SATURDAY 14 JULY 2012

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b01kkspq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b01l39qk)
The Ecstasy of Influence

Micropsia and What Remains of My Plan

In this essay from his book The Ecstasy Of Influence, the American writer Jonathan Lethem on the ghosts who sit at the writer's table.

Jonathan Lethem is one of the most idiosyncratic voices in US literature. Before he became a published writer the New Yorker spent 15 years working in secondhand bookshops. His first published works were science fiction stories; before moving on to novels. His interests are eclectic: ranging from Bob Dylan to Marvel comics; Philip K. Dick to cyber culture.

The Ecstasy Of Influence is a collection of previously published pieces and new essays and is a provocative array of the writer's talent.

"One of the most emotionally engaging and intellectually nimble of contemporary novelists"
The Guardian

Reader: Kerry Shale
Abridger: Pete Nichols

Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kksps)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kkspv)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kkspx)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b01kkspz)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01kktpx)
A spiritual reflection and prayer to begin the day, presented by The Revd Johnston McKay.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b01kktpz)
"I'll be remembered as the second man to swear on the BBC." Listener Sir Peregrine Worsthorne remembers how his mother tamed Lord Reith's foul temper; how his father ran the Bank of England with little understanding of economics; and how he himself created a scandal by using a four-letter world on the BBC. Also, Charlotte Green reads Your News. With Eddie Mair. iPM@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b01kksq1)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b01kksq3)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b01kkr4l)
As the excitement mounts around London 2012 Helen Mark visits Much Wenlock, the birthplace of the modern Olympics, and explores the landscape around Wenlock Edge.
In the small market town of Much Wenlock in rural Shropshire, Dr William Penny Brookes came up with an inspirational way to promote healthy living to local people by devising an annual Games event which led to the rebirth of the Olympics at its classis home in Athens. The Wenlock Olympian Society has continued with the games which are still a unique annual attraction to this day.
Helen Mark hears from some of the people taking part in, and involved with, the Games and also explores the 'living entity' that is Wenlock Edge. This wooded, limestone escarpment stretches for around 17 miles from Craven Arms to Much Wenlock and finds out more about the history, archaeology and wildlife of this incredible landscape.

Presenter: Helen Mark
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b01ksb2k)
Farming Today This Week

Dairy farmers in crisis over the price of a pint of milk. Charlotte Smith hears how a combination of price cuts by milk processors and bad weather conditions is causing farmers to consider leaving the industry. Andrew Hall in Warwickshire tells Charlotte how it costs him more money to produce milk than he is paid.

Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium argues that supermarkets should not be blamed for the cuts in the price of milk. Earlier this week thousands of dairy farmers gathered at a protest in Westminster. Farming Minister Jim Paice MP told the roomful of farmers that they need to become more efficient in order to make a profit.

The presenter is Charlotte Smith and the producer is Emma Weatherill.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b01kksq5)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b01kr71b)
Morning news and current affairs presented by Sarah Montague and Justin Webb, featuring:

0810
For the first time in 17 years the number of people seriously injured or killed on our roads has risen. Ralph Smyth from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and Milly Wastie, vice-chair of the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, share their views on the DfT's consultation on reducing speed limits on the country's rural roads.

0816
Clarke Carlisle, Chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, and veteran manager Dave Bassett assess the impact of the John Terry trial and debate whether football's authorities should be stepping in to stop it happening.

0822
A new film that follows the life of Bruce Lee is being released in Britain this week. Executive Director of the documentary, his daughter Shannon Lee, explains why she agreed to make the documentary.

0832
Nick Buckles, Chief Executive of G4S Security, explains where the company went wrong in training and recruiting enough staff for London 2012.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b01kr71d)
Grayson Perry; Ruth Ellis' nephew; revolutionary France; John Carlos' Inheritance Tracks

Sian Williams and Richard Coles with artist Grayson Perry; John McCarthy in revolutionary France; Ruth Ellis' nephew Mick Shepherd; JP Devlin meets naturist Emma James; Chris Tribe's Sound Sculpture of a hand-plane; Sylvie Dare's story of being rescued from a plane crash as a baby; Olympic Black Power athlete John Carlos' Inheritance Tracks.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson.


SAT 10:30 Britain in a Box (b01kr71g)
Series 5

Vision On

As Children's TV wave goodbye to BBC1, heading off to their own dedicated channel, Paul Jackson takes a lingering look back at a cult show from the golden era of children's TV. "Vision On" was one of the most successful, funny and anarchic programmes ever to grace the little grey box in the corner; it's 'Gallery' theme music still a trip down memory lane for viewers of a certain age.
Created in 1964 to replace the prosaic "For Deaf Children", Pat Keysall and Tony Hart fronted a programme that aimed squarely at the funny bone. Art, animation, clowning and dangerous stunts - long before "Health and Safety" became a dirty word. "Vision On" was aimed at all children, but worked hard not to exclude the hard of hearing.
Rather than creating a worthy line up, producer Patrick Dowling cultivated the silly, the extraordinary and the dramatic, using new technology to create effects and giving breaks to a wealth of creative talent, acting and technical.
David Sproxton, creator of Aardman Animations, fondly recalls creating his very first short film for "Vision On", while Sylvester McCoy who went on to became Dr Who, and is currently filming The Hobbit with Peter Jackson, recalls close encounters of an explosive kind with the fabulous creations of Wilf Lunn, another graduate of the Ken Campbell school of fearlessness.
"Britain In A Box" explores the role of disability programming with past and present BBC children's controllers; Edward Barnes and Joe Godwin, and talks to Susan Daniels from the National Deaf Children's Society about how TV can be accessible to all - something "Vision On" pioneered with style.
Remembered that Gallery theme music yet?
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b01kr71j)
Jackie Ashley of the Guardian picks through the debris after the government is thwarted on Lords Reform by Tory backbenchers.

For an insight into a thrilling parliamentary occasion, she talks to three MPs: the Conservative Adam Afriyie, the Lib Dem Charles Kennedy and Labour's Tristram Hunt.

How good are MPs at asking the right questions when they grill top figures in select committee hearings? Not very good at all, according to the political commentator John Kampfner. But Labour's Paul Farrelly wonders if journalists are any better.

This week's shake-up in the funding of social care for the elderly has been long in coming. But the Labour peer Joan Bakewell finds a key component is missing. The Tory MP and doctor Dan Poulter explains why.

Tony Blair is advising the Labour Party on the economic legacy of the Olympic Games. His friend, Tessa Jowell says he is ready to come back into domestic politics.

The editor is Peter Mulligan.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b01kr71l)
As speculation continues about who's won the election in Libya, Rana Jawad in Tripoli hears how "Libyan women face five problems: the father, the son, the husband, the brother and the working man!"

Deep in the hills of Honduras Stephen Sackur's been talking to a man who's trying to escape the country's drugs and gang culture but fears he won't be allowed to succeed.

In the week China released figures showing how its economy has slowed down, Michael Bristow leaves the country in, as he puts it, the midst of an unfinished revolution.

Alan Johnston descends below ground level in Rome to learn a little more about the fears which beset Benito Mussolini in the final years of his dictatorship.

And did you know bird spit can be big business? It is in Malaysia. Jenifer Pak's been finding out how the market's now being flooded by counterfeiters.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b01kr71n)
Paul Lewis and a round up of the week's personal finance news.

Anger is mounting over the government's plans to reform social care in England, which were set out this week in its Care and Support White Paper. The government has said it agrees in principle with the idea of capping how much people have to pay but it will not explain how or when this will happen. And it proposed a scheme whereby councils will loan individuals money to pay for care costs which exists in part already. We hear from Lisa Morgan, a partner at Hugh James solicitors and an expert in care costs about what the proposals mean in practise. And we have a discussion between Dot Gibson of the National Pensioners Convention and Gus Hanton , Co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation about who should pick up the cost of care - the State or the individual?

The administrators of the Farepak Christmas club announced this week that the 114,000 victims of the collapse of the club in 2008 would get a total of around 50p for every pound they lost. They have already had 17.5p and another 32p is now due to be paid after LloydsTSB agreed to put 8 million pounds into the fund following fierce criticism form a judge in a court case. A good result for the former Farepak savers but questions are being asked about why the administrator and liquidator have earned so much money. We hear from Louise McDaid, a Farepak creditor who's been campaigning on behalf of other people who lost money and Mike Dailly from the Govan Law Centre.

This year it feels as if a months-worth of rain falls almost every day somewhere in the UK. So we look at flood insurance. A deal between the insurance industry and the Government to make sure everyone can at least get insurance at some price runs out in June 2013. How ill that affect the premiums we all pay in future? We hear from a Radio 4 listener who lives at a top of a hill but still can't get reasonable flood insurance.

And RBS finally gives some more details of the compensation scheme for customers and non-customers affected by its computer breakdown which began on 20 June. RBS and NatWest are now said to be back to normal. But Ulster Bank customers are still struggling. RBS's Susan Allen says sorry.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b01kktml)
Series 37

Episode 6

Reformation: in a week of Lord's reform, and mooted changes to benefits for pensioners, Susan Calman, Mitch Benn and Laura Shavin join Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis to examine the stories making the news this week. Susan Calman inquires into the process of inquiries; Gareth Gwynn sets out the mammoth task ahead of the new BBC Director General; and Mitch Benn plays tribute to 50 years of the Rolling Stones. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b01kksq7)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b01kksq9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b01kktms)
Uckfield, East Sussex

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs a discussion of news and politics from one of the winners of the BBC's nationwide Schools' Questions and Answers challenge, Uckfield Community Technology College, East Sussex, with panellists: Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Sport and the Olympics; Liz Kendall, Shadow Minister for Care and Older People; Liberal Democrat peer, Matthew Oakeshott; and historian, David Starkey

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b01kr71q)
Listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b01kr71s)
Betrayal

Harold Pinter's acclaimed drama about a love affair and the intricate nature of deceit which is told in reverse time from its poignant ending to its thrilling first kiss.

Emma ..... Olivia Colman
Jerry ..... Andrew Scott
Robert ..... Charles Edwards
Waiter ..... Gerard McDermott

Produced/directed by Gaynor Macfarlane

Harold Pinter was born in London in 1930. His writing career spanned over 50 years and produced 29 original stage plays, 27 screenplays, many dramatic sketches, radio and TV plays, poetry, one novel, short fiction, essays, speeches, and letters. In 2005 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and, in the same year, the Wilfred Owen Award for Poetry and the Franz Kafka Award (Prague). In 2006 he was awarded the Europe Theatre Prize and, in 2007, the highest French honour, the Légion d'honneur. He died in December 2008.

Andrew Scott recently won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.


SAT 15:45 Cricket Cabaret (b01l04nh)
In Japan, there is a long tradition of listening to the sounds produced by crickets which stretches back to the 18th century, and in China, this culture began in the Tang Dynasty. Crickets were traditionally kept in small cages made of bamboo hung from a ceiling or a tree or carried around in the pocket.The tradition still continues today, although the finely crafted bamboo cages are generally replaced with clear plastic terrariums with ventilated lids.

The name 'cricket' comes from the French, 'criquer', which means 'little creaker'. The most famous 'little creaker' is the Japanese Suzumushi bell cricket which, as its name suggests, produces bell-like sounds. In Tokyo, huge numbers of these bell crickets are raised in Bell Cricket Temple. People visit the temple to meditate whilst listening to the sounds of the crickets, which are believed to signify the voice of the Buddha.

Crickets produce sounds by rubbing together structures on their wings in a process called stridulation. Generally it's only the male crickets which sing or stridulate, to attract a mate, and different species produce different songs. To help radiate his song, the Mole Cricket sings from a burrow in the soil, with an entrance shaped like a horn to amplify the sound.

Cricket Cabaret is a celebration of the songs of crickets; a creative sound-rich composition using field recordings of crickets, as well as electronically treated recordings (by sound recordist Chris Watson), music and human voices to create a musical homage to an ancient tradition; a celebration of the sounds of crickets.

Sound recordist; Chris Watson. Contributors; Henry Bennet- Clark, Fernando Montealegre, Bob Pemberton, Sophie Anton and Paul Evans. Producer: Sarah Blunt.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b01kr71v)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Melinda Gates, Marks and Spencer

Melinda Gates on empowering women in the developing world. A leading think tank says women still carry the bulk of the domestic burden - who's to blame and why's it matter? Why some women within the Church of England feel there's no point in having women bishops at any price. Marks and Spencer report its worst sales figures in years, what can they do to get customers back through their doors. Plus how can we educate women about HIV? And Suzanne Lacy's Crystal Quilt project.

Producer Emma Wallace
Editor: Beverley Purcell.


SAT 17:00 PM (b01kr71x)
Saturday PM

The security firm G4S says sorry for failing to provide enough guards for the Olympics we ask what went wrong with their recruitment processes and what does this mean for the police?
United Nations' observers in Syria have been visiting the village where opposition activists say a mass killing occurred on Thursday.
We discuss if Ed Miliband is right to become the first Labour Leader for two decades to address Durham Miners' Gala.
And we hear what school dinner campaigner Martha Payne has been up to after her blog became a global phenomenon.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b01kkr53)
The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. The programme is broadcast first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and BBC News Channel TV.

Evan and his executive panel discuss the business of building and running infrastructure - how good is the UK at developing and delivering it? They also swap thoughts on the pros and cons of media training.

Joining Evan in the studio are Steve Holliday, chief executive of international electricity and gas company National Grid plc; Nicola Shaw, chief executive of High Speed One, the Channel Tunnel high-speed rail line; Philip Dilley, chairman of global design, engineering and consulting company Arup Group.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Stephen Chilcott.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01kksqc)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b01kksqf)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kksqh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b01kr71z)
Jimmy Cliff, Michel Roux Jr, AA Gill and Steve Boggan

Clive helps TV critic, traveller and restaurant critic A.A Gill untangle the myths and contradictions of American life in his new book, 'The Golden Door', a collection of brilliantly insightful essays about the good ol' U.S of A. How can a country that has produced so many first-class minds, talents and innovations be so commonly dismissed as stupid, arrogant and introspective?

Could a quarter-pounder and fries be a winning entry for The Roux Scholarship? Clive talks champagne sauce and salmon mousse with the Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr whose quest for a new culinary talent is the focus of the hour-long documentary special on the Good Food channel on Sunday 15th July at 8pm.

Picking up on the Stars and Stripes theme, writer and traveller Steve Boggan shows Nikki Bedi where the money is in his latest book, 'Follow the Money - A Month in the Life of a Ten-Dollar Bill'.

Living legend Jimmy Cliff explains to Clive how you can get it if you really want and performs the track 'One More' which will be the first single from his new album 'Rebirth'.

More musical spice comes from the unique "folk-step" sound of Alt-J who will perform their new single 'Tessellate' from their album 'An Awesome Wave.

Producer Cathie Mahoney.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b01kr721)
Series 12

Surface to Air

Continuing the series in which writers make an imaginative response to a story that’s been making the headlines.

In the week in which residents of a London tower block lost their High Court battle to prevent surface-to-air missiles being stationed on their roof, two poets – W N Herbert and Clare Pollard imagine the residents of a fictional tower block, with a missile on the roof.

A soldier sent to man the missile considers his role in defending all that the Olympics stand for.

CAST

The Soldier.....Sam Troughton
The Student/ Somalian Woman.....Amaka Okafor
The Cockney/ The Pensioner/ Mr Nutler..... Robert Blythe
The Mother.....Christine Absalom

Produced by Emma Harding

About the authors: W.N. Herbert was born in Dundee and writes both in English and Scots. His collections include 'Forked Tongue', 'Cabaret McGonagall', 'Bad Shaman Blues' and 'Omnesia' (all published by Bloodaxe). He has recently co-edited 'Jade Ladder: Contemporary Chinese Poetry' (Bloodaxe Books, 2012) with Yang Lian. He is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.

Clare Pollard was born in Bolton and has published four collections with Bloodaxe: 'The Heavy-Petting Zoo', which she wrote while still at school, 'Bedtime', 'Look, Clare! Look!' and most recently, 'Changeling', which is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Her first play The Weather (Faber, 2004) premièred at the Royal Court Theatre. Her documentary for radio, My Male Muse (2007), was a Radio 4 Pick of the Year, and she is a Royal Literary Fund Literary Fellow at Essex University.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b01kr723)
Sarfraz Manzoor and his guests writers Louise Doughty and Natalie Haynes and actor Kerry Shale review the week's cultural highlights including Magic Mike.

Steven Soderbergh's latest film is set in the world of male strippers. It follows Magic Mike, a seasoned performer who mentors a novice and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women and making easy money.

There's a new adaptation of the classic play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. It centres on a seemingly typical housewife Nora, played by Hattie Morahan, who gets into debt and becomes disillusioned and dissatisfied with her condescending husband.

The artist Julian Opie has a new exhibition of his work which employs modern media to depict new subjects in previously unexplored mediums. The exhibition includes a striking series of walking figures and a series of digitally animated landscapes, with audio, on LCD screens.

A first novel by Jonas Jonasson has become an international bestseller. The title reveals the story, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. Escaping on his hundredth birthday from an old people's home Allan begins an unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders and a suitcase full of cash. And as his escapades unfold, we also learn about his extraordinary former life.

Suburgatory is a new TV series from the US is which teenager Tessa who is forced to relocate from the city to the suburbs, after her father discovers a packet of condoms in her bedroom. She finds herself slowly trying to come to terms with her new twisted world of perfection.

Producer: Anne-Marie Cole.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b01kr725)
Woody at 100

The folk-singer and radical song-writer Woody Guthrie was born 100 years ago today - July 14th 1912. His biographer Joe Klein celebrates the centenary with a road trip, listening along the way to a few of Woody's 1,000 songs, to his recorded interviews and to the voices of his friends and family.

Joe Klein is also the author of 'Primary Colours' and a correspondent for Time Magazine, so he's taking the political temperature in some of the battleground states as the 2012 Presidential election campaign warms up.

