement. The committee starts thinking of what kind of games. Lynda points out that serious, competitive games aren't everybody's cup of tea. She wants to concentrate on the cultural side on the idea. Alan remarks that Usha seems quiet.
Usha has prepared afternoon tea for her and Amy, hoping for a nice leisurely chat. Amy comes home with Carl, who explains that Amy has talked him into taking her on his business trip. Amy insists he didn't take much persuading. Amy asks Usha to explain her unexpected departure to Alan.
Carl tells Amy he's glad she's with him. Amy agrees. She just wants to enjoy every second. Carl tells her she's with the right guy. His motto is enjoy today - let tomorrow take care of itself.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b01gvryb)
Jason Isaacs; South Sudan theatre company
With John Wilson.
Actor Jason Isaacs on his new high concept TV drama Awake and why British actors are storming Hollywood.
South Sudan is the world's youngest country, gaining statehood less than a year ago. The South Sudan Theatre Company was formed immediately and has now come to the UK to perform Shakespeare's Cymbeline in Juba Arabic, as part of the Globe to Globe Shakespeare festival. John Wilson reports on how company members and the British Council think this new cultural institution can help shape a new national identity.
The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is among the world's most famous pictures, and one of his pastel drawings of the image will be auctioned tonight in New York. It is likely to achieve a sale price of nearly £50 million, close to the record for an art-work. Art market watcher Godfrey Barker reflects what this says about the value of art.
Paddy Moloney is one of the founders of the Irish band The Chieftains, who this year celebrate their 50th birthday. He reflects on the band's many collaborations, and recalls how their music headed into orbit.
Producer Ellie Bury.
WED 19:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvrxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:45 today]
WED 20:00 Leader Conference (b01gvryg)
Series 2
Border delays. Growth and Francois Hollande. MPs, iPads and alcohol.
Andrew Rawnsley returns to chair a new series of the live discussion programme featuring top journalists who debate what should be said in three newspaper-style leading articles about the key stories of the moment. The contributors reflect the newspaper industry in London and elsewhere in the UK, the broadsheet and tabloid press and the differing political and other perspectives.
This week's panel features: Melanie McDonagh of the London "Evening Standard", Nigel Nelson of "The People", Ben Chu of "The Independent", Anne McElvoy of the "Economist" and Iain Martin of the "Daily Telegraph".
We debated: the problems at UK passport control; the future of austerity; and tougher rules on alcoholic drinks for MPs.
Open Borders
We note that the long queues seen at Heathrow airport's passport control in recent days have caused national embarrassment. Those lines need to be tackled as a matter of urgency. But we suspect they are symptomatic of a deeper problem about managing migration. That has both a short term and a longer term dimension.
We first need to deal with the immediate crisis. The prime minister should intervene decisively to require much better management of the situation by the Border Agency. His initial demand for more officials on duty has not solved the problem. We suspect an earlier reduction in staff numbers may have contributed to longer queues, although planned strike action next week by civil servants will not alleviate that situation.
The priority should be to extend a proper welcome to the visitors expected for both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympic Games. Winding lines of weary travellers penned in a soulless terminal in the small hours are self-evidently bad publicity. They will undermine any boost to the UK economy as would-be visitors are deterred from visiting. So the Government will in the short-term probably need to pay for officers of high quality and seek advice from private firms on how to improve arrival flows.
For the longer term, we urge that the mixed messages from policy makers between controlling immigration while encouraging people to come to the UK to boost the economy are resolved. Large - and increasing - numbers of visitors will want to come here which is potentially good for Britain's economy. But the Government needs to set about building a consensus on preserving open borders while providing citizens with peace of mind on security.
The Challenge to Austerity
François Hollande may sustain his lead in the French presidential campaign and win the run-off next Sunday. We have significant doubts about the merits of some of his tax and spending policies for France and do not wish to see Paris join Athens and other southern European capitals in crisis. But we welcome his emphasis on the need for policies for growth.
Far lower structural deficits in Europe are essential. But we should not pay attention to the bond markets exclusively. The growing numbers of unemployed in Europe also, legitimately, require hope. Austerity is severely testing the endurance of voters from Ireland to Romania. Without action on growth the consensus on deficit reduction is threatened and the European economy further imperilled.
We counsel the sizeable French diaspora in Britain and others that an earlier president from the left, François Mitterand, pioneered an avowedly socialist policy after his election in 1981 only to have to abandon it two years later. But the German Chancellor, Mrs. Merkel, and the European Central Bank also need to learn that lesson of being too inflexible in their policies. It is a message likely to be emphasised by Greece when it too votes next weekend and, later, by the Netherlands.
Those who favour austerity would be wise to focus on a broader range of measures to improve economic health and promote growth. This is for their own well-being and for ours, one of their largest trading partners, here in the UK.
Cheers, honourable members!
We are against the idea that our elected representatives at Westminster should receive iPad tablet computers at taxpayers' expense - even on the basis that they swap one of their existing pieces of electronic equipment for an iPad. We do not oppose them working with portable electronic devices but they can readily afford to buy their own.
However, we are less sure that, as those responsible for the administration of the House of Commons have also proposed, reducing MPs' alcohol consumption is necessarily a good idea. Convivial conversation with parliamentarians helps lubricate the democratic machine - and the gossip factory that, we readily admit, supplies journalists with so many goo.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b01gvryj)
Series 3
Clare Melford: Buddah in the Boardroom
Clare Melford, CEO, International Business Leaders Forum, argues that Buddha should be in the boardroom. She explains what CEOs need to learn about the tenets of Buddhism to make their businesses thrive while being
sustainable.
Producer: Sheila Cook.
WED 21:00 The Today Programme Lecture (b01gvryl)
Since becoming the Governor of the Bank of England in 2003, Sir Mervyn King has had to respond to the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and the first run on a major UK bank for more than a century. Now on Radio 4, Sir Mervyn delivers the second Today Programme Lecture, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience - he's introduced by Evan Davis.
WED 21:45 The Sleep Diaries (b0167zkn)
The Crossing
Why do we sleep, and why do many of us find crossing the threshold of sleep so difficult?
