SATURDAY 08 DECEMBER 2018

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0001gbg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (m0001g8p)
Born Lippy

Being Different

Jo Brand turns advice giver in a typically irreverent guide to life. She says she's messed up enough times to feel confident she has no wisdom to offer anyone. But who cares? She's going to do it anyway.

Once upon a (very, very) long time ago Jo Brand was what you might describe as "a nice little girl". Of course, that was before the values of cynicism, misogyny and the societal expectation that Jo would be thin, feminine and demure sent her off down Arsey Avenue.

The plot thickened when, due to a complicated fusion of hormones, horrible family dynamics and a no-good boyfriend they hated, Jo ended up leaving home at 16.

Now she's considerably further along life's inevitable journey and, in this memoir, she reveals a side of herself that we don’t normally hear - the things she wishes she'd known and the things she hopes for the future. As you’d expect, she pulls no punches.

Today, Jo concludes with her singular perspective on "being different". Whether it was her rebellious teenage years or moving from a nursing career to the stand-up comedy circuit, Jo knows that it’s hard to find out who and what you are - and also in gaining equality for both sexes. But she’s hopeful that, as long as we’re on the same page (and that page isn’t 3), there’s scope for great strides forward.

Written and read by Jo Brand
Abridged and produced by Pippa Vaughan
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001gbj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001gbl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001gbn)
The latest shipping forecast


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0001gbq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0001gbs)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Steve Williams


SAT 05:45 iPM (m0001gbv)
Carrying my friend's baby.

How one woman became a surrogate for her childhood friend, and Sarah Jones from Surrogacy UK explains how it all works in the UK.

Adam Boulton from Sky News reads our Your News bulletin.

Presented by Luke Jones. Produced by Cat Farnsworth

Email: Ipm@bbc.co.uk Twitter: @BBCiPM.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0001gnl)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m0001fvx)
Life on the canals at Foxton Locks

Life on the canal is not just a place of leisure and tourism as Helen Mark finds out that more and more people are now full time residents on the water. For this Open Country Helen chugs along on ‘Ardley Way‘ a 60 foot narrow boat with Pete and Bev Ardley who are full time residents at Foxton Locks in Leicestershire. Will Helen be convinced of this lifestyle?
Meanwhile ,Carolyn Watts is taking her lock keepers assessment, will she remember everything she’s been taught and get the narrow boats through Foxton locks and become a qualified lock keeper? A nurse by profession she started volunteering last year as the canals have always have always been part of her families history.
Foxton Locks consists of 10 locks all after each other and is the steepest and longest flight staircase of locks on the English canal system explains Alex Goode, the Site Manager whose father worked there too. Every year he and his team are responsible for almost 5000 boats going through the locks.
The day ends at Bridge 61 as Helen meets Sarah and Shane Kennedy the newest members of the boating community; they’ve never been on a narrow boat, never holidayed on one but decided to buy and live on one permanently this year. As the depth of winter approaches are they still confident they’ve done the right thing?
The producer is Perminder Khatkar.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0001gnn)
Shellfish

Anna Hill hosts a panel of experts to discuss the shellfish industry.

70% of UK shellfish is exported to the EU, but there are growing markets in China and the Middle East. So will Brexit be a challenge or an opportunity?

Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Heather Simons.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0001gnq)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (m0001gns)
News headlines and sport.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0001gnv)
Prue Leith and the Inheritance Tracks of Sir Tim Rice

Prue Leith has been in our cooking consciousness for years but her appointment as a judge on TV's bake off has exposed her culinary expertise to a whole new audience and inspired a new cook book. She joins Richard and Aasmah along with:
Marianne Power who was such a fan of self-help she decided to follow a book a month for a year. She joins us to reflect on her journey of self discovery.
Former professional footballer Cherno Samba was tipped to be a superstar in UK football but whilst his career stalled he became a legend on computer game Championship Manager. Now training to be a coach, he tell us what happened.
Clare Norburn sings medieval carols with her group The Telling – she’s going to tell us how the first carols were not to do with Christmas…
JP meets Rob in Bridgend who has been helped out of homelessness by The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in the Field’s
and Inheritance Tracks from Tim Rice who chooses You Did It, from My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and with God On Our Side, written by Bob Dylan and performed by Manfred Mann.

Producer: Corinna Jones
Editor: Eleanor Garland


SAT 10:30 The Tyranny of Story (b0bfxw6j)
Episode 1

The journalist John Harris examines the potency of narrative, both in the stories that define us as individuals and in those that shape our understanding of the public domain.

Story is ubiquitous - and not simply in the realm of literature and entertainment. From television and advertising to religion, science, business and politics, narratives shape our world. They make connections, explain cause and effect and infer meaning. More than that - stories bewitch us. And recent political events have demonstrated quite how potent they can be.

In this first episode, with the help of psychologist Drew Westen (author of The Political Brain) and Ed Woodcock (Director of Narrative at creative agency Aesop), John deconstructs the stories deeply woven into the two most successful slogans of recent times - Take Back Control and Make America Great Again. He asks neuroscientist Tali Sharot about how our brains are pre-disposed to respond to story, and talks about nostalgia, master narratives and narrative ecologies with Yiannis Gabriel who studies organisational storytelling. John also visits the Brian Haw collection at the Museum of London to see how counter-narratives can become mainstream, and hears from podcaster Chrystal Genesis about the need to allow different voices the opportunity to challenge the prevailing stories of our times.

Presented by John Harris
Produced by Nina Garthwaite and Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0001gp0)
Peter Oborne of The Daily Mail looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Marie Jessel.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0001gp2)
Off Target

At 13 Basma was forced to marry an older man and then repeatedly abused by him and his family. At 16 she was kidnapped and sent to work in a brothel. Then her own family decided to kill her. Now she lives and works in one of Iraq’s secret shelters for survivors of domestic abuse and shares her story with Shaimaa Kahlil.

Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from correspondents around the world.

As South Africa marks the fifth anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s death, Andrew Harding reflects on the role that racial power and politics still plays there.

Bethany Bell is in South Tyrol where Italian nationalism is proving surprisingly popular among German speakers in the north of the country.

Fleur MacDonald attends a cinema screening in a Tunisian prison to see how films are being used to challenge the way inmates see the world.

And in Canada, John Kampfner spends an evening in a cold, cavernous warehouse throwing axes at a dart-board like target – for fun.

Producer: Joe Kent


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0001gp4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0001gp6)
Aegon admin delays trap £40,000 for nine months

In March of this year Money Box listener Nicola's financial adviser made his first attempt to move her investment fund, valued at £40,000, from Aegon to another provider. Nine months later, despite making a formal complaint and taking their case to the Financial Services Ombudsman, the money has yet to arrive. To date Aegon has offered Nicola £100 which it increased this week to £500, as an apology "for the unacceptable delays she has faced in the transfer of her funds." Guest: Nicola's independent financial adviser, Iain Forrest, Director of Forrest Financial Management and we also hear from the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Dan Whitworth reports on a HMRC VAT exemption rule clarification which recently came into force and has resulted in some people seeing a sudden increase in their property management company service charge. The clarification is intended to make it clear that third parties such as property management companies are subject to VAT. Some of these companies have started to pass the cost on. Guest: Alan Pearce, VAT Partner, Blick Rothenberg.

A pensions dashboard which will allow people to see their scheme details, old and new, big and small, in one place, online, for the first time is due to go live next year. However the first version won't contain state pension details and once it’s up and running pension providers will be able to offer their own commercial dashboards. Guest Sir Steve Webb, Director, Royal London and former pensions minister.

Presenter: Adam Shaw
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Richard Vadon


SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m0001g9v)
Christmas Specials 2018

07/12/2018

Satire and impressions from Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Duncan Wisbey, Lewis MacLeod and Debra Stephenson.

The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Laurence Howarth and others.

A BBC Studios Production.


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0001gp8)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (m0001gpb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0001gb2)
James Cleverly MP, Meg Hillier MP, Bronwen Maddox, Liz Saville Roberts MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from St Peter's Church in Bromyard, Herefordshire with Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party James Cleverly MP, Chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee Meg Hillier MP, the Director of the Institute for Government Bronwen Maddox, and the Westminster group leader of Plaid Cymru - the Party of Wales - Liz Saville Roberts MP.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0001gpd)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (m0001gpg)
Unmade Movies

Alexander MacKendrick's Mary Queen of Scots

The world premiere of Alexander Mackendrick’s unproduced screenplay on the most turbulent year of Queen Mary's life. Starring Glenda Jackson, Ellie Bamber, Mark Bonnar, Emun Elliot, Edward Holcroft, Struan Rodger and Bill Paterson.

It’s 1566 in Edinburgh. Two clans – the Hepburns and the Douglases – are at war. Two religions are in conflict - Protestant against Catholic. Two countries, England and Scotland, are about to collide.

At the heart of it all is 23-year-old Mary Queen of Scots. She is seven months pregnant.

We begin with a betrayal. Mary’s half-brother Murray and her English husband Henry Darnley conspire with William Maitland – Secretary of State and arch manipulator – to kidnap Mary’s young Italian private secretary Rizzio, who is rumoured to be the father of her unborn child. Darnely is adamant that he wants no violence in the kidnapping, but Rizzio is murdered.

In the aftermath, Murray, who Maitland has made sure remained absent from the event, attempts to convince Mary that he had no involvement in the conspiracy and tries to manipulate her into pardoning the murderer. However Mary, vulnerable now but with a steely intelligence, outwits them and manages to escape with her four ladies in waiting to the protection of James Bothwell, leader of the Hepburn clan.

Caught in an internecine web of plot and counter plot, treachery and betrayal, Mary must use every skill at her disposal to maintain her rightful position as Queen.

Will her secret affair with Bothwell be the making of her or lead to her destruction?

Cast:
Mary Stuart..............................................Ellie Bamber
Narrator....................................................Glenda Jackson
Maitland……………………………………….Mark Bonnar
Bothwell / Kerr……………………………..Emun Elliott
Darnley…………………………………………Edward Holcroft
Morton………………………………………...Bill Paterson
Ruthven / Du Croc / Knox……………Struan Rodger
Murray / Rizzio / Taylor / Scout……Kevin Guthrie
Paris / Porter…………………………………Jamie Quinn
Mary Seton / Mary Fleming………….Katharine O’Donnelly

Original Screenplay by Alexander Mackendrick and Jay Presson Allen
Directed by Hope Dickson Leach
Executive Producers: Laurence Bowen, Peter Ettedgui, Sandy Lieberson and Frank Stirling
Sound Designed by Wilfredo Acosta
Composed by Hutch Demouilpied
A Dancing Ledge production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0001gpj)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer:Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor:Jane Thurlow


SAT 17:00 PM (m0001gpl)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 iPM (m0001gbv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0001gpp)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0001gpr)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001gpt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0001gpw)
Jim Broadbent, Meera Syal, Jackie Hagan, Jon Hopkins, Tarantina, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Jim Broadbent, Meera and Jackie Hagan for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Jon Hopkins and Tarantina.

Producer: Paula McGinley


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0001gpy)
Geoffrey Cox

An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (m0001gq0)
Doctor Faustus, The Image Book, Care, Hazards of Time Travel, Darren Almond

Sharp, critical discussion of the week's cultural events.


SAT 20:02 Archive on 4 (b07h2v3y)
Pevsner: Through Outsider's Eyes

Tom Dyckhoff goes in search of Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the art historian and perennial outsider who did more than anyone else in recent memory to open our eyes to the art and architecture of Britain.

"Englishness is the purpose of my journey," Nikolaus Pevsner wrote to his wife in 1930 on his first trip to this country at the age of 28.

It might stand as an emblem for the rest of his working life.

Pevsner was an arch-classifier - rigorous and systematic - and when he turned his gaze towards architecture he saw not just buildings but a morality play – a story of identity, of imagined pasts and possible futures.

