The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
5. Packing My Father-in-law's Library
Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood, the leading literary critic of his generation. It's a collection which ranges widely, from a loving analysis of Keith Moon's drum technique to the intentions, gifts and limitations of some of our most celebrated modern novelists, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan.
5. PACKING MY FATHER-IN-LAW'S LIBRARY
Wood describes disposing of his late father in law's library, and considers whether our personal collections of books hide us more than reveal us to our descendants.
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Calvin Samuel.
'The worst thing would be if I crash the car and we'll both die' - iPM speaks to a listener who tried to stop her father driving and finds out what you can do if you're worried about an older driver. Presented by Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey. Email iPM@bbc.co.uk.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
This series of Ramblings is themed 'Ramblings Revisited' as Clare catches up with people she walked with once before.
In 2005 Clare rambled with a group based at the Radbrook Day Service centre in Shrewsbury, for people with mental health difficulties. The group had been running for ten years at the time of the original programme, but in the intervening years the Day Service centre was closed and the walking group folded.
However one of the walkers in the original programme, clinical psychologist Penny Priest, has continued her interest in the mental health benefits of walking and introduces Clare to psychologist Guy Holmes who began a similar 'walk and talk' group in Shrewsbury which allowed original members to continue walking, and also brought new members on board.
Minette Batters, the first female deputy president of the National Farmers' Union, shows Charlotte Smith around her Wiltshire beef farm and discusses what it means to be a woman in agriculture. While feeding her Aberdeen Angus heifers, Minette reflects on her election victory and outlines her vision for the union - animal and plant health, and the environment being top of her agenda.
To mark International Women's Day, we also hear from other women making a career in agriculture. Caz Graham meets dairy farmer Sally Wilson, who has invested in a robotic milking machine and a housed system for her herd on the Scottish Borders. Anna Jones travels to Knighton Livestock Market in the Welsh Marches and chats to one of the UK's 10 female livestock auctioneers - Jenny Layton Mills.
Morning news and current affairs with Mishal Husain and Justin Webb. What should we expect from the inquiry into undercover policing?
Richard Coles and Anita Anand with writer Lynne Truss, poet Luke Wright, actress Tina Malone who had two children 32 years apart, Guy Anderson whose paraglider crashed in the desert, Jill Goldston who is possibly Britain's most prolific film and TV extra, and Bill Smith who raised Donald Campbell's Bluebird from the depths of Coniston on this day 13 years ago. Harry Stone describes the sounds of golf, opera singer Danielle de Niese shares her Inheritance Tracks and JP Devlin interviews a dog called Frank.
1: Words for Battle. Francine Stock begins her exploration of the culture of the Great War in 1914 with the mobilization of the word. For more than 40 years the next war to come had been a staple of fiction. England had been invaded, bombed and conquered before a shot had ever been fired in anger and now the war was upon us. What unfolded in the first weeks in the towns of villages of Belgium turned the war into a cultural struggle for survival and intellectuals and authors were soon seen as crucial to the war effort. From Arnold Bennett to Israel Zangwill, the literary giants of Edwardian England went to war.
With the crisis in Ukraine dominating the political agenda, two veteran conflict observers - MPs Bob Stewart and Jeremy Corbyn - discuss the impact of recent history on the current situation.
After a British policy document on Ukraine is snapped in Downing Street, photographer Eddie Mulholland and former spin doctor Sean Kemp discuss the perils of exposed papers.
Labour's Lord Glasman and Tory MP Adam Afriyie discuss their parties' differing take on capitalism.
And with very little legislation passing through the Commons Peter Lilley and Angela Smith debate whether that is such a bad thing.
Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world. This week, with American and British combat troops soon to leave, the author and historian William Dalrymple gives his assessment of where the latest military intervention in Afghanistan fits into the country's troubled history. Quentin Sommerville attends the court hearing of some Al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt and finds the prosecution case less than convincing. Linda Pressly is in Uruguay to see if legalising marijuana will help tackle the problem of hard drugs. In India, Ed Butler spends time with sleuths of a special kind - the wedding detectives. And Stephen Smith re-visits Italy's Renaissance with its ruffs, doublets and, of course, codpieces.
Refuelling your hire car; the best cash ISAs; investment fund discounts; Pass Plus
Are car hire companies taking advantage of drivers who leave the rented vehicle with the wrong amount of fuel in the tank? Making a mistake can cost more than £100 in premium fuel charges and a 'refuelling fee'.
Hargreaves Lansdown is slashing the cost of investing in funds using its market muscle to negotiate down fund prices. But the total cost of investing through its platform - including HL's
The Government promotes PassPlus for new drivers and says the six extra lessons after passing the Driving Test 'may' reduce car insurance premiums. But some customers have found comparison sites show a higher premium if the PassPlus box is ticked. Others say the gain is far less than the cost of the lessons. And there are much better ways to keep young drivers' premiums down.
The ISA season - the weeks leading up to the end of the tax year on April 5 - is remarkably calm this year. But a new feature is rewarding loyalty. Santander is paying exclusive rates to new and existing customers. But they are still not the best on the market. Cash in on our ISA guide.
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, with regular panellist Jeremy Hardy and guest panellists including Bob Mills and Samira Ahmed.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Pocklington in Yorkshire with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Caroline Flint MP, Conservative MP Stephen Dorrell, also chair of the Health Select Committee, and UKIP MEP candidate Louise Bours.
This week a public inquiry into undercover policing was announced after the revelations that a police officer spied on the family of Stephen Lawrence. The majority of the Any Questions? audience indicated that they still trust the police. Do you?
Your views on immigration. Are you as 'intensely relaxed' about it as Vince Cable is?
The president of the British Veterinary Association, John Blackwell, has called on Muslims and Jews to allow livestock to be stunned before they are killed to produce halal or kosher meat. What are your views?
Julian Worricker hears your reaction to these subjects as discussed in Any Questions? by Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury; Caroline Flint, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate; Stephen Dorrell, chairman of the Health Select Committee; Louise Bours, UKIP MEP candidate.
You can have your say on any of the subjects discussed on Any Answers? just after the news at
on Saturday. Call 03700 100 444 from
Presenter: Julian Worricker.
Marlowe is hired to tail the mysterious Betty Mayfield all the way to the seaside town of Esmerelda, without knowing why or the identity of his employer. It's not long before he realises that he's not the only one on the trail, and that he too is being watched. Toby Stephens plays Philip Marlowe in a landmark series bringing all of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels to Radio 4.
Stephen Wyatt (dramatist) is a Sony Award Winning Playwright. Recent work for R4 includes dramatising three of the Complete Ripley series including The Talented Mr Ripley for Saturday Afternoon, The Yellow Plush Papers for
and Tom Jones for Classic Serial. His original play Memorials for the Missing won a Sony Award in 2008.
The Beatles transformed the way we hear music. But their five films - most notably ‘A Hard Day’s Night' and ‘Help!' - also changed the way youth culture was portrayed in the movies. Miranda Sawyer explores The Beatles' foray into film, its wider cultural impact and the financial rewards for the British film industry of the time.
Throughout the 1960s, film was central to the Beatles' career and, although their time together was short lived, no fewer than five of their record releases were in support of films - A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine and Let It Be.
Beatles' authority Mark Lewisohn and film lecturer Steve Glyn help put the group's movies into context.
We also hear from directors Dick Lester (A Hard Day’s Night and Help!) and Michael Lindsey Hogg (Let It Be) who had the pleasure or challenge of directing the Fab Four. Poet Roger McGough talks about his role as script editor for the cartoon animation Yellow Submarine, and editor Roy Benson explains the preparation of Magical Mystery Tour for TV broadcast on Boxing Day in1967.
Kelis on music feminism, motherhood and cooking and how she's more interesting to look at than Calvin Harris! Caring for elderly parents: how to balance the desire for independence with support when it's needed, and the impact on family relationships.
The politics of afro hair. Do black women really feel that they have to style their hair a certain way and why does afro hair elicit so much debate? Journalist Hannah Pool and hair and make up artist Editi Udofot give us their views.
As the judges consider who to put on the Woman's Hour Power List 2014 which is focused on Game Changers we hear from Cynthia Barlow who's campaigned for cyclists since the death of her daughter Alex and Carmel McConnell who set up the Magic Breakfast scheme in schools. They tell us how they were inspired to make a difference.
Sharon Hardy, sister of Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement, responds to the inquest into her death.
Founder of CoppaFeel Kristen Hallenga tells us why her breasts cancer awareness charity is delighted to team up with The Sun.
And the Australian commoner who became a princess. Sheila Chisholm was one of the most glamorous women of 20th century society. Born on a sheep station in Australia, she made friends in Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and Hollywood.
Chocolate is a big business as well as a delicious indulgence. Evan Davis and guests discuss how this global industry is tackling the pressures of rising food prices, speculation and climate change.
Imelda Staunton, Gurinder Chadha, Katy Brand, Victoria Melody, Major Tom, Gabrielle Ducomble, Honeyfeet
Twenty years ago, film director Gurinder Chadha made her feature film debut with 'Bhaji on The Beach', followed by a little movie called 'Bend It Like Beckham'...an international and and commercial success. Gurinder talks to Nikki about the anniversary screening of 'Bhaji on The Beach' at London's BFI Southbank.
Emma talks to multi award winning actress Imelda Staunton about starring in Hampstead Theatre's 'Good People'. Imelda plays sharp-tongued single-mother Margie, who will do anything it takes to pay the bills after losing yet another job.
Nikki Bedi's in the dog house with performer and artist Victoria Melody, whose show 'Major Tom' tells the true story of how Victoria became a beauty queen and her Bassett Hound, Major Tom became a champion show dog, reflecting the British fascination with celebrity, beauty and winning.
Emma heckles comedian and actor and Katy Brand, whose new book 'Brenda Monk is Funny' tells the tale of Brenda Monk; the clueless on-off girlfriend of a prolific comedian. After discovering that his best stage material is based solely on their relationship, Brenda thinks she might be better off alone, and keeping her jokes for herself.
With music from Honeyfeet, who perform 'Buried my Husband' from their album 'It's A Good Job I Love You' and Gabrielle Ducomble, who performs 'Je Ne Regrette Rien' from her album 'Notes from Paris.'
Russian president Vladimir Putin's motives and aims are at the heart of the Ukraine crisis.
In this week's Profile, Mary Ann Sieghart speaks to those who've watched him closely to explore how his life has shaped his view of the world, and Russia's place in it.
We hear about his life as KGB agent, his volatile temper, and the role religion now plays in his life and politics.
Tom Sutcliffe chairs sharp, critical discussion of the week's cultural events.
It was meant to be a moment of glory for Vladimir Putin, basking in the glow from a successful winter Olympics. Instead the world's attention was drawn away from the ski slopes of Sochi and towards the barricades of central Kyiv. The violence on the streets was the latest chapter in the long and unpredictable aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. For the Kremlin, the Ukrainian revolution was a takeover by fascist elements of a nation which lies at the core of Russian history, with Kyiv the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church. President Putin has responded with a show of military force. For his critics, his reaction exposes his extreme view of Russian nationalism and his lack of regard for international norms. Meanwhile a nervous world watches and waits to see whether the angry words and tensions on the ground explode into open conflict.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, draws on her deep knowledge of the region to discuss these events with a distinguished panel, including the historians Ben Judah and Anne Applebaum. In front of an audience at the London School of Economics and Political Science, she will try to put the dramatic events of recent days into the longer historical context and ask what they mean for Ukraine, Russia and the world.
Byron Vincent discusses nature versus nurture, and society's obligations to its weakest.
In a powerful, personal talk, Byron tells the story of his own childhood on a troubled housing estate, of how his surroundings shaped him, and of the choices he felt forced to make. Faced with similar circumstances he asks who can say they would make different choices. Byron explores the moral consequences of this for the rest of our society.
Elizabeth is determined to hate the Mr Darcy but finds the attentions of her ridiculous cousin, Mr Collins, even more vexing.
Director ...... Sally Avens
Mrs Bennet has five daughters and is desperate to marry them off to eligible men as the family will have no home once their father dies. Jane Bennet has been singled out for attention by a recent wealthy arrival to Hertfordshire, Mr Bingley. Her sister, Elizabeth, has been snubbed by his even wealthier friend, Mr Darcy. Elizabeth is determined to hate Darcy even more so since she has learnt from a member of the militia stationed at Netherfield, a Mr Wickham, that Darcy has cheated him out of his rightful inheritance.
Published just over 200 years ago Pride and Prejudice remains one of the Nation's favourite novels; with its intellect and wit it appeals to a broad range of readers. It stands the test of time by dealing with the timeless issues of love, social class, money and mistaken judgements and by having a witty and clever though flawed heroine at its heart. Elizabeth Bennet is a thorough radical for her time and perhaps the first heroine to ask is it possible to have it all?
Pippa Nixon takes on the role of Elizabeth; she received rave reviews for her Rosalind in 'As You Like It' ' a rising young star'.
Jamie Parker (Darcy) has played Henry V at the National and is shortly to portray Hamlet on Radio 4.
Double Olivier Award winner Samantha Spiro takes on Mrs Bennet and Toby Jones Mr Collins.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
The stand-off over Ukraine between Russia and the West looks increasingly threatening and reminiscent of the Cold War. It also demonstrates vividly the limits of the place of morality in foreign policy. We may feel it's our moral duty to defend our commitments to democracy and self-determination in the Ukraine, just as we have done, often loudly and directly, during the Arab Spring. The reality is our principles have come up against the facts on the ground. There will be talk of sanctions and diplomatic isolation, but there's little more we can do. So where does that leave the Western Ukrainians that we've been so assiduously courting? If ultimately we are not willing to risk our own skins to defend Ukraine shouldn't we admit that our policy is driven by self-interest rather than give the Western Ukrainians the illusion that we will do anything brave about it? Aren't we guilty of encouraging people to take risks on the false prospectus that we will be there when they need us? Ultimately, isn't honest real politic more moral than hypocritical internationalism? Or is a foreign policy that has no moral reference points beyond naked self-interest a nihilistic counsel of despair? How should we balance our moral responsibility to stand up for our principles and beliefs around the world with the forces of pragmatism? Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk, with Melanie Phillips, Michael Portillo, Giles Fraser and Matthew Taylor.
What surname is shared by a Danish composer of six symphonies, and an actor whose roles include Frank Drebin in 'Police Squad'? And what was the name of the first-ever space station, launched in 1971?
Russell Davies has the answers to these and many other general knowledge questions - and will be hoping the contestants do too, as they compete for a place in the 2014 Brain of Britain Final. The first batch of semi-finalists are from London, Surrey and Wearside - and they've all proved their mettle by winning their heats over the past few months, or being so narrowly beaten they've qualified for a semi-final place.
As always there's a chance for a Brain of Britain listener to win a prize by suggesting tricky questions with which to 'Beat the Brains'.
Roger McGough presents an edition of the poetry request programme which includes a selection of West African poetry, the winner of this year's TS Eliot prize Sinead Morrissey, and a chance to hear up and coming performance poet Hollie McNish.
SUNDAY 09 MARCH 2014
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b03xcsbd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:30 Heidi Amsinck - Copenhagen Confidential (b01j2ld7)
The Last Tenant
Written by Heidi Amsinck
Read by: Jack Klaff
In these three specially-commissioned tales by Heidi Amsinck, Copenhagen and its surrounds are places of twilight and shadows: mysterious places where strange, occasionally bad things happen.
The Last Tenant
Jan Vettegren is convinced that the office building he's bought is a steal - once you get past the wear-and-tear, creaks and strange recurring smells. But none of his colleagues are happy to work alone there.
Heidi Amsinck, a writer and journalist born in Copenhagen, has covered Britain for the Danish press since 1992, including a spell as London Correspondent for the broadsheet daily Jyllands-Posten. Heidi has written numerous short stories for radio including, most recently, the three story set Danish Noir (2010), which was also produced by Sweet Talk for BBC Radio 4. A graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, Heidi lives in Surrey with her husband and two young sons.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03xcsbg)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03xcsbj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
5.20am.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03xcsbl)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b03xcsbn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b03xctqn)
Church of St David, Moreton-in-Marsh
The bells of Church of St David, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire.