Sleep is our shadow life: if it were a place we'd spend about a third of our life there. We are as varied and eccentric in sleep as we are in our waking lives. And we still understand very little about why we sleep, how it works and what sleep and dreams actually mean. In this series mixing science with art, myth and poetry, award winning poet and broadcaster Paul Farley goes on the long journey through a night's sleep.
We hear from Armond Aserinsky, whose father discovered REM sleep in the 1950s and poetry from across the centuries capturing the enduring mysteries of sleep. Paul also spends the night wired up at a sleep clinic to find out what happens to the brain as we cross the threshold into sleep.
This series blends theories of treatment and cause with the surreal, the supernatural and fantastic; the eerie recording of sleep talkers and testimony of sleep walkers with poetry from Sylvia Plath, WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Jane Kenyon.
Presenter: Paul Farley
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:58 Weather (b01ghmf3)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b01gvryq)
Robin Lustig presents national and international news and analysis.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01gykw1)
John Galt - Annals of the Parish
Episode 3
John Galt's masterpiece of small-town Scottish life, written in 1821. At the end of his career, Reverend Micah Balwhidder pens an account of his fifty year ministry.
It's 1776 and change is in the air as the outside world intrudes upon rural Dalmailing.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring and read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
WED 23:00 The Music Teacher (b01gvryw)
Series 2
Episode 5
Richie Webb returns as multi-instrumentalist music teacher Nigel Penny.
Nigel finds himself agreeing to join an unusual Simon and Garfunkel tribute act. Meanwhile Belinda is attempting to keep a coachload of pensioners captive in the Arts Centre Gift Shop.
Directed by Nick Walker
Audio production by Matt Katz
Written and produced by Richie Webb
A Top Dog Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 The Cornwell Estate (b00w21f3)
Series 2
Kenny Killigrew
Written by Phil Cornwell
Kenny was an outdoors pursuit expert and mountaineer, now living on the Cornwell estate whose recent divorce has left him with a touch of agoraphobia. When his old friend Pete "Peggie" McRuan arrives, Kenny realises that he should get out more.
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.
Producer/Director: Andrew McGibbon
A Curtains for Radio Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Touchline Tales (b00svs5x)
Series 1
An Uproar of Butterflies
Old friends Des Lynam and Christopher Matthew head for some famous sporting venues - to enjoy, observe, reminisce and trade tales about some of the greatest pleasures in their lives. They start in south London at a Pro-Am competition at the Royal Blackheath Golf Club, claimed by some to be the oldest in the world.
As a commentator and friend of sporting stars, Des has a fund of stories to tell, and insights to reveal, about the men and women in professional sport - their lives, their characters, their training regimes, their triumphs and their disasters. But Christopher more than matches him with his own experiences as a lifelong spectator at the highest levels of sport (and, like Des, an occasional participant at the lowest), as well as with his observations on sporting events he finds himself attending for the first time.
Indeed, amusing, informative and entertaining talk between old friends is what these programmes are all about.
Recorded entirely on location, their extended discourses have been edited down to a seamless half hour - with each programme capturing the atmosphere, the passion, the frustration, the humour and, at times, the sheer quaintness, of entertainments regularly enjoyed by millions of people up and down the land.
Programme first broadcast in 2010
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
THURSDAY 03 MAY 2012
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b01ghmfy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b01gvqnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmg0)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01ghmg2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmg4)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b01ghmg6)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01hn60d)
with the Revd Alison Jack.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b01gvth9)
Charlotte Smith hears new research in the USA into a Foot and Mouth vaccine could stop animals being culled. The disease is taken so seriously in the US that it is considered a potential terror threat. Vaccines already exist but are of limited use because vets cannot distinguish vaccinated animals from infected animals. The new vaccine will come with an antibody test that will enable regulators to tell the difference. However, Andy Biggs who was the President of the British Cattle Veterinary Association during the UK's last Foot and Mouth outbreak, says that even with the new vaccine animals in the UK might still have to be culled if there was a new outbreak.
At a time when average incomes for individuals only rose by 2%, British agriculture has had its best performance in a decade. Figures from DEFRA show that last year the total income from farming reached 5.7 billion pounds - a 25% increase.
And young people are struggling to get into "commoning" in the New Forest, which could threaten the future of the landscape. We hear from 21 year old Tom Hordle who is bucking the trend.
Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Emma Weatherill.
THU 06:00 Today (b01gvthc)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by Justin Webb and Evan Davis, including:
07:30 What are the dangers of cross-pollination and GM crops?
07:50 Louise Mensch MP on Twitter abuse
08:10 Evan Davis interviews Sir Mervyn King following his Today lecture.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b01gvthf)
Voltaire's Candide
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Voltaire's novel Candide. First published in 1759, the novel follows the adventures of a young man, Candide, and his mentor, the philosopher Pangloss. Candide was written in the aftermath of a major earthquake in Lisbon and the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, events which caused such human suffering that they shook many people's faith in a benevolent God. Voltaire's masterpiece piles ridicule on Optimism, the fashionable philosophical belief that such disasters are part of God's plan for humanity - that 'all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds'.Often uproariously funny, the novel is a biting satire whose other targets include bad literature, extremist religion and the vanity of kings and politicians. It captivated contemporary readers and has proved one of French literature's most enduring classics.With:David WoottonAnniversary Professor of History at the University of YorkNicholas CronkProfessor of French Literature and Director of the Voltaire Foundation at the University of OxfordCaroline WarmanLecturer in French and Fellow of Jesus College at the University of Oxford.Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b01hxhn4)
Pico Iyer - The Man within My Head
Episode 4
"The high, thin light was turning the shacks and shanties on the hills to gold as I put my thoughts of Graham Greene behind me."
The travel writer Pico Iyer (author of Video Nights in Kathmandu, Falling Off The Map) has always wandered the world with a mentor 'looking on'. Whether it be Bogota, Cuba, California, Japan, the man inside Iyer's head, as he puts it, is always Graham Greene. And it is Greene's fights with faith, his reservations about innocence, his generous spirit, that are really inspiring. In the course of five episodes and from various destinations the author describes his fascination for the great man..