In a journey that takes him from his Washington bureau to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Charleston West Virginia and beyond, Joe listens to the concerns of the voters. He discovers that Woody's messages to America, written and sung during the depression and World War 2, can still cut to the bone.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b01kjlhf)
G&W Grossmith - The Diary of a Nobody

Episode 2

Johnny Vegas and Katherine Parkinson play Mr and Mrs Pooter in Andrew Lynch's adaptation of the Grossmith brothers' comic novel of 1892.

The story is a social vignette of Charles, the self-important but highly likeable clerk, his loving wife Carrie and their son William (played by Andrew Gower).

Much of the action takes place in the house that the Pooters share with their maid Sarah...and the noisy sound of passing trains. The Laurels in Brickfield Terrace is frequently visited by colourful and amusing characters, not least Gowing and Cummings, Pooter's 'trusty' fair-weather friends.

This full dramatisation has a Victorian sit-com feel and stays true to the book - with a couple of twists of Lynch's own - capturing a kind of lower-middle-class aspiration that still has a tangible familiarity in 2012.

In Episode Two, Lupin's lifestyle upsets the measured balance of everyday life, Carrie hosts a seance with Mrs James, while Mr and Mrs Pooter dine with Franching in Peckham and meet a Mr Hardfur Huttle.

Cast:
Charles Pooter ....... Johnny Vegas
Carrie Pooter ....... Katherine Parkinson
William / Lupin ...... Andrew Gower
Sarah ....... Sinead Matthews
Cummings (and Horwin) ....... Adrian Scarborough
Gowing (and Borset) ....... Stephen Critchlow
Mrs James ....... Jo Neary
Hardfur Huttle ....... John Guerrasio
Murray Posh ........ Joe Ransom
Frank Mutlar ....... Adam Gillen
Lillie Girl / Daisy Mutlar ...... Sarah Sweeney

Other parts were played by members of the cast.

Adapted by Andrew Lynch, from the original by George and Weedon Grossmith.

Produced by Sally Harrison
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b01kksqk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:05 The Reith Lectures (b01jmxsk)
Niall Ferguson: The Rule of Law and Its Enemies: 2012

Civil and Uncivil Societies

The historian Niall Ferguson examines institutions outside the political, economic and legal realms, whose primary purpose is to preserve and transmit particular knowledge and values. In a lecture delivered at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he asks if the modern state is quietly killing civil society in the Western world? And what can non-Western societies do to build a vibrant civil society?

Producer: Jane Beresford.


SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (b01kjs12)
Series 26

Episode 12

(12/13)
Which classic British film of 1945 was made into an opera in 2009, with music by Andre Previn? And which was the first Beatles album to feature nothing but Beatles compositions?

If you can answer these questions you might be able to give the contestants in Counterpoint a run for their money. Paul Gambaccini is in the chair for the third and last of this series' semi-finals - with the one remaining place in the 2012 Final at stake. The competitors are from Worksop, Stafford and Swindon.

As ever, they'll need to display musical knowledge across a wide spectrum, from the classics to jazz, show tunes, film music, and six decades of rock and pop.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b01kjlhk)
Roger McGough introduces an intriguing range of poems requested by listeners that juxtapose man's machine world with the natural one, and the ocean in particular. We'll hear works by JRR Tolkien, Michael Donaghy, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and others.

Producer: Mark Smalley.



SUNDAY 15 JULY 2012

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01kpxyn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 In-Flight Entertainment (b01kr7nc)
Squirrel

Three short stories taken from Helen Simpson's new collection, In-Flight Entertainment.

A family discussion over the fate of a trapped squirrel veers unexpectedly close to revealing a shocking truth

Reader: Sian Thomas.

Abridged and Produced by Joanna Green.

This is a Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kpxyq)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kpxys)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kpxyv)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01kpxyx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b01kr7nf)
The bells of St. Olave's Church, City of London.


SUN 05:45 Four Thought (b01kkp5s)
Series 3

Leisa Rea: The Delight of Losing

With the pressure on for victory at the Olympics, comedian Leisa Rea ponders the delights of losing.

She reveals what happened when she told a group of school children that she would only be rewarding them for appalling work, which fell way below the expected standard.

Producer: Giles Edwards.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01kpxyz)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01kr7nh)
Rain

St. Swithun's day is arguably the most British of all Saints days, associated as it is with one of the nations most popular topics of conversation: the weather. More specifically of course, it's associated with rain as the saint is most commonly prayed to in times of drought and tradition has it that, if it rains on St Swithun's day, it will rain solidly for the next forty days.

Mark Tully considers the emotional impact rain has upon us in a summer that has already seen its fair share of it. An edition of Something Understood to splash about in, with readings provided by Longfellow, Tagore and Langston Hughes and a range of evocative music from Chopin and Debussy to Ella Fitzgerald and the Portuguese Fado singer Mariza.

Why go out in the rain, when you can stay inside and listen to it on the radio?

The readers are Philip Franks and Grainne Keenan.

Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b01kr7nt)
Mobile Milking

Getting into farming is becoming increasingly difficult, with the high price of land and the costs involved. But for this week's On Your Farm, we are in Dorset to find out how two young farmers have found a way to get into dairy farming without all the costs involved - and it's all down to mobile milking. For the last 6 months, Tom Foot and Neil Grigg have been using a mobile milking parlour to milk their cows. And it's not just the milking parlour which is mobile. Everything they own from the offices to the water troughs can be moved on wheels. Presented by Sarah Swadling. Produced by Anna Varle.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b01kpxz1)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01kpxz3)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b01kr7nw)
A newly ordained Chinese Catholic bishop, Father Thaddeus Ma Daqin, has disappeared from public view after announcing his resignation from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association during his ordination ceremony. It's believed authorities have confined him to his seminary. William gets the latest from John Sudworth in Shanghai.

Alom Shaha talks to us about the Young Atheists Handbook and his journey from Bangladeshi Muslim to atheist science teacher.

France has some 90 000 churches and nearly all of them belong to the government. But now an increasing number of local authorities say they can't afford to maintain their churches and are voting to tear them down. John Laurenson reports.

There was more destruction of ancient Islamic Sufi shrines in Timbuktu this week. William hears from Dr Shamil Jeppie of the Timbuktu Manuscript project.

The High Court ruled against the Portsmouth Diocese this week saying that the Catholic Church can be held liable for the wrongdoings of its priests. Joshua Rozenburg explains the wider implications.

In light of new research this week, Church Action on Poverty is calling on UK churches to lead the way in guaranteeing a Living Wage for all. Alan Thornton from the charity explains more and Mickey Price a 45 year old divorcee explains how he survives on the minimum wage.

What went wrong for the Church of England's women bishops legislation and where does it go from here? Trevor Barnes reports in the aftermath of last Monday's adjourned vote.

Melinda Gates admits she struggled with her Catholic beliefs before committing to spending hundreds of millions of dollars on contraception and family planning. We discuss what difference this could make with Dermot Grenham from the LSE and Oxfam's Kathleen Spencer Chapman.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b01kr7ny)
Storybook Dads

Michael Morpurgo appeals on behalf of Storybook Dads
Reg Charity: 1101208
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope Storybook Dads.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b01kpxz5)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01kpxz7)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b01kr7p0)
Each year, the annual Buxton Festival of Music and the Arts on the edge of Derbyshire's Peak District is graced with three Festival Masses sung in St John's Church. Today's service is Mozart's 'Sparrow' Mass K.220 sung by the Buxton Madrigal Singers with soloists from the Festival Opera Company directed by Michael Williams. The celebrant is the Rector of Buxton, the Revd John Hudghton, and the preacher is the Rt Revd Humphrey Southern, Bishop of Repton. The organist is Stephen Barlow and the producer is Stephen Shipley.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b01kktmx)
Why humans are violent

John Gray reflects on the nature of violence which he sees as an inevitable part of the human condition. He analyses the impulses which drive us to fight one another and takes issue with the philosopher Hobbes' view that violence can be tamed principally by the use of reason. "The vast industrial style wars of the last century may have been left behind, but they have been followed by other forms of human conflict, in their way no less destructive".

Producer:
Sheila Cook.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b01kr7px)
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 (b01kr7pz)
Writer ..... Joanna Toye
Editor ... John Yorke
Director ..... Julie Beckett

Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Helen Monks
Josh Archer ..... Cian Cheesbrough
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Adam Macy ..... Andrew Wincott
Kate Madikane ..... Kellie Bright
Matt Crawford ..... Kim Durham
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy ..... Emerald O'hanrahan
Edward Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Pepperell
Hayley Tucker ..... Lorraine Coady
Phoebe Aldridge ..... Lucy Morris
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Annabelle Shrivener ..... Julia Hills
Elona Makepeace ..... Eri Shuka
Darrell Makepeace ..... Dan Hagley
Keith Horrobin ..... Sean Connolly
Tracey Horrobin ..... Susie Riddell.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b01kr7q1)
Simon McBurney

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor, writer and director Simon McBurney.

It's 30 years since he set up the ground-breaking theatre company Complicite. It brought extraordinary physical deftness to the stage and its productions won every plaudit going - from an armful of Olivier awards to the Perrier prize for comedy.

His mainstream credits range from TV roles in the Vicar of Dibley and Rev, to screen credits for The Last King of Scotland and Harry Potter. On stage, he's directed Katie Holmes and Al Pacino to critical acclaim in New York.

Of his unconventional directing style, he admits: "Some people have said, it's a bit like going into the jungle with some mad explorer - who everybody knows doesn't have any idea where he's going - but somehow he gives people some sort of confidence to keep on going."

Producer: Leanne Buckle.


SUN 12:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b01kjs1b)
Series 57

Episode 3

The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a first-time visit to the Grand Theatre in Swansea. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Rob Brydon, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment. Producer - Jon Naismith.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b01kr7q3)
The Extraordinary Food Story of Martha Payne

What began as a writing project for school has, in two short months, become an internet phenomenon that is changing the way people are looking at the food children eat.

"NeverSeconds" is the food blog of nine year old Martha Payne (AKA 'VEG'), from Lochgilpead in the West of Scotland. Inspired by a family friend who is a journalist, Martha started to photograph and rate her school dinners.

A few weeks ago her story went global when her local council banned her from taking any more of these photographs. The council backed down after a massive public outcry, but the profile of the site had by then been boosted irreversibly.

What next for Martha and her father Dave, and the rest of the Payne family? Sheila Dillon went to their thirteen acre smallholding to meet them and find out.

Sheila discovered a family very much in tune with where their food comes from, and went on a journey that took in celebrity chef and food campaigner Nick Nairn, a llama, haggis lasagne and a chance to change the Scottish food system.

Producer: Rich Ward.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b01kpxz9)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b01kr7q5)
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 Goodbye to Bush House (b01kr7q7)
For over 70 years the BBC World Service has been based in Bush House, in the Strand in central London. On Thursday 12 July at midday, the last news bulletin will be broadcast from Bush House. At precisely 1206 that day, the transmitters on the roof of the building will shut down, and the doors to Bush House will close behind the World Service as it moves to join the rest of BBC News in Broadcasting House. To mark this historic occasion, the former managing director of the World Service, John Tusa, listens to the memories and stories of producers, reporters and presenters who've worked in the building over the years. From De Gaulle's broadcasts to the Free French during World War II, through to the Cold War, decolonisation, the Iranian Revolution, the Falklands War, Perestroika, Tiananmen Square, two Gulf Wars and into the new Millennium, the World Service has reported on world events twenty four hours a day, at its peak in over 40 languages from Bush House. John Tusa examines the key World Service values of impartiality, adherence to the truth and public service - did the BBC always live up to its own standards when reporting the world? When did it fall down and why? And what was it like to work in Bush House, with its grand exterior of huge columns and arches, marble floors and staircases, masking a confusing rabbit warren of offices and studios behind? That's Goodbye to Bush House, with John Tusa.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01kksrd)
North Yorkshire

Eric Robson and the team meet gardeners from North Yorkshire. Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden and Matthew Biggs form the panel. In addition, Pippa Greenwood reports on human allergies to plants.

Questions answered in the programme:

What is a fool-proof method for growing melons?

My favourite Hosta ('Great Expectations') has started to send out plain, unvarigated leaves, is there anything I can do to stop this?

My apple tree seems to suffer from a pest that has a white cotton wool like substance with little black insects in. How can I get rid of this infestation or do I need to pull it out and replace it?

I planted a Yew hedge 3 years ago. The plants have grown 1- 1.5 ft but aren't bushing out - how can I encourage them to merge into one hedge?

What damage would a cockchafer grub do in my garden and was I right to kill it?

How can I revive my poorly Pyrcantha?

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


SUN 14:45 Witness (b01kr7q9)
Bay of Pigs Invasion

In 1961 Alfredo Duran was part of a group of CIA-trained Cuban exiles who invaded the island to try to overthrow Fidel Castro's revolutionary government.

He tells Witness how the scheme went badly wrong, and how the promise of help from the Americans never came.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b01kr7qc)
The Graduate

Episode 1

It's the summer of 1963 in suburban California and Benjamin Braddock has the world at his feet. He's just graduated from university with a teaching scholarship, his dad has bought him a fancy new Italian sports car, and all the Braddocks' friends and neighbours have been invited to a house party to celebrate. There's just one problem. Benjamin refuses to leave his room. He's worried about his future. His parents are perplexed. The stalemate is broken when Ben agrees to give the wife of his father's business partner, Mrs Robinson, a lift home. She's the same age as his mother, fabulously sexy, and bent on seduction.

The Graduate has been adapted from Charles Webb's novel by Polly Thomas. Polly is a Sony award-winning director and producer of radio drama. Her theatre work includes directing for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester; and the Manchester Literature Festival launch of Margaret Atwood's new book, The Year of the Flood.

A BBC Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b01kr7qf)
Ben Fountain on his satirical Iraq war novel Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Mariella Frostrup talks to Ben Fountain and discusses his satirical Iraq War novel Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk which takes a wry look at America's relationship with the Iraq war, as told through the eyes of a young soldier Billy Lynn and his Bravo platoon. Proclaimed heroes when a battle against insurgents, in which one of their comrades dies and another is seriously injured, is captured on film by a news network, the platoon are returned home for a Victory tour of the US. The novel takes place over one day as the young men arrive at the iconic Texas Stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys.

Siri Hustvedt is the internationally bestselling author of What I Loved and The Summer without Men. She is also an acclaimed essayist, who writes about her own life, her relationship with art and artists and the exploration of memory, emotion and imagination.
In her latest book she brings together six years worth of such musings, grouping them into three sections, which give the book its title - Living, Thinking, Looking.

At the end of last month Amazon announced that Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James had become the first e-book to sell more than one million copies on Kindle. Curiously, such accounting of e-book sales is rare, sales of digital books aren't commonly released and therefore aren't included with print books on best seller lists. Tom Tivnan, Features and Supplements Editor for The Bookseller, explains the world of internet book sales.

And we continue our series exploring how writers have been inspired by the landscape. Jamie Andrews, lead curator of the British Library's Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands exhibition discusses how the country's wild places have been the source of inspiration for many great classics

Producer: Andrea Kidd.


SUN 16:30 Poems from the Pennines (b01kr7qh)
Poet Simon Armitage takes us on a journey round the Stanza Stones - new poems on a theme of water carved into the Pennine rocks.

The poet Simon Armitage has been involved in a project to write six specially commissioned poems and have them carved into six stones along the Watershed of the Pennine moorland from Marsden to Ilkley in West Yorkshire. The area is close to Simon Armitage's heart as he grew up in Marsden and still lives in the Pennine area. The poems take the theme of water in six different states - rain, mist, snow, puddle, dew, and beck and look at our relationship with water and our moorland.

Over the last couple of years, the project (commissioned by Ilkley Literature Festival and with money from the 2012 Cultural Olympiad) has taken shape with the help of Land Architect Tom Lonsdale who assessed the rocks and land for suitable sites with Simon.

Each stone has been carved by hand by the stone letter carver Pip Hall - a process that has taken two to three weeks per stone. The final stone, the Beck Stone, saw Pip carving while standing knee deep in water, in the middle of a free flowing beck on Ilkley Moor.

In this programme, Simon Armitage talks about the creative process of writing the poetry and the challenge of writing poems that may be read on the moors for a thousand years to come. He also reveals the history of people carving words on the rocks on the moors and looks at the nature of our relationship with water.

Armitage is not drawn however on the location or title of a seventh stone and poem, hidden somewhere on the Pennine watershed, to be discovered one day by a passing walker.

Producer: Laura Parfitt
A White Pebble Media production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b01kjtf0)
Abuse in Sport

It was the Paul Hickson scandal in the mid 90s which first brought the issue of sexual abuse in sport to the public eye. The Olympic swimming coach was jailed for 17 years for raping and sexually abusing young girls he trained. The case led to the setting up of the Child Protection in Sport Unit and the introduction of safeguarding measures in most sports.

But, more than a decade on, the problem hasn't gone away and this edition of File on 4 reveals new figures which show how many allegations of sexual and physical abuse were made across most major sports last year.

The programme also examines concerns about the way information about coaches who have disciplined or banned, is shared with parents and other sports bodies, primarily because of data protection laws. It reveals how some coaches accused of sexual misconduct are able to move between sporting organisations and carry on coaching
.
Reporter Chris Buckler also hears calls from families and child welfare charities for a change in the law to make it illegal for coaches to have a sex with athletes aged 16 or 17 which would bring them in line with teachers and others who have close contact with young people

Presenter: Chris Buckler
Producer: Paul Grant.


SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b01kr721)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01kpxzc)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b01kpxzf)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kpxzh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b01kr7qk)
James Walton makes his selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio

This week we've got not one but two big musical anniversaries, a celebration of Bush House only slightly undermined by the ever grumpy VS Naipaul and we've got some bad news for middle-aged men from the insect world. And there's also a clip from perhaps the most reliably moving programme on radio: I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

Archive on 4 - Radio 4
Rolling With The Stones - Radio 2
Witness - World Service
Old Harry's Game - Radio 4
Ballads of the Games - Radio 2
Goodbye to Bush House - Radio 4
World service Writers -Radio 4
Betrayal - Radio 4
Alices Wunderland - Radio 4
Old Photograph's Fever - Radio 4
The Long View - Radio 4
Cricket Cabaret - Radio 4
Siberian Stories - Radio 4
Sunday Feature: Think Negative - Radio 3
Front Row - Radio 4
I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue - Radio 4

Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Jessica Treen.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b01kr7qm)
Brian faces some competition for the contract to farm the Estate land. He asks Annabelle for her support but is confident the nearness of Home Farm will give them the edge in the boardroom. He asks Adam for a log of examples of when they've effectively solved problems. Adam is dismayed that Brian has gone to Debbie with the issue first. He doesn't like being side-lined for the decision process.
Emma makes an anonymous call to Crimestoppers. She says they need to investigate Keith about the Brookfield fire.
Later, Emma tells Susan the heat from the fire was so intense that the patio table and George's toys have been charred. Their chat is interrupted when Tracy bursts in with news that Keith has been taken in for questioning by the police. Susan and Tracy assume the police are victimising Keith due to his being a Horrobin. Emma rationalises that the police will release Keith if he didn't commit the crime. Adamant that their brother is innocent, Tracy and Susan do not like her use of the word 'if'.
By lunchtime, Keith is free and protesting his innocence, but his family are still wondering who made that anonymous tip.


SUN 19:15 The Write Stuff (b01c7wx4)
Series 15

HG Wells

This week the teams look at the life and work of one of the father's of Science Fiction and creator of such famous works as "The Time Machine" and "War of the Worlds", H.G. Wells.

Team captains, Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh, are helped out by journalist and critic, Alex Clark and comedy writer, John O'Farrell as they are set more literary challenges by host, James Walton.

For the finale, the teams must also put themselves in Wells' shoes (he was famous for making predictions about the future, some prescient, some very much not so) and make their own prophesies for 2012.


SUN 19:45 The Food of Love (b01kr7qp)
Scotch Broth

In this series of monologues exploring the link between food and memory, powerful domestic dramas gradually unfold through the preparation of a special recipe.

In the final story in the series, by Aminatta Forna, a man struggles to cook for a young child, after a terrible loss...

Aminatta Forna was born in Glasgow, raised in Sierra Leone and Britain and also spent periods of her childhood in Iran, Thailand and Zambia. She is the award-winning author of two novels: 'The Memory of Love and Ancestor Stones', and a memoir 'The Devil that Danced on the Water'.

Read by: Hugh Quarshie
Producer: Justine Willett.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b01kktmg)
Who are the Libor losers?

In this week's programme:

Libor losers

How much damage did messing with Libor really do to the financial system? After all, most financial trades are two way bets - and for every winner, there is a loser. Did the banks really pick our pockets as they manipulated Libor? Or were they just picking each others'?

A million starving children?

We investigate the claim made by a leading charity that a million British children are "starving".

Challenge Yan

Yan Wong from "Bang Goes the Theory" offers to answer any question More or Less listeners can throw at him.

Crunching the census

Late last March, you may remember filling in a form for the 2011 census. Whatever happened to that? Well, the first results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are coming out next week. We find out what we'll be finding out.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Richard Knight.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b01kktmd)
Ernest Borgnine, Elinor Ostrom, Jeff Keen, Andy Hamilton and Lol Coxhill

Matthew Bannister on

Craggy film and tv character actor Ernest Borgnine - best known for playing baddies in a host of war and western movies..

The Nobel prize winning political scientist Elinor Ostrom, whose theories influenced policy on the management of common resources

The avant garde film maker and artist Jeff Keen

And the jazz saxophonist Andy Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who worked to improve community relations in the West Midlands.


SUN 21:00 Face the Facts (b01kmjj6)
Open for Tourist Business?

The tourist industry says it is losing millions of pounds in revenue because of the lengthy and laborious visa system. The demand from new markets in China, India and the Far East is growing rapidly and tourists from these countries are among the highest spending visitors to the UK. However many are put off by a visa system which requires them to fill out lengthy forms, submit biometric data including finger prints and a retina scan and once granted only gives entry to the UK and Ireland. Alternatively visitors to Europe can apply for a three page Schengen visa which is not only cheaper but gives access to 27 countries in the Schengen zone. Could this explain why France welcomes eight times more Chinese visitors than the UK? The Prime Minister has urged the tourist industry to do better but what can be done to turn around the image of 'Fortress UK'?

Presenter:John Waite Producer:Steven Williams.


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b01kr7ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b01kjs1l)
China's Battle of Ideas

As China changes leadership, Mukul Devichand probes Beijing's hidden battle of ideas. Unlike the messy democracy of elections in the US or Europe, the Communist Party's "changing of the guard" this autumn is set to be a sombre, orderly and very Chinese affair. But the dramatic sacking of a top Party boss over the alleged murder of an Englishman earlier this year was about more than just a personal power struggle. These events provide a window into a deeper, more ideological battle for the future of the world's new superpower.

This week, Mukul Devichand travels to the People's Republic of China for a unique look at the social and ideological faultlines in the country. Radio 4's Analysis programme has a 40-year history of looking at the deeper ideas and trends shaping politics -- and this week's programme takes that approach on the road to a rising superpower whose policy debates are largely misunderstood in the West, despite the profound implications of China's future direction for our own.

Recent years have seen large-scale social experiments in China and the emergence of a "New Left" school of thought to rival the pro-market "New Right" in Chinese intellectual life. Mukul Devichand looks at what these scholars and officials are reading, and the ideas that shape their vision of the world. He looks at how these schools of ideas have created their own showcase provinces and cities -- Chongqing vs Guangdong -- and looks at recent events for clues about where China will go next.

Contributors:

Mark Leonard
Director, European Council on Foreign Relations
Author, What Does China Think?

John Garnaut
China correspondent, Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age

Zhang Jian
Professor of Political Science, Peking University

Daniel Bell
Professor of Political Theory, Tsinghua University and Jiaotong University

Pan Wei
Director, Center for Chinese & Global Affairs. Peking University

Producer: Lucy Proctor.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b01kr7qy)
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 (b01kr7r0)
Episode 112

George Parker of the Financial Times analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b01kkr4n)
Francine Stock talks to Steven Soderbergh about his latest film, Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, as male strippers in Miami. He also discusses the reasons why he's quitting the film business.

Three generations of film critics - Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian, blogger Charlie Lyne, and student Hattie Soper - discuss the changing nature of their work.

The film Margaret, starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo, received rave reviews upon its release last year, but only played at one cinema in central London. As it's released on DVD, the director Kenneth Lonnergan talks about the difficulties in making the film, and why it received such a limited run.

Producer: Craig Smith.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b01kr7nh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 16 JULY 2012

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b01kpy0f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b01kknzh)
Immortality; Evil

From Victorian seances to schemes which upload our minds into cyberspace, there are myriad ways in which human beings have sought to conquer mortality. The philosopher, John Gray, discusses his book "The Immortalisation Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death" with Laurie Taylor. The cultural historian Marina Warner joins the debate. Also, listeners' response to Thinking Allowed's recent discussion on the sociology of 'evil'. Professor Barry Smith, the director of the Institute of Philosophy, explores contrasting analyses of 'evil' within modern thought.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b01kr7nf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy0h)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kpy0k)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy0m)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b01kpy0p)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01krz1f)
A spiritual reflection and prayer to begin the day, presented by The Revd Johnston McKay.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b01krz1h)
Experts say the price of meat on supermarket shelves will have to increase after a poor harvest across the world. The American and Russian supplies of corn and maize, which is used in animal feed, has been badly affected by a lack of rain and blistering temperatures. Clare Freeman visits the trading floor at cereal traders Open Field to see if UK farmers can cash in on the shortage.

Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


MON 05:57 Weather (b01kpy0r)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b01krz8r)
Morning news with John Humphrys and Sarah Montague, featuring:

0810
Transport Secretary Justine Greening explains government plans to spend more than £9bn on improving the rail network to boost the economy.

0818
Sir Elton John speaks to the BBC's Rebecca Jones on the fight against Aids and why he believes it is time to get rid of TV talent shows.

0832
A coroner has ruled neglect by medical staff contributed to the death of a man who died from dehydration while in hospital as a patient. Kane Gorny's mother Rita Cronin explains why she wants a corporate case brought against the hospital trust, which has apologised.


MON 09:00 The Long View (b01ks2yc)
Bob Diamond and a LIBOR scandal from the 14th century

Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of LIBOR and rate fixing by comparing recent events at Barclays to the 14th-century scandal of financier Richard Lyons. Like Bob Diamond, Lyons was hauled before parliament to explain the dubious financial practices he'd used to get around the prohibition of Usury. All against a back drop of economic crisis and rising suspicion of high finance and its influence on politics.

Jonathan is joined by Nick Leeson, the rogue trader who brought down Barings Bank; former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve; financial historian Adrian Bell, John Coggan of the Economist and Performance poet, Attila the Stockbroker.

Producer: Laurence Grissell.


MON 09:30 Capital Justice (b01ks2yf)
Episode 2

Helena Kennedy QC presents a new series uncovering the profound and powerful relationship between our financial and legal systems, between capitalism and the law, between freedom and justice.

The great British system of common law - judge made, ever evolving and adaptable - flourished in the 19th century under the growing dynamism of markets and new ideas of individual freedom. And market capitalism was given legal security and freedom to flourish in turn.

For centuries our financial and legal systems have been profoundly intertwined, a close arrangement of 'spontaneous order' that travelled to America and then around the world. So how has this dynamic really shaped the course of our history, and what have been its deepest moral and political consequences? The economist Adam Smith championed both free commerce and the rule of law, but feared a moral vacuum growing up between the two in society. Now, after years of deregulation, what happens when we turn to the law to set limits, both legal and moral, on what can be done in the name of market freedoms and the pursuit of profit? Can justice have any meaning in these terms?

This reflective series mixes the historical and contemporary with Helena Kennedy's sharp legal insight, exploring the connectedness between capitalism and the law that, beneath the surface, has so profoundly shaped our modern life.

Contributors include Naomi Klein, John Lanchester, John Grey, Julian Assange, Gillian Tett, Matt Ridley, Peter Oborne and Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls (and second most senior judge in England and Wales).

Producer: Simon Hollis
A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b01kjqzn)
Burying the Typewriter

Episode 1

On March 10th, 1983 when her mother was away from home, Carmen Bugan's father Ion put on his best suit and drove his Dacia into Bucharest to display placards and distribute leaflets, demanding freedom from oppression. It was a display of defiance that would change forever his life and the life of his family.

Burying The Typewriter is Carmen Bugan's memoir of growing up in Romania in the 1970s and 1980s when the country was governed by Ceausescu, and his network of agents and informers, the Securitate, exerted a malign influence in every sphere of society.

Carmen Bugan was educated at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Balliol College, Oxford, where she was awarded a doctorate. Her first book of poetry, Crossing The Carpathians, was published by Oxford Poets/Carcanet in 2004.

"A beautiful, vivid memoir..."
The Guardian

"It is the more moving and powerful for being so quiet and thoughtful..."
The Independent

"A warm and humane work..."
The Observer

Reader: Anamaria Marinca
(BAFTA award winner for 'Sex Traffic' 2005)

Abridged by Pete Nichols

Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01ks2yk)
Prom Fever, Cook the Perfect, Voice Skills

Prom fever and why it's sweeping our schools, in your fifties and out of a job? Why women's work is hard to find, Cook the perfect Chinese dish, and after MP Anne Marie Morris's raised voice in parliament landed her with the tag of 'battleaxe', we have professional advice on making yourself heard.
Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Lucinda Montefiore.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ks2ym)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Series 5

Episode 1

It's 1664 and Sam starts the year with a family visit to a coffee house. As time progresses, however, his trips around London have a more salacious purpose, as his thoughts turn increasingly towards the ladies in his life. The neighbourhood, meanwhile, suffers some serious crimes: a local criminal mastermind is caught and hanged. Sam goes to the hanging, and balances on a cartwheel to get a good view - but is sorry to see it. Sam hears of a rape which is hushed up because the perpetrators are attendants to the Queen Mother. Then other news arrives - that Sam's brother Tom has been taken seriously ill.

Cast: Samuel Pepys - Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Pepys - Katherine Jakeways, Uncle Wight - Ewan Bailey, Aunty Wight - Manon Edwards, Will - John Biddle, Bessie - Sarah Ovens, Colonel Turner - Matthew Gravelle, Tom Pepys - Gareth Pierce.

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While You May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.

Historical consultant: Liza Picard

Sound by Nigel Lewis

A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


MON 11:00 Over the Boundary (b01ks2yp)
Kevin O Brien's century for Ireland against England in the 2011 World Cup was the fastest of all time. Irish cricket fans had waited at least a hundred years to celebrate such a victory.

Before the game there had been precious few victories, but also precious few supporters and players to celebrate them. But after the match cricket fans in Ireland slowly started a whispering chorus of texts, tweets and emails, as the enormity of their team's achievement spread from the few who understood, to the masses who didn't.

On the state broadcaster RTE's main tea time show, their chief political correspondent finished a very serious report about the ongoing coalition talks and suddenly broke into an impassioned monologue to listeners:

'I don't know if you remember the Norwegian commentator the night when Norway beat England? He started shouting 'are you listening Maggie Thatcher?'. Well -.are you listening Geoffrey Boycott? Are you listening Mick Jagger? Are you listening Oliver Cromwell? Our boys just thrashed you at cricket!'

It was an extraordinary moment. Cricket had crashed into the national consciousness.

Ireland may have the third oldest cricket club in the world - Phoenix cricket club in Dublin - but in the centuries since it was established, there have been concerted efforts to ban it and relegate it to the bottom of Ireland's sporting fixtures. Viewed as unpatriotic and a colonial imposition, the GAA - the national sporting association - banned its members from playing or watching 'foreign sports'. Playing cricket became a political decision.

In Over the Boundary, Kevin Connolly tells the story of how cricket batted its way into Ireland's sporting arena.

Producer: Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b0194mxx)
Series 3

Wigan

In this third series comedian Mark Steel visits 6 more UK towns to discover what makes them and their inhabitants distinctive.

He creates a bespoke stand-up show for that town and performs the show in front of a local audience.

As well as shedding light on the less visited areas of Britain, Mark uncovers stories and experiences that resonate with us all as we recognise the quirkiness of the British way of life and the rich tapestry of remarkable events and people who have shaped where we live.

During the series 'Mark Steel's In Town' Mark will visit Berwick-Upon Tweed, Holyhead, Basingstoke, Douglas (Isle of Man), Bungay and Wigan.

Episode 6 - In this episode Mark performs a show for the residents of Wigan, where he talks about entering pie eating competitions, living under floorboards, and the radicalism of George Formby. From January 2012.

Written and performed by Mark Steel with additional material by Pete Sinclair.
Produced by Sam Bryant.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b01ks2yr)
The right to walk away from your mobile phone contract

When it comes to mobile phone contracts, what does "fixed" really mean? As customers complain of unexpected price rises, should we have the right to walk away from a contract without penalty if the provider alters the rates?

Also, the disabled man who never knows whether or not the driver will let him board the bus. On 28 occasions he says he has been refused access. We speak to him and the bus companies and authorities involved.

And - it may seem like common sense, but there's very little actual evidence of a link between car parking prices and the success of local shops... Until now. As councils across the country try a host of different approaches, we find out what might work.

Presented by Julian Worricker
Produced by Paul Waters.


MON 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01ks2yt)
Enoch Powell

No political figure in our time has risen to such heights of fame and influence on such a brief, fragmentary career in office as Enoch Powell. For more than half his Parliamentary career he was defined in the minds of many people by one speech about immigration made at a Birmingham hotel in 1968. He was sacked the next day by the Conservative party leader, Edward Heath and spent the rest of his political career on the back benches of the Conservative party, then later with the Ulster Unionists.

Asked as he was about to turn 80 how he would like to be remembered, he replied "I should like to have been killed in the war".

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer; Sarah Taylor.


MON 12:57 Weather (b01kpy0t)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b01ks2yw)
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have been defending their coalition and announced a mid term review. We hear the thoughts of the former Liberal leader Lord Steel about that and Lords reform - he says he has a lifeline for Nick Clegg.

The population of England and Wales has increased by 7% since the last census -- the largest rise since counting began in 1801. We will try to find out why.

Russia has accused the West of using blackmail in efforts to secure a new U.N. resolution on Syria. The former peace envoy - Lord Owen gives us his interpretation of events.

Should NHS staff should take pay cuts to help hospital funding problems - the NHS Confederation gives us their view.

And as Hollywood celebrates the life of Celeste Holm we ask are there enough funny parts for women in film?

To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


MON 13:45 Hardeep Seeks Serenity (b01ks2yy)
Episode 1

The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people - from a stand-up comic to a foster carer - to find out how they bring peace and stillness into their lives.

In the first programme he travels to Suffolk to meet Simon Barnes. Simon is the chief sportswriter of The Times as well as its wildlife correspondent. Together they sit down to watch the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Manchester United. With the two teams' strident fans and pumped up players, it's about as far from serenity as they can get.

But early next morning, very early the next morning, at 4.00 am Hardeep is up and meeting Simon Barnes to go with him to Darsham Marsh. Simon, author of 'Bird Watching With Your Eyes Closed', introduces Hardeep to the sounds of the dawn. Nightingales, larks, blackbirds, robins, even a rare cuckoo, all make their appearance as they squelch their way to a remote spot.

Hardeep admits to experiencing a 'magical morning'. Has he found one kind of serenity?

Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b01kr7qm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00vcpbh)
Bethan Roberts - My Own Private Gondolier

In Bethan Roberts' first play for radio, Peggy Guggenheim's troubled daughter, Pegeen, leaves her three children behind when she travels to Venice to spend the summer with her mother. Pegeen is in retreat from a marriage that has failed. She is determined to be an artist, and she shuts herself up in the dank basement, trying to paint.