SUN 05:45 Four Thought (b03wq2j1)
Series 4
Making a Home
Becky Manson discusses the meaning of home as homeowning becomes less common.
Becky has moved home numerous times over the last decade, and has used art to explore the relationship between the idea of 'home' and the architectural reality of the houses or flats where we live. As houses become increasingly expensive and the average age of homeowning rises, she suggests a different way of thinking about our home.
Introduced by Kamin Mohammadi.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b03xcsbq)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b03xcvt9)
Wilderness Years
For Moses and his people, the wilderness meant a time of wandering before reaching the Promised Land. The temptation of Christ took place away from civilisation. It's somewhere beyond the boundaries. A place and time of exile, isolation and self-denial.
In modern life, being cast out of life's mainstream can mean a painful loss of influence, power or fame, especially for public figures like politicians or celebrities. Famously, Churchill is said to have endured a decade in the political wilderness during the 1930s, before coming back to lead the country through the war.
Samira Ahmed reflects on what happens when people are thrust into the 'wilderness' for a period of time. It can be disconcerting, but it can also be empowering, spiritually renewing, a springboard for transformation. She talks to Jay Lakhani of the Hindu Society about traditional ideas of entering into a wilderness state for spiritual enrichment and discovery.
Finding oneself out of favour, forced into a personal wilderness can be a time of great challenge and self-evaluation. We hear from a redundancy coach about the unsettling yet familiar experience of job loss.
Featuring music by Louis Armstrong, Samuel Sebastian Wesley and Sufjan Stevens and with the words of Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Graves.
Produced by Caroline Hughes
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b03xcvtc)
Rhubarb
Forced rhubarb is a crop not quite like any other. The plants spend two years out in the fields without being harvested, allowing the roots to store energy. They're then transferred into heated sheds, where they're kept in complete darkness. In the warmth, the plants begin to grow, looking for light. The process results in distinctive pink stalks, which - unlike rhubarb grown outdoors - are white inside, and sweeter than the unforced variety. To avoid letting light near the plants, the crop is harvested by candlelight.
With soil and a microclimate well suited to rhubarb, the area between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield became known as the 'rhubarb triangle'. Production of forced rhubarb began here in 1877, and at its peak, in the years leading up to World War Two, rhubarb production covered an area of around 30 square miles. By the 1940s there were 200 tonnes leaving Yorkshire by train every day on the Rhubarb Express, much of it bound for Covent Garden in London. But with its connotations of wartime rationing and school dinners, rhubarb declined in popularity after the war, as new tropical fruits arrived on the shelves. From a peak of more than 200 forced rhubarb producers in area, there are now just eleven.
In this programme, Caz Graham travels to Carlton near Leeds to talk to Janet Oldroyd Hulme, whose family has been growing forced rhubarb for five generations. Janet also runs tours, showing groups of visitors how this unique crop is produced.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Emma Campbell.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b03xcsbs)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b03xcsbv)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b03xcvtf)
Same-sex marriage, Church treasure, Fatwa against wildlife trafficking
Kevin Bocquet reports on the implications for the Church of England should members of its clergy take advantage of same sex marriage.
Edward talks to Rimla Akhtar the chair of the Muslim Women's Sports Foundation about FIFA lifting the ban for players to wear headscarves and turbans in matches.
As the tensions continue over Crimea, we speak to Sergei Golovien a Church pastor from the Crimea about what Russian control might mean for different faith and ethnic communities. Dr Marat Shterin, senior lecturer in Sociology of religion, from Kings College London talks about the tensions with in the Russian Orthodox church over Crimea.
And Syria three years on, Nadene Ghouri has been to Lebanon's Bekka valley and met child refugees. Most of whom have no access to education leading to fears of what the UN and aid agencies are calling Syria's 'lost generation'.
Edward talks to Thom Richardson of the Royal Armouries who will explain the history and significance of Armour in churches.
In the lead up to an ambitious re-telling of the Passion story for BBC One on Good Friday, 12 artists in the North East have been given shipping containers in which to make art installations with the help of the community, for the twelve Stations of the Cross. Artist Joseph Hillier talks about his work for one of the containers.
Martin Palmer of the Alliance of religions and conservation explains why Indonesia's highest Islamic clerical body has issued a fatwa against illegal hunting and exporting of wildlife.
Producers:
Carmel Lonergan
Amanda Hancox
Contributors
Rimla Akhtar
Dr Marat Shterin
Pastor Sergei Golovien
Thom Richardson
Joseph Hillier
Martin Palmer.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b03xcvth)
Amnesty International UK
Patrick Stewart presents the Radio 4 Appeal for Amnesty International UK.
Reg Charity: 1051681
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'Amnesty International''.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b03xcsbx)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b03xcsbz)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b03xcvtk)
Inside Temptation
'Inside temptation'
Live from Lichfield Cathedral
In the first of Radio 4's series 'Inside Lent', Bishop Stephen Oliver explores the spiritual and temporal nature of temptation.
Leader: The Very Reverend Adrian Dorber, Dean of Lichfield
With Lichfield Cathedral Chamber Choir
Music director: Martyn Rawles
Organist: Catherine Lamb
Producer: Simon Vivian
Through programmes on Radio 4, local radio and online resources for individuals and groups, BBC Religion & Ethics' 'Inside Lent', devised by Bishop Stephen Oliver, invites listeners to join a journey of discovery through this Christian season by reflecting on the nature of a number of very human feelings. bbc.co.uk/religion
Lent: Inside temptation (9th March)
Lent: Inside doubt (16th March)
Lent: Inside anger (23rd March)
Lent: Inside love (30th March)
Lent: Inside fear (6th April)
Lent: Inside hope (13th April)
Easter Day - Inside joy (20th April).
SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b03wsnx9)
Free the Schools
Roger Scruton believes the way to improve our schools is through tapping into the time and talents of middle class volunteers. "The philanthropic middle classes, who created our education system and made it one of the best in the world, have been for too long excluded from it".
Producer: Sheila Cook.
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03whpln)
St Kilda Wren
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the St Kilda wren. The Island of St Kilda is not where you'd expect to see wrens but the wrens that sing along the cliffs of St Kilda are the same species as the common wren, but after 5000 years of isolation they've evolved a different song and are slightly larger and slightly paler than the mainland wrens. Bill Oddie remembers an encounter with the St Kilda Wren.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b03xcvtm)
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 (b03xcvtp)
For detailed synopsis, see daily episodes.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b03xcwp4)
Lord Richards of Herstmonceux
Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, former Chief of the Defence Staff, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.
He was a soldier for 42 years, rising through the ranks to the very top becoming the principal military advisor to government. Shrewd, swashbuckling and outspoken, he is now retired from one of the most successful military careers of modern times: so illustrious he's been knighted twice.
The campaigns he led in East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan are well documented and most recently his counsel against military intervention in both Libya and Syria helped guide the Government through the most complex of international strategic defence decision-making.
He is possibly less well known for his private passions - tennis, skiing, sailing and the action man credentials must surely be further boosted by the fact that he once spent an evening as Joan Collin's bodyguard. He's also partial to a spot of karaoke.
Born in Egypt into a military family he grew up with some understanding of the very particular strain that comes with a life in the forces. Just as well because in 35 years of marriage he and his wife have moved home 29 times.
He says: "I see myself as a moral soldier. I do not associate the military with wars and bloodshed in the narrow sense. I associate the military with doing good, bringing down tyrants, with releasing people's ambitions for their children."
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.
SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b03wpc1j)
Series 68
Episode 4
Another episode of the classic comedy panel game with panellists Miles Jupp, Paul Merton, Graham Norton and Holly Walsh. They attempt to speak without hesitation, repetition, or deviation on subjects given to them by host Nicholas Parsons. This week's subjects include 'Inside the Glove Compartment of My Car...' and 'Just a Minute in Different Languages'.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b03wgzqq)
BBC Food & Farming Awards: Meet the Finalists
A special edition introducing the producers, farmers and cooks who have made it through to the final stage of 2014's BBC Food & Farming Awards, featuring judges Charles Campion and Richard Corrigan.
At the beginning of the year thousands of Radio 4 listeners from all parts of the UK sent in nominations, describing the work of their food heroes. Now, six weeks on, the judging team has decided who the finalists are.
Dan Saladino introduces the 24 finalists across ten different categories from Best Drinks Producer to Best Food Market and from Best Local Food Retailer to Best Streetfood and Takeaway. The judges have been travelling to meet them all, taste the food and drink they make and hear their stories.
In early May, in Bristol, at the annual Awards ceremony, we'll find out which of these finalists go on to become the winners.
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b03xcsc9)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b03xcwp6)
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 A Poem for Matisse (b03gvslg)
Irma Kurtz looks at painter Matisse's complex relationship with poetry and words through his illustrations of various French poets.
Matisse often used other media for inspiration and he had a particularly close relationship with poetry - reciting it every morning before painting and thinking of it as a kind of oxygen, "just as when you leap out of bed you fill your lungs with fresh air".
Matisse didn't separate the act of painting with the act of producing a book and, throughout his career, he produced illustrations or etchings for many beautiful limited edition poetry books, such as 'Poesies' by Stephane Mallerme and Charles D'Orleans 'Poemes' and 'Florilége des Amours de Ronsard' - 16th century love poems which inspired Matisse's famous line drawings of women's faces.
By talking to his great grand daughter, Sophie Matisse (also a painter), biographer Hilary Spurling, poet and artist Pascale Petit and various Matisse experts, Irma looks at the relationship between poetry and Matisse, with location recording at his home in Nice.
Producer: Laura Parfitt
A White Pebble Media production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b03wsb3y)
Derbyshire
Eric Robson chairs GQT Derbyshire. Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Anne Swithinbank answer a range of horticultural questions from an audience of local gardeners.
Also, Eric visits the village of Tissington to explore one of the longest running horticultural traditions in Britain.
Produced by Howard Shannon.
Assistant Producer: Darby Dorras.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
This week's questions:
Q. What new varieties of seeds are the panel planting in 2014 and why?
A. Bob has been trying out new varieties of carrots, including red, purple, yellow and white carrots. Anne is going to experiment with different varieties of pumpkin and squash. Bunny is going to plant Rainbow Beetroot.
Q. I can grow Embothrium coccineum (Chilean Firebush) in South West Scotland & South West England. Why is it so difficult in North West England?
A. Embothrium coccineum depends on an acidic soil and warmer temperatures. Scotland and the south of England benefit from the impact of the Gulf Stream.
Q. Could the panel suggest some shrubs that will survive altitude, poor weather and possible neglect?
A. A rose would be recommended such as the Bengal Beauty Rose. It is a bright purple rose which can flower throughout winter. This would go well with an evergreen such as Holly, for example Hedgehog Holly or Castanifolia. It is worth noting that Holly can take up to two years until it begins to flourish. Another suggestion would be the Philadelphus Manteau d'Hermine, which is a type of mock orange and is extremely scented when in flower. Dwarf Lilacs, such as the Palibin Lilac, would be nice and fragrant. Finally, for something slightly more challenging, try Daphne Odora Aureomarginata.
Q. Our garden is long, flat and boggy for most of the year. What would the panel recommend to plant in a border shaded by a Beech hedge?
A. A small herbaceous plant Geums (Water Avens) would be recommended, as they do not mind boggy soils. Troilus Buttercup tolerates moisture and shady environments. Try Rheum palmatum or the Purpureum variety for large purple leaves. Hydrangea Argentina would compliment the Rheum palmatum nicely. Finally, Canna iridiflora would love these conditions and would flower from July to November.
Q. We have planted a small vineyard on our allotment site; we have had success with 150 bottles of wine made with our latest harvest. However five vines have withered and died. Could the panel suggest what might have caused this and is the plan to replace like for like ideal?
A. The most likely cause is vine weevil. Dig around and see if you can find a sign of them. They can be sorted by using a vine weevil cure when the soil is warm and wet.
Q. I have a rockery covered with unwanted plants, grass and bindweed. Do the panel have a suggestion for a solution to get rid of them?
A. Bunny would recommend glyphosate weed killer but advises not to use it when it is going to rain within six hours. It is meant to be used in the spring but can be used in cold temperatures if applied more often. Bob would suggest pouring boiling water on the rocks regularly and/or hand weeding. Anne also suggests planting Gazania within the next two years to regulate weeding while allowing the rockery to rest.
SUN 14:45 Witness (b03xcxdv)
Fighting the Contras in Nicaragua
A former left-wing Sandinista soldier talks about the war against US-backed Contra rebels in the early 1980s.
"Daniel Alegria" was an idealistic follower of the Sandinistas when he joined the brutal struggle against the rebels as a member of the Sandinista special forces.
(Warning: This programme contains descriptions some listeners might find distressing).
SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b03xcxdx)
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Episode 3
by Jane Austen
Dramatised by Charlotte Jones
Elizabeth has misjudged Wickham's character and he is about to bring further shame on her family. Can she hope to ever see Mr Darcy again after rejecting his offer of marriage?
Directed by Sally Avens
Elizabeth has rejected Darcy's offer of marriage but is beginning to reappraise her judgement of his character after she learns of how Wickham attempted to seduce Darcy's sister. Darcy may have put his proposal badly, pointing out their differences in birth and the behaviour of her family. He may also have attempted to separate her sister Jane from Mr Bingley But it appears he believed that Jane did not love Bingley. And Elizabeth knows that her mother and younger sisters do not always behave with the decorum that might be expected of them and her father is too lazy to correct them. Perhaps the fault is not entirely on Darcy's side.
Published just over 200 years ago Pride and Prejudice remains one of the Nation's favourite novels; with its intellect and wit it appeals to a broad range of readers. It stands the test of time by dealing with the timeless issues of love, social class, money and mistaken judgements and by having a witty and clever though flawed heroine at its heart. Elizabeth Bennet is a thorough radical for her time and perhaps the first heroine to ask is it possible to have it all?
Pippa Nixon takes on the role of Elizabeth; she received rave reviews for her Rosalind in 'As You Like It' ' a rising young star'.
Jamie Parker (Darcy) has played Henry V at the National and is shortly to portray Hamlet on Radio 4.
Double Olivier Award winner Samantha Spiro takes on Mrs Bennet and Toby Jones Mr Collins.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (b03xcxdz)
Tobias Hill, Readers' Guide to Stefan Zweig, literary prizes
The film maker Wes Anderson has said that his latest movie The Grand Budapest Hotel was inspired by the life and works of the Viennese writer Stefan Zweig. Biographer George Prochnik and writer Tibor Fischer explore this once hugely popular early 20th century author, who was the most widely translated writer of his time.
Tobias Hill talks to Mariella Frostrup about his latest novel What was Promised, which begins in a bombed out East End in the grip of rationing in 1948. It's a visceral account of the lives of a community of locals and recent immigrants in a Columbia Road tenement as they emerge from the bomb dust and abandoned wastelands to try and pursue a better future.
This year sees the inauguration of two new major literary prizes - The Folio Prize and The Etisalat Prize for Literature. This is also the first year for the renamed Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction, and we've also seen the revamping of The Wellcome Book Prize, Fiction Uncovered and the Man Booker. Writer and critic Olivia Laing discusses the prizes and the impact they could have for readers
There has been much talk this month about the plight and pleasure of independent bookshops, as they fall below the one thousand mark in the UK. Thankfully one place they continue to thrive is in the pages of books themselves, the latest being 'The Collected Works of AJ Fikry', which is set in a ramshackle independent bookshop on an island. It's Radio 4's Book at Bedtime so Open Book have a clip to whet your appetite.
Producer: Andrea Kidd.
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b03xcxf1)
Milosz and Dickinson
Roger McGough presents a selection of poems by Czeslaw Milosz and Emily Dickinson read by Peter Marinker and Eleanor Tremain. A Polish veteran of many of the upheavals of the middle of the Twentieth Century and a Nineteenth Century New Englander who kept to her house and communicated with the world by post: perhaps not much connects these poets and yet their poems speak to one another across the years. Producer: Tim Dee.
SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b03wpjjq)
The Accountant Kings
The UK is said to have more accountants than almost any other nation on earth. Thanks to reforms in the way the public sector is run, the "Big Four" accountancy firms and the accountancy profession generally has become more powerful and more influential than ever before. But what do these accountants actually do and what does it mean for taxpayers?
To find out, Simon Cox meets the residents of Birmingham, who are dealing with the reality of the accountants' decisions. And he speaks to the nation's top accountants to ask how their profession is changing and what the future holds.
The last 20 years have seen many services which used to be run by local councils outsourced to the private sector. Capita, formed by a former government accountant, has taken the lion's share of these contracts, which often involve a team of Capita accountants deciding where to make cuts in local services. In Birmingham a massive IT and 'business transformation' contract between Capita and the City Council is proving highly controversial - with claims that it is diverting money away from public services and into private sector profit.
Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) form another kind of management model which accountants helped create and which added to the growth of the Big Four accountancy firms - Deloitte, Ernst and Young, KPMG and PriceWaterhouseCoopers - over the last two decades. Birmingham is home to one of the biggest PFI contracts ever signed, with a private contractor in charge of roads, trees and street lights. Have the accountants engineered a good deal for Birmingham?
The next big growth area for the accountants is the NHS as doctors seek their help in commissioning and managing local services under the health service reforms. But what does this mean for the people on the NHS front line?
Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: Lucy Proctor.
SUN 17:40 Profile (b03xcrzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b03xcsd0)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b03xcsd3)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03xcsd5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b03xcxxh)
BBC Current Affairs Reporter Simon Cox selects highlights from the previous seven days of BBC Radio.
On Pick of the Week while Britain basked in the glow of Oscars success we hear about the cinematic genius of Alfred Hitchcock and his voracious appetite. There's the world's most surprising film critic and if you've ever wondered how songwriters come up with those catchy titles - two successful composers tell us about the bizarre ways they find inspiration. For all the underachievers out there, some hope, as we hear why it's good to fail plus the view from 140 feet up an African cedar tree.
Produced by Stephen Garner
Selections from;
Barbara Windsor's East End Men (Radio 2,
10pm Monday 3rd March)
5 Live Breakfast (5 Live,
6am Monday 3rd March)
The Value of Failure (Radio 4,
1.45pm all week)
Andy Warhol's Wig (Radio 4,
2.15pm Thursday 6th March)
Jason Cook's School of Hard Knocks (Radio 4,
6.15pm Thursday 6th March)
You and Yours (Radio 4,
12pm Thursday 6th March)
Porcelain: The Trial for the Killing of Sophie Lancaster (Radio 4,
2.15pm Monday 3rd March)
New Irish Writing: Days of White Tulips (Radio 4,
3.45pm Friday 7th March)
The Princes of Denmark Street (Radio Ulster,
1.30pm Sunday 9th March)
Just a Minute (Radio 4,
6.30pm Monday 3rd March)
Nurse (Radio 4,
11.15pm Wednesday 5th March)
Stan Tracey's Under Milk Wood (Radio 2,
10pm Tuesday 4th March)
From Our Own Correspondent (Radio 4, Saturday
11.30am 8th March)
Nature: James and the Giant Atlas Cedars (Radio 4, Tuesday
11am 4th March)
Freedom 2014: Freedom Songs (World Service,
3.30am Wednesday 5th March).
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b03xcxxk)
Ruth is surprised to find Jill up very early. Ruth admits her outburst on Friday took her by surprise. Jill reveals that she's asked Shula to take her to the operation tomorrow - Ruth has too much on her plate. Ben asks if he can have a party for his 12th birthday. Ruth agrees but Jill is concerned.
Kirsty and Tom are excited to be house hunting. They find a place in a rural setting. It's big; although Kirsty points it won't be just the two of them forever. With a clearer idea of what they want, they later raise a glass to Peggy. Neil argues the case for a self-build on Bridge Farm.
David agrees to be Flood Warden, which pleases Neil. David's aware of Lynda's concern for Ambridge Hall, given how it was affected in 2002. David's feeling stretched, and then learns that Eddie's still ill and can't do the milking this afternoon. Jill and David discuss Ruth - she seems wiped out.
Ruth's tired and irritable with Jill and David. As the family sit down to lunch, everyone does their best to compliment Ruth's efforts and keep things light, but she's her own worst critic. Jill and David fuss over Ruth and eventually she snaps. Jill agrees to put her feet up - only after she's helped clear up.
SUN 19:15 Jeeves - Live! (b03xhd5y)
Series 2
Jeeves and the Song of Songs
Martin Jarvis performs 'Jeeves and the Song of Songs', the first of two of P.G. Wodehouse's celebrated stories, starring blithe Bertie Wooster and his urbane valet Jeeves. Recorded in front of a live audience - it was a highlight of last year's Cheltenham Festival of Literature.
In this one-man tour de force, as well as the characters of Jeeves and Wooster, Jarvis also characterises the bleating Tuppy Glossop, controlling Aunt Dahlia and about a thousand costermongers. Laughs galore!
Jarvis's previous one-man R4 Wodehouse received outstanding reviews. The Times: 'Outshining all was Martin Jarvis in the funniest performance of the year... an astonishing one-man tour-de-force...Jarvis caught the essence of Wodehouse's writing in a way I thought only possible through reading'.
Martin Jarvis received a Theatre World Award for his performance as Jeeves in 'By Jeeves' on Broadway.
Directed by Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:45 The Showman's Parson: Tales from the Memoirs of the Rev Thomas Horne (b03xcxxm)
The Cumberland Crusher
Thomas Horne was born in 1849 in a caravan at Nottingham Goose Fair. He spent the first part of his life as a working showman - dressing up as a performing bear, running a Penny Bazaar around the Lancashire Wakes, working as a doorman in Mrs Williams' Waxwork, and finally becoming an actor in a Mumming Booth and a partner in an Illusion Show. Latterly, he joined a missionary brotherhood in Oxford, and was ordained as a priest in Leeds in 1885.
Until his death in 1918, Thomas Horne was a vigorous campaigner for the rights of travelling people. With his education, training as a priest, and family association with the fairground, he was their ideal representative. He travelled throughout the country, preaching to showfolk and, in one year alone, he travelled over 12,000 miles, visiting fairs as far apart as Penzance in Cornwall to Ayr in Scotland.
The stories in this series are taken from his memoirs held in the National Fairground Archive in Sheffield.
Today's story concerns the goings-on in Nimble Nicky's Boxing Booth at Newcastle Races. John Umberston, the notorious Cumberland Crusher is persuaded to take on all-comers as part of a wrestling display. He meets his match, with tragic consequences.
Read by Tony Lidington
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (b03wsnwv)
Amidst a sea of glitz and glamour at last Sunday's Oscars, one other moment stood out. It was BBC arts and entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson's appearance on the Today programme, live from the red carpet. Colin's attempts to grab the attention of U2 singer Bono, live on the programme has been the talk of Twitter, media commentators, and BBC 5Live. But some Feedback listeners were not amused. Colin Paterson tells us what happened.
Also, you can normally set your watch by the
8.30am switchover from the Today programme to Yesterday in Parliament on BBC Radio 4 Long Wave. But on Tuesday morning it failed to appear. Why? And did this break the BBC's Agreement to "transmit an impartial account day by day of the proceedings in both Houses of Parliament"? We speak to Peter Knowles, Editor of BBC Parliamentary programmes.
And Roger Bolton visits the BBC Radio 4 Sunday morning programme Broadcasting House to find out whether your emails really get read and how much they influence the programme. He'll be interrogating their inbox and speaking to presenter Paddy O'Connell and the BH team.
And a listener remembers a terrifying voice from broadcast history.
Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:30 Last Word (b03wsnws)
Paco de Lucia, Frank Rushbrook, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Logan Scott-Bowden, Alain Resnais
Aasmah Mir on
The guitarist Paco de Lucia who became the leading proponent of the 'New Flamenco' style.
Fire safety expert Dr Frank Rushbrook who pioneered fire training for sailors and helped to establish degree courses in fire safety.
Rose Finn-Kelcey, inventive artist whose works and installations combined social commentary with playful humour.
Logan Scott-Bowden, part of a secret team whose risky night-time mission it was to check whether the beaches of Normandy were suitable for the D-Day landings.
And the French director Alain Resnais who used innovative editing techniques to create depth and mystery in his films.
SUN 21:00 Money Box (b03xcrzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 on Saturday]
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b03xcvth)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 Analysis (b03wpf5c)
Scotland and the Union: Can Britain be Rebooted?
Is there any such thing as unionism, and what is the case for the union?
On September 18th, Scotland will vote in a referendum on whether to become independent. Supporters have been setting out their visions of how Scotland could be transformed. But what about those who want to keep Scotland within the United Kingdom? They've picked away at potential practical problems with independence - on sharing the pound sterling, or joining the European Union. But while the future may be unclear for an independent Scotland, the alternative of staying British may be just as unclear.
Douglas Fraser asks if there's a grand vision for those who argue Scotland should stay in the union. Is it more than just an appeal to a shared history or institutions? Is the union fit for purpose in the 21st century? These aren't just questions for Scotland. They represent a challenge to the rest of the UK - how can democratic and economic power be distributed to tackle disaffection with politics and the centralising pull of London?
The programme follows an edition Douglas presented in July 2013 on Scottish nationalism.
Producer: James Fletcher.
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b03xcxxp)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.
SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b03xcxxr)
Tom Newton Dunn of The Sun looks at how papers covered the week's big stories.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b03wq3br)
The Grand Budapest Hotel; Wake in Fright; Oscars for stunt artists?
Francine Stock talks to Tilda Swinton about the much-anticipated film by Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel and why romance is particularly special to those aged under nine or over 90.
And inspired by Anderson's take on hotel life, film historian Ian Christie and critic, Kate Muir look at these citadels of glamour, alienation, opportunity and even horror.
The director Ted Kotcheff looks back at his 'lost' Oz psychological thriller Wake In Fright from 1971, now re-released, while critic Alice Tynan discusses why Australian cinema-goers at the time found its uncompromising portrayal of life in the outback hard to stomach.
And why the craft of stunt artists demands a lot of bruises, but no recognition in the mainstream awards like the Oscars.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b03xcvt9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 10 MARCH 2014
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b03xd145)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b03wq26f)
Elite Graduates in France and UK; Surnames and Social Mobility
Surnames and social mobility - How much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and grandparents? Laurie Taylor talks to Gregory Clark, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Davis, about movement up the social ladder over 8 centuries, from medieval England to modern Sweden. Using a unique methodology, Professor Clark tracked family names to assess social mobility across diverse eras and societies. His conclusion is that mobility rates are less than are often estimated and are resistant to social policies. It may take hundreds of years for descendants to move beyond inherited advantages, as well as disadvantages. He's joined by Andrew Miles, Reader in Sociology at the CRESC, University of Manchester and author of the only systematic study of historical social mobility in the UK.
Also, elite graduates and global ambition. Sally Power, Professorial Fellow at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, talks about a comparative study which finds that British students from top universities seek worldwide opportunities, whereas their French counterparts wish to 'serve' France. In theory, globalization has dissolved national borders and loyalties, so why do elite students from France and England have such strikingly different visions of their future?
Producer: Torquil Macleod.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b03xctqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03xd147)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03xd149)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03xd14c)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b03xd14f)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03xd3h4)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Calvin Samuel.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b03xd3h6)
Wild Boar, Stolen Sheep and Livestock Markets
It's estimated there are around 800 wild boar in the Forest of Dean. The Forestry Commission aims to maintain the population at 400. This means there will be an increase in the number of animals culled in the area later this year, in an attempt to reduce the amount of damage they are causing. However, some local residents disagree with the way the cull is carried out. Farming Today hears from both sides of the argument.
In less than a year more than £120,000 worth of sheep have been stolen in part of North Yorkshire. BBC Radio York's Mike Kemp reports from the area, and hears how this spate of thefts has led to some farmers considering selling up.
And once the hub of a market town, over recent years the number of livestock markets has declined. There are nearly 200 left in the UK and all of this week Farming Today will be looking at what the future holds for them.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Lucy Bickerton.
MON 05:56 Weather (b03xd14h)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x46sm)
Treecreeper
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the treecreeper. Treecreepers are common woodland birds but because their high-pitched almost whispering song, is often drowned out by the dawn chorus, they're often overlooked. The first glimpse may be a silhouette, its belly close to the bark, braced by stiff tail feathers. It has a curved, tweezer-like bill with with which it delicately probes for hidden insects and spiders deep in the crevices of the bark.
MON 06:00 Today (b03xd3h8)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (b03xd3hb)
Andrew Hussey on the legacy of France's Arab Empire
Tom Sutcliffe talks to Andrew Hussey about the often fraught relationship between France and its Arab ex-colonies, and how that plays out in the banlieues of Paris. The psychotherapist Gabrielle Rifkind recounts her experience of conflict resolution in the Middle East. While Rifkind emphases the need to understand what's happened in the past, the writer Ziauddin Sardar tries to imagine what the world would be like if we explored the future in a more systematic and scientific way.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b03xd3hd)
A Sense of Direction
Episode 1
The author Gideon Lewis-Kraus describes leaving America for life in Berlin, to ease the sadness after his father abandoned the family home. But Berlin isn't enough and only embarking on a series of world-wide pilgrimages will help him. The journeys turn out both amusing and moving, and are abridged in five episodes by Katrin Williams.
1. It's on a trip to Tallinn that that Gideon agrees with his friend Tom
to walk the Camino in Spain. Later, reality bites!
Reader Patrick Kennedy
Producer Duncan Minshull
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03xd3hg)
Nadine Mortimer-Smith; Prostitution; Women of the World
Soprano Nadine Mortimer-Smith on singing Aaron Copeland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. Woman's Hour is looking at the issues of selling and paying for sex. Today we hear from women who describe themselves as 'survivors of prostitution' and get their views on proposals to criminalise paying for sex. And young people at the Women of the World Festival tell us how they've been inspired.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Produced by Lucinda Montefiore.
MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xd3hj)
Charlotte Bronte - Shirley
Cousins
Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, dramatises Charlotte Bronte's tale of romantic entanglements and turbulent times in the Yorkshire of 1811.
"Something unromantic as a Monday morning." And so begins this passionate love story ...
Directed by Tracey Neale
Set against a Yorkshire industrial background, Charlotte Bronte's powerful second novel is also an impassioned plea for social equality - for workers and women alike. Set during the time of the Luddite unrest, two strands weave together. One, the struggles of workers against mill owners, the other involving the romantic entanglements of the two heroines - Shirley Keelder and Caroline Helstone. It is the friendship of these two women, and the contrast between their situations, that lies at the heart of the piece. Many believe the character of Shirley was written for, and about, Charlotte's sister, Emily, who was dying as Charlotte wrote the novel.
Like The Professor, Villette and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, produced by the same team, this is an earthy, vivid and poignant re-telling of one of the lesser-known Bronte classics. The scenes of dangerous social unrest and conflict and love are as relevant today as when the novel was published. It's a story of friendship and love, longing and loss. A rollicking good story with plenty of cliffhangers to keep the listener hooked to the very end.
The cast includes Lesley Sharp (Scott and Bailey) Jemima Rooper (Atlantis) and Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey)
The dramatist Rachel Joyce has written over twenty original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4 and major adaptations for the Classic Serial and Fifteen Minute Drama, as well as a TV period drama for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for Best Radio Play.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was her first novel. It began its life as a Radio 4 play. It was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2012 and longlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize. Her second novel, Perfect, was published last year. She is currently writing a novella called The Love-Song of Queenie Hennessy which will be published in the Autumn. Rachel is also adapting the novella as a 5-part Fifteen Minute Drama to be broadcast at the same time as publication. Queenie is a character from The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
MON 11:00 Out of the Ordinary (b03xd3hl)
Series 2
The Power of Prayer
Jolyon Jenkins meets those who think the sick can be cured through the power of prayer. Could there possibly be anything in it? For over a century, people have been trying to prove it - or disprove it - through science, but firm results are elusive, and some scientists get cross at the whole idea. One study suggests that sick people might actually get worse if they discover they are being prayed for. But over the last 20 years, belief in the miraculous has been growing in Pentecostal circles, not least because miracles seem to be an effective way to gain new recruits. And the claims go far beyond any possible placebo effect: people are claiming to have received new gold teeth through prayer, to have had internal organs grow back after they have been surgically removed, and even to have raised people from the dead through prayer.
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.
MON 11:30 In and Out of the Kitchen (b03xd3hn)
Series 3
The Prisoner
Nerves are fraying as Anthony's first night of Hay Fever looms, not helped by news of a dangerous prisoner loose in the area.
Meanwhile, Damien contends with an angry neighbour...
Written by Miles Jupp.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony ...... Justin Edwards
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
Marion Duffett ...... Lesley Vickerage
Ian Frobisher ...... Philip Fox
Steven ...... Ade Oyefeso
Constable Clive ...... David Seddon
Superintendent Michael ...... Bertenshaw
Victim Liaison Officer ...... Priyanga Burford
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b03xd3hq)
Older Drivers
A government review has suggested that the age at which people have to reapply for their driving licence could be raised from 70 to 80 or scrapped altogether. So what do the accident statistics really say about older drivers and how do you tell a parent it's time they gave up? We hear from a man who's been through that process and speak to researchers who say too many older drivers are giving up too soon.
Also: how should patients be treated when their disabilities prevent them from getting into the dentist's chair?
And as the flood waters recede in Somerset, what might people there learn from the experience of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire which flooded two years ago?
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Jon Douglas.
MON 12:57 Weather (b03xd14k)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b03xd14m)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
MON 13:45 Publishing Lives (b03xd3hs)
Series 2
Kaye Webb
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Kaye Webb was a children's book publisher of genius who shaped the literary imagination of generations. Through Puffin, Kaye Webb created an immortal library of children's books.
Towards the end of her life, Kaye Webb told Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs, "I've had very good luck in the working sense and not such good luck in the private sense". Her third husband - the cartoonist Ronald Searle - left her for another woman, and she brought up their twin children alone. Yet as her own family disintegrated, she built up an increasingly happy and motivated professional family at Puffin Books, which she took over in 1961.
Paperbacks were booming and children's publishing was entering a golden age, with Webb leading the way. Puffin acquired the paperback rights to most of the best children's writers of the day: Roald Dahl, Rosemary Sutcliff, Maurice Sendak, Raymond Briggs, Leon Garfield, Joan Aiken, Nina Bawden, Quentin Blake, Shirley Hughes, Alan Garner, C.S. Lewis, and new authors such as Clive King, whose Stig of the Dump was one of Webb's most famous purchases.
Webb spent her final years in a wheelchair with arthritis. Sadly, the woman who produced so many happy endings for other people's children did not get her own.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b03xcxxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b03xdk8j)
Hearts and Minds: The Siege of Musa Qala
By Adrian Bean.
In 2006 Musa Qala, a small town in Southern Afghanistan, became the setting for a dramatic siege. British soldiers, starved of supplies, fought to hold the city against relentless Taliban attack. This drama-documentary tells the story from the perspective of the Afghan locals, focusing on a fictional young Taliban recruit.
Rasoul is a 17 year-old Afghan boy who leaves behind his life as a goatherd to join the ranks of the Taliban, in an attempt to emulate the glory of his Soviet-fighting Grandfather. But as the siege of Musa Qala draws on, Rasoul must confront the realities of a bitter and deadly war.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
Adrian Bean is a hugely experienced writer and director with credits across TV and Radio Drama. For Radio 4 his credits include dramatisations of Len Deighton's 'Bomber', Robert L Pike's 'Bullitt' and James M Cain's 'The Butterfly'. In 2012 he wrote Radio 4's 'Cry for Me: The Battle of Goose Green' - a re-telling of the Falklands battle from the Argentine perspective.
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b03xdk8l)
(14/17)
Competitors from Portsmouth, Bolton, Ormskirk and Leeds face Russell Davies' questions, in the second semi-final of radio's most venerable general knowledge quiz. They have all won their respective heats, or been among the top-scoring runners-up, and now stand a real chance of a place in the 2014 Final.
Can they identify the New York jazz club whose address in its heyday was 1678 Broadway? Or the name given to the constant expressing the quantity of electric charge carried by a mole of electrons?
They'll also be called upon to pool their knowledge and see if they can deal with the listener's cunning questions chosen this week to 'Beat the Brains'.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b03wgzqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Idrissa Camara (b03w0200)
A portrait of dancer and choreographer Idrissa Camara.
From west Africa to south Wales: Idrissa cuts a distinctive figure as he walks his young child to her Welsh-speaking school in suburban Cardiff. Originally from Guinea, Idrissa moved to the city in 2010 and now lists Welsh next to Susu, Malinke and Wolof among his languages.
Idrissa is a virtuoso dancer and choreographer and has been working to establish his own dance company, Ballet Nimba. He received a bursary to travel back to his native Guinea in order to formally study and document the evolution of dance, music and storytelling there, research which will feed into the next Ballet Nimba production.
This programme follows the progress of this new work interwoven with snapshots from Idrissa's life in Cardiff and his life in Guinea, and the tension between the two.
All music used heard is by Idrissa Camara/Ballet Nimba.
Producer: Martin Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b03xdk8n)
The Christian season of Lent is a time for recalling the forty days and nights spent by Jesus in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry. In other faiths too the wilderness is a place of refuge, self- discovery, temptation and joy.
Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the idea and experience of the wilderness are the Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, the Buddhist writer Vishvapani, and Laura Feldt, associate Professor in the Study of Religion at the University of Odense in Denmark.
MON 17:00 PM (b03xdk8q)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03xd14p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b03xdk8s)
Series 68
Episode 5
Just how hard can it be to talk for 60 seconds with no hesitation, repetition & deviation? Fi Glover joins regulars Gyles Brandreth, Tony Hawks and Paul Merton as Nicholas Parsons adjudicates. Subjects include 'Ten Things to Do during a Powercut'.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b03xdk8v)
Kenton helps David move sheep to higher ground. David knows that Jill was hiding her nerves before Shula takes her to the hospital. He admits that he and Jill are worried about Ruth. She's pale and tired. Kenton points out that Ruth's made of strong stuff.
Dan calls David. He needs some tyres for the assault course he and Fallon are planning for Sport Relief. The idea's really taking off, with interest from Young Farmers. David gleefully volunteers Kenton to do the course. He's off the booze, so might as well go the whole hog and get fit.
Kenton struggles through the course. They stop on Lakey Hill and look over flooded Brookfield. Dan thinks the muddier the better for the assault course. Kenton takes a tumble whilst running through the tyres. The course looks too tame for Dan though. Kenton's horrified by Dan's plan to put hurdles in the water along Heydon Brook.
Jill's eye operation went well but she's fragile.
Fallon and Dan agree a name for the event - the Rough and Tumble challenge. Fallon later calls Dan with exciting news. They might have someone really special to present the trophies. She's going to make a call...
MON 19:15 Front Row (b03xdldd)
Folio Prize winner, Cézanne at the Ashmolean, Jeff Beck
With John Wilson. We announce the winner of the inaugural Folio Prize and speak to her/him live from the ceremony in London. The £40,000 prize celebrates the best English-language fiction from around the world, regardless of form, genre, or the author's country of origin.
Cézanne and the Modern is a new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, featuring the collection of Henry and Rose Pearlman. They began collecting in 1945 with a work by Jacques Lipchitz and it now includes a matchless group of paintings and watercolours by Paul Cézanne, as well as paintings and sculptures by artists including Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, and Edgar Degas. Curator John Whitely talks to John Wilson about the collection.
John also talks to guitar hero Jeff Beck about a 50 year career that has seen him play with the likes of The Yardbirds, David Bowie, Eric Clapton and Morrissey.
And as a new teen movie the GBF (Gay Best Friend) is about to open, writer Damian Barr looks at the appeal of the gay best friend in film.
Producer Dymphna Flynn.
MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xd3hj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 My Teacher Is an App (b03xdldg)
An Education Revolution?
Sarah Montague presents the final programme in the series looking at the phenomenal changes to education being brought about by technology.
In the previous two programmes, Sarah has been reporting from the U.S. This week we bring the discussion firmly back to the UK with a debate recorded in front of an audience at King's College, London.
Sarah is joined by the film-maker turned educationalist Lord Puttnam; the chief education adviser at Pearson, Sir Michael Barber; the neuroscientist, Dr Paul Howard-Jones; the writer, Jay Griffiths; and "the nation's ten best teachers".
They debate what the classroom of the future should look like and ask whether Britain's schools and universities should follow in America's footsteps.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
MON 21:00 Nature (b03wphhs)
Series 8
James and the Giant Atlas Cedars
In August 2013, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reclassified the Atlas Cedar from 'least concern' to 'endangered species' . Drought as well as local pressures from grazing, logging and pests are threatening the survival of Morocco's endemic forests of Atlas Cedars. Professional tree climber James Aldred who grew up surrounded by trees in the New Forest is passionate about trees and tree climbing. It's not so much the technical challenges of climbing that James enjoys but the opportunity to explore the character, structure and ecology of the tree as he gains a unique perspective by climbing up high into the tree's canopy. So, James travels to Morocco to explore these ancient forests and reflect on the challenges facing them. He also finds a suitable tree to climb and sleep in overnight. From his tree top hammock, he watches a spider abseiling on its silken thread and hears owls calling through the darkness. He wakes before sunrise and climbs to the top of the tree to look out across this vast ancient forest in the early morning light. Its an unforgettable experience. Back on the ground, James discovers a fenced-off area in the forest containing tiny cedar seedlings and some young saplings - a sign of hope that these threatened Atlas Cedar forests may yet have a future.
MON 21:30 Start the Week (b03xd3hb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b03xd14r)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b03xdlzb)
Mystery of the missing Malaysian plane.
Should ex-colonial powers pay compensation?
Will Crimean referendum be legitimate?
With Jamie Coomarasamy.
MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03xdlzd)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 6
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives, and relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 6:
Winterton finally turns up and Alec demands some answers. But can Winterton deliver?
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:00 Short Cuts (b03c3cn8)
Series 4
Resistance
Josie Long presents a sequence of mini documentaries about small acts of resistance - from bursting into song to crashing a car into a wall.
We hear from a woman whose encounter with an underground resistance movement led to tapped phones and aggressive encounters with ice cream salesmen and listen to the power of a collective as individual voices at a protest are woven into music.
The items featured in the programme are:
La esperanza muere al último
Feat. Studs Terkel
Nicholas Petron
Produced by StoryCorps
Heavy Iron Beast
Produced by Leo Hornak
Stories from the Underground
Feat. Kathy Reina
Produced by Will Drysdale
Rabble Rousers
Produced by Sarah Boothroyd
http://sarahboothroyd.com
Gentle Angry People
Feat. the San Ghanny choir
Produced by Rose de Larrabeiti
Series producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03xdlzg)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster.
TUESDAY 11 MARCH 2014
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b03xd15l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b03xd3hd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03xd15n)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03xd15q)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03xd15s)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b03xd15v)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03xdmz2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Calvin Samuel.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b03xdmz4)
Tree diseases; Livestock market film; Methane emissions
It's eighteen months since ash dieback was identified in the UK. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee at Westminster today releases the findings of its report into tree health, which was triggered by the outbreak of the disease. Farming Today asks who's winning the battle - tree diseases or the scientists trying to outwit them?
Methane released by farm animals is a serious environmental problem. The gas is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Could altering the diet of livestock help? Scientists are working to identify plants which could reduce the amount of methane given off by grazing animals.
And Hereford's livestock market has joined many others in leaving its historic city centre site and moving out of town. Farming Today finds out about a new film which has recorded farmers' memories of the old market, and will be shown for the first time this evening.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Emma Campbell.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x472x)
Peregrine
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the peregrine. The peregrine is a truly awesome predator and a bird that we associate with wild places where, with wings flickering like knife-blades, it chases its prey in thrilling pursuits and breath-taking dives. Our city churches, cathedrals and other tall buildings are a perfect substitute for cliffs and quarries where they like to nest and with a plentiful supply of town pigeons they’re thriving in these artificial eyries.
TUE 06:00 Today (b03xdmz6)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b03xdmz8)
Mark Miodownik
Mark Miodownik's chronic interest in materials began in rather unhappy circumstances. He was stabbed in the back, with a razor, on his way to school. When he saw the tiny piece of steel that had caused him so much harm, he became obsessed with how it could it be so sharp and so strong. And he's been materials-mad ever since.
Working at a nuclear weapons laboratory in the US, he enjoyed huge budgets and the freedom to make the most amazing materials. But he gave that up to work with artists and designers because he believes that if you ignore the sensual aspects of materials, you end up with materials that people don't want.
For Mark, making is as important as reading and writing. It's an expression of who we are, like music or literature, and 'everyone should be doing it'. To this end, he wants our public libraries to be converted into public workshops, with laser cutters and 3 D printers in place of books.
TUE 09:30 One to One (b03xdmzb)
Emma Barnett talks to Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild
Emma Barnett is 29 and the Women's Editor of the Daily Telegraph. She regards herself as a feminist, she demands equality in the workplace and in all aspects of her secular life. But she has a secret: as an orthodox Jew, when attending synagogue, she is happy to sit separately from the men, not to take part in the service and is finding it hard to embrace the concept of women rabbis.
In this second of two programmes for One to One, she discusses her prejudice with Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild who, when faced with the comment 'I don't really believe in a female Rabbi', retorts, 'Well I'm not Tinkerbell'.
Can Emma resolve the conflict between her public and her private life; the contradiction between her feminist self and her religious self?
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b03xdmzd)
A Sense of Direction
Episode 2
The author Gideon Lewis-Kraus describes leaving America for life in Berlin, to ease the sadness after his father abandoned the family home. But Berlin isn't enough and only embarking on a series of world-wide pilgrimages will help him. The journeys turn out both amusing and moving, and are abridged in five episodes by Katrin Williams.
2. Travel on the Camino continues. There are hardships, but also rewarding friendships
with Roman and David, and the lovely Nora and Alina..
Reader Patrick Kennedy
Producer Duncan Minshull
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03xdmzg)
Buying and selling sex; Jobs in cyber security; Viper Wine
Should buying and selling sex be decriminalised? Jane Garvey talks sex workers in Glasgow who think only full decriminalisation will give them protection and rights. Opportunities for women in cyber security. The deadly beauty secrets of women in the court of Charles I explored in Hermione Eyre's novel Viper Wine. Presenter Jane Garvey.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xdmzj)
Charlotte Bronte - Shirley
Caroline Goes Visiting
Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, dramatises Chrlotte Bronte's tale of romantic entanglements and turbulent times in the Yorkshire of 1811.
Caroline Helstone, is in love with Robert Moore but knows he will never be hers. Her sadness lifts a little when she receives an invitation to meet Shirley Keelder, the new owner of the manor house at Fieldhead.
Directed by Tracey Neale.
TUE 11:00 Nature (b03xf0fz)
Series 8
The Midland Brown Snake - Dead or Alive
The Midland Brown Snake found in the eastern United States, like many snake species migrates between winter hibernation areas and summer habitat in the Spring and Autumn. In many areas, even including the wilder or more rural areas and within State Parks where it is found, this means having to cross roads. To this small harmless snake the length of a pencil, a tarmacadamed road surface which holds the heat seems the ideal spot to pause to raise the body temperature on that journey but is also the cause of its demise. Its size and colouration means it is effectively invisible to passing traffic. While the Midland Brown Snake is not under conservation concern, the number of snakes being killed each year is high and some populations are endemic to specific areas. Howard Stableford joins a research team in an Eastern Illinois state park to find out how they are monitoring this beautiful snake, whether dead or alive, and how the information they are gathering may help other populations of this snake or other reptiles at threat from roads.
Produced by Sheena Duncan.
TUE 11:30 A Shower of Sparks (b03xf0g1)
In spring 1974, alongside the established kiddie-pop of Mud, Slade and the Wombles, a new act sidled onto Top Of The Pops who generated more playground chatter the following morning than any of the above. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael had formed Sparks three years earlier, but their breakthrough came with the hit song 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us' - three minutes of staccato glam-pop that was over almost as soon as it began, with near-indecipherable lyrics and gunshot sound effects throughout.
Even more intriguing than the song was the brothers' appearance - corkscrew-haired Russell bouncing around the stage singing falsetto, while Ron stood virtually motionless at a piano in the background with a Hitler moustache and pursed lips, his eyes moving from side to side.
No one would even have guessed that they were brothers, but the Maels' chalk-and-cheese stage personae created a visual image which won them many more Top Of The Pops appearances and many more hits. Moreover, their image came to set the tone for a generation of electro-pop bands such as Soft Cell and the Pet Shop Boys - who followed the template of a charismatic frontman with a virtually motionless keyboard-playing wonk in the background, both of whose contributions were vital to the act.
In this programme the Mael brothers talk to Stuart Maconie about the relationship that led them into the music business and has seen them through a career of startling longevity, defying those who dismissed them as just another novelty act. Forty years on, Sparks are working on their 22nd studio album and still have music critics eating out of their hands. Always Anglophile by instinct, they have consistently enjoyed more success here than in their native USA - though they have played a long game, content to issue music sporadically and on their own terms rather than always to pursue the next hit. Their quirky creativity and refusal to play industry games have won them many prominent admirers among writers and musicians, notably Morrissey, Julie Burchill and Björk.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b03xf0g3)
Call You and Yours: Dangerous Dogs - Are Tighter Laws Needed?
A woman in Lincoln is the latest victim of a dog attack. Does the Dangerous Dog Act need to get tougher? Presented by Winifred Robinson.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b03xd15x)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b03xd15z)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
TUE 13:45 Publishing Lives (b03xf0g5)
Series 2
Victor Gollancz
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Victor Gollancz was a giant of 20th century British publishing. The firm he founded published works by Ford Madox Ford, George Orwell, Elizabeth Bowen, Daphne du Maurier, Franz Kafka, Kingsley Amis and John le Carre.
Gollancz used the profits from these bestselling authors to fund his political mission. He created the pioneering Left Book Club to campaign against the rise of fascism in Europe. It gained 45,000 members in its first year and, at its peak, was distributing nearly 60,000 books a month. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell was its most famous title.
Victor Gollancz was a rare breed - a publisher with a social conscience. He was a great literary man who devoted his life to contemporary causes. In the process, he helped to change the world.
The Observer's Robert McCrum talks to publishing insiders including bestselling author, John le Carré, and Victor Gollancz's daughter Livia Gollancz.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b03xdk8v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 McLevy (b03xf0g7)
Series 10
A Secret Life
Victorian detective drama, starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond.
Written by David Ashton.
Episode four: A Secret Life.
Riots break out on the streets of Leith - and McLevy's relationship with Jean Brash takes on an unfamiliar intensity.
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/Director: Bruce Young.
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b03xf0g9)
Series 6
Whitby
Jay Rayner and the team are in Whitby for this episode of the culinary panel programme.
Answering questions from the audience are 2011 Masterchef-winner Tim Anderson, resident food historian Dr Annie Gray, food writer Tim Hayward, and chef Sophie Wright.
Inspired by the scenery that formed a backdrop for Bram Stoker's Dracula, the panel share Gothic food experiences in Whitby. We discuss the mock food tradition and Sophie Wright reminisces about her years at the Culinary Olympics.
Also in this week's programme, we talk about the national institution that is fish and chips, the panel sample traditional Whitby gingerbread, and we give advice to a man who is terrified of venturing into the kitchen.
Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun.
Assistant Producer: Darby Dorras
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b03xf0gc)
Future-proofing Forests
Ash dieback was discovered in the UK in late 2012 and since then has been killing many of the UK's ash trees. But it's not the only threat - many pests and diseases are attacking different species which make up our forests and ancient woodlands. Julian Rush asks if our trees are simply vulnerable victims, susceptible to diseases, or if they have the strength to fight back.
He visits Wentwood in South Wales where phytophthora ramorum (PR) has infected larch trees causing the clear felling of over 70 acres, with more anticipated. He asks if this is the only solution and how the loss of the trees will also affect the animals and insects.
As ash dieback also spreads across the UK, Julian visits the scientists working to trace a natural resistance in trees and breed a new stronger generation of trees. The urgency of the situation has forced them to share their findings sooner, open sourcing information and enlisting the help of the public which has already led to new findings and chance developments which might not otherwise have been discovered. Julian asks if enough is being done soon enough and if the scientists or the diseases are winning the race.
With a swathe of other diseases also threatening he asks if we have to learn to live with disease and accept that change in our forests is inevitable. We are also talking to the chair of the committee of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee who published their new report on Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity this week.
Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.
TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b03xf0gf)
Jurors in the Dock
People on juries have gone to prison for looking up defendants on the internet. But should we have more faith in jurors' ability to ignore information from outside court? Or are tough penalties what's needed to stop the integrity of our justice system being compromised? The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, will be in the Law In Action studio to explain the government's new laws on contempt of court.
Also on the programme, presenter Joshua Rozenberg hears claims of a murder attempt and lives in turmoil as he speaks to people who turn up at the High Court without legal representation.
And could Tony Blair be subject to a citizen's arrest?
TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b03xf0gh)
Lorraine Kelly and Romesh Gunesekera
TV presenter Lorraine Kelly and writer Romesh Gunesekera tell Harriett Gilbert about the books they love, that have meant most to them throughout their lives.
Lorraine's deep love of Orkney is reflected in her choice of Greenvoe by George Mackay Brown.
Romesh's choice, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, is one that provokes strong reactions in them all - and a surprising revelation from Romesh.
Harriett's own recommendation is Good Behaviour by the Irish novelist Molly Keane.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
TUE 17:00 PM (b03xf0gk)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03xd161)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Dilemma (b03xf0gm)
Series 3
Episode 6
Sue Perkins puts Bridget Christie, Michael Rosen, Laura Dockrill and Adil Ray through the moral and ethical wringer.
After a series of finely-balanced dilemmas are posed, Sue cross-examines them on their answers.
Devised by Danielle Ward.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b03xf0gp)
Adam and Ian discuss going to Helen's for dinner. Both still feel protective over her but are willing to make an effort getting to know Rob for her sake. Ian receives a text from Dan about participating in the Rough and Tumble challenge but both are too busy.
Ian tells Jennifer about a kitchen designer he knows, as used by a local restaurant.
Helen is busy with dinner prep, having chopped vegetables for a stir fry. It's not special enough for Rob, who goes out to buy steak instead.
Rob is keen for Henry to get to bed but Helen is concerned that it's too early. Helen is excited for Rob and Ian to get to know each other better.
Over dinner, there's an undercurrent of Rob doubting Ian and Adam's masculinity. To Adam's surprise, Ian announces that he and Adam will be entering the Rough and Tumble challenge. He later tells Adam that Fallon has texted him with some news.
When Rob casually refers to when he and Helen move to The Lodge, Ian and Adam can't believe his insensitivity. Peggy still lives there! But Helen doesn't seem to notice. She thinks the evening went well. Rob tells her that if she's happy, then he is too.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b03xf0gr)
Under the Skin; Publicising books; Shetland; Karen Joy Fowler
With Kirsty Lang.
Scarlett Johansson plays an alien wandering around Glasgow looking for human prey in Under The Skin, which was filmed without some of the cast realising they were in a movie or that they were talking to a Hollywood star. Novelist Toby Litt delivers his verdict on Jonathan Glazer's adaptation of Michael Farber's science fiction novel.
On the day research from the University of Sheffield shows half the country picks up a book at least once a week for pleasure, and 45% prefer television, Front Row looks at the fast changing world of publicising books. Publishers are producing their own book programmes and podcasts, authors are appearing in online trailers and are increasingly responsible for promoting their own work. Kirsty finds out about the latest developments from Cathy Rentzenbrink from the Bookseller, Sara Lloyd from Pan Macmillan and author Toby Litt.
Karen Joy Fowler's novel The Jane Austen Book Club spent 13 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was a successful Hollywood film. She talks to Kirsty about her latest book We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. It's the story of an American family - with a twist. Karen explains how she drew upon her psychologist father's work with rats and chimpanzees when writing the novel, and how important it is to learn good 'chimp manners' when visiting a chimp colony.
After a successful on-air pilot, Douglas Henshall returns as a detective and single dad in Shetland, an adaptation of Ann Cleeves' series of crime novels about nefarious activities on the remote Scottish islands.
Producer: Ellie Bury.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xdmzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b03xf0gt)
Election Fraud
With local authority elections due in May, Allan Urry investigates claims of organised vote rigging.
Earlier this year, the Electoral Commission identified 16 areas in England with wards that are at particular risk of electoral fraud.
File on 4 visits some of those towns and cities and hears first hand evidence of intimidation and the widespread abuse of postal votes - including allegations that some people are being pressured into handing over their vote to party activists.
A candidate who successfully took a court case against his opponent after narrowly losing an election, says some campaigners have lost sight of what is right and wrong.
And a judge who sits in election fraud cases attacks the system as "shambolic" and "wide open to abuse".
So is our voting system too vulnerable to fraud? Are the authorities doing all they can to root out corruptions? And is it time to end postal voting on demand?
Producers: Emma Forde and Sally Chesworth.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b03xf0gw)
Drug companies fined for promoting more expensive drug
The Italian Competition Authority has fined two pharmaceutical companies, Roche and Novartis, a total of 182.5 million euros, accusing them of colluding to promote a more expensive drug over a cheaper alternative. Lucentis and Avastin are both drugs used in the treatment of wet Age-related Macular Degeneration, with Lucentis is around ten times the cost of Avastin. Novartis and Roche are appealing the decision. We speak to Daniela Minerva, a health journalist in Italy, about the case, and what it means for the treatment of wet AMD in Italy. We also speak to Helen Jackman from the Macular Society, about what the organisation would like to see happen here in the UK.
A young blind woman, Saliha, tells us about her experience of what she calls "honour-based abuse" by her family. She describes the restrictions that were placed on her once she became a teenager, and how she tried to leave home twice, before succeeding the third time.
Producer: Lee Kumutat
Presenter: Peter White
Editor: Andrew Smith.
TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b03xf0gy)
Sugar, Prescription charges, Thrush, Iron and strokes
Is sugar really addictive? As the Chief Medical Officer for England suggests that it is and a 'sugar tax' may have to be introduced, leading experts debate whether the white stuff on our table is really habit forming.
How 40 year old research hidden away in a book has thrown new light on a link between iron deficiency and stroke.
And why the clue to solving recurrent thrush maybe getting the diagnosis right in the first place.
Plus concern about the increase in prescription charges just announced by the government.
TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b03xdmz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b03xf0h0)
Bob Crow, head of the RMT union, has died.
Why many Crimeans want to side with Russia.
Gay activists file a suit against Uganda's anti-homosexuality law.
New Zealand debates whether to replace its national flag.
With Ritula Shah.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03xf0h2)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 7
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives, and relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 7:
Alec makes contact with Wiggy. But not before events take an even darker turn.
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 2525 (b03sg6mf)
Episode 6
In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive... then it may sound something like this. Set 511 years in the future, 2525 invites you to hear more snippets of our future from talking kitchen appliances to the historical re-enactment society devoted to restaging fights in pub car parks.
Written by Colin Birch, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, Jon Hunter, Jane Lamacraft, John Luke Roberts and Eddie Robson
Produced by Ashley Blaker
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03xf0h4)
Sean Curran reports on a row over hospital closures. The Bank of England Governor is questioned on allegations of a foreign exchange scandal. And what happened after a disaster in Bangladesh?
Editor: Peter Mulligan.
WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2014
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b03xd16w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b03xdmzd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03xd16y)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03xd170)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03xd172)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b03xd174)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03xf15w)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Calvin Samuel.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b03xf15y)
Milk production; Slug pellets; Trainee auctioneers
The UK's milk production was the highest last month since records began. Figures show an 11% increase on last February. Farming Today looks at whether the market can sustain such a rise in production.
There are claims that there should a plan to maintain and improve our 'natural capital'. The government's independent advisory committee on natural capital says that, just as ministers have developed a National Infrastructure Plan for road and rail projects, they should now develop a similar plan for the environment.
And as Farming Today continues to look at the future of livestock markets, Caz Graham speaks to trainee auctioneer William Alexander in Lancashire about his choice to take to the rostrum.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Lucy Bickerton.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x474w)
Rook
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the rook. High in the treetops buffeted by March winds, rooks are gathering twigs to build their untidy nests. The bustle of a rookery is one of the classic sounds of the UK countryside, especially in farming areas, where rooks are in their element, probing the pastures and ploughed fields with long pickaxe bills.
WED 06:00 Today (b03xf160)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b03xf162)
Sam Etherington, Cassidy Little, Emma Bridgewater, Merry 'Corky' White
Libby Purves is joined by engineer Sam Etherington; Royal Marine turned actor Cassidy Little; ceramicist Emma Bridgewater and anthropologist and writer Professor Merry 'Corky' White.
Sam Etherington recently joined Britain's engineering Hall of Fame for his pioneering work on wave energy. The 24-year-old engineer follows in the footsteps of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, George Stephenson, Barnes Wallace and other great British engineers. Sam came up with his design for a multi-axis wave converter after being buffeted by waves while out kitesurfing.
Cassidy Little is a former Royal Marine turned actor. He plays the title role in Owen Sheers's play, The Two Worlds of Charlie F, which tells the story of modern warfare from a soldier's perspective. Cassidy studied performance and dance in the US before joining 42 Commando Royal Marines. It was while serving on his second tour in Afghanistan in 2011 that he lost a leg in an IED blast. The Two Worlds of Charlie F is touring the UK.
Emma Bridgewater is a pottery designer who founded her ceramics company in Stoke-on-Trent in 1985. Her book, Toast and Marmalade and Other Stories, tells the personal stories behind her pieces - she is known for her quintessentially British designs such as trailing sweet peas, blue hens, tumbling roses, plump figs and black toast. Today the business remains committed to the manufacture of British pottery. Toast and Marmalade and Other Stories is published by Saltyard Books.
Merry 'Corky' White is professor of anthropology at Boston University. Her book, Cooking for Crowds, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new edition. Corky was a student and single parent when she started catering for Harvard academics to earn money in 1970. Every week she catered one or two dinners for 25 and one lunch for 50. She credits Julia Child with saving her from her early kitchen nightmares. Cooking for Crowds is published by Princeton University Press.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b03xf164)
A Sense of Direction
Episode 3
The author Gideon Lewis-Kraus describes leaving America for life in Berlin, to ease the sadness after his father abandoned the family home. But Berlin isn't enough and only embarking on a series of world-wide pilgrimages will help him. The journeys turn out both amusing and moving, and are abridged in five episodes by Katrin Williams.
3. The next adventure is Shikoku, Japan. It's a temple pilgrimage that goes round and round,
and in the wettest of weather..
Reader Patrick Kennedy
Producer Duncan Minshull
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03xf166)
Robotics in school; Part-time work; Richard Mabey; Game Changers
Robotics in schools. Our reporter Ayshea Buksh talks to an award winning all-girl competitive robotics team from North London about how their project has broadened their horizons and changed their career aspirations.
The TUC's Frances O'Grady on how going part time affects your earning power. So what can be done to prevent talent and experience being wasted when a women works part time?
Game Changers - the judges deliberations begin. And we discuss what makes a Game Changer with organisational psychologist Rachel Short.
Richard Mabey has written Dreams of the Good Life, a new account of Flora Thompson - author of Lark Rise to Candleford - which investigates the contradiction between the simple rural times she chronicled and the Bohemian, suburban life she aspired to.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Karen Dalziel.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xf168)
Charlotte Bronte - Shirley
Good Works
Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, dramatises Charlotte Bronte's tale of romantic entanglements and turbulent times in the Yorkshire of 1811.
Shirley begins to question Caroline when she discovers that her friend wears a locket containing a lock of Robert's hair. And Caroline makes a startling discovery when work is begun to help the poor.
Directed by Tracey Neale.