Pico Iyer is in Santa Barbara with his mother and wife, and forest fires put the family home under threat. Then Graham Greene comes to mind...
Reader Paul Bazely
Producer Duncan Minshull.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01gvthk)
What is a "normal" body size, and what is the definition of obesity? After hearing about anorexia and obesity this week we look for the middle ground. Women make up around three quarters of the population in care homes. We'll be talking to Diana Athill about life at her home and hearing from other residents about the gender balance at theirs. The midwife, Dr Agnes Gereb, has been under house arrest in Budapest for 16 months. She now faces the prospect of jail if the new president does not look favourably on her campaign against the criminalisation of home-births. Jenni speaks to one of Dr Gereb's lawyers. And a look at hand me downs - what gets passed down between generations of women?
Presented by Jenni Murray.
THU 10:45 44 Scotland Street (b01gym86)
Series 1
Episode 4
A dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's acclaimed series based on the residents of a fictitious tenement building in a real Edinburgh New Town street, inspired by Maupin's Tales of The City. Pat's on a desperate search for a lost masterpiece, and Dr Fairbairn just needs peace.
Anthropologist Domenica MacDonald observes the lives of her neighbours and the neighbourhood in Edinburgh's New Town. Pat, a new young tenant, arrives at 44 Scotland Street to flat share with Bruce. Bruce is a surveyor with more of an eye for the ladies than a sound property. We're introduced to five-year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and intellectual mother Irene - he's learning the saxophone, speaks Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about many subjects. And then there's Matthew, setting up the Something Special Gallery with little knowledge of artists or paintings!
With its multiple-occupancy flats, Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the New Town, verging on the Bohemian, where haute bourgeoisie rubs shoulders with students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia.
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy, 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith.
CAST:
DOMENICA................CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
DR FAIRBAIRN.................CRAWFORD LOGAN
IRENE..............................ROSALIND SYDNEY
PAT.........................................BELLE JONES
Music by Tom Cunningham
Producer/director: David Ian Neville.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b01gvthm)
A Death in Honduras
Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. The People's Funeral Service deals daily with the fall-out from these extreme levels of violence. Set up by the Mayor of Tegucigalpa, the capital city, it distributes coffins, maintains two funeral homes, and even offers a mobile service where employees take everything necessary for a wake - including bread and coffee - to someone's house or local church. All of these services are totally free for poor people in the city.
In Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly profiles this unique organisation, and meets some of the families using its services. Among them, is the family of Ramon Orlando Varela, a 26 year old gunned down in the street after dropping his children off at school. It isn't clear why Ramon was targeted. But a toxic mix of gangs, guns, drug cartels - and fear - pervades Honduras. And it's unlikely his killers will ever be caught. Police corruption is endemic, impunity almost a given.
But in spite of the everyday challenges, the workers at the People's Funeral Service offer what help they can. At least they can lend some dignity to proceedings for families who have almost nothing.
THU 11:30 Move Over Wodehouse (b01gvthp)
India's English-speaking middle class is expanding fast and expected to reach 500 million by 2025. It represents a dream market for publishers and one that is set to become the biggest in the world. English book sales are already rocketing and international publishers are flocking to set up Indian offices.
So what books are Indians reading? How are the perennial classics such as Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse faring against the emerging Indian authors? And what does it take to become a bestseller in India?
Jeffrey Archer says he only discovered he had become India's most successful foreign author by accident but now launches his books there first. At the 2012 Jaipur Literature Festival, Mukti talks to writers and publishers who describe their excitement at the rapidly expanding market. In a country of 30 major languages and over a thousand dialects, we hear why it's English that has become firmly established as the language Indian authors are using to reflect the country back to itself.
Mukti talks to superstar Indian writer Chetan Bhagat. His fast-paced comic tales set in call centres and college campuses seem to have caught the zeitgeist of modern India. His fans are mostly under 35 and appreciate his simple language and plots that reflect their lives. Whereas in the past Indian authors chased publishing deals in the West, he's proud of being a homegrown success. British writers such as Jaishree Misra and William Dalrymple, now both living in Delhi, describe how they are adapting their writing style to cater for their growing Indian readership. And Kapish Mehra offers tips on what it takes to be successful as a publisher in India today.
First broadcast May 3rd 2012
Producer Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4
Contributors include:
Jeffrey Archer
Chetan Bhagat, topselling author
Urvashi Butalia, Zubaan Books
Krishen Chopra, Harper Collins India
William Dalrymple, writer
Kapish Mehra, Rupa
Jaishree Misra, British Indian novelist
Sunil Sethi, TV presenter Just Books
Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b01gvthr)
Kevin McCloud, private profits and the NHS, and clothes banks.
Kevin McCloud on eco housing and the Green Deal. The private company that will be making profits before paying off existing NHS debts. And Mencap responds to the Government's new Hate Crime Action Plan.
Plus the nurse protests against the NHS Direct replacement service NHS 111. Who can, and can't, use the Olympic name - schools and village fairs speak out. We find out if more water trading could help prevent droughts. And charities fear they will lose out as more councils lease their clothes banks to private companies, with Winifred Robinson.
Producer: Rebecca Moore.
THU 12:57 Weather (b01ghmg8)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b01gvtht)
Signs of economic recovery are on the horizon - or so says the Governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King. Is he right? We hear from voices across the economy to see if they agree.
After last night's fiery presidential debate in France, Edward Stourton brings us the latest on the campaign trail of Socialist contender Francois Hollande.
As the Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, tells the BBC he wants to leave China we talk to an expert about the life of dissidents in China, and the powerful tool of social media.
The psychological wounds inflicted by the Falklands Conflict that are still felt today.
And we hear from a man whose sight has been partly restored by a revolutionary new treatment.
THU 13:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvthw)
Disguise and Deception
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 14. DISGUISE & DECEPTION - Deception and religion, cross-dressing and travelling salesmen are all unpacked via a pedlar's trunk.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b01gvry6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b01gvthy)
Bite
In Emily Steel's comedy drama, Dee has had issues with food since childhood. She keeps it under wraps but it's making her life very complicated, especially on dates.