Meanwhile, her mother, Peggy, is much more concerned with the English sculptor who has come to visit; she wants a piece of his work to add to her collection and will use everything at her disposal to achieve her aim. She'll even try to inveigle her daughter into the plan if she thinks it will get her what she wants. Peggy is well known as a collector of men, as well as art. As the summer progresses, and the strains between mother and daughter grow, it's only Gianni, Peggy's personal Gondolier, who can provide a welcome diversion.

The music is Vedro con mio diletto from Vivaldi's Giustino, sung by Philippe Jaroussky.

Producer: Kate McAll, BBC Cymru Wales.


MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b01ks2z0)
Series 26

Episode 13

(13/13)
The 2012 series of the music quiz reaches the Final, with Paul Gambaccini asking questions on all varieties of music. The three contestants have come through every stage of the competition so far with flying colours: but the range of their musical knowledge will be rigorously tested in this Final stage.

As usual the questions encompass the classics, film music, show tunes, jazz, and six decades of rock and pop. The Finalists, who come from Swindon, London and Chelmsford, will each be hoping they'll be the one to lift the 26th Counterpoint champion's trophy.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b01kr7q3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 With Great Pleasure (b01ks3v3)
Cerys Matthews

Cerys Matthews, singer and broadcaster, shares some of the poetry and music which she finds inspirational - and it's a very eclectic and exhilarating selection, woven together by Cerys in her own inimitable style. With her on stage at the More than Words Festival at Bristol are the poet John Siddique and the cellist Julia Kent.

Producer Christine Hall.


MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b01ks3v5)
Series 6

Parallel Universes

Brian Cox and Robin Ince stretch the cage of infinite proportions this week to encompass not just our own universe, but any others that might be lurking out there as well. They'll be joined by QI creator John Lloyd, the Astronomer Royal, Professor Sir Martin Rees, and solar scientist Dr Lucie Green to talk about one of the most tantalising ideas of cosmology, that of parallel universes. Are we inhabiting a universe that is just one of a possibly infinite number of others and how would we ever know? Is this an idea that is destined to remain one of the great scientific thought experiments, and a staple of science fiction, or will science ever progress enough to truly put the idea of multiverses to the test.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem.


MON 17:00 PM (b01ks3v7)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kpy0w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b01ks3v9)
Series 57

Episode 4

The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a return visit to the Grand Theatre in Swansea. Regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Rob Brydon with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment. Producer - Jon Naismith.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b01ks3vc)
Vicky's still not sleeping, and Mike's' going to have to work extra hours as Harry wants time off.
Vicky sees Lynda 'communing with the bridge.' She's attempting to communicate with the energy of locations for the performance art piece. Vicky distracts her with a coffee and a chat. Vicky talks about her mood swings and hot flushes. Lynda gives her some advice to deal with the menopause..
Distracted by recent events, David drives the landrover into a ditch. Adam comes to the rescue and helps get the lambs out of the trailer. Mike turns up in time to help them tow the landrover out of the ditch. David is embarrassed. It's not like him to be so careless. News of Keith has travelled around Ambridge and Mike comments on the Horrobin family's criminal past. David rationalises that they don't yet know it was Keith With the lambs back in the trailer, he rushes off to market. He's too late but ends up selling the lambs to a butcher who missed out on the bidding, who was happy to pay a good price, in cash. David recalls Phil saying that family farms make a nation strong. He tells Adam that he knows what Phil meant. It's worth fighting for.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b01ks3vf)
The Dark Knight Rises; The Tanks; Asif Kapadia

With Mark Lawson.

The Dark Knight Rises is the third of director Christopher Nolan's Batman films. Christian Bale stars as Bruce Wayne, with Tom Hardy as an evil terrorist, and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Writer Naomi Alderman reviews.

The first phase of Tate Modern's extension programme is unveiled this week with the opening of The Tanks, two enormous chambers in former oil tanks, which will show art in live form - performance, installations and film. Mark meets architect Jacques Herzog and artist Sung Hwan Kim.

Director Asif Kapadia, whose motor-racing documentary Senna won considerable acclaim, discusses his film Odyssey, a portrait of London since it won the bid to host the Olympic games. Starting on 6 July 2005, the film shows the euphoria of winning the bid, the devastation of the 7/7 terrorist attacks, the impact of the credit crunch and the 2011 riots.

Birger Larsen, the director behind the Danish crime series The Killing, reveals that the now-famous jumper worn by the show's main character Sarah Lund was an after-thought - and that the original costume paid tribute to a big-screen gunslinger.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ks2ym)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Advantage Home (b01ks3vh)
Matthew Syed explores the puzzling but powerful phenomenon of home advantage in sport.

Home advantage is a widespread and long-standing aspect of many sports, in the UK and internationally - but how important is it and what is the basis for it?

Matthew Syed, a former champion table tennis player who is now a sports journalist, investigates the extent and causes of home advantage.

He explores a range of competing explanations that have been proposed - travel, familiarity with the venue, the impact of the crowd, referee bias, player confidence, and territoriality based on our evolutionary history.

He talks to experts in sports psychology and to leading sportspeople, including the rubgy coach Sir Clive Woodward, footballer Joey Barton, tennis player Tim Henman, and American sprinter Michael Johnson.

Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b01kkr48)
Some Promised Land

Writer and broadcaster Maria Margaronis follows the route taken by migrants fleeing war or poverty who are risking their lives to reach the Europe Union. It is estimated that around 75 thousand people are attempting to make the perilous journey each year in the hands of unscrupulous traffickers. They are fleeing from war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Somalia or simply in search of a better life where their economic prospects aren't so bleak. Some of them never make it, suffocating in the back of a crowded lorry or drowning in the fast flowing river that marks the border between Turkey and Greece.

The programme meets up with migrants in Istanbul, on the narrow Bosphorus Strait, which has served as the crossroads of the world for thousands of years. There are children making the journey on their own and one man who has lost his fingers and toes to frostbite on a perilous journey over the mountains from Iran. Two of his companions died. The Turkish authorities confess to being overwhelmed by the numbers which are estimated to be up to 250 people a day. Illegal migrants are detained but seldom, it seems, sent back to the countries they came from. There has been an attempt to clamp down on the people traffickers but there are huge profits to be made.

The most dangerous part of the trip is along Turkey's border with Greece. The Greeks are supposed to be building an eight mile fence but that still leaves a river which is 125 miles long. Traffickers put their charges into cheap inflatable boats and push them across, regardless of whether they are able to handle a boat or to swim. Many of them can't.

For those that do make it, there is no Promised Land but an economic crisis and yet more troubles ahead.


MON 21:00 Material World (b01kkr4q)
With the Olympics only weeks away, airport security has been high on the government's agenda. Recent long queues and the time taken to clear security at Heathrow in particular has been criticised by MPs.

In this week's programme Angela Saini visits the Farnborough International air show to find out how technology might speed up the airport security process. David Smith from FLIR demonstrates a mock-up of a future passenger check-in, where hidden radioactivity detectors can spot suspicious isotopes before those carrying them know they've been scanned. And with the European Union keen to allow bottles of water to be carried again onto planes next year, he demonstrates a scanner which should be able to detect liquid explosives.

Angela also speaks to Oliver Böcking and Mark Stevens, of start-up company DNA-Tracker, about how their technology could track mobile phones to check for suspicious behaviour as passengers move around the terminal.

Angela also discusses with Civil Engineer Peter Budd how good airport design can make visiting airports a positive experience.

And we hear from Designer Bill Walmsley about synthetic sandbag technology, now used to defend many of our airports from car bombs.


MON 21:30 The Long View (b01ks2yc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b01kpy0y)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b01ks4cf)
Russian ambassador to the UN tells us that the West have an agenda for military intervention in Syria.

Could the Chancellor George Osborne be reshuffled out of the Treasury?

And the demise of the Irish pub.

With Ritula Shah.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01ks4ks)
Ancient Light

Episode 1

Man Booker winner John Banville's new novel, Ancient Light, is a story of an unlikely first love affair interwoven with darker memories of a lost daughter.

Alexander Cleave is an actor of a certain age, surprised to be plucked from relative obscurity for his first film role, to play a man of some mystery, Axel Vander. As he prepares for the role, he recollects the passion of his first love affair, when he was fifteen and 'Billy Gray was my best friend and I fell in love with his mother.' Alongside these memories circle more painful ones, of his beloved only daughter, who died in strange circumstances a decade ago.

Written with Banville's masterful command of language and dazzling prose, Ancient Light captures the intensity of first love and the intimate details of an illicit affair in rural Ireland in the fifties. Snatched assignations in a battered station wagon and the ruined Cotter's house are vividly evoked with perfect precision, as are the joy and absurdity, the selfishness and obsession of young love. Funny, seductive and moving, Banville skilfully weaves the past and the present together as he reveals the nature and unreliability of memory.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels, including The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize.

The reader is Dermot Crowley.
The abridger is Sally Marmion.
The producer is Di Speirs.


MON 23:00 Off the Page (b01kjt7w)
The Dark Side

Dominic Arkwright and guests wrangle with inner demons and consider the benefits of embracing The Dark Side.
The novelist and film critic Kim Newman tells how the nightmares that beset him through childhood were alleviated when he began to watch horror films. The psychologist Linda Blair considers whether people who embrace their dark side are more likely to be creative, and the writer Ian Marchant tells us how the dark forces of punk enlightened him.
Producer: Sarah Langan.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01ks4kv)
The Home Secretary dismisses allegations ministers knew of a shortfall in Olympic security in 2011 as "untrue".
Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Theresa May insists she only found out last week that G4S did not have enough staff. The contractor, she says, "repeatedly assured" ministers it would meet its targets.
The Transport Secretary unveils a £9.4bn package of investment in the railways in England and Wales.
Labour holds a debate on the health service in England.
And MPs question another former senior executive at Barclays over the inter-bank interest rate fixing scandal.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.



TUESDAY 17 JULY 2012

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b01kpy1s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b01kjqzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy1v)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kpy1x)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy1z)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b01kpy21)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01ks52k)
A spiritual reflection and prayer to begin the day, presented by The Revd Johnston McKay.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b01ks52m)
Anna Hill hears why this season's carrots will be smaller, more expensive and dumpy looking.

Also in the programme, farmers say they risk cutting back on commercial opportunities as they can't afford to pay the business rates. The Government is encouraging landowners to convert their old barns into modern business units but some farmers say without the entrepreneurs to move in, it can leave them with hefty bills. Anna interviews Planning Minister, Greg Clark on constraints on developing the rural economy.

This programme was presented by Anna Hill and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


TUE 06:00 Today (b01ks52p)
Morning news and current affairs presented John Humphrys and Sarah Montague, including:

0810
The rules protecting the Olympic Games' big sponsors and the Olympic brand are extremely tight, so what can and can't you do?

0821
Comedian, and former guest editor of the Today programme, Stewart Lee hopped on board the Swan Pedalo chartered by the writer Iain Sinclair and filmmaker Andrew Kotting who have spent the last few months travelling from the Hastings coastline through the canals and waterways of South East England up to the Olympic site in London. He tells their story to the Today programme's Nicola Stanbridge.

0832
Scotland could become the first part of the UK to introduce gay marriage as the Scottish cabinet discuss whether to legislate for it later today. Jim Eadie, an SNP backbencher, and John Deighan, of the Catholic Church's Parliamentary Office in Scotland, debate the issue.


TUE 09:00 Stephanomics (b01ks52r)
Series 2

Episode 1

In the first of a new series, the award-winning BBC's Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders, discusses with leading economists what will pull Britain out of recession and restore the economy to growth. In the 1930s, after the Great Depression, Britain recovered first through a housing boom in the private sector and then through rearming for a world war. Eighty years on, what is going to do the trick this time?

Among those joining Stephanie are the leading economic historian, Nicholas Crafts; Kate Barker, the expert on housing and planning and former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee; and Oxford University economist, Dieter Helm.


TUE 09:30 Key Matters (b00tt5jh)
Series 2

F Major

Ivan Hewett explores the question of why certain musical keys have become associated with particular moods. For example, why is A major almost always employed by composers to write optimistic, even ecstatic music? And how has E minor become the key of choice for portraying menace and tragedy?

In this programme, French horn player ,Roger Montgomery explains why F major is traditionally associated with pastoral and hunting sounds.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b01kq2l9)
Burying the Typewriter

Episode 2

Shortages at her father's shop show Carmen a different side to the villagers. At home, her father excites the children by bringing the family a typewriter.

Burying The Typewriter is Carmen Bugan's memoir of growing up in Romania in the 1970s and 1980s when the country was governed by Ceausescu, and his network of agents and informers, the Securitate, exerted a malign influence in every sphere of society.

Carmen Bugan was educated at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Balliol College, Oxford, where she was awarded a doctorate. Her first book of poetry, Crossing The Carpathians, was published by Oxford Poets/Carcanet in 2004.

"A beautiful, vivid memoir..."
The Guardian

"It is the more moving and powerful for being so quiet and thoughtful..."
The Independent

"A warm and humane work..."
The Observer

Reader: Anamaria Marinca
(BAFTA award winner for 'Sex Traffic' 2005)

Abridged by Pete Nichols

Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01ks52t)
Elizabeth Streb; Women in Opera; Bond's Bikinis

Dancer Elizabeth Streb; Should you plan a career around a baby? Women in Opera; James Bond swimwear style - from Ursula's white bikini to Daniel's blue trunks. Presented by Jane Garvey.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ks52w)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Series 5

Episode 2

Sam's younger brother, Tom, falls desperately ill but the doctors disagree about the diagnosis. Meanwhile, the maid reveals some secrets about how Tom has been living. Sam and Elizabeth have an enormous row which continues when she follows him to the office 'like a vixen with a look of rancour'. When Tom dies even more surprising secrets are revealed.

Cast: Samuel Pepys - Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Pepys - Katherine Jakeways, Will - John Biddle, Cousin Jane - Manon Edwards, Tom Pepys - Gareth Pierce, Dr Wiverly - Matthew Gravelle, Dr Powell - Ewan Bailey, Gravedigger - Lee Mengo.

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While You May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.

Historical consultant: Liza Picard

Sound by Nigel Lewis

A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


TUE 11:00 Does Science Need the People? (b01ks52y)
Episode 1

Who should decide on whether funding for things like GM, nanotechnology, embryonic stem cell research or particle physics goes ahead? At the moment most of the money for science lies with the research councils, to whom scientists go cap in hand year after year. That's around 3 billion pounds of public money. So should the public have more of a say?

At the moment, it seems like trust in science is at a crossroads. Whilst increasingly we believe in the power of science to benefit society, a recent MORI survey suggested that over half of us are distrustful of scientists who "tamper with nature" and believe that "rules will not stop scientists doing what they want behind closed doors". Though we face global food and energy shortages and await the next mutated animal disease pandemic, barely a third of us believe that the benefits of research into things like GM, or nuclear power are worth the risk. But are we the people, able to best judge what road science should take?

But does this disconnect between science and society matter? How important is public opinion to the direction of scientific research? Is GM, gene therapy or nuclear power simply too important to be derailed by a public that only has a very basic understanding of risk? Or should scientists not only consult the public about controversial areas of research but even allow us to direct it? In the first of two programmes, Geoff Watts asks, Does Science need the people?

Producer: Rami Tzabar.


TUE 11:30 Madam Mao's Golden Oldies (b01ks530)
As a child, comedian Anna Chen was often taken by her Communist parents to the Chinese Legation in London to watch the latest propaganda films of the Cultural Revolution.

These had intriguing titles such as Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and The White Haired Girl and were invariably melodramatic stories of heroic peasants overthrowing despotic landlords or other enemies of the Revolution.

During the years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) when all other theatrical and musical performances were prohibited or tightly controlled, these eight Model Operas became the principal entertainment available to the entire population of China. Novelist Anchee Min describes how they became the soundtrack to her childhood in Shanghai: 'They were on the radio, the only movies in the theatre, on the street megaphone. For ten years I listened to the operas when I ate, walked and slept. I sang the operas wherever I went.'

The Model Operas were created by Jiang Ching, wife of Chairman Mao. Her mission was to destroy all traditional art forms that served the bourgeois elite. Instead she wanted art that reflected the lives of the masses and which would rekindle their fervour for the class struggle. But she was a huge fan of Western classical music and Hollywood films and ensured these were harnessed to make her Model Operas more powerful and memorable.

When the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, Madam Mao was put in prison, and the Model Operas were banned. But they are now undergoing an unexpected revival. The songs are often sung in karaoke bars and on television. They are staged throughout China and abroad. No longer propaganda, they seem to have become just good nostalgic entertainment.

Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b01ks532)
Call You and Yours: The Railways

The Prime Minister David Cameron has called it the "biggest modernisation of our railways since the Victorian era". On Call You & Yours we ask who will benefit most from the £9.4bn Government package of investment in the railways in England and Wales?

It includes £4.2bn of new schemes for re-opening dormant railway lines and electrification as well as upgrades to stations and tracks to create more capacity. While this should be good news for Britain's railways there is concern around the balance of the cost burden on taxpayer and farepayer.

So is now the time to be planning ahead?

Are you happy to pay more for your train tickets if it means an improved rail network in the long term? Do you think a better balance should be struck between the taxpayer and the farepayer in paying for the railway?

03700 100 444 is the phone number to call.

You can send an e-mail via the Radio 4 website or text us on 84844. Leave a message, name and number and we may well call you back.

And you can tweet @BBCRadio4 during the programme, using the hashtag #youandyours.

Presented by Julian Worricker
Produced by Maire Devine.


TUE 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01ks534)
Cicely Saunders

The New Elizabethans: Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement who revolutionised palliative care and helped people to die with dignity, free from fear and pain.

Cicely Saunders was inspired to build St Christopher's Hospice in south London by two Polish patients with whom she developed very close friendships. She raised the money through charitable donations and the doors opened in 1967. By the time of her death at St Christopher's in 2005, there was a network of modern hospices across the world and 50,000 health professionals had been trained in end of life care by St Christopher's, reaching over 120 countries.

