SATURDAY 12 MAY 2018

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b0b1p5t5)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b0b1tg9y)
The Language of Kindness, Episode 5

In Christie Watson's illuminating account of her twenty year nursing career she acquires a new understanding of kindness when the tables are turned. As her dad nears the end of his life, Christie bears witness to the dignity, peace and love offered by his nurse, and she in turn receives the solace and comfort that lie at the heart of what it means to be nursed. Finally, we accompany Christie on her last day and we end up in the car park where a memorable patient awaits her.

Read by Teresa Gallagher
Abridged by Penny Leicester
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b1p5t7)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b1p5t9)

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b1p5tc)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b0b1p5tf)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b27108)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Fellow of the Muslim Institute.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b0b1p5th)
In the classroom

Luke Jones and Eddie Mair present the news programme that starts with its listeners. Two listeners on the challenges of teaching. Plus Fi Glover with Your News. Email: ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b0b1p5tk)

The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b0b1tbln)
Gertrude Jekyll at 175

Gertrude Jekyll was born in the late 19th Century and, as a talented gardener and craftswoman, managed to forge a highly successful path in a male-dominated world.

This year marks the 175th anniversary of Gertrude's birth. Helen Mark heads to sunny Godalming in Surrey, to visit the home and gardens where Ms Jekyll defined her gardening style, bred new plant varieties, developed a life-long partnership with the architect Edwin Lutyens, and became the 'celebrity gardener' of her day.

Uncovering Gertrude Jekyll's talent, determination and focus, and considering her legacy today, we look at the impact this iconic gardener has had on Britain's private landscapes.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b0b1p5tn)
Farming Today This Week: How Animal Feed is Made

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b0b1p5tr)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b0b273z6)

News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b0b1p5tv)
Eliza Carthy

With Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson for parents, Eliza Carthy was unlikely to do anything else, but her enthusiasm, research and skill in arranging, writing and performing along with 2 Mercury Music Prize nominations has enabled her to fly the flag for folk music in England. She'll be playing live in the studio to Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny and talking about her latest album with her mother.

Radio 4 Listener and architect Toby Carr has set himself the challenge of sea kayaking to all the locations in the shipping forecast. We ask him how, why and what has led him to such a complicated challenge!

We're also joined by Martyn Waites, ex actor and stand-up comedian, now a crime-writer who has written under his own name and also the female pseudonym of Tania Carver.

Susannah Walker is a design historian who has written a book about her mother's hoarding, the extent of which was discovered after her death. She joins us to talk about the significance of 'things' and the stories behind them.

JP Devlin meets Brian Blessed and talks mainly about his beard.

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Child in Time by Deep Purple and Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy's album is called Anchor
Martyn Waites' book The Old Religion is out on 14th June
Brian Blessed's book is called The Panther In My Kitchen: My Wild Life With Animals
Susannah Walker's book is Life of Stuff.


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (b0b273z8)
Series 20, Kettering

Jay Rayner and his panel of cooking and eating experts are in Kettering. Dr Annie Gray, Andi Oliver, Sue Lawrence and Rob Owen Brown delve into the delicacies.

With the programme coming from the home of Weetabix, the panellists consider all things breakfast cereal - the ordinary and the extraordinary in equal measure.

They also discuss delicious uses for goats milk with the help of local goats cheese makers, offer up useful tips for creating exciting spring salads, and help audience members with culinary queries ranging from the use of grass clippings in cooking to surviving in a kitchen with no freezer.

Produced by Miranda Hinkley
Assistant Producer: Hester Cant

Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b0b273zb)

Steve Richards asks why Europe always torments Tory Prime Ministers. A new Mayor explains his difficult task. And what if parties of the left all worked together?

Editor: Peter Mulligan.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b0b1p5v0)
Toothpaste, Citizenship, Sparkling wine

Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.


SAT 12:00 News Summary (b0b1p5v3)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (b0b273zd)
Universal Credit and the self-employed

The latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (b0b1tmb6)
Series 96, 11/05/2018

Miles Jupp is joined by Jeremy Hardy, Kiri Pritchard-Mclean, Helen Lewis and Fern Brady satirical review of the week's news.
The panel discuss the USA's withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, Vladimir Putin's surprise fourth term in office and Dr Dre's legal dispute with a gynaecologist of the same name,

The chair's script was written by Madeleine Brettingham, James Kettle and Robin Morgan, with additional material by Mike Shepherd and Catherine Brinkworth.

The Producer is Joe Nunnery

A BBC Studios Production.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b0b1p5v6)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b0b1p5v8)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b0b1tmbb)
Kirsty Blackman MP, Dr Liam Fox MP, Richard Leonard MSP, Drew Liquerman

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from the Burgh Hall in Dunoon, Scotland, with a panel including Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party at Westminster Kirsty Blackman MP, the Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox MP, the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Richard Leonard MSP, and the Chair of Republicans Overseas Scotland Drew Liquerman.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b0b1p5vb)

Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (b0b277ld)
Inspector Chen Novels, Don't Cry, Tai Lake

Poet and gourmand Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau returns in a new drama based on Qiu Xiaolong's crime novels. Chen's lakeside holiday is interrupted by the violent death of the boss of the Wuxi Number One Chemical Company. Will his blossoming relationship with a young environmental engineer compromise his covert investigation? Dramatised by Joy Wilkinson.

Song composed by Neil Brand
Directed by Toby Swift

'Don't Cry, Tai Lake' is the seventh of Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen novels, all 9 of which have been dramatised for BBC Radio 4. They have sold over 1m copies and been translated into 20 languages.
"Witty and thrilling" The Daily Telegraph.
"A welcome alternative to Scandi-noir" The Observer.


SAT 15:30 Instrument Makers (b0b1r1d6)
Series 1, Thinking Inside the Box

Emmanuel Pariselle welcomes renowned musicians Andy Cutting and Katie Howson to his home, just outside the picturesque French city of Poitiers, where he builds diatonic button accordions for some of Europe's finest players.

In his workshop, Emmanuel combines technical skill with a passion for problem-solving, as he aims to build the perfect squeezebox for every musician. Here, he discusses how the instruments are built and maintained, the special relationship between a musician and a maker, and what qualities make a great musician.

We hear how the arrival of the Sheng from China in the early-1800s gave birth to the whole accordion family, including harmonium, mouth organ, concertina and melodeon, and how the instruments have travelled around the world to Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and Quebec.

Emmanuel talks us through the key process of tuning the reeds, operating the bellows with a foot pedal and filing off tiny amounts of steel each time to adjust the pitch.

Later, we hear him take a nervous Katie's two-row button accordion apart to try and diagnose a clickety rattle in the action. And, on a box he designed and built with Emmanuel, Andy demonstrates the difference in what the left-hand and right-hands do and explains that the longer he plays the instrument, the more it plays how he wants it to play.

Ever wondered what a free reed is? Or what distinguishes an accordion from a melodeon? Or whether you can make a musical instrument from plywood? This is a unique insight into this fascinating instrument - and three friends' relationship with it - with stories and music along the way.

Produced by Kellie While
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b0b1p5vg)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Step Change on their new show Fusion, Exam stress, Gynaecological health

The inclusive dance company Step Change put on its first Latin and Ballroom dance inspired showcase this week bringing together disabled and non-disabled dancers from a wide range of dance backgrounds. We hear from Founder Rashmi Becker and Adrienne Armorer a wheelchair dancer.

In just under two weeks time the Irish people will have a referendum on the 8th amendment of the Constitution - a piece of law which gives equal rights to a pregnant mother and a foetus meaning that abortion is only available if the life of the mother is in danger. We hear from a group of women about why there's confusion surrounding the vote and from Dervla Mcdonald a journalist who writes for the Irish Independent.

We'll discuss why retail is still considered a good employer for women with Catherine Shuttleworth - retail marketing consultant and founder of Savvy Marketing; Kim Winser - CEO of Winser London, and Simmone Haywood - Head of Talent at Marks & Spencer; Carol Kane - co-CEO of online fashion retailer boohoo.com and the retail consultant Mary Portas.

We look at why some women are too shy to get help early on when they notice worrying symptoms associated with the vulva or vagina? We hear from Karen Hobbs who went to the doctors after unusual bleeding, Dr Bella Smith a GP and Athena Lamnisos from the charity The Eve Appeal.

We hear from Katy Morgan Davis who escaped a far left wing communist cult in 2013 after 30 years in captivity. Five years on she tells us about her memoir Caged Bird and her life born into the collective. Plus writer Christina Paterson on how she picked herself up after a series of events meant that she faced her 50th birthday without a job, a partner or family. And as exam season begins how can parent's help their children through the stress of revision. Advice from Dr Anna Colton a charted clinical psychologist, Matthew Burton the assistant head at Thornhill Academy and students Aimee and Charmiane.

Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Beverley Purcell.


SAT 17:00 PM (b0b1p5vj)
Saturday PM

Rebecca Jones presents coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b0b1p5th)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0b1p5vl)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b0b1p5vn)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b1p5vq)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b0b1p5vs)
Eddie Marsan, Dean Burnett, Split Britches, Mary Gauthier, Charles Watson, Emma Freud, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Emma Freud are joined by Eddie Marsan, Dean Burnett and Split Britches for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Mary Gauthier and Charles Watson.

Producer: Debbie Kilbride.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b0b277lh)
Gina Haspel

Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b0b1p5vv)
Anon, Life and Fate, Patrick Melrose, Jesmyn Ward: Sing Unburied Sing, Asterix at London's Jewish Museum

Is a world without crime a utopia or a dystopia if the price is total constant surveillance by the state? British thriller Anon is set in a world where wanting to be anonymous makes you the subject of society's suspicions. It stars Clive Owen as a detective investigating gruesome murders.
Russian theatre director Lev Dodin's production of Vasily Grossman's novel Life and Fate comes to the UK for a very limited run
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in David Nicholl's adaptation of the Patrick Melrose stories for Sky Atlantic.
Jesmyn Ward's novel Sing Unburied Sing was one of Barack Obama's best books of 2017 and has also won America's National Book Award. It examines the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power - and limitations - of family bonds.
A new exhibition looking at the life of the co-creator of the indomitable Gaul Asterix is opening at at London's Jewish Museum
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sathnam Sanghera, Lisa Appignanesi and Kit Davis. The producer is Oliver Jones.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b0b2780g)
Listen to Britain

The 1942 black and white propaganda film Listen to Britain, directed by Humphrey Jennings, summed up our nation in just twenty memorable minutes of sounds and pictures. Inspired by watching and discussing this masterpiece, writers Julie Burchill and Dominic Grace set out to discover what Britishness means now.

They visit some of the places featured in the film , from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom to Trafalgar Square, and they report from Hastings, Newport and Bradford on pride, steel, lies, pubs, drag, flags and poncification.

Produced by Peter Everett
A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:00 Drama (b0b1ptdp)
Love Henry James: The American, Episode 1

Love Henry James: The American Ep1/2
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray

Humour and heartache collide in this early James novel. When Christopher Newman, an American and self-made millionaire businessmen arrives in Paris he falls in love with Claire de Cintre. A wife from an aristocratic French Family is exactly what he's looking for, but he's unaware of the dark mystery surrounding her family, and the misery and mayhem they have yet to cause.

Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b0b1p5vx)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 FutureProofing (b0b1syd3)
Animals

FutureProofing presenters Timandra Harkness and Leo Johnson find out what might happen when we properly understand animals and how much our relationship with them will change in future.
They meet elephants in California, learn about "talking" dolphins in Florida, and discover the technological possibilities that could completely transform what we think of and how we act towards animals in future. From the possibilities of enhancing animals with technology, to ending all farming and finding a new way to grow animal protein that would do away with all slaughter, could the future herald greater equality between sentient creatures on our planet? Will humans and animals develop a partnership of equals?

Producer: Jonathan Brunert.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b0b1q8v9)
Heat 11, 2018

(11/17)
The penultimate heat of the 2018 Brain of Britain tournament features four contenders from the north of England bidding for one of the few remaining places in the semi-finals. Russell Davies chairs the contest from MediaCityUK in Salford.

This week the contenders are:
Margaret Brecknell, a shop assistant manager from Garstang in Lancashire
Diana England, a housewife from Penrith in Cumbria
Paul Gibbons, an electron microscope technician from Prescot on Merseyside
Greg Spiller, a software engineer, recently retired, from Stockport.

As always, a listener also stands to win a prize by beating the Brains with questions of his or her own devising.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 To Rhyme and Chime for a Chair (b0b1pthy)

Join the gravelly-voiced Welsh poet Twm Morys as he takes a sonorous journey into a world of sound-harmony and chiming consonants, to explore the ancient craft of Cynghanedd.

Over many centuries, the people of Wales developed a unique set of poetic patterns. Unlike most English language forms, these focus on the sounds produced within a line and the echoes left after, rather than solely on the words themselves. The most famous of these forms is Cynghanedd, a unique sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration, and rhyme according to very strict rules. Used in Welsh-language poetry since the sixth century, it's a form which is famously brought to life every year at the National Eisteddfod music and poetry festival where one lucky bard is awarded with a Chair for writing the best piece of Cynghanedd.

But it's not just a craft for scholars and bardic masters. This patterning of consonants, rhyme, and stress is practised by people from all walks of life - in village halls across the country and even in a weekly competition on the national Welsh language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru. It's thought that there are more practitioners now than at any time in the past.

The rules of Cynghanedd, though suited especially to Welsh because of the language's unique use of consonant mutations, can equally be applied to any language under the sun - even to Tolkien's made-up ones. In English, "Do not go gentle into that good night" is a perfect example of Cynghanedd. It's a form enjoyed by many English-language poets from Ange Mlinko to Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Also known as "consonantal rhyme", Cynghanedd have more in common with music than traditional poetry and, like a piece of music, it is made up of more than just one note. Indeed, the word itself translates as "harmony"- something to be heard rather than written.

Contributors include Mererid Hopwood, Eurig Salisbury, Dylan Foster Evans, T James Jones, Ceri Wyn Jones, Professor Guillaume Thierry, Aneirin Karadog and Osian Rhys Jones.

A Terrier production for BBC Radio 4
Photograph: Iolo Penri.



SUNDAY 13 MAY 2018

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gs70)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Short Works (b0b1tm9y)
Series 1, Three Spins, a Wednesday

An original short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the Irish writer Danny Denton and read by Hilary Rose (BBC Three's 'Young Offenders')

Bee spends her evening driving back and forth and round the same roundabout, dropping off and picking up various family members, only to find her own thoughts inevitably circling back to an unspoken secret.

Danny Denton is a writer from Cork, Ireland. He has published fiction and non-fiction in various journals and publications including The Irish Times, Irish Examiner and The Stinging Fly. His first novel 'The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow' was published in 2018.

Writer: Danny Denton
Reader: Hilary Rose
Producer: Natalie Steed for BBC NI.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gs72)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gs74)

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gs76)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gs78)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b0b2gyfg)
St Mary's Church in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire

Bells on Sunday comes from St. Mary's Church in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire. The tower contains five bells rung from the Ground Floor. The oldest bells in the tower, the present second and third, were cast by John Keene of Woodstock in Oxfordshire. By 1948, a new Treble had been added and it's dedicated to all the parishioners who served in the Second World War. The tenor, of nine hundred weight, is tuned to G sharp. We hear them ringing 'Plain Bob Doubles'.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b0b277lh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b0b2gs7b)

The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0b2gs7d)
What's in a Name?

Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand explores the importance of names, drawing upon a wide range of sources, from God's bestowal of Adam's name in the book of Genesis to T S Elliot's poem about the ineffable naming of cats.

With the help of the Israeli poet Zelda, Shoshana finds that we are defined by more than just the name we use on a daily basis. Shoshana explains that each of her names "reflects an essential part of my identity, although none of them capture the entirety of my true self."

With readings from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, along with Leonard Bernstein's adaptation in West Side Story, Shoshana hears how names also have the power to divide us.

The process of naming is inextricably linked to power. Those in charge can strip us of our names. Shoshana references the dehumanising effect of names becoming numbers during the Holocaust. Listening to Les Misérables, Shoshana hears how the prisoner Jean Valjean battles to retain his own name when a police inspector refers to him only as 24601.

For Shoshana, perhaps the most powerful aspect of names is when a name is gifted to another. Giving a name, as Shoshana argues, "is part of the creative act itself... we express our deep connection to something larger than ourselves - perhaps even to the One who is beyond all names."

Presenter: Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Producer: Tom Glasser
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b0b2gykr)
How to Farm Truffles

Ruth Sanderson meets a truffle farmer on the Isle of Bute, just off the west coast of southern Scotland. Truffle expert Dr Paul Thomas is planting the first truffle plantation on the island, in joint venture with sheep farmer Ian Dickson. Ruth helps to plant hazel trees which have been inoculated with the truffle fungus, and hears how they hope to reap a profitable harvest within at least six years.

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b0b2gs7g)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b0b2gs7j)

The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0b2gs7l)
A Sunday programme special from Jerusalem

Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme.


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b0b2gyl1)
Self Help Africa

Sheila Dillon makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Self Help Africa.

Registered Charity Number: 298830
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That's the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope 'Self Help Africa'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Self Help Africa'.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b0b2gs7n)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b0b2gs7q)

The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0b2gylj)
A Celebration of Faith and Relationships

Ahead of the Royal Wedding next weekend, Canon Ann Easter, former Chaplain to the Queen reflects on how the Christian faith can to help build good relationships. As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare for marriage and a life of public service together, Canon Dr Edmund Newell, Principal of Cumberland Lodge, leads this service of celebration from Holy Trinity, the Garrison Church in Windsor. The Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London will sing familiar music of love and praise. Director of Choral Music and College Organist: Rupert Gough; Organ Scholar: Liam Condon. Producer: Miriam Williamson.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b0b1tmbd)
The Brightening of History

"Calcutta was born old", writes Amit Chaudhuri.

But restoration work of old buildings in the city, he says, "is now often based on the assumption that an old building...must have once looked new, or should have".

He says restoration in Calcutta - and in many other cities around the world - must stop fetishizing the new.


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b0b2gylt)
Simon Barnes Tweet of the Day Takeover - Week 1

Simon Barnes is known as a prolific sportswriter and writer of the bad birdwatching series of books which makes him an ideal candidate to share his passion for ornithology as he takes over Tweet of the Day all this week.

Producer Maggie Ayre.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0b2gs7s)

Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0b2gs7v)

Pat makes a discovery, and the Aldridges face the future.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b0b2gym1)
Sir Peter Lampl

Sir Peter Lampl is a philanthropist who has given over £50 million and worked for 20 years to combat educational inequality. In 1997 he founded the Sutton Trust with the aim of improving social mobility. The Trust has funded over 200 research studies, and it initiates and supports a wide range of programmes, covering everything from early years education to access to the professions.

The son of a Viennese émigré, Peter Lampl grew up in modest circumstances in Yorkshire until the age of 11, when his family relocated to Surrey. He attended grammar schools, Oxford University and the London Business School. He worked as a management consultant and businessman in the USA and Europe, and in 1983 he set up the Sutton Company, an international private equity firm.

His first move into philanthropy came in the wake of the Dunblane school shootings in 1996, when he funded the campaign which led to a complete ban on the private ownership of handguns in the UK.

His interest in social mobility was sparked by his realisation that in recent years "a kid like me had little chance of making it to Oxbridge", noting that his school was now "all fee-paying" and his Oxford college "used to have lots of ordinary Welsh kids, but they're not coming through any more."

He received an OBE in 2000 for services to Access to Higher Education, and was knighted in June 2003.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Sarah Taylor.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (b0b2gs7x)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b1qdds)
Series 20, Episode 6

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.

Arthur Smith, Jack Dee, Lucy Porter and Lloyd Langford are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as walking, NASA, soap operas and poets.

Produced by Richard Turner
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b0b2gym3)
Japanese Whisky: A Beginners Guide

Dan Saladino on how Japanese distillers managed to make some of the world's best whisky. Dan charts a 100 year old story from Japan's first distillery to its newest distillers.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b0b2gs7z)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b0b2gs81)

Global news and analysis.


SUN 13:30 Effective Altruism (b0b2gym6)

Giles Fraser investigates the movement founded ten years ago by a group of young philosophers in Oxford, who want to make us target the time and money we give to charity most effectively.

Much of what they say feels like common sense - they use data to analyse where the needs are greatest in the world and more data to assess which charities address those needs most effectively. They also think hard about how we can best use our time to help others - whether we have just a few spare hours to volunteer, or whether we're contemplating which career path to follow.

The Effective Altruism movement have come up with some eye-catchingly counter-intuitive answers for doing the most good - become a banker rather than a doctor, don't give to disaster relief appeals, do buy clothes produced in sweatshops.

Giles discovers that, if you're going to be an Effective Altruist, you have to toughen up and not allow sentiment to get in the way - you can't prioritise causes close to your family or communities and your heart.

So can people really be persuaded to give to charity by appealing to their heads rather than their hearts? How accurate is the data that Effective Altruists base their decisions on? And crucially, what does the way we give to others tell us about what it is to be human?

Giles talks to philosophers John Gray and Peter Singer, to developmental economist Natalie Quinn, and to Bridget Angear, the woman behind Comic Relief's marketing campaign.

Produced by Jane Greenwood
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0b1tm9w)
RHS Rosemoor

Eric Robson and the panel are at RHS Rosemoor in Devon. Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and Mount Stewart's Neil Porteus answer the horticultural questions.

This week, they discuss what to do with an abandoned boat in your garden, how to grow asparagus from seed, and what to plant along two long retaining walls.

The panellists also debate how hard you can cut back a Clematis, advise on dealing with and replacing out-of-control bullrushes, and reveal the naughtiest things they have done in the garden over the years.

And James Wong travels back in time to discover how the Victorians are responsible for our modern passion for terrariums.

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b0b2gztf)
Omnibus - Inspirational Others

Fi Glover introduces conversations with the person who understands, complements and challenges you, in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves 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 learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.


SUN 15:00 Drama (b0b2h03y)
Love Henry James: The American, Episode 2

Love Henry James: The American Ep2/2
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray

Humour and heartache collide in this early James novel. Christopher Newman, an American and self-made millionaire businessmen is in Paris and newly engaged to aristocrat Claire de Cintre. A dark mystery shrouds the family, and when Claire's mother and brother betray Newman most cruelly, he's intent on revenge.

Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b0b2hprs)
Manu Joseph

Bestselling Indian novelist Manu Joseph, whose book Serious People won the Hindu Literary Prize, talks to Mariella Frostrup about his new book Miss Laila, Armed and Dangerous - a satirical look at contemporary Indian politics.

Also, should the publishing industry move from London to the north of England?


SUN 16:30 Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets (b0b2hprv)
North West

A three part series exploring dialect poetry in different parts of England.

In this first programme, actor and writer Catherine Harvey returns to her roots in north west England to see if the dialect poetry of the cotton mills of 19th Century Lancashire is still alive today.

The Lancashire dialect poets were once household names and their writings articulated the voices of cotton weavers and mill workers in Victorian industrial Lancashire with a mixture of humour and pathos. Catherine Harvey says, "The vivid dialect remains with me, not as something quaintly archaic but present now in the way I speak and write, their voices resonating in the language heard around the north west today."

Later in the series, writer James Walker unearths the dialect poetry of the Nottinghamshire miners who penned their verse underground and children's writer Kirsty McKay offers a snapshot of dialect poetry in Northumberland today.

A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:00 The Art of Money (b0b1r3hz)

On May 8th Christie's auction house in New York will host what's expected to be the greatest auction of a single owner art collection. It will feature the sale of 1500 pieces of art collected by David and Peggy Rockefeller. Experts say the sale could raise in excess of half a billion dollars but the figure could be a lot more if the recent sale of Leonardo Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi is anything to go by.

In November 2017 the Salvator Mundi was bought for a world record $450m, which was way in excess of expectations. There's been plenty of speculation as to who the buyer was but what we do know for sure is that the painting will go on display in Abu Dhabi's newly opened Louvre museum.

In The Art of Money, John Wilson discovers how incredibly wealthy Gulf states are preparing for their post-oil futures by attempting to become cultural destinations for travellers. That means that they can be competing against each other for some of the world's art masterpieces.

He also finds out what the escalating prices mean for the rest of the art world and how nearly 80% of artworks end up being stored in mysterious freeports, which the authorities are currently investigating.

Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Ben Carter
Researcher: Namir Shabibi.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b0b277lh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gs87)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b0b2gs8b)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gs8j)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b0b2gs8l)
Peter Curran

St Thomas Aquinas believed the enemy of religious faith was certainty, not uncertainty. Yet Kylie Minogue tells us: it's better the devil you know.

And it's Kylie thoughts we hear this week, alongside taboo busting comedy, and posh dentures made from the teeth of the civil war dead.

Tracey Thorn on the art of being yourself onstage, the legacy for survivors of mass killing, and the great antics of the great life of Orson Welles.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b0b2hpry)

Brian tries to do the right thing, and Alan offers some advice.


SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (b0b2hps0)
Pippa Evans Grows Up

Pippa Evans has never felt like a grown-up. In theory she's reached the age where you really should, but somehow it's a feeling that's so far eluded her. In this brand new stand-up show she asks what it means to be a grown-up and how you know when you are one. There are lots of markers of adulthood, standing up for yourself is a sure sign that you're a step further towards it so perhaps this is a trick she must master.
With stand- up and music from her house band, Pippa involves her audience in her journey of self-discovery.
Star of the Now Show, Pippa Evans is a fixture at the Edinburgh Festival with sell-out shows and is a co-founder of the Sunday Assembly.
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith.


SUN 19:45 Life at Absolute Zero (b0b2hps2)
Series 3, Protective Colouring

Lynne Truss observes the inhabitants of Meridian Cliffs, a small wind-battered town on the south coast of England where one of the ladies in Jenny's art class is worried that her secret past will catch up with her.

Written by Lynne Truss
Directed by Kate McAll

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b0b1tmb2)
Abortion, Modern slavery, Math versus maths

The UK abortion statistics gaining attention in Ireland's referendum debate

In two weeks' time the Republic of Ireland is holding a referendum into whether to make changes to its strict abortion laws. We have been inundated with emails and Tweets from listeners asking us to look at some of the statistics that keep coming up during the course of the campaigns for and against changing the law. The one that has caught the most attention is a statistic which has appeared on posters saying: "In Britain, "Limited" abortion kills 1 in 5 babies." We take a look at the numbers.

Superforecasting

How good are political and economic forecasts? Phillip Tetlock, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania collects forecasts from a wide range of experts to see if they come true or not. One nickname he has for some the best forecasters is the "foxes" - not to be confused with the woeful "hedgehogs".

Modern Slavery

Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross asked us to look into the numbers of 'modern slaves' reported in the UK. We explore the definition of modern slavery and how the authorities create estimates of the size of what is largely a hidden phenomenon.

Math versus Maths

North Americans like to use the word 'math' while the Brits like to say 'maths' - but who is correct? We hear the case for both words and try work out which one is right, with the help of the Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, Susie Dent.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b0b1tmb0)
Bruce Tulloh, Emma Smith, Professor Peter Waddington, Dowager Countess of Harewood, Ronald Chesney

Matthew Bannister on

Bruce Tulloh, who ran across the United States in record time and became European 5,000 metres champion barefoot.

Emma Smith the author of an acclaimed novel based on her travels to India with Laurie Lee.

Professor Peter Waddington the sociologist who studied policing and came up with the technique of "kettling" to control street protests

The Dowager Countess of Harewood, an Australian former model whose affair with the married Earl caused a scandal in the 1960s.

And Ronald Chesney, half of the writing partnership that brought us the hit TV sitcoms The Rag Trade and On The Buses.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Neil George.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b0b273zd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b0b2gyl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b0b2hq5v)
Kenya's Basic Income Experiment

What happens if you give every adult in a village $22 a month, no strings attached, for 12 years? In rural Kenya, researchers are trying to find out. They're conducting the world's largest study of 'universal basic income' - giving 'free money' to nearly 200 villages, to see whether this could kick-start development and bring people out of poverty. The BBC's Africa correspondent Anne Soy visits western Kenya to meet some of the people involved in this giant economic experiment, and to find out what they make of this unexpected windfall in their lives. How will people spend the money? Will they try to start businesses, or stay in education longer? Or will people stop working, now they have a guaranteed income? What impact will this have on the villages? The BBC intends to return to the same village over the course of the study, to continue to monitor and assess the impact of this 'basic income', and to see what difference it makes to peoples' lives, the choices they make, and the dreams they hold.

Producer: Becky Lipscombe.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b0b2gs8s)

Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b0b25s8t)
Godard, Revenge

With Francine Stock

The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius discusses his bio-pic about Jean-Luc Godard, Redoubtable, and reveals whether it's meant to be tribute or insult.

Matilda Lutz and Coralie Fargeat, the director and star of Revenge, discuss the ethics of their feminist horror film

Film buyer Clare Binns and critic Tim Robey take their pick of the movies on offer at this year's Cannes Film Festival.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0b2gs7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 14 MAY 2018

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gsc7)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0b1sycx)
The Internet and Democracy

The Internet and Democracy: Laurie Taylor analyses the social and political consequences of our digitised world. In light of recent data breach scandals around companies like Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, what does that mean for democracy? Why has the Internet failed to set us free? He's joined by Jamie Bartlett, Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media for Demos, in conjunction with The University of Sussex; Monica Horton, Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics & Political Science and Will Davies, Reader in Political Economy at Goldsmiths College.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0b2gyfg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gscc)

The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gscf)

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsch)

The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gsck)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b3lljq)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Fellow of the Muslim Institute.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b0b2gscm)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


MON 05:56 Weather (b0b2gscp)

The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b020tp50)
Razorbill

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Razorbill. Smart as a dinner-jacketed waiter and with a deep blunt patterned bill, the razorbill is a striking bird - though its looks could be compensation for its voice.


MON 06:00 Today (b0b2gscr)

News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b0b2gsct)

Jordan Peterson, clinical psychologist and YouTube sensation, professes to bring order to chaos in his 12 Rules for Life. He tells Tom Sutcliffe about the importance of individual responsibility, using lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories. But his home truths are not without controversy: acclaimed by many, his critics accuse him of reinforcing traditional gender and family roles and attacking liberal values.

Hashi Mohamed is the living embodiment of many of Peterson's life rules: he came to Britain when he was 9 years old with little English and through a combination of skill, luck and hard work is now a barrister. But he is critical of the lack of social mobility and his own rags to riches story is one he thinks is increasingly difficult to realise.

The Irish author Louise O'Neill has made her name challenging the roles given to women. In her books for young adults she has tackled small town hypocrisy and sexism, rape culture and victim-blaming. She too has looked to the stories of the past and her latest book is a radical retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright turns his focus on his home state Texas, to see what it can teach us about America. A 'superstate' with a GDP larger than most industrialised countries, and with a population on track to double by 2050, Texas both confirms and challenges its stereotype. Wright is confronted by cowboy individualism, gun-loving patriotism and nostalgia for an ersatz past, but also finds pockets of liberal progressiveness and entrepreneurial drive.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Picture: Jonathan Castellino for Penguin.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b0b2hr55)
The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, Episode 1

Just what goes into the making of a book? Keith Houston takes us to the banks of the Nile Delta in Egypt to explore the creation of Papyrus when humans first put ink to paper.

This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most powerful and precious objects - 'The Book'. From the history of the materials that were first used to what we use now. This is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.

Written by Keith Houston
Read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b2gscw)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2j3mr)
Wuthering Heights, Earnshaw

This is award winning writer Rachel Joyce's final adaptation from the Bronte canon to mark Emily Bronte's 200th anniversary. Emily's only novel, it's unforgettable, full of passion and darkness. Thrilling but haunting until the very end.

Adapted by Rachel Joyce
Produced and Directed by Tracey Neale

Wuthering Heights is one of the great iconic love stories and the last novel in the Bronte canon that award winning writer Rachel Joyce has adapted for Radio 4.

A story filled with violence, forbidden trysts, family warfare and revenge. Riddled with drinking, gambling, cursing and consumption. It's got energy, it's fast, passionate, unpredictable and thrilling. The story is elemental and tempestuous, uniquely bound to its setting on the bleak Yorkshire moors.

Nelly Dean is the voice of normality and reason in a world of chaos, darkness and intense passion. Heathcliff and Cathy's love is the beating heart of the story, and even after Cathy's death we hear her chilling and ghostly voice. An intensely powerful and haunting soundscape weaves around the action as the two grow from children to adults and we witness the brutal actions that lead to Heathcliff's own cruelty. Cruelty that shatters the lives of all those around him. But even through Heathcliff's destruction there is a redemptive ending filled with such mystery and lyricism it works like a spell.


MON 11:00 The Untold (b0b2j3mt)
Worcester Woman?

Grace Dent presents the story of Leisa Taylor: a feminist politician with purple hair and piercings who wants to make waves in Worcester.

Worcester is a traditional place. It markets itself through Edward Elgar, the Cathedral and its 'Faithful City' status during the Civil War. The local political scene is almost entirely male dominated and - at the moment - Conservative. Leisa is standing for the Women's Equality Party in May's local elections - when the odds are stacked against her, what's driving her on, and can she make her mark?

The moniker 'Worcester Woman' was coined because the city's female vote is regarded as having the potential to change the political scene. However this particular Worcester Woman is pushing for a 'feminist lens' to be applied to everything that the city council does. Is it a step too far in a ward where the issues that exercise voters appear to be potholes, parking, and pavement-cyclers?

Produced by Karen Gregor.


MON 11:30 The Break (b0b2j4mg)
Series 2, The Longest Day

Welcome back to Flamford. In episode one of the new series. City burn-out Andy returns to his uncle's seaside home. Oddly, the town has been taken over by Brad Pitt and some Hollywood Nazis. Starring Philip Jackson, Tom Palmer and Alison Steadman.

An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:00 News Summary (b0b2gscy)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Dr Broks' Casebook (b07gncn5)
The Man Who Thought He Was Dead

Neuropsychologist Dr Paul Broks embarks on a detective hunt in search of the self.

We all have a strong sense of the self, that little person, or "homunculus" that seems to live somewhere behind our eyes, and makes each of us feel that I am ME. In earlier times, people would have been happier with the word "soul". But they puzzled about how it survived the death of the body, and how we could know it was the same as the one we had when alive.

Nowadays, under the onslaught of science, the self/soul seems more and more like a superstitious remnant. Neuroscientists tell us that there is nothing but the brain, and that even conscious decisions, made freely by the self, are in fact made appreciably earlier, even before the self is aware of them. The more you think about the self, the harder it becomes to pin down: are we nothing but our memories, and if so, what about people who lose their memory, or have false memories? Would we be happy to have our memories downloaded and uploaded into a different brain/body, and if not why not? How can we even know that we are the same person each morning when we wake up, given that our self has, in effect, been shut down for hours? Despite all this, we still believe in the self, but is there really anyone at home?

Over the course of the week, Paul Broks a former clinical neuropsychologist, and producer Jolyon Jenkins, go on a quest for the self, using some of Dr Broks' former patients, interviews with experts and philosophical thought experiments. In the first programme, they consider a patient with Cotard's syndrome, in which the sufferer thinks he or she is dead. It might seem obviously false, but what makes us think we're alive?

Presenter: Paul Broks
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


MON 12:15 You and Yours (b0b2gsd0)
Mortgage Prisoners, Scottish Retail and Supermarket Mergers

News and discussion of consumer affairs.


MON 12:57 Weather (b0b2gsd2)

The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b0b2gsd4)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


MON 13:45 The Assassination (b0b3l03r)
The Murder

"I felt there was a fire. Then, there was a blast". An emotional and forensic account of Benazir's last hours. With Owen Bennett-Jones.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b0b2hpry)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b0b2mtdk)
Wild West

After the death of her son, Helen is pushed to her breaking point by criminals who demand she pay his debts to a local gangster. With no money and no help from the police, she is forced to find her own justice on the sprawling housing estates of Tallaght on the far reaches of western Dublin.

Emmet Kirwan is an Irish writer and actor. He wrote and starred in the Irish television comedy series 'Sarah and Steve'. In 2015 was awarded the Stewart Parker Award for his play 'Dublin Oldschool', soon to be a feature film. He recently won the 2017 Irish Film and Television Academy Award for Best Short Film for 'Heartbreak'. This is his first radio drama.

Writer ..... Emmet Kirwan
Producer ..... Michael Shannon.


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b0b2j6mc)
Heat 12, 2018

(12/17)
Russell Davies meets the last four of the contenders in the 2018 tournament hoping to win a place in the semi-finals which begin next week. This week's contest comes from the north of England and features four keen northern quiz players. They are:

Rob Cruise, a primary school teacher from Liverpool
Clive Dunning, a teacher from Stockton-on-Tees
Tony Quinn, a former broadcast systems engineer from Liverpool
Brian Thompson, a retired teacher, also from Liverpool.

The questions range widely as ever, from history to sport, from chemistry to cinema and from maths to music. If the scores are high enough a runner-up still stands a chance of capturing a semi-final place too, as well as the winner, at this late stage.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b0b2gym3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 With Great Pleasure (b0b2j7r0)
Dame Katherine Grainger

Britain's most decorated female Olympian, rower Katherine Grainger, now Chair of UK Sport, is also a huge book lover. She shares the pieces of writing that have been important to her throughout her life with the audience at the BBC Radio Theatre. To Kill a Mockingbird, Mary Stuart, Shane, speeches by Nora Ephron and Theodore Roosevelt and a classic story by Julia Donaldson add up to an eclectic mix, read by Henry Goodman and Hattie Morahan.
Producer Beth O'Dea.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b0b2j7r2)
Jane Eyre

Today's special edition of Beyond Belief comes from the library in the Bronte Parsonage Museum at Haworth on the edge of the Yorkshire moors. It was here that Charlotte Bronte conceived the plot of her best known work, 'Jane Eyre'.

Religion features large in this novel - which isn't surprising as Charlotte was the daughter of Irish priest Patrick Bronte, the curate for many years of St Michael and All Angel's Church in Haworth. What is surprising though, is that some critics at the time described 'Jane Eyre' as an anti-religious work. Queen Victoria begged to differ and described it as "A really wonderful book with fine religious feeling."

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the religious content of Jane Eyre are Dinah Birch, Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool, John Bowen, Professor of Nineteenth Century Literature at the University of York and Rosemary Mitchell, Professor of Victorian Studies at Leeds Trinity University.

Producer: Helen Lee
Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.


MON 17:00 PM (b0b2gsd6)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gsd8)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b0b2j7r4)
Series 81, Episode 1

Just A Minute is back for its 81st series and kicks off with a cracking line-up: Paul Merton, Shelia Hancock, Fern Britton and Graham Norton..

The panel have to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation. Why does Paul think there are too many cooks? What does Shelia have to say about the quiet carriage, does Graham like jam, has Fern swam the English Channel, and did Nicholas really admit to wearing fishnet stockings?

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.

Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b0b2j7r8)

Susan has concerns, and Freddie is put on the spot.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b0b2gsdb)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2j3mr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 A Church in Crisis (b0b3jxdv)

As Ireland goes to the polls to vote on abortion, William Crawley explores the decline of the Catholic church's authority in society and its relationship with the state.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b0b1tblj)
China's World Cup Dreams

China's football-loving President Xi Jinping says he wants his country to qualify for, to host and to win the football World Cup by 2050. The men's national team has recently been defeated 6-0 by Wales, so there's some way to go yet. But they're spending billions trying to boost football in the country. Chinese entrepreneurs have also spent vast sums investing in local and foreign clubs, partly to help create a passion for playing football in the Chinese and to bring the latest training techniques back home.
Another official target for the Chinese government is to eradicate poverty within three years.
For Crossing Continents, Celia Hatton visits a special primary school in Gansu, in China's far west, which is setting out to turn those World Cup dreams into reality. Made up of children whose parents have migrated to the cities for work, the school drills the young pupils in football skills each day, to give them direction and purpose, but also in the hope that some of them will use football as route out of poverty and to garner Chinese success on the pitch.

Producer: John Murphy.


MON 21:00 Is Eating Plants Wrong? (b0b1r1d4)

Are plants rather cleverer than once thought? Scientists from around the world are claiming that plants cannot just sense, but communicate, learn and remember. In an experiment in Australia, plants appeared to learn to associate a sound with a food source, just as Pavlov's dogs linked the sound of a bell with dinner. In Israel they've found that plants communicated a message from one to another, and that the information was then used to survive drought. In British Columbia and the UK researchers have shown that trees pass information and nutrients to each other through an underground fungal network. This even happens more with closely related trees or seedlings than with strangers. And in California it turns out that sagebrush shrubs have "regional dialects"! Botanist James Wong explores these findings and asks whether, if plants can do all these things, and if, as one scientist says, they are a "who" and not a "what", then is it wrong to eat them?

Producer Arlene Gregorius

Contributors:
Prof. Richard Karban
Dr Monica Galiano
Prof. Ariel Novoplansky
Prof Suzanne Simard
Dr Brian Pickles
Prof Michael Marder.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b0b2gsct)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b2gsdd)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b2j8xq)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 1

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b0b1r3hq)
The Words That Saved Me

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright talk to Sally Bayley, author of Girl With Dove, about how words both mystified and rescued her during a highly unusual childhood. Producer Sally Heaven.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b2j8yw)

News from Westminster.



TUESDAY 15 MAY 2018

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gsg7)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b0b2hr55)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsg9)

The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gsgc)

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsgf)

The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gsgh)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b3w4dv)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Fellow of the Muslim Institute.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b0b2gsgk)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378x87)
Yellow Wagtail

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Michaela Strachan presents the yellow wagtail. Arriving in April, Yellow Wagtails are summer visitors to the UK, breeding mostly in the south and east. The Yellow Wagtail has several different races which all winter south of the Sahara and all look slightly different. The birds which breed in the UK are the yellowest of all.


TUE 06:00 Today (b0b2gsgm)

News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b0b2jdxj)
Caroline Dean reveals the genetic secrets of flowering

How do plants know winter is over and it's safe to flower? Professor Dame Caroline Dean explains the genetics of vernalisation to Jim Al-Khalili.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b0b2jdxl)
Soumaya Keynes meets Beatrice Cherrier

The story of women's under-representation in economics: from the 1920s to #MeToo - how much progress has there really been in the last 100 years? The Economist's Soumaya Keynes talks to Beatrice Cherrier from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, who writes, blogs and tweets on the history of economics studies.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b0b3mbh7)
The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, Episode 2

Just what goes into the making of a book? Keith Houston traces the spread of the use of skin in book manufacture and the bloody legacy of parchment - a legacy which continues today in the form of the Leather Bound Book.

This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most powerful and precious objects - 'The Book'. From the creation of parchment and paper to the the materials that we use now, this is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.

Written by Keith Houston
Read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b2gsgp)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2jdxn)
Wuthering Heights, Edgar

Following Mr Earnshaw's death, Hindley has become master of Wuthering Heights. His cruelty to Heathcliff intensifies and he tells the young boy he is no longer part of the family.


TUE 11:00 Plastic Fantastic (b0b2jg2m)
First Flush of Love

Plastic waste and pollution have become a global problem but is there any sign of a global solution? And how did we allow this to happen in the first place? Across three programmes, materials scientist and broadcaster, Professor Mark Miodownik, explores how we fell in love with plastic, why we've ended up with oceans of waste blighting the environment and what science and society can do about it.

Programme 1 - First Flush of Love

We may not be on speaking terms right now. But we do have a love affair with plastic, in fact it can be all consuming. Adaptable, lightweight, cheap and hygienic - fantastic plastics started to win our affection back in the late 19th century. Bakelite was an early plastic invented to replace expensive wood. Celluloid was one of the earliest plastics, failing to replace ivory in billiard balls, but revolutionising the world as movie film. Plastic really did change our world. Plastic radar insulation played a role in helping the Allied forces win the Second World War and after the conflict, factories start to churn out cheap, mass-produced goods in the new synthetic polymers. But some of the key virtues of plastic may now have paradoxically poisoned the relationship. Being virtually indestructible, has led to a build-up of toxic micro-plastic in the oceans and environment. We've grown to regard many plastics as cheap and disposable, we take it for granted, rely on it too much, value it too little and are too ready to cast it aside after one single use.

Programme 2 - Things Start to go Stale

Plastic waste has been a global crisis waiting to happen. To date it's estimated that around 8.3 billion tonnes of waste plastic exists. That's 25 Empire State Buildings or 1 billion elephants. Incredibly around half of this has been generated in just the last 14 years, despite mass production having begun in the 1950s. But events such as China's recent refusal to take any more "foreign rubbish" and Sir David Attenborough's graphic portrayal of the devastation that plastic waste is causing in our oceans has prompted political and media discussion like never before. We are not at a critical moment where, if we're to turn the tide on plastic pollution, it will require science and society to come together to create real change. But it won't be easy. One major area that needs an overhaul is recycling. In the UK only 10-20% of plastic collected is recycled. We, and the rest of Europe tend to burn our waste for energy, and plastic has a calorific value similar to that of coal. But proponents of the circular economy say we should never consider plastic as waste at all and we should think of it as a resource that needs conserving - by reusing and recycling again and again.

Programme 3 - Divorce or Marriage Counselling?

The solutions to the problem of plastic pollution and plastic waste lie in many directions. A global plan to stop littering will go a long way. But human behaviour change often needs some economic intervention. One idea by the UK government and may others around the world is to give a little financial incentive in the form of deposits on plastic bottles, or taxation on single use plastic like coffee cups, food wrapping and plastic bags. Mark Miodownik investigates some of the scientific solutions such as alternatives to plastic using algae or plant materials, tweaking the nano-structure of plastic to alter the layers in laminate food pouches, and clever waste sorting technologies to help make the process easier. he hopefully untangles some of the confusing messages about plastic and comes up with ways to be plastic smart and avoids the need for a 'War on Plastic'.


TUE 11:30 Instrument Makers (b0b2jg2p)
Series 1, New Strings Attached

Making harps in Wales is a tradition stretching back centuries and is being preserved in Llandysul, at community enterprise Teifi Harps. Founder Allan Shiers, an apprentice to the late renowned maker John Weston Thomas, has been designing and making harps for over 40 years.

In the company of esteemed players Gwenan Gibbard and Robin Huw Bowen, we discover more about the Welsh harping tradition and the evolution of the instruments. Together, the two musicians engage in lively conversation about how this emblem of Wales is valued in society today and the challenge of interesting a new generation in making the instrument, as well as demonstrating the different types of harp made here.

In this former Victorian schoolhouse by the River Teifi, there is an interesting and evolving marriage of tradition and technology using hand tools and computer aided design to make the 350 parts that go into the making of a harp.

And it's more than just the rich history and tradition of these instruments that inspires Allan in his craft. There is a strong sense of community with a local artist and a local seamstress centrally involved in production. One harp's delicate ornamentation is based on harebells growing on the local church wall and another is named 'Gwyneth' after his wife.

Find out why one harp has a snail carved on the top, who played a harp made out of corned beef tins, and discover which of the three types of harp has a load equivalent to one sixth of an elephant on this unique journey into the heritage, tradition and practice of harp-making.

Produced by Kellie While for 7digital.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (b0b2gsgr)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Dr Broks' Casebook (b07gnkq7)
The Woman Who Forgot Who She Was

Neuropsychologist Dr Paul Broks continues his detective hunt in search of the self. Today he considers a woman with amnesia, and asks: are we nothing more than our memories? The philosopher John Locke argued this position, and it makes a kind of intuitive sense. But talking to amnesia experts, he discovers that even people with severe memory loss often still retain their personalities; and that even people who seem to have forgotten everything about themselves may still have retained highly developed skills. And, would we really be happy for our memories to be transplanted into another body and have this one destroyed?

Presenter: Paul Broks
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b0b2gsgt)
Call You and Yours

Consumer phone-in.


TUE 12:56 Weather (b0b2gsgw)

The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b0b2gsgy)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


TUE 13:45 The Assassination (b0b3l0c8)
The Funeral

Benazir speaks from the grave to lay blame for her murder. Riots mar the burial as the struggle to control the investigation begins. With Owen Bennett-Jones.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b0b2j7r8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b06ry20s)
McLevy, A Price to Pay

New series. 1/4. A Price To Pay.

Victorian detective drama starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond.

Written by David Ashton.

The mild-mannered wife of a town councillor admits to murdering her husband.

And Jean Brash is finding it hard to forgive McLevy - but he doesn't know what he's done wrong.

Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b0b273z8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b0b2jg2r)
Run Rabbit

When was the last time you saw a rabbit - dead or alive? Despite its reputation, a BTO survey suggests European rabbit numbers in the UK have declined by around 60 per cent over the last 20 years. In turn, other species from birds to invertebrates are also suffering as a result.

Tom Heap tracks down the story. Myxomatosis wiped out the majority of the population in the 50s and 60s and can still affect the young but now scientists are concerned about Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease. Ironically this is deliberately released in some countries as a deliberate way to control the population but is thought to be behind large-scale declines in the UK through spreading naturally. He visits areas which have seen numbers disappear, to hear what they're doing about it and concerns it may pass on to other species. Now groups are asking walkers and cyclists to log rabbit sightings to get a broader picture of numbers but should we really be working on an antidote?

Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b0b2jg2t)
How to talk like a Samaritan

Michael Rosen talks to Mark Harris and Darran Latham, who volunteer for the Samaritans, about the ways in which talking and listening can best be used to help people in crisis.
Producer Beth O'Dea.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b0b2jg2w)
Series 45, Mica Paris on Josephine Baker

For soul singer Mica Paris, when she first dreamt of becoming a singer it was Josephine Baker who inspired her most. Baker was a young black American dancer who became an overnight sensation in Paris in 1925 after performing wild, uninhibited routines in the skimpiest of costumes. So can Mica Paris make the case for Baker who wore a string of bananas and little else while performing the 'banana dance? Helping to tell the story of Josephine Baker is author Andrea Stuart.
The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer is Perminder Khatkar.


TUE 17:00 PM (b0b2gsh0)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gsh2)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b2jg2y)
Series 3, Milton Prime

Special offer! Sign on with Milton Prime, the pioneering audio comedy delivery service and listen to this week's programme completely free.

Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is "Help!". Each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton 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.

"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times

"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail

Written by Milton with James Cary (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 Ben Willbond (The Thick Of It).

With music by Guy Jackson

Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b0b2jg30)

Pat faces some home truths, and Jennifer is unimpressed.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b0b2gsh4)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2jdxn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 Present at the Creation (b0b2j8xn)

Jonathan Freedland recalls the extraordinary day in 1948 when Israel declared its independence.

On May 14 1948, a few hundred people crammed into the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to hear a proclamation that would change the course of history - and alter the fate of two peoples competing over a single, much-promised land. That document was the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel.

The consequences of that act would be fateful, starting with the 1948 war that followed within days, an event revered as the War of Independence by Israelis and lamented as the Nakba, or catastrophe, by Palestinians.

Jonathan meets the last two surviving eye-witnesses of the declaration ceremony and gets a rare glimpse of the original document itself as he tells the story of that day in May. It was a day of near-chaotic improvisation and rush as the founders of Israel scrambled to declare their new state - one official had to flag down a passing car to get the parchment scroll to the ceremony on time. Even the name of the new country was only decided in the final hours, the choice of Israel rather than Zion or Judea coming as a surprise to a waiting world.

Hearing from a range of voices - including Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Sha'ath and acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz, both children on the day of the declaration - this is the riveting, unexpectedly human story of frantic taxi rides, smudged documents and last-minute decisions that lie behind one of the most momentous events of the last century.

Audio excerpts from of the recording of the ceremony of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel courtesy of Baruch Salzman.

An Open Audio and Tuning Fork production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0b2gsh6)

News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b0b2jh7g)
Why is yawning catching? And the nurse who went the extra mile to help her cancer patient

In the All in the Mind Awards, Claudia hears from a nomination in the professional category. Fiona who nominated the nurse who gave her treatment for cancer for the 2018 Awards. Fiona explains why her experience of childhood trauma re-surfaced when she realised what her treatment for bladder cancer would involve. And why nurse Tanya went the extra mile to manage her anxieties and make the treatment as trauma free as possible. Also in the programme,is yawning really as contagious as we think it is, or does it depend on who is doing the yawning?


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b0b2jdxj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b2gsh8)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b2jh7r)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 2

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Talking to Strangers (b06zv3xm)

Comic monologues in which a range of characters find themselves engaging in that most un-British of activities: talking to a stranger.

Each piece is a character study: funny, frank, absurd, moving... Characters include a sex councillor who loves to draw, a spy who loves to share, a woman who likes to help too much ('I'm a serial helpist...'), a frustrated falconer, and a cheater who has to call her cheatee the morning after. And in this show, the listener themselves 'plays' the silent stranger in the piece...

Written and performed by Sally Phillips and Lily Bevan, with guest stars including Emma Thompson, Olivia Coleman, Jessica Hynes, Steve Evets, Sinead Matthews and Joel Fry.

Produced by Sam Bryant. A BBC Comedy Production.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b2gshb)

News from Westminster.



WEDNESDAY 16 MAY 2018

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gskc)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b0b3mbh7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gskf)

The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gskh)

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gskk)

The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gskm)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b49fvj)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Fellow of the Muslim Institute.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b0b2gskp)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b08vzfgk)
Cyrus Todiwala on the Ring-Necked Parakeet

London chef and restaurant owner Cyrus Todiwala recalls for Tweet of the Day a once familiar sound to him in India, now heard near his London home, the ring-necked parakeet.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.

Producer Maggie Ayre.


WED 06:00 Today (b0b2gskt)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Only Artists (b0b2klj4)
Series 5, Steven Isserlis meets Sebastian Barry

Cellist Steven Isserlis meets novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry.

Steven Isserlis is one of the world's top cellists. He's acclaimed for his musicianship, technical mastery and thrilling performances. He is a chamber musician as well as a concerto soloist and appears regularly with the world's leading orchestras. He gives frequent masterclasses and has written books for children about the lives of the great composers. He has premiered many new works, including John Tavener's The Protecting Veil which was written for him.

Sebastian Barry is an Irish playwright and novelist. He has won the Costa book of the year award twice for his novels The Secret Scripture and Days Without End. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009 and named the laureate for Irish Fiction this year.

For Only Artists, Steven and Sebastian reflect on how their family histories have influenced their work, on the fear and ecstasy of performance, and why listening is vital to writing.

Producer Katy Hickman.


WED 09:30 Classified Britain (b0b2knmh)
Series 1, Manchester Mercury, 17 August 1819

James Naughtie finds the heartbeat of history in the front page small ads of old UK newspapers.

The classified ads of the Manchester Mercury on 17 August 1819, the day after the Peterloo Massacre, give their own insight into the post Napoleonic war social stress. Rewards are offered for information on "those who have absconded from their families" with their names and descriptions. Special constables have been recruited in Bowden "to enforce obedience of the laws" and auctions are announced for everything from a house to a horse, and from a clementi piano to the "Scotch edition of Shakespeare".

Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.

James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.

The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.

Produced by John Forsyth
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b0b3mbyc)
The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, Episode 3

Just what goes into the making of a book? Keith Houston takes us to the courts of ancient China where Paper, as we know it today, finds its origins.

This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most powerful and precious objects - 'The Book'. From the history of the use of papyrus and parchment to the materials that we use now, this is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.

Written by Keith Houston
Read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b2gskw)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b0b2knmk)
Wuthering Heights, Hareton

After hearing devastating news Heathcliff runs from Wuthering Heights. Cathy desperately searches for him on the moors but unable to find him, she makes a decision that will change her life for ever.


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b0b2knmm)
Carleen and Toni - It's All About the Mother and the Baby

Trainee midwifes believe they are privileged to be doing their job. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


WED 11:00 A Church in Crisis (b0b3jxdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 11:30 Ability (b0b2knmp)
Series 1, Matt and Bob decide to see how far they can go - they attempt shoplifting.

Matt is 25. He has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app on his iPad. Everyone who cares about Matt knows that this isn't the defining thing about him. He is funny and clever and "up for stuff" - partly because he is keen to show that there's nothing he can't do, but also because, if he's honest, he's aware that he's less likely than other people to get the blame.

Now Matt's left home for the first time and moved in to share a flat with his best mate, Jess. But when Bob (Allan Mustafa) shows up as the new carer, the fun really starts. Bob is new to the job and, although willing, domestic duties are not really his forte. He's better at selling weed and dealing in knocked off iPads.

But he likes Matt and treats him like a real person. So, as far as Matt is concerned, Bob is here to stay.

Ability is the semi-autobiographical co-creation of Lee Ridley, otherwise known as Lost Voice Guy. Like his sitcom creation, Lee has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app. Lost Voice Guy is - probably - the first stand up comedian to use a communication aid. He won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2014, has done three full Edinburgh shows and been tour support for Ross Noble, Patrick Kielty and Jason Cook. Lee has previously worked for Sunderland City Council's communications team, and the BBC in Newcastle and London as well, as various local newspapers.

Katherine Jakeways is the co-creator and co-writer of Ability. Katherine is a multi-award nominated writer. She has written North by Northamptonshire, Guilt Trip and All Those Women for BBC Radio 4 as well as numerous radio plays. She has also written for Crackanory and The Tracey Ullman Show for TV along with a BBC 1 pilot, Carol and Vinney.

A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:00 News Summary (b0b2gsky)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Dr Broks' Casebook (b07gnksj)
The Woman Attacked by Goblins

Neuropsychologist Paul Broks continues his detective hunt for the self. Today he considers sleep paralysis and other occasions when our sense of the body goes haywire.

Sleep paralysis is common but extremely frightening. The firewall between fantasy and reality collapses and all hell breaks loose, with goblins, witches and other mythic creatures suddenly appearing threatening and real. The borderline between sleep and wakefulness is when we are often most unsure of the reality of our selves.

Normally we all have an intuition that we are an "embodied" self, that we have a body which we own and control, and which we are never separated from. But there are many kinds of body awareness dysfunctions, from phantom limb to Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, in which the patient has the illusion that they have shrunk or grown. Do people who suffer from these dysfunctions retain a sense of self, or feel that they are somehow degraded as persons?

Presenter: Paul Broks
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


WED 12:15 You and Yours (b0b2gsl0)

Consumer affairs programme.


WED 12:57 Weather (b0b2gsl2)

The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b0b2gsl4)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


WED 13:45 The Assassination (b0b3l0lw)
The Assassin's Journey

The nasty, brutish and short life of Benazir's killer - and what confidential police files reveal. With Owen Bennett-Jones.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b0b2jg30)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b06s9d1p)
McLevy, The Seventh Veil

New series. 2/4. The Seventh Veil.

Victorian detective drama starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond.

Written by David Ashton.

Chief Constable Murray Craddock is outraged when an exotic dancer arrives in Leith.

But it's all part of Jean Brash's plans to repay some old debts.

Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.


WED 15:00 Money Box (b0b2gsl6)
Money Box Live

Financial phone-in.


WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b0b2jh7g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b0b2kpm0)

Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b0b2gsl8)

Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 17:00 PM (b0b2gslb)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gsld)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b2kpm2)
Series 1, The Helpers

Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.

The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.

A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...

In this third episode, Daliso looks at charities and organisations who want to help the relationship.

Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme tune by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne

Production Coordinator... Beverly Tagg
Producer... Carl Cooper

This is a BBC Studios Production.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b0b2kpm4)

Alistair confesses all, and Will has a change of heart.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b0b2gslm)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2knmk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 FutureProofing (b0b2kpm6)
Mental Health

How can we protect and improve our mental health in future? FutureProofing explores how we might achieve healthier minds, and whether far greater understanding of the way our brains work will be enough to treat mental illness and enhance mental health in the 21st century.
In Silicon Valley, presenters Timandra Harkness and Leo Johnson discover the cutting edge technology that aims to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment. They learn about the prospect of mind control and pervasive tracking to monitor how well millions of people are functioning mentally in future. And they find out why our understanding of and attitudes towards mental health must change significantly, if we are to meet the challenge of what appears to be an explosion of mental ill health around the world.

Producer: Jonathan Brunert.


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b0b2kpm8)
Married Life

Laiba Husain discusses life before, and after, marriage.

A Fulbright Scholar from Michigan, Laiba studies at Birmingham University and has recently got married. She discusses how educated women in her family were encouraged to stay at home after marriage rather than pursuing a career. How much is this due to the patriarchal culture of their Islamic faith? She argues marriage does not impede her ambitions. Instead, she feels empowered. She calls on Muslim women to embrace individual choice rather than being bound by cultural expectations and religious misconceptions.

Producer: Peter Snowdon.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b0b2jg2r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Only Artists (b0b2klj4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b2gslp)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b2m31g)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 3

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 The John Moloney Show (b0b2m4jm)
How I Became a Comedian

The Godfather of British stand-up comedy returns to the live stage with his trials of modern life and the tales of his much loved cat Edward.

In this moment of self reflection, John looks back on the beginning of his comedy career. How did such a handsome grammar school boy find his way into the dark and foreboding world of stand-up? Did his family have a influence on his decision? What did his qualifications actually qualify him to do?

John dissects the advice of the Employment Service in Balham and justifies the particular terms and conditions of any future engagement he was willing to accept - lots of travel, the freedom to insult his clients and a maximum of twenty minutes work per night.

A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:15 Terry Alderton's All Crazy Now (b0643vfq)
Chicken Pole Vault

There's a pole vaulting chicken, a racing cow, a dancing bear and several confused inner voices. Street Kid is back with Morgan the Free Man and an ironic Australian - or is it an ironic Englishman? Irony is harder than it looks.

Let Terry take you on a sonic journey through comedy and possible madness. Prepare to be surprised, shocked and delighted.

Written by and starring Terry Alderton
Additional material by Johnny Spurling, Boothby Graffoe, Richard Melvin, Julia Sutherland and Owen Parker.

Sound designed by Sean Kerwin

Produced by Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b2gslr)

News from Westminster.



THURSDAY 17 MAY 2018

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gsny)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b0b3mbyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsp0)

The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gsp2)

THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsp4)

The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gsp6)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b49h4t)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Fellow of the Muslim Institute.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0b2gsp8)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b020xvgf)
Reed Warbler

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Reed Warbler. Reed warblers are summer visitors from Africa, one of the few long-distance migrants that are faring well in northern Europe - possibly because we're creating more gravel pits and conservation reedbeds.


THU 06:00 Today (b0b2gspb)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b0b2gspd)
The Emancipation of the Serfs

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1861 declaration by Tsar Alexander II that serfs were now legally free of their landlords. Until then, over a third of Russians were tied to the land on which they lived and worked and in practice there was little to distinguish their condition from slavery. Russia had lost the Crimean War in 1855 and there had been hundreds of uprisings, prompting the Tsar to tell the nobles, "The existing condition of owning souls cannot remained unchanged. It is better to begin to destroy serfdom from above than to wait until that time when it begins to destroy itself from below." Reform was constrained by the Tsar's wish to keep the nobles on side and, for the serfs, tied by debt and law to the little land they were then allotted, the benefits were hard to see.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b0b3md2y)
The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, Episode 4

Just what goes into the making of a book? Keith Houston explores the fascinating history of the illuminated manuscript and travels to the windswept coasts of Ireland - the home of the rebirth of this mysterious artform.

This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most powerful and precious objects - 'The Book'. From the creation of papyrus, parchment and paper to the history of the illuminated manuscript. This is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.

Written by Keith Houston
Read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b2gspg)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2m5yg)
Wuthering Heights, Cathy

Heathcliff has returned to the Heights and for Nelly it feels like an evil beast is prowling, waiting his time to destroy. Should Nelly warn Cathy of the danger ahead?


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b0b2m5yj)
Shades of Jewish in Israel

Israel gives all Jews the right to citizenship - but has it become less welcoming to African Jews?

Since its founding in 1948, after the horrors of the Holocaust, Israel has seen itself as a safe haven for Jews from anywhere in the world to come to escape persecution. But now that policy is under threat. As Jewish communities in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya are finding, a debate has arisen about who is "Jewish enough" to qualify. David Baker investigates claims that decisions are being made not on the basis of ancestry or religious observance but on the colour of people's skin.

Producer: Simon Maybin
Presenter: David Baker.


THU 11:30 The Intimate Art of Tattoo (b07x6mf1)

Laurence Llewelyn Bowen considers some of the subject matter that people across the UK are having tattooed on their bodies. He uncovers arm sleeve tributes to family members, vivid Japanese back pieces and dotwork renderings of Hollywood actors.

Matt Lodder, lecturer in contemporary art at the University of Essex, views tattooing as an artistic medium responding to the visual culture around it. "People want to have on their bodies the same things that they hang on their walls. Tattoo collectors feel willing and able to pick and choose from a wide spectrum of things - Japanese to graphic culture to traditional western tattooing to riffs on anthropological traditions from around the world. This variety characterises contemporary tattooing."

At Blythe House, the West London storage facility for the Wellcome Collection, he scrutinises the link between tattoos and criminality with Dr Gemma Angel, a research fellow at UCL's Institute of Advanced Studies. She shows him a collection of preserved tattooed human skins from 19th Century France.

Many people's extensive tattooing is concealed from the outer world. Ivan Carter is a project manager from Cambridge with a Japanese dragon adorning his back. We'll also join John, a senior city financier, finishing off his full body suit. "Some people I know were absolutely astonished when they discovered I was so fully tattooed as I am. Not everyone is fully approving. Not many people I work with will have visible tattoos. It's the tension between your outer world and inner world that's interesting."

And, finally, Laurence decides whether or not to join the ranks of the estimated quarter of the UK population with a permanent inking.

Producer: Paul Smith
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:00 News Summary (b0b2gspj)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Dr Broks' Casebook (b07gf9kq)
The Man Who Left His Body

Neuropsychologist Paul Broks continues his detective hunt for the self. Today he considers out of body experiences, near death experiences, and "terminal ludicity" - are they evidence for a self separate from the body?

Most of us have an intuitive sense that we are more than our body. Whether or not we believe in a soul, it's hard to believe that our first person experiences are no more than the electrical firing of neurons in our brains. Neuroscience seems to tell us that there really is nothing more than brain activity, and that dualism - the idea that there are "self stuff" is different from "brain stuff" is an outdated myth.

And yet some reported experiences seem to put dualism back on the map. There are stories of people who become separate from their bodies. People who have out of body experiences during operations, or in near death experiences. There are even stories of "terminal lucidity", in which someone at the point of death behaves in ways that they were previously incapable of: people who were paralysed sit up in bed; those who were never able to talk become fluent. For some, this is evidence that the sense of self is not generated inside the brain, but transmitted to the brain from elsewhere. Paul Broks speaks to two neuroscientists on opposite sides of the debate: Peter Fenwick who is persuaded by these phenomena, and sceptic Chris French.

Presenter: Paul Broks
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


THU 12:15 You and Yours (b0b2gspl)

Consumer affairs programme.


THU 12:57 Weather (b0b2gspn)

The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b0b2gspq)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


THU 13:45 The Assassination (b0b3l0wq)
The Other Dead

A trail of bodies leads deeper into the conspiracy. "Someone doesn't want us to connect the dots." With Owen Bennett-Jones.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b0b2kpm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b06sgy1c)
McLevy, The Night Walker

3 / 4. The Night Walker. Victorian detective drama starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond.

Written by David Ashton.

A lodger dies in his room shortly after arriving from London. McLevy finds a young woman unconscious in the street. An old acquaintance reappears - and Jean is accused of shoplifting.

Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.


THU 15:00 Ramblings (b0b2mgj2)
Series 39, Hembury Fort, Honiton

A chaotic and lively dog-walk on Hembury Fort near Honiton in Devon kicks off the new series. Nigel, the rebellious Golden Doodle, upstages Clare Balding and guests.

Clare's human companions are Amy, Jenny, and Anna. They met at the school-gate and formed a strong bond that has helped them through many health challenges. Jenny's thyroid problems led unexpectedly to her launching a successful dog-walking business.

They take Clare on one of their regular walks, across Hembury Fort near Honiton, and explain what friendship through walking means to them.

Produced in Bristol by Karen Gregor.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0b2gyl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b0b2hprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b0b2mgj4)
Saoirse Ronan

With Francine Stock.

Saoirse Ronan discusses her role in On Chesil Beach, as a young bride whose wedding night goes disastrously wrong with terrible consequences.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b0b2gsps)

Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.


THU 17:00 PM (b0b2gspv)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gspx)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Alone (b0b2mgj6)
Series 1, The Reunion

A sitcom, written by Moray Hunter and starring Angus Deayton, about five single, middle aged neighbours living in flats in a converted house in North London.

Mitch (Angus Deayton) is a widower and part-time therapist who is looking to put his life back together now that he is single and living - supposedly temporarily - with Will (Pearce Quigley), his younger, more volatile and unhappily divorced half-brother.

Elsewhere in the building are schoolteacher Ellie (Abigail Cruttenden) who is shy, nervous and desperately missing her ex-boyfriend, overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa (Kate Isitt), and socially inept IT nerd Morris (Bennett Arron).

In The Reunion, Mitch's get together with an old university chum is not at all the reunion he expects - while the rest of the gang are disappointed to have to attempt the local pub quiz without their main man, Mitch.

Guest stars Frances Barber and Clive Mantle.

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b0b2mgj8)

Shula is left reeling, and Adam has a brainwave.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b0b2gspz)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2m5yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b0b2mgjb)

Series looking at important issues in the news. Presented by David Aaronovitch.


THU 20:30 In Business (b0b2mgjd)
Putting the Fizz Back into Catalonia's Cava

Why Spain's sparkling fizz, Cava, is seeking to re-invent itself. If you think of sparkling wine what probably comes to mind is popping corks and Champagne. But what about Cava from Spain? In terms of exports Cava is as big as Champagne, and it is made in the same expensive, time-consuming way. Yet its image in recent years has suffered and it's now generally thought of as a cheap, less popular alternative to the likes of Prosecco. Most Cava comes from Catalonia, that region in Spain which has been beset by political problems and calls for independence. For In Business, John Murphy explores how Cava has become mixed up in Catalonia's troubled politics, how it is trying to boost its image and how it's seeking to re-establish itself as a very special bottle of fizz.
Producer: Estelle Doyle.


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b0b2gsps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b0b2gspd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b2gsq1)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b2mgjg)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 4

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 John Finnemore's Double Acts (b06kh27w)
Series 1, Red-Handed

Joel comes home early from work one day to find an unexpected visitor in the shape of Henry.

John Bird and Lawry Lewin star in the third of six two-handers written by Cabin Pressure's John Finnemore.

Written by John Finnemore
Produced by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b2gsq3)

News from Westminster.



FRIDAY 18 MAY 2018

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gsrt)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b0b3md2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsrw)

The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gsry)

FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gss0)

The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gss2)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b49rz0)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rania Hafez, Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich and Fellow of the Muslim Institute.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b0b2gss4)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b095rbt1)
Melissa Harrison on the Starling

Nature writer Melissa Harrison muses on the mimicking sounds of starlings, particularly one that learned the ring of her family phone causing calamity in the house.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. In this latest series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.

Producer: Tom Bonnett
Picture: Merseymouse.


FRI 06:00 Today (b0b2gss6)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0b2gym1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b0b3mdc8)
The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, Episode 5

Just what goes into the making of a book? Keith Houston journeys to China and Germany to discover the history of the printing press - and the birth of the modern book.

This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most powerful and precious objects - 'The Book'. From the creation of papyrus, parchment and paper to the history of the illuminated manuscript and finally the actual writing of the book itself. This is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.

Written by Keith Houston
Read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b2gss8)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2mrc1)
Wuthering Heights, Isabella

Nelly's fears have been confirmed. Isabella has gone. She dare not tell Edgar while Cathy is so ill.


FRI 11:00 Israel at 70: A Personal Reflection (b0b2mrc3)

Simon Schama was three when the state of Israel was born in May 1948. The country's story has been interwoven with his own life. Here he offers a personal account of Israel's troubled and often bloody history, of the deep division with the Palestinians. He paints a vivid picture of the post war world and the desperate need of sanctuary for Jews fleeing Europe and, later, Arab lands.

With contributions from Israeli and Palestinian historians and writers, a Rabbi, entrepreneurs and people working across borders for the exchange of resources. Simon gives his interpretation not only of the conflicts and the failed peace plans but also of the nation that has been built and what its future might be.

A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 Victoria Wood - From Soup to Nuts (b0b2mrc5)
From Soup...

A two-part look back at Victoria Wood's stand-up and songs using her own archives and tapes, including never-heard-before material. Presented by Rebecca Front.

With unprecedented access to Victoria Wood's own boxes of battered cassette tapes, this programme is a shameless chance to hear some wonderful stand-up comedy, characters and songs, mixed with a look back at what made her so funny and so universally loved.

Presented by Rebecca Front

With thanks to:
Libby Gregory
Lucy Ansbro
Phil McIntyre Entertainments

Executive Producer: Geoff Posner
Produced by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0b2gssb)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Dr Broks' Casebook (b07h15zt)
The Boy Whose Hand Had a Mind of Its Own

Paul Broks continues his detective hunt in search of the self. Today he considers anarchic limbs and split brains.

Anarchic limb is a rare condition in which the patient feels that they have no control of one of their limbs, but that the limb is still "theirs". It poses a challenge to the idea of the unified self. Even more perturbing are the cases of patients whose brains have been split in two by surgery (usually to treat epilepsy). A series of groundbreaking experiments by psychologist Michael Gazzaniga shows that the two halves of the brain in many respects function independently, unaware of each other. But that the left brain contains an "interpreter" that tries to make sense of it and rationalise what has happened after the event. So maybe the self is just something that the interpreter invents as it goes along?

Presenter: Paul Broks
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b0b2gssd)

Consumer news and issues.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b0b2gssg)

The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b0b2gssj)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


FRI 13:45 The Assassination (b0b3l1md)
Dead Ends

'I laugh at it.' The accused speaks in the series finale. With Owen Bennett-Jones.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b0b2mgj8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b06ts0h0)
McLevy, The Devil Makes a Move

4/ 4. Victorian detective drama starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond.

Written by David Ashton.

McLevy keeps a young woman in hiding while the Rev Gideon searches anxiously for her.
Jean Brash's life lies in the balance when she is poisoned by a mystery assailant.

Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0b2mrc7)
Southwell

Eric Robson and his panel are in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. Bunny Guinness, Christine Walkden and Matthew Wilson answer the questions this week.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Short Works (b0b2mrc9)
Series 1, A Hint of Heather

A Hint Of Heather by Hannah Silva.

As she prepares to buy her first house, Heather plans her colour scheme with a perfectionist's eye.

Hannah Silva is a poet, playwright and performer. Her latest solo show Schlock! splices Fifty Shades of Grey with a novel by Kathy Acker, celebrating 'the slipperiness of words, reinventing them so that none of them are safe' (The Guardian). Silva has been shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award and has had three radio plays recognised in the Best Single Drama category at the BBC Audio Drama Awards. Her debut sound poetry record 'Talk in a bit' will be released in May 2018. 'A Hint Of Heather' is her first short story for radio.

Writer: Hannah Silva
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b0b2mrcc)

Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (b0b2mrcf)

Investigating the numbers in the news.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b0b2mrch)
Alison and Irene - We Were So Proud of Them

A retired pair who worked with children with special needs share their memories and the sheer joy of their classroom. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


FRI 17:00 PM (b0b2gssl)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gssn)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b0b2mrxt)
Series 96, 18/05/2018

A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Miles Jupp.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b0b2mrxw)

Lily's secret is revealed, and Justin helps out a friend in need.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b0b2gssq)

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b2mrc1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b0b2mrxy)
David Lammy MP, Jacob Rees Mogg MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Weston Museum in Weston Super Mare, Somerset, with a panel including David Lammy MP and Jacob Rees Mogg MP.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b0b2mry0)

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.


FRI 21:00 Chinese Characters (b0b2mry4)
Omnibus 3

An omnibus edition of Professor Rana Mitter's audio portraits of figures who have shaped the arc of Chinese history. He starts with Zheng He, the Muslim Admiral who commanded a fleet of vessels larger than anything that Europe could manage, and whose maritime voyages created new routes for trade and influence. Robert Hart is the second westerner in this series, a man who helped develop the relationship between China and the outside world, but who grew up in the windswept Irish town of Portadown. Lu Xun is a writer who is still read by every Chinese schoolchild and has the reputation of being the country's greatest modern author. Wang Jingwei saw himself as a patriot, but is remembered today as one of China's worst traitors. Understanding why he chose to collaborate with Japan, and how he was in turn betrayed, illuminates one of the great tragedies of China's twentieth century. Professor Mitter ends the programme with the story of two adversaries - a rebel leader and his nemesis. One defended the Qing dynasty against the other, a man who declared that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ.

Presenter: Rana Mitter
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b2gsss)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b2mry6)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 5

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.
As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become a mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced to re-evaluate.
The Female Persuasion is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her 'role model', Faith Frank, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.
Writing in The New York Times Book Review Lena Dunham described how 'the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda"
Meg Wolitzer is the author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking. The film of her novel THE WIFE , starring Glenn Close will be released in the UK later this year.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters and The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b0b2jg2w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b2gssv)

News from Westminster.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b0b2mry8)
Tasha and Lois - Adventures in Breastfeeding

Friends who volunteer for a breast feeding support group reflect on the humour and the challenges of their task. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.