Dee ... Lucy Montgomery
Julie ... Jodie Whittaker
Ray ... Tim Key
Written by Emily Steel. Welsh writer Emily Steel's first radio play, Boom Boom, was produced in Cardiff and broadcast in early 2010. Bite is Emily's second radio play, and draws on her own food issues whilst growing up. She is currently under commission from Clwyd Theatr Cymru..
A BBC Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b01gvtj0)
Northamptonshire Inspiration
Richard Uridge is in Northamptonshire to discover the inspirational landscape around Rockingham Forest.He meets musician, Nick Penny, who explains to Richard how he records the nightingales that frequently return to Glapthorn Cow Pasture and works with these sounds and other birdsong to create sound diaries of the landscape.His friend and collaborator David Garrett, takes inspiration from the Northamptonshire countryside for his poetry which began with 'Rose of the Shires, a tribute to the county he loves. And artist, Claire Morris Wright, takes Richard for a walk in the forest behind her house in the hamlet of Laxton and explains how important the feelings and textures of the landscape are to her in her work, whether in prints or clay.
Presenter: Richard Uridge
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b01gnhs0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b01gnjwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b01gvtj2)
Tom Courtenay on 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner', music of the British New Wave
Fifty years on, Sir Tom Courtenay in conversation with presenter Francine Stock looks back at his first film role in Tony Richardson's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.
Neil Brand is behind the piano to study the music of the British New Wave.
Critic Sandra Hebron discusses two psychological dramas of a different kind - Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, and Dirk Bogarde in Reiner Fassbinder's Despair.
Producer: Craig Smith.
THU 16:30 Material World (b01h646m)
Quentin Cooper examines the practicalities of expanding wind farms in the North Sea. Last week a meeting of European ministers called for greater investment in wind technology, and an industry consortium was launched to look at ways of increasing the amount of offshore power that could be generated from the North Sea. The engineering challenges are huge, we get to grips with the big questions on how to wire up the sea for electricity production and look to the shape of future wind turbines, which would need to increase in six years if the plan is to be realised.
Gamma rays can be bent. A French research institute has found a way of refracting these radioactive beams in much the same way as visible light. The discovery opens up a whole new area of research, and potential Nano scale probing technologies which could seek out many materials from drugs’ to nuclear waste and have the potential to treat cancer much more accurately than any current radiation based methods.
A few weeks ago we discussed the government’s plans to give the security services greater powers to snoop on our online activities. The plan would need the co operation of internet service providers, and mobile phone companies who would have to hand over data showing the activities of their customers. One person who knows all about the methodology is the author who goes by the pseudonym DR K, in the past he has been a computer Hacker, and written a book about his experiences, The Real Hacker’s Handbook.
Also, on today's So You Want To Be A Scientist. Our 18 yr old amateur scientist Izzy Thomlinson launching a national experiment on Horrible Sounds this week.
Together with her mentor, Prof Trevor Cox, they’ve designed an online test to find out why some people are more sensitive to nasty noises than others.
You can take part by listening to a selection of noises, from nails scraping down the blackboard to squeaking polystyrene, and rating them on a scale of ‘not unpleasant’ to ‘extremely unpleasant’.
Take the test now by clicking on the link below!
THU 17:00 PM (b01gvtj6)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01ghmgb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Open Letters (b01gvtj8)
Series 2
Insurance
Sony Award-winning comic, Tom Wrigglesworth returns for another series of his open letters.
This week, his letter is addressed to the insurance industry as Tom asks why everything has to be so confusing.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth, James Kettle and Miles Jupp.
Producer: Simon Mayhew-Archer.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2012.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b01gvtjb)
Jim and Lynda agree they had an interesting debate last night - sport versus the arts. There's time for everyone to think it over before the next meeting. Scruff gets restless and Lynda goes to see what he's barking at in the undergrowth. She and Scruff get spooked by an animal running off. Lynda reckons it was a big cat - the size of a cheetah. Jim insists that sightings of big cats are rural myths. Lynda knows what she saw. She's convinced Ambridge has got its own big cat.
When Usha tells Ruth about Amy going away with Carl, at Amy's suggestion, Ruth reckons Amy can't know he's married. Usha still can't make her mind up. It's churning Usha up. Ruth insists she needs to speak to Alan or Amy as soon as she can.
Carl's got some free time from his business commitments. As he and Amy enjoy each other's company, he wishes every day could be like this. Amy suggests they could do something that would make them happy every day. She could move in with him. Carl points out it's a big step. Amy just wants to be with him, all the time. And she knows it's what he wants too.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b01gvtjd)
A controversial play about Apple; Shirley Hughes; the original Homeland
With Kirsty Lang.
The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs is a one-man theatre piece by Mike Daisey, describing the appeal of Apple products and a visit Mike made to a factory where they're made in China. Created in 2010, the piece hit controversy this March, when the US Public Radio show This American Life revealed that some elements of the show were not true. Mike Daisey has come to the UK to perform the piece, and he discusses his response to the controversy.
Shirley Hughes is a much-loved picture-book maker for younger children and has illustrated more than 200 books. She's now written her first novel, aimed at older children and teenagers, set in occupied Italy during the 1939-45 war. She discusses her choice of subject and the experience of writing for an older readership.
Sandra Hebron reviews Goodbye First Love, an acclaimed film about first love set against the backdrop of modern Paris.
International hit US TV dramas In Treatment and Homeland are versions of shows first created in Israel. Naomi Alderman considers why Israeli programmes are proving so popular.
Producer Stephen Hughes.
THU 19:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvthw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b01gvtjg)
Interest Rate Swaps
Phil Kemp investigates claims that some businesses were mis-sold products designed to protect them against interest rate rises.
THU 20:30 In Business (b01gvtjj)
Frugal Feast
Big companies may have lots to learn from the cheap and cheerful improvisation which is commonplace in the developing world, particularly India. Peter Day discovers some of the secrets of what is now being called Frugal Innovation.
Producer Sandra Kanthal
Editor Stephen Chilcott.