Her thesis was simple. "You matter because you are you, and you matter until the last moment of your life. We will do all we can to help you, not only to die peacefully, but to live until you die."

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."
Producer: Clare Walker.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b01kpy23)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b01ks536)
National and international news with Martha Kearney. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


TUE 13:45 Hardeep Seeks Serenity (b01kt7wg)
Episode 2

The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people - from a stand-up comic to a foster carer - to find out how they bring peace, or a moment of serenity, into their lives.

In today's programme, Hardeep travels to the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall, near Telford, to talk to Kay Lucas. Kay is the reigning para-archery world champion in her discipline, having won gold at the 2010 games in France. She also represented Britain at the Beijing Paralympics, and takes part in national and international events.

She talks about the moment where she experiences a feeling of concentrated serenity, as she places the arrow on the bow, and looses it at the target. It's a serenity that has been hard won, since Kay was injured in a car accident in 1995 and was then subjected to a violent physical assault that left her disabled. She talks to Hardeep about those events, and also about her new-found faith which offers her a further kind of serenity.

She and her trainer-husband Kim allow Hardeep the chance to experience the serenity of the archer for himself, as he removes an arrow from its quiver, and places it on the bowstring. He agrees that, as he breathes in, holds his breath and fires, there is a strange moment when the outside world disappears.

Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b01ks3vc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b01ks538)
Jane Thornton - The Gift

by Jane Thornton.

Stephen Tompkinson stars in an extraordinary story inspired by real events, about how far a father is prepared to go to make his child happy.

When Dan and Lori adopted Amber as a baby, Dan knew he'd never stop loving her. Now he's pulling out all the stops for her 18th birthday. But then he discovers a box of reel-to-reel recordings made by Lori's Dad Charlie which might make him change his mind.

Charlie was a blues man, always on tour either playing or roady-ing. Lori adored her Dad, even though he was away so much when she was a child. Dan thought she'd want to listen to the tapes he made as a record of his life on the road, but she says it would be too painful now that Charlie's dead: Dan should just throw them away. But Dan wants to find some material for his speech for Amber's party so he starts listening to the tapes when Lori's not around. At first it's funny to hear Charlie describing his rock n' roll life - so different from Dan's - then it's addictive. And then he finds out some things he'd rather not know.

Dan...Stephen Tompkinson
Lori...Jacqueline Roberts
Charlie...Dicken Ashworth
Amber...Martha Godber
Young Lori...Sydney Wade

Guitar...Eddie Tatton

Director...Mary Ward-Lowery.


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b01ks53b)
Series 2

Episode 3

Jay Rayner presents episode three in the series of BBC Radio 4's food panel show. Each week the programme travels around the country to visit interesting culinary locations, and answer questions from local food-loving people. Recorded in front of a live audience, The Kitchen Cabinet is aimed at anyone who cooks at home, not just the experts.

In this programme The Kitchen Cabinet is at Latitude Festival where, as well as discussing the ins and outs of foraging for food, the team takes questions on all aspects of eating and drinking.

This week the panel features; Angela Malik the Scottish-Indian fusion chef and entrepreneur, Tim Hayward - acclaimed food critic, writer, and broadcaster, Allegra McEvedy; chef, food writer and regular on Radio 4's Loose Ends, and Miles Irving; the internationally renowned forager who has recently supplied goods for Noma in Copenhagen (which some consider to be the best restaurant in the world).

The show is witty, fast-moving, and irreverent, but packed full of information that may well change the way you think about cooking.

Produced by Robert Abel and Darby Dorras.
Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun.
A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 The House I Grew Up In (b012wzf8)
Series 5

Shirley Williams

Shirley Williams, now Baroness Williams, returns to her childhood homes in London's Chelsea and the New Forest. Her mother was the writer, Vera Brittain, whose most famous novel - Testament of Youth - was a best-seller when Shirley was a child in the 1930s. Her father, George Catlin, was an academic and and an instinctive feminist whose own mother had been an early suffragette, ostracised by Victorian society. He was a frustrated politician who stood for parliament a number of times but was never elected. But these were not the only nurturing adults in her young life. Also hugely significant was her mother's best friend, Winifred Holtby, and the housekeeper and her husband, Amy & Charlie Burnett - a bright, under-educated working class couple whom Shirley adored.

The conversations in her childhood home centred on world events - the Spanish civil war and the rise of Hitler. Vera Brittain was a pacifist and, as such, found herself and her husband on the Nazis' blacklist. Had the Germans invaded in 1940, Shirley's parents would likely have been eliminated. Fearful of this, soon after war broke out and with the battle of the Atlantic raging, they put Shirley and her brother on a ship and evacuated them to the USA.

The programme focuses on the relationships she forged with the adults in her early life and what she learned from them all. She credits her father with giving her the confidence to pursue a life in politics, Amy with imbuing in her a practical understanding of the constraints of a class-bound society, her mother with a vision of nobility and Winifred? Winifred was simply fun.

Wendy Robbins accompanies Shirley Williams as she revisits the homes and haunts of her childhood.
Producer : Rosamund Jones.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b01ks53d)
Asking the Right Question

As Scotland grapples with the wording of a possible referendum on independence, Chris Ledgard takes a look at the art of asking the right question. Whether in a referendum, survey or in a court room, how do you avoid writing an incomprehensible question or - perhaps worse - a leading question?

Experts in linguistics, law, politics and psychology as well as politicians themselves explain the importance of getting the wording of a question right.

Contributors:

Pupils from St Katherine's School in North Somerset
Joan McAlpine, Scottish National Party MSP
Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Professor John Curtice, University of Strathclyde
Professor John Joseph, University of Edinburgh
Amanda Pinto QC, Criminal Barrister
Professor Robert Cialdini, Arizona State University
Craig Ranapia, New Zealand based blogger and broadcaster

Producer: Polly Procter.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b01ks53g)
Tim Coates, Jon Plowman

Comedy producer Jon Plowman, publisher Tim Coates and presenter Harriett Gilbert discuss their favourite books. "Dear Miss Landau" by James Christie is the story of one man's quest to meet a television starlet; "The Sisters Brothers" is a powerful western noir, and Tobias Wolff's "Old School" is a tale of youthful literary ambition.


TUE 17:00 PM (b01ks53j)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kpy25)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Sketchorama (b01ks53l)
Series 1

Episode 4

Award-winning character comedian and doyen of sketch comedy Humphrey Ker presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit in this brand new showcase - with character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

Humphrey Ker is himself an established sketch performer, writer, actor and comedian who won the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh festival in 2011. For five years he was part of the much-loved sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls, with whom he wrote and performed in a string of Edinburgh festival smashes, two series on BBC7 and two plays for Radio 4.

The sketch groups featured in episode four of Sketchorama are:

How Do I Get Up There? Scotland's fastest rising sketch group heralding a new era for Scottish comedy. In 2010, the boys made the final of the "Take The Mic" competition at the Edinburgh Festival, and in 2011 enjoyed their Fringe debut show. They also progressed to the finals of the prestigious New Act of The Year competition at the Barbican in London.

The Ginge, The Geordie and The Geek. Since making their debut in 2009, this group featuring Graeme Rooney, Paul Charlton and Kevin O'Loughlin have established themselves as Fringe favourites and sold 10,000 tickets for their 2011 show.

Pappy's. A multi award winning sketch team consisting of comedians Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry. Established in 2004, Pappy's are firm favourites on the UK live comedy circuit with their hyper-energetic, gag filled monster of a stage presence.

Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b01ks5xp)
Alistair is called to Brookfield to check on a heifer that has a nasty cut. David is worried it may be another attack, but Alistair assures him it is just a routine farm casualty. The heifer has probably been caught in barbed wire. Their discussion is cut short when Elizabeth arrives. She has come to inspect the damage caused by the fire and offers to look after Ben and Josh if David should ever need help.
It's the cricket match between Ambridge mixed youngsters and St Margaret's Girls' School. Jamie is so confident his team will win he bets money on it! Rosa gives Jamie lots of compliments about his game, which does nothing to change Natalie's opinion of her. Natalie is more critical of her boyfriend's gamesmanship and intimidation tactics. Alistair agrees such play is not appropriate today.
Jamie is not happy when Ambridge loses. When Rosa and Jamie head off to the pavilion to get some burgers, Natalie takes the opportunity to ask Alistair why girls can't be considered for the regular team. Alistair promises to raise it at the next AGM. Natalie is hopeful the Ambridge cricket team will soon reflect a twenty-first century ethos.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b01ks5xr)
Hattie Morahan and Dominic Rowan on booing at the theatre; John Lydon; literary letters

With Mark Lawson.

Hattie Morahan and Dominic Rowan are currently starring in Ibsen's drama A Doll's House, and audiences have been booing Dominic's portrayal of the heroine's chauvinistic husband. The actors discuss handling negative audience reaction, which also happened when Dominic played an egotistical hunk in Penelope Skinner's play, The Village Bike.

John Lydon, lead singer of the iconic 1970s punk band The Sex Pistols, says it would be a compliment if their song, God Save the Queen, was included in the Olympic opening ceremony. He explains why the song is not a vicious assault and, as his band PiL release a new album, he talks about his National Treasure status and why retiring is not an option.

A third volume of T S Eliot's correspondence has just been published, the product of many years of scholarship - but will such collections continue in the age of email and text message? Professor Steve Connor, from Birkbeck College, London, and Megan Barnard, from the Harry Ransom Centre in Texas, consider the future of the literary letter.

A mention in fiction bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey has pushed Thomas Tallis' 40 part motet Spem in Alium to the top of the classical chart. We count down other unexpected cultural hits which have followed an appearance in fiction or film.

Producer Nicki Paxman.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ks52w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b01ks5xt)
European Funding

The EU has allocated millions of pounds in grants to help our towns and cities regenerate. So why are some complaining they can't get their hands on the cash? European rules mean Britain has to put up an equal amount of money. But, as Allan Urry reveals, cuts at Westminster and in town halls around the country mean that some projects have either stalled or been abandoned because no "matched funding" is available. Critics of the Government say up to a billion pounds of regeneration money will end up in the Treasury's coffers or being returned to Brussels. Yet, it supposed to be supporting economic development in the English regions which the Government has argued will drive growth. That's what's happened in Germany and other EU countries. Have they made better use of funds from Brussels to help narrow the gap between their rich and poor regions? Now, as Europe struggles with austerity, does the European Commission need to re-think its system for allocating cash, and should the Coalition Government in Britain do more to deliver growth?

Producer: Samantha Fenwick.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b01ks5xw)
Eye Health in Care Homes & Olympic Audio Description - 17/07/2012

Blind charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust, and the International Longevity Centre UK, are calling for an awareness campaign in to eye health within England care homes.

A listener wants to know why the text-to-speech facility that can be enabled on Amazon e-books, isn't always provided for every title. Regular contributor Ian Macrae and the Publishers' Association's Richard Mollet, discuss. And audio description at the Olympics and Paralympics - when and how can you get it?


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b01ks5xy)
Whooping cough, Cardiac screening, Antibacterials, Selfcare, Xbox

Whooping cough is on the rise - but the official figures could be the tip of the iceberg, according to one doctor. Retired GP from Nottinghamshire Dr Doug Jenkinson has spent most of his professional life researching the condition which is also known as pertussis. He says that instead of around 1,700 cases every year, there could be tens of thousands. He personally has seen around 700 cases and a blood test available for the last few years has helped to confirm cases. The key to diagnosis is a cough which almost causes choking - sometimes with the characteristic whooping sound - which then subsides for a few hours. The cough can last up to 3 months. The cough can be dangerous for infants under the age of one - who can catch it from parents and grandparents. Dr Jenkinson suggests a vaccine booster could be offered to parents-to-be.

Following the recent high profile cases of elite sportspeople collapsing with undiagnosed heart conditions should screening be made available to amateurs? Since the collapse of footballer Fabrice Muamba on the pitch earlier this year the profile of so-called silent heart conditions has risen. Sanjay Sharma is Professor of Cardiology at St George's Hospital - he works closely with the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young or CRY - and supports screening. CRY believes that screening will pick up an abnormality in as many as 1 in 300 youngsters - although it freely admits that the vast majority of these would never have gone on to develop a serious problem. And it is the resulting disruption to these children's lives that puts some people off screening, not least because they far outnumber those likely to be saved by the tests. Dr Anne Mackie is the Director of Programmes for the UK National Screening Committee. She says that she wouldn't even opt for screening for her own children

Following last week's feature on unfounded rumours that toys were to be banned from GP waiting rooms to reduce the risk of cross infection, an Inside Health listener emailed the programme to ask about the evidence behind products marketed as killing germs on the various surfaces we touch at home. So what's the science behind adding antibacterial agents to household products? Dr Kamran Abbasi, Editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reveals that there is no evidence to show that products labelled 'antibacterial' reduce the number of infections in the home any more than 'regular' cleaning products.

GP Margaret McCartney explains why she thinks the latest campaign to encourage more self-care for minor ailments is wrong to imply that people who consult their doctor about dandruff are wasting NHS resources. The NHS 'Choose Well Summer' campaign says 'self care is the best option if you have a summer health complaint' and it's supported by the National Association for Patient Participation, who say it's all about 'empowering individuals'. The campaign was launched with headlines about the 40,000 visits in a year to GPs which were for dandruff. But what was really behind those consultations? And how good are we at looking after our own health?

Computer games are being used to help people recover from strokes and brain injury, thanks to experts in Reading. Products like Microsoft's Xbox Kinect - which can recognise a player's movements - are being adapted by Professor Malcolm Sperrin at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. The technology allows patients to select an activity - from dancing to golf or ten pin bowling - and monitor their progress as part of their recovery. The charity Headway - which supports people with brain injury - is using the technology in the community to help people to recover at home.


TUE 21:30 Stephanomics (b01ks52r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b01kpy27)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b01ks5y0)
Fighting in Damascus intensifies - but is the momentum with the Government or rebels?

Have Parliament's select committees become too powerful?

HSBC apologies for its role in laundering Mexican drug money.

With Ritula Shah.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01ks5y2)
Ancient Light

Episode 2

In today's episode of Ancient Light, by John Banville, Alexander Cleave remembers his 'first encounter' with his best friend's mother, Mrs Gray, 'on a watercolour April day of gusts and sudden rain and vast, rinsed skies.'

Man Booker winner John Banville's new novel, Ancient Light, is a story of an unlikely first love affair interwoven with darker memories of a lost daughter.

Alexander Cleave is an actor of a certain age, surprised to be plucked from relative obscurity for his first film role, to play a man of some mystery, Axel Vander. As he prepares for the role, he recollects the passion of his first love affair, when he was fifteen and 'Billy Gray was my best friend and I fell in love with his mother.' Alongside these memories circle more painful ones, of his beloved only daughter, who died in strange circumstances a decade ago.

Written with Banville's masterful command of language and dazzling prose, Ancient Light captures the intensity of first love and the intimate details of an illicit affair in rural Ireland in the fifties. Snatched assignations in a battered station wagon and the ruined Cotter's house are vividly evoked with perfect precision, as are the joy and absurdity, the selfishness and obsession of young love. Funny, seductive and moving, Banville skilfully weaves the past and the present together as he reveals the nature and unreliability of memory.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels, including The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize.

The reader is Dermot Crowley.
The abridger is Sally Marmion.
The producer is Di Speirs.


TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b01ks3v5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Monday]


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01ks5y4)
Sean Curran reports on a gruelling session for the Chief Executive of G4S, Nick Buckles. as he takes questions from MPs. There's a report on the controversy surrounding the dairy farming industry; and what does Doreen Lawrence think of John Terry ?

Editor: Peter Mulligan.



WEDNESDAY 18 JULY 2012

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01kpy32)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b01kq2l9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy34)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kpy36)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy38)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b01kpy3b)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01ks64x)
A spiritual reflection and prayer to begin the day, presented by The Revd Johnston McKay.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b01ks64z)
As ASDA promises a premium to cover August price cuts to dairy farmers, the National Farmers' Union say they still want all price cuts since May to be abandoned before they'll be satisfied.
Anna Hill asks Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Chairman, Anne McIntosh, if she feels Morrisons and The Co-operative should follow.

And as more heavy rain is expected, many pastures in England remain waterlogged. The conditions have meant disruption for David Cotton's herd near Glastonbury and for Farming Today's adopted dairy cow on his farm. As Sarah Swadling finds out, Bradley Cora is back inside and on a costly winter footing.

Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Clare Freeman BBC Birmingham.


WED 06:00 Today (b01ks651)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphries and Sarah Montague. Including:

0733
Former Olympic security co-ordinator Tarique Ghaffur shares his thoughts on the G4S security fiasco.

0743
A copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare which the inmates of South Africa's notorious apartheid-era Robben Island prison read clandestinely and which became known as the "Robben Island Bible" is one of the prize exhibits in a major exhibition at the British Museum called Shakespeare: Staging the World. Mike Wooldridge reports.

0751
The government is launching a new initiative today in the hope of injecting some growth into the economy, by putting up £50bn in guarantees for projects that are in the national interest, and that are within 12 months of starting. Economics editor Stephanie Flanders has more details, and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander explains how the scheme will work.

0810
Winifred Robinson reports on what constitutes "a troubled family", and Louise Casey, head of Troubled Families Policy, shares her thoughts on what the government can do to solve the problem of abuse and violence which is passed on "from generation to generation", according to a report.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b01ks653)
Clive Stafford Smith, Lois Pryce, Nick Phillips, Christos Tsirogiannis

A long-distance motorcycle rider who has ridden solo around the world, Lois Pryce is a co-founder of the Adventure Travel Film Festival. Her first trip was from Alaska to Buenos Aires and since then she has travelled across Africa from Tunis to Cape Town and has just returned from Brazil where she led an all women team of motorcyclists. She also plays banjo in a bluegrass band called 'The Jolenes' who are performing at the festival. 'The Adventure Travel Film Festival' runs from August 17th-20th in Sherborne, Dorset.