Arguably his greatest achievement - and the one for which he's best remembered - is the Buildings of England series of guidebooks.

For nearly thirty years Pevsner buckled up and took to the highways and by-ways on an obsessive architectural stock take that covered the whole of England, county by county. The 46 volumes he put together combine into a kind of an architectural Domesday Book – the most detailed inventory of British architecture ever published. The Buildings of Scotland and Wales would follow. The series is still on-going, still being revised and updated.

Guidebooks, churches, country houses. Cosy stuff. But there are bigger things at stake when we look back at Pevsner's life and work. It provides a lens through which to view ourselves - and to think about how others see us. And Pevsner may seem like a nostalgic, tweedy figure from a distance, but up close we can see - and hear - someone much more interesting than that.

Sir Nikolaus worked his way to the centre of British society, living through a testing of what it meant to be English and British, during the Second World War. But he never stopped being an outsider.

Featuring writer and cultural historian Ian Buruma; Pevsner's biographer Susie Harries; writer and architect Charles Jencks; David Matless, geographer and author of Landscape and Englishness; media historian Jean Seaton; and Neil Stratford, one-time driver and assistant to Pevsner on three of his journeys for the Buildings of England.

Producer: Martin Williams


SAT 21:00 Drama (m0001dg7)
The Fortune of War

Episode 3

3/3/ Dramatisation of Patrick O’Brian's novel and its sequel, The Surgeon’s Mate.
Diana is pregnant. Stephen offers to marry her but she refuses because it’s not his child. Jack is given a fresh command, HMS Ariel, with a mission to subvert the Catalan garrison of Grimsholm island, guarding the passage between Denmark and Sweden. But on the voyage home the Ariel is shipwrecked off the coast of Brittany. Jack and Stephen are taken prisoner by the French and transported to Paris for interrogation – where Stephen is accused of being a spy.

Dramatised by Roger Danes.

Captain Jack Aubrey............................................DAVID ROBB
Doctor Stephen Maturin.........................RICHARD DILLANE
Diana Villiers..............................................CANDIDA BENSON
Lt. Jagiello................................................................TOM CAWTE
Lt. Cornelius Hyde...........................................CARL PREKOPP
Sir Joseph Blaine.........................................STRUAN RODGER
Killick........................................................................JON GLOVER
Bonden..........................................................................SAM DALE
Major Clapier.... ...........................................STEPHEN HOGAN
Admiral Dommet...............................................TONY TURNER
Captain Babbington.................................................DON GILET
Sophie Aubrey.........................................JEANETTE PERCIVAL
Amanda Smith...................................................EMMA HANDY
Rowbotham........................................LIAM LAU FERNANDEZ
Other parts are played by the cast.

Producer/director Bruce Young


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (m0001gq2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Brexit on the Border (m0001fdx)
The BBC's Scotland Editor Sarah Smith, chairs a discussion of twenty- and thirty-somethings invited to debate their own prospects in a post Brexit world.

The programme comes from The Stove Network, a community centre on Dumfries High Street, and the panel and participants are drawn from both sides of the England-Scotland border, from Dumfries and Galloway and from neighbouring Cumbria, in England. Immigration, farming, the local economy, transport and the problem of young people leaving for cities are among the subjects discussed.

Panellists
Stacy Bradley (33) is a local SNP activist who works for a housing charity. She voted Remain in June 2016. She is single, has a young son and lives in rented housing in Dumfries. She works for the Dumfries charity Midsteeple Quarter where she helps communities to develop affordable housing.

Kerryanne Wilde (46) is a charity worker. She's Scottish but currently lives in Cumbria. A former UKIP member she voted Leave in the Referendum. Kerry joined the Women’s Royal Army Corps when she was 17 and became a Serbo-Croat linguist. During her 12 years as a non-combatant in the intelligence core, she served all over the world – including during the Bosnian conflict.

Alistair Mackintosh (25) is a tenant sheep farmer from Whitehaven in West Cumbria who voted Remain. He did a degree in agriculture at Edinburgh Napier and worked in New Zealand. He runs his local Young Farmers branch at Drigg.

Adam Wilson (22) is Labour councillor in Dumfries. He voted Leave, He is is the council’s ‘young people’s champion’ and a former member of the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Presenter: Sarah Smith
Producer: Helen Grady
Researchers: Ben Cooper and Bethan Head
Editor: Andrew Smith


SAT 23:00 Quote... Unquote (m0001d9c)
Quote … Unquote, the popular celebrity quotations quiz, returns for its 54th series.


SAT 23:30 Mrs Death Misses Death (m0001dg9)
Salena Godden is known for the graphic power of her work and is one of the foremost poets in the UK, as well as an author and singer songwriter.
Mrs Death Misses Death is a new work in progress by Salena in which she personifies death as a woman. The work is a collaboration of a novel and an album - with fiction, poetry, and music. Imagine your own death, Godden writes. But death is a reality few of us want to confront, so how do we talk about our mortality? Salena allows us to follow the development of this experimental new work from page to stage. Mrs Death Misses Death she says is not simply a novel about dying, but about ritual, mourning and love, and ultimately, it's a novel about life.

Producer: Cecile Wright



SUNDAY 09 DECEMBER 2018

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0001gq4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 The Sons of Upland Farm (b085t2l2)
A resonantly beautiful seasonal story by George Mackay Brown

In Orkney, a father's lack of compassion is redressed years later by his three sons.

Read by Robert Jack

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001gq6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001gq8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001gqb)
The latest shipping forecast


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0001gqd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0001gqg)
Selby Abbey in North Yorkshire

Bells on Sunday comes from Selby Abbey in North Yorkshire. The bells were cast in 1909 by John Taylor with the largest weighing 25 hundredweight. We hear them ringing rounds and call changes


SUN 05:45 Profile (m0001gpy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (m0001h0v)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (m0001h0x)
Living in the Moment

Rabbi Harvey Belovski examines the benefits of living in the moment and concentrating on the needs of the now. He highlights the importance of accepting and understanding the future’s unpredictable nature.

Harvey considers the value of mindfulness as a way of encouraging people to pay attention to the present, reducing stress and improving mental wellbeing. He explains that spirituality is often misperceived as venerating the past, or aspiring towards the future. While it’s important to do so, identity and meaning can also be found in the present.

Harvey reads a prayer that imagines God reviewing the performance of every human being. The prayer has a simple and plaintive message: no-one knows whether they will be alive this time tomorrow, let alone further into the future. The importance of appreciating the present, then, becomes clear. According to legend, the prayer was written by Rabbi Amnon, who composed it as he lay dying, having been tortured for his refusal to abandon his faith.

Rabbi Harvey also considers the relationship between living in the moment and caring for one’s self. While it’s important to be fully present for others, what’s more important, according to Harvey is to attend to one’s own needs. This in turn leads to being better at living in the moment for others.

Presenter: Harvey Belovski
Producer: Oliver Seymour
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 The Living World (m0001h0z)
Exe is for Avocet

As the logo of the RSPB, the slender black and white avocet is a familiar bird in winter on the river Exe in Devon, but not in the summer. By the mid Victorian era the avocet had all but stopped breeding in Britain and it was not until 1947 that the first avocet bred again in Suffolk. Since then the breeding population has increased dramatically with over 1000 breeding pairs as their range has expanded out of the South East corner of Britain. To discover more in this episode from 2001, Lionel Kelleway heads off to the Exe on a winters day, where he joins Malcolm Davies from the RSPB. Beginning at low tide, Lionel and Malcom discuss what has happened to avocet numbers since their return as a breeding species although they do not breed in the South West. but in winter avocet arriving from the Continent can swell numbers towards 7000.

Much has changed since the programme was first broadcast, therefore in this revised episode, wildlife presenter Lindsey Chapman revisits this Living World from 2001, bringing the story up to date for today's audience.

Producer Andrew Dawes


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0001h11)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0001h13)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0001h15)
CofE NDAs and Divorce in the Sikh Community

Naz Shah MP, parliamentary ambassador for Islamic relief's ‘Honour Her’ campaign, speaks candidly to Edward about her personal reasons for joining the campaign to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls.
A bitter divorce case in the orthodox Jewish community of Stamford Hill has revealed instances of housing benefit fraud - with some claiming it's prevalent in the community and assisted by local community organisations. Melanie Abbott has been investigating. And questions have been raised about the Church of England's use of non disclosure agreements with victims of clergy sex abuse. We hear from the Bishop of Buckingham Alan Wilson

Producers:
Rajeev Gupta
Helen Lee

Editor:
Amanda Hancox


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0001h17)
Rainforest Foundation UK

Wildlife presenter and naturalist Chris Packham makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Rainforest Foundation UK.

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 ‘Rainforest Foundation UK’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Rainforest Foundation UK’.

Registered Charity Number: 1138287.


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0001h19)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0001h1c)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0001h1f)
The Candle of Faith

The lighting of the second candle on the Advent wreath symbolises a time of faith and preparation, marking the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. Canon Edwin Counsell leads a live service from Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, in which the Dean, the Very Rev. Gerwyn Capon reflects on how the season of Advent addresses where we are on our own spiritual journeys. Music from the cathedral choir directed by Stephen Moore includes Christ be our Light (Farrell); Hills of the north, rejoice (Little Cornard); Christ is the world's true light (Nun Danket); We wait for thy loving kindness, O God (William McKie); Tua Bethlem dref (David Evans arr. Geoffrey Webber); Zion, at thy shining gates (Bohemian Carol arr. George Guest); Thou Shalt Know Him (anon).
Organist: David Geoffrey Thomas.
Producer: Karen Walker.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0001gb4)
What did you do during the environmental collapse, daddy?

"Two things seem incontrovertible about the mounting environmental catastrophe", writes Will Self.. "It's genuinely unprecedented - and we really are in it together".

Will wonders what we should say to our children about global warming and our role in it.

He says we have to hope that some sort of collective wisdom can emerge "because the alternative is frankly terrifying: a degraded, dystopic and nakedly Darwinian future".

Producer: Adele Armstrong


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0001h1h)
Brian Briggs and the Chaffinch Song

Former Stornoway band member Brian Briggs, returns for a second week curating the Tweet of the Day output, with a story of how the chaffinch song was the first he recognised. Brian, now a reserve manager at the Wetlands and Wildlife Trust's Llanelli Wetland Centre, remembers how his first job as an ecologist at Oxford's Wytham Woods ignited his journey into learning the language of birds throughout the seasons.

You can hear more from Brian in the Tweet of the Week Ombibus, available on the Radio 4 website and on BBC Sounds

Producer Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0001h1k)
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 (m0001h1m)
Writer ..... Naylah Ahmed
Director ..... Julie Beckett
Editor ..... Jeremy Howe

Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Pip ..... Daisy Badger
Ben Archer ...... Ben Norris
Jolene Archer .... Buffy Davis
Tony Archer ..... David Troughton
Helen Archer .... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ..... William Troughton
Brian Aldridge .... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Phoebe Aldridge ..... Lucy Morris
Lilian Bellamy ..... Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns ..... James Cartwright
Rex Fairbrother ..... Nick Barber
Will Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Jazzer McCreary .... Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller ..... Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter ..... Katie Redford
Johnny ..... Tom GIbbons
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Pepperell
Hannah Riley ..... Helen Longworth
Natasha .... Mali Harries
Lee ..... Ryan Early
Russ ..... Andonis James Antony


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m0001h1p)
Gary Barlow, singer-songwriter

Gary Barlow, musician and Take That lead singer, has written more than a dozen chart-topping songs, and has received six Ivor Novello awards including the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

Born in Cheshire in 1971, his interest in music was sparked at an early age by a child’s keyboard. At the age of 10, he saw Depeche Mode on Top of the Pops, prompting the desire to take to the stage himself. He wrote A Million Love Songs, which later became a Top 10 hit for Take That, in his bedroom when he was 15. By this time he was a regular performer in a Labour club just across the Welsh border, where he cut his teeth playing the organ and singing.

