The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Krish Kandiah, President of the London School of Theology.
As the post-flood clear-up continues, we're exploring ways in which farmers may be able to help prevent future flooding, by keeping water upstream. In this programme we hear about a gigantic sock which can help hold water back, and keep it upstream in farmers' fields.
A new index of genetic information will be launched next week, which farmers can use to help breed resistence to bovine TB into their herd. Anna Hill asks the head of genetics at the dairy branch of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board how it will work.
All this week we're looking at ways in which farmers and food producers are by-passing the big retailers to connect directly with their customers. Today Nancy Nicolson finds out about a vending machine dispensing potatoes in Dundee.
And it's wassailing time! If you want a good apple crop for cider, you need to be in good voice.
Michael Palin presents the Venezuelan horned screamer. Soundling as if someone is using a giant plunger in the Venezuelan marshes, these are the mating calls of the Horned Screamer. They're sounds that only another Horned Screamer could love, but then screamers are very odd birds. Over the years ornithologists have struggled to classify them, modern thinking puts their closest living relatives as the primitive Australian Magpie Goose.
Protruding from its head is a long wiry horn made of cartilage, which could rightfully earn it the title of "unicorn of the bird world" Usually seen as pairs or, outside the breeding season in small groups in the marshes and savannas of the northern half of South America, as you'd expect from their name , they are very vocal and these primeval bellows which sound more cow like than bird like and can be heard up to 3 kilometers away.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
With the annual surge in online dating at the start of the New Year, Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of internet dating by looking at a social network from 1898 devised to bring strangers together in marriage or companionship.
The 'Round About', set up by newspaper editor and philanthropist WT Stead, encouraged subscribers to submit a profile and a photo and an album of users would be sent out monthly to other subscribers. Potential suitors could then correspond via the "Conductor" at the Central Office of the publication.
The Lonely Hearts Classified Ad was born and took off in popularity at a time when the middle classes in London, living increasingly in suburbia, found it difficult to make romantic acquaintances. It was, however, not without controversy as allegations of moral corruption flew about when it was suspected that illicit liaisons were being sought through the adverts.
Soldiers traditionally learned to find their way around with a compass and a map. Aleks Krotoski explores how GPS transformed navigation during the first Gulf War in 1991.
An early brick sized GPS device is on display in the 'Information Age' gallery at the Science Museum in London. This gallery tells the story of the evolution in how we communicate with with each other. The objects in the exhibition represent cultural moments from the last 200 years - not just technological innovations.
Aleks Krotoski tells the story of the development of GPS, from its first use by the US military to now being a part of every modern mobile phone, with Dr Tilly Blyth and Dan Green of the Science Museum, historian Professor Jeremy Black of Exeter University and a British soldier whose life was saved by it in the first Gulf War.
Laura Cumming charts the obsession of a 19th century Reading bookseller with a portrait of Charles I - painted when the Monarch was a young man on a visit to Madrid. The Spanish genius Velasquez painted very few pictures, so did John Snare discover a long-lost treasure? And if so, where is it now?
The portrait is set before the public and the press in the spring of 1847. Snare is determined that his discovery should be recognised as a work by the great Spanish court painter, but not everybody is willing to agree with him.
This is a story about the intense emotions that great art can provoke - passions that sometimes verge on the irrational and which transcend considerations of value.
John Snare's conviction about the painting he bought evolved into a dispute with those who had more money, power and influence. In a sense, the missing Velasquez became a battleground for class war and the individual against the establishment.
But at the heart of the story lies a work of art, created with such skill and delicacy that it inspired the fiercest of feelings and continues to exert its mysterious pull to this day.
Learning to eat, The impact of the This Girl Can campaign on women's physical activity, Bisexuality
Jane Garvey will be talking to Bee Wilson about her new book, First Bite: How We Learn To Eat. Drawing upon the latest scientific research, Bee explores how we form our food preferences and asks if fussy eaters are born or created. She looks at why so many of us are obsessed with sugar; and most importantly, whether it is possible to change your food habits at any age.
A year ago today Sport England launched the This Girl Can advertising campaign to try to address the fact that 2 million fewer women were being active than men. Its aim was to encourage all women - irrespective of skill, fitness, size or how little time they have - to take up some sort of physical activity because it's fun and life enhancing. Jane speaks to the This Girl Can Campaign Manager, Tanya Joseph, to find out if it has been a success and to Andrea, who was inspired by the ads to be more active.
And, Libby, Daniel and Holly share their experiences of bisexuality. Libby began by identifying as gay and going out with girls while for Daniel there was a great fear of bringing shame on his family. Holly, growing up in the pre-internet age, had no idea that there were other people who felt like her.
Toni Morrison's seminal 1987 novel about a haunted house in the era that followed the abolition of slavery in the United States is adapted for radio for the first time. Toni Morrison's masterpiece melds horror and poetry as it tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery by crossing the Ohio river, but who, eighteen years later, is still not free.
Paul D. learns about what happened eighteen years ago when Schoolteacher, the man who ran the farm where Sethe was a slave, arrived at 124 Bluestone Road and attempted to reclaim Sethe and her children.
The drama is true to the novel's uncompromising depiction of this event, portraying the violent horror and brutality of slavery.
In an age where we are saturated with information are we ever better off just 'not knowing'? Could 'not knowing' improve our memory, enhance our learning and even making us happier?
As someone who is occupationally immersed in information, author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera sets out to discover if ignorance really is bliss.
Leading us gently through a journey of the 'unknown', Sathnam meets scientists and psychologists who are investigating the realms of ignorance.
James Carse, Professor Emeritus at NYU has identified three types of ignorance - ordinary, wilful and higher, and says that this is a subject area he just can't resist talking about. Carse's research takes us back to a small group of medieval monks who dedicated their life to 'not knowing'.
Jumping back into the 21st Century Sathnam will join Lisa Son of Columbia University. She has conducted recent studies into the virtues of ignorance and how the process of ignorance can actually enhance our memory and learning.
Talking about education, Professor of Biology Stuart Firestein runs a course on ignorance - it's one of his most popular classes and basically involves a group of very smart people talking about what they don't know.
Alongside the 'science of ignorance' will be a healthy dose of personal reflection from those who have chosen ignorance as a way of life, including musician Johnny Borrell who boycotted the news as he believes you can find out more truth by walking down the street with a guitar.
Syrena Records was created in 1904. Selling millions of discs to new audiences hungry for shellac delights. Opera singers, Cantors, political humour & Yiddish theatre. Success allowed founder Juliusz Feigenbaum to invest in state of the art recording technology. By the time independent Poland was reborn in 1918 Syrena was well placed to shape the sound of a new nation. Hot tango and jazz were performed by superb musicians and singers, mostly Jewish, mostly of a generation breaking away from the old world and facing the new. Adam Aston, Hanka Ordonka, Henryk Wars, Micheslaw Fogg and others cut disc after disc before playing in the elite night clubs of Warsaw. Some 14,000 records by artists at the top of their game. Outpourings of Yiddish tango, slinky foxtrots, romantic ballads. Records in Hebrew, Yiddish, & Polish. Songs such as The Last Sunday and Donna Clara went international. In 1939, invasion & war ended Syrena and the Polish nation. Its factory and archives destroyed, its artists murdered or scattered in exile. But there was one last tune to play. Henryk Wars, former musical director at Syrena, formed an orchestra that became the soundtrack of Poles in exile and in military uniform. From Tehran to Palestine to the fortress of Monte Cassino, those musicians and singers that had once been the heart of Syrena now played songs of a lost nation, creating the anthemic Red Poppies of Monte Cassino. Monica Whitlock tells Syrena's story and travels to Warsaw to hear from a new generation of musicians recreating Syrena's sound.
On this day the South Wales Miners voted to oppose conscription, and in Folkestone Sylvia Graham has a change of heart.
Winifred Robsinson asks: How has social media affected the children in your life? Childline says children now face a "constant onslaught from cyber-bullying and social media." The charity says social media is leading to youngsters "comparing themselves to others, and feeling inferior, ugly, and unpopular as a result."
In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire formally declared 'holy war' against Britain, France and Russia. In the second programme of his new series, Professor Sir Christopher Clark explores how the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the First World War brought the Middle East into the conflict, with consequences that are still felt today.
Chris travels to Gallipoli to visit the battlefields where thousands of allied troops, including Australian and New Zealanders, encountered a forceful foe in the Ottoman Turkish army, under the command of Mustafa Kamal, later known as Atatürk. As an Australian, Chris remarks on how the memory of the doomed Gallipoli campaign became a unifying legend for the young Australian nation. He is accompanied in Gallipoli by Professor Mustafa Aksakal, who explains how Gallipoli was also birthplace of the new Turkish republic and has a special significance in modern day Turkey.
Sir Christopher Clark is Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power, Iron Kingdom and - most recently - the highly acclaimed and award-winning The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War. In 2014, he presented Month of Madness on BBC Radio 4 about the outbreak of the First World War. You can listen to that series online by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7p27 or clicking on the related link below.
The girl who started a meme, the girl behind the 'death rabbiting' internet sensation wants to tell you her story. The tale of how she became a global online brand and how the rest of the her life simultaneously came crashing down.
Jessie Cave stars as 'the Death Rabbit' in this modern tale of narcissism, mental health and internet addiction.
Jessie Cave is an actress, writer, comedian and cartoonist who is best known for her role as Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter film series.
John Wilson continues with his fifth series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios.
Programme 6 (B-side): Having discussed the making of 'Sunshine Superman' (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 11th January and available online), Donovan responds to questions from the audience and performs exclusive live acoustic versions of some of the key tracks from the album.
Julian Joseph tells the story of how some of the biggest jazz musicians toured the world in the name of democracy, only to turn the tables on the US government that had sent them.
During the Cold War, jazz was used as an instrument of global diplomacy. In an attempt to improve America's image abroad, a US State Department cultural programme sent out such jazz masters as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie.
Jazz pianist, composer and broadcaster Julian Joseph recounts how, between 1954 and 1968, these 'jazz ambassadors' performed unlikely concerts in countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, the Congo, Yugoslavia and Russia.
But soon.,the contradictions began to occur to the musicians - they represented a liberal America, yet at home they still lived in a segregated society, with the Civil Rights Movement in full flow. The project exposed the often complicated and sometimes conflicted politics of the US government.
As the tours continued, the State Department's master plan had unanticipated consequences. The jazz luminaries did not always play ball and, in some cases, used their position to express their own politics.
Contributors include: Dizzy Gillespie's drummer, Charli Persip; jazz impresario George Wein; Penny Von Eschen, Professor of History at the University of Michigan; and Louis Armstrong biographer Ricky Riccardi.
Matthew Parris invites his guests to nominate the person who they feel is a great life. Comedian Susan Calman chooses the Scottish actress Molly Weir who began her long career on radio before moving into television and becoming one of the first Scottish female voices on national media in the 1950s.
NHS England has apologised to thousands of patients who've had operations or hospital appointments cancelled because of a strike by junior doctors.
When Milton discovers the local lido is under threat of closure he unwisely decides to organise a sit-in. But his dreams for a state-of-the-art aquacentre are sunk when his trunks are declared a biohazard.
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'. Because each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton (played by Milton regular, Tom Goodman-Hill) set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. Because when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian.
Written by Milton with James Cary (Bluestone 42, Miranda), and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show House Of Rooms) the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton", returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ( Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Dan Tetsell.
Jennifer insists that Charlie must have a leaving party before heading off for his new job and life in Perthshire - and she'll organise it. Charlie asks Jennifer not to go overboard, as he's not feeling like Mr Popular in the village. Helen's a little awkward when she and Rob invited (given Charlie and Rob's problematic work relationship). Charlie also asks Jennifer to keep to herself what she knows about Berrow Farm and the plans to close it.
Meanwhile, Toby begs for some cash from Rex as he has something to attend to in Brighton. Rex warns Toby to sort his life out. The Fairbrothers discuss their plans to get into eggs, and, whilst at the Bridge Farm shop, mention to Helen that a Health and Safety person is over in the Tearoom.
Jennifer encourages a worried and torn Phoebe, who has had an ultimatum from her boyfriend Alex - she needs to choose him or her place at Oxford. Jennifer admits that she would like to have gone to Uni herself. This could be the decision of a lifetime - she mustn't throw away a wonderful opportunity.
Phil Redmond made his name as the creator of celebrated television drama series Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks. He's now turned his attention to crime fiction with his new novel, Highbridge.
Sarah Howe has won the 2015 TS Eliot Prize for her debut collection Loop of Jade, an intimate exploration of her Anglo-Chinese heritage though her journeys to Hong Kong to discover her roots. This is the first time a debut collection has won the prize.
Choreographer Akram Khan discusses his new production Until the Lions based on a story from the epic Hindu poem The Mahabharata.
The Saatchi Gallery in London, which launched the likes of Tracey Emin and Paula Rego, is about to mark its 30th anniversary. Champagne Life is its first all-female exhibition. Andrea Rose reviews it and discusses whether the gallery is still influential today.
In the first of a new series, Allan Urry investigates claims by former officers from one of Britain's biggest police forces that they've been the victims of crimes committed by their own colleagues. He hears claims of dirty tricks by a secretive police unit within Greater Manchester Police which some officers say have led to criminal charges against them. Others say they've been unfairly targeted through the internal disciplinary process, with evidence distorted and statements changed.
Are they bad cops with an axe to grind or victims of corrupt practices and institutional cover up?
PIPs are taking the place of DLA, but you'll need to fill out some new forms. We get guidance from the RNIB about how to do it correctly.
Also Professor Robert MacLaren explains more about the so called "bionic eye" operation he carried out in Oxford which gave one of his patients some of her sight back. He performed a retinal implant operation which meant inserting a tiny electronic chip into the eye.
Inside Health listener and keep fit enthusiast, David Heathcote, wanted advice on how far he should safely push himself when he's training in the gym.
In this special programme about the health benefits of keeping active, Dr Mark Porter helps David to find the answer to his question about the exercise "sweet spot".
If you struggle to screw the top off a jar, or use your arms to push yourself out of your chair, that's a sure fire sign, according to Dr Philip Conaghan, consultant rheumatologist and Professor of Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Leeds, that your muscles are weak. And the good news is that building muscle strength will protect your joints, not damage them. Dr Conaghan tells Mark that there's a worrying lack of understanding about the impact of muscle weakness on arthritic joints.
Over the last decade there's been a growing interest in the relationship between activity and the risk of developing cancer. Studies have demonstrated that exercise appears to have a protective effect against at least four different cancers (breast cancer, colon cancer, endometrial cancer and some upper gastrointestinal cancers) and that being fit helps recovery from cancer too. Dr Denny Levett, a consultant in peri-operative medicine and critical care at University Hospital, Southampton who has a special interest in the relationship between exercise and health, says the reason for the apparent protective effect of fitness is still being researched but the evidence that the effect exists is now widely accepted.
Professor of Clinical Cardiology, Sanjay Sharma from St George's University of London outlines the benefits to our hearts of keeping active and Park Run fan and regular Inside Health contributor, Dr Margaret McCartney, admits how running has become something of an obsession and promises that the evidence shows that when it comes to getting fitter, it's never too late to start.
Katy Watson on "Shorty" Guzman; Germans killed in Istanbul; the benefit of loneliness.
Our first Book of Bedtime of 2016 celebrates twenty years since the publication of Alex Garland's cult novel, The Beach. Joe Dempsie reads this thrilling tale of paradise sought and lost.
Jaded young backpacker Richard is in Thailand looking for a place unspoilt by tourism. An encounter with a dead man leaves him with a map for 'the beach', a select traveller community cut off from the degradations of vacationing westerners. He joins the commune, but his breadcrumb trail, fantasies of Vietnam War films, and very real armed drug guards risks turning Eden into hell on earth.
'Lord of the Flies' meets 'Heart of Darkness' among the beautiful, young drop-outs, dreamers and drug-takers of the mid-1990s.
Abridged by ..... Sara Davies
Produced by ..... Jenny Thompson
Read by ..... Joe Dempsie
Music ..... Narayan by The Prodigy.
Comedy show hosted by Alex Horne and his five piece band and specially written, original music.
This episode explores the theme of destiny including songs on allergies and chance meetings - as well as showcasing Alex Horne's skills as a dream interpreter.
Guest starring comedian Nick Mohammed who plays with the band and has a trick up his sleeve.
Trumpet/banjo .... Joe Auckland
Double Bass/Bass .... Will Collier
Drums and Percussion .... Ben Reynolds
Piano/keyboard .... Ed Sheldrake
TIP: The Prime Minister says peace talks in Syria will be "incredibly difficult". And the first England and Wales only voting has taken place in the House of Commons, amid objection from the SNP. Joanna Shinn reports from Westminster.
WEDNESDAY 13 JANUARY 2016
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b06vjc13)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b06x8xqp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b06vjc15)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b06vjc17)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b06vjc19)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b06vjc1c)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b06wcvdh)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Krish Kandiah, President of the London School of Theology.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b06vkg9y)
Rapeseed, Sustainable meat, Save Our Sucklers
On Farming Today this week we're meeting the farmers who've cut out the middle man and are selling direct to the consumer. Our reporter Beatrice Fenton is in Broadway in Worcestershire to meet a farmer who's growing and pressing rapeseed oil for cooking.
Ladies In Beef have launched a new battle cry: 'Save Our Sucklers'. Sucklers are beef calves who stay with their mums and are reared in the traditional way, on a diet of milk, grass, silage and kale. Andrew Dawes reports from Jilly Greed's farm near Exeter in Devon and finds out more about the campaign to get you to eat more suckler beef.
And we're in Bristol to hear how scientists and academics are wrestling with the global challenge of producing meat AND protecting the environment. Professor Mark Eisler from Bristol University believes livestock has a role in world food security.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sybil Ruscoe .
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0sqd)
Greater Roadrunner
Michael Palin presents the greater roadrunner of south western North America. A cuckoo that can run at 20 miles per hour and snap up venomous reptiles might not seem destined for cartoon fame, but that's exactly what happened to the Greater Roadrunner.
The loud "beep-beep" call of the Warner Brothers cartoon creation, always out-foxing his arch-enemy Wile-E. Coyote brought this very odd member of the cuckoo family racing into the living rooms of the western world from 1949 onwards . Greater roadrunners live in dry sunny places in the south western states of North America, where their long-tailed, bushy--crested, streaky forms are a common sight. They will eat almost anything from scorpions to rats, outrunning small rodents and lizards and even leaping into the air to catch flying insects.
As it runs across the desert, the roadrunner's footprints show two toes pointing forward and two backwards. The "X" shape this forms was considered a sacred symbol by Pueblo tribes and believed to confound evil spirits because it gives no clues as to which way the bird went.
WED 06:00 Today (b06vkgqy)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b06vkgr0)
Don Black, Sue Buckmaster, Mike Daligan, David Barber
Libby Purves meets lyricist Don Black; puppeteer Sue Buckmaster; author Mike Daligan and Her Majesty the Queen's swan marker, David Barber.
Sue Buckmaster is a puppeteer and artistic director of children's theatre company Theatre-Rites. Her theatrical lineage stretches back generations - her great-grandfather was a music hall entertainer who juggled on a revolving table while riding a unicycle. Her show, The Broke 'n' Beat Collective, weaves puppetry with hip hop to explore some of the pressures faced by young people from unemployment to self-harming. The Broke 'n' Beat Collective is touring the UK.
Mike Daligan is an author and motivational speaker who has worked in the voluntary sector for over 30 years. He has also travelled to Russia, Bulgaria and Belgium to advise on self- help projects in these regions. In his autobiography, The Other Side of the Doors, he writes about his troubled childhood in London's docklands during the Second World War and the various turns his life has taken ever since. The Other Side of the Doors is published by Edale Press.
Don Black OBE is an Oscar-winning lyricist who has written the lyrics for the musical Mrs Henderson Presents... His theatre credits include Tell Me On A Sunday, Aspects of Love with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sunset Boulevard with Christopher Hampton. He also wrote the lyrics for The Italian Job, Out of Africa, True Grit, and five James Bond movies in collaboration with John Barry. In 2007 he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Mrs Henderson Presents is based on the story of Laura Henderson who joins forces with the theatre impresario Vivian Van Damm to open the Windmill Theatre in 1937. Mrs Henderson Presents... is at London's Noel Coward Theatre.
David Barber is Her Majesty the Queen's swan marker, a role he has held for 22 years. He organises the ceremony of Swan Upping, the annual census of the mute swan population on the River Thames - an event which dates back to the 12th century.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b06x8y06)
The Vanishing Man
Episode 3
Laura Cumming charts the obsession of a 19th century Reading bookseller with a portrait of Charles I - painted when the Monarch was a young man on a visit to Madrid. The Spanish genius Velasquez painted very few pictures, so did John Snare discover a long-lost treasure? And if so, where is it now?
Episode 3:
The Lost Velasquez is put on show in Edinburgh at the beginning of 1849. But soon Snare finds himself having to fend off not just challenges over the portrait's authenticity,but also overownership.
This is a story about the intense emotions that great art can provoke - passions that sometimes verge on the irrational and which transcend considerations of value.
John Snare's conviction about the painting he bought evolved into a dispute with those who had more money, power and influence. In a sense, the missing Velasquez became a battleground for class war and the individual against the establishment.
But at the heart of the story lies a work of art, created with such skill and delicacy that it inspired the fiercest of feelings and continues to exert its mysterious pull to this day.
Read by Siobhan Redmond
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06vkgr2)
Falling in love with a much older person
Much of the public reaction to the engagement of Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch has been rather cynical, with frequent references to Murdoch's billions and their 25 year age gap. But is the idea of a woman falling in love with an elderly man so unthinkable? Jenni speaks to Sylvia, who got together with her partner when he was 93.
Following reports of hundreds of attacks on women during the New Year celebrations in the German city of Cologne, we look at how feminists have responded. The attackers were described as of mainly North African or Arabic origin and the row over German immigration policy had since intensified; we'll also be asking how the issue of women's rights is being used in this debate. Joan Smith, Sarah El Rashid, Dr Andrea Den Boer and Imke Henkel.
The last in our series on fashion over six centuries told through the pictures in the National Portrait Gallery with Aileen Ribeiro, a Professor of the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute who specialises in the history of costume. She's the author of 'A Portrait of Fashion.' We move forward to the war years of the 1940's to look at a picture of the artist, Anna Zinkeisen
A recent report by the Young Women's Trust said that a generation of young women under 30 are more likely than older women to think that traditional male roles are beyond their reach and that mothers are irresponsible to work. Are these young women turning against feminism and becoming more socially conservative in their views? Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive of the Young Women's Trust, & Belinda Brown writer for the website The Conservative Woman discuss.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Kirsty Starkey.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b06vkgr4)
Toni Morrison - Beloved
Episode 8
By Toni Morrison
Adapted by Patricia Cumper
Toni Morrison's seminal 1987 novel about a haunted house in the era that followed the abolition of slavery in the United States is adapted for radio for the first time. Toni Morrison's masterpiece melds horror and poetry as it tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery by crossing the Ohio river, but who, eighteen years later, is still not free.
Paul D. left 124 Bluestone Road after learning about the terrible events of Sethe's past. Now only the women remain in the house, and Sethe is not the only one about to discover the nature of the bond that binds them together.
Original music by Jon Nicholls
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b04brvjf)
William and Elizabeth - Finding Love in Orkney
Fi Glover introduces a couple who moved to Orkney as business partners and now reflect on how they fell in love with the remote islands and with each other, proving again that it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
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 upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess
WED 11:00 Road Stories (b06vkgvw)
The Road of Terror and Death
"People talk about the power of the internet, the information super-highway; but sometimes a highway is all you need."
Miles Warde sets off on three eye-opening journeys, on foot, by bus and all other means to discover the importance of the highway to everyday life. In Nepal he travels north to south, from Tibet to India, across the mighty Himalaya. Here he meets people for whom a blacktopped highway is a source of astonishment. Fifty years ago there were only footpaths in these high mountains, but as the Chinese say, "To get rich quick first you build a road."
In Kenya a newly upgraded route from Nairobi through the badlands to Ethiopia promises to transform a region of tribal fighting and banditry. This is the road of 'terror and death', so Miles takes local reporter Michael Koloki along for the ride. Together they meet nomadic people who say Kenya starts at the road; and you'll hear perhaps the first ever recording of a border crossing intimate search.
And closer to home in Wiltshire, the Prime Minister's promise of a new tunnel past Stonehenge kicks up a hornet's nest of local and international uproar.
Miles Warde is the producer of The Invention of ... Germany, Brazil, Italy and France; and winner of the Royal Mail International travel writer award.
WED 11:30 Bad Salsa (b06ts66c)
Series 2
What Happens at Salsa...
A second series of the sitcom about three women who embrace the world of salsa while adjusting to life after cancer.
Jill has left her husband and son to live at her new boyfriends' parent's house, Camille is planning a huge life change and Chippy has a new live-in wannabe step-father in the shape of Gordon from their salsa class.
In the first episode Camille is still with Marco and reveals their plan to start a new life together, Jill is struggling with jealousy and living with Tim's parents, Chippy discovers what Tinder can bring and Gordon takes advantage of the opportunities his new salsa role offers.
The series is not about cancer, but about life after cancer, how you cope the changes in your outlook, your desires and your expectations. It's also about how other people cope with the change in you.
Written by Kay Stonham
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b06vjc1f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b06kvfzj)
13 January 1916 - Hilary Pearce
On this day shares in the Pleasure Gardens Theatre were auctioned, and Hilary Pearce is disappointed.
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b06vkj1y)
Nuisance calls, House building, TalkTalk
Companies that cold call will be forced to display their telephone number under plans being discussed by the Government. The changes are intended to make it easier for people to report businesses making unwanted calls. The Information Commissioner's Office, which regulates marketing calls, typically receives more than 14,000 complaints about nuisance calls every month, one in five calls are made by anonymous or false numbers.
The UK has a housing shortage, and needs to build 250,000 new houses a year if it is to keep up with demand. But land that would be perfect for housing is sitting unoccupied, and recent research suggests nearly half a million homes have yet to be built, despite having planning permission. Melanie Abbot looks into what is causing the delay by visiting a greenfield site in rural Warwickshire, where the private developer St Modwen is trying to get 5000 new homes built.
Plus the difficulties some customers experience when trying to cancel a contract with Talk Talk. We speak to one listener who has been attempting for months to leave without penalty.
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Natalie Donovan.
WED 12:57 Weather (b06vjc1h)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b06wc8fb)
Ten US sailors are released by Iran after their boat was seized yesterday, all very low key compared to previous such incidents. We talk to Jack Straw about what's changed
Jeremy Corbyn has said the PM's plans for sink estates won't even pay for the bulldozers. The PM calls him, a small c conservative. We discuss that with the Housing Minister.
The price of oil dipped below US$30 a barrel for the first time in 12 years. We look at who it hurts and why.
And asylum seekers in Denmark could have their valuables including jewellery seized to help pay for their stay. Opponents say it reminds them of the Nazis. We hear from a Danish politician who thinks it's a good idea.
WED 13:45 The Ever Widening War (b06wc8fd)
The White War
Professor Sir Christopher Clark travels to the Julian Alps in Slovenia on the 1914 border between Austria-Hungary and Italy. This was the scene of some of the harshest fighting to take place during the war. He examines why Italy entered the war on the side of Britain, France and Russia and traces Mussolini's post-war rise to power back to Italy's involvement in the First World War.
Chris explores how the mountainous landscape shaped the nature of fighting on this front, where troops fought at altitudes of up to 12,000 feet in temperatures as low as -30ºC. Even today, warmer summers are releasing corpses and other material from their icy tombs. The river Soca, or Isonzo as it is known in Italian, has a similar burden of associations that the Somme does to the British because the Italians lost half of their entire war casualty here.
With Mark Thompson and Željko Cimpric.
Sir Christopher Clark is Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power, Iron Kingdom and - most recently - the highly acclaimed and award-winning The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War. In 2014, he presented Month of Madness on BBC Radio 4 about the outbreak of the First World War. You can listen to that series online by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7p27 or clicking on the related link below.
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b06vkg1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Tumanbay (b06vkj20)
Series 1
A Tale of Two Cities
In the seventh episode of this epic saga inspired by the Mamluk slave-dynasty, the Sultan Al-Ghuri (Raad Rawi) dreams of victory against rebellious provincial leader Maya. Meanwhile Gregor (Rufus Wright) is in pursuit of missing slave-girl Sarah (Nina Yndis) and must venture into the catacombs beneath the city, haven to those who wish to escape the brutality of the City above.
Tumanbay, the beating heart of a vast empire, is threatened by a rebellion in a far-off province and a mysterious force devouring the city from within. Gregor, Master of the Palace Guard, is charged by Sultan Al-Ghuri with the task of rooting out this insurgence and crushing it.
Cast:
Gregor.........................Rufus Wright
Heaven........................Olivia Popica
Wolf.............................Alexander Siddig
Cadali..........................Matthew Marsh
Frog.............................Deeivya Meir
Frog's Mother...............Sirine Saba
Sarah...........................Nina Yndis
Ibn...............................Nabil Elouahabi
Maya's Envoy...............Nadir Khan
Madu............................Danny Ashok
Daniel...........................Gareth Kennerley
Slave............................Akin Gazi
Al-Ghuri........................Raad Rawi
General Qulan..............Christopher Fulford
Manel...........................Aiysha Hart
Grassic.........................John Sessions
Physician......................Vivek Madan
Boy...............................Darwin Brokenbro
All other parts played by:
Laure Stockley
Nadir Khan
Vivek Madan
Stefano Braschi
Music - Sacha Puttnam
Sound Design - Steve Bond, Jon Ouin
Editors - Ania Przygoda, James Morgan
Producers - Emma Hearn, Nadir Khan, John Dryden
Written by Mike Walker
Directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4
WED 15:00 Money Box (b06vkj22)
Money Box Live - A Basic Income
Should every UK citizen be paid a basic income, without means-testing or a requirement to work? Lesley Curwen and guests debate proposals for what's being called a Citizen's Income on Wednesday.
The term citizen's income refers to an unconditional income paid by the state to every man, woman and child as a right of citizenship. Sufficient to cover basic needs, rates are set for children, working-age adults and pensioners and are guaranteed regardless of other income, ability or intention to work.
It's argued that overhauling our complex system of tax and means-tested benefits would cut administrative costs and encourage employment, as concern about losing benefit when income increases would no longer apply.
People seeking higher education or training would be able to take advantage of a small secure income, facilitating career change, increasing job satisfaction and productivity.
It could enable reduced working hours or career breaks to care for an elderly, disabled or otherwise vulnerable person.
Could a citizen's income really work in the UK and would you be in favour of the change?
How would this be funded and would you be happy to pay more tax?
Joining Lesley Curwen will be:
Dr Malcolm Torry, Director, Citizens Income Trust.
Anthony Painter, Director of Policy and Strategy, RSA.
Donald Hirsch, Director, Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University.
Will Hadwen, Working Families.
Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday 13 January with your views and questions or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b06vkg24)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b06vkj24)
Modern slavery, School lunch boxes
Modern Slavery: Laurie Taylor explores the tensions and dilemmas at the heart of contemporary struggles against enslavement; from forced labour to sex trafficking. He's joined by Julia O'Connell Davidson, the author of a new study which argues that the 'new abolitionist movement' fails to address the fundamental realities of injustice and exploitation in a globalised world. The writer and journalist, Rahila Gupta, offers another perspective.
Also, school lunchboxes: Vicki Harman, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London, considers the way in which middle class mothers view their children's packed lunches as a reflection of their parenting skills - sometimes struggling to satisfy their children's tastes and keeping on the right side of the school's strict guidelines. Is a home-made cupcake a transgression of rules or a worthy display of good mothering and home baking?
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b06vkj3p)
Media freedom in Poland, BBC News cuts, Deloitte's media predictions.
The EC is debating a new law in Poland, feared to be compromising the editorial freedom of public service broadcasters. Last Thursday, President Duda signed a new media bill, giving the government direct control over top appointments at the country's TV & radio stations. The bill had been condemned by press freedom organisations. Steve is joined by Polish journalist Bartosz Wielinski, from newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, and Ingrid Deltenre, Director General of the European Broadcasting Union, which has opposed the bill from the outset.
James Harding, the Director of News and Current affairs at the BBC, has launched a review to reshape the operation as it faces millions of pounds worth of costs. In a recent blog post, he wrote to staff saying: "We are going to have to make choices...the funding settlement for the BBC requires both cuts and the reallocation of spending." Steve Hewlett asks one-time ITN Chief Executive and Editor in Chief Stewart Purvis and Jonathan Baker, former Editor of the BBC News at Ten and now Professor of Journalism at Essex University, where cuts might be made. And in a week that's seen the BBC criticised by the Labour party following the on-air resignation of Stephen Doughty, Steve also talks to them about such 'deals' being done, and whether they jeopardise impartiality.
The consultancy firm Deloitte has published its 2016 Media Predictions report today. This year's predictions include a growth in virtual reality, especially in gaming, plus a prediction that very few people will use ad-blocking software. In addition, its report says there will be a slowdown in the US pay-TV market and a growth in eSports. Ed Shedd leads the global media and entertainment team at Deloitte Global. He talks Steve Hewlett through some of this year's key predictions.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b06vkjby)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b06vjc1k)
Danish MPs are debating a plan to allow the authorities to seize valuables from refugees.
WED 18:30 It's Jocelyn (b06vkjc0)
Series 1
Episode 3
Sketch comedy from Jocelyn Jee Esien. Includes Dionne Button MP, a power hungry traffic warden and a grumpy couple.
Jocelyn vents her frustration at the world around her through sketches and stand-up.
Jocelyn Jee Esien is delighted to be joined in the cast by Curtis Walker, Ninia Benjamin and Kevin J.
Producer: John Pocock
A BBC Radio Comedy production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2016.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b06vkjc2)
Kirsty's surprised to hear from Roy that Berrow Farm's dairy unit is closing down. Mike's disappointed - he was looking for work there. Kirsty confides in Roy that Helen doesn't look at all well to her - she's pale and thin. Roy doesn't seem to think there's anything to worry about.
Everyone's out for the traditional Wassail. Joe is the Wassail King, although Jennifer calls him the 'Green Man'. Phoebe is dressed as the Queen, but doesn't exactly feel like revelling with Oxford and boyfriend Alex on her mind. Hayley and Roy, for one evening, put aside their differences and come together as a team on Hayley's behalf, offering parental advice and support. Phoebe's surprised that Alex is there - not his sort of thing. Roy suggests it's because Alex still cares about her. Hayley says that whatever she decides they couldn't be more proud of her. Hayley and Roy agree that Alex is being selfish by asking Phoebe not to go to Oxford - if he loves Phoebe he'll find a way to cope with it.
Everyone's distracted from the Wassail as one of the sheds at Grange Farm appears to be on fire.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b06vkjc4)
Creed, Lumiere London, Museum cuts, An anthem for England?
Creed is the latest film in the Rocky franchise starring Michael B. Jordan, with Sylvester Stallone reprising the role of Rocky Balboa. Writer and director Ryan Coogler describes how his father's illness inspired him to make the movie, and how he persuaded Stallone to let him write it.
In Lumiere London over 20 international artists will transform buildings and streets in the capital into a major outdoor showcase of artworks made from light. Helen Marriage, director of Artichoke, the company that has created the festival, and artists including Julian Opie, discuss the challenges of such an ambitious project.
Cuts to public funding mean that more museums are being forced to close their doors or introduce entry charges, according to new research from the Museums Association. Director Sharon Heal and academic and author Tiffany Jenkins discuss the role of museums in our heritage and culture, what we're in danger of losing, and whether museums could do more to find other funding.
What should England's anthem be? A vote today in The House of Commons has brought a public consultation on the matter one step closer. Jerusalem is the favourite, but what other songs might capture the spirit of England?
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Angie Nehring.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06vkgr4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Leader Conference (b06vkjg6)
Series 5
13/01/2016
Andrew Rawnsley presents the live debate programme which emulates a newspaper leader conference that decides the editorials which will appear in its pages the next day. He is joined by five prominent journalists who write leading articles for major newspapers across the United Kingdom. Three subjects in the news will be chosen for debate and the panel will then determine - after lively argument - what should be said about them. Two of the subjects debated will reflect current events and prompt strong - and witty - exchanges. The third topic will be in a lighter vein. Following the discussion of each subject, Andrew will invite one of his guests - different in each case - to draw up on air, without notice, the leader for that subject and to set out what it will say. All three leading articles will be published on the Radio 4 website the following day.
Those taking part this week: Ruth Sunderland (Daily Mail), Ben Chacko (Morning Star), Caroline Daniel (FT Weekend), Callum Baird (The National) and Ed Carr (The Economist).
Producer: Simon Coates.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b06vkktf)
Positively Medieval
Lucy Allen argues that the way in which medieval society is often presented - as indifferent to sexual violence against women - is wrong.
Lucy is an academic at Cambridge University, and she recounts a disagreement with a colleague about the realism of violence depicted in the TV show Game of Thrones. In fact, she says, medieval monarchs were passing laws against sexual violence in wartime, and some medieval literature reflects a nuanced understanding of trauma caused by rape.
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton.
WED 21:00 Science Stories (b06vkkth)
How an eel sparked our interest in electricity
Naomi Alderman presents an alternate history of electricity. This is not a story of power stations, motors and wires. It’s a story of how the electric eel and its cousin the torpedo fish, led to the invention of the first battery; and how, in time, the shocking properties of these slippery creatures gave birth to modern neuroscience. Our fascination with electric fish and their ability to deliver an almighty shock - enough to kill a horse - goes back to ancient times. And when Alessandro Volta invented the first battery in 1800, the electric eel was a vital source of inspiration. In inventing the battery, Volta claimed to have disproved the idea of ‘animal electricity’, but 200 years later, scientists studying our brains revealed that it’s thanks to the electricity in our nerve cells that we are able to move, think and feel. So, it seems, an idea that was pushed out of science and into fiction, when Mary Shelley invented Frankenstein, is now alive and well and delivering insight once again into what it means to be alive.
Producer: Anna Buckley
WED 21:30 Midweek (b06vkgr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b06vkktk)
Poland's Government
Does Poland's right-wing government pose a threat to fundamental EU values? The Danes crack down on asylum seekers - and how difficult is it to come out as gay in Britain these days?
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b06vnmy7)
The Beach
Episode 8
Our first Book of Bedtime of 2016 celebrates twenty years since the publication of Alex Garland's cult novel, The Beach. Joe Dempsie reads this thrilling tale of paradise sought and lost.
Jaded young backpacker Richard is in Thailand looking for a place unspoilt by tourism. An encounter with a dead man leaves him with a map for 'the beach', a select traveller community cut off from the degradations of vacationing westerners. He joins the commune, but his breadcrumb trail, fantasies of Vietnam War films, and very real armed drug guards risks turning Eden into hell on earth.
'Lord of the Flies' meets 'Heart of Darkness' among the beautiful, young drop-outs, dreamers and drug-takers of the mid-1990s.
Abridged by ..... Sara Davies
Produced by ..... Jenny Thompson
Read by ..... Joe Dempsie
Music ..... Narayan by The Prodigy.
WED 23:00 Don't Start (b06vnmy9)
Series 3
Medical
What do long term partners really argue about? The third series of Frank Skinner's sharp comedy. Starring Frank Skinner and Katherine Parkinson.
In this episode, Kim is not happy when a theoretical debate about her demise reveals Neil's yearning for an accordion.
The first and second series of Don't Start met with instant critical and audience acclaim:
"That he can deliver such a heavy premise for a series with such a lightness of touch is testament to his skills as a writer and, given that the protagonists are both bookworms, he's also permitted to use a flourish of fine words that would be lost in his stand-up routines." Jane Anderson, Radio Times
"Frank Skinner gives full rein to his sharp but splenetic comedy. He and his co-star Katherine Parkinson play a bickering couple exchanging acerbic ripostes in a cruelly precise dissection of a relationship." Daily Mail
"...a lesson in relationship ping-pong..." Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
Don't Start is a scripted comedy with a deceptively simple premise - an argument. Each week, our couple fall out over another apparently trivial flashpoint. Each week, the stakes mount as Neil and Kim battle with words. But these are no ordinary arguments. The two outdo each other with increasingly absurd images, unexpected literary references and razor sharp analysis of their beloved's weaknesses. Underneath the cutting wit, however, there is an unmistakable tenderness.
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Before They Were Famous (b03hwd2h)
Series 2
Episode 6
Even the most successful of writers have, at some point, had to take day jobs to pay the bills.
Ian Leslie presents the second series of this Radio 4 spoof documentary, which sheds light on the often surprising jobs done by the world's best known writers in the days before they were able to make a living from their art.
In a project of literary archaeology, Leslie unearths archive examples of early work by great writers, including Fortune Cookie messages written by Germaine Greer, a political manifesto by the young JK Rowling, and a car manual written by Dan Brown. In newspaper articles, advertising copy, and company correspondence, we get a fascinating glimpse into the embryonic development of our best-loved literary voices.
We may know them today for their novels, plays or poems but, once upon a time, they were just people with a dream - and a rent bill looming at the end of the month.
Producers: Anna Silver and Claire Broughton
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b06vkl57)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster as Jeremy Corbyn challenges David Cameron over his plan to demolish "sink estates" and MPs back calls for an English anthem at sporting events.
The Commons holds a SNP-led debate on the economy, VW UK tells MPs it will not pay compensation over the emissions scandal and peers criticise moves to strip them of the power to veto new regulations.
THURSDAY 14 JANUARY 2016
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b06vjc2g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b06x8y06)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b06vjc2j)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b06vjc2l)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b06vjc2n)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b06vjc2q)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b06wqz81)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Krish Kandiah, President of the London School of Theology.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b06vmpyj)
New fishing rules, Lamb sales, Farm shops
On today's programme Charlotte Smith is talking about fish, farm shops and future sales of British lamb.
We're out on a boat in the North Sea to meet fishermen from Peterhead who are unhappy with new European fishing rules. They're now banned from throwing certain species of fish back into the sea if they exceed their quota and they claim this could threaten the Scottish fishing fleet. We also hear from the view from the Marine Conservation Society.
Sarah Falkingham reports from Darlington where British sheep farmers are talking about competition from New Zealand lamb and whether they'd be better off in or out of the European Union.
And Anna Hill has been shopping in our series looking at farmers selling direct to us the consumer. Farmers have sold produce at the farm gate for centuries but many have opened farm shops in recent years. Anna is in Mulbarton, near Norwich to meet a family who began with a few punnets of strawberries and who've expanded their business to sell meat and wine too.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sybil Ruscoe.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0sry)
Snail Kite
Michael Palin presents the snail kite from the Florida Everglades. Unlike many birds of prey which are known for their speed and agility, the snail kite hunts at a leisurely pace, one which matches its prey; and here in Florida's swamps, it is on the lookout for the apple snail.
To pick them out of floating vegetation the kite has evolved long needle-like claws, and its slender, viciously - hooked bill is perfect for snipping the snails' muscles and winkling them out of their shells. Snail kites are common across wetlands in South and Central America, but rare in Florida where there are around one thousand birds. Drainage of these marshes has made them scarce, but popular with bird watchers.
It's easy to see why, because snail kites are striking birds with their orange feet and black and red bill. The males are ash-grey apart from a white band at the base of their tails. Females and young birds are browner and more mottled. In times of drought, they will eat turtles, crabs or rodents, but these avian gourmets always return to their favourite dish of, escargots.
THU 06:00 Today (b06vmr1k)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b06vmr1m)
Saturn
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet Saturn with its rings of ice and rock and over 60 moons. In 1610, Galileo used an early telescope to observe Saturn, one of the brightest points in the night sky, but could not make sense of what he saw: perhaps two large moons on either side. When he looked a few years later, those supposed moons had disappeared. It was another forty years before Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens solved the mystery, realizing the moons were really a system of rings. Successive astronomers added more detail, with the greatest leaps forward in the last forty years. The Pioneer 11 spacecraft and two Voyager missions have flown by, sending back the first close-up images, and Cassini is still there, in orbit, confirming Saturn, with its rings and many moons, as one of the most intriguing and beautiful planets in our Solar System.
With
Carolin Crawford
Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge
Michele Dougherty
Professor of Space Physics at Imperial College London
And
Andrew Coates
Deputy Director in charge of the Solar System at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b06x96bk)
The Vanishing Man
Episode 4
Laura Cumming charts the obsession of a 19th century Reading bookseller with a portrait of Charles I - painted when the Monarch was a young man on a visit to Madrid. The Spanish genius Velasquez painted very few pictures, so did John Snare discover a long-lost treasure? And if so, where is it now?
Episode 4:
The Velasquez has been restored to Snare but he has now vanished - until the portrait is advertised for show on Broadway in 1860. The Reading bookseller has fled to America.
This is a story about the intense emotions that great art can provoke - passions that sometimes verge on the irrational and which transcend considerations of value.
John Snare's conviction about the painting he bought evolved into a dispute with those who had more money, power and influence. In a sense, the missing Velasquez became a battleground for class war and the individual against the establishment.
But at the heart of the story lies a work of art, created with such skill and delicacy that it inspired the fiercest of feelings and continues to exert its mysterious pull to this day.
Read by Siobhan Redmond
Written by Laura Cumming
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06vmr1p)
Commander of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Lieutenant Colonel Lucy Giles
In December 2015, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst appointed its first female college commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lucy Giles, the first woman to be given the role in 110 years. Lt Col Giles talks to Jenni about her military career, what it's like being a woman in the forces, and what she hopes to achieve in her new role.
A new method of analysing crime statistics has found that violence against women has been increasing since 2009 contrary to mainstream thinking. We talk to Professor Sylvia Walby from Lancaster University about how these findings challenge beliefs that violent crime is predominately a problem of violence against men and that the rate of violent crime is decreasing.
Aine Carlin shows us how to Cook the Perfect vegan Quesadilla, from a recipe in her new book The New Vegan.
Plus Jane Fallon talks about her latest novel "Strictly Between Us" - just how far would you go if you suspect your friend's husband is cheating.
And a look at the work of the artist Evelyn Dunbar probably best known for her work as an official war artist during the Second World War, currently on show at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester.
Presenter Jenni Murray
Producer Beverley Purcell.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06vmr1t)
Toni Morrison - Beloved
Episode 9
By Toni Morrison
Adapted by Patricia Cumper
Toni Morrison's seminal 1987 novel about a haunted house in the era that followed the abolition of slavery in the United States is adapted for radio for the first time. Toni Morrison's masterpiece melds horror and poetry as it tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery by crossing the Ohio river, but who, eighteen years later, is still not free.
Only women remain at the house at 124 Bluestone Road and their isolation is becoming dangerous.
Original music by Jon Nicholls
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b06vmr1w)
Molenbeek, Through the Looking Glass
After the terror attacks in Paris, the world's attention turned to an inner-city district of the Belgian capital, Brussels, where several of the attackers came from. Molenbeek has been notorious for many years as a breeding-ground for Islamist extremism - and the Belgian government vowed to "clean it up". But do the authorities really have any plan to prevent the radicalisation of young Belgians? Tim Whewell has been travelling back and forth to Brussels since the Paris attacks to talk to local people as they hold up a mirror to themselves and search for explanations - and attempt to have a dialogue with a sometimes dysfunctional state.
Lode Desmet producing.
THU 11:30 Bus Lines (b06vmw29)
First Bus company run a writing competition for their drivers. Hop on board to meet those who have taken part. David from Glasgow won the annual Company Short Story Competition with his moving tale of a homeless man, inspired by the tramp he spotted whilst driving through the city centre one Christmas; Sue loves the freedom of driving a bus around Bristol and writes poems and stories for her family to show them how much she loves them, while Lou wants to write a novel based on her experiences as a bus driver "You have a lot of weird and wonderful experiences driving a bus" she says "I even had passengers come to my wedding."
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b06vjc2s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b06kvg8c)
14 January 1916 - Isabel Graham
On this day four Germans were recaptured after attempting to escape a Prisoner of War Camp, and Isabel discovers Belgian refugees in Folkestone.
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b06vmxny)
VW compensation, Subscription traps, Bereavement damages
Volkswagen can't seem to make up its mind over whether or not it will compensate UK motorists affected by the emissions scandal. First it said it would not. Then its global CEO appeared to say it would. Now its UK Managing Director has put his position in writing, and it's not good news for anyone hoping for a pay-out. His letter was written to the chair of the Transport Select Committee, Louise Ellman MP. We hear from her and also the motoring journalist, Steve Fowler.
Trading Standards officers are urging banks to provide better compensation to customers who become victims of so-called "subscription traps". These are offers or free trials in which people are tricked into allowing companies to take regular amounts of money out of their bank account. Large numbers of people are being misled into setting up Continuous Payment Authorities when they buy things online. Trading Standards have told You & Yours that it's become one of the biggest threats facing consumers.
Personal injury lawyers are calling for a change in the law in England and Wales to provide better compensation for the relatives of people who die as a result of negligence. Currently after a fatal accident, only the husband or wife of the person who died can claim bereavement damages, or the parents of children under 18 who have died. Other relatives are excluded. A Private Members' Bill, currently going through parliament, aims to change this and bring the law into line with that in Scotland where judges have discretion. We ask who should be allowed to claim and since no amount of money can compensate for the loss of a loved one, what is the purpose of bereavement damages?
Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.
THU 12:57 Weather (b06vjc2v)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b06wqzk6)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 The Ever Widening War (b06wc8mh)
The Atlantic War
The year 1917 was a watershed for WW1. It began and ended with two momentous events - American's entry into the war and Russia's collapse amidst revolution. Both events had a profound impact on the course of world history. In this programme, Professor Sir Christopher Clark focuses on 1917 as a turning point in the conflict, examining why America entered the First World War and showing how this was the decisive factor in the outcome of the conflict.
At the Brookwood American military cemetery, Chris encounters German Americans among the names of the war dead and ponders the impact of the First World War on this ethnic group in America.
Finally, he argues that while the war established American pre-eminence in the world it also turned America in on itself, isolating it from the world's affairs. The result was a vacuum at the core of the new world order - a dangerous lack of cohesion that would leave it vulnerable to further shocks.
With John Thompson, Dominic Lieven, Gary Gerstle and Craig Rahanian.
Sir Christopher Clark is Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power, Iron Kingdom and - most recently - the highly acclaimed and award-winning The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War. In 2014, he presented Month of Madness on BBC Radio 4 about the outbreak of the First World War. You can listen to that series online by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7p27 or clicking on the related link below.
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b06vkjc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b03j5j4c)
Two Pipe Problems
I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends
By Michael Chaplin.
Following the sad death of Richard Briers earlier this year, in the first of these two final episodes of Two Pipe Problems, Stanley Baxter as Sandy is joined by Geoffrey Palmer as his friend and fellow sleuth William Parnes.
A new chef is in the kitchen at The Old Beeches and he's cooking up a storm and delighting the residents, with Sandy as his willing and enthusiastic sous-chef. But things begin to go badly wrong after a visiting concert party sing a Beatles song which triggers unhappy memories for Albie the Chef (played by the late Felix Dexter).
William and Sandy go in search of Albie and his son, and a successful father and son reunion is celebrated in song.
Young Terrell Forde, who recently starred in Matilda in the West End, joins the company to play and sing the role of Albie's son, accompanied by David Shaw-Parker as his step dad, David Holt as memory man Billy, and Tracey Wiles as the warm hearted Old Beeches care assistant Karen.
Cast:
Sandy Boyle .......................Stanley Baxter
William Parnes ...................Geoffrey Palmer
Albie ...................................Felix Dexter
Karen/ Sadie ......................Tracy Wiles
Billy ....................................David Holt
Edgar/ Lewis ......................David Shaw-Parker
Jonathan ............................Terrell Forde
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b06vmxpk)
Yorkshire in the Dark
Yorkshire looks different in the dark. Helen Mark looks up into the heavens and deep underground for a new understanding of England's biggest county.
Off-road cycling in the Dales becomes a lot more thrilling when you strike out into the dark and, armed with an infra-red nghtscope you realise just how busy the forests of the North York Moors National Park are after sunset.
Helen will also be discovering how the Brontë sisters filled the long nights in the Haworth Parsonage and mining precious Blue John in the caverns of the Peak District.
Producer: Alasdair Cross.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b06vjh95)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b06vjlbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b06vmypd)
Alejandro Inarritu on The Revenant
With Francine Stock
The Oscar winning director of Birdman, Alejandro Inarritu discusses his western The Revenant, which tested his actors, including Leonardo Di Caprio, to their limits and was reportedly described as a living hell by members of the crew.
Director Lenny Abrahamson describes just how he made Room, a movie mainly set in a 11 x 11 foot cell.
Critic Catherine Bray assesses the runners and riders in this year's Oscars race.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b06vmzdt)
The 100,000 Genome Project, Stem cell doping, Nuclear waste, Dinosaur sex
The 100,000 Genome Project aims to sequence the DNA of 100,000 patients. One of those patients is four-year-old Georgia Walburn-Green. Her symptoms did not fit into any known disease category. Prof Maria Bitner-Glindzicz at University College London used early results from the 100,000 Genome project to diagnose Georgia's condition.
Roland Pease reports on helping stem cells survive using a kind of 'blood paint'. By dipping the cells in myoglobin, researchers at Bristol University have found a way to improve both the vigour and survival of stem cells.
The expanding nuclear programme in the UK will continue to produce nuclear waste - in lower volumes than previously produced, but we already have a large stockpile that has already been produced over the last 50 years. Countries around the world are facing a similar challenge: What do we do with the waste? Dame Sue Ion, engineer and expert advisor to the nuclear industry, discusses common practices and alternative approaches to nuclear waste disposal.
Many dinosaurs had big, iconic features like frills, plates, horns and spines that may have been tools or weapons, but Dr David Hone's (Queen Mary University of London) research on the small, herbivorous dinosaur Protoceratops andrewsi reveals that they may also serve another purpose in the dinosaur society: sexual selection. Could these features be what attracts one dinosaur to another?
Producer: Deborah Cohen and Jen Whyntie
Assistant Producer: Julia Lorke.
THU 17:00 PM (b06w5b0d)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b06vjc2x)
Three men have been convicted for taking part in the biggest burglary in British history
THU 18:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b06vmzdy)
Series 5
Episode 2
John Finnemore - writer and star of Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore's Double Acts, regular guest on The Now Show and The Unbelievable Truth - returns for a fifth series of his multi-award-winning sketch show, joined as ever by a cast of Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan.
This second episode sees the voice in John's head push him to tipping point; a new approach to the News; and, well, since you ask him for a tale of espionage...
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme won the BBC Audio Drama Award for 'Best Scripted Comedy with Live Audience' in 2015; and a Radio Academy Silver Award for Comedy in 2014.
"One of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" - The Guardian
"The best sketch show in years, on television or radio" - The Radio Times
"The inventive sketch show ... continues to deliver the goods" - The Daily Mail
"Superior comedy" - The Observer
Written by and starring ... John Finnemore
Producer: Ed Morrish
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b06vmzf0)
From the TB tests at Brookfield, David and Ruth are pleased that there are no reactors. Ruth has identified some suitable cows in Ireland and possibly some other farms, to consider.
Eddie and Joe are relieved that last night's fire wasn't large - Eddie will knock up another shed for Oliver and Caroline, so that they don't notice anything and involve the insurers.
Joe informs Tom that he has seen his two missing pigs, Ronnie and Reggie - they've probably gone into the Grundy field. Eddie and Adam help Tom in chasing them, and they find them eating the Grundys' turkey pellets. As a finder's fee, Tom agrees to buy Joe a few pints. Tom mentions to Adam that Rob has done an interview with the Echo about Berrow, being rather scathing. Joe admits he won't be sorry to see the back of Berrow.
Adam tries to persuade Ian to come with him tomorrow to Charlie's leaving party (unaware of what Ian knows about Adam and Charlie from Rob). Ian bluntly tells Adam he'll have to go alone - he's not interested in seeing Charlie.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b06vmzkv)
Oscar Nominations Special
John Wilson reports on the nominations for this year's Academy Awards, including interviews with actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Alicia Vikander, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence.
John talks to Amy director Asif Kapadia (Best Documentary), costume designer Sandy Powell, who is up for two awards, and Brooklyn screenwriter Nick Hornby. Plus Film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh gives an overview.
Juliet Stevenson discusses the life and work of actor Alan Rickman, with whom she starred on stage at the RSC and in films such as Truly Madly Deeply.
Producer: Timothy Prosser.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06vmr1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b06vmznt)
Momentum
Should Labour MPs be scared of Jeremy Corbyn-supporting movement Momentum? The group says it is attempting to build on the the groundswell of support for Jeremy Corbyn. Still in its infancy it has already drawn the ire of Labour MPs and activists and sections of the press. They've been compared to the Militant Tendency that took over Liverpool Council in the early 1980's. They've been accused of aspiring to deselect disloyal MPs and have been described as a hard left rabble. Some Labour MPs are worried about their rise, but what is Momentum and what do they want? Stephen Bush of the New Statesman has been to Walthamstow, home of just one of these new groups, to find out.
THU 20:30 In Business (b06vmzv5)
California - Agriculture and Migration
Peter Day travels to California to discover how migrant workers have transformed farming and agriculture. He speaks to families from Japan and Mexico - who've made California their home and learns about the history of mass migration and its impact on the land.
Producer: Rosamund Jones.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b06vmzdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b06vmr1m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b06vn2gl)
Anglican Church Avoids Schism
Sanctions for the Episcopal church; Alan Rickman's casting director; and how spacesuits have evolved.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b06vn2gn)
The Beach
Episode 9
Our first Book of Bedtime of 2016 celebrates twenty years since the publication of Alex Garland's cult novel, The Beach. Joe Dempsie reads this thrilling tale of paradise sought and lost.
Jaded young backpacker Richard is in Thailand looking for a place unspoilt by tourism. An encounter with a dead man leaves him with a map for 'the beach', a select traveller community cut off from the degradations of vacationing westerners. He joins the commune, but his breadcrumb trail, fantasies of Vietnam War films, and very real armed drug guards risks turning Eden into hell on earth.
'Lord of the Flies' meets 'Heart of Darkness' among the beautiful, young drop-outs, dreamers and drug-takers of the mid-1990s.
Abridged by ..... Sara Davies
Produced by ..... Jenny Thompson
Read by ..... Joe Dempsie
Music ..... Narayan by The Prodigy.
THU 23:00 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01by7cs)
Series 4
Sheffield
Comedian-activist Mark Thomas heads to Sheffield City Hall in search of new proposals for his People's Manifesto.
This week's agenda:
1) Councils to plant fruit trees in public spaces
2) 3 Years' free education for all between age 25 and retirement
and
3) Buckingham Palace to be converted into homeless flats
Plus lots of "any other business" suggestions for the studio audience, including a novel approach to reducing knife crime.
Written and presented by Mark Thomas
Produced by Colin Anderson.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b06vn4dl)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on the latest EU referendum row. Also on the programme: complaints that British soldiers who served in Iraq are being hounded, Peers debate the state of the NHS, and MPs boldly go - in a debate on space. Editor: Rachel Byrne.
FRIDAY 15 JANUARY 2016
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b06vjc3v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b06x96bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b06vjc3x)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b06vjc3z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b06vjc41)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b06vjc43)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b06w4vwc)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Krish Kandiah, President of the London School of Theology.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b06vn4nj)
Milk prices, Tree charter, Frome Food Assembly
The dairy crisis continues and today the National Farmers' Union brands the latest cut in milk prices as 'morally wrong'. Gloucestershire dairy farmer, Rob Harrison, who is chair of the NFU dairy board, is warning that more dairy farmers will go out of business in 2016. For an overview of the prospects for the industry, we also hear from a dairy analyst who says the only way to end the misery for farmers is to cut production.
Seven-hundred and ninety-nine years ago Henry III created a Charter for Trees and the Woodland Trust is creating a new Tree Charter for the 21st Century. We find out how trees are important in multi-cultural Britain and how planting trees can help farming.
The Frome Food Assembly in Somerset was one of the winners in last year's BBC Food & Farming Awards. The Assembly unites local shoppers with local farmers and food producers. Farming Today reporter Andrew Dawes joined customers as they collected their meat, milk, cheese and veg.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith
Producer: Sybil Ruscoe.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0rtf)
Harpy Eagle
Michael Palin presents the Harpy Eagle flying over the Brazilian rainforest. This is one of the most powerful birds of prey and links mythological corpse-bearers, the coat of arms of Panama and the Harry Potter films.
In Greek mythology harpies were creatures with the bodies of eagles and the faces of women, who seized people in their claws. A human body is beyond the real-life harpy eagle, but with its massive 12 cm talons, it can carry a full-grown sloth or an adult howler monkey. Being versatile hunters, the eagles catch a range of birds and reptiles and can easily hoist porcupines and armadillos into the treetops to feed their young.
Harpy Eagles breed in the rainforests of central and South America. They're blackish- grey above and white below with a black collar and a divided crest which gives them an uncanny resemblance to Buckbeak the Hippogriff in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.
FRI 06:00 Today (b06vn6zp)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b06vjhgs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b06vjstn)
The Vanishing Man
Episode 5
Laura Cumming charts the obsession of a 19th century Reading bookseller with a portrait of Charles I - painted when the Monarch was a young man on a visit to Madrid. The Spanish genius Velasquez painted very few pictures, so did John Snare discover a long-lost treasure? And if so, where is it now?
Episode 5:
In 1888 a Velasquez portrait of Prince Charles is reported as being lent to the Reading Art Museum by the widow of John Snare. Somehow the picture has returned to Britain.
This is a story about the intense emotions that great art can provoke - passions that sometimes verge on the irrational and which transcend considerations of value.
John Snare's conviction about the painting he bought evolved into a dispute with those who had more money, power and influence. In a sense, the missing Velasquez became a battleground for class war and the individual against the establishment.
But at the heart of the story lies a work of art, created with such skill and delicacy that it inspired the fiercest of feelings and continues to exert its mysterious pull to this day.
Read by Siobhan Redmond
Written by Laura Cumming
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b06vn6zr)
Marie Kondo, Hand-me-down music, Shami Chakrabarti, Nana cafe
Japan's professional cleaner Marie Kondo makes a living out of transforming people's messy homes into spaces of beauty, peace and inspiration. Her method is called KonMari and her secret is to focus on what brings joy, not what you want to get rid of. Jenni asks Marie about her so-called life-changing tidying technique.
Shami Chakrabarti talks about her decision to step down as Director of the civil rights organisation Liberty. Three years ago she was named as one of the top 100 women in Britain on the first Woman's Hour Power List.
As part of Woman's Hour's series Women in One, Abigail Hollick goes to Liverpool to ask women personal questions. Today she talks to a woman about being widowed after 57 years of marriage.
Archive feature - Reporter Judi Herman visited Nana Cafe in Hackney, London which was staffed by volunteer older women, putting a lifetime of cooking and nurturing skills to use.
Music journalists Jude Rogers and Mark Sutherland discuss whether we can or should pass our musical taste down to our children.
Presenter: Jenni Murray.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b06vn6zt)
Toni Morrison - Beloved
Episode 10
By Toni Morrison
Adapted by Patricia Cumper
Toni Morrison's seminal 1987 novel about a haunted house in the era that followed the abolition of slavery in the United States is adapted for radio for the first time. Toni Morrison's masterpiece melds horror and poetry as it tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery by crossing the Ohio river, but who, eighteen years later, is still not free.
The women's isolation at One Twenty-Four Bluestone Road has put them all in peril, and Denver has decided to seek help from the community. After that, news spread like wildfire; news that the ghost of Sethe's other daughter, who she chose to kill rather than allow to be bonded back into slavery, has come back to reap her revenge.
Original music by Jon Nicholls
Singing arranged by Dominique Le Gendre
Sound design by Caleb Knightley
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.
FRI 11:00 Every Case Tells a Story (b05wxx6x)
Treason on Trial
Clive Anderson looks at a variety of famous or infamous cases and retells the story that the case brought into the public eye.
In this programme he explores the 1945 trial of William Joyce - Lord Haw-Haw - for High Treason.
Featuring Professor Colin Holmes, Geoffrey Robertson QC and Professor Jean Seaton.
FRI 11:30 The Cold Swedish Winter (b06vn6zy)
Series 2
Episode 3
Everything works so well in Sweden that Geoff misses complaining about life. It's making him homesick. Then Ian suggests they try making a satirical podcast about Sweden - with seismic results.
The second series Danny Robins' sitcom, set and recorded in Sweden.
Starring Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner Adam Riches, Danny Robins and a cast of Sweden's most popular TV comedy actors.
Geoff has moved to Yxsjö in northern Sweden, to start a new life with his girlfriend Linda in the (frequently frosty) bosom of her family.
This year, new dad Geoff has plenty of fresh experiences to contend with, including three varieties of pickled cabbage, sinister Christmas elves and an unpleasant visit from Sweden's answer to the BNP. It's all worth it though for Linda and baby John.
While Geoff and Linda now have their own place, he still has to deal with her disapproving Dad, Sten her alarmingly flirtatious mother Gunilla and her apparently suicidal, arsonist brother, Anders.
Geoff is determined to be more Swedish than the Swedes as he takes to his new country with renewed enthusiasm, and he has help, in the form of fellow expat, cynical Ian, an unending source of (slightly misleading) information, and Soran, a Danish Kurd with Swedophobia.
Geoff ...... Adam Riches
Sten ...... Thomas Oredsson
Linda ...... Sissela Benn
Gunilla ...... Anna-Lena Brundin
Johan ...... Andre Wickstrom
Ian ...... Danny Robins
Pedestrian ...... Thomas Ericsson
Writer: Danny Robins
Additional Material by Ben Kersley
Director: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2016.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b06vjc45)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b06kvgfd)
15 January 1916 - Norman Harris
On this day Emmeline Pankhurst was detained in New York after arriving for a tour of North America, and in Folkestone there are new arrivals at the Police station.
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole.
SECRET SHAKESPEARE
A Shakespeare quote is hidden in each Home Front episode that is set in 1916. These were first broadcast in 2016, the 400th anniversary year of the playwright's death. Can you spot them all?
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b06vn700)
School admissions, Horse racing, Pensions
The union representing most headteachers says the primary school admissions system - under pressure because of a shortage of places - is at best "confusing" for parents and at worst "potentially harmful" to children's education. We report on the rise of so-called "titan schools" - those with more than 800 pupils - up from just 16 in 2010 to 88 today. Reporter Melanie Abbott will be live at the UK's biggest primary school. What's it like to teach and learn there? Why aren't successful academies following suit? We'll hear about parents who feel the system should be better organised and ask how that might be managed.
We'll be at the races to find out about a dispute over how bookmakers should fund horseracing is causing big name bookmakers to sever ties with major racing events. Racecourse owners want bookies to pay more to sponsor races. Its all about the
10.75% levy placed on profits in betting shops that goes to racing events. The figure handed over to racing is in decline as people go online or on the phone to bet where there's no such charge. Those running small race meetings say they're struggling to find alternative funding.
And new research suggests that those retiring this year are feeling the best off that retirees have felt for years. Can that really be true? And if it is, how did that come about?
FRI 12:57 Weather (b06vjc47)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b06w4vwg)
A judge at the Old Bailey has ruled that there will be no trial of the facts into claims of child sexual abuse by Lord Janner who died at the end of last year - but a BBC investigation has heard evidence from 12 people who say they were abused by the labour peer. We hear the details, and speak to a former Director or Public Prosecutions about why no case will be heard.
Confusion over the role the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone will play in Labour's defence review.
Andrew Bomford reports on a project aimed at reducing bed blocking in hospitals. As the most recent figures for delayed discharges show the second highest number on record, former Health Minister Norman Lamb tells us that the current system of separating health and social care is ridiculous, and is exacerbating the problem.
Author Phillip Pullman, who resigned as patron of the Oxford literary festival because they don't pay authors who speak to their audience debate the issue with Colin Midson from the Port Eliot Literary Festival in Cornwall.
FRI 13:45 The Ever Widening War (b06wccbk)
The War Without End
In the final programme of his series, Professor Sir Christopher Clark explores the dark legacy of the First World War. Although the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 was the most elaborate in the history of warfare, Chris considers how the Treaty of Versailles created serious instabilities in the European post-war system, particularly alienating Germany and Russia. These instabilities were played out in the rise of nationalist movements in the 20s and 30s and the onset of the even more devastating Second World War in 1939.
Chris also examines the longer-term impact of the war across the globe, including in Asia and in the Middle East, where the legacy of the First World War still resonates in the names of Sykes-Picot and Lord Arthur Balfour. This, he argues, was a war that has never really ended, the 'calamity out of which all other calamities sprang'.
With Margaret Macmillan, Dominic Lieven, Brendan Simms and Mustafa Aksakal.
Readings by Ewan Bailey and Fernando Tiberini.
Sir Christopher Clark is Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power, Iron Kingdom and - most recently - the highly acclaimed and award-winning The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War. In 2014, he presented Month of Madness on BBC Radio 4 about the outbreak of the First World War. You can listen to that series online by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7p27 or clicking on the related link below.
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b06vmzf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b03j5775)
Two Pipe Problems
The House on the Marsh
In this final Two Pipe Problem, William and Sandy travel to a windswept wintry Suffolk in search of William's inheritance, where they are haunted by ghosts from the past and threats from the present, and William makes a life changing decision about his future.
This week marks the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, and his opera Peter Grimes is woven into this final episode of Two Pipe Problems. The opera is set in Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast from which Britten drew so much inspiration. Writer Michael Chaplin was inspired to create a story that drew on that landscape and the creation of Peter Grimes, but also paid homage to the genius of MR James' ghost story, Oh Whistle And I'll Come You, My Lad.
Stanley Baxter is once again joined by Geoffrey Palmer playing William, and Stephen Critchlow and Linda Broughton playing a mother and son who bear a grudge, in this haunting story - an entertaining and touching farewell to the series.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Catherine Bailey
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b06vn91z)
RHS Harlow Carr
Eric Robson and the panel answer questions from the postbag at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate. Matthew Wilson, Bob Flowerdew and Christine Walkden offer the advice.
Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Shorts (b06vn921)
The Time Being
Mole Man
The eighth season of the showcase for previously un-broadcast writers. Past series have brought new talent to a wider audience and provided a stepping stone for writers who have since gone on to enjoy further success on radio and in print - such as Tania Hershman, Heidi Amsinck, Sally Hinchcliffe, Joe Dunthorne and Rebecca F. John.
Episode 2: Mole Man by Matthew Abbott
Following the end of a relationship, a man becomes drawn to the unseen owner of a cottage who strings up dead moles outside.
Matthew Abbott is a teacher in a secondary school and, as such, Mole Man is his first foray into the world of published writing. Up to this point he has enjoyed writing purely for himself, family and friends. He is currently putting the finishing touches to a Young Adult novel. Matthew lives with his wife in Oxford.
Reader: Daniel Ryan
Writer: Matthew Abbott
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production on BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b06vn923)
David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Olwyn Hughes and Ed Stewart
Matthew Bannister on
David Bowie, art expert, fashion icon and media manipulator.
Alan Rickman, the actor most famous for playing villains from the Sheriff of Nottingham to Professor Snape.
Olwyn Hughes, the sister of the poet Ted Hughes who fiercely guarded his literary legacy and that of his late wife Sylvia Plath.
And Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, the Radio 1 and 2 DJ who presented Junior Choice.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b06vn925)
Weekend Stroke Deaths
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said this week that if you have a stroke at the weekends, you're 20% more likely to die. But is that true? We look at the evidence.
Are you more likely to win prizes with newer Premium Bonds? We ask Radio 4's Money Box presenter Paul Lewis if there is any truth in this.
A few weeks ago many newspapers were reporting that alcohol was the cause of 70% of Accident and Emergency attendances over the weekends. Did the newspapers misunderstand the research?
Why was the polling in the run up to the General Election last year so wrong? We speak to Professor John Curtice, lead author on a report using the 2015 British Social Attitudes Survey to see if they could come up with better data.
There is great excitement over rumours that one of the predictions Einstein made in his theory of General Relativity has finally been observed. We ask UCL physicist Dr Andrew Pontzen why this is big news.
Plus, is the air in Beijing is so bad that it's like smoking 40 cigarettes a day? We investigate.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b04b30mc)
Gill and Paul - Marriage and MSA
Fi Glover with a conversation between a woman dying from Multiple System Atrophy and her husband; they find they must dismiss the future they wanted and accept the one they have, proving again that it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
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 upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b06w24sj)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b06vjc49)
15/01/16 Lord Janner abuse allegations
Twelve former residents of children's homes have said they were abused by Lord Janner, an investigation by BBC News has found.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b06vn929)
Series 89
Episode 2
Series 89 of the satirical quiz. Miles Jupp is back in the chair, trying to keep order as an esteemed panel of guests take on the big (and not so big) news events of the week. Hugo Rifkind and Sarah Kendall are among the panellists joining Miles to tackle the news of the last seven days.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy Production.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b06vn990)
Ruth tells Jennifer that she has been to the auctioneers today - the sale of the dairy herd is in motion. It's the end of an era, just like for some local dairy farmers they know.
Jennifer reports to Shula that Phoebe has split up with Alex and it has all turned nasty.
Rob calls Jennifer to say that he and Helen can't make Charlie's leaving party tonight, as Helen is sick. Ron tells Helen it might have been awkward. Helen talks about some food ideas for the shop - lukewarm, Rob listens and says 'you know best'. Helen mentions that Kirsty thought she looked a bit peaky. Rob points out that Helen's positively blooming and starts to talk disparagingly about Kirsty.
Charlie's rather wounded by Rob's comments in an article about Berrow Farm, but can't be bothered to respond. At Charlie's leaving party, away from everyone, Charlie presses Adam on how he can let him go when he knows that Adam feels the same way he does. Adam admits that he loves Charlie - but he's a coward and can't stop him going. As Charlie goes, Adam pulls him back and asks him to stay a moment longer. They kiss passionately.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b06vn992)
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Rack Pack, Elizabeth
Leonardo DiCaprio, star of The Revenant which has recently been nominated for 12 Oscars, talks to Kirsty about the film's arduous production.
TV drama The Rack Pack tells the story of Britain's obsession with snooker in the mid-1980s and the rivalry between Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins and Steve Davis. Sports writer Alyson Rudd and film critic Andrew Collins review.
Author and contributing editor of The Bookseller, Cathy Rentzenbrink, considers the value of literary festivals to authors, following Philip Pullman's resignation as patron of the Oxford literary festival over its refusal to pay the writers who appear there.
Choreographer Will Tuckett and the playwright and librettist Alasdair Middleton discuss Elizabeth - a work of dance, music and theatre, exploring the life and loves of Queen Elizabeth I, and starring Zenaida Yanowsky and Carlos Acosta.
Presented by Kirsty Lang
Produced by Ella-mai Robey.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b06vn6zt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b06vnbcw)
Ken Livingstone, Alison McGovern MP, Dominic Raab MP, Ann Widdecombe
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from the Nexus Methodist Church in Bath with a panel including the Joint Chair of Labour's Defence Review Ken Livingstone, the chair of Progress Alison McGovern MP, Justice Minister Dominic Raab MP and the former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b06vnbcy)
Sing a New Song
Tom Shakespeare argues that we need a new national anthem, one that celebrates what's great about the whole country, reflects the diversity of the population and the values of modern society.
He suggests that existing anthem-like hymns such as Jerusalem, or the likes of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory won't do. Jerusalem, for example, talks of walking on England's mountains green, excluding the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish.
A new anthem, written and composed for the purpose, would actually mean something and would make us proud of what's great about the United Kingdom. It would be in tune with our times.
Producer: Arlene Gregorius.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b06kvm16)
11-15 January 1916
In the week when the Welsh and Scottish Trades Unions voted to oppose conscription, there's pressure at the Bevan to return more wounded men to duty.
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Shaun McKenna
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b06vjc4f)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b06vncgn)
Is Europe turning against migration?
Has Europe reached a tipping point in its attitude towards refugees and migrants?
The police have dropped a child sexual abuse investigation into the former head of the armed forces, Lord Bramall
Anglican leaders take measures against the US Episcopal Church for recognising gay marriage.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b06vncgq)
The Beach
Episode 10
Our first Book of Bedtime of 2016 celebrates twenty years since the publication of Alex Garland's cult novel, The Beach. Joe Dempsie reads this thrilling tale of paradise sought and lost.
Jaded young backpacker Richard is in Thailand looking for a place unspoilt by tourism. An encounter with a dead man leaves him with a map for 'the beach', a select traveller community cut off from the degradations of vacationing westerners. He joins the commune, but his breadcrumb trail, fantasies of Vietnam War films, and very real armed drug guards risks turning Eden into hell on earth.
'Lord of the Flies' meets 'Heart of Darkness' among the beautiful, young drop-outs, dreamers and drug-takers of the mid-1990s.
Abridged by ..... Sara Davies
Produced by ..... Jenny Thompson
Read by ..... Joe Dempsie
Music ..... Narayan by The Prodigy.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b06vkdz3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b06vncgs)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b04b2wzj)
Eugene and Margaret - Bread for Africa
Fi Glover introduces a couple who anticipated a quiet retirement before a visit to Tanzania made them determined to remedy the endemic starvation they saw by setting up a bakery. Last year no-one starved in Ifakara.
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 upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.