Clive Stafford Smith is a lawyer specialising in defending people accused of the most serious crimes. He's also the founder and director of Reprieve. Based in the US for 26 years, he now works from the UK where he continues to defend prisoners on Death Row. In his book 'Injustice' he examines the case of Kris Maharaj who has been on Death Row for 25 years. 'Injustice' is published by Harvill Secker.

Christos Tsirogiannis is a forensic archaeologist who investigates the theft of antiquities from ancient sites and museums. For several years Christos was the only archaeologist working for the Greek Police Art Squad in his native Athens. Now based at Cambridge University, he says the plundering of ancient artefacts is increasing as countries with the richest archaeological heritage are sinking further into financial crisis.

Nick Phillips is starring in In Water I'm Weightless performed by National Theatre Wales as part of the London 2012 Festival. Nick was a trained dancer who broke his back in an accident 15 years ago and now uses a wheelchair. Taking a provocative look at the body and disability, In Water I'm Weightless is performed by a cast of six actors and dancers with disabilities. In Water I'm Weightless is at the Cardiff Millennium Centre July 26th-August 4th.

Producer: Paula McGinley.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b01kq2m6)
Burying the Typewriter

Episode 3

With his wife and his youngest daughter away from home, Ion Bugan decides it's time to make his statement. Carmen knows that she cannot dissuade him.

Burying The Typewriter is Carmen Bugan's memoir of growing up in Romania in the 1970s and 1980s when the country was governed by Ceausescu, and his network of agents and informers, the Securitate, exerted a malign influence in every sphere of society.

Carmen Bugan was educated at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Balliol College, Oxford, where she was awarded a doctorate. Her first book of poetry, Crossing The Carpathians, was published by Oxford Poets/Carcanet in 2004.

"A beautiful, vivid memoir..."
The Guardian

"It is the more moving and powerful for being so quiet and thoughtful..."
The Independent

"A warm and humane work..."
The Observer

Reader: Anamaria Marinca
(BAFTA award winner for 'Sex Traffic' 2005)

Abridged by Pete Nichols

Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01ks655)
Maternity grants. Can you have a feminist wedding? Angela Neustatter on heart and home; Teaching entrepreneurial skills to girls. Presented by Jane Garvey.


WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ks8v5)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Series 5

Episode 3

Sam's old jealousy returns. At home with a cold, he stops Elizabeth going to Church alone in case she sees her old dancing master, Mr Pembleton. The moment he's better, of course, he's out looking for his mistress, Mrs Lane. Elizabeth finally discovers why Sam's uncle has been so interested in her - and Sam is severely embarrassed when he walks in on Lady Sandwich using the chamber pot.

Cast: Samuel Pepys - Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Pepys - Katherine Jakeways, Bessie - Sarah Ovens, Lady Sandwich - Bethan Walker, Edward, Lord Sandwich - Blake Ritson, Lord Clarendon - Ewan Bailey.

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While You May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.

Historical consultant: Liza Picard

Sound by Nigel Lewis
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


WED 11:00 White Stiletto Dreams (b01ks8v7)
Romford Market was vibrant in the 1980s. Now it is struggling to survive - a victim of supermarkets and cut-price stores.

Presenter Cathy FitzGerald bought her first - and last - pair of white stilettos in the market as a teenager. David Eldridge worked on the shoe stall. He's now one of Britain's leading playwrights, with credits that include In Basildon at the Royal Court and Market Boy, a play about Romford that premiered at the National Theatre. Selling espadrilles isn't obvious training for a playwright, but in the 1980s the market was a stage.

There were the characters (the Fruit & Veg Man, the Leather Boys, and the Lampshade Man) and the dialogue - bantering with the customers was rude, funny, and definitely an art. Cathy and David return to Romford to weigh up what's been lost - and see if the stiletto still fits.

Producers: Cathy FitzGerald and Matt Thompson
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.


WED 11:30 The Castle (b01j8gyl)
Series 4

Highlights and Twilights

Hie ye to The Castle, a rollicking sitcom set way back then, starring James Fleet ("The Vicar Of Dibley"), Neil Dudgeon ("Life Of Riley"), Martha Howe-Douglas ("Horrible Histories") & Ingrid Oliver ("Watson & Oliver")

The village of Woodstock receives two mysterious visitors - one deathly pale and one deathly orange. Meanwhile, Lady Anne meets the love that dare not speak its name and Sir John meets the love that can speak its name but can't pronounce it properly

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
Bates Lewis Macleod

with special guest
Amy De Childs Jess Robinson

Written by Kim Fuller & Paul Alexander
Music by Guy Jackson
Produced and directed by David Tyler.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b01ks8v9)
The insurance fraudster caught in the act

What do Manchester, New York, and Lyon all have in common? They've all signed up to become World Health Organisation Age Friendly Cities. We find out what that means in practice.

Shari Vahl reveals the phone call that led to the first conviction by a new police unit set up to tackle insurance fraud.

Campaigners say new research shows manufacturers are failing to do enough to reduce the amount of salt in our food. But manufacturers claim the same research shows they're doing all they can. We hear from those behind the study

And do first class stamps really mean your letters will arrive before those posted with second class stamps? One council says not and is switching all its post to second class.

Producer: Joe Kent.


WED 12:30 Face the Facts (b01ks9z0)
The Stolen Families

John Waite investigates the growing number of international child abduction cases where a parent flees abroad with their children to keep custody and evade the law. So does the law need strengthening to protect the rights of the 'left-behind' parent? And how effective is the international convention which is designed to ensure children are returned home quickly?

Produced by Joe Kent & Jon Douglas
Research by Fiona Napier.


WED 12:57 Weather (b01kpy3d)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b01ks9z2)
National and international news presented by Martha Kearney. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


WED 13:45 Hardeep Seeks Serenity (b01kt7z9)
Episode 3

The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people, from very different backgrounds, to find out how they bring peace, or a moment of serenity, into their lives.

In today's programme, Hardeep meets the stand-up comic Chris Dangerfield. Chris appears at comedy nights in a range of venues, and will be making a return visit to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. His comedy is raw and confrontational, but in his conversation with Hardeep he talks about how, after years spent on drugs, he managed to find a serenity of mind that gave him the strength to kick his addiction.

Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b01ks5xp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00tg1c7)
Jonathan Davidson - Miss Balcombe's Orchard

A drama-documentary by Jonathan Davidson set and recorded in an apple orchard. Miss Balcombe is getting on but she is determined to keep her apple trees. Her workers don't much care but there is a trespasser among her russets.

With Susan Engel as Miss Balcombe, Richard Bremmer as Claud, Sonia Ritter as Barbara, and Hayley Doherty as Sophie; and featuring Barrie Juniper, author of The Story of the Apple. Recorded on location in Oxfordshire. Producer: Tim Dee.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b01ks9z4)
The financial consequences of flooding can be devastating for victims, with homes and businesses badly damaged. Paul Lewis and a panel of guests take your calls on flood related issues as a result of the last two months of heavy rain.

People who live in areas liable to flooding are facing huge increases in their home insurance premiums - so how do you find the best deal? How can you get a reasonable insurance quote if you live in a postal area which is prone to flooding but you live on higher ground and have never suffered water damage?

You might also be unsure about whether you can claim your money back if an event or holiday booking has been cancelled because of the unusually bad weather? Will your credit or debit card that you used to make your booking help you obtain a refund?

Guests:
Mary Dhonau, Chief Executive of Know Your Flood Risk
Matt Cullen of the Association of British Insurers
Alonso Ercilla, Trading Standards Institute

The lines open at 1pm on Wednesday - the number to ring 03700 100 444.
Or e mail: moneybox@bbc.co.uk.


WED 15:30 Inside Health (b01ks5xy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b01ks9z6)
Builders and Musicians

Building workers constitute between five and ten per cent of the total labour market in almost every country. We rely on them to construct the infrastructure of our societies yet we know little about their culture. The sociologist, Darren Thiel, talks to Laurie Taylor about his study into their every day lives on a London construction site.

Also, drawing on research with musicians in the North East of England, Dr Susan Coulson finds that co-operation, creativity and entrepreneurship make uneasy bedfellows.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b01ks9z8)
BBC Presenters' Tax

This week with Steve Hewlett:

MPs have been grilling the BBC over the way it contracts its presenters, leading to allegations such as that on the front of the Daily Mail this week: "148 BBC stars avoiding tax". Conservative MP Steve Barclay was one of those questioning the BBC and he tells Steve where his concerns lie. Bal Samra, the BBC's director of business affairs, responds. And, in a week when the BBC and its commercial arm BBC Worldwide have published their reports, analyst Theresa Wise asks whether Worldwide could be doing more to contribute to the BBC's income for the benefit of licence fee payers.

The British Olympic Association has had to reject thousands of applications for press passes. One of those surprised to find themselves among the reject pile was The Voice, "Britain's favourite black newspaper", which believed it had assurances from Seb Coe that it would be allowed in to cover the events. Now, after some lobbying and a pass becoming available today, it has a permit to cover track and field. Elizabeth Pears of The Voice tells the story and Ashling O'Connor, who helped distribute the passes, explains how they decided who to include in the shortlist.

And Yahoo has a new chief executive, Marissa Mayer, straight from Google. Can she help turn the company around? Theresa Wise and the Guardian's technology editor Charles Arthur discuss her prospects.

The producer is Simon Tillotson.


WED 17:00 PM (b01ks9zb)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kpy3g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 My Teenage Diary (b01ks9zd)
Series 4

Toby Young

My Teenage Diary returns with six more brave celebrities ready to revisit their formative years by opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them out in public for the very first time.

IN this fourth programme in the series, comedian Rufus Hound is joined by writer Toby Young who revisits his teenage years, when he had a lot of fun playing knock down ginger, shooting pea shooters, and skateboarding - but let his academic work suffer.

He reflects on his mis-spent youth and talks about how it has changed his perceptions of young offenders today.

Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b01ks9zg)
Jim and Jennifer question if Lynda's play will be welcomed by the village. given the production's unusual preparation methods. Jim isn't thrilled by the concept of performance art and tourists watching actors perform in natural environments across the village.
One of Brian's prospective suppliers for the new dairy has pulled out, leaving him with the task of finding a new farm for the contract. There is one obvious solution for Brian which is to give the contract for the dairy to Home Farm.
Joe and Eddie attempt to sell Eddie's statues at the farmers' market, but Joe doesn't think it is the right location for their target demographic. However Ruairi wants to buy a dog statue that looks like Fly. Horrified that the statue could end up in her garden, Jennifer refuses to give Ruairi an advance on his pocket money. Ruairi takes matters into his own hands by completing some chores to earn money. He starts with unloading boxes of meat.
With Ruairi out of earshot, Brian tells Jennifer he has decided to talk to Adam about the arable. Jennifer is worried her son won't be happy.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b01ks9zj)
Madonna in the UK; Simon Russell Beale in Timon of Athens

With Mark Lawson.

Madonna's MDNA world tour arrived in the UK last night, including new live versions of three decades worth of hits, performed with dancers, flying drummers, tightrope walkers, cheerleaders and a Basque folk trio. Rosie Swash assesses whether Madonna still commands the stage.

Simon Russell Beale takes the title role in Timon of Athens, in a new National Theatre production of Shakespeare's tale of conspicuous consumption, debt and corruption. Andrew Rawnsley reviews.

The World's Two Smallest Humans is the title of the new collection of poetry by Julia Copus. The poems cover a range of subjects from music to the classics, and the collection features a series of personal poems on the subject of IVF, a process Julia Copus underwent without success.

Iranian-born Mahan Esfahani gave the first ever harpsichord recital in the history of the BBC Proms last year. This Saturday he returns with The Academy of Ancient Music to perform his own orchestration of Bach's keyboard masterpiece, The Art of Fugue. He talks about collaboration, authenticity and adapting things on the spot.

Producer Claire Bartleet.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ks8v5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b01ks9zl)
It's hard to look at pictures of 85 year old Kamba tribesman Paul Nzilli and not feel moved. This frail, slight man in a coat that's a few sizes too big for him, leaning on his walking stick outside the High Court in London is one of three Kenyans who are survivors of Britain's suppression of the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950's. They're fighting for compensation from the UK government, saying they were beaten and tortured - Mr Nzilli says he was castrated, on the orders of British officers who were battling rebellion in what was then still a part of the Empire. Foreign Office lawyers say the events took place too long ago for there to be a fair trial. The issue here is not just about the practicalities of gathering evidence and the frailty of memory. Would we argue for a statute of limitations on Holocaust crimes from WWII? Yet, if this case succeeds it could open the flood gates for thousands of claims from Kenyans and the citizens of other countries who suffered in the turmoil of the dying days of the Empire. Should we really hold the present government accountable in the law courts for the history and morality of the British Empire? Each of the cases may be terrible in their individual detail, but is this process about justice and a proper moral evaluation of the past? Or is it just moralizing about the past by those who have a particular political axe to grind in the present?

Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Melanie Phillips, Clifford Longley, Anne McElvoy and Matthew Taylor.

Witnesses:
Esther Stanford-Xosei - Community advocate and broadcaster
Lawrence James - Historian
Lee Jasper - Campaigner for social justice, former Senior Policy Director for Equalities & Policing for London
Dr Nick Lloyd - Senior Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King's College at the Joint Services Command Staff College, Defence Academy of the UK.


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b01ks9zn)
Series 3

Naif Al-Mutawa: Art and Religion

Naif Al-Mutawa discusses the importance of interpreting and translating between cultures.

Naif created The 99 - comic books featuring characters based on Islamic culture and religion, but appealing to universal virtues.

In his Four Thought talk, he uses his own experiences running up against extremism and wilful misunderstanding, to meditate on the importance of cultural interpretation. And he argues that art and religion co-existed for centuries, and should be able to do so again.

Producer: Giles Edwards.


WED 21:00 Beyond Bolt: The Human Limits (b01ks9zq)
The motto of the modern Olympic Games is citius, altius, fortius; translated as fast-er, high-er, strong-er. We continually want and expect records to be broken and human sporting performance to improve year-on-year. But can we really expect athletes to improve forever? Jonathan Edwards, who still holds the world Triple Jump record 17 years after setting it, explores when and more importantly why, we'll get to the limits of human endeavour?

Sporting performance seems to be down to biology, hard training and the occasional technological intervention- but some unexpected societal forces have an influence on what makes the perfect athlete: population mixing and growth; world wars; globalization and even the cycle of the Olympics themselves.

Even something as simple as population size has an influence. A researcher at Stanford University, California has compared thoroughbred horses, greyhounds and humans. Both greyhounds and horses speeds have plateaued - for horses there has been no improvements in race times since the 1940s possibly because they have been bred from a small population of Arabian stallions in the 18th century. And while humans still have a growing population, according to his research humans are rapidly approaching their plateau with times, distances, heights and speeds just level off? His analysis says we are getting close to that point and that no man will ever run faster than 9.48 seconds in the 100m. Will that man be Usain Bolt and will he do it in 2012?

Jonathan uncovers new research by scientists who've found data from races going back 120 years to the original modern Olympics in 1896 and finds out about why war, globalization and even the Olympics are influencing our ability to perform in unexpected ways.


WED 21:30 Midweek (b01ks653)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b01kpy3j)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b01ks9zs)
Three senior members of the Syrian government killed in bomb attack, but questions remain as to who carried out the attack and how the bomber got so close to the heart of government; we ask the former senior UN enjoy Michael Williams where this latest violence in Damascus leaves the search for a diplomatic solution; also tonight, Nigerian authorities dismantle Lagos slum on stilts; and the life of Bollywood legend Rajesh Khanna - presented by Ritula Shah.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01ks9zv)
Ancient Light

Episode 3

In today's episode of Ancient Light by John Banville, actor Alexander Cleave recalls both the joys and the damp of the secret place of rendezvous that Mrs Gray and he made their own, that long lost summer.
And the new script arrives.

Man Booker winner John Banville's new novel, Ancient Light, is a story of an unlikely first love affair interwoven with darker memories of a lost daughter.

Alexander Cleave is an actor of a certain age, surprised to be plucked from relative obscurity for his first film role, to play a man of some mystery, Axel Vander. As he prepares for the role, he recollects the passion of his first love affair, when he was fifteen and 'Billy Gray was my best friend and I fell in love with his mother.' Alongside these memories circle more painful ones, of his beloved only daughter, who died in strange circumstances a decade ago.

Written with Banville's masterful command of language and dazzling prose, Ancient Light captures the intensity of first love and the intimate details of an illicit affair in rural Ireland in the fifties. Snatched assignations in a battered station wagon and the ruined Cotter's house are vividly evoked with perfect precision, as are the joy and absurdity, the selfishness and obsession of young love. Funny, seductive and moving, Banville skilfully weaves the past and the present together as he reveals the nature and unreliability of memory.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels, including The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize.

The reader is Dermot Crowley.
The abridger is Sally Marmion.
The producer is Di Speirs.


WED 23:00 Listen Against (b01752w7)
Series 4

Episode 3

Another week of radio that never happened.

Alice Arnold and Jon Holmes rewind and mangle real programmes for you to enjoy the wrong way round.

Written and created by Jon Holmes

With:

Kevin Eldon
Justin Edwards
Sarah Hadland
James Bachman
Kim Wall
David Mara

Producer: Sam Bryant.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01ks9zx)
Susan Hulme and the BBC's parliamentary team with the day's news from the House of Lords. Top story: Labour demands details of a multi-billion pound loan guarantee scheme for business - announced outside Parliament. Editor: Rachel Byrne.



THURSDAY 19 JULY 2012

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b01kpy4c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b01kq2m6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy4f)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kpy4h)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy4k)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b01kpy4m)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01ksbm0)
A spiritual reflection and prayer to begin the day, presented by The Revd Johnston McKay.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b01ksbm2)
Rain and mould stop play for strawberry growers. Charlotte Smith hears how some farmers have stopped picking their fruit because of little demand from shoppers for summer berries. Essex farmer Jonathan Lukies shows Charlotte the strawberries which are rotting in his field.