THU 21:00 Nature (b01gvn21)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b01gvthf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b01ghmgd)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b01gvtrw)
Robin Lustig presents national and international news and analysis.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01gymcz)
John Galt - Annals of the Parish
Episode 4
John Galt's 1821 masterpiece of small-town Scottish life. Reverend Micah Balwhidder continues his account of his fifty year ministry.
Incomers from America bring changes to the sleepy parish of Dalmailing, and the second Mrs Balwhidder's extreme thriftiness causes a rift with the session.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring and read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
THU 23:00 The Twilight World of Syd Barrett (b011plrs)
Since his death on the 7th July 2006, Syd Barrett lives on freeze-framed, still young and a striking lost soul of the 1960s whose brief moment of creativity outshines those long years of solitude shut away in a terraced house in his home town of Cambridge.
This revealing programme hears how his band Pink Floyd (and family) coped with Barrett's mental breakdown and explores the hurriedly arranged holiday to the Spanish island of Formentera - where the star unravelled. We also hear about his pioneering brand of English psychedelic pop typified on early Pink Floyd recordings 'Arnold Layne', 'See Emily Play' and the strange songs on Pink Floyd's impressive debut album 'The Piper At the Gates of Dawn'.
Undoubtedly Barrett's experimentation with the drug LSD affected him mentally and the band members reveal how concerned they were when he began to go catatonic on-stage, playing music that had little to do with their material, or not playing at all.
By Spring 1968 Barrett was out of the group and after a brief period of hibernation, he re-emerged in 1970 with a pair of albums, 'The Madcap Laughs' and 'Barrett', but they failed to chart and Barrett retired to a hermit life existing under the watchful gaze of his caring sister Rosemary (featured in the programme)
David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright (one of the last interviews before his sad passing) reveal how there was little understanding of mental illness when it came to the drug fused culture of the time. These days a strung out star is hurriedly booked into the Priory and given counselling. Barrett's mental breakdown was not understood and the steps taken to help him were inappropriate and still rankle the members of Pink Floyd today...
Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2011.
THU 23:30 Touchline Tales (b00t0jcl)
Series 1
New Balls Please
Old friends Des Lynam and Christopher Matthew head for some famous sporting venues - to enjoy, observe, reminisce and trade tales about some of the greatest pleasures in their lives. Today they drop in at the opening weekend of this year's International Championship at Eastbourne and dodge autograph hunters as they recall their own successes and failures and the exploits of others on the tennis court
As a commentator and friend of sporting stars, Des is never short of a story to tell, or an insight to reveal, about the men and women in professional sport - their lives, their characters, their training regimes, their triumphs and their disasters. And Christopher continues to knock the ball back with his own experiences as a lifelong spectator at the highest levels of sport (and an occasional participant at the lowest).
And at the end of it all, Des reveals the career path he might have followed had sport not led him astray.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRIDAY 04 MAY 2012
FRI 00:00 Election Special (b01h61td)
Comprehensive coverage of the council and mayoral election results.
FRI 04:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01ghmhc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01ghmhf)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01ghmhh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01hn684)
with the Revd Alison Jack.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b01gvvxc)
Charlotte Smith hears advancements in farming seaweed which in turn could be used to feed farmed fish. Scientists at the National University of Ireland are researching growing seaweed on ropes with mussels.
Hundreds more dairy farmers are facing cuts in their income after milk processors Arla and Wisemans followed Dairy Crest's lead and cut the price they pay for milk by two pence per litre. Dairy farmer David Bingham tells us why this cut means that he will be leaving the industry. However, Dairy Co - which represents British dairy farmers - is more optimistic about the industry.
And should cows on a common be fenced in? Charlotte visits Chorleywood Common on the edge of the Chilterns to hear about an issue which is raising a centuries-old debate about the rights of commoners.
Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Emma Weatherill.
FRI 06:00 Today (b01gvvxf)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by Evan Davis and Justin Webb, including:
07:09 Lib Dem president reacts to the local election results.
07:50 Questions over Ukraine and Euro 2012.
08:10 Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harman and Foreign Secretary William Hague react to the local election results.
FRI 09:00 The Reunion (b01gnhs8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b01hxhnb)
Pico Iyer - The Man within My Head
Episode 5
"The high, thin light was turning the shacks and shanties on the hills to gold as I put my thoughts of Graham Greene behind me."
The travel writer Pico Iyer (author of Video Nights in Kathmandu, Falling Off The Map) has always wandered the world with a mentor 'looking on'. Whether it be Bogota, Cuba, California, Japan, the man inside Iyer's head, as he puts it, is always Graham Greene. And it is Greene's fights with faith, his reservations about innocence, his generous spirit, that are really inspiring. In the course of five episodes and from various destinations the author describes his fascination for the great man..
Pico Iyer is back in Bogota and a journey outside the city causes a roadside drama, which has him asking questions of Graham Greene again..
Reader Paul Bazely
Producer Duncan Minshull.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01gvvxk)
Pat Phoenix, scrapbooking, Shelagh Stephenson and Italian widows
The Italian widows of men who have killed themselves because of the recession meet in Bologna in Northern Italy on Friday, May 4th for a march to highlight the country's problems of unemployment and bankruptcy. Well over a thousand people are expected to take part.
Pat Phoenix found fame in Coronation Street playing the devil may-care divorcee, Elsie Tanner. She was an iconic figure and a new play opens this week about her life which was almost as dramatic off the cobbles as it was on.
They're an unlikely trio to share common ground, but Queen Victoria, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and socialite Paris Hilton all have one thing in common. Scrapbooking. Queen Victoria made the hobby popular when she reigned over us, Hefner has maintained a scrapbook of his own life since his teens and Hilton has launched her own range of scrapbook products. It's a hobby dominated by women and this weekend, a host of craft events take place nationwide to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day, offering inspiration and practical tips on how a family photo or memento can be embellished with things like buttons, patterned paper and text to create a scrapbook page. And if you prefer your cutting and pasting to be done at the click of a mouse, digital scrapbooking offers a modern, on-screen alternative. To discuss the appeal and art of scrapbooking, Jenni is joined by traditional scrapper Jackie Payne and by digital scrapbooker Suzy Beecher. Presented by Jenni Murray.