By the time he was 18, he was so good at writing songs that he successfully auditioned for a place in the group which became Take That. They went on to be one of the most successful bands of all time, winning a devoted audience with tracks such as Back For Good, Everything Changes and Pray. When they broke up in early 1996, helplines were set up to assuage their fans’ feelings of loss and grief. In 2005, Take That reformed, with Robbie Williams rejoining them for a spell in 2010, and – in some form or other – the band has kept going and will tour again in 2019.

Gary was put in charge of organising the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert and performed at the closing ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012. He was a judge on the X-Factor for three series and his talent show, Let It Shine, was broadcast on BBC One in 2017. Earlier this year he published a second autobiography.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Cathy Drysdale


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0001h1r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0001d9r)
Series 70

Episode 4

The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the New Victoria Theatre in Woking. Old-timers Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Kerry Godliman with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment.

Producer - Jon Naismith.
It is a BBC Studios production.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0001h1t)
Sweet Chestnuts

Rachel Roddy and Sheila Dillon share their love of Sweet Chestnuts and find out how they're for so much more than just roasting over an open fire. Like a lot of people Rachel's first memories of Chestnuts is as stuffing for turkey, but when she moved to Rome in 2005 where there was a Chestnut seller on every corner she embraced Chestnuts as an ingredient. She and Sheila discuss the soups, cakes and stews that are made using Chestnuts and how for one restaurant-owner they're a hero ingredient which saved a population from starvation.

Fabio Parasecoli, Professor of Food Studies at the New York University explains why Chestnuts were so important to the Italian region of Abruzzo and how he still makes his Grandmother's Chestnut and Chickpea soup on Christmas Eve. Martin Crawford of the Agroforestry Research Trust in Dartington sells 750Kg of Chestnuts a season and explains why he would like UK producers to challenge the imports from Italy, France, Portugal and increasingly, China, and Simon Melik from Besana UK gives an overview on the industry.

Producer: Toby Field


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0001h1w)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0001h1y)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.


SUN 13:30 Sketches: Stories of Art and People (b0bggq0n)
Series 1

Escapes

True stories of life-changing encounters with art in all its forms.

Each week, writer Anna Freeman presents a showcase of stories about art and people around Britain. In this first episode, Anna and the Sketches producers find stories about escapes…

Mair talks to Mark Knight about his quest to track down a painting which he fell in love with as a child. Becky meets Bradley Warwick to hear how he plays music through a computer system which he controls with his eyes. And Polly meets two people for whom writing is an escape; the fantasy fiction writer Icy Sedgwick, and Leesa Harker, whose filthy spoof of Fifty Shades of Grey granted her a whole new life.

Producers: Mair Bosworth, Becky Ripley and Polly Weston
Presenter: Anna Freeman


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0001g9g)
RHS Garden Hyde Hall

Peter Gibbs hosts the show from RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex. Joining Peter to answer the questions are Christine Walkden, Matthew Wilson and James Wong.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (m0001h20)
Omnibus

Fi Glover presents three conversations revolving around doing things that make you happy.

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: Mohini Patel


SUN 15:00 Drama (b091s20g)
Tolkien in Love

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and Edith Mary Bratt first met in 1908. They were both orphans living in a boarding house in Birmingham. Despite the difference in their ages and religions - she was 19 and Protestant, he was 16 and Catholic - they fell in love.

When Ronald's guardian, Father Francis Xavier Morgan, found out, he forbade him to see Edith again until he came of age at 21. Ronald reluctantly obeyed and later left the city after winning an exhibition to Oxford. Edith went to live in Cheltenham. At midnight on the night he turned 21, Ronald wrote to Edith declaring his undying feelings. Unfortunately, in the intervening years, she had got engaged to someone else. He raced to her in Cheltenham, they walked through the countryside and Ronald had one chance to win Edith's heart.

Their love was the inspiration for the Beren and Luthien story at the heart of Tolkien's novel The Silmarillion.

Starring Will Merrick (Skins, The Rack Pack) as Ronald and Claudia Jessie (Line Of Duty, Their Finest) as Edith. Tolkien In Love is based on real events and written by Sean Grundy, whose previous work for Radio 4 has been Sony and Tinniswood Award nominated.

A CPL production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0001h22)
Donald S Murray, Lyrics and poetry, Publishing in Iceland and Greenland

Scottish writer Donald S Murray discusses his new novel As the Women Lay Dreaming, which explores the ramifications of the Iolaire disaster, in which 200 WW1 servicemen died on the last leg of their journey home in January 1919.

Collected lyrics by artists as various as Kate Bush, Leonard Cohen and Florence Welch have been making their way onto bookshelves this year. Music journalist Laura Barton and poet Andrew McMillan join Mariella to consider what distinguishes song lyrics on the page from poetry.

The next big thing in Greenlandic literature is Niviaq Korneliussen whose novel Crimson examines the lives and loves of a group of teenagers. In a literary postcard from the capital Nuuk, she considers why it is imperative that more young people like her are given the opportunity to tell their stories.

Neighbouring Iceland is said to be one of the most literary countries in the world, and this time of year is the most important in the books calendar. Writer and literary journalist Björn Halldórs discusses why the pre-Christmas period has become known as Jolabokaflod or the Yule Book Flood.


SUN 16:30 News That Stays News (m0001h24)
It was Ezra Pound who wrote: "Literature is news that stays news." What would the news sound like if poets had a go?

Ritula Shah presents the news with poets. She is joined by BBC correspondents Lyse Doucet, Allan Little and Norman Smith, and a lyrical line-up that includes Wendy Cope, Ian McMillan, Caleb Femi, Gillian Clarke and Maura Dooley.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Featured poems:

The Newspaper by George Crabbe

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth

Still Life with Sea Pinks and High Tide by Maura Dooley
From: The Silvering
Publ: Bloodaxe Books

Sporty People by Wendy Cope

Smashed to a Pulp by Mohammod Ullah

The Day that Twitter went down by Brian Bilston
From: You Took the Last Bus Home
Publ: Unbound

Coping by Caleb Femi

The People's Shipping Forecast by Murray Lachlan Young

From the Republic of Conscience by Seamus Heaney
From: The Haw Lantern
Publ: Faber

Futility by Wilfred Owen

Letter by Hugh McMillan
From: The Other Creatures in the Wood
Publ: Mariscat

The Only News I Know by Emily Dickinson

And original poetry composed for this programme by Gillian Clarke and Ian McMillan.


SUN 17:00 In the Child's Best Interests (m0001f1b)
How and when should the decision be made to end the life of a critically ill child?

The BBC’s Medical Correspondent Fergus Walsh reflects on the legal and ethical challenges raised by controversial and emotionally charged cases, like those of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans.

Their impact reverberated around the world, prompting protests on the streets, an outpouring of emotion on social media and the vilification of hospital staff. Even the US President and the Vatican got involved. Though these cases were very different, in each the parents were locked in a bruising battle with the hospital for the right to make decisions about how and where to treat their children.

The current legal test focuses on what is in the child’s best interests and, in court, the hospital, the parents and the child all have separate legal representation.

But the potentially adversarial nature of the court system and the presence of ferocious debate on social media means these intensely difficult decisions can became even more emotionally charged.

The programme examines whether it’s possible to improve the current system, to prevent more cases reaching court and whether the legal process itself could be improved.

Producer: Matt Willis
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:40 Profile (m0001gpy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0001h26)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0001h28)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001h2b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0001h2d)
John Waite

John Waite introduces some typically caustic words of wisdom from Jo Brand on how to survive a family Christmas. For forty years DJ Mark Talbot has hosted the longest running radio show never broadcast. We’ll be tuning in, though. And Good Heaven’s Watson – is that a monstrous hound? No, it’s only Barry Cryer in a new Sherlock Holmes spoof.

Producer: Stephen Garner

Production support: Helen Surtees


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0001h2g)
Ben has his arm twisted and it's a bad day for Will


SUN 19:15 Mrs Hudson's Radio Show (m0001h2j)
Episode 2: Wild Geese

Behind every great man there is an even greater woman - demanding rent.

Comedy legend Barry Cryer brings his unique brand of silliness to the world of Sherlock Holmes’ landlady in a special Radio 4 double bill recorded in front of an audience in London. There’ll be plenty of festivities (as well as Music Hall singalongs accompanied by pianist Jeremy Limb) in this humorous and alternative take on Mrs Hudson’s life below stairs at 221Baker Street.

Barry plays chestnut salesman Harry Fryer and is joined by Patricia Hodge as Mrs Hudson and Miriam Margolyes as her mischievous friend and neighbour, Mrs Brayley.

The show has been written by Barry and his son, Bob Cryer and is based on their book, Mrs Hudson's Diaries.

In this second episode, a dead goose and a battered hat are found by Inspector Lestrade (Bob Cryer) lying in the middle of Baker Street. It’s not long before Mrs Hudson is leading her friends out into the night on a very silly seasonal adventure.

However, one thing you can be sure of, Sherlock Holmes (Orlando Wells) and Dr Watson (Stephen Critchlow) are never far away and usually ahead of the game. So come in from the cold, turn on the wireless and make a date with Mrs Hudson. But don’t forget to wipe your feet first.

CAST:
MRS HUDSON - Patricia Hodge
MRS BRAYLEY - Miriam Margolyes
HARRY FRYER - Barry Cryer
HOLMES - Orlando Wells
ARCHIE / WATSON - Stephen Critchlow
MARTHA/BELLA - Ruth Bratt
GUSTAV / MD - Jeremy Limb
LESTRADE - Bob Cryer

Written by Bob and Barry Cryer

Produced and directed by Ned Chaillet and Ben Walker
The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Turbulence (m0001h2l)
Delhi to Kochi

Twelve flights. Twelve travellers. Twelve stories.

In David Szalay's deeply moving short story series, twelve travellers circumnavigate the globe en route to see lovers, children, parents, brothers and sisters, or nobody at all. From London to Madrid, Dakar to Sao Paolo, Seattle to Hong Kong, and beyond, these are stories of lives in turmoil, each in some way touching the next.

Today: when a woman flies to aid her sister in Kerala, their relationship is rocked by unexpected violence...

Writer: David Szalay
Reader: tbc
Producer: Justine Willett
Original Music: Kirsten Morrison


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m0001g9l)
Up All Night

This week, Roger Bolton hears from listeners concerned that the BBC gives too much time to so-called Think Tanks - without disclosing their political leanings or how they're funded. Should Think Tanks be obliged to reveal their sources of funding before being allowed on air?
Continuing our late night listening theme, Dotun Adebayo, presenter of BBC 5 Live’s ‘Up All Night’, shares some moving experiences he’s had on the show, and reveals a rather unlikely source of company in the wee small hours.
And Roger speaks to DJ Deke Duncan, who has been catapulted to fame 44 years after setting up his own one-man radio station in his garden shed. Deke’s somewhat limited audience is about to get a lot bigger…
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Karen Pirie
Feedback is a Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0001g9j)
Harry Leslie Smith, Pete Shelley, Monica Sims, Professor Wendy Atkin OBE, Ivan March

Pictured: Pete Shelley

Matthew Bannister on

Harry Leslie Smith who grew up in poverty in Yorkshire. He became an outspoken campaigner for the welfare state and a social media star in his nineties.

Pete Shelley, lead singer and songwriter of Buzzcocks.

Monica Sims, the BBC executive who ran children's TV, then became Controller of Radio 4.

Wendy Atkin, the epidemiologist who devised a breakthrough screening test for bowel cancer.

Ivan March, the music critic who set up a record lending library and co-wrote the Penguin Stereo Record Guide.

Interviewed guest: John Smith
Interviewed guest: Owen Jones
Interviewed guest: Gillian Reynolds
Interviewed guest: Edward Barnes
Interviewed guest: Dr Amanda Cross
Interviewed guest: Martin Cullingford
Reader: Tony Turner
Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: Labour Party Conference, BBC Parliament 24/09/14; Harry Leslie Smith: Comment is Free, The Guardian 23/03/16; Afternoon Edition, 5 Live 07/10/14; 5 Live Breakfast, 07/12/18; The Seven Ages of Rock, 6 Music 05/04/18; The Buzzcocks Story, 6 Music 31/07/14; Interviews with Monica Sims from the BBC Oral History Collection; BBC News, 12/04/02; Today, Radio 4 28/04/10.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0001gp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0001h17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (m0001fwj)
The Business of Tutors

From stories of teachers in top schools being poached to tutor children on private yachts to single parents taking on extra cleaning jobs to afford a private tutor, tutoring is happening across the social divide - and is growing at a rate never seen before.

Mark Maclaine is one of Britain's "supertutors". He earns up to £1,000 an hour and has tutored the children of royal families, sports stars and musicians. But he also runs a charity giving free tuition to children who can't afford to pay.

Alanna and James are university students, tutoring GCSE and A Level physics to help pay for their studies.

The profile of Britain's army of tutors is varied.....but they're all part of a rapidly expanding sector now estimated as being worth £2 billion in the UK. Caroline Bayley looks at the profound effect tutoring is having on children, teachers and schools and asks if this industry is starting to change the very way we educate our children.

Producer: Adele Armstrong


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0001h2p)
Preview of the week's politics with politicians, pundits and experts.


SUN 23:00 The Moth Radio Hour (m0001hlg)
Series 8

The Places We Tell Our Stories

True stories told live in in the USA: George Dawes Green - founder of The Moth - introduces stories of protection, love and war.

The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.

The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.

Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.


SUN 23:50 A Point of View (m0001gb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:48 today]



MONDAY 10 DECEMBER 2018

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0001h2r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m0001fdg)
White Power Movement in US - Rise of Racist Right in Europe

The White Power Movement in the US: Laurie Taylor talks to Kathleen Belew, Assistant Professor of US History at the University of Chicago, and author of a new book which traces the origins and development of the racist far right. They're joined by Liz Fekete, Director of the Institute of Race Relations, who discusses her study of similar (and different) forces in Europe.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0001gqg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001h2t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001h2w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001h2y)
The latest shipping forecast


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0001h30)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0001h32)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Steve Williams


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0001h34)
Tree planting in Wales, Hill farmers, Winter vegetables

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


MON 05:56 Weather (m0001h36)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zrcgb)
Capercaillie

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

Kate Humble presents the capercaillie. The bizarre knife-grinding, cork-popping display of the male capercaillie is one of the strangest sounds produced by any bird. The name 'Capercaillie' is derived from the Gaelic for 'horse of the woods', owing to the cantering sound, which is the start of their extraordinary mating display. These are the largest grouse in the world and in the UK they live only in ancient Caledonian pine forests.


MON 06:00 Today (m0001hj5)
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme, including Thought for the Day


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0001hj7)
Trees: a wood wide web

Trees may have vibrant inner lives and certainly appear to have individual personalities, claims the forester-cum-writer Peter Wollheben. In his bestselling book, The Hidden Life of Trees, he uncovers an underground social network of communication between trees.

In the late 1990s the journalist Ruth Pavey purchased four acres of scrub woodland in Somerset, and set about transforming this derelict land into a sanctuary for woodland plants, creatures and her own thoughts.

The natural world comes alive in the poetry of Kathleen Jamie. Although her landscape is often her Scottish homeland, politics, history and human folly are never far
away, as she asks how we can live more equably with nature.

And breathing clean air is the goal of Gary Fuller’s book, The Invisible Killer. He studies the rising threat of air pollution from London’s congested streets to wood-burning damage in New Zealand.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (m0001hkx)
Handel in London - The Making of a Genius

Episode 1

At a time of great political and architectural transformation in London, a young
German composer arrives with his patron, the future King George, and enjoys instant success.

Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712,
followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of
his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was
George Frederic Handel. He would be at the heart of musical activity in
London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece,
whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as
Giulio Cesare and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in
Messiah. Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses
and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding
of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story.

Reader: Jane Glover
Producer: Clive Brill
Abridger: Eileen Horne

The readings will include music from Handel’s vast output.

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0001hjc)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001hjf)
Gudrun

Episode 6

By Lucy Catherine.

On the run from the church, Gudrun finds love in her mountain hideout.

Gudrun, a young woman in 11th century Iceland, must forge her path through a world of unearthly beauty yet uncompromising harshness. Lucy Catherine's Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas.

Gudrun . . . . . Kate Phillips
Freija . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Dag . . . . . Cameron Percival
Heidr . . . . . Jeanette Percival
Volva . . . . . Carolyn Pickles

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko


MON 11:00 The Untold (m0001hjh)
Me, Dad and Dementia

Grace Dent presents the story of Amanda and her fight to get 24 hour care for her 96 year old dad who has dementia - before it's too late.

Alan calls his daughter Amanda up to twenty times a day, confused and paranoid. But he's adamant he doesn't want to go into a care home.

We follow Amanda's struggle to get him the care she feels he needs.

Producer: Laurence Grissell


MON 11:30 Chain Reaction (b08j9z4v)
Series 12

Harry Hill Interviews Tim Vine

In this edtition, Harry Hill turns interviewer and invites his chosen guest Tim Vine into the Chain Reaction hot seat.

Chain Reaction is the talk show with a twist where one week's interviewee becomes the next week's interviewer. John Cleese was first in the hot seat back in 1991 and since then, a procession of big names from the world of comedy and entertainment including Jennifer Saunders, Jarvis Cocker and Eddie Izzard have helped continue the chain.

Harry Hill is an award winning comedian and world class swingball player. Born in Woking in 1964, he holds a medical degree from the University of London. His books include Flight from Deathrow and Tim the Tiny Horse. He has been a stand-up since the early 90s and is well known as the star of TV Burp and the voice of You've Been Framed. Harry can currently be seen on Alien Fun Capsule.

For this edition Harry is joined by Tim Vine (AKA The Punslinger, The Joke-a-motive or The Punaway Train). Tim is best known for his frenetic stage shows, rammed full of rapid one liners, songs and props. He previously starred in BBC1s Not Going Out, ITV1s The Sketch Show and hosted the seminal Channel 5 quiz show Whittle.

Together they discuss Tim's teenage dreams of being a pop star, giant moths and the roots of Tim's act.

Producer: Adnan Ahmed
A BBC Studios Production

Photo credit: Matt Stronge.


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0001hld)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001hjm)
Episode 6

The new novel from Barbara Kingsolver, bestselling author of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE LACUNA and FLIGHT BEHAVIOUR, interweaves the past and the present to explore the human capacity for resilience and compassion in times of great upheaval. It is a portrait of life in precarious times - when characters discover that the past has failed to prepare them for the future.

Alternating between two centuries, Kingsolver examines the personal and social shocks that ensue when people’s assumptions about the world and their place in it are shaken to their foundations.

1874. Thatcher tries to address the issue of his disintegrating home.
2016. Willa tries to uncover a source of income to shore up her equally rundown house.

Abridged by Sian Preece
Read by Patrick Kennedy and Laurel Lefkow
Producer: Gaynor Macfarlane


MON 12:18 You and Yours (m0001hjp)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


MON 12:57 Weather (m0001hjr)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (m0001hjt)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 A History of Delusions (m0001hjw)
Capgras: the 'Illusion of Doubles'

Clinical psychologist Professor Daniel Freeman explores historic and contemporary cases of delusions – a belief that is impossible, incredible or false; is held with a high degree of certainty; and endures despite evidence to the contrary.

In this programme he examines the 'Capgras Delusion' or the 'Illusion of Doubles'.

In 1923 the French psychiatrist Joseph Capgras first described the delusion which later took his name. The case study concerned his patient, Madame M, who claimed that her husband and children had been substituted for doubles.

Daniel also talks to a contemporary contributor who shares her experience of a delusion that she was in a reality show.

Produced by Victoria Shepherd and Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint Production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0001h2g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (m0001hjy)
Pilgrim: The Winter Queen

Episode 1

Pilgrim returns! The immortal wanderer, William Palmer faces a new challenge when he discovers a mystery and a plan for revenge served very cold. A two-part adventure to mark the Winter Solstice.

Pilgrim ….. Paul Hilton
Mrs Bronson ….. Fenella Woolgar
Roxanna ….. Carolyn Pickles
Sam Notice ….. Tony Turner
Matt ….. Cameron Percival
Donny ….. Tayla Kovacevic Ebong
Jack Sweet ….. Don Gilet
Klara ….. Jeanette Percival
Lloyd ..... Lewis Bray
The Girl ..... Agnes Bateman

Directed by Marc Beeby and Jessica Dromgoole

THE LEGEND: In 1195, while on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, William Palmer (Pilgrim) was cursed with immortality by the King of the Greyfolk for denying the presence of ‘the other world’ - a world of strange, unpredictable faeries, of magic and ancient ritual - which co-exists with our everyday reality. Ever since then it has been Pilgrim's fate to walk the line between the worlds of magic and of men, doing what he can to maintain the balance between the two.


MON 15:00 Quote... Unquote (m0001hk0)
The popular celebrity quotations quiz returns for its 54th series.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m0001h1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Art of Living (m0001hk3)
Lucy Jones, Painter

Tom Shakespeare visits the artist Lucy Jones at her home in Ludlow to talk about painting, freedom and flowers.

Lucy Jones may well be the best British painter you’ve never heard of. She was born with cerebral palsy, but she has no intention of identifying as a disabled artist. She is a simply an artist, and a very good one at that. Over the past forty years she has produced a large and distinctive body of work - landscapes, portraits and self-portraits in bold colours on large canvasses.

For this programme Lucy drives Tom out to visit one of the locations, on the border between England and Wales, which she returns to again and again to inspire her landscapes. They then visit her rural studio, to see a work in progress and finally regroup months later at Lucy's gallery in London.

Lucy is preparing for an upcoming exhibition and Tom Shakespeare has been asked to write about her for the exhibition catalogue. And so, as we progress from kitchen to field to studio and on to the gallery, Tom is making notes, building up his own portrait - of Lucy Jones, painter.

Producer Martin Williams.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (m0001hk5)
Blasphemy

The story of Asia Bibi - the Christian woman who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan after allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed before being recently acquitted - has thrown the issue of blasphemy into public debate once more. While the UK abolished it's blasphemy law a decade ago, 43 countries still allow a prison term for blasphemy and it continues to be punishable by death in six countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.

In this edition of Beyond Belief, Ernie Rea and guests dig beneath the headlines to examine the religious roots and meaning of blasphemy and explore why it remains so serious an offence in so many countries.


MON 17:00 PM (m0001hk7)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001hk9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0001hkc)
Series 70

Episode 5

The godfather of all panel shows pays a visit to Venue Cymru in Llandudno. Regular Tim Brooke-Taylor is joined on the panel by programme stalwarts Susan Calman, Richard Osman and Rob Brydon with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell accompanies on the piano.

Producer - Jon Naismith.
It is a BBC Studios production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0001hkf)
Alistair comes to the rescue and Tony has a change of heart.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0001hkh)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001hjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Belonging (m0001hkk)
New Bonds

What are the new bonds of belonging that are affecting our political debate today? Former Cabinet minister Douglas Alexander, explores the durability of local ties and national identities. In Cardiff he meets members of one of this country's most long established African communities - Somalis who first came here as seamen hauling Welsh coal across the Empire. What gives them a sense of security and a sense of place? And he looks at how referendums shake up a sense of who we are and who we belong to.
Producer: Rosamund Jones


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m0001fvb)
Inside Burundi’s Killing Machine

An investigation into the 'killing machine' of one of Africa's most repressive and secretive countries. Three years ago there was widespread unrest in the East African country of Burundi when the country’s president ran for a third term. Protestors said he was violating the constitution that limits presidential terms to just two. Since then street protests have ended but a BBC investigation has now uncovered evidence of government sponsored torture and killings designed to silence dissent. The government has always denied any human rights violations, and declined to comment on the allegations in this programme. Reporter Maud Jullien. Producers Charlotte Atwood and Michael Gallagher.

*This programme contains graphic scenes of torture and killing.

(Image: A computer generated image of an alleged detention house in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. A red liquid, which looked like blood, was seen pouring from its gutter. Credit: BBC)


MON 21:00 Does Trade Matter? (m0001f09)
International trade is the glue that holds the world economy together. But in the era of the Trump presidency, China's Belt and Road Initiative and Brexit, global trade has become highly contentious at home and abroad.

Contrasting Jeremy Corbyn's 'Build it in Britain' campaign with Brexiteer visions of a new 'Global Britain', President Trump's protectionist language with President Xi's defence of free trade, economist George Magnus sorts spin from substance and asks how conflicting visions of trade might transform Britain's trading future and the wider global economy.

As he hears from the workers shifting containers in Britain's ports to trade experts such as Harvard's Dani Rodrik, George asks how trade is changing and how much shifts in terms and tariffs really matter in today's world of hyper-globalisation.

Producer: Julia Johnson


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m0001hj7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0001hkn)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001hjm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


MON 23:00 Mastertapes (m0001hkq)
Lily Allen (A-side)

John Wilson returns with another run of the series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.

A-side: "No Shame" by Lily Allen

Always conversational in tone and infused with a dark sense of humour, Lily Allen’s lyrics never shies away from the personal – and her most recent album, released in July 2018, is no different. Set against dancehall and reggae influences, the album moved away from her usual witty sarcastic songwriting style and opted for a more "candid" approach. With tracks like ‘Trigger Bang’, ‘Lost My Mind’, ‘Three’ and the album title track, she tackles everything from the breakdown of her marriage and her friendships… to maternal guilt, substance abuse and, as if that’s not enough, social and political issues.

The B-side of the programme, where it's the turn of the audience to ask the questions, can be heard tomorrow at 3.30pm.
Complete versions of the songs performed in the programme (and others) can be heard on the 'Mastertapes' pages on the Radio 4 website, where the programmes can also be downloaded and other musical goodies accessed.

Producer: Paul Kobrak


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0001hks)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



TUESDAY 11 DECEMBER 2018

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0001hkv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (m0001hkx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001hl0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001hl2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001hl4)
The latest shipping forecast


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0001hl6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0001hl8)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Steve Williams


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0001hlb)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03k5b9c)
Long-tailed Duck

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

Chris Packham presents the long-tailed duck. The musical call of the long-tailed duck gives it the Scottish name of 'calloo', or 'coal- and-candlelight'. In the UK you're more likely to see them in Scotland and northern England where they seek out shellfish, diving up to 60 metres to retrieve them.


TUE 06:00 Today (m0001hvq)
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0001hvs)
Clive Oppenheimer on the volcanic offerings of our angry earth

Clive Oppenheimer has, more than once, been threatened with guns (a Life Scientific first?). He's dodged and ducked lava bombs and he's risked instant death in scorching and explosive eruptions.
He studies volcanoes; science that by necessity, requires his presence at the volcanic hotspots of the world. It was at the lip of a bubbling lava crater on one of the earth's most active volcanoes, Mount Erebus in Antarctica, that he met the film and documentary maker Werner Herzog. The two became friends and went on to make a volcano movie together. Clive, who's Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge, tells Jim academics and film makers share the same complementary skill set: thorough research, slick location recording and a familiarity with rejection as 9 out of 10 film pitches (or grant proposals) are turned down!
As well as a forensic fascination with the dramatic impact of ancient and modern volcanism on the landscape, Clive discusses how multiple scientific disciplines are now needed to understand the complex historical, archaeological, climatological and environmental impacts of the earth's volcanic eruptions. He wades into the bitter academic row about what did it for the dinosaurs 65 million years ago: meteorite or volcanism? And he details the importance of Mount Pinatubo's 1991 eruption in the Philippines for our deeper understanding of anthropogenic climate change.

Producer: Fiona Hill


TUE 09:30 One to One (m0001hvv)
MSN Messenger

Tech journalist Jack Dearlove grew up with Microsoft Messenger. Back in the early 2000s, it was vital for teen communication. Jack is nostalgic about it, and he’s not alone. Here he speaks to software developer Jonathan Kay who has tried to keep MSN Messenger alive even after Microsoft tried to kill it off.

Producer: Jolyon Jenkins


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (m0001hvx)
Handel in London - The Making of a Genius

Episode 2

As the German King ascends the throne, his favourite composer becomes a
leading light in the London opera scene establish a new musical society, The Royal Academy.

Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712,
followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of
his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was
George Frederic Handel. He would be at the heart of musical activity in
London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece,
whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as
Giulio Cesare and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in
Messiah. Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses
and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding
of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story.

Reader: Jane Glover
Producer: Clive Brill
Abridger: Eileen Horne

The readings will include music from Handel’s vast output.

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0001hvz)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001hw1)
Gudrun

Episode 7

By Lucy Catherine.

Living in exile among a cult of women in the mountains, Gudrun decides to kidnap her own daughter.

Gudrun, a young woman in 11th century Iceland, must forge her path through a world of unearthly beauty yet uncompromising harshness. Lucy Catherine's Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas.

Gudrun . . . . . Kate Phillips
Freija . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Dag . . . . . Cameron Percival
Bolli . . . . . Lewis Bray
Sigrid . . . . . Rosie Boore
Heidr . . . . . Jeanette Percival

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko


TUE 11:00 Mums and Sons (b09v0xhw)
The relationship between mothers and sons as depicted in the arts is complex and, as anyone familiar with Medea's story will attest, not always terribly positive.

As Lauren Laverne discovers, however, there are many examples of stories, films and dramas in which the love between mums and sons is very much celebrated, and as a mother of two boys herself, Lauren is very keen to unpick the particular facets of the relationship as depicted on page, stage and screen.

She meets Sophie Ellis Bextor, mother of four boys, and hears about carving out a space in which she can continue her career as a singer - even if that has meant at times recording songs with a baby in her arms.

Patrick Ness is the author of the novel 'A Monster Calls' and also wrote the screenplay for the successful film. He tells Lauren how the story, about a boy dealing with the imminent death of his mum from cancer, was originally conceived by another author, Siobhan Dowd, who died before getting chance to complete it.

Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, a highly successful mother and son band from Kansas, talk about how they came to play together and the various upsides of being together on the road.

Finally, Lauren meets Jonathan Butterell and Dan Gillespie Sells, who helped create the West End hit 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie', the musical version of a true story about a teenage boy from County Durham who is determined to go to the school prom in a dress. The story appealed to both Jonathan and Dan because each of them recognised the 'fierce and open hearted relationship' they shared with their own mothers.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Geoff Bird


TUE 11:30 The Art of Living (m0001hw3)
Only Happiness

The minds of those with Williams Syndrome are made of sound. They’re more likely to possess absolute pitch and the way they perceive the world can be found in music – they can be moved to tears by a cello or disturbed by minor chords. This rare, genetic condition affects between 1 in 7,500 and 1 in 20,000 people in the UK. But music and sound unite.

In rural County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, an outdoor activity centre becomes the annual home to the Williams Syndrome Association of Ireland. For one week a year, music can be heard across the campsite. Cracked windows and doors left ajar reveal beating drums and pop hits, and nursery rhymes are played at the piano. Laughter and chatter can be heard at every corner.

MOBO award-winning saxophonist YolanDa Brown steps inside the world of Williams Syndrome as she joins the campers, saxophone in hand. In meeting those with Williams Syndrome, she discovers how they hear music in unexpected places, be it a coffee machine producing a C note or a bell with a high frequency. The emotional response it creates is heightened, with anxiety and empathy threaded together in discordant harmony.

Producer: Kate Holland
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0001hw5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001hw7)
Episode 7

The new novel from Barbara Kingsolver, bestselling author of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE LACUNA and FLIGHT BEHAVIOUR, interweaves the past and the present to explore the human capacity for resilience and compassion in times of great upheaval. It is a portrait of life in precarious times - when characters discover that the past has failed to prepare them for the future.

Alternating between two centuries, Kingsolver examines the personal and social shocks that ensue when people’s assumptions about the world and their place in it are shaken to their foundations.

1874. Thatcher's progressive views on science antagonise his conservative headmaster.
2016. Differences of opinion about the presidential candidate cause tension in Willa's family.

Abridged by Sian Preece
Read by Patrick Kennedy and Laurel Lefkow
Producer: Gaynor Macfarlane


TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m0001hw9)
Call You and Yours

Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0001hwc)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0001hwf)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 A History of Delusions (m0001hwh)
Grand Passions

Psychologist and therapist Professor Daniel Freeman explores the history of delusions - strongly held, preoccupying false beliefs – with cases from the archives and first-hand testimonies from people who have experienced delusional thinking. Conversations usually confined to the clinic room.

In recent years, delusions have started to emerge as a field of study in their own right, and Daniel has been at the forefront of new research and treatment for the past 20 years. His aim is to make delusions more understandable and explicable.

In this programme Daniel hears how in 1921, Gaetan Gatien De Clerambault, a French psychiatrist, published a landmark paper detailing the delusion that became commonly known as ‘erotomania’. The case study featured ‘Lea Anne B’ a 53-year-old milliner who became convinced that the English King George V was in love with her.

And a contemporary contributor shares her experience of the belief that she had to save the world from the Millennium Bug.

Produced by Victoria Shepherd and Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0001hkf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (m0001hwk)
Pilgrim: The Winter Queen

Episode 2

Pilgrim searches for the mysterious Mrs Bronson as a blizzard and a malevolent enchantment threaten to overcome the inhabitants of the town of Melcombe.

Pilgrim ….. Paul Hilton
Mrs Bronson ….. Fenella Woolgar
Roxanna ….. Carolyn Pickles
Sam Notice ….. Tony Turner
Donny ….. Tayla Kovacevic Ebong
Jack Sweet ….. Don Gilet
Matt ….. Cameron Percival
Klara ….. Jeanette Percival
Lloyd ..... Lewis Bray
Jonas ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Taylor ..... Alexandra Constantinidi
The Girl ..... Agnes Bateman

Directed by Jessica Dromgoole and Marc Beeby


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m0001hwm)
Series 17

Seasons

Josie Long presents new short documentaries and audio adventures tied to the changing of the seasons. Laura Barton offers an ode to the sticky heat of summer, we hear the beat of hummingbird wings in autumn and a love story tied to cold British winters and Colombia's 'spring city'.

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:30 Mastertapes (m0001hwp)
Lily Allen (B-side)

John Wilson talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.

Having discussed the making of "No Shame" - her fourth and most personal album to date (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 10th December 2018 and available online), Lily Allen responds to questions from the audience and performs live acoustic versions of some of the tracks on the album.

Producer: Paul Kobrak.


TUE 16:00 Contracts of Silence (m0001hwr)
'Gagging clauses' - NDAs or non-disclosure agreements - have been rarely out of the headlines in recent months. High profile cases in business, politics and celebrity life have prompted calls for an outright ban, particularly when used to cover up apparent sexual impropriety. This programme explores the rise and rise of the NDA. Who uses them, why, and when? Are they an invisibility cloak, helping the rich and powerful to silence victims of their bad behaviour? Or are they a vital tool for those looking to protect personal privacy and business interests? Tiffany Jenkins investigates.

Producer: Dave Howard


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (m0001hwt)
Russell Kane on Evelyn Waugh

Comedian Russell Kane nominates the novelist Evelyn Waugh, with help from literary critic Ann Pasternak Slater. Chaired by Matthew Parris.

One of the greatest prose stylists of 20th century literature, not to mention one of the funniest, novelist Evelyn Waugh also has a reputation for being a snob, a bully, and a dyed in the wool reactionary. How much of this was a self-parodying pose, and how much the underlying truth? Russell and Ann are unabashed Waugh fans - Russell calls him "a ninja master of banter" - but Matthew Parris says he can't stand him.

Producer: Jolyon Jenkins


TUE 17:00 PM (m0001hww)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001hwy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Alex Edelman's Peer Group (m0001hx0)
Series 2

Personal

Nominated for this year’s main Edinburgh Comedy Award, and winner of the Newcomer in 2014, American comedian Alex Edelman is back for a second series of his show PEER GROUP in which he takes a comic look at what it’s like being a millennial today.

After episodes about social media, politics and materialism, this episode is all about growing up and how he feels personally; living as a rootless millennial with no home and no family. At 29, is he an adult yet? When will he become an adult? Or indeed feel like one? Is he part of a generation that's increasingly stunted emotionally? And is the intenet responsible? He also looks at modern relationships, both in terms of what one expects from one's parents as well as modern attitudes to picking your partner.

We also hear from Alex's "peer group" - comedians Alfie Brown, Jak Knight, and Brandon Wardell, journalist Rebecca Nicholson and cultural commentator David Burstein.

It is written and presented by Alex Edelman, with additional material by Ivo Graham.

Producer: Sam Michell.

A BBC Studios production.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0001hx2)
Elizabeth makes a surprising decision and Christine remains adamant.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0001hx4)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001hw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 Drawing a Line Under the Troubles (m0001hx6)
“Why am I still being investigated after all these years? I feel betrayed. The IRA gets an amnesty and I could be gaoled for life.” Those are the words of a former member of the Parachute Regiment who faces prosecution for events arising out of 'Bloody Sunday' in 1972 - not the deaths of IRA gunmen but injuries to civilians caused by ricochets. Another former soldier adds: "You can’t drag cases like this through the courts 40 years later. There should be a statute of limitations.”

The British Government has decided to try and draw a line under the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland with a plan that includes military veterans facing possible prosecution for events that took place decades ago. These ex-soldiers see themselves as victims of a witch hunt. They demand that no prosecution could be launched once a specific number of years (probably ten) had passed after the event. Many veterans would accept this being extended to members of the IRA too.

There is profound political disagreement about this, however. In a private letter to the Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has expressed his support for the idea, arguing that "our veterans need the protection of a statute of limitations in respect of Troubles-related offences. If this means a wider amnesty, so be it…” Theresa May disagreed: “We cannot countenance a proposal where amnesties would be provided for terrorists.”

But no less important are the stories of the victims. In a number of cases, their families seek an apology from the government. Their emotions are visceral too. In a thought-provoking programme, Peter Taylor explores the political, legal and moral questions over attempts to achieve justice in Northern Ireland many years after the original events and where these may be leading.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0001hx8)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (m0001hxb)
Programme exploring the limits and potential of the human mind.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m0001hvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0001hxd)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001hw7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


TUE 23:00 Wireless Nights (m0001hxg)
Series 6

Dungeness

Jarvis Cocker's series exploring the human condition after dark returns with a night wander around Dungeness.

Sometimes referred to as Britain's only desert, it's a shingle headland in Kent jutting into the English Channel. Sparsely populated, with wooden shack cottages and star filled night skies, a lighthouse sweeping its beam out to sea and a nuclear power station glowing with electric light like a city suspended in the darkness.

But Jarvis isn't alone as he explores this untamed landscape, torch in hand. Also on the move are Paddy Hamilton and Bridget Wilkins who leave the cosiness of their old railway carriage home for a night walk on the beach, bumping into a Chinese fishing party along the way. At the Bird Observatory, moth trappers Sean Clancy and David Walker keep vigil as they wait for a specimen to fly into the light and recall other things that went bump in the night. Doreen Thomas, the matriarch of a Dungeness fishing family, reflects on nights gone by. And Mark Daniels is out there somewhere, swimming in the cold black inky waters.

Producer Neil McCarthy


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0001hxj)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



WEDNESDAY 12 DECEMBER 2018

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0001hxl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (m0001hvx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001hxn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001hxq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001hxs)
The latest shipping forecast


WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0001hxv)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0001hxx)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Steve Williams


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0001hxz)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b092t5j1)
Amy Liptrot on the Greylag Goose

Orcadian writer Amy Liptrot reflects on the greylag goose on Orkney, where seemingly no car journey can be completed without seeing a field of geese, in this Tweet of the Day.

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: Mark Ward
Picture: Simon Richardson.


WED 06:00 Today (m0001jp0)
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day


WED 09:00 Only Artists (m0001jp4)
Series 6

Joanne Harris meets Howard Goodall

The writer Joanne Harris meets the composer Howard Goodall.

Joanne Harris worked as a teacher for fifteen years, until the success of her novel Chocolat allowed her to write full time. Chocolat has sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, and became a film starring Juliette Binoche. Since then, Joanne’s work includes 15 more novels, short stories, screenplays and three cookbooks. She has written four books inspired by her long-standing love of Norse mythology.

Howard Goodall’s music has reached millions of listeners through his film and TV scores, which include Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley and Mr Bean. His choral work Eternal Light: a Requiem has received hundreds of performances around the world, and his West End musicals include The Hired Man and Bend It Like Beckham. He was also England’s first National Ambassador for Singing, encouraging primary age children to sing together.

Producer: Clare Walker


WED 09:30 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m0001jp6)
Series 12

Two Infinities and Beyond Part 2

This is the second part of our eternal quest to investigate infinity, inspired by this question from father and son duo Sorley and Tom Watson from Edinburgh:

“Is anything in the Universe truly infinite, or is infinity something that only exists in mathematics?”

Hannah and Adam try and find something that is truly infinite, from the infinitely small particles that live in the subatomic world to the infinitely dense heart of a black hole.

But how about the Universe itself? We find out how physicists go about measuring the shape of the Universe, with the help of an orange and a game of Asteroids.

Plus, we consider the possibility that the Universe might be finite and have an edge. If so, what's on the other side?

Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll from Caltech and cosmologist Andrew Pontzen from University College London help us navigate our biggest question yet.

Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
Producer: Michelle Martin


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (m0001jqr)
Handel in London - The Making of a Genius

Episode 3

Handel’s music triumphs at the coronation of a new king but his operatic fortunes at the Royal Academy take a turn for the worse with the rise of a new English rival: ballad opera.

Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712,
followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of
his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was
George Frederic Handel. He would be at the heart of musical activity in
London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece,
whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as
Giulio Cesare and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in
Messiah. Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses
and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding
of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story.

Reader: Jane Glover
Producer: Clive Brill
Abridger: Eileen Horne

The readings will include music from Handel’s vast output.

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0001jpb)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (m0001jpd)
Gudrun

Episode 8

By Lucy Catherine.

Gudrun faces an impossible dilemma; forced to choose between living with her daughter, or the end of a bloody feud that threatens to engulf Iceland.

Gudrun, a young woman in 11th century Iceland, must forge her path through a world of unearthly beauty yet uncompromising harshness. Lucy Catherine's Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas.

Gudrun . . . . . Kate Phillips
Freija . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Dag . . . . . Cameron Percival
Sylvia . . . . . Carolyn Pickles
Sigrid . . . . . Rosie Boore
Heidr . . . . . Jeanette Percival
Volva . . . . . Carolyn Pickles

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (m0001jpg)
Jovana and Ashleigh – Women in engineering

A lecturer in engineering and her former student talk about being women in engineering and the need to raise awareness and break stereotypes. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it’s surprising what you hear when you listen


WED 11:00 Belonging (m0001hkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 11:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b07k08xb)
Series 1

Episode 3

A new show from the internationally acclaimed master of the one-liner Tim Vine sees Tim interview members of his live audience as he embarks on a quest to hear the life stories of the Great British public while simultaneously showcasing his trademark gleeful wordplay and preposterous songs.

This week, a job interview for Tim and an encounter with an anaconda.

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.


WED 12:00 News Summary (m0001jsr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001jpl)
Episode 8

The new novel from Barbara Kingsolver, bestselling author of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE LACUNA and FLIGHT BEHAVIOUR, interweaves the past and the present to explore the human capacity for resilience and compassion in times of great upheaval. It is a portrait of life in precarious times - when characters discover that the past has failed to prepare them for the future.

Alternating between two centuries, Kingsolver examines the personal and social shocks that ensue when people’s assumptions about the world and their place in it are shaken to their foundations.

1874. News of Thatcher's feud with headmaster Cutler over Darwin has reached the town. Thatcher is warned by renegade newspaper editor, Uri Carruth.
2016. Tig hatches plans for the future.

Abridged by Sian Preece
Read by Patrick Kennedy and Laurel Lefkow
Producer: Gaynor Macfarlane


WED 12:18 You and Yours (m0001jpn)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


WED 12:57 Weather (m0001jpq)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (m0001jps)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


WED 13:45 A History of Delusions (m0001jpv)
Intensive care delirium

Clinical psychologist Professor Daniel Freeman continues his exploration of delusions, looking at both historic and contemporary case studies.

In this programme he hears a case from 1892, of a patient at the Victorian psychiatric hospital Bethlem in London who believed that people were telephoning into her ears. And he meets a man who experienced delusions of being dead and under attack as a consequence of being in a hospital intensive care unit.

Produced by Victoria Shepherd and Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint Production for BBC Radio 4


WED 14:00 The Archers (m0001hx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b08bbjnf)
Pleading

Pleading
by Rob Drummond

Freya and Michael - two Western teenagers - have been on a gap-year, travelling round the world. But now, during a stopover on the journey home, they have been arrested. What started out as a holiday has become a nightmare.

After spending some time in Australia they enter a country in the Far East and are found to have drugs in their luggage. After spending three weeks in prison their case is about to be heard in court, but first their defence barrister has to find out how they will plead and make them aware of the possible outcomes, including the death penalty. Can he broker a deal with the prosecution to save their lives?

Producer/director: David Ian Neville.


WED 15:00 Money Box (m0001jpx)
Money Box Live

Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.


WED 15:30 All in the Mind (m0001hxb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (m0001jpz)
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (m0001jq1)
A topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 17:00 PM (m0001jq3)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001jq5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Women Talking About Cars (m0001jq7)
Series 3

Lynda La Plante

Lynda La Plante, the award-winning writer behind Prime Suspect and Widows talks to Victoria Coren Mitchell about her life and the cars she has driven along the way. From her origins in Liverpool to the stage to the USA and becoming a writer, via a Mini Cooper that turned out to be two Mini Coopers stuck together, a magnificent Mercedes and love at first sight with a Rolls Royce Corniche. Lynda La Plante tells her hilarious, uplifting and thought-provoking life story.

Readings by Sarah Hadland

Produced by Gareth Edwards

A BBC Studios production


WED 19:00 The Archers (m0001jq9)
There's a visitor at Lower Loxley and Tom makes a breakthrough.


WED 19:15 Front Row (m0001jqc)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001jpd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 Brexit on the Border (m0001jqf)
Young people discuss the implications of Britain's departure from the EU on the younger generations of people in the UK. How do prospects differ either side of the UK border?


WED 20:45 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (m0001jp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


WED 21:00 Science Stories (m0001jqh)
Eddington's Eclipse and Einstein's Celebrity

Eddington's Eclipse and Einstein's Celebrity

Philip Ball's tale is of a solar eclipse 100 years ago observed by Arthur Eddington, a British astronomer who travelled to the remote island of Principe off the coast of West Africa and saw the stars shift in the heavens. His observations supplied the crucial proof of a theory that transformed our notions of the cosmos and turned a German physicist named Albert Einstein into an international celebrity. But this is also a tale of how a Quaker tried to use science to unite countries. The reparations imposed on Germany after the war extended into science too as many in Great Britain and other Allied nations felt that German science should be ostracised from the international community. As a Quaker, Eddington wanted just the opposite: to see peaceful cooperation restored among nations.

Producer: Erika Wright


WED 21:30 Only Artists (m0001jp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0001jqk)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


WED 22:45 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001jpl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


WED 23:00 The Damien Slash Mixtape (m00010zt)
Series 2

Episode 1

Multi-character YouTube star Damien Slash makes the move from online to Radio 4, in this new fast-paced, one-man sketch comedy show. From the surreal to the satirical, from the zeitgeist to the absurd, Damien serves up a range of high octane characters, all from his own voice. Adverts, actors, hipsters, trolls - no aspect of modern life is left un-skewered.

Written by and starring Damien Slash (aka Daniel Barker).
Guest starring Natasia Demetriou
Production coordinated by Hayley Sterling
Produced by Matt Stronge
A BBC Studios production.


WED 23:15 Lenny Henry's Rogues Gallery (b085x9sq)
The Rogues Gallery at Christmas

The Rogues Gallery At Christmas sees Lenny Henry writing and starring in his own twist-in-the-tale story, "Kobbolovski's Little Helper". In it he plays a Kenyan of restricted height, called A'dele, who is compelled by a voice to migrate to Kent, where he finds work as a healthcare assistant at an old people's home. He is happy there. He is able to work with other people of restricted height, and is surrounded by plenty of great facilities, including a well resourced workshop. But soon the seasons change, the cold bites and his routine is upset by the arrival of an old, skinny man who A'dele must make every effort to look after...

"Kobbolovski's Little Helper" is written by and stars Lenny Henry.

It is produced by Sam Michell

It is a BBC Studios Production


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0001jqm)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



THURSDAY 13 DECEMBER 2018

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0001jqp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (m0001jqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001jqt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001jqw)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001jqy)
The latest shipping forecast


THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0001jr0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0001jr2)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Steve Williams


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0001jr4)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09534fz)
David Rothenberg on the Veery Thrush

Slow down the song of the veery thrush and what have you got? For David Rothenberg in this Tweet of the Day, its compressed tiny bits of music that humans can really relate to.

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 Tim Dee

Image : Salaman.


THU 06:00 Today (m0001kr6)
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme, including Thought for the Day


THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0001kr8)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the jewels of medieval English poetry. It was written c1400 by an unknown poet and then was left hidden in private collections until the C19th when it emerged. It tells the story of a giant green knight who disrupts Christmas at Camelot, daring Gawain to cut off his head with an axe if he can do the same to Gawain the following year. Much to the surprise of Arthur's court, who were kicking the green head around, the decapitated body reaches for his head and rides off, leaving Gawain to face his promise and his apparently inevitable death the following Christmas.

The illustration above is © British Library Board Cotton MS Nero A.x, article 3, ff.94v95

With

Ad Putter

Laura Ashe

and

Simon Armitage

Producer: Simon Tillotson


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (m0001krb)
Handel in London - The Making of a Genius

Episode 4

Handel’s operatic rivals struggle while he suffers from health problems before travelling to Ireland to present a new work, an oratorio based on biblical texts he calls Messiah.

Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712,
followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of
his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was
George Frederic Handel. He would be at the heart of musical activity in
London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece,
whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as
Giulio Cesare and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in
Messiah. Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses
and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding
of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story.

Reader: Jane Glover
Producer: Clive Brill
Abridger: Eileen Horne

The readings will include music from Handel’s vast output.

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0001krd)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001krg)
Gudrun

Episode 9

By Lucy Catherine.

The women of the mountains are planning to ambush the church. Will Gudrun have to prove herself as the warrior queen?

Gudrun, a young woman in 11th century Iceland, must forge her path through a world of unearthly beauty yet uncompromising harshness. Lucy Catherine's Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas.

Gudrun . . . . . Kate Phillips
Freija . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Bolli . . . . . Lewis Bray
Aslak . . . . . Tony Turner
Frederick . . . . .Simon Scardifield
Heidr . . . . . Jeanette Percival
Volva . . . . . Carolyn Pickles
Guard 2 . . . . . Michael Bertenshaw
Kjartan . . . . . Luke MacGregor
Warrior . . . . . Don Gilet

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m0001krj)
China's Hidden Camps

China is accused of locking up as many as a million Uighur Muslims without trial across its western region of Xinjiang. The government denies the claims, saying people willingly attend special "vocational schools" to combat "terrorism and religious extremism". But a BBC investigation has found important new evidence of the reality - a vast and rapidly growing network of detention centres, where the people held inside are humiliated and abused. Using detailed satellite analysis and reporting from a part of the country where journalists are routinely detained and harassed; China correspondent John Sudworth offers his in-depth report on China's Hidden Camps.


THU 11:30 Along the Peaceline (m0001krl)
In February 2016 a controversial wall in Belfast was demolished. It was the first of over a hundred such structures across Northern Ireland set to disappear by 2023. Collectively, they’re known as peacelines. Some are just a few hundred yards long, others over three miles. Some are flimsy, rickety affairs, others are made of reinforced concrete, galvanised steel and razor wire. Depending on one’s personal view, they either divide or protect Catholic and Protestant communities from each other.

Peacelines first appeared in Belfast in 1969, intended only as temporary structures. But they're still there today, steadfast symbols of the Troubles.

What was it like growing up next to one of these walls? In Along the Peaceline, two Belfast-born writers, Maria Fusco and Glenn Patterson, each return to a peaceline they've known since childhood.

Glenn revisits the Shankhill Road, an area of Belfast he got to know well as a boy on his way to see his aunt and uncle. Parts of the peaceline there have since become a tourist attraction. Meanwhile, Maria heads to the Ardoyne neighbourhood she grew up in, where the local peaceline was “a constant flashpoint for rioting”.

It’s an evocative journey for both of them as they trace the length of their respective peacelines. They recall how these structures affected their lives during the Troubles and observe what's changed since. Reflecting on the then and now, Glenn and Maria bring historical fact and their own personal perspectives to help excavate these contested sites and try to gauge the overall effect peacelines have had on today’s much changed Belfast.

Photo: Conor Garrett

Producer: Dan Shepherd
A Far Shoreline production for BBC Radio 4


THU 12:00 News Summary (m0001krn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001krq)
Episode 9

The new novel from Barbara Kingsolver, bestselling author of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE LACUNA and FLIGHT BEHAVIOUR, interweaves the past and the present to explore the human capacity for resilience and compassion in times of great upheaval. It is a portrait of life in precarious times - when characters discover that the past has failed to prepare them for the future.

Alternating between two centuries, Kingsolver examines the personal and social shocks that ensue when people’s assumptions about the world and their place in it are shaken to their foundations.

Supported by Mary Treat and his sister-in-law, Polly, Thatcher takes part in a public debate billed as Darwin versus Decency.

Abridged by Sian Preece
Read by Patrick Kennedy
Producer: Gaynor Macfarlane


THU 12:18 You and Yours (m0001krs)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


THU 12:57 Weather (m0001krv)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (m0001krx)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


THU 13:45 A History of Delusions (m0001krz)
Delusions of the body

Clinical psychologist Professor Daniel Freeman explores cases of delusions - strongly held, preoccupying false beliefs.

In this series he unearths case studies from the archives dating back to the Renaissance, he meets people who have recently experienced delusions, and finds out about new thinking in this relatively little-known field from psychologists and psychiatrists.

Distressing concerns about the body often feature in the content of delusions. Although unusual examples, Renaissance case studies of people who believed they had frogs living in their belly or that they are made out of glass or butter can be viewed as hypochondriacal delusions. In hypochondriacal delusions people erroneously believe that their body is unhealthy, rotten, or diseased.

But there are also people who are unaware at first that they do have a physical illness and that it is a physical illness that is leading to delusions.

Daniel meets Sarah, who shares her story.

Produced by Victoria Shepherd and Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint Production for BBC Radio 4


THU 14:00 The Archers (m0001jq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Tracks (p06rtwdq)
Series 3: Tracks - Chimera

Episode Seven

Part 7 of the conspiracy thriller. Written by Timothy X Atack, starring Hattie Morahan and Jonathan Forbes.

When Helen and Freddy discover a bunker which holds the secret of ‘Patient Zero’, they must form an unlikely alliance to get inside.

A gripping thriller, chart topping podcast and winner of Best Sound (BBC Audio Drama Awards) and Best Fiction (British Podcast Awards), now Tracks is back with another 9 part headphone filling thrill-ride.

Helen…. Hattie Morahan
Freddy….. Jonathan Forbes
Astrid…. Lea Mornar
Angelo…. Francois Pandolfo
Martinsen…. Simon Armstrong

Lead writer…. Matthew Broughton
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


THU 15:00 Open Country (m0001ks2)
Leicester’s hidden gem - Bradgate Park - bought for the locals, but where’s all the archive?

Just 5 miles from Leicester City Centre is Bradgate Park, 850 acres of natural landscape, an ancient deer park which was the home of Lady Jane Grey the nine day queen who was convicted of high treason and executed at the Tower of London.
This year marks Bradgate’s 90th year and over the last 18 months local residents and photographers have been encouraged to take pictures of everything from the 600 deer to the wardens, the visitors and wildlife to start to create an archive. Because despite the rich history and significance of the landscape Peter Tyldesley, director of ‘Bradgate Park Trust’, a charity who runs the park discovered there was virtually no archive and quality images of the park.
Taking up the challenge Helen Mark with help from Rob Doyle from the Leicester Photographic Society, gets tips on how to take a perfect image. Along the way she meets volunteer Joy Braker who has been visiting the park since she was a child and is now restoring a walled garden to get it back to how it would have looked in the days of Lady Jane Grey.
Helen also meets Charles Bennion, whose great grandfather a local businessman bought the park in 1928 for the people of Leicestershire. Charles named after his great grandfather shows Helen the original deeds to the park and a family scrap book from the 1920’s.
The day ends with local performer Andy Griffiths who has been inspired to write a song about Bradgate Park and Helen hoping that her Open Country image that she took at the start of the day might just be good enough to make it into Bradgate’s 90th Birthday archive.
The producer is Peminder Khatkar.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0001h17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (m0001h22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m0001ks4)
Pitch Battle: The Conclusion

With Antonia Quirke

In a year when we've seen yet more bio-pics about Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria, The Film Programme decided to do something about and find some subjects that are also suitable for the movie treatment. They put out a call to historians and history buffs for some serious alternatives. The candidates have ranged from the queen who was behind the Gunpowder Plot to an African American bare knuckle boxer who tried to take the British title at the start of the 19th century. And in this week's edition, those pitches are heard by a panel of industry insiders - BFI film producer Lizzie Francke, Head Of Creative at Film 4 Ollie Madden and development consultant Rowan Woods. Find out what they would green-light in this concluding part of Pitch Battle.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0001ks6)
Gareth Mitchell investigates the news in science and science in the news.


THU 17:00 PM (m0001ks8)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001ksb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 The Missing Hancocks (m0001ksd)
Department Store Santa

The Missing Hancocks recreates those episodes of the classic Hancock's Half Hour that have been wiped or lost from the archive.

The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson as one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show were missing from the BBC archives. Now, after three highly successful series, another batch of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.

Tonight's episode: Hancock and Kerr are forced to stop claiming unemployment benefits by the Ministry Of Labour, so the Lad Himself takes on a job as Santa in Sid's department store.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score re-recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Kevin McNally, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian and Margaret Cabourn-Smith. The Department Store Santa was first broadcast on the 14th December, 1954.

Produced by Neil Pearson & Paul Sheehan.

Written by Ray Galton & Simpson

Music recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Levon Parikian.

A BBC Studios Production.


THU 19:00 The Archers (m0001kbx)
Lily finds herself torn and Jill issues an invitation.


THU 19:15 Front Row (m0001ksg)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001krg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0001ksj)
Current affairs series combining original insights into major news stories with topical investigations.


THU 20:30 In Business (m0001ksl)
The Golden Opportunity

Will life sciences lead Britain towards a new economic future? Brexit's causing uncertainty. But as Ruth Alexander discovers, there's a dynamic 'golden triangle' now linking medical and other cutting edge research at Oxford and Cambridge universities with London's political and financial power. The government's putting this at the centre of its vision for a transformed economy. So what's behind all this, and can this sector live up to the ambition?

Producer: Chris Bowlby
Editor: Penny Murphy

(Researchers in a lab. Credit: Getty Images)


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m0001ks6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (m0001kr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0001ksp)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


THU 22:45 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001krq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


THU 23:00 TEZ Talks (m0001ksr)
Series 3

13. What are you looking at?

Comedian Tez Ilyas presents a stand-up show about life as a British Muslim.


THU 23:15 The Pin (b07b3snr)
Series 2

Ep 1: Award

Following a hugely successful first series, which drew praise from the likes of David Walliams and Ben Stiller, Alex and Ben are back with their weird twist on the double-act sketch show. Strap in for a 15 minute delve in to a world of oddness performed in front of a live studio audience.

This week, The Pin are trying for a perfectly achievable goal for a Radio 4 late night comedy - an Oscar.

About The Pin
The Pin are an award-winning comedy duo, and legends of Edinburgh festival. They deconstruct the sketch form, in a show that exists somewhere between razor-sharp smartness and utterly joyous silliness.

After a sold-out run in Edinburgh, and a string of hilarious performances across BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC 3, Channel 4, and Comedy Central, this is The Pin’s debut solo show for Radio 4. Join them as they celebrate, make, collapse and rebuild their jokes, each other, and probably the radio too.

For fans of Adam and Joe, Vic and Bob, and Fist of Fun - a show of absurd offerings from two loveable idiots.

- 'The Pin prove it's still possible to play with the conventions of the medium of sketch comedy.’ - The Guardian
- 'Knowing and inventive: a 15 minute blast.' - The Times
- 'The sketches are funny, and made special by Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen also examining, subverting and reversing familiar tropes. The material is excellent.' - Radio Times
- 'Eviscerating their chosen form completely.' - The Sunday Times
- 'A very classy, very funny show indeed.' - The Telegraph

Producer: Sam Bryant
A BBC Studios Production


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0001kst)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



FRIDAY 14 DECEMBER 2018

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0001ksw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (m0001krb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0001ksy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0001kt0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0001kt2)
The latest shipping forecast


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0001kt4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0001kt6)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Steve Williams


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0001kt8)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09nxvy1)
Jane Smith on the Ringed Plover

Wildlife artist Jane Smith is captivated by a group of Ringed Plovers and their ability to seemingly appear and disappear before her eyes so good is their colouring at camouflaging them, but their calls give them away!
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: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Denis Eagling.


FRI 06:00 Today (m0001kb3)
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0001h1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (m0001kb5)
Handel in London - The Making of a Genius

Episode 5

Back in London, Handel finds a highly charged political landscape and reviews of his new work are mixed; meanwhile, he confronts the terrible truth that he is going blind.

Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712,
followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of
his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was
George Frederic Handel. He would be at the heart of musical activity in
London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece,
whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as
Giulio Cesare and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in
Messiah. Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses
and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding
of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story.

Reader: Jane Glover
Producer: Clive Brill
Abridger: Eileen Horne

The readings will include music from Handel’s vast output.

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0001kb7)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001kb9)
Gudrun

Episode 10

By Lucy Catherine.

Gudrun has been captured and faces execution at dawn. Have all her allies deserted her?

Gudrun, a young woman in 11th century Iceland, must forge her path through a world of unearthly beauty yet uncompromising harshness. Lucy Catherine's Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas.

Gudrun . . . . . Kate Phillips
Freija . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Dag . . . . . Cameron Percival
Bolli. . . . . Lewis Bray
Sigrid . . . . Rosie Boore
Guard 2 . . . . . Michael Bertenshaw
Heidr . . . . . Jeanette Percival

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko


FRI 11:00 Born in Bradford (m0001kbc)
Beginning in 2007 researchers have recruited 14,000 mothers and babies across this city. Each has donated blood and tissue samples and completed a lengthy questionnaire, running to 42 pages, detailing diet, family structures, relationships, incomes, mental and physical health. The project is run by Professor John Wright, a consultant clinical epidemiologist at Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, who said that Born in Bradford had set in motion a quiet revolution in the city:

“There’s much more recognition that just being part of the study has made mothers much more aware of diet and health and many say they have made changes to improve their health.

“What’s also interesting is the effect it’s had on galvanising the city – when we set out on the study we didn’t realise it would become part of the city’s.”
“This spotlight of research makes you think about your health much more: because we’re always asking questions it does trigger changes and the other aspect of it is the results that the study is producing. We’ve found very clear evidence about being in green spaces and the impact on the future long term health of the baby,” says Professor Wright.

The research began in response to poor health in the city and high levels of child morbidity and mortality. Bradford had child mortality rates twice the national average – and rising at a time when they were falling everywhere else. Radio 4 has been given exclusive access to this research and to some of the families taking part, returning year after year to chart progress in a series of documentaries.

Producer: Sue Mitchell


FRI 11:30 The Cold Swedish Winter (m0001kbg)
Series 4

Stadsfest

In Danny Robins’ sitcom, Geoff (Adam Riches), is really beginning to feel Swedish. He has become a Swedish citizen, married his Swedish girlfriend, Linda (Sissela Benn), and has a son, John (or Yon). Geoff now has a proper job too and is beginning to tour on the English speaking stand-up circuit as well. This year Geoff has learnt about office etiquette and how to bond with workmates in a canoe, about Easter witches, death cleaning and about a gender-neutral God.
This week he finds his burgeoning career on the Swedish stand-up circuit is taking him further away from his family. The bright lights of Swedish TV beckon. Then his in-laws surprise him by staging a music festival and when Linda promises to be a rising singing star, his loyalties are put severely to the test.

Full Cast:
Geoff: Adam Riches
Linda: Sissela Benn
Gunilla: Anna-Lena Bergelin
Sten: Thomas Oredsson
Anders: Fredrik Andersson
Ian: Danny Robins
Man in Loo and Traffic Cop: Thomas Eriksson
John: Harry Nicolaou
and featuring The East London Norrsång Choir

Written by Danny Robins
Produced and directed by Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0001kbj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001kbl)
Episode 10

The new novel from Barbara Kingsolver, bestselling author of THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE LACUNA and FLIGHT BEHAVIOUR, interweaves the past and the present to explore the human capacity for resilience and compassion in times of great upheaval. It is a portrait of life in precarious times - when characters discover that the past has failed to prepare them for the future.

Alternating between two centuries, Kingsolver examines the personal and social shocks that ensue when people’s assumptions about the world and their place in it are shaken to their foundations.

2016. Willa discovers that a person of interest may have lived in her house in the past.
1875. An infamous shooting takes place in Vineland.

Abridged by Sian Preece
Read by Patrick Kennedy and Laurel Lefkow
Producer: Gaynor Macfarlane


FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m0001kbn)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


FRI 12:57 Weather (m0001kbq)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (m0001kbs)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


FRI 13:45 A History of Delusions (m0001kbv)
The Future

Psychologist Professor Daniel Freeman concludes his exploration of delusions, looking at both historic and contemporary case studies.

In the final programme he examines the latest thinking on the causes of and treatment for delusional thinking.

Daniel looks at the latest research suggesting delusions are part of a continuum in the general population, the impact of societal effects, and how delusions give us the chance to understand beliefs in general. He finds out how far delusions are hereditary, and the role played by poor sleep patterns. And we eavesdrop on a trial in Daniel's cutting edge virtual reality laboratory, where people with lived experience of delusions are helping him develop our understanding and treatment of this overlooked aspect of human experience.

Produced by Victoria Shepherd and Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0001kbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (m0001kbz)
Holding Back the Tide

5/5 Chips

by Nick Warburton

John Hector ..... Ronald Pickup
Richard Wells ..... Paul Ritter
Clare Wells ..... Kate Duchêne
Trafford ..... Gerard McDermott
Robust Betty ..... Emma Handy
Seasider ..... Lewis Bray

With a special guest appearance from Jonathan Agnew.

John Hector is meant to be taking things easy but it's all too easy to become annoyed especially when listening to Test Match Special on the radio.
And when Jonathan Agnew comes to town John Hector is waiting for him.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0001kc1)
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts.


FRI 15:45 Short Works (m0001kc3)
Pale Blue Dots

Written by Adam Marek and specially-commissioned for Radio 4.

Adrienne, a high-spec virtual assistant, explains its advantages to a new subscriber, and demonstrates its considerable power.

Adam Marek is the award-winning writer of two short story collections - Instruction Manual For Swallowing and The Stone Thrower - some of which were broadcast on Radio 4Extra as ‘he Stories Of Adam Marek in 2014. A specially-commissioned story, The Bullet Racers, featured later that year on Radio 4 as part of the series Short Rides In Fast Machines. Another, Companions, appeared as part of Short Works in 2016. He was shortlisted for the inaugural Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and his story The 40-Litre Monkey was included in The Penguin Book Of The British Short Story in 2015.

Writer: Adam Marek
Reader: Teresa Gallagher
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0001kc5)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.


FRI 16:30 Feedback (m0001kc7)
Radio 4's forum for audience comment.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (m0001kc9)
Agie and Katie - Strong new business women

Two Polish friends and business partners tell the story of their long, hard journey to running a successful restaurant in Britain. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it’s surprising what you hear when you listen.


FRI 17:00 PM (m0001kcc)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0001kcf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (m0001kch)
Christmas Specials 2018

14/12/2018

Satire and impressions from Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Duncan Wisbey, Lewis MacLeod and Debra Stephenson.

The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Laurence Howarth and others.

A BBC Studios Production.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0001kck)
Writer ..... Sarah McDonald Hughes
Director ..... Gwenda Hughes
Editor ..... Jeremy Howe

Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ben Archer ...... Ben Norris
Tony Archer ..... David Troughton
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Tom Archer ..... William Troughton
Brian Aldridge .... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Christine Barford ..... Lesley Saweard
Lilian Bellamy ..... Sunny Ormonde
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Clarrie Grundy ..... Heather Bell
Will Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Shula Hebden Lloyd ..... Judy Bennett
Alistair Lloyd ..... Michael Lumsden
Kirsty Miller ..... Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter ..... Katie Redford
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Pepperell
Peggy Woolley ..... June Spencer
Natasha .... Mali Harries
Russ ..... Andonis James Antony


FRI 19:15 Front Row (m0001kcm)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0001kb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0001kcp)
Andy McDonald MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Bishop Luffa School in Chichester Sussex with a panel including the Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald MP.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0001kcr)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.


FRI 21:00 Living With The Gods (m0001kct)
Living With The Gods Omnibus

Harvest and Homage

Neil MacGregor continues the omnibus editions of his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time.

In this programme he turns his attention to the repeating patterns of nature, the disruption of death, the inter-generational continuity of festivals and global faiths that adapt to meet local needs.

Producer Paul Kobrak

Produced in partnership with the British Museum
Photograph (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0001kcw)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


FRI 22:45 Barbara Kingsolver - Unsheltered (m0001kbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m0001hwt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0001kcz)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (m0001kd3)
Hazel and Barbara – In my mother’s footsteps

Mother and daughter, both army women, on changing attitudes and changