The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Karen Smith.
A small-scale fruit grower says she's unable to sell her produce, despite it being a bumper harvest: nearly all of her apples and pears will rot on the ground. A wholesale expert tells us producers need to invest in packaging if they're going to succeed.
A new anonymous helpline has been launched by the National Pig Association to enable workers to report issues of cruelty and neglect on pig farms. It's partly in response to incidents of cruelty caught on video two years ago.
Work has begun to raise some roads on the Somerset Levels, to avoid a repeat of last winter's devastating floods which cut off villages and farms. One farmer tells us the investment needs to be long-term if it's to make a difference.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the wetland loving African Jacana. Being rich chestnut coloured above, with black heads, white throats, each has a patch of blue skin above the bill, known as a shield, Jacanas are waders with very long slender toes which allow them to walk on floating plants giving them the name lily-trotters. Widespread in wet places south of the Sahara desert they may become nomadic moving between wetlands as seasonal water levels change. They have an unusual mating system. Females mate with several males, but leave their partners to build the nest, incubate the eggs and bring up the chicks. With up to 3 or 4 mates rearing her different broods, her strategy is to produce the maximum number of young lily-trotters each year.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Jackie Akhavan, Professor of Explosive Chemistry, tells Jim al-Khalili all about the science of explosives. She explains exactly what explosives are and how to make them safer to handle.
She started by working on how to make fireworks safer and has been involved in research with bees to see whether they can be used smell different types of explosives. Her current project involves testing the rocket fuel that will be used in Bloodhound, the British designed and built supersonic car that aims to reach a speed of 1,000mph.
Her work involves finding out how to best detect explosives in airports and elsewhere, teaching security professionals how to differentiate between false alarms and the real thing. She also works on explosives used in warfare and discusses the ethical issues involved.
Paddy O'Connell explores a subject that reflects his own experience: the effect of great emotional upheaval on family life.
When Paddy was 11 his father died, and in this week's programme -- in order to explore what impact this can have -- he meets Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green who, at the age of 10, lost his own father. Almost immediately he decided that, when he grew up, he would become a doctor so that other children "didn't have to lose their mummies and daddies".
This passion for helping children has continued throughout his career: Sir Al was the first Children's Commissioner for England (2005-2010), having also been involved in the political arena of Children's Services since 2000. He was appointed Chair of the NHS Taskforce for Children and then the first National Clinical Director for Children in government. He believes strongly that the topic of childhood bereavement should be spoken about more openly.
Neil MacGregor examines the story of the two Germanys, East and West, created in 1949, through objects including a wet suit used in an escape attempt from the East in 1987, which was later used as a training device by the Stasi, the East German secret police.
Neil also focuses on another Stasi training device, a model of Friedrichstrasse Station, a border crossing point in the divided Berlin, and reflects on the life and work of the East German writer Christa Wolf.
Her novel Der Geteilte Himmel - The Divided Heaven, or The Divided Sky - was published in 1963, two years after the Berlin Wall went up. It made Christa Wolf's reputation, and has been seen as the definitive account of the divergence of the two Germanys, as seen from the East. Yet Wolf's own position within the East German state was not simple, and she later questioned whether her own memories were reliable.
On the 24 June 2010, with the government in turmoil, Julia Gillard asked, the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd for a leadership ballot. The next day, she became Australia's 27th prime minister, and their first female leader. Three years and three days later she too was ousted. Julia joins Jane to talk about the pressures of leading a nation, the now infamous anti-misogyny speech directed at her opposition leader, Tony Abbott, and her motivation in publicly dissecting such a turbulent period in her political life. Ruby Tandoh, former contestant in the 2013 Great British Bake Off, talks about baking and banana bread; Woman's Hour has been to a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference on 'what women want' looking at the key issues facing older women, especially those struggling with caring responsibilities. Indigenous women in Canada make up 4.3% of the country's women but account for 16% of female homicides and 11% of missing women. Loretta Saunders who came from an Inuit family was found two weeks after she disappeared in February this year, murdered and dumped in a ditch. Now more than 300,000 people have signed a petition calling for a public inquiry into why indigenous women are so much more likely to be killed or go missing. Jane speaks to Holy Jarrett who started the petition and is Loretta Saunder's cousin. Who takes the wheel in your relationship? And does literally being in the driving seat reveal something more profound about who's in control? Official statistics show that men are still more likely to be the main driver of a household car. But why?
The Emperor has become fascinated with a young woman he and Yukinari discovered living among wolves. The girl has been bought back to the palace for cleansing and examination. But what the Emperor sees in this strange, wild girl is a mystery to those who love and serve him.
Inspired by the writings of Sei Shonagon, a poet and lady-in-waiting to the Empress of the 10th Century Japanese court.
Plastic litter has the knack of finding its way into the ocean. Unfortunately this means that seabirds that have, until relatively recently, been safe to assume that the objects floating on the surface are food are getting a stomach full of trash. Shared Planet finds out how bad the situation is for seabirds like the fulmar and the simple things we can do to reduce the problem.
Classical soprano and broadcaster Catherine Bott is used to standing centre stage as a soloist, but has never sung backing vocals live.
She explores the world of the backing vocalist and asks is it a case of constantly being frustated - always the bridesmaid and never the bride? She talks to singer songwiter Eddi Reader about her move from backing singer with Gang of Four and the Eurythmics to lead singer of Fairground Attraction and then solo artist. Eddi invites her to sing live in concert as a backing vocalist - how will Catherine cope outside her comfort zone? Catherine speaks to Annie Skates who is a backing vocalist to major stars, and to singers from the Chorus of Opera North about another type of backing vocalist - being a member of an opera chorus. And with the help of arranger and producer Steve Pycroft she tries her hand at recording backing vocals to a song where she sings the main vocal line.
With contributions from Eddi Reader, Steve Pycroft, Annie Skates, Edward Thornton, Sarah Estill and Paul Rendall.
Call You & Yours: How easy is it for you to see your GP? What's changed in how you access your doctor?
Food writer, Home Economist and Food stylist Alison Clarkson follows eight people on a course in Leeds, specialising in how to run their very own Fish and Chip shop.
For generations, the meal has been a constant favourite with thousands, if not millions, of people across Britain. Churchill called them 'the good companion' and John Lennon loved his with tomato ketchup.
This episode takes us to the 2014 National Fish & Chip Awards, and features Awards presenter and renowned chef Jean Christophe Novelli.
The series follows a three day course run by the National Federation of Fish Fryers in Leeds. It takes students through the requirements involved in running your own shop - from fish preparation and battering, through health and safety, to the legal and financial issues inherent in the business.
The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds - from the finance industry to a retired musician, from an optician to a newsagent. Two have ventured from France and one from Hamburg, especially to attend the course.
As well as following the students, the programmes trace the history and development of selling chips. The meal became popular in the early part of the nineteenth century as a result of the rapid growth of trawl fishing in the North Sea. In its heyday there were approximately thirty thousand fish and chip shops in Britain. Today the number is around twelve thousand. The acclaimed 5 out of 5, AA Rosette and multi Michelin Star award winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli discusses his love and respect for our traditional meal.
Finally, we follow up the featured members of the course, six months after attending it. How do you like the meal, 'Open or wrapped..?!'
2 /2. Two men are dead and the police are searching Glasgow's disused underground tunnels for their prime suspect, an injured ex-soldier. Psychic Thomas Soutar senses that danger is imminent - but the realisation comes too late to prevent his girlfriend, Kat, from disappearing. By Alastair Jessiman.
Other parts played by the cast.
After a decade of fracking, communities in Texas are still arguing about the pros and cons of the shale gas industry. With the industry ready to begin production in Lancashire, Tom Heap compares and contrasts the hopes and fears of Texans with those of the villagers of the Fylde coast.
In a new series bringing stories from the left field, Jolyon Jenkins investigates the underground brotherhood of "pick up artists" - men who claim to have have turned the art of seduction into a science.
It all started with a best-selling book written ten years ago called The Game, which revealed the existence of a band of men who had incredible success with women, not because of their looks, but because they had apparently deconstructed the mystery that is the feminine psyche. As a result of the book, men around the world formed pick up artist societies or "lairs". There are trainers, coaches, videos and forums. They have their own vocabulary and acronyms. The central tenet of their faith is that men can approach random women out of the blue and, provided they structure the interaction right, success is virtually guaranteed.
Jolyon spends an afternoon roaming the West End with members of the "London Seduction Society", and then joins a weekend bootcamp in which four unconfident, inexperienced men are trained by expert seducers in how to pick up women in Oxford Street. Is it all deeply misogynistic or just another form of self-help?
Matthew Parris discovers that Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at King’s College, London, has a surprising nomination for a Great Life – that of Lucille Ball, the vivacious redhead who in the 1950s and 1960s was one of the best-known and best-loved actresses on television, both in the United States and here.
What makes a professor of Greek and Roman writing such a great fan of a zany American actress? What was Lucy like behind the television persona? Matthew finds out in the company of Carole Cook, Lucy’s long-time friend and protégée.