Hundreds of dangerous non-native moths have been discovered in South East England. Andrew Hoppit from the Forestry Commission explains the threat of the Oak Processionary Moth to human health.

And Sarah Falkingham visits a farm shop in West Yorkshire which runs a loyalty card scheme to encourage people to invest in the rural economy.

The presenter is Charlotte Smith and the producer is Emma Weatherill.


THU 06:00 Today (b01ksc38)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 Inside the Ethics Committee (b01ksc3b)
Series 8

Restraining Patients in Intensive Care

Monty has double pneumonia and is in intensive care. A ventilator is breathing for him and he's sedated so that he can tolerate a breathing tube in his throat. Given the risks associated with being intubated in this way, the team are keen to get him off the ventilator as soon as possible, so that he can start breathing for himself.

After several days of antibiotics, Monty improves. So they stop the sedation, wake him up, and remove the breathing tube. The plan is for Monty to wear a mask to support his breathing until he is strong enough to breathe for himself.

But Monty is autistic, and as soon as the mask is placed on his face, he pushes it away. The nurses put it back on, but again he bats it off. The nurses persist, but Monty struggles and lashes out at them. Exhausted, he starts going blue. Fearing for Monty's life, the team re-sedate him and put him back on the ventilator.

As his life hangs in the balance, what lengths should the medical team go to to get Monty to accept the life-saving treatment he is struggling against? Should they physically restrain him?

Joan Bakewell chairs the discussion between medical and ethical experts.

Producer: Beth Eastwood.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b01kq31r)
Burying the Typewriter

Episode 4

The consequences of her father's actions are soon brought home to Carmen, who discovers the insidious methods of the state first-hand.

Burying The Typewriter is Carmen Bugan's memoir of growing up in Romania in the 1970s and 1980s when the country was governed by Ceausescu, and his network of agents and informers, the Securitate, exerted a malign influence in every sphere of society.

Carmen Bugan was educated at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Balliol College, Oxford, where she was awarded a doctorate. Her first book of poetry, Crossing The Carpathians, was published by Oxford Poets/Carcanet in 2004.

"A beautiful, vivid memoir..."
The Guardian

"It is the more moving and powerful for being so quiet and thoughtful..."
The Independent

"A warm and humane work..."
The Observer

Reader: Anamaria Marinca
(BAFTA award winner for 'Sex Traffic' 2005)

Abridged by Pete Nichols

Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01ksc5v)
TOWIE

Fake tan, fake eyelashes, fake, well, more or less everything. How one Essex teacher is fighting back against the reality TV show that builds on the national stereotype of Essex Girls. Parliament's end of term report - will the women in the Cabinet and on the backbenches get full marks or "could do better"? Syria's capital Damascus, is witnessing the most intense clashes since the uprising began. Syrian journalist Samar Yazbek talks about her experiences and hopes for the future of her country. And live music from the Korean pianist HJ Lim
Presenter Jane Garvey
Producer Sarah Johnson.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ksc5x)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Series 5

Episode 4

Sam's affair with Mrs Lane continues, even after he is introduced to her husband. On the way home he is tempted by the whores on Fleet Street but manages to resist. He visits Llewellyn who has a new baby and Sam's childlessness is discussed by the ladies present - they offer various remedies from lying upside down in bed and eating toast, to drinking sage juice.

Cast: Samuel Pepys - Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Pepys - Katherine Jakeways, Mrs Lane - Eiry Thomas, Llewellyn - Matthew Gravelle, Mrs Bagwell - Bethan Walker

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While You May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.

Historical consultant: Liza Picard

Sound by Nigel Lewis

A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b01kt43g)
China Tweeting

In just three years China's main microblogging site, Sina Weibo, has surpassed Twitter's entire global membership. More than 300 million Chinese are now tweeting, with millions more joining the national conversation every month. Shanghai-based journalist Duncan Hewitt finds out how microblogging is changing China.

Thanks to social media China is witnessing the emergence of a civil society of activists and justice-seekers. These 'netizens' are using Sina Weibo and other services to publicise miscarriages of justice, instances of corruption and environmental issues and force local and central government to act. The victim of a horrific attack shows Duncan how her desperate plea for redress on Sina Weibo led to a nationwide outcry. In Beijing he meets the dogs saved from a grisly death in the dog-eating South thanks to flashmob rescuers organised on Sina Weibo. And a group of mothers who met on Sina Weibo tell him about their campaign to promote breastfeeding across China. None of this was possible before the internet - but where will it all lead?

While some subjects are banned, Sina Weibo has also given Chinese people a new freedom to voice opinions on the news, their lives and their country.

Duncan meets the young people of Chengdu in Western China who are now part of a small but growing graffiti, hip-hop and dance scene. Just 15 years ago there was no way they could communicate with fellow fans, never mind the outside world. He'll visit Youku, China's YouTube, to watch their online X-Factor-style competition as it is filmed. And he'll meet the famous cartoonist using animation to ask questions about the materialism of the young and the detention of his fellow artist and friend, Ai Weiwei.


THU 11:30 Ulster's Forgotten Darling (b01kt43j)
Helen Waddell was a medieval scholar, writer and poet. Born in Japan in 1889, she was the youngest child of a Presbyterian missionary from the Co Down area of Northern Ireland.

At the age of eleven she returned to Ireland and lived the next twenty years with her step-mother in Belfast. Moving from Victoria College for girls to Queen's University in 1908, she quickly earned a reputation as a bright and brilliant student. In 1911 she graduated with a first class honours in English, followed by a Masters degree the next year. But by now Helen Waddell was at the start of a lost decade. Obliged to remain in Belfast as a companion to her step-mother, it would be a considerable number of years before she could pursue her academic and literary career as she moved from Somerville College, Oxford to London.

From 1913, with the publication of her first book of poems "Lyrics from the Chinese" at the tender age of 19, to her height of her success in the late 1920s and 30s, Helen Waddell was to become a dominant figure in medieval scholarship and creative writing. With her books read by everyone from Queen Mary to factory workers, she cut a swathe across all social groups and was feted in the highest echelons of society. However, for a woman who felt deeply and wrote sensitively success mattered little, her passion was the imagination.

Sadly Helen Waddell slipped quickly from the public consciousness as her career, which began so late in life, was cut short by illness. However, with a new revival of her work, Waddell is being rediscovered as a significant writer and a path breaker in her area of expertise.

Fionola Meredith goes in search of the life and works of Helen Waddell.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b01kt43l)
How well do the police deal with detainees with mental illness?

It's just over a week to go until the Olympic Games, we find out how the UK's transport system is preparing to cope with the onslaught of travellers.

Last year around half of those who died in police custody had mental health problems. So how well equipped are the police in dealing with mental illness? We hear from one police station that has invited an NHS mental health team in to assist.

Concerns about a so-called 'Miracle' Solution that claims to cure anything from leukaemia to trench foot - the Food Standards Agency is renewing its warning that a supposed medicine sold in the UK should not be consumed.

Food producers have discovered a growing demand for their products in the far and middle east. It is hoped the expanding market in countries such as India and China can create thousands of jobs in the region. So what does it take to help British food producers sell abroad?

And the Olympic Park furniture - on sale now!

Presented by Julian Worricker
Produced by Vibeke Venema.


THU 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01kt43n)
Basil D'Oliveira

The New Elizabethans: Basil d'Oliveira. To mark the Diamond Jubilee, James Naughtie examines the lives and impact of the men and women who have given the second Elizabethan age its character.

James Naughtie remembers the South African cricketer who became a British citizen. The D'Oliveira affair was a landmark in the South African story. Peter Hain, a young South African still in his twenties who was then leading protests against apartheid, said afterwards that Nelson Mandela - in prison on Robben Island at the time - told him later that the episode (South Africa's refusal to welcome an English Test cricket team that included a non-white player) was "decisive" in the fight against apartheid.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: Sukey Firth.


THU 12:57 Weather (b01kpy4p)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b01kt43q)
National and international news by BBC Radio 4. Forty-five minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


THU 13:45 Hardeep Seeks Serenity (b01kt7zw)
Episode 4

The writer and broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli is seeking serenity each day this week. He'll be meeting five people, from very different backgrounds, to find out how they bring peace, or a moment of serenity, into their lives.

In today's programme, Hardeep meets Maria Mansari, a foster-parent in Bristol. With two grown-up boys she's currently engaged in the long-term foster care of a teenager. One of the most challenging of jobs, often dealing with disturbed children, she talks to Hardeep about how she manages to let a bit of peace and serenity into her life - much of it coming from the reward she receives from the changes she witnesses in the children.

Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b01ks9zg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b01kt43s)
The Womb-Whisperer

by Charlotte Bogard Macleod

Until the rights of children are met, the Unborn choose to die in the womb. The Unborn choose to die in incubators. The world is ending. Only Martha can help. She is pregnant and persuasive. She is the Womb-Whisperer.

Martha ..... Juliet Aubrey
Ed ..... Shaun Dooley
Riot ..... Ryan Watson
Adela ..... Francine Chamberlain
Sean ..... Rikki Lawton
Sonographer ..... Adjoa Andoh

Director: David Hunter.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b01kt43v)
Hampstead Heath Ponds

Jules Hudson explores the waters of Hampstead Heath which have been used for over 200 years by champion swimmers and year round bathers. How and why did they come to be and what stories can they tell? How has the landscape around them changes and what is it about them that still draws over a quarter of a million visitors a year? And what does the future hold for them?
Jules Hudson is joined by Caitlin Davies who has swum in the ponds all her life to find out more about these unique ponds.

Presenter: Jules Hudson
Producer: Lizz Pearson.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b01kr7ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b01kr7qf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b01kt43x)
Francine Stock talks to Christopher Nolan about The Dark Knight Rises.

Nigel Havers recalls Chariots of Fire, while film composer Neil Brand deconstructs that famous Vangelis score.

Writer Iain Sinclair and artist Andrew Kotting discuss their pedalo odyssey, Swandown.

Producer: Craig Smith.


THU 16:30 Material World (b01kt43z)
Researchers have found new evidence that suggests Neanderthals may have used medicinal herbs to treat their ailments. In northern Spain they have found evidence they ate certain plants with no nutritional, but some medicinal, benefits.

99.9% of all creatures that ever roamed the Earth are no longer alive today. As a memorial to all species lost since the dodo, the project MEMO (Mass Extinction Monitoring Observatory) will erect a huge bell-tower on the Isle of Portland in Dorset.

Also in Dorset, a science/art collaboration as part of the Cultural Olympiad is unveiled next week on and around the Jurassic Coast. The producer and earth science advisor to "Exlab" discuss what will be seen and also the criticism that there was little or no science included in the festivities.

We also take a look at "crowd funding" as a new means to fund scientific research. Matt Salzberg has set up Petridish.org as a means to connect scientists and potential donors. Science communicator Alice Bell will join Quentin in the studio to discuss implications and potential ethical pitfalls.


THU 17:00 PM (b01kt441)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kpy4r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Old Harry's Game (b01kt443)
Olympic Special

Episode 2

The sitcom set in hell returns with a two part special. Six years ago London won the right to host the biggest sporting event in the world and with typical modesty the Brits have barely mentioned it ever since. Well now the news has reached Satan in Hell and he decides to have a little look into this sporting event.

In part one he finds out how it all began by going back to ancient Greece - a time when Greece had great philosophers, big ideas and a bit of cash.

In part two he transports historian Edith from the chaos of Hell up to London in two thousand and twelve so she can appreciate real chaos.

Written by and starring Andy Hamilton as Satan and also starring Annette Crosbie as Edith.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b01kt445)
Ruairi's keen to earn money weeding. Lilian's intrigued. When Ruairi declares he's saving up for one of Eddie's dog statues, of which Jennifer thoroughly disapproves, Lilian's happy to support him. She doubles the money she's promised him and adds a bonus. She recommends that the dog be put on a plinth in Jennifer's garden. Delighted Ruairi goes to phone Eddie. Mischievous Lilian comments to Peggy that she'd give anything to be there when the dog is installed at Home Farm.
Susan and Emma are discussing the community games teams when Tracy interrupts them with the news that Keith's been arrested. Susan thinks it's terrible, but Emma's more circumspect. When she expresses doubts as to Keith's innocence, it dawns on Tracy that it was Emma who tipped off the police. Tracy can't believe Emma saw him at the farm. Emma's adamant she's right.
Distraught Susan is torn between loyalty to her daughter and her sister. She tries to encourage Emma to admit she might be wrong, but Emma won't back down. Tracy tells them that Keith's been released on bail. She accuses Emma of stitching up her own family. Emma protests that Keith is weak, and as bad as Clive. When Tracy bites back, Emma asks her to leave.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b01kt447)
Rapper Ice-T, Monica Mason's farewell to the Royal Ballet, Tom Hanks' new online project

With Kirsty Lang.

American musician and performer Ice-T has directed a cinema documentary Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap in which he talks to leading performers including Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre and Eminem about the culture of hip-hop. Ice-T discusses the origins of the music, and its continuing influence.

Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry King are just three high-profile entertainers who have launched new online film and video projects. Boyd Hilton considers the growing phenomenon of big stars creating productions solely for the internet.

On the eve of her retirement Monica Mason, director of The Royal Ballet Company, reflects on her 54 years with the company which she joined as a 16 year old dancer in 1958. She recalls working with stars such as Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev, becoming a muse to the choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, and why, as a young dancer, she was terrified of Royal Ballet founder Ninette de Valois.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01ksc5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Report (b01kt449)
Fixing the Libor Rate

As investigations continue into claims the Libor interest rate was manipulated, Simon Cox examines allegations of collusion between banks and asks who has lost out.


THU 20:30 In Business (b01kt44c)
Euro Peril

EURO PERIL
As the euro struggles for survival, continental businesses are caught up in the maelstrom. Peter Day finds out what they make of their plight and what sort of future they see for the single currency and the euro zone.
Producer: Caroline Bayley.


THU 21:00 Inside the Ethics Committee (b01ksc3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:45 Cricket Cabaret (b01l04nh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Saturday]


THU 21:58 Weather (b01kpy4t)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b01kt4cf)
Western powers react with fury to China and Russia's veto of their Syria resolution.

Crime figures fall to a twenty year low - so why are we increasingly fearful?

How farmers have been hit by the very wet weather.

With Robin Lustig.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01kt4ch)
Ancient Light

Episode 4

In today's episode of Ancient Light by John Banville, Alexander Cleave enters the strange new world of film and discovers that the man he is to play is shrouded in mystery. Memories of Mrs Gray continue to haunt him.

Man Booker winner John Banville's new novel, Ancient Light, is a story of an unlikely first love affair interwoven with darker memories of a lost daughter.

Alexander Cleave is an actor of a certain age, surprised to be plucked from relative obscurity for his first film role, to play a man of some mystery, Axel Vander. As he prepares for the role, he recollects the passion of his first love affair, when he was fifteen and 'Billy Gray was my best friend and I fell in love with his mother.' Alongside these memories circle more painful ones, of his beloved only daughter, who died in strange circumstances a decade ago.

Written with Banville's masterful command of language and dazzling prose, Ancient Light captures the intensity of first love and the intimate details of an illicit affair in rural Ireland in the fifties. Snatched assignations in a battered station wagon and the ruined Cotter's house are vividly evoked with perfect precision, as are the joy and absurdity, the selfishness and obsession of young love. Funny, seductive and moving, Banville skilfully weaves the past and the present together as he reveals the nature and unreliability of memory.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels, including The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize.

The reader is Dermot Crowley.
The abridger is Sally Marmion.
The producer is Di Speirs.


THU 23:00 Alice's Wunderland (b01kt4ck)
Series 1

Episode 2

A trip round Wunderland, the Poundland of magical realms. It's a kingdom much like our own, and also nothing like it in the slightest.

Stay a while and meet waifs and strays, wigshops and witches, murderous pensioners and squirrels of this delightful land as they go about their bizarre business.

A sketch show written and performed by Alice Lowe.

Also starring:

Richard Glover
Simon Greenall
Rachel Stubbings
Clare Thompson
Marcia Warren

Producer: Sam Bryant

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01kt4cm)
Sean Curran listens in a s peers debate border security, police morale and more power for Wales. And there's an interview with the Clerk of the Commons.

Editor: Peter Mulligan.



FRIDAY 20 JULY 2012

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b01kpy5n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b01kq31r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy5q)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01kpy5s)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01kpy5v)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01kpy5x)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01kt6qk)
A spiritual reflection and prayer to begin the day, presented by The Revd Johnston McKay.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b01kt6qm)
Hundreds of farmers have taken to the picket lines in the latest protest over the price they're paid for milk. They are demanding that processors reverse two recent price cuts, which by August will take 4 pence a litre off what many are paid. A coalition of farming unions is backing action against both processors and retailers, arguing that farmers are being forced to sell milk for less than it costs them to produce. Also on Farming Today, Charlotte Smith talks to DEFRA Minister, Richard Benyon about the Government's vision for helping the rural economy out of recession. Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Anna Varle.


FRI 06:00 Today (b01kt6qp)
Morning news and current affairs presented by Sarah Montague and Evan Davis and featuring:

0731
The United Nations Security Council meets again today, arguing over what to do about Syria. In Syria, rebels now control a number of positions on the borders with Turkey and Iraq, and are trying to take control of parts of the capital Damascus. The Foreign Secretary William Hague talks about what may be discussed at the meeting today.

0742
The Tour de France is cycling's greatest road race. But since it was first held in 1903, it has never been won by a British rider. That looks set to change this weekend as Bradley Wiggins retains the famous race leader's Yellow Jersey into the final stages of the race. Our sports presenter Rob Bonnet reports.

0810
The Olympics open in a week's time, but the image is in danger of becoming tarnished. Every day there is criticism of the security operation, the role of the private contractors G4S and the apparent lack of preparation for the big event. How much reputational damage has the latest strikes, and security shambles caused to the Olympics 2012? Lord Coe, Locog 2012 Chairman, gives us his thoughts.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b01kr7q1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b01kq345)
Burying the Typewriter

Episode 5

Life is becoming untenable for the Bugan family and when a courier is needed, it's Carmen who volunteers.

Burying The Typewriter is Carmen Bugan's memoir of growing up in Romania in the 1970s and 1980s when the country was governed by Ceausescu, and his network of agents and informers, the Securitate, exerted a malign influence in every sphere of society.

Carmen Bugan was educated at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Balliol College, Oxford, where she was awarded a doctorate. Her first book of poetry, Crossing The Carpathians, was published by Oxford Poets/Carcanet in 2004.

"A beautiful, vivid memoir..."
The Guardian

"It is the more moving and powerful for being so quiet and thoughtful..."
The Independent

"A warm and humane work..."
The Observer

Reader: Anamaria Marinca
(BAFTA award winner for 'Sex Traffic' 2005)

Abridged by Pete Nichols

Produced by Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01kt6qr)
Graduation Special: Planning Your Career

For most of us Graduation is one of those Red Letter Days you never forget but once you've got your degree, what then? In today's tough economic climate planning your career on, or even before leaving university, has never been more important and for female graduates, it is inevitably more complicated should you at some stage wish to combine career with children. Whilst numbers of female graduates outstripped their male counterparts by over a third last year , on current evidence, male graduates can still expect to earn on average a fifth more in the first decade of their career . Sheila McClennon talks to new graduates and employers about how to get your first graduate job and keep your career on track thereafter.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01kt6qt)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Series 5

Episode 5

Pepys and his household rise early to go and see the King launch the Royal Catherine. Sam begins another affair and his current mistress, Mrs Lane, begs for his help. The year ends badly when Sam and Elizabeth have a bitter row that ends in violence.

Cast: Samuel Pepys - Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Pepys - Katherine Jakeways, Bessie - Sarah Ovens, Will - John Biddle, King Charles and his brother the Duke of York - Ewan Bailey, Mrs Bagwell - Bethan Walker, Llewellyn - Matthew Gravelle, Mrs Lane - Eiry Thomas.

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While You May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.

Historical consultant: Liza Picard

Sound by Nigel Lewis

A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


FRI 11:00 Laptop Library (b01kt6qw)
One-time librarian Laurie Taylor visits arguably the world's most comprehensive newspaper archive, at Colindale in North London, which is scheduled for closure.

This British Library outpost is both unprepossessing and yet unfailingly valuable to the researchers from around the world who have used it over the past century - from distinguished historians to ordinary members of the public exploring family history or a local football club's history.

Colindale boasts an archive of some 52,000 local, regional, national and international titles, but time marches on. Space is limited, and many of the original newspapers require up-to-date climate control care if they are to survive. These will find their way to a new purpose-built facility at Boston Spa in Yorkshire, while new provision will be made at the British Library's St Pancras site for readers of original material and the vast stock of newspapers on microfilm. Parallel to these developments is the British Library's ongoing Newspaper Archive project, which is making 40 million digitised newspaper pages available online on a fee-paying basis.

Laptop Library is in part a requiem for the much-loved Colindale, with the memories of those who have found often unlikely uses for archive newspapers - from a seismological consultant to a poster historian.

But the programme also looks forward to the new online opportunities for anyone to explore ' the first draft of history' - not only from the British Library but also from other archives in the UK and around the world, such as the Trove online newspaper library in Australia.

What though may be lost in the move from leafing through real newspaper pages to clicking a mouse?

Producer: Andrew Green
An Andrew Green production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 The Gobetweenies (b01kt6qy)
Series 2

Episode 3

Mark Bonnar and Sarah Alexander star in Marcella Evaristi's comedy of shared parenting.

Mimi and Joe are determined to be the best kind of divorced parents, supportive and as good as any traditional set up. Mimi has even salvaged her ex's best suit from the charity shop where it was meanly dumped by Joe's most recent ex-wife. But Joe keeps getting misdirected post from the fetish shop across the road and Mimi cannot keep her prying fingers away from a big fat intriguing parcel.

Meanwhile their daughter Lucy has discovered an ethical way of eating that does not involve putting Quorn in her mouth - because her hero Mark Zuckerberg has said eating meat is not immoral if you catch your own dinner. So Lucy is going to steal a chicken. From a back garden in Highgate. It's a brilliant plan, especially since she has told her brother Tom he is saving the chicken bound for a battery farm.

But what are all those funny handcuffs doing on her dad's sitting room floor?

Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b01kt7cq)
Trading standards at the Olympics, burial plots, and extended Sunday hours

Is the Olympics making it a good time to get up to bad business? You and Yours investigates.

Sunday trading laws are to be relaxed for the Olympics. We debate whether it should be kept as a special day.

The cost of dying is rising as the price of burial plots and funerals soar. Can you make money out of death?

Plus, how effective are flood defences? You and Yours goes to find out.

Presented by Peter White.

Produced by John Neal.


FRI 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01kt7cs)
George Best

The New Elizabethans: George Best.

James Naughtie considers the life and achievements of the footballer from Northern Ireland, whose exceptional talent was harnessed by Manchester United in the 1960's, where he rose rapidly to the top of the game.

Success gave him the whole world at his feet, and while he is admired as one of the greatest ever footballers, Best came to represent a playboy figure and was arguably better known for performances off the pitch - his love life and lavish alcohol fuelled lifestyle - than on it.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."

Producer: Alison Hughes.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b01kpy5z)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b01kt7cv)
As the UN debate whether or not to keep their observers in Syria, we'll be hearing from our own watchers - our correspondents on the Lebanese and Turkish borders. And from another neighbour, Israel, about its anxieties for the country's future.

More than a dozen people have been killed and scores injured in a shooting at a midnight showing of the new Batman film in Colorado. We'll be hearing from the scene.

And as Bradley Wiggins heads for the finishing line this weekend, a lyrical appreciation of the joys of the tour de france.

Presented by Shaun Ley

Share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


FRI 13:45 Hardeep Seeks Serenity (b01kt80j)
Episode 5

In the final programme of the series, Hardeep Singh Kohli talks to the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan, who is currently preparing for his part in the opening ceremony for the Olympics. He talks to Hardeep between rehearsals.

One of the country's leading dance artists, winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production this year, Akram Khan has dazzled audiences since he founded his Company twelve years ago. With a technique that began with his study of Indian Kathak dance, and was followed by his work in contemporary dance styles, his productions and performances are a unique blend of influences.

The words 'speed', 'energy', 'stillness' and 'serenity' are used to describe the impact he has on audiences, and he talks to Hardeep about that aspect of his art and approach to life. Indian classical dance forms are based on nine emotions, including shanta (serenity). Khan talks about the spiritual side of his art, and his belief that dance offers a brief moment to dream.

Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b01kt445)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b01kt7cx)
Richard Monks - Zola

by Richard Monks.

The story behind barefoot runner Zola Budd's attempt to win gold at the 1984 Olympics.

Zola Budd ..... Jessica Sian
Denis Howell ..... David Calder
Frank Budd ..... Jack Klaff
Brian Vine ..... Don Gilet
Sir David English ..... Patrick Brennan
Pieter Labuschagne ..... Harry Livingstone
Geoffrey Howe ..... Robert Blythe
Andrew Landen ..... Sam Alexander
Mrs. Darbo ..... Amaka Okafor
Reporter ..... Joe Sims

Director: David Hunter.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01krz3z)
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

How do I turn my leaky pond into a beautiful boggy paradise? Eric Robson and panellists Matthew Wilson, Anne Swithinbank and Matthew Biggs advise the attendees of RHS Tatton Park Flower Show.

Questions answered in the programme:
I have concocted a pesticide for outdoor fruit bushes using variety spices and two shots of vodka. Will the vodka harm delicate indoor plants?

My husband has planted a Swap Cypress, Wellingtonia, London Plane in our garden. How will I control them?

How do I convert my leaking pond into a bog garden?

Can the panel advise on choosing compost for container planting?

Which shrubs should I plant between my mature common ash trees? The soil is chalky, well drained soil, low maintenance.

What do I do with my summer fruiting raspberries after they have fruited?

Which small trees could I plant to screen a summerhouse?
Cotoneaster
Staphyliea or 'Bladdernut'
Cornus controversa 'Variegata' or 'Wedding cake tree'
Ceanothus 'Italian skies', Ceaonothus 'Puget Blue' or Ceanothus 'Concha'

I have a variegated Yucca gloriosa How and when can I prune one of the side branches without killing the plant?

Plants that my wife once hated she now loves. Which plants does the panel once hate and now love?

Plants discussed in the Late Summer Planting feature with Anne Swithinbank:
Rosa glauca
Kolkwitzia amabilis or 'Beauty Bush'
Leycesteria formosa 'Lydia' or 'Himalayan honeysuckle'
Euonymus europaeus 'Thornhayes' or 'Spindle bush'
Alder buckthorn
Dogrose or Rosa canina

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


FRI 15:45 Opening Lines (b01kt7cz)
Series 14

The Wild

A return of the series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut.

Unspoken tensions between a husband and wife escalate during a harsh Alaskan winter in this emotionally charged tale by Gerri Brightwell.

Read by Trevor White
Produced by Gemma Jenkins

Gerri Brightwell received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. She has two published novels: Cold Country, and The Dark Lantern. She teaches as part of the Creative Writing program at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b01kt7d1)
Sir Alastair Burnet, Jon Lord, Yaakov Meidad and Mike Westmacott

Matthew Bannister on the ITN newsreader and journalist Sir Alastair Burnet, who presented News At Ten over nearly twenty five years

Jon Lord - keyboard player with Deep Purple. We have tributes from the band's guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and from Rick Wakeman

Yaakov Meidad - a Mossad agent involved in the kidnapping of the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann and the murder of the so called Butcher of Riga, Herberts Cukurs.

And Mike Westmacott the mountaineer who played a crucial role in the first ascent of Everest in 1953.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (b01kt7d3)
The Tour de France and the statistics of cheating

Has the Tour cleaned up?

The Tour de France reaches its climax this week. Cycling, we are told, has finally cleaned up its act and clamped down on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. But if it has, should we expect today's drug-free riders to be slower than their drug-fuelled forebears? Can statistics tell us whether the Tour de France really is cleaner than it was?

Will 90% of us be too fat by 2050?

Should companies such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola sponsor the Olympics? Well, who knows? But amid the arguments about the rights and wrongs of promoting burgers and fizzy drinks through sport, some suspicious obesity statistics have been belched into the debate.

Deficit update

Over the last few weeks government ministers have been repeatedly telling us that they have cut the deficit by a quarter. The government would like us to feel cheerful about this. But how impressed should we be?

Does when you retire influence when you die?

Every now and again on More or Less we investigate a statistical claim which is repeated again and again by people who can't quite remember where they heard it, but believe it to be true. Here's one: the earlier you retire, the longer you live. Is it true?

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Richard Knight.


FRI 17:00 PM (b01kt7d5)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01kpy61)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b01kt7d7)
Series 37

Episode 7

Olympic Security Buckles Under Pressure: in the week that G4S announced it would not be able to provide security for the Olympic Games, and David Cameron and Nick Clegg relaunced their coalition, Nathan Caton, Mitch Benn, Laura Shavin and Jon Holmes join Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis for a look at the week's headlines. Nathan Caton looks at the John Terry acquittal, Jon Holmes watches the Olympic torch go past his street, and Mitch Benn finds the summer rain a drag. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b01kt7m2)
Eddie and Joe install Ruairi's dog at Home Farm, and have visions of prestige photos in Borsetshire Life. On their way home, a wild boar comes careering out of the woods and then run smack into it. At first they're gutted they've killed the Beast of Ambridge, but then Eddie has a plan.
Hayley talks to Jennifer about Phoebe's delayed return to Ambridge. She's having trouble getting hold of Kate. But Jennifer's distracted. They go into the garden to inspect Ruairi's stone dog. Jennifer's dismayed at the thought of staring out at it every day. She blames Lilian. Hayley thinks it's rather good. She reassures Jennifer that Ruairi will probably tire of it in time.
Brian cryptically tells Adam that he wants to speak to him about 'the future'. Adam chats to David and thanks him warmly for his efforts since the attack. He won't forget what David did for him.
When they meet, Brian tells Adam one of the feed suppliers for the new dairy has pulled out. He wants Home Farm to be the replacement supplier from the autumn. Adam flares up, accusing Brian and Debbie of a land grab, and telling Brian to forget it. But Brian says they're doing it with or without Adam's support.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b01kt7m4)
Terry Jones on giving 'The Owl and the Pussycat' an operatic makeover

With Kirsty Lang.

Ex-Monty Python Terry Jones and Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley (The Full Monty) discuss creating "A Water-Bound Spectacle" inspired by Edward Lear's 1871 poem The Owl and the Pussycat. The poem has been given an operatic makeover and performances will take place on a barge.

Two film releases this week take the audience on a 3000-mile musical journey across the USA. In the documentary film Big Easy Express, the British folk group Mumford & Sons join up with two other bands on a train travelling from California to Louisiana for a celebration of music and performance. And in a new Indie feature film The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, two musicians take a road trip east to-west to take part in a battle of the bands. Music critic Kate Mossman reviews.

With a week to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, with its British pastoral theme - the concept of film-maker Danny Boyle - Adam Smith imagines what the ceremony would look like if other British film directors had the chance to impose their own artistic vision on the event.

Kneehigh Theatre's Emma Rice talks about adapting Galton and Simpson's scripts from the original TV series, Steptoe and Son, for the stage. The Play opens in Cornwall this weekend in Kneehigh's trademark tent , known as The Asylum, and moves to West Yorkshire playhouse in Leeds in September.

Producer Philippa Ritchie.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01kt6qt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b01kt7m6)
Farnham, Surrey

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs a live discussion of news and politics from All Hallows Catholic School, Farnham, Surrey with QC and Labour peer, Helena Kennedy; Conservative peer and former Chancellor, Norman Lamont; Independent columnist and writer, Owen Jones and columnist and former Sun editor, Kelvin Mackenzie

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b01kt7m8)
Keynes' Insights

John Gray takes a fresh look at the thinking of John Maynard Keynes and wonders what he would have really thought about the current economic crises and how to solve them. "It's still Keynes from who we have most to learn. Not Keynes, the economic engineer, who is invoked by his disciples today. It's Keynes the sceptic, who understood that markets are as prone to fits of madness as any other human institution and who tried to envision a more intelligent variety of capitalism".
Producer:
Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b01l0j9f)
Leverage

By Simon Passmore.

A city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment. At the funeral, his former girlfriend Helen is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files, or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's suspicions mount as she retraces his last movements. Her discoveries put her in the firing line. A fast-paced, psychological thriller.

Cast:

Helen . . . . . Claire Foy
David . . . . . Blake Ritson
Mark . . . . . Charlie Cox
Kendra . . . . . Sally Orrock
Clare . . . . . Joanna Monro
Jamie . . . . . Nyasha Hatendi
Ray . . . . . Sean Baker

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b01kpy63)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b01kt7mb)
Thousands of refugees flee Syria crisis as UN mandate deadline looms, but what's left of an international diplomacy in tatters?; What was the motive behind the cinema shooting in Colorado? Why the French have warmed to Bradley Wiggins, on course to be the first ever British winner of the Tour de France this weekend; the programme tonight is presented by Robin Lustig.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01kt7md)
Ancient Light

Episode 5

In today's episode of Ancient Light by John Banville, Alexander Cleave remembers the risks Mrs Gray and he took in that intoxicating summer, and learns that his co-star, the glamorous Dawn Devonport, has also suffered a bereavement.

Man Booker winner John Banville's new novel, Ancient Light, is a story of an unlikely first love affair interwoven with darker memories of a lost daughter.

Alexander Cleave is an actor of a certain age, surprised to be plucked from relative obscurity for his first film role, to play a man of some mystery, Axel Vander. As he prepares for the role, he recollects the passion of his first love affair, when he was fifteen and 'Billy Gray was my best friend and I fell in love with his mother.' Alongside these memories circle more painful ones, of his beloved only daughter, who died in strange circumstances a decade ago.

Written with Banville's masterful command of language and dazzling prose, Ancient Light captures the intensity of first love and the intimate details of an illicit affair in rural Ireland in the fifties. Snatched assignations in a battered station wagon and the ruined Cotter's house are vividly evoked with perfect precision, as are the joy and absurdity, the selfishness and obsession of young love. Funny, seductive and moving, Banville skilfully weaves the past and the present together as he reveals the nature and unreliability of memory.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels, including The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize.

The reader is Dermot Crowley.
The abridger is Sally Marmion.
The producer is Di Speirs.


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b01ks53g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Under Jacques Demy's Umbrella (b012fcyc)
For many cinema-goers, it's not the music of The Beatles but the films of Jacques Demy that define the '60s. The poet Sarah Cuddon's love for them developed a generation later.

In collaboration with the composer Michel Legrand, Demy re-invented musical-cinema, and introduced whimsical ideas such as having all the dialogue sung and the design colour-coded in pastel pinks, blues and yellows.'

The heart-breaking romance 'Les Parapluies de Cherbourg' starred Catherine Deneuve and its more playful sequel, 'Les Desmoiselles de Rochefort', paired her with her sister Francoise Dorleac, as well as George Chakiris and Gene Kelly. These films were described as being 'en couleurs et en chante'. And their tales of love lost and found retain the power enchant still.

Will Gregory, one half of the pop duo Goldfrapp, is a huge fan, as is the poet Sean Street who was living in Paris when 'Les Desmoiselles' was released in the summer of 1967 shortly after Dorleac's tragic death in a car crash. Geoff Andrew of the British Film Institute places these films in context and Sarah Cuddon evokes Demy's bringing of Hollywood to these French Atlantic resorts.

The programme also includes contributions from archive by Catherine Deneuve, Michel Legrand and the late Jacques Demy himself.

Producer: Alan Hall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.