WED 11:00 The Long March (b03xf16b)
The Legacy
The end of the Long March and our journey is in Shaanxi province. When Mao started he was looked down on as an ill-educated son of a farmer. By the time it had finished he'd taken control of the Communist Party of China and used the base in Shaanxi to cement a hold on power that would last for four decades. Mao called the march "a manifesto", a symbol of the endurance needed to build a new China. In this 80th anniversary year we look at the lasting legacy of the March and how its roots still reach to the highest levels in the Chinese Communist Party.
Producer: Phil Pegum.
WED 11:30 HR (b03xf16d)
Series 5
Everybody's Doing It
In Nigel Williams' comedy series Sam, addled by Kate and Peter's audible intimacy, finally decides on internet dating. Then a knock on the front door changes everything...
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b03xf16g)
Dressing trendy teenagers, Portas pilot towns, daffodils
One out of five electrical appliances don't deliver the promised energy rating according to the The Energy Saving Trust, we'll find out why.
Daffodil farms are blooming because of the recent warm weather and lack of a cold winter but farmers are worried they have bloomed too early.
We'll be live with high street and supermarket leaders at The Retail Week conference in London.
The Portas Pilot Towns were awarded government money to reinvigorate their high streets, we'll be looking at what they've been spending the money on.
Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Simon Browning.
WED 13:00 World at One (b03xd176)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
WED 13:45 Publishing Lives (b03xf16j)
Series 2
Norah Smallwood
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Norah Smallwood was the first woman to break into the traditional gentleman's club of publishing in the early 20th Century. She joined Chatto and Windus as a secretary in 1936 and rapidly worked her way up, becoming a partner after the Second World War, and managing director between 1975 and 1982. She was on the board of the Hogarth Press and worked closely with its founder, Leonard Woolf.
Her authors included Aldous Huxley, Elizabeth Taylor, Iris Murdoch, A. S. Byatt and Toni Morrison. She also became close friends with Dirk Bogarde, then one of Britain's leading movie stars, after she heard him on a late night radio show and spotted his potential as a writer. Iris Murdoch said she was 'a combination of comrade, leader, mother, business partner and muse'.
The Observer's Robert McCrum talks to publishing insiders including Dame Gail Rebuck and Booker prize-winning author, A. S. Byatt.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b03xf0gp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b03xf1dy)
The Genesis Rock
In the Ararat mountains of Northern Turkey, Sam - a former astronaut - has been searching for the remains of Noah's Ark. He, like many others, is set on proving the literal truth of the Bible. During his 'mission' he falls and breaks his leg while separated from the rest of his party. Luckily or unluckily for him, help is on hand from agent Bob who is sent to rescue Sam and get him out of the country as quickly and as quietly as possible. In this 'divine' comedy-drama faith and trust are put to the test. Starring Kerry Shale and John Chancer.
The Genesis Rock
by Peter Arnott
Producer/Director: David Ian Neville.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b03xf1f0)
Insurance
Need better insurance, lower premiums or help with a claim? Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail to moneybox@bbc.co.uk
Home insurance premiums are at a ten year low and around £100 has been cut from motor insurance bills over the last two years according to the AA's British Insurance Premium Index. So how do you get the most competitive deals for your needs and what should a good policy include?
Could behaviour based motor insurance cut your costs? The British Insurance Brokers' Association say that the sale of such 'Telematics' insurance has risen by 61% since 2012 and soon insurers will have access to DVLA records through 'My Licence'.
A new agreement about flood insurance called Flood Re is also on the way. Will you benefit?
If you do need to make a claim what should you expect from your insurer?
How do you negotiate or complain if your policy doesn't meet your expectations?
Whatever your insurance question, presenter Ruth Alexander will be ready to help, with guests:
Martyn James, Financial Ombudsman Service.
Malcolm Tarling, Association of British Insurers.
Graeme Trudgill, British Insurance Brokers' Association.
Call 03700 100 444 between
1pm and
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic charges apply.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b03xf0gy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b03xf1f2)
Post-Katrina New Orleans; The Capitalist Personality
Post-Katrina New Orleans: how disaster recovery became a lucrative business. Laurie Taylor talks to Vincanne Adams, US Professor of Medical Anthropology, about her account of market failure after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She discovered private companies profiting from the misery they sought to ameliorate and a second order disaster that intensified inequalities based on race and class. Why were residents left to re-build their lives and homes almost entirely on their own, save for the contribution of churches and charities? Phil O'Keefe, Professor of Economic Development, joins the discussion.
Also, 'The Capitalist Personality' - Laurie Taylor explores interpersonal bonds in the post communist world. Christopher Swader, Assistant Professor of Sociology in Moscow, argues that successful people in countries as diverse as China and Russia adjust to the market economy at a social cost, compromising moral values in pursuit of material gain. Is anti social behaviour in new capitalist economies a by-product of their communist pasts or does the individual ambition released by economic development also have a part to play in threatening human relationships?
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b03xf1f4)
Sky's Sophie Turner-Laing; live debates on TV; licence fee evasion
Channel 5 has announced it has commissioned a series of new one hour live debates to tackle a range of issues including obesity, crime and debt. It follows the The Big Benefits Row: Live and The Big British Immigration Row: Live, the former brought the channel 2.6m viewers with an 8.9% share. Steve Hewlett talks to 5's Commissioning Editor for Factual Guy Davies about the planned programmes, and discusses the live debate format with former Question Time executive producer Steve Anderson and TV critic Kevin O'Sullivan.
As the head of all of BskyB's content outside of sport, Sophie Turner-Laing has spent the last few years trying to boost the broadcaster's entertainment offerings. She's been the driving force behind deals with HBO, launched Sky Atlantic, and is a firm advocate of developing home grown content. But in a climate where BskyB is now having to spend more on sports programming, will this lead to more pressure on entertainment spend? Sophie Turner-Laing joins Steve Hewlett in the studio.
The BBC's director of strategy and digital James Purnell has warned that plans by MPs to abolish criminal penalties for evading payment of the licence fee present a 'huge risk' that could lead to the closure of some the corporation's channels. He joins Steve Hewlett to discuss his fears about how the move would result in many more people refusing to pay, and looks at the potential loss to the organisation. And he responds to recent ideas about the the licence fee becoming a subscription model.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b03xf1f6)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03xd178)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b03xf1f8)
Series 1
The B&B
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'.
King of the one-liners, Milton Jones returns BBC to Radio 4 for an amazing 10th series in a new format where he has decided to set himself up as a man who can help anyone anywhere - whether they need it or not. Because, in his own words, "No problem too problemy".
But each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. So when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
This week, a friend who runs a B&B is in trouble - so it's time for Milton to dust off those nylon sheets and let the sparks fly.
Written by Milton with James Cary ("Bluestone 42", "Miranda") and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show "House Of Rooms") the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton," returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ("Spamalot", "Mr. Selfridge") as the ever-faithful Anton, and Dan Tetsell ("Newsjack"), and features the one and only Josie Lawrence working with Milton for the first time.
Producer David Tyler's radio credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Cabin Pressure, Bigipedia, Another Case Of Milton Jones, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, The Brig Society, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The 99p Challenge, The Castle, The 3rd Degree and even, going back a bit, Radio Active.
Produced and Directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b03xf1fb)
David is woken early. Some ewes have got out. Needing to attend to them, he leaves Ruth to do the milking.
Vicky receives some very exciting news - Brenda is engaged!
Weary Ruth returns after milking. Jill has made sure that she returns to a hearty breakfast. Ben remarks that Ruth looks terrible but she perks up after eating. David is furious. It appears that the ewes escaped due to someone fly tipping and leaving the gate open.
Ben reveals some news that he has heard on the grapevine. Bradley Wiggins will be coming to the Rough and Tumble challenge! David and Ruth think he must have misunderstood but Ben is adamant.
Tony proudly shows off his new beef cattle to Mike. Mike informs Tony and Pat that Brenda is engaged. Mike is excited about Brenda's imminent visit, wanting to hear all the details.
David and Jill are concerned that Ruth has been out shopping for a long time. A very pale Ruth finally returns but Jill is horrified at how washed out she looks. Ruth is concerned that she needs to get on with milking but Jill is insistent - Ruth is going straight upstairs to bed.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b03xf1fd)
Veronica Mars; Kickstarter; Vivienne Franzmann; Andres Neuman; Fake bands
With Kirsty Lang
Veronica Mars, the film spin-off of the noughties TV show, is the first major Hollywood film to be crowd-funded. Raising its entire budget through the Kickstarter platform, its success inspired other high profile stars including Spike Lee and Zach Braff to finance their passion projects through the site. Briony Hanson, Head of Film at the British Council, reviews the film and discusses the impact of Kickstarter on film financing.
To discuss the impact of Kickstarter - which marked another milestone last week as total pledges to the site surpassed $1 billion - CEO and co-founder Yancey Strickler discusses the future for the platform, and whether controversial pitches by celebrities are really contrary to the site's original ethos.
Vivienne Franzmann's first play, Mogadishu, explored the culture of a contemporary London secondary school. It drew on her background as a secondary school teacher and went on to win her the Bruntwood Prize - the UK's biggest national playwriting competition - in 2008. Franzmann is now a full-time playwright and as her third play, Pests, opens at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, she talks to Kirsty Lang about her writing life and being inspired by the women she came across as a resident prison playwright.
As Ricky Gervais prepares for his UK tour as David Brent and his backing band Foregone Conclusion, David Quantick looks at the history of the fake band from Spinal Tap to The Rutles.
Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xf168)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b03xf1fg)
Assisted Dying
There are few more emotive subjects than assisted dying. It captures both the hopes and the fears of the age in which we live. Advances in medical technology have been a triumph, extending our life expectancy almost exponentially. 33% of babies born today can expect to live to 100. 80 years ago the figure would have been less than 4%. But along with the undreamt of levels of longevity have come the nightmares of a lingering death; robbed of our humanity by the indignity and pain of diseases. The government has just announced that it will give MP's a free vote on the latest legislative attempt to allow people to get help to die and campaigners believe that decision will give the bill a strong chance of becoming law. It will allow adults to ask a doctor to help them die if they've been given no more than six months to live. But it won't go as far as some campaigners would like. Why is it morally acceptable to help someone to kill themselves if they're already close to death, but not to help someone who might have many years of pain and suffering ahead of them? And if it's right to allow adults assisted suicide, why not children? After all is it moral to expect them to endure the suffering we would not? At the heart of this issue is personal choice and moral agency - it's my life and my death. But is the brutal truth that in almost every circumstance we already have that choice, it's just that we want someone else to administer the coup de gras? Or is that point? Assisted dying - a very compassionate and humane answer to help people when they are at their most desperate or a law that will in reality help only a small number, but put many more vulnerable people at risk? Chaired by Michael Buerk with Claire Fox, Anne McElvoy, Matthew Taylor, Giles Fraser.
Witnesses are Graham Winyard, Colin Harte, Gerlant van Berlaer and Ruth Dudley Edwards.
Produced by Phil Pegum.
WED 20:45 Lent Talks (b03xhfds)
Bonnie Greer
The American writer Bonnie Greer begins this year's series of Lent Talks, where six prominent writers reflect on the Christian season of Lent and how the story of Christ's passion continues to impact on contemporary society.
This year's theme is looks at power and the way the story of the Passion reflects the ways in which power is exercised in today's world. Power can be used for good or bad, to build or destroy, to give or take, to serve or to lead.
In this talk Bonnie Greer reflects on the power of names. Slaves and the descendants of slaves must use the names they were given. Power has the ability to alter other people's reality. It also has the ability to answer, the ability to define yourself. When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus his name, Jesus did not reply.
Producer: Peter Everett.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b03xf0gc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b03xf162)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b03xd17b)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b03xf1jw)
Obama welcomes interim Ukrainian PM to White House, warns Moscow of price to pay on Crimea. We debate US policy on Ukraine with former diplomat and UN peacekeeper, Jerry Gallucci, and Lawrence Korb, a former assistant defence secretary. And Andrew Hosken investigates the extent of corruption in Ukraine.
The Court of Appeal overturns the Attorney General's block on the publication of letters from the Prince of Wales to govt ministers. We discuss their impact on the idea of a constitutional monarchy with Geoffrey Robertson and Robert Hazell.
A former death row inmate who was exonerated, Ron Keine, tells us about his experiences. And we look at the latest turmoil in Libya.
Presented by Ritula Shah.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03xf1jy)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 8
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives, and relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 8:
As the body count rises Alec fears for his life.
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 History Retweeted (b03xf1k0)
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The programme that sends us back in time as we hear people from the past comment on a series of major world events, in less than 140 characters.
In The Fall of The Berlin Wall, East meets West in the field of online dating, 80's children's programming pops up on your screen, and Tim Berners-Lee tweets about his world-changing new invention.
Turning statuses into sounds, History Retweeted transports us to timelines gone by, feeding hashtags, trolls and trending topics into moments from history.
Featuring the voices of Tim Barnes and Simon Berry, Wayne Forester and Annabelle Llewellyn, Peter Temple and Jelly Macintosh. With Lucy Beaumont as the voice of The Computer.
Written by Tim Barnes and Simon Berry
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Nurse (b03xf1k2)
Series 1
Episode 4
A brand new series starring Paul Whitehouse and Esther Coles, with Rosie Cavaliero, Simon Day, Cecilia Noble and Marcia Warren.
The series follows Elizabeth, a Community Psychiatric Nurse in her forties, into the homes of her patients (or Service Users in today's jargon). It recounts their humorous, sad and often bewildering daily interactions with the nurse, whose job is to assess their progress, dispense their medication and offer comfort and support.
Compassionate and caring, Elizabeth is aware that she cannot cure her patients, only help them manage their various conditions. She visits the following characters throughout the series:
Lorrie and Maurice: Lorrie, in her fifties, is of Caribbean descent and has schizophrenia. Lorrie's life is made tolerable by her unshakeable faith in Jesus, and Maurice, who has a crush on her and wants to do all he can to help. So much so that he ends up getting on everyone's nerves.
Billy: Billy feels safer in jail than outside, a state of affairs the nurse is trying to rectify. She is hampered by the ubiquitous presence of Billy's mate, Tony.
Graham: in his forties, is morbidly obese due to an eating disorder. Matters aren't helped by his mum 'treating' him to sugary and fatty snacks at all times.
Ray: is bipolar and a rock and roll survivor from the Sixties. It is not clear how much of his 'fame' is simply a product of his imagination.
Phyllis: in her seventies, has Alzheimer's. She is sweet, charming and exasperating. Her son Gary does his best but if he has to hear 'I danced for the Queen Mum once' one more time he will explode.
Herbert is an old school gentleman in his late Seventies. Herbert corresponds with many great literary figures unconcerned that they are, for the most part, dead.
Nurse is written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings, who have collaborated many time in the past, including on The Fast Show, Down the Line and Happiness.
Written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with additional material from Esther Coles
Producers: Paul Whitehouse and Tilusha Ghelani
A Down the Line production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03xf1k4)
Labour accuses the coalition parties of being bound together not by the national interest but a collective fear of the electorate.
With David Cameron in Israel, Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, clashes with the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.
Mr Clegg insists Labour must account for its own record.
A Schools Minister launches a robust defence of a plan to bring in free school meals for all children in England aged between 4 and 7.
An MP calls for action to prevent letting agents charging "exorbitant" fees.
And in the House of Lords, there is a demand for research into how juries in criminal trials reach a decision.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.
THURSDAY 13 MARCH 2014
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b03xd18d)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b03xf164)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03xd18g)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03xd18j)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03xd18l)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b03xd18n)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03xgl3f)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Calvin Samuel.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b03xgl3h)
Fracking, wild boar, badgers and livestock markets
MPs will debate the future of the badger cull in the House of Commons later today. A cross-party group of backbench MPs has secured the debate, which will look at both sides of the argument surrounding the controversial cull. MPs will then be invited to cast their votes on its future. The Labour MP for Huddersfield Barry Sheerman tells Farming Today that he wants the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to consider using alternatives to culling in order to tackle the disease. However Defra says that in all other instances of the disease around the world, the problem has always had to include controlling the disease in wildlife.
Livestock markets used to be part of the the lifeblood of many town centres. But increased traffic and urban congestion have forced many of them to relocate out of town. Helen Mark finds out about two markets, Beeston Castle near Tarporley, and Chelford market near Macclesfield, which plan to join forces, merge and move out of town.
And Jules Benham finds out how the Forestry Commission is using military-grade thermal imaging cameras to count wild boar in the Forest of Dean.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Jules Benham.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x4769)
Cetti's Warbler
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the Cetti's warbler. Until the 1960s, Cetti's warblers were unknown in the UK but on the Continent they were common in marshy areas, especially dense scrub and the edge of reed-beds and ditches. They first bred in these habitats in south-east England in the early 1970s and by the end of the century their loud and sudden song-bursts were startling people from southern England and South Wales and northwards as far as Yorkshire.
THU 06:00 Today (b03xgl3k)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b03xgl3m)
The Trinity
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Trinity. The idea that God is a single entity, but one known in three distinct forms - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - has been a central belief for most Christians since the earliest years of the religion. The doctrine was often controversial in the early years of the Church, until clarified by the Council of Nicaea in the late 4th century. Later thinkers including St Augustine and Thomas Aquinas recognised that this religious mystery posed profound theological questions, such as whether the three persons of the Trinity always acted together, and whether they were of equal status. The Trinity's influence on Christian thought and practice is considerable, although it is interpreted in different ways by different Christian traditions.
With:
Janet Soskice
Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College
Martin Palmer
Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture
The Reverend Graham Ward
Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford and a Canon of Christ Church.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b03xgl3p)
A Sense of Direction
Episode 4
The author Gideon Lewis-Kraus describes leaving America for life in Berlin, to ease the sadness after his father abandoned the family home. But Berlin isn't enough and only embarking on a series of world-wide pilgrimages will help him. The journeys turn out both amusing and moving, and are abridged in five episodes by Katrin Williams.
4. Grandfather Max has gone back to America, so the author proceeds alone on his circular Temple trail..
Reader Patrick Kennedy
Producer Duncan Minshull
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03xgl3r)
Jónína Leósdóttir; Women in Ukraine; Dame Cicely Saunders
Jónína Leósdóttir the partner of the former Prime Minister of Iceland - Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir - the first openly gay head of government in the world, talks about their relationship and why she decided write a book about their life together. With the situation in the Ukraine remaining tense we'll be looking at the current situation for women there. What role have women taken in the protests? How is their day to day life affected by the stress of such political uncertainty? Following a recent discussion when we spoke to an entrepreneur and a recruitment manager about kick-starting your career after your children have left home, several of you got in touch to say you would love the opportunity to crack on with your career - if only you could find a decent job. So what's it like to look for work in our competitive job market when you're over fifty? And do men suffer the same set-backs?
Plus another chance to hear an interview with Dame Cicely Saunders the founder of the modern hospice movement, which is part of the Woman's Hour Collection. And as part of Women's History month we celebrate the work of Rebecca Jarrett a former sex worker in Victorian England who worked to raise the age of consent from 13 to 16.
Presented by Jenni Murray.
Produced and Edited by Beverley Purcell.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xgl3t)
Charlotte Bronte - Shirley
Whitsuntide
Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, dramatises Charlotte Bronte's tale of romantic entanglements and turbulent times in the Yorkshire of 1811.
Shirley's charity has begun to alleviate the suffering of the poor in Briarfield but she is convinced it is the calm before the storm. Meanwhile Caroline is dreading the approaching Whitsuntide celebrations.
Directed by Tracey Neale.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b03xgl3w)
Troubles in Paradise
Kate Adie introduces Correspondents' stories from around the world. Today Ukrainian journalist Andriy Kulykov wonders why silence is the order of the day with the armed men of Crimea. Peter Day is in industrious South Korea where they are trying to make the place more relaxed. Damien McGuinness visits a mega-brothel in Germany, where prostitution has been legal for over a decade, but he questions if much has really changed. We take a remarkably tourist-free ride down the Nile with Robin Denselow; it's good for him but not so good for Egypt. And Charlotte Ashton discovers why Singapore is at the bottom of the happy pile.
THU 11:30 Venus in View (b03xgl3y)
Marking the centenary of the attack by the militant suffragette Mary Richardson on one of the greatest nudes ever painted, Diego Velázquez's masterpiece 'The Rokeby Venus', Mari Griffith examines Richardson's reasons for targeting the work, and looks at the way the event was reported at the time.
One of the finest works of the Spanish Golden Age and the only surviving nude by Velázquez, The Rokeby Venus was painted during the Spanish Inquisition, escaped censorship, was brought to Britain, and was the first artwork to be saved for the nation by the National Art Collections Fund in 1906. In what became one of the most famous and symbolic acts of 20th century iconoclasm, on March 10th, 1914, the painting was badly damaged by Mary Richardson in the National Gallery in London. In a statement she said that she had "tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history". Emmeline Pankhurst was in Holloway Prison at the time and with suffragettes including Richardson herself being subjected to force-feeding in prison, humiliation, intimidation and violence, Richardson said she was attempting to point to the hypocrisy of a society which would value an inert object over a human life. She gained little sympathy from the broader public, and received a mawling from the Press. She also varied her statements over time on the subject. Her autobiography of 1953 sets out her version of events and her reasons for attacking the painting, but it appears that that book doesn't tell the whole story. By the time of a BBC archive interview recorded in 1961, the year of her death, her reasons given include "I hate women being used cheaply as nudes. I'd seen men gloating over that picture". She also mentions in the interview that the judge sentencing her was almost in tears at only being able to give her 6 months in jail.
Art historian Mari Griffith has lectured on the Rokeby Venus, and to find out more about the story behind Mary Richardson's attack on the painting, she talks to Lynda Nead, author of 'The Female Nude', on how the 1914 attack was interpreted at the time, the outrage caused by it, and the way the incident has come to symbolize the perception of feminist attitudes towards the female nude. Mari studies the restored work in the National Gallery with the curator of Italian and Spanish paintings, Letizia Treves, and discusses its historical signficance and continuing influence. Photographer Tom Hunter talks about his reinterpretation of the painting in his Hackney-based series 'Living in Hell', and the wide-ranging responses the painting still elicits. In the press coverage of the incident in 1914 Richardson was nicknamed 'Slasher Mary' by the press, and the painting likened to a human victim. Venus is hailed as a paragon of female beauty: she is young, fertile and passive. Richardson embodies the opposite form of femininity – the militant suffragist, pathologized, deemed hysterical, a deviant, even. A century on, how does history judge her?
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b03xgl40)
Injectable tanning drugs
Hear from the people using an injectable tanning drug that can have serious ill effects. Cheap IVF drugs from the supermarket - but some clinics say you can't use them. We'll find out why. Plus, the woman who nearly went bust buying flats to rent in London - is Rosie Millard a property millionaire now?
THU 12:57 Weather (b03xd18q)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b03xd18s)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
THU 13:45 Publishing Lives (b03xgl42)
Series 2
Paul Hamlyn
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Paul Hamlyn revolutionised the British book trade in the 20th century, turning it from a cosy club serving the elite into an industrial powerhouse. A Jewish émigré from Berlin, he entered publishing by selling books from a barrow at Camden Market. But he soon ran low on stock and started his own firm, printing books cheaply but handsomely in Eastern Europe. His great insight was that beautiful colour plate books could be produced for the mass market at very low prices.
Hamlyn was an outsider who was looked down on by the gentlemen who had traditionally dominated publishing, but he achieved his ambition to become the biggest publisher on the block. Along the way he transformed the industry with a revolution in lifestyle books - cookery, gardening, history, art - mass-produced at high quality.
Hamlyn was at the forefront of the non-fiction revolution that transformed bookshops and brought colour to post-war Britain. Marguerite Patten's Cookery in Colour of 1962 quickly became an unprecedented bestseller. Today's bestseller lists, packed with celebrity chefs, would have been inconceivable before Paul Hamlyn discovered and developed this new market.
Robert McCrum talks to publishing insiders including Tim Hely Hutchinson and Lady Helen Hamlyn.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b03xf1fb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b03xgl44)
Doing Time: The Last Ballad of Reading Gaol
A spine-chilling serial murderer, a controversial biscuit, a grand piano and a lesson in the art of a good hanging - Mike Walker's unsettling drama, made to mark the closure of Reading Gaol after 170 years, shows there's more to its story than Oscar Wilde's famous Ballad.
The play is a shocking reminder of the lengths society will go to in the name of justice - a fearful mixture of soul crushing isolation and the physical punishment of hard labour.
Oscar is on hand to give us some typically Wildean analysis. There are more Irish elements, too - republicans offering some rousing and organised resistance to the gaol's stark regime.
There's a visitation from the Ogress of Reading, a miscarriage of justice and, perhaps most shocking of all, we hear from one of the many children locked up for the kind of petty crime which is born mostly of poverty.
And, as Reading gaol's very last prisoner prepares for life on the outside - have things moved on?
Directed by Duncan McLarty.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b03xgl46)
Series 26
Tennyson Down, Isle of Wight
In this series of Ramblings, Clare Balding revisits some of her favourite walks and walkers. After thirteen years she returns to the Isle of Wight to meet Elizabeth Hutchings who introduced her to the Tennyson Trail.
Elizabeth's late husband, Richard, was the founder of the Farringford Tennyson Society, so it was only fitting that he should have a bench, placed in his memory, under the poet's monument on top of the Down. But when Clare last visited this National Trust site, it was their policy not to have memorial plaques on benches, a disappointment to Elizabeth. But thanks to the likes of Head Ranger Robin Lang, they have reversed their position and now the bench has an inscription, to Richard, carved into the wood.
Although now in her mid eighties and unable to make the steep climb onto the Down, with the help of Robin's four by four, Elizabeth and Clare once again visit the monument , the Down and Richard's seat and discuss the role walking has played in Elizabeth's long and eventful life.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b03xcvth)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b03xcxdz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b03xgl48)
Jonathan Glazer on Under The Skin; Spinal Tap 30 years on; SXSW highlights; Rome on film
Francine Stock talks to writer and director Jonathan Glazer about Under the Skin, an unsettling sci fi film starring Scarlett Johansson. His previous work includes Birth and Sexy Beast. He explores the challenges of seeing the world through alien eyes.
Spinal Tap, the rock mock doc, is 30 years old and Scott Jordan Harris and Sophie Monks Kaufman debate whether it still works for a new generation.
The South By South West Festival, or SXSW, is underway in Austin Texas, covering film, music and interactive. Henry Barnes from The Guardian brings us his highlights from the festival including The Possibilities Are Endless, a documentary about the musician Edwyn Collins and his recovery from a stroke.
And Pasquale Iannone of Edinburgh University takes us on a tour of Rome on film from Fellini to Sorrentino.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b03xgl4b)
Tracking planes; Peer review; Mega-virus; Astronaut
Are black boxes outdated technology? With GPS widely available in everyday gadgets like mobile phones, how could Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 just disappear? Adam Rutherford speaks to Dr Matt Greaves, a Lecturer in Accident Investigation at Cranfield University, about how we track aircraft.
Earlier this year, a new study from Japan announced a curiously easy way to make stem cells, by placing them in a mild acid bath. It seemed too good to be true, and according to recent critics, it is. One of the authors has declared that the paper should be withdrawn, that he has 'lost faith in it'.
Ivan Oransky runs the site RetractionWatch, dedicated to scrutinizing irregular research. He talks to Adam about the value of post-publication peer review, and public scrutiny of science on the internet.
A 30,000 year old killer, buried 100 feet under the Siberian permafrost, has risen from the dead. It's a mega virus, with the largest genome of any known virus, and, happily, only infects amoebae. Virologist Professor Jonathan Ball, of the University of Nottingham, explains the implications of reanimating dead viruses.
And actual spaceman, retired NASA pilot Captain Jon McBride, came into the studio to share his out-of-this-world memories and prediction that the next generation of astronauts will be chosen on brains not brawn.
Producer: Fiona Roberts.
THU 17:00 PM (b03xgl4d)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03xd18v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Jason Cook's School of Hard Knocks (b03xgl4g)
Job Interviews and Office Politics
Jason Cook uses the lessons learnt from his bitter experiences to help sweeten the lives of listeners.
This time, he holds forth on the best ways to pass a job interview and how to wend one's way through the perilous pastures of office politics.
Zoe Harrison and Neil Grainger, help to police the prairie of the public's problems.
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b03xgl4j)
Jennifer is eagerly awaiting a visit from Kingsley, the kitchen designer recommended by Ian. Alice promises that she and Christopher will be around for supper tomorrow, as Ruairi will be back for Ben's party.
Brenda stops in for a surprise visit to Tom. Tom is stunned by how good Brenda looks. Tom tells Brenda all about his and Kirsty's house hunting. Brenda tells Tom about a new local housing development Lilian mentioned. Brenda tells Tom all about her flashy new metropolitan life. Both say they feel very lucky to have ended up where they are.
Brenda runs into Kirsty. Although it's slightly awkward between them, Kirsty is happy to tell her about all the wedding plans. Brenda is pleased for them.
Kingsley feels like he came just in time. He has big plans. Jennifer is in awe. Brian is keen to hurry their meeting along but Jennifer encourages Kingsley to ignore him. Kingsley can envisage a whole new kitchen at Home Farm, including all the latest fixtures and fittings. He feels he'll be able to make it reflect Jennifer to a T.
Despite being a unsettled by Brenda's visit, Tom and Kirsty reassure themselves that they've all got what they wanted.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b03xgl4l)
Terry Gilliam; Siri Hustvedt; Michael Craig-Martin at Chatworth House
With John Wilson
Terry Gilliam discusses his new film The Zero Theorem set in a dystopian future where a computer hacker tries to find the meaning of life, and reflects on the Monty Python reunion.
Artist Michael Craig-Martin joins John at the grounds of Chatsworth House to discuss his latest exhibition. From contemporary sculpture based on a series of line drawings by the artist and made from vibrantly coloured steel, to a curated series of head portraits from the estate's collection of old master drawings.
Siri Hustvedt's best-selling novels include What I Loved and The Summer Without Men. Her new book is The Blazing World, a feminist fable about an artist who assumes the identity of various young men in order to prove that her work is taken more seriously. Siri reflects on the recurring themes of creative process and gender dynamics within her work.
Produced by Ella-mai Robey.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xgl3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 Law in Action (b03xf0gf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b03xglvt)
Transformation
Corporate turnaround and transformational tales. Evan Davis and guests discuss how companies fail, struggle and find their way again.
Guests:
Bruno Cercley, CEO of Rossignol Group
Harriet Green OBE, CEO of Thomas Cook Group
Martyn Gibbs, CEO of Game Retail Ltd
Producer: Kent DePinto.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b03xgl4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b03xgl3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b03xd18x)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b03xglvw)
A special report on the Venezuela crisis, Russia challenged on Ukraine and China pledges to tackle smog - with Philippa Thomas.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03xglvy)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 9
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives, and relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 9:
Having uncovered the shocking, real identity of the Grand Cat Master, Alec sets off for Harville Manor to confront him.
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 So Wrong It's Right (b00zf4j7)
Series 2
Episode 2
Charlie Brooker returns to Radio 4 with the comedy panel show that seeks the best in wrong answers. He plunders his guests' pasts and creativity over a series of rounds in which panellists have to be wrong to be right.
Comedians Frank Skinner, Isy Suttie and Jon Richardson are the guests for this edition. The panel's worst experiences on a day out - which take in the delights of a Birmingham underpass, Gatwick Airport and 2 am in Swindon - is just one of topics under the wrong spotlight. There's also the wrongest ideas for a smartphone app plus Jon Richardson lets rip on his pet hate of twenty-first century - sexual liberation...
Charlie Brooker also presents BBC2's How TV Ruined Your Life, Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live and writes for The Guardian. He won Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his column, and Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009.
Producer: Aled Evans
A Zeppotron Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03xglw0)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster as MPs debate the badger cull and Peers discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Also on the programme: extra money for schools in England, and the football authorities are told to do more done to deal with the problems surrounding club ownership.
Editor: Rachel Byrne.
FRIDAY 14 MARCH 2014
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b03xd19x)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b03xgl3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b03xd19z)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b03xd1b1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b03xd1b3)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b03xd1b5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b03xgsl9)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Reverend Dr Calvin Samuel.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b03xgslc)
GM rules, Online markets, Badger cull vote
The government's scientific advisors are recommending changes to the way GM crops are regulated. What difference would change make, and why do they think it's needed? Farming Today talks to both sides of the debate.
Meanwhile MPs vote, by 219 to one, that the two pilot culls have been "a decisive failure". The vote yesterday, on a backbench motion, isn't binding on ministers, who are currently considering the report from the Independent Expert Panel, evaluating the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of last year's culls.
What is the future for livestock markets, in a 21st century digital age? In Australia and America, online livestock sales are already big business, with up to 60% of store cattle sold online in the US. Somerset-based beef producer Ed Green has seen the online model working first hand in the States, and wants to convince farmers here it's the way forward.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Campbell.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x478r)
Woodlark
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Bill Oddie presents the woodlark. Woodlarks are closely related to skylarks, but they're much rarer in the UK, where they’re mainly confined, as breeding birds, to southern England. Unlike the skylark, the male woodlark will sing from trees but his piece de resistance is the song-flight in which he flies slowly in a broad loop, often very high above his territory.
FRI 06:00 Today (b03xgslf)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b03xcwp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b03xgslh)
A Sense of Direction
Episode 5
The author Gideon Lewis-Kraus describes leaving America for life in Berlin, to ease the sadness after his father abandoned the family home. But Berlin isn't enough and only embarking on a series of world-wide pilgrimages will help him. The journeys turn out both amusing and moving, and are abridged in five episodes by Katrin Williams..
5. It's to Uman in Ukraine to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with
brother Micah - and their elusive father!
Reader Patrick Kennedy
Producer Duncan Minshull
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b03xgslk)
Lisa Stansfield; Young baronesses; Coloured coats; The Pistorius trial
90s pop star Lisa Stansfield is back with new music; The youngest baronesses in the House of Lords discuss their roles; The latest fashion for coloured coats; The women involved in the Pistorius Trial.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xgslm)
Charlotte Bronte - Shirley
A Proposal
Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, dramatises Charlotte Bronte's tale of romantic entanglements and turbulent times in the Yorkshire of 1811.
The Rioters have stormed Robert's mill and Shirley and Caroline wait anxiously for news. And some life changing decisions are about to be made.
Directed by Tracey Neale.
FRI 11:00 Three Pounds in My Pocket (b03xgslp)
Series 1
Episode 2
We tell the untold story of the women and children from the Indian subcontinent who came to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Many remember arriving with little more than £3 in their pockets because of currency restrictions imposed by their governments back home. Kavita Puri hears the story of the pioneer women of this three-pound generation: their first impressions of Britain, the unlikely friendships, and their struggles at work. And we learn how in 1966 when England won the World Cup, these women were more excited by Miss India winning Miss World; which they said, put Indian women on the map!
Producer Smita Patel
Editor Bridget Harney.
FRI 11:30 The Architects (b03xgslr)
Series 1
What's the Point?
Jim Poyser and Neil Griffiths' comedy series set in a struggling architectural practice. With Sir Lucien's signature brutalist style hopelessly out of fashion, he seeks to overcome his creative block in the spas of Baden-Baden. Unfortunately for Tim, he needs someone to share the experience with.
Directed by Toby Swift.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b03xgslt)
Skin-lightening creams, betting shops, parental locks
Peter White talks to gamblers about high-stakes fixed odds gaming machines, where bets of £100 can be placed every 20 seconds. Betting shops are limited to four terminals in each branch, and have adopted a new code that allows users to set - and override - a limit on time and spending.
We hear why one MP thinks large cosmetics companies should explain their marketing policy, if they're prepared to sell skin-whitening products overseas but not in the UK.
Two parents explain why they were horrified to learn what their son had accessed on his tablet computer, despite switching on the parental lock.
And 62% of people have never switched their energy supplier, according to Ofgem. A campaign has convinced two of the 'Big Six' providers to drop their exit penalties for any customers who leave them over the coming weekend.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Joel Moors.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b03xd1b7)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b03xd1b9)
We hear two contrasting perspectives from Labour Party colleagues on the career of former cabinet minister Tony Benn.
We have the latest on negotiations between Russian and U.S. Diplomats as they attempt to resolve the crisis over Ukraine.
And if you're in the market for a new job, fancy one in Brussels? We've advice on how to become a civil servant in the European Commission.
FRI 13:45 Publishing Lives (b03xgslw)
Series 2
Carmen Callil
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Carmen Callil set out to change the world with her pioneering feminist publishing house, Virago Press. Arriving in London from Australia in 1960, she started as a "publicity girl", then one of the few publishing jobs available to women who did not want to be secretaries.
In 1973 she founded Virago Press to "publish books by women which celebrated women's lives, and which would, by so doing, spread the message of women's liberation to the whole population". Virago's first publication was Fenwomen: A Portrait of Women in an English Village by Mary Chamberlain. This oral history set out as Virago meant to go on, giving voice to previously silent women.
Despite some criticism from the established literary world, Virago quickly became a success. In 1978, Carmen launched the hugely influential Modern Classics series, with their distinctive green spines, celebrating and reviving the work of hundreds of often neglected female writers. Since then, the Modern Classics series has become Virago's hallmark.
Carmen left Virago to run Chatto in the 80s, and retired from publishing in 1994. The company she founded over 40 years ago has evolved and changed, yet the founding principles remain the same, to publish the best of women's writing and to celebrate women's lives thorough literature. Since 1973, women have made a significant contribution to literature, as bestsellers, as Booker Prize winners and as readers shaping the modern book trade.
Featuring Carmen Callil, Ursula Owen and Lennie Goodings.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway Production production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b03xgl4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b03xgsly)
Dividing the Union
David Cameron (Greg Wise) travels to Edinburgh for face to face negotiations with Alex Salmond (Greg Hemphill) after Scotland votes "Yes" vote to Independence. The pound, nuclear weapons, even the BBC is up for discussion. What the two men decide will shape the future of these islands.
Written by James Graham
Directed by David Stenhouse.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b03xgsm0)
Cheltenham
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Cheltenham. Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood and Anne Swithinbank take questions from local gardeners.
Also in this episode, Chris explores a villa in Gloucestershire to unearth a Roman horticultural legacy, and Matthew Wilson traces the close relationship between gardening and fashion as he visits the Garden Museum in Lambeth, London.
Assistant Producer: Darby Dorras
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
This week's questions:
Q. I have Clematis growing across my porch. On a Friday it had produced two flowers but by the Saturday they were dead. What am I doing wrong?
A. Clematis is often affected by a disease called 'wilt' and no one is completely sure what causes it. They are often attacked by slugs and the damage can have the appearance of Clematis wilt. It would be best to put down some slug deterrent. Make sure you are planting deep enough so that if the top is damaged then the buds under the ground can sprout. A rose fertilizer will help it on its way.
Q. I planted some young Pac Choi plants last November. They were supposed to be ready after six weeks but they have just gone to seed. Could the panel explain what has gone wrong?
A. Usually they go to seed when things get a little bit too tough and the main cause is often dryness. However, that may not have been the case this year. It is usually a good idea to start from seeds because the transporting process can be too much of a shock for small plants. Sew the seeds in cells and plant them out when they are a maximum of one inch (2-3cm). They may have been over pampered before you bought them, so try hardening young plants before planting them out proper.
Q. Could the panel suggest some plants for a summer container? It will be positioned in a sunny spot and can only be watered a couple of times a week.
A. Pelargoniums are quite low maintenance and can survive drying out. Try anything from the classic Pelargonium to some of the more unusual varieties such as Angel. They have a slightly succulent stem which helps. For true succulents you could try Portulaca, which is a pretty, trailing plant and produces needle-like foliage and flowers like Rock Roses. If you want good trailing foliage, use the classic Helichrysum Petiolare. It has long, draping stems with round, silver leaves. Make sure that you choose big containers and line them with bubble wrap to decrease the rate at which they dry out. Layering your plants provides you with insurance if something fails. Start with something architectural, for example a Phormium. Then add Aeonium Zwartkop for its wonderful rosettes of near black foliage and elegant stems. Use Golden Oregano for a blast of colour. Throw in some Mesembryanthemums for added seasonality.
Q. I have a leafless Poinsettia left over from Christmas. What shall I do with it so that I can use it next Christmas?
A. They go into a resting phase, so it is a good time to prune. Once it has started to show new growth, repot it and water it. Give it a liquid feed every week. Then you have the challenge of bringing it into bract. They won't come into colour unless they receive the right amount of light. They will remain green if you keep them in a room with artificial lighting. Be aware that they are very prone to red spider mite and this can cause defoliation.
Q. My mature Euphorbia characias wulfenii has been battered to the ground by wind and rain. Would it hurt to tidy it up at this point in the year?
A. Late summer or early winter is usually recommended to prevent them from flailing around in the bad weather. You may find that you get a lot of sappy growth but pruning now is fine. The sooner you do it the better and it will rejuvenate from right down in the base.
FRI 15:45 New Irish Writing (b03xgsw6)
Tickles
A series of new readings by some of Ireland's most exciting and talented writers. Clare Dwyer-Hogg, Michèle Forbes, Paul McVeigh and Martin Meenan bring us a range of stories where human emotions are tested, and memories are forged, forgotten or found, all the while taking a humorous and poignant look at how people withdraw, connect and reconnect with one another throughout the course of their lives.
In 'Tickles' by Paul McVeigh a son visiting his mother who is suffering from dementia, uncovers some long-lost memories and makes an unexpected connection. Read by Liam McMahon.
Writer Paul McVeigh
Reader Liam McMahon
Producer Heather Larmour.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b03xgsw8)
Tony Benn, James Ellis, Peter Rona, Marion Thorpe, Bob Crow
On Last Word with Julian Worricker:
Two prominent figures of the political left, Tony Benn and Bob Crow. Ruth Winstone, who edited Tony Benn's diaries for publication, pays tribute to the former Cabinet minister and Labour MP. And you'll hear from a close colleague of the general secretary of the RMT union and from a man who was critical of him in print but who says privately you couldn't meet a nicer and more sincere bloke.
The actor, James Ellis, who portrayed Bert Lynch in 'Z Cars' for sixteen years. Sir Kenneth Branagh recalls how James helped launch his career.
The oceanographer, Doctor Peter Rona, who helped to pioneer the scientific exploration of the deep-sea floor.
And the pianist, Marion Thorpe, who co-founded the Leeds International Piano Competition.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b03xgswb)
Is anyone at the BBC listening? This week we'll be talking to John Humphrys about whether liberal bias at the BBC has put it out of step with public opinion, and whether anything is changing. And there's a tale of sabotage and sacrilege in a Lincolnshire abbey.
In an interview with this week's Radio Times, John Humphrys admitted the BBC had, in the past, been wrong in its coverage of immigration and Europe. "We weren't sufficiently sceptical - that's the most accurate phrase - of the pro-European case. We bought into the European ideal". And he went on to say that the BBC has been "grotesquely over-managed". Roger Bolton asks John what has changed and whether BBC presenters should criticise their employer.
Roger's also been brushing up his Welsh this week to speak to the Editor of Programmes for BBC Radio Cymru, Betsan Powys. Following a dispute with Welsh musicians and a fall in listener figures, BBC Radio Cymru, the only national Welsh language radio station, decided it needed to start listening to its audience. After months of conversations with listeners, Radio Cymru has re-launched with a dramatic shake-up to its schedules. Will it work? And will they still be listening now they've made the changes?
And our quest to find the very first bells broadcast on the BBC takes us to a small town in the Midlands to hear a listeners' fascinating tale of a nefarious plot to foil the broadcasters.
Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 17:00 PM (b03xgswd)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news. Including Weather at
5.57pm.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b03xd1bc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b03xzs3b)
Series 83
Episode 5
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, with regular panellist Jeremy Hardy and guest panellists Miles Jupp, Holly Walsh and Hugo Rifkind.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b03xgswg)
Jill leaves for an embroidery exhibition. She points out that Ruth needs to make Ben's cake. Ruth snaps. It's all in hand. Ruth immediately calls Usha. She doesn't feel herself.
Jim and Kenton discuss Rhys and the celebrity appearance at the Rough and Tumble challenge. Bradley Wiggins is sure to draw in the crowds. Kenton is finding it hard to give up alcohol for Lent. Jim suggests a trip to the chocolate shop to put Jolene's non-chocolate pledge to the test too.
Usha urges Ruth to call the doctor. She could be going through the menopause. Ruth realises her symptoms do concur with that. Ruth admits she was worried that her cancer might have returned. She was all clear at her last check-up but the fear never leaves her.
Kenton puts the chocolates they bought on the bar. In retaliation, Jolene pours a glass of wine in front of him and retreats upstairs. Kenton follows with the chocolates. He tries to torment her by eating a chocolate - but it's a liqueur one planted by Jolene!
When Jill returns, Ruth apologies for snapping. Jill's had a thought about Ruth's mood. She was the same when pregnant with Pip. Ruth is stunned. She can't be pregnant! Can she?
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b03xgswj)
David Hare, Sixto Rodriguez, Stage Kiss, Hamlet in N Korea
With John Wilson.
David Hare's 2011 TV film Page Eight starred Bill Nighy as idealistic MI5 officer Johnny Worricker. Now Hare has written and directed two follow up films, Turks and Caicos and Salting the Battlefield, beginning where the last film left off with Johnny on the run from the British government after stealing an incriminating document. Ralph Fiennes, Winona Ryder and Helena Bonham Carter co-star.
Folk musician Sixto Rodriguez released a couple of albums in the 1970s and then drifted into obscurity. Unbeknownst to him his music, and especially his song Sugarman, went on to become iconic in South Africa as anthems for the anti-apartheid struggle. The award-winning 2012 documentary Searching for Sugarman, which traced his revelatory trip to South Africa to meet his legion of fans, brought his music to global attention. Now 72 and touring the UK, Rodriguez discusses the impact of the rediscovery on his life since.
Stage Kiss is Sarah Ruhl's play examining the onstage and offstage ramifications of locking lips night after night in front of an audience. She discusses why the subject fascinated her, with contributions from Guildhall's Director of Drama Christian Burgess and actor Jimmy Akingbola.
After a week in which Amnesty International levied criticism at the Globe theatre for its decision to take a production to Hamlet to North Korea, John speaks to the theatre's Artistic Director, Dominic Dromgoole. They discuss the world tour of the play, whether cultural organisations have a moral responsibility as well as an artistic one, and whether the North Korean government have asked for any part of the play to be edited or censored.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b03xgslm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b03xgswl)
Helena Kennedy, Annabel Goldie, Angela Constance MSP, Michael Fry
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Musselburgh, East Lothian, with Labour peer and lawyer Baroness Kennedy, former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Baroness Goldie, Youth Employment Minister Angela Constance MSP and the writer and historian Michael Fry.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b03xgtsd)
The Time Warp
Sarah Dunant reflects that today's harsher judgement of some of the sexual behaviour prevalent in the 1970s springs in part from the freedom forged in that decade. "Without the seventies, we would never have had the debate, the public awareness, the sense of outrage or even the occasionally blunt tool of the law to judge the present and the past."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Saturday Drama (b02xxvcv)
Mark Lawson - Suspicion for 10 Voices
Written by Mark Lawson.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England was a protestant country standing alone against formidable European and papal enemies. Fear of a Roman Catholic fifth column was rife. But when William Byrd, Elizabeth's favourite composer, is arrested and charged with placing secret papist messages within the music of the Chapel Royal, the court is shocked and panic takes hold among the recusant community.
Byrd's dense polyphony is dissected and decoded and it seems sedition is undeniable. But the composer has a powerful protector - one whom not even Walsingham dare countermand.
Starring Simon Russell Beale as Byrd and Anton Lesser as Walsingham.
Musical Director: Neil Brand
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b03xd1bf)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b03xgtsg)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b03xgtsj)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 10
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives, and relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 10:
The showdown at Harville Manor. But can Alec survive in the face of such evil?
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b03xf0gh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b03xgtsl)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.