FRI 10:45 44 Scotland Street (b01h01wr)
Series 1
Episode 5
A dramatisation of Alexander McCall Smith's acclaimed series based on the residents of a fictitious tenement building in a real Edinburgh New Town street, inspired by Maupin's Tales of The City.
Anthropologist Domenica MacDonald observes the lives of her neighbours and the neighbourhood in Edinburgh's New Town. Pat, a new young tenant, arrives at 44 Scotland Street to flat share with Bruce. Bruce is a surveyor with more of an eye for the ladies than a sound property. We're introduced to five-year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and intellectual mother Irene - he's learning the saxophone, speaks Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about many subjects. And then there's Matthew, setting up the Something Special Gallery with little knowledge of artists or paintings!
With its multiple-occupancy flats, Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the New Town, verging on the Bohemian, where haute bourgeoisie rubs shoulders with students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia.
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy, 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith.
CAST:
DOMENICA................CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
DR FAIRBAIRN.................CRAWFORD LOGAN
IRENE..............................ROSALIND SYDNEY
BERTIE.........................................EUAN LEE
PAT.........................................BELLE JONES
MATTHEW..............................SAMUEL KEEFE
IAN RANKIN.......................JAMES MACKENZIE
Music by Tom Cunningham
Producer/director: David Ian Neville.
FRI 11:00 Dave Brown's New Highway Code (b01gvvxm)
Comedian Dave Brown - member of the Mighty Boosh and a graphic Designer - looks at the history and development of the Highway Code as it becomes an app and e-book. It was first published as a guide ' to all courteous people' in 1931 and became part of the Driving Test three years later. As a boy, Dave would draw the roadsigns on his school book - it might even be the reason he became a graphic artist. On a road trip from London to Brighton in his vintage morris minor called Betty , he meets passengers and drivers to discuss the development of the Highway Code and modern driving manners. He takes cyclist and writer Zoe Williams on a spin to Oxshott, meets fellow graphic artist Nathan Lauder , and arrives in Brighton to chat to racing driver Ben Constandurous about the rules of the race track. Dave concludes by developing a new highway code of his own for modern drivers .
Producer: Janet Graves
A Pennine Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00rfj1b)
Series 4
World-Famous Cyclist
In this episode, Milton's a world-beating cyclist who gets tangled up in a close-fitting body suit and the population of Holland... So if you want motivation, speed, adrenalin and a low-energy light bulb that takes forty minutes to come on, then put on your yellow jersey and catch up with "Another Case Of Milton Jones"
He's joined in his endeavours by his co-stars Tom Goodman-Hill ("Camelot"), Ben Willbond ("Horrible Histories") and Lucy Montgomery ("Down The Line").
Britain's funniest Milton and the king of the one-liner returns with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes for a series of daffy comedy adventures
Each week, Milton is a complete and utter expert at something - Top Gun aviator, Weatherman, Billy Elliot-style dancer, World-beating cyclist, mathematical genius and Extreme Travel Entrepreneur ...
... and each week, with absolutely no ability or competence, he plunges into a big adventure with utterly funny results...
"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian
"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times
"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail
Written by Milton with James Cary ("Think The Unthinkable", "Miranda")
Produced & directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b01gvvxp)
Digital wallets, dark tourism, and tackling insurance fraud
The new owner of BMI Baby has announced the airline is to close - it will cease all flights from Belfast in June and ground its entire fleet in September.
Britain's biggest commercial angling association is selling off its lakes - we hear why.
Calls for tougher penalties for those caught clocking cars - turning back the mileage usually to get a higher price for them.
Plus reporter Shari Vahl has been out with the newest police department set up to crack down on insurance fraud.
How about a holiday in Chernobyl - we speak to comedian Dom Joly who's been there, and to the head of a new Institute for the study of 'dark tourism'.
And, forget pound coins and one penny pieces in the future money will be made up of bits and bytes all stored in a digital wallet on your mobile phone.
Producer: Joe Kent.
FRI 12:52 The Listening Project (b01gvvxr)
Who Wears the Trousers? Tony or Katherine?
Fi Glover presents Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: today Tony and Katherine debate whether or not it's time to retire from their healthfood business in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Katherine usually gets her way... but will she this time? More from the Listening Project at
4.55pm this afternoon.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a sort of snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer Marya Burgess.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b01ghmhk)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b01gvwxp)
Presented by Martha Kearney in London and Shaun Ley in Birmingham. Analysis and reaction to the local election results with Professor John Curtice, BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson, Conservative Minister Andrew Mitchell, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls.
FRI 13:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvwxr)
The Flag That Failed
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 15. THE FLAG THAT FAILED - The problems in uniting Scotland and England and in creating a Great Britain are encapsulated in a set of designs for a common flag.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b01gvtjb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b01gvwxt)
Katie Hims - Betsy Coleman
by Katie Hims
Betsy Coleman signs up to do memory research for a bit of extra cash, but she finds that her memories are so vivid that revisiting her past becomes compulsive, particularly when she gets to spend some virtual time with her late Mother.
Betsy .... Maxine Peake
David ..... Benedict Wong
Young Betsy ..... Shannon Flynn
Mick ..... Ralph Ineson
Carla ..... Alison Pettit
Des ..... Tony Bell
Julie ..... Christine Kavanagh
Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Mary Peate
When Betsy Coleman was 11 years old, her father was convicted of murdering her mother. Now 37, Betsy has drifted through her life, committing to nothing and no one. She sees an ad looking for volunteers to take part in some neurological research at the local University, and, in need of some extra cash, she signs up.
She quite likes the look of the geeky research scientist, David, but mostly she loves going back into her memories, particularly those which involve her late mother. Against his better judgment, David lets her do more tests. But then things start to get out of hand...
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01gvwxw)
Postbag Edition, Sparsholt College
A drought-themed postbag edition, chaired by Peter Gibbs. The panellists are Matthew Wilson, Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flowerdew.
How to keep get your fruit and veg through the drought.