The impression and sketch show that looks behind the scenes at the life and work of star impressionist Lewis Macleod
Lewis has performed on 4 Extra's Newsjack, plus Postman Pat, The Phantom Menace and Dead Ringers.
Rob looks after Henry who's suffering with chicken pox in the night. Helen takes over, telling Rob to rest. She tells Pat what a star Rob is being with Henry.
Jazzer mentors Johnny with the pigs. He reckons Johnny has it easy. He'll have a job for life working on the farm. Johnny suggests putting new straw in the arks but Jazzer says to leave it, he'll do it tomorrow. However, keen Johnny still goes ahead.
Annoyed Jazzer complains to Tony, saying "it's Johnny or me". Tony explains, asking Jazzer to just help the boy along, but then has a word with Johnny.
Johnny is starting his course tomorrow. Pat wants to redecorate his room.
Pat rants to Helen about Justin Elliott, who obviously doesn't care about the planet - only profit. Lynda has been emailing locals, imploring them to stand up against the 'countryside vandals' and make their voices heard.
Rob encourages Helen to let Tina take more responsibility at Ambridge Organics and not overwork herself. Helen's so grateful to Rob. She couldn't have managed the last few days without him. He points out that they're a family. It's what dads do, surely.
In a special edition of Front Row live from the BBC Radio Theatre, John Wilson and guests celebrate the short story. He'll be joined on stage by Hilary Mantel and Laura Dockrill. And chair of the judges Alan Yentob will be announcing the winner of the BBC National Short Story Award 2014 from the all female shortlist of Tessa Hadley, Rose Tremain, Francesca Rhydderch, Zadie Smith and Lionel Shriver.
How well are Britain's borders patrolled and defended at a time when the authorities are battling to stem the flow of illegal immigrants coming across the Channel and tightening national security because of fears of a terrorist attack by extremists returning from fighting in Syria and Iraq?
Allan Urry assesses the vulnerability of our ports, struggling with cuts to Border Force personnel and problems with a computer system that was supposed to have identified all those coming into and going out of the UK. The programme reveals how security checks on cargo are being compromised and hears concern about the gaps in surveillance of our coastline.
Accessible Healthcare Information, Private Voting, Advice on Starting University
Peter White speaks to Olivia Butterworth, Head of Public Voice from NHS England, about its current consultation on a draft standard to ensure patients are provided with information from health professionals in their preferred method: braille, electronic, large print or in audio.
New Zealand has recently gone to the polls in a national election, and used telephone dictation voting as an option for visually impaired voters. We hear about the system from Neil Jarvis of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.
We also speak to Natalie Curran, a seventeen-year-old voter from Glasgow, about her experience of voting in the Scottish Referendum.
Are you about to embark on your university career? We asked Saliha Rashid, who has recently graduated from Leeds university, to offer visually impaired freshers some words of wisdom.
Dr Mark Porter reports on sleep apps, can they help with common sleep problems such as sleep apnoea? A new study reveals the failure of antibiotics for simple infections. Margaret McCartney reviews the evidence and asks is it worth having a flu jab? Plus who is eligible for NHS continuing health care.
By David Mitchell. Part seven. Ed and Holly. Foreign correspondent Ed Brubeck's life shifts on its axis when his six year old daughter goes missing. As he and Holly search for their daughter their own relationship comes into focus. Read by Joe Armstrong
Ed Brubeck is a foreign correspondent home from Iraq for a family wedding. As he looks after his daughter and spends time with the woman he loves, he struggles to overcome the gaps between life at home and the daily traumas of his work. Read by Joe Armstrong.
This ambitious, much-anticipated new novel from the author of Cloud Atlas is one to lose yourself in. The Bone Clocks is an intricate feat of storytelling revealing one woman's life through those who encounter her. The journey has a global and historical sweep, it takes us from 1980s Kent via 19th Century Australia to a near future New York with a playfully genre-bending subplot.
Our Book at Bedtime will be read by a stellar cast of five actors over three weeks. We open with Hannah Arterton as Holly Sykes, 15 years old in 1980s Gravesend. Then Luke Treadaway is Cambridge student Hugo Lamb, likeable, good looking, and extremely dangerous. Joe Armstrong is Ed Brubeck, a foreign correspondent in the current decade, struggling to overcome the gaps between his life at home and the loss he experiences daily at work. Robert Glenister is Crispin Hershey, once the wild child of British letters, a novelist now past his best-selling peak. And Laurel Lefkow is Dr Marinus, a psychiatrist from the seventh century who meets Holly Sykes in a near-future America.
Comedy's best kept secret ingredient returns with another series of his own sketch show. Sketches, characters, sound effects, bit of music, some messin' about, you know...
This week, if you've ever been abducted by an alien, had an idea for a novelty tea towel or simply love escarpments, then this is the show for you. It's also the show for you if you don't have any of the afore-mentioned qualifications.
Kevin Eldon is a comedy phenomenon. He's been in virtually every major comedy show in the last fifteen years, but not content with working with the likes of Chris Morris, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, Stewart Lee, Julia Davis and Graham Linehan, he's finally decided to put together another run of his own comedy series for BBC Radio 4.
Appearing across the series are Amelia Bullmore (I'm Alan Partridge, Scott and Bailey), Julia Davis (Nighty Night), Paul Putner (Little Britain), Justin Edwards (The Consultants), David Reed (The Penny Dreadfuls) and Catherine Shepherd (Cardinal Burns, Harry and Paul).
Written by Kevin Eldon, with additional material by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris (A Touch Of Cloth, That Mitchell and Webb Sound)
"The city is about light and water for me because it interrupts them, it interrupts light and it interrupts water and when something is interrupted it reveals itself to you".
Lavinia Greenlaw is perhaps unusual in that she has lived in the same part of London for most of her life. Walking up Hampstead Heath in the first light of a winter's morning she explains how the Heath is her childhood landscape where she played with her siblings.
But it's also the point where the city and the suburbs meet: "Although there's no clear edge to London I feel that the lip of the bowl where it sits is defined by the Heath which starts out being in the city and quickly ends up in the suburbs - a very different place. I was born on the border and used to feel that I was operating in two countries".
Here she crosses the river, climbs towers and walks through the Heath to reveal her unexpected and surprising vision of London.
WEDNESDAY 01 OCTOBER 2014
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b04jhjh7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jk08q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04jhjh9)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04jhjhc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04jhjhf)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b04jhjhh)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04jlntd)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Karen Smith.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b04jlntg)
Liz Truss, Red Tractor Changes, Moorland Burning
Two thirds of our apples and nine tenths of our pears are imported - despite excellent growing conditions for the fruit in the UK. Anna Hill asks the Defra Secretary of State, Liz Truss, what she plans to do to address the situation. She also talks to Anna about milk prices and flood defences.
Changes to the Red Tractor scheme come into force today. The logo guarantees minimum animal welfare standards, and has 80,000 members. Its requirements are now being tightened up. As part of a week-long look at animal welfare on farms, Farming Today asks why the changes are being made.
And today marks the start of the annual moorland burning season, which will run until April next year. It's done to encourage red grouse numbers for gun sports. Burning old foliage allows new fresh shoots of heather to come through, which are a vital food source for the young birds. But it also has an environmental impact, which has been the subject of a research project at the University of Leeds. We hear from the academic leading the research.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Emma Campbell.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkwg9)
Brown Kiwi
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the New Zealand brown kiwi. A piercing wail can be heard in a forest at night. A brown kiwi is calling. Only found in New Zealand, kiwi are flightless birds and the brown kiwi, which is about the size of a domestic chicken, lays an egg weighing as much as a quarter of its own bodyweight – proportionally; the largest egg for its size of any bird. More mammal like than birds; their tiny eyes are of little use, but they have an excellent sense of smell, using their nostrils located unusually for birds near the end of the bill. Held in great affection, brown kiwi appear on coins, stamps and coats-of- arms as well as providing a nick-name for New Zealand's national rugby team.
WED 06:00 Today (b04jlntj)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b04jlntl)
Selina Hastings, Gary Witheford, Dr David Skinner, Marawa Ibrahim
Libby Purves meets hula hoop virtuoso Marawa Ibrahim; biographer Selina Hastings; horse whisperer Gary Witheford and early music specialist, Dr David Skinner.
Marawa Ibrahim, otherwise known as Marawa the Amazing, is a virtuoso of the hula hoop. She has performed and taught hula hooping all over the world from Nepal to New York. She now runs workshops in London and coaches her hula troupe, the Majorettes. She will appear in the 2015 Guinness Book of records in the category for 'the longest time hooping with three hoops in high-heeled roller skates.'
Writer Selina Hastings has written biographies of Nancy Mitford; Evelyn Waugh and Somerset Maugham. For her new book she turns her attention to her father Jack Hastings, the 16th Earl of Huntingdon. He eloped to Australia where he worked as a jackaroo and to the US and Mexico where he studied with Diego Rivera before becoming an artist. The Red Earl - The Extraordinary Life of the 16th Earl of Huntingdon is published by Bloomsbury.
Gary Witheford is a 'horse whisperer'. After a troubled childhood, he found sanctuary in the world of horses, adapting his skills from the work of Monty Roberts and other practitioners from the US. He has helped many top racehorses such as Derby winner Sea The Stars and Brujo who he rescued from a Spanish abattoir. His book, If Horses Could Talk, is published by Racing Post Books (with Brough Scott).
Dr David Skinner is the Osborn director of music at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge. Director of Alamire choir, he has produced The Spy's Choirbook originally devised and assembled by Petrus Alamire, a composer, music scribe and spy for Henry VIII. The Spy's Choirbook - Petrus Alamire & the Court of Henry VIII is released by Obsidian Records. A concert will be performed at The British Library where the choirbook is kept.
Producer: Annette Wells.
WED 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jlntn)
Kafka, Kant and Lost Capitals
Continuing the week's theme of Germany's floating frontiers, Neil MacGregor visits two cities now beyond Germany's present borders, but which played important roles in Germany's intellectual and literary history.
Kaliningrad, on the Baltic, became part of the Soviet Union in 1945, and is now part of Russia. But for centuries it was Königsberg, a major Prussian city, and birthplace of the philosopher Immanuel Kant - and so central to the intellectual history of Germany.
Neil also visits the Czech city of Prague, once home to a large German-speaking community, which included Franz Kafka, one of the most acclaimed writers in the German language.
Today neither Russian-speaking Kaliningrad nor Czech-speaking Prague are in any sense German - but what is their place within the memories of Germany?
Producer Paul Kobrak.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04jlntq)
Nicky Morgan; Iryna Dovgan; Cancer charity
Nicky Morgan joined the cabinet nearly six months ago when she became the minister for women. In July she was promoted, becoming Secretary of State for Education, while retaining the women's brief. She joins us from the Conservative Party conference to talk about what she's done so far and what the party plans to offer women voters at the General Election next May.
Iryna Dovgan made international headlines when she was photographed being kicked by a passer-by as she stood on a street corner with a placard round her neck that read, "She is a child killer". She was accused of being a spy for the Ukrainian army but was released when the photo of her sparked global outrage. She tells us about her terrible experience. We take a look at Cancerkin, a breast cancer charity which targets women from ethnic minority communities who often miss out on treatment. And as the film Gone Girl is released, we ask at what stage of a relationship do you reveal your true self?
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Corinna Jones.
WED 10:41 The Pillow Book (b04jlnts)
Series 7
Episode 3
Lady Shonagon and Lieutenant Yukinari return!
The feral girl is sheltered and housed within the Palace walls, given Lady Shonagon as her tutor, and allowed to frequent the company of the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor insists that the girl has something to teach them, and that he for one intends to listen.
Meanwhile, there is trouble abroad beyond the palace walls – forest fires, earthquakes and wolves coming out of the hills and down into the towns. The people of the palace are beginning to wonder whether the girl wields an uncanny power over it all.
Inspired by the writings of Sei Shonagon, a poet and lady-in-waiting to the Empress of the 10th Century Japanese court.
Written by Robert Forrest.
Shonagon...Ruth Gemmell
Yukinari...Cal Macaninch
Empress...Laura Rees
Emperor...Paul Ready
Uzume...Jessica Hardwick
Directed by Lu Kemp.
A BBC Scotland Production for Radio 4.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b04jlpmz)
Grace and Dani - Cancer Can't Stop Me
At the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Fi Glover introduces a conversation between friends dealing with the return of cancer after being given the all clear. It's now terminal but Grace is still determined to live life to the full.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 11:00 Don't Log Off (b04jlpn1)
Series 5
Going It Alone
Alan Dein crosses the world via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of random strangers.
This week he speaks to people who, through choice or circumstance, are going it alone.
He hears from a Chinese student, now living in Los Angeles, who is coping with living alone in a foreign country and has come to terms with his stutter without the help of a speech therapist.
A woman from Australia explains how she is overcoming the disappointment of being jilted by her Vietnamese fiancé while another in Argentina explains why she wants to remain alone having lost her savings in pursuit of a relationship.
And finally he hears from a widow in London who is haunted by her husband's death.
Producer: Clare Walker.
WED 11:30 Wordaholics (b04jlpn3)
Series 3
Episode 5
Stand up comedians Lloyd Langford, Holly Walsh and Paul Sinha and novelist and classicist Natalie Haynes vie for word supremacy.
Gyles Brandreth is in the chair.
The letter of the week is the sinuous letter 'S'.
The panellists play a round about portmanteau words – and get to guess the meaning of some foreign words which have no direct equivalent in English.
And they also try to ban the words which drive them most mad.
Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle.
Producer: Claire Jones.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b04jhjhk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b04jlrxd)
1 October 1914 - Isabel Graham
First Dorothea and then Sylvia start to act entirely out of character. Isabel has trouble understanding anyone's behaviour.
Written by Katie Hims
Music: Matthew Strachan
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b04jlrxg)
Energy efficiency costs; Tax discs; Publishing deals
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson, discussing energy efficiency costs, the demise of tax discs, and is 'Made in Britain' worth it?
WED 12:57 Weather (b04jhjhm)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b04jlrxj)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 Open or Wrapped...? (b04jlrxl)
Episode 3
Food writer, Home Economist and Food stylist Alison Clarkson follows eight people on a course in Leeds, specialising in how to run their very own Fish and Chip shop.
For generations, the meal has been a constant favourite with thousands, if not millions, of people across Britain. Churchill called them 'the good companion' and John Lennon loved his with tomato ketchup.
This episode takes us to day two of the course in Leeds, where we discover the intricacies of mushy peas...
The series follows a three day course run by the National Federation of Fish Fryers in Leeds. It takes students through the requirements involved in running your own shop - from fish preparation and battering, through health and safety, to the legal and financial issues inherent in the business.
The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds - from the finance industry to a retired musician, from an opticians to a newsagent. Two have ventured from France and one from Hamburg, especially to attend the course.
As well as following the students, the programmes trace the history and development of selling chips. The meal became popular in the early part of the nineteenth century as a result of the rapid growth of trawl fishing in the North Sea. In its heyday there were approximately thirty thousand fish and chip shops in Britain. Today the number is around twelve thousand. The acclaimed 5 out of 5, AA Rosette and multi Michelin Star award winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli discusses his love and respect for our traditional meal.
Finally, we follow up the featured members of the course, six months after attending it. How do you like the meal, 'Open or wrapped..?!'
Presenter: Alison Clarkson
Produced by Eurof Williams
An Acme tv production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b04jk3qt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b03jdw6f)
Amah in the Bathtub
It's 1967 and the women who are members of a British swimming club in colonial Singapore take their social events seriously - but not all of them know what's going on at home.
A young mother, Connie Conport, is particularly clueless about problems developing between her two young boys and their nanny. She has hired an amah, a servant from China, who is a member of a group dedicated to domestic service.
Ah Chat belongs to a sisterhood of 'black and whites'. They wear a traditional uniform and swear an oath to remain celibate. On their rare days off, they meet up at their headquarters, the kongsi house. It's a refuge and a support group. These women are her only family in Singapore.
Elderly Ah Chat has good references - seventeen British families have employed her previously - but this position seems to have serious problems.
Sound Design: Jon Nicholls
Written, directed and produced by Judith Kampfner
A Corporation for Independent Media production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b04jlrxn)
Wills and Inheritance Tax Planning
The rules about who will inherit your property and money if you don't have a will are changing in England and Wales on 1st October. To find out how you or your loved ones will be affected call 3700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk
Without a will, who will inherit and who will be responsible for settling your affairs?
If you want to draw up a will what should you consider, how much will it cost and should you do it yourself?
Can you give away assets before you die or protect someone's interests after you are gone?
What can you pass on to your nearest and dearest without paying inheritance tax?
Whatever your question, ready to share their knowledge and experience will be:
Jenny Bird, Solicitor, Russell-Cooke
Nicola Plant, Partner and Notary Public, Pemberton Greenish Solicitors
Austin Lafferty, Austin Lafferty Solicitors and Past President of the Law Society of Scotland.
Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail your question to moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic call charges apply.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b04jk3rx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 The Educators (b04hytg6)
Salman Khan
Sal Khan worked as a hedge-fund analyst before he set up the Khan Academy, almost by accident, when his cousin in another city needed help with her maths homework. Since then, his online video lessons have been watched half a billion times, and he's been described by Bill Gates as 'the world's favourite teacher'.
In this programme, Sal Khan talks about how and why he set up the not-for-profit organisation. He tells Sarah Montague why he believes lesson time in school could be spent more effectively if the explanation of new ideas is done at home, with students watching video lectures, in a process known as 'flipped learning'.
He argues that pupils should have the freedom to move at their own pace, only moving on when they have mastered a concept. He says this type of learning would be done best in larger classes made up of students from mixed age groups and abilities.
Presenter: Sarah Montague
Producer: Joel Moors.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b04jlrxq)
Sunday Mirror Sexting, Journalists' Safety, Political Interviews
An online investigation published by the Sunday Mirror has led to the resignation of Conservative minister, Brooks Newmark, complaints lodged with press regulator IPSO and The Metropolitan Police and an apology issued from Editor-in-Chief Lloyd Embley to the women whose images were used without consent. Alex Wickham, a reporter for the political blog Guido Fawkes, has been revealed to be the freelancer who posed on Twitter as 'Sophie Wittams,' a fictional female Tory activist. Louise Mensch, the journalist and former Tory MP, who served on the Commons Culture Committee, and Simon Sapper, former PCC Commissioner join Steve to examine the public interest arguments behind the probe, the journalistic ethics and the implications for press regulation.