Questions addressed in the programme:
How can I redesign my wide but short garden, giving a nicer view than my garden fence but without casting too much shade?
Plants suggested were: Espalier Apples; Bamboo; Ornamental Quince; Clematis; Leycesteria formosa - Himalayan Honeysuckle
Is it safe to eat any part of Allium Triquetrum?
How can I best secure nets over peas?
How can you distinguish between courgette and marrow plants?
What is the best lawn mower for a small lawn enclosed by walls?
Why do some fruit trees need more than one pollinator?
Can the panel suggest low-growing plants which won't over shadow our ground level solar panels?
Plants suggested were: Dwarf Phlox; House Leeks - Sempervivums; Purple Saxifrage; low growing Junipers; African alpines; European Alpines
Which plants might be comfortable in a conservatory that is very warm in summer but extremely cold on winter nights?
Plants suggested were: Succulents; Cacti - Astrophytums, Living Stones, Easter cacti; Christmas cacti.
Could the panel recommend any florescent pink, yellow, blue and grey plants for a display to celebrate the 1977 single God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols?
Plants suggested were: Gladioli; Chard; Begonia; Salvia Caradonna; Salvia Tanzerin; Colangela; Escholtzia; Petunias; Salvia Sizzler
Produced by Howard Shannon and Amy Racs
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Hidden Agendas (b01gvwxy)
The Invitation
The second of three stories from Wales about secrets and lies, even when they're with good intentions. Chapman is attracted to Karlssen's brilliance, but discovers he's on the receiving end of his ambition, and it's dark.
Neil Hartman and Tony Haynes' story is read by Iestyn Jones
A BBC Cymru Wales Production, directed by Nigel Lewis.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b01gvwy0)
Khalil Dale, Leila Berg, Tomas Borge, Terry Spinks, Rev Ray Davey
Matthew Bannister on the Red Cross worker Khalil Dale who was kidnapped and killed in Pakistan;
The writer and educationalist Leila Berg whose controversial "Nippers" series taught children to read with stories from working class life;
The Nicaraguan revolutionary Tomas Borge who co-founded the Sandinista Front and cracked down on opponents as Interior Minister;
The flyweight Terry Spinks who became the youngest boxer to win a gold medal at the Olympics;
and the Reverend Ray Davey whose Corrymeela Community brought together Protestants and Catholics during Northern Ireland's troubles.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b01gvwy2)
A grand economic experiment?
A grand economic experiment?
Are we witnessing a Grand Economic Experiment being played out between Britain, trying to cut its way out of trouble, and the United States, trying to spend its way to redemption?
Border brouhaha
Just how long have travellers been waiting to get through immigration at Heathrow Airport? We wade into a statistical slanging match between an airline operator and a Home Office minister.
Bank holidays
What are you planning to do with the bank holiday? Paint the bathroom? Listen to old podcasts of More or Less? Or DESTROY THE ECONOMY? Could it possibly be true that cancelling all eight regular bank holidays in England and Wales would boost GDP by 1.3%?
Choral coincidence
Lister Julia Atkins wrote: "I belong to a wonderful choir, Rock Chorus, in Milton Keynes. I discovered one evening that 3 new ladies had come along from Olney, 10 miles away. They all sat next to each other. They had never met before. But most extraordinary was that they all lived in the same road!! That's quite a combination of coincidences, I think you'll agree." Well, we'll see.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Richard Knight.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b01gvwy4)
Mothers and Marriages: Flavia and Afshan
Fi Glover presents Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: 19 year old Afshan has left her traditional Muslim home in Manchester for university in London. But her mother, Flavia, isn't happy that she's also left behind all plans for an arranged marriage. The final visit to the Listening Project is at
11.55pm this evening.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a sort of snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b01gvwy6)
Eddie Mair presents coverage and analysis of the day's news.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01ghmhm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b01gvwy8)
Series 77
Episode 5
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig. With Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus and Hugo Rifkind.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b01gvwyb)
Debbie calls Ian to see how Adam's doing. Ian tells her he's making good progress, and might even come home today. Debbie tells him that's fantastic timing.
Over breakfast in the hotel, Amy tells Carl she could cook breakfast every day if she moved in with him. Carl thinks it's a great idea but there's a lot to think about. Amy can only think of advantages. Carl can see disadvantages too, and wonders if this is the right time. Amy points out that they love each other, so why wait?
Adam has been interviewed by the police. He's frustrated that he couldn't remember anything, and disappointed that the hospital isn't discharging him until Monday. Ian asks if a surprise visitor would cheer him up. Jennifer is equally delighted to learn that Debbie's coming over for the weekend.
Back at home, Amy calls Alice to tell her that she and Carl are making it permanent. Alice is really happy for her but their conversation is cut short when Carl calls. Amy can't believe he's ringing her so soon but Carl's got something serious to say. He can't give her the kind of commitment she deserves. He's sorry, but it's over.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b01gvwyd)
With Kirsty Lang
Artist Michael Craig-Martin reviews a major new exhibition about the art and architecture created and inspired by the Bauhaus school. He reflects on the movement's influence on modern design, children's toys and his own career.
Irish poet Paul Durcan is renowned for his uncompromising poems about sectarian violence and failings in the Catholic Church, as well as confessional pieces about love and loss. He discusses his new collection, which takes in the decline of the Celtic tiger, condemnations of bankers and "bonus boys" - and the bliss of being old enough to get a free travel pass.
Comedian Isy Suttie is best known for playing the geeky Dobby in Channel 4's Peep Show. Her musical comedy show Pearl and Dave was a hit at last year's Edinburgh Fringe and she's now taking it on tour. She reveals why growing up in Matlock was such a big influence and the strange requests she gets from Peep Show fans.
As John Huston's bio-pic of Freud is released on DVD for the first time, historian Matthew Sweet reveals the Freudian drama that unfolded behind the scenes involving Huston and his star Montgomery Clift, who was drinking himself to death.
Producer Erin Riley.
FRI 19:45 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvwxr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b01gvwyg)
Marlborough Science Academy, St Albans
Jonathan Dimbleby presents a panel discussion of news and politics from Marlborough Science Academy, St Alban's, Hertfordshire, with Liberal Democrat peer and former leader, Paddy Ashdown; Minster of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts; Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hilary Benn; and General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Christine Blower.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b01gvwyj)
Lords, lordlings and....crumpets
Fifteen years ago - Will Self writes - he had afternoon tea in the House of Lords with the late Conrad Russell. The distinguished historian was a hereditary peer who was entirely in favour of Lords' abolition. What Will Self remembers most about the encounter was the crumpets. "'Do have another crumpet" he'd say, 'they really are awfully good'". Fifteen years on, Will says: "Russell was right about the crumpets - and he was right about the hereditaries".
He looks forward to the Queen's Speech, which is widely expected to include a bill on Lords reform. A waste of time, he believes. But that matters little in his view. "After all, the first bill to create an elected second chamber was introduced over a century ago - and doesn't this simply prove that the great and glorious fudge that's the unwritten British constitution thrives on such slow and organic change".
Via what he calls the "Googlisation" of the political process, he attacks the move towards the centre ground by all three main UK parties. "We...are tormented by politicans who look the same, sound the same and spout so-called 'policies' that are usually only marginally different versions of the same routine ideas".
Back at the Lords, he concludes, hereditary peers "are still busily tucking into their excellent crumpets. Yummy-yummy".
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b01hbksx)
Blue Flu
Blue Flu by Peter Bleksley
Blue Flu is a contemporary drama set in the near future. It explores the 'what if' scenario of a 'police strike' and the fall out of the strike across one day. We will follow three characters across the day of strike action: Mick Harley a dedicated frontline police officer; Jackie Raymond a senior member of the police federation who represent officers and Tom Dunkley, the junior minister who has inherited the responsibility of implementing cuts to a disaffected police service.
Mick Harley loves his job and is proud of his work as a 'response officer' but he resents the way cuts have put officers at risk. A colleague of his is injured on duty, for the police this is the true cost and consequence of government cuts. Mick decides to take a militant stand, by triggering 'blue flu' a coordinated action of officers calling in sick.
CAST
Mick Harley - Shaun Dooley
Jackie Raymond - Roberta Taylor
DAC Chad Parker - Ron Cook
Tom Dunkley - Don Gilet
Lisa Harley - Nina Sosnaya
Ian Marsh - Harry Livingstone
PC Darren Woolcraft - Philip Correia
Jack Benjamin - Peter Hamilton Dyer
Nurse Sharon - Tracy Wiles
DI Richard Jarrett - Peter Bleksley
Produced by Stephen Wright.
FRI 21:45 One to One (b017w65t)
Lucy Kellaway with Anon
Lucy Kellaway of The Financial Times, explores the complexities of having considerable personal wealth by talking to the super rich. For Ann (she wishes to remain anonymous) the day her company was floated on the stock market and became a multi millionaire, she was paralysed by fear.
'I had always believed that rich people were not nice people. I was terrified my money would taint and destroy my relationships with friends and loved ones'.
A decade on, she has come to terms with her position, becoming a member of The Network for Social Change, ' for people who want to do more than sign a cheque' and having worked out how she wants to spend her money and who she wants to give it to.
She talks honestly to Lucy about how she maintains boundaries on her spending and whether she now feels it's possible to be rich and nice.
http://thenetworkforsocialchange.org.uk/
Producer Lucy Lunt.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b01gvx89)
The day after the UK's local elections, the World Tonight asks what the results tell us about the political landscape. Where do the main parties stand? We're hoping to have the result of the London Mayor vote, Carolyn Quinn is standing by in City Hall. We'll also be in Scotland, and Charlotte Ashton has been talking to voters in Essex.
Plus, changes to the way the Leveson inquiry and investment in Africa
All that on The World Tonight with Ritula Shah.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01h029x)
John Galt - Annals of the Parish
Episode 5
John Galt's 1821 masterpiece of small-town Scottish life. Reverend Micah Balwhidder draws his account of a fifty year ministry in a sleepy rural parish to a close.
Settled in his study at the end of his career, Balwhidder remembers the loss of a dear friend and the shocking events at the cotton mill which changed Dalmailing for ever.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring and read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b01gvn2k)
Series 27
Edward Said
Edward Said was a man, who, in his own words, lived two quite separate lives. First there was the scholar and literary critic of Columbia University, and then there was the fierce critic of American and Israeli policies in the Middle East. In the United States he was an academic superstar, but his views - on Palestine in particular - made him an intensely divisive figure. He died of leukaemia in 2003.
In Great Lives, Alexei Sayle explains to Matthew Parris why Edward Said, a man he met twice and described as "very noble and fiercely intelligent", inspired him. Edward Said once described the Palestinians as 'the victims of the victims'. This eloquence, on a subject that in America was taboo, still impresses Alexei Sayle today.
Producer: Toby Field.
FRI 23:27 Touchline Tales (b0138yl4)
Series 2
Hop, Step and Jump
Old friends Des Lynam and Christopher Matthew head for some famous sporting venues - to enjoy, observe, reminisce and trade tales about some of the greatest pleasures in their lives. Today, they wander between the equine competitors at the Open Show of the West Sussex Riding Club, begin to consider which sports they would like to see at the Olympics, and try not to put their feet into ordure - both literally and figuratively.
As a commentator and friend of sporting stars, Des has, as ever, a fund of stories to tell, and insights to reveal. But Christopher gamely tries to match him stride by stride with his own experiences as a lifelong spectator at the highest levels of sport (and, like Des, an occasional participant at the lowest).
This programme was fist broadcast in 2011.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b01gvx8f)
Siblings in Christ: Mary and Peter
Fi Glover presents Radio 4's series capturing the nation in conversation: in today's last visit to the Listening Project, the story of a brother and sister united in their religious vocations: Mary became a Carmelite nun, Peter a priest. They talk about what they've missed and what they've gained across the iron grill that separates Mary's secluded religious community from the outside world.
The Listening Project is a new initiative for Radio 4 that aims to offer a sort of snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library which they will use to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer Marya Burgess.