Evan Davis's debut as 'lead anchor' at BBC2's Newsnight began with an interview with the Prime Minister. Unlike his predecessor, Jeremy Paxman, who was widely known for his adversarial, sceptical tone, Evan adopted a more relaxed and conversational style. Is a more affable approach likely to draw more spontaneous conversation out of political figures, or will it play in to politician's hands? To discuss the political interview and how to make it work for the presenter, politician and audience Steve hears from Adam Boulton, Sky's former Political Editor and Sian Kevill, a former Editor of Newsnight.
The dangers of reporting from Syria have been highlighted by the beheading of freelance journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff as well as the release of a third video this week of British hostage and photojournalist John Cantile by Islamic State militants. Steve hears from the Middle East Correspondent, Ruth Sherlock who has been covering events in Syria for The Telegraph.
Producer: Dianne McGregor.
WED 17:00 PM (b04jlrxs)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04jhjhp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (b04jlrxv)
Series 10
How to Be a Good Citizen
Stand by your radios! Jeremy Hardy returns to the airwaves with a broadcast of national comic import!
In this programme, Jeremy attempts to understand citizenship, to examine the State and to spell surveillance. Looking over his shoulder at the script will be Gordon Kennedy (Absolutely) and Carla Mendonça.
Jeremy Hardy engages in a free and frank exchange of his entrenched views. Passionate, polemical, erudite and unable to sing,
Few can forget where they were when they first heard "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation". The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. The Light Entertainment department was besieged, questions were asked in the House and Jeremy Hardy himself became known as the man responsible for the funniest show on radio since Money Box Live with Paul Lewis.
Since that fateful first series, Jeremy went on to win Sony Awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He was a much-loved regular on both The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Written by Jeremy Hardy.
Produced by David Tyler.
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2014.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b04jlrxx)
Lynda briefs Roy at Grey Gables, before asking if he's interested in auditioning for her Christmas show. Perhaps Hayley could too? He'll get back to her.
Fallon and Emma are enjoying their work expedition to France, on the lookout for furniture.
Ed is concerned. Mike has sold the cottage for the full asking price. But the chap from Felpersham only wants to buy Mike's rounds and not Ed's milk. So Mike has told the guy no deal, much to Ed's relief.
Lynda panics about which show to stage this year. Rival company Felpersham Light Opera Society (FLOS) have raised the bar with Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings. She'll need something classy to match them. She comes up with - and rejects - a few titles, before inspiration strikes and she settles on... Rumplestiltskin.
Phoebe has a go at Roy, particularly for walking out on his job. She mocks him for sitting alone listening to his sad music and barely conceals her knowledge of his affair. She storms off to see Jennifer. Hayley promises to find out what's wrong.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b04jlrxz)
Stephen Fry, Tony Benn documentary, Kei Miller, Gothic exhibition
Stephen Fry discusses his memoir, More Fool Me; the writer and political commentator Polly Toynbee reviews Tony Benn: Will and Testament, a new autobiographical documentary about Britain's longest-serving Labour MP; Kei Miller talks to Kirsty about winning the Forward Poetry Prize; Curator Tim Pye takes Kirsty round the British Library's new exhibition, Terror and Wonder: the Gothic Imagination, and shows her exhibits including a Victorian vampire slaying kit and a stage version of Dracula handwritten by Bram Stoker.
WED 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jlntn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
WED 20:00 FutureProofing (b04jlry1)
The Descent of Man
Will men be needed in the future? Writer Michael Smith explores the uncertain future of masculinity.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b04jlry3)
Series 4
Making Drugs Today
Sunil Shaunak argues that pharmaceuticals could, and should, build social capital.
Arguing that the twin risks of rampant infectious disease and resistance to antibiotics represent a grave threat to our future, Sunil makes the case for ethical pharmaceuticals. Sunil's own background bridges the gap between academia and the pharmaceutical industry, and from this vantage point he has grown concerned that while the public sector puts up the initial financial capital, the return is often in purely financial terms, diminishing our shared social capital.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b04jk36n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Midweek (b04jlntl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b04jhjhr)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b04jls69)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04jls6c)
The Bone Clocks
Episode 8
By David Mitchell. Part eight. Crispin Hershey. No-longer-so-Young Turk of the literary scene Crispin Hershey spins a brilliant strategy to exact revenge on a Literary critic. Read by Robert Glenister
This ambitious, much-anticipated new novel from the author of Cloud Atlas is one to lose yourself in. The Bone Clocks is an intricate feat of storytelling revealing one woman's life through those who encounter her. The journey has a global and historical sweep, it takes us from 1980s Kent via 19th Century Australia to a near future New York with a playfully genre-bending subplot.
Our Book at Bedtime will be read by a stellar cast of five actors over three weeks. We open with Hannah Arterton as Holly Sykes, 15 years old in 1980s Gravesend. Then Luke Treadaway is Cambridge student Hugo Lamb, likeable, good looking, and extremely dangerous. Joe Armstrong is Ed Brubeck, a foreign correspondent in the current decade, struggling to overcome the gaps between his life at home and the loss he experiences daily at work. Robert Glenister is Crispin Hershey, once the wild child of British letters, a novelist now past his best-selling peak. And Laurel Lefkow is Dr Marinus, a psychiatrist from the seventh century who meets Holly Sykes in a near-future America.
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Produced by Allegra McIlroy.
WED 23:00 The Music Teacher (b01fjvxv)
Series 2
Episode 2
Richie Webb returns as multi-instrumentalist music teacher Nigel Penny.
Nigel is charged with creating relaxing music for a pregnant ladies music group.
But whilst Arts Centre director Belinda happily sells tickets for his 'live inspirational womb music' sessions, Nigel is hampered in his preparations by the usual array of challenging pupils and a rather early arrival.
Directed by Nick Walker
Audio production by Matt Katz
Written and produced by Richie Webb
A Top Dog Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard (b01kbjdj)
Series 3
The Start, the Middle, and the End of Time
Step into the magically mundane world that is the life of 21st Century Wizard Mordrin McDonald. An isolated 2000-year-old Scottish sorcerer with enough power in his small finger to destroy a town, yet hasn't enough clout to get a speed bump installed outside his cave by the local Council. Even for such a skilful sorcerer - modern life is rubbish!
In this episode Mordrin (David Kay) decides he has to do something to rescue his chances of ever getting together with Heather (Hannah Donaldson), who has just announced her engagement to slime-ball Aiden (Donald Pirie). He asks Bernard The Blue (Jack Docherty) to borrow the Timepiece of Trapathia to travel back in time and make up for all the missed opportunities with Heather.
Cast:
Mordrin ........ David Kay
Geoff ....... Gordon Kennedy
Bernard ........ Jack Docherty
Heather ........ Hannah Donaldson
Aiden ........ Donald Pirie
DJ ........ Johnny Austin
Written by David Kay & Gavin Smith.
Produced by Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Reimagining the City (b03tqx9v)
Series 2
Calcutta
In 1999, the novelist Amit Chaudhuri moved from England back to Calcutta. It was a place he had loved in his youth and the place he made his name writing about.
Growing up in Bombay, Amit Chaudhuri used to feel a charge of anticipation on visiting Calcutta. For him, it was his first taste of modernism, of a completely contemporary city.
"This is what I must have had an intuition of, even as a child. And this is why I feel, even now, that the most revealing places in Calcutta are not the museums or the monuments - there aren't many of those - but the houses and lanes."
That Calcutta was one of the great cities of modernity for Amit. He found himself changed by his encounters.
"By modern, I don't mean new or developed, but a self renewing way of seeing, of inhabiting space, of apprehending life."
A colleague of Amit's told him that he loved the city because "you can feel that something happened here".
Amit takes us on a guided tour of the city, and explores whether that city of his childhood still exists or is just a realm of his imagination.
Producer: Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.
THURSDAY 02 OCTOBER 2014
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b04jhjjp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jlntn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04jhjjr)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04jhjjt)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04jhjjw)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b04jhjjy)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04jlygp)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Karen Smith.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b04jlygr)
Dairy Farmers, Food Labelling, Scottish Fishermen
The group Farmers for Action says it will act 'within days' after the price they get for their milk was cut again.
After reaching a high of 35 pence a litre last November, a series of cuts from processors means that by this November many farmers will be paid 27 pence. The processors are blaming the World price for milk, which has fallen after a 5% increase in production, which hasn't been matched by demand. They also say the Russian import ban is having an impact.
The campaign group 'Labelling Matters' says better labelling of meat products will improve animal welfare and give consumers more choice.
They want retailers to give details of how the meat was produced, for example whether intensive, or organic.
And Scottish farmers have had their worst season in eleven years, with a nine percent decrease in value on 2012. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation says they are catching the same quantity, but costs and red tape have increased while market value has fallen.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkwj9)
Shoebill
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the mysterious shoebill of Uganda. Reaching almost one and a quarter metres in height and looking like a hefty-looking blue-grey stork, ornithologists remain unsure which birds are their closest relatives. As its name suggests, the Shoebill's most outstanding feature, is its enormous clog-shaped bill. Up to 20cm long, half as wide and ending in a nail-like hook. They live in central and east African swamps where they feed on reptiles, fish, amphibians and even young crocodiles. Their bill is also useful in the baking heat of the African sun, when the adults scoop up beak-fulls of water and shower it over their chicks to help them keep cool.
THU 06:00 Today (b04jlygt)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b04jlygw)
Julius Caesar
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar. Famously assassinated as he entered the Roman senate on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was an inspirational general who conquered much of Europe. He was a ruthless and canny politician who became dictator of Rome, and wrote The Gallic Wars, one of the most admired and studied works of Latin literature. Shakespeare is one of many later writers to have been fascinated by the figure of Julius Caesar.
With:
Christopher Pelling
Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Oxford
Catherine Steel
Professor of Classics at the University of Glasgow
Maria Wyke
Professor of Latin at University College London
Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jlygy)
Strasbourg - Floating City
Neil MacGregor visits Strasbourg, now in France, but also a city with a key place in German history, culture and precision engineering, as revealed by a model of the cathedral clock, now in the British Museum.
When the writer Goethe stood in front of Strasbourg's Cathedral, he discovered two things: the transporting, transforming force of Gothic architecture and one aspect of what it meant to him to be German.
Producer Paul Kobrak.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04jlyh0)
Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader; Birth Control for Men
Mallory Towers, St Clare's and The Naughtiest Girl in School are still hugely popular today. Why are modern children still attracted to boarding school stories and how are modern authors reinterpreting the genre?
How do you report historic abuse and assault? In the next part of our series on historical abuse and assault, we visit a Sexual Assault Referral Centre to view first-hand the process of reporting historical crime.
Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party and the only party in England led by a woman, talks about her Party's policies.
A long-term but reversible form of birth control for men, is said to be making "great progress", with clinical trials due to start next year. So what changes will a new contraceptive for men bring to the way couples deal with birth control?
And the Science Museum in London has a gallery, 'The Secret Life of the Home' which is filled with domestic appliances. What have these gadgets meant for women's lives? Today, an invention that has come, gone, and come back again: the Teasmade.
Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer Beverley Purcell.
THU 10:45 The Pillow Book (b04jlyh2)
Series 7
Episode 4
Lady Shonagon and Lieutenant Yukinari return to solve a new mystery in 10th Century Japan.
The Emperor is sickening, a disturbance of his mind has become a fever and the feral girl is appearing to him in dreams. The Empress attends to him, for once without her ladies. She is determined to return her husband to health herself, regardless of palace etiquette. And she will go to any lengths necessary to do so.
Inspired by the writings of Sei Shonagon, a poet and lady-in-waiting to the Empress of the 10th Century Japanese court.
Written by Robert Forrest.
Shonagon...Ruth Gemmell
Yukinari...Cal Macaninch
Empress...Laura Rees
Emperor...Paul Ready
Uzume...Jessica Hardwick
Directed by Lu Kemp.
A BBC Scotland Production for Radio 4.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b04jlzcc)
The New Egypt
Global despatches: some are pleased at what President al-Sisi's achieved in his first months in office in Egypt - others say that when it comes to repression, he's outdoing even his hard-line predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Predicting what's about to happen in President Putin's Russia has become difficult now the country seems to have embraced an 'anything goes' philosophy. We're in the far north of Sweden learning that the Sami people believe widespread mining will ruin their traditional lands. The introduction of some democracy in Myanmar and the lifting of some western sanctions has not brought the predicted business boom, but for many citizens, the quality of life is slowly improving; and the sad story of the lonely baboon who's become trapped on a river island in Zimbabwe and is resisting all attempts to reunite him with his family.
THU 11:30 The First Action Movie (b041vvw0)
The Mottershaws of the Sheffield Photo Co. are not as famous as Hollywood but they made their mark.
Filmmaker Penny Woolcock brings the Mottershaws' most pioneering work back to life - a little-known silent film called Daring Daylight Burglary that they say influenced the classic Great Train Robbery.
Making it, the Mottershaws worked out how to tell fictional stories on location and tell them well: chase sequences, revenge motives, trains leaving stations pursued and just missed or caught as they pull away... these are just some of the thriller tropes we take for granted now: the Mottershaws made them work in 1903.
Two generations of Mottershaw did it, both called Frank, using a camera built by young Arthur. Penny meets the next two generations of Mottershaw, both still in pictures, father and son, both called John.
The Mottershaws' early films sold internationally, but then the States - with its sunshine and crowds and money - took over from European independents like the Sheffield Photo Co. What happened to the filmmakers, after their few years of success and to the Sheffield Photo Co?
With Judith Buchanan, Professor of Film and Literature at the University of York and Audio Descriptions by Radio 3's Louise Fryer.
Producer: Frances Byrnes
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2014.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b04jhjk0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b04jlzcf)
2 October 1914 - Ralph Winwood
Adam finally tells the whole truth, as all Reverend Winwood's chickens come home to roost.
Written by Katie Hims
Music: Matthew Strachan
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b04jlzch)
Family Thieves, Wonga, Building Fund
Winifred Robinson finds out why Wonga is writing off the debts of around 330 thousand customers who wouldn't have qualified for loans under new lending rules.
The heartbreaking story of a man who says his siblings are stealing from his mother. Why are charities hearing from more older people saying they are being robbed by their families? And is there anything the law can do to stop it?
And the tenants who have lost deposits that they thought were insured under a Government protection scheme.
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Natalie Donovan.
THU 12:57 Weather (b04jhjk2)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b04jlzck)
Payday lender Wonga to write off debts of 330,000 customers, after an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority. We hear from our business correspondent Jonty Bloom, and Labour's Stella Creasy.
The Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tells us decisive international action is needed to combat the ebola epidemic in West Africa, saying "we don't have months to deal with this crisis, we need to be moving in days and weeks". We also hear from Sierra Leone, from Liberia's Vice President, and from the International Development Select Committee: its chairman Sir Malcolm Bruce criticises the UK aid effort.
Lawyers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge threaten legal action against a photographer if he doesn't stop trying to obtain pictures of Prince George.
We have the latest from Hong Kong, more on the dropping of terror charges against Moazzam Begg, and we drop in on the Clacton by-election a week before voters there go to the polls.
Presented by Mark Mardell.
THU 13:45 Open or Wrapped...? (b04jlzsh)
Episode 4
Food writer, Home Economist and Food stylist Alison Clarkson follows eight people on a course in Leeds, specialising in how to run their very own Fish and Chip shop.
For generations, the meal has been a constant favourite with thousands, if not millions, of people across Britain. Churchill called them 'the good companion' and John Lennon loved his with tomato ketchup.
In this episode it's the final day of the course, where we learn the vital importance of potatoes being cut to time! The public experience the efforts of the students for the first time, including 100 year-old local Edna Beavis.
The series follows a three day course run by the National Federation of Fish Fryers in Leeds. It takes students through the requirements involved in running your own shop - from fish preparation and battering, through health and safety, to the legal and financial issues inherent in the business.
The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds - from the finance industry to a retired musician, from an opticians to a newsagent. Two have ventured from France and one from Hamburg, especially to attend the course.
As well as following the students, the programmes trace the history and development of selling chips. The meal became popular in the early part of the nineteenth century as a result of the rapid growth of trawl fishing in the North Sea. In its heyday there were approximately thirty thousand fish and chip shops in Britain. Today the number is around twelve thousand. The acclaimed 5 out of 5, AA Rosette and multi Michelin Star award winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli discusses his love and respect for our traditional meal.
Finally, we follow up the featured members of the course, six months after attending it. How do you like the meal, 'Open or wrapped..?!'
Presenter: Alison Clarkson
Produced by Eurof Williams
An Acme tv production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b04jlrxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b04jlzsk)
Conlang of Love
By Lou Ramsden.
Oona Chaplin stars as Frances, a young fantasy fiction fanatic who finds communicating in the real world a struggle. She's a con-langer - someone who constructs languages for fun. So when the opportunity to create 'dwarvish' for a new novel arises Frances jumps at the chance. But her dream job takes her on an even bigger adventure than she'd bargained for.
The Conlang of Love is a unique, heartfelt comedy about love, language and dwarves.
Produced by Nandita Ghose
Directed by Helen Perry
Oona Chaplin is best known for her role as Talisa Maegyr in HBO's Game of Thrones and has also appeared in The Hour, Sherlock and Channel 4's Dates.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b04jm36f)
Series 28
The Dales Way, Part Three
Clare Balding continues her journey along The Dales Way, hiking from Grassington to Kettlewell in the company of two experienced long distance walkers, Aileen Strangham and Brenda Dodd. Clare enjoys their company so much and their tales of taking part in every Great North Run, that they wander off track and have to use all their combined map reading skills to get themselves back onto the right route.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b04jhl56)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b04jhpnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b04jm36h)
David Fincher on Gone Girl; Clint Mansell; George Szirtes; London Film Festival
With Francine Stock.
Director David Fincher reveals how he adapted the best-selling thriller Gone Girl for the big screen and why he's not worried that seven million readers already know the plot's infamous twist.
Lux Aeterna composer Clint Mansell discusses the pleasure and pain of writing for Hollywood and what he really thinks about having his music replaced by somebody else's score.
Poet George Szirtes reviews the poetic realism of Le Jour Se Leve, written by Jacques Prevert and considered one of the masterpieces that inspired 40s film noir, with its heady mix of romanticism, cynicism and fatalism.
With 248 films in 12 days, the choice of movies in the BFI London Film Festival may seem slightly daunting, so its director Clare Stewart discusses the LFF programme.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b04jm36k)
Women, Science and the Royal Society; Open Access Research
Royal Society investigates the decline in their awards to female scientists
Last week, the UK's national science academy, the Royal Society, announced its latest round of University Research Fellows (URFs). And they are almost all fellows - in the male sense of the word. Out of 43 new posts, only two of them are women. These positions are for early-career, post-doctoral researchers. But, at the top of the tree, fewer than one in ten science professors are women, and one of the top UK scientific accolades - a Royal Society Fellowship - is held by only one in twenty. To their credit, The Royal Society were "horrified" by this latest round, and their president, Sir Paul Nurse, immediately called for a full investigation into how this happened, saying "this sends out a bad message to young female scientists".
Our reporter Tracey Logan asks why Royal Society grants are so important to young scientists, and whether this year's number of female recipients is a sign of gender bias on the awarding committees, or just a statistical blip in a fair process? And Adam Rutherford meets Professor Julia Higgins to hear the latest just after participating in a diversity working group meeting at the Royal Society in London.
Getting science out from behind paywalls
You pay for science research via your taxes, but you may not get to see the results unless you pay again to read the journals that publish them. With two major UK science publishers, the Royal Society publishing and Nature, announcing one apiece of their journals are going fully open access -broadly, free for anyone to read online - we're discussing the way science makes it from the lab to the public, via the ever controversial system of publishing and peer review. Adam is joined by Fiona Godlee, Editor of the British Medical Journal; Lesley Anson, Chief Editor of Nature Communications; and Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics and Citizen Science Lead at the University of Oxford.
Producer: Fiona Roberts
Assistant Producer: Jen Whyntie.
THU 17:00 PM (b04jm36m)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04jhjk4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04jm36p)
Series 3
About Bad Boys
In a mix of stand-up and re-enacted family life - Nathan Caton tries to be a good role model for his younger brother Tyree.
Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a series about young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's horror and disgust. They desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'
Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to prove himself.
The series is a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. At the end of the day she just wants the best for her son. However, she'd also love to brag and show her son off to her friends, but with Nathan only telling jokes for a living that's kind of hard to do.
Martin a.k.a. Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son getting a degree so the two of them could work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window. Martin is clumsy and hard-headed and leaves running the house to his wife (she wouldn't allow it to be any other way).
Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. She can't believe she left the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that years later her grandson could 'tell jokes!' How can her grandson go on stage and use foul language and filthy material... it's not the good Christian way!
So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he persevere and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference? Or will he finally leave home?!
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
THU 19:00 The Archers (b04jm36r)
Lynda will be holding her Rumpelstiltskin auditions next week.
Bert Fry goes round to see Carol about her garden. She tells him her plans, which include a herb garden. Carol enjoys making her own remedies, as does Bert. They reflect on Jill and Phil's love of the garden, with Phil's roses and vegetables.
Elizabeth welcomes Carol to Glebe Cottage with some Lower Loxley wine. Knowing that something's wrong, Carol persuades Elizabeth to tell her about Roy. She understands the situation and doesn't judge.
David is planning a birthday surprise for Jill, with Emma and Fallon helping by doing the catering. Ruth is back from Prudhoe, worried about Heather and how she'll cope when she's sent home next week.
Charlie steps in to do the hauling when Jeff is off. Adam's grateful. After a job well done, Charlie invites Adam to join him for a beer. Relaxing over a drink, speculating Adam asks Charlie if he has a 'plus one' (for the hunt ball). He finds Charlie rather mysterious. Adam asks Charlie to explain what he meant about the best things being worth waiting for. Teasing, Charlie reminds Adam that for him it's all about timing.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b04jm36t)
Rosamund Pike, The Girl of the Golden West, Young Poet Laureate Aisling Fahey, Grantchester
Rosamund Pike talks to Kirsty Lang about her emotionally and physically demanding role in the much-anticipated screen adaptation of the crime thriller Gone Girl.
Many operatic heroines die at the end - but not Minnie, the gun-toting heroine of Puccini's opera, The Girl Of The Golden West. Director Richard Jones and conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson talk about this "wild west" opera at the ENO.
21 year-old Aisling Fahey has just been appointed Young Poet Laureate For London; she describes her beginnings in poetry using magnets on the fridge.
And Sarah Crompton reviews ITV's upcoming 1950s mystery drama Grantchester, starring James Norton as clergyman turned sleuth Sidney Chambers alongside Robson Green as a police investigator.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Sarah Johnson.
THU 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jlygy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b04jm36w)
Francis: The Pope's Calling
Just over a year ago, the phone rang at the office of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. A man asked to speak to Eugenio Scalfari, the paper's 90 year old founder and a prominent atheist. The caller was Pope Francis. And so began an unusual friendship, an unconventional piece of journalism and an unexpected glimpse into the character of a man who has taken the world stage by storm. Scalfari drew a picture of a "revolutionary" Pope, set on reforming Church bureaucracy, punishing paedophilia and re-examining priestly celibacy.
It's just one example of the style that has seen Pope Francis labelled the "cold-call Pope" - someone who has swapped the traditional, measured means of Papal communication for off the cuff statements and direct outreach to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. His informal approach has added to his mega-star popularity and fuelled hopes, and fears, about change in the Catholic Church.
For The Report, the BBC's Director of News and Current Affairs James Harding sets out to understand one of the world's most fascinating and charismatic leaders. How does Pope Francis really operate, does he herald a revolution in style or substance, and can his popularity survive in the face of such high expectations? As Church leaders gather in the Vatican for a Synod looking at how Church teaching concerning the family relates to the reality of modern life, The Report asks whether a "revolutionary" really has taken over at the Vatican.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b04jm36y)
The Saviour Returns
The best person for the job? Evan Davis hears from four bosses who took back control of the companies they had once founded. Why did they leave and what events made them return? From boardroom coups to corporate collapses, entrepreneurs explain how they took the helm - for the second time - of the businesses they knew so well. What had changed while they were away? And what were the very first decisions they made when they walked back through the doors?
Guests: Steve Morgan, founder, Redrow; Louise O'Sullivan, founder, Anam Technologies; Nick and Kath Whitworth, co-founders, Celtic & Co.
Producer: Sally Abrahams.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b04jm36k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b04jlygw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b04jhjk6)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b04gwm5h)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04jm3d7)
The Bone Clocks
Episode 9
By David Mitchell. Part nine. Crispin Hershey, once a major star of the literary firmament, is now living with the spectacularly disastrous consequences of his plan to embarrass an unpleasant literary critic. At a literary festival in Australia he encounters fellow author Holly Sykes and her teenage daughter. Read by Robert Glenister
This ambitious, much-anticipated new novel from the author of Cloud Atlas is one to lose yourself in. The Bone Clocks is an intricate feat of storytelling revealing one woman's life through those who encounter her. The journey has a global and historical sweep, it takes us from 1980s Kent via 19th Century Australia to a near future New York with a playfully genre-bending subplot.
Our Book at Bedtime will be read by a stellar cast of five actors over three weeks. We open with Hannah Arterton as Holly Sykes, 15 years old in 1980s Gravesend. Then Luke Treadaway is Cambridge student Hugo Lamb, likeable, good looking, and extremely dangerous. Joe Armstrong is Ed Brubeck, a foreign correspondent in the current decade, struggling to overcome the gaps between his life at home and the loss he experiences daily at work. Robert Glenister is Crispin Hershey, once the wild child of British letters, a novelist now past his best-selling peak. And Laurel Lefkow is Dr Marinus, a psychiatrist from the seventh century who meets Holly Sykes in a near-future America.
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Produced by Allegra McIlroy.
THU 23:00 Ayres on the Air (b01n20gw)
Series 4
Autumn
Pam Ayres continues her series of poetry and sketch shows about the seasons.
Autumn includes - what to donate to the harvest festival, interesting things to put on a bonfire, checking out retirement homes in the Autumn of one's life and choosing a suitable evening class for your husband.
Her poems include: I Don't Want to Go to School Mum and The Harvest Hymn.
With Felicity Montagu and Geoffrey Whitehead.
Producer: Claire Jones.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in October 2012.
THU 23:30 Reimagining the City (b01pz4tg)
Series 1
Istanbul
In her twenties, the writer Elif Shafak moved to Istanbul. "The city called me," she says. She moved there, knowing no-one, hoping to become a full time writer. She found her subject matter.
"In Istanbul, you understand, perhaps not intellectually but intuitively, that East and West are ultimately imaginary ideas, ones that can be de-imagined and re-imagined."
Elif offers us her vision of Istanbul; a city that's never quiet, always moving and wrestling with itself.
Produced by Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
FRIDAY 03 OCTOBER 2014
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b04jhjl4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jlygy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04jhjl6)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04jhjl8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04jhjlb)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b04jhjld)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04jm9mq)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day, with the Rev Dr Karen Smith.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b04jm9ms)
More bad news for dairy farmers: world prices have declined 45% since February. This week's Global Dairy Auction, an important indicator of the market, saw losses on all commodities from butter to skimmed milk powder.
A gamekeeper convicted of killing birds of prey could face jail, in what's been described as the worst case of its kind in England.
It seems almost certain that the new man at the helm of EU farm policy will be the former Irish Environment Minister, Phil Hogan.
And, continuing our examination of animal welfare, we discuss halal slaughter.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Sarah Swadling.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkwkp)
Swainson's Hawk
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the North American Swainson's hawk. About the size of the European buzzard, Swainson's hawks are dark-brown birds, rusty brown on the chest and white on the belly, and a familiar sight across open farmland and prairies of western North America where they soar effortlessly in search in prey. Most winter in South America, this epic round-trip of around 20,000 kilometres is probably the longest regular migration made by any American bird of prey. When they reach their wintering grounds they switch diet. In North America they feed mainly on mammals, but in South America, they gather in flocks to hunt dragonflies and grasshoppers in the vast pampas plains.
FRI 06:00 Today (b04jm9mv)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b04jhmhf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jm9mx)
Fragments of Power
Neil MacGregor discovers how coins reveal the range and diversity of the Holy Roman Empire, with around 200 different currencies struck in the different territories of Germany.
It's an extraordinarily immediate and physical way of grasping the complexity and the confusion of the Holy Roman Empire, because every coin represents a kind of sovereignty. To be able to strike a coin you needed to be the ruler in your territory - and every coin speaks of a particular state, with its particular laws and a whole set of traditions.
Producer Paul Kobrak.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04jm9mz)
GP working hours; Women and ebola; Do children need to learn classical music?
Jenni Murray presents the programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
FRI 10:45 The Pillow Book (b04jm9n1)
Series 7
Episode 5
Lady Shonagon and Lieutenant Yukinari return to solve a new mystery in 10th Century Japan.
Trouble abroad. Wolves in the town, forest fires, storms and earthquakes. The Emperor is sick, and his fever grows worse. A feral girl, sometimes woman sometimes wolf, roams the palace. But the Empress has taken matters into her own hands, and like a Kambai warrior will restore the Palace and her Emperor to health.
Inspired by the writings of Sei Shonagon, a poet and lady-in-waiting to the Empress of the 10th Century Japanese court.
Written by Robert Forrest.
Shonagon...Ruth Gemmell
Yukinari...Cal Macaninch
Empress...Laura Rees
Emperor...Paul Ready
Uzume...Jessica Hardwick
Directed by Lu Kemp.
A BBC Scotland Production for Radio 4.
FRI 11:00 One Day In... (b04jm9n3)
The Leeds West Indian Carnival began in 1967 as one man's cure for his homesickness. It now attracts up to 150,000 visitors every year, generating an estimated ten million pounds for the local economy. In this programme, dancers, designers, police and parade-goers all tell their stories as we follow their progress, from sunrise to sunset.
Costume designer Hughbon Condor trained as an engineer, and it shows. One of his creations consists of giant bat wings which, when unfurled, release lots of tiny bats all dancing around the "parent." Meanwhile, his son Sephbon is busy constructing his own creation, hoping to outdo his father and be crowned Carnival King. As the last minute preparations and costume repairs are executed, stall holders are getting ready to sell succulent jerk chicken for eight hours non-stop. And, as the carnival beat begins to rise, Chief Inspector Matt Davison is briefing his officers on how to safely and successfully police the heady mix of spices, soca, drum and bass, and alcohol.
One Day in Summer was recorded on August 25th 2014, and follows the stories of designers, dancers, chefs and carnival-goers as they take to the streets of Chapeltown in Leeds.
Producer: John Byrne.
FRI 11:30 My First Planet (b04dqlh4)
Series 2
Let Me Entertain Me
The discovery of a poet on the colony sets off a bomb, a monster, a sword fight and a poem. But is Archer really capable of murder?
The return of the hit sitcom starring Nicholas Lyndhurst and Vicki Pepperdine ("Getting On") set on a shiny new planet.
Welcome to the colony. We're aware that, having been in deep cryosleep for 73 years, you may be in need of some supplementary information.
Personnel:
Unfortunately, Burrows the leader of the colony has died on the voyage so his Number 2, Brian (Nicholas Lyndhurst), is now in charge. He's a nice enough chap, but no alpha male, and his desire to sort things out with a nice friendly meeting infuriates the colony's Chief Physician Lillian (Vicki Pepperdine), who'd really rather everyone was walking round in tight colour-coded tunics and saluting each other. She's also in charge of Project Adam, the plan to conceive and give birth to the first colony-born baby. Unfortunately, the two people hand-picked for this purpose - Carol and Richard - were rather fibbing about being a couple, just to get on the trip.
Add in an entirely unscrupulous Chief Scientist, Mason and also Archer, an idiot maintenance man who believes he's an "empath" rather than a plumber, and you're all set to answer the question - if humankind were to colonise space, is it destined to succumb to self-interest, prejudice and infighting? (By the way, the answer's "yes". Sorry.)
Written by Phil Whelans
Produced and Directed by David Tyler.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b04jhjlg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b04jm9n5)
3 October 1914 - Florrie Wilson
In the last episode of Season 1, the Wilson family wave Victor off to war. Another lost boy.
Written by Katie Hims
Music: Matthew Strachan
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b04jm9n7)
Access to Work
Continuing problems behind the scenes at the Government's Access to Work programme is leaving disabled people facing long delays in receiving support in the workplace. Why vets are over-prescribing antibiotics for pets, what the new £1 coin will mean for the hundreds of thousands of vending machines, car parks and automatic tills across the UK. Plus, we're at the Paris Motor Show to assess why UK car sales are bucking the international trend and staying buoyant.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b04jhjlj)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b04jm9n9)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 Open or Wrapped...? (b04jm9nc)
Episode 5
Food writer, Home Economist and Food stylist Alison Clarkson follows eight people on a course in Leeds, specialising in how to run their very own Fish and Chip shop.
For generations, the meal has been a constant favourite with thousands, if not millions, of people across Britain. Churchill called them 'the good companion' and John Lennon loved his with tomato ketchup.
Six months on, this episode follows up on the progress of the students in the time following the course, and sums up the great British tradition with help from the students, award-winning Fish and Chip shop owner Mark Petrou and Jean Christophe Novelli.
The series follows a three day course run by the National Federation of Fish Fryers in Leeds. It takes students through the requirements involved in running your own shop - from fish preparation and battering, through health and safety, to the legal and financial issues inherent in the business.
The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds - from the finance industry to a retired musician, from an opticians to a newsagent. Two have ventured from France and one from Hamburg, especially to attend the course.
As well as following the students, the programmes trace the history and development of selling chips. The meal became popular in the early part of the nineteenth century as a result of the rapid growth of trawl fishing in the North Sea. In its heyday there were approximately thirty thousand fish and chip shops in Britain. Today the number is around twelve thousand. The acclaimed 5 out of 5, AA Rosette and multi Michelin Star award winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli discusses his love and respect for our traditional meal.
Finally, we follow up the featured members of the course, six months after attending it. How do you like the meal, 'Open or wrapped..?!'
Presenter: Alison Clarkson
Produced by Eurof Williams
An Acme tv production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b04jm36r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b04jmcr1)
The Electrical Venus
May 1749. Grainger's travelling fair develops an astonishing new act, care of Sebastian Fox and his 'electrickery' in a play by Julie Mayhew.
In the courtyard of a country tavern, Mr Francis P Grainger displays the wonders of his menagerie - animal and human.
Mim is the illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic lady and her black slave, and she's been raised by Grainger since she was a baby. But now her mistress, Hildy 'the Hog-Faced Lady', has run away to London, Mim needs to find her own act.
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Directed by Emma Harding.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b04jmcr3)
The Next Horticultural Generation
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme in front of an audience of 150 young gardeners during London's Landscape Show. James Wong, Pippa Greenwood and Matthew Wilson answer the questions.
Produced by Howard Shannon
Assistant Producer: Darby Dorras
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
This week's questions and answers:
Q. How can alpine plants be better incorporated in gardens with diverse planting?
A. Shallow troughs, dry-stone walls and living walls can be used to show off alpine plants.
Q. What is the best way to look after an Amaryllis plant so that it flowers again the following year?
A. Let it dry out in the winter to allow it to go into dormancy. Make sure it's in a cool, brightly lit place. Give it a high-potash feed when the flowers start to die.
Q. Why is it that you sometimes see pink Hydrangeas growing alongside blue ones when the colour is down to soil PH?
A. This might be due to mortar or chalk beneath the soil creating small patches of soil with different PH levels.
Q. Is it possible to micro-propagate ferns using the tissue from the fronds?
A. Technically yes, but it's not something that people usually do, perhaps because it's not financially viable. Have a go!
Q. What plants would you recommend for a north-facing steep slope with rich soil?
A. Hellebores, Camellias, Drimys winteri, Sarcococca (Christmas Box) and autumn-flowering Cyclamen.
Q. My Indian Bean tree is getting too big. When can I trim it and by how much?
A. You could pollard the tree. Prune it, but not too hard. Reduce the size over the period of two to three years as to keep its shape. Next time, why not plant Paulownia Tomentosa (Foxglove tree)?
Q. The Myrtle hedges I put in look like they're dying. Should I take them out?
A. This might be due to bad drainage. Lift one of the sickly plants and inspect the roots to check if they are soggy.
Q. Which herbs, veg and fruits would the panel recommend for growing in containers?
A. Strawberries, salads, Chives, edible flowers, Runner Beans, Sweet Peas, Radishes and Miracle Berries.
FRI 15:45 Quartier Perdu (b04jmcr5)
Jessica Raine reads Sean O'Brien's gothic tale set in 1930s Europe. A young doctoral student arrives from America to study an obscure poet who was rumoured to have dabbled in the occult.
Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b04jmcr7)
Christopher Hogwood, Major General Yitzhak Hofi, Sheila Tracy, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, Lynsey de Paul
Matthew Bannister on
the conductor and musicologist Christopher Hogwood, who founded the Academy of Ancient Music to give authentic performances of baroque and classical works.
Major General Yitzhak Hofi. As head of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, he presided over the rescue of hostages at Entebbe airport, the destruction of an Iraqi nuclear reactor and the hit squads who killed Black September militants.
The broadcaster Sheila Tracy who championed big band music on Radio 2 - and created a cult "Truckers Hour".
Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, the mathematician who played a leading role in building up educational institutions in her native Manchester
And the singer and songwriter Lynsey de Paul.
FRI 16:30 Feedback (b04jmcr9)
Has a summer of tough foreign news had you switching off the radio? The Editor of the Today programme, Jamie Angus, talks to Roger Bolton about his plans to bring a greater range of approaches to telling international stories. The aim is to give audiences a broader view of life in countries which are more often in the news for conflict or disaster - but is it sugar-coating the news for listeners?
Mud-slinging or mediation? What's the best way to debate? Many Feedback listeners tell us they want more measured, discursive debate - especially on important issues. Matthew Taylor, who's used to holding his own on the Moral Maze, has been presenting Agree to Differ in which he asks contributors to seek common ground in their argument. He debates the subject with the boss of Any Questions, Clare McGinn.
And why is You and Yours being cut short for a World War I drama? The 500-part, four-year-long serial Home Front is knocking twelve minutes off the consumer affairs programme each day. Will You and Yours ever gets its missing minutes back? Roger asks Radio 4's Head of Planning and Scheduling, Tony Pilgrim.
Produced by Will Yates.
A Whistledown production for Radio 4.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b04jmcrc)
Peter and Amy - Ronnie's Recipes
Fi Glover introduces a conversation about how a grandfather passed his love of cooking down to his granddaughter, even though he died when she was just six months old.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b04jmcrf)
Coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04jhjll)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b04jmcrj)
Series 44
Episode 4
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by special guest John Finnemore for a comic romp through the week's news. With Pippa Evans and Mitch Benn.
Written by the cast, with additional material from Sarah Morgan,Jane Lamacraftl and Sarah Campbell. Produced by Alexandra Smith.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b04jmd86)
Jill gets some new bee gloves for her birthday. David insists she's to stay away from kitchen duties. They've hired Fallon for that, and she proves a hit as party organiser. Kenton gets out his musical party hats and gets Jill to wear one.
Ruth struggles to relax. She hopes Eddie is ok with the cows, but is more worried about her mother, telling Jill about Heather. Jill sympathises with Heather wanting to stay in Prudhoe. She'd feel the same if faced with giving up her home and independence.
Phoebe tells Hayley she has nothing to say to her dad. Hayley becomes increasingly concerned and wants to know what's wrong. Phoebe eventually tells Hayley she knows about Roy and Elizabeth. She shocks Hayley by revealing that, according to Freddie, it has been going on for months. Hayley thought it was a one-off.
Thinking about Heather, Ruth broaches with David the idea of selling Brookfield. David can't bring himself to imagine walking away from everything they've built up there. And surely Jill wouldn't cope with the upheaval. As Jill blows out her candles, Ruth quietly tells David she can't see another option.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b04jmd88)
Genesis interview; Speed-the-Plow review; Fun Palaces; Victoria Hislop
Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks of Genesis discuss a new documentary about the band and Sarah Churchwell reviews David Mamet's Speed the Plow starring Lindsay Lohan. Also on the programme Jude Kelly and Stella Duffy explain how this weekend they're hoping to fulfil Joan Littlewood's vision of making art and science available to all through the Fun Palaces initiative and Victoria Hislop reveals the real history behind her new novel.
Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Ellie Bury.
FRI 19:45 Germany: Memories of a Nation (b04jm9mx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b04jmd8b)
Baroness Williams, Michael Gove MP, Patrick O'Flynn MEP, Emily Thornberry MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Surbiton High School in Surrey with the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Williams, Government Chief Whip Michael Gove MP, Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry MP, and Patrick O'Flynn MEP UKIP Economics spokesman.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b04jmd8d)
Short and Successful
Adam Gopnik thinks there's a simple reason for the recent findings that short men enjoy stable marriages. It's not that they are desperate to please, but are desperate to prevail. "In every area of life, we underrate the merits of desperation, and persistently overrate the advantages of free choice."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b04jmd8g)
29 September - 3 October 1914
Last omnibus of Season 1 of Home Front which is set in Great War Britain. The end of the beginning, perhaps, but a long long way from the end.
Written by Katie Hims
Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews
Music: Matthew Strachan
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b04jhjln)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b04jmd8j)
A special programme from California with Ritula Shah on whether soft power is effective in a world with high profile conflicts such as Gaza, Ukraine and Syria. We hear how Islamic State uses soft power and China's attitudes are changing.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04jmd8l)
The Bone Clocks
Episode 10
By David Mitchell. Part ten. Crispin Hershey, ex-Wild Child of British Letters, makes amends for past wrongs and dabbles in writing Sci-fi to his agent's despair. Alone in Iceland, he has a disturbing encounter with Hugo Lamb. Read by Robert Glenister
This ambitious, much-anticipated new novel from the author of Cloud Atlas is one to lose yourself in. The Bone Clocks is an intricate feat of storytelling revealing one woman's life through those who encounter her. The journey has a global and historical sweep, it takes us from 1980s Kent via 19th Century Australia to a near future New York with a playfully genre-bending subplot.
Our Book at Bedtime will be read by a stellar cast of five actors over three weeks. We open with Hannah Arterton as Holly Sykes, 15 years old in 1980s Gravesend. Then Luke Treadaway is Cambridge student Hugo Lamb, likeable, good looking, and extremely dangerous. Joe Armstrong is Ed Brubeck, a foreign correspondent in the current decade, struggling to overcome the gaps between his life at home and the loss he experiences daily at work. Robert Glenister is Crispin Hershey, once the wild child of British letters, a novelist now past his best-selling peak. And Laurel Lefkow is Dr Marinus, a psychiatrist from the seventh century who meets Holly Sykes in a near-future America.
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Produced by Allegra McIlroy.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b04jk3qm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:27 Reimagining the City (b03s645s)
Series 2
Birmingham
Musician Soweto Kinch offers a different vision of a city he's loved all his life - Birmingham.
Soweto often gets a surprised response when he tells people he's from Birmingham. For one, he doesn't have an accent. But also, as a successful jazz musician and hip hop star, the expectation is often that he should be living in London or New York - or almost anywhere except Birmingham.
But, for Soweto, Birmingham is a place of artistic endeavour and cultural significance on a par with any other major city. The city is where he served his cultural apprenticeship in jazz and hip hop. "The saxophone called me. I've never seen so many shiny keys. And the love affair continued from there."
He left to study history at Oxford but chose to make Birmingham his home. "The fact that I've stayed in Birmingham sets me apart from the other musicians in London - I can do everything from here. There's a camaraderie and respect that other musicians have for each other in Birmingham."
Soweto lives in a tower block in Hockley - it's been a place that's given him creative input for his albums and music. From his window he can see the Hockley Flyover, a space which was the scene of gang fights and crime. In 2009 Soweto decided to turn it into a festival venue.
"I've been proud of the fact we've redefined peoples' relationships to this space. It's a neglected area. I felt that more than any other area this expressed a lot of the innate contradictions we face in the black community in Britain. I wanted to reclaim the space and reclaim the stories."
Producer: Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b04jmd8r)
Soo and Kristy – Adoption: Fighting for the Future
Fi Glover with a conversation between friends about the challenges of parenting, especially when you want to make up to your adopted child for the difficulties of her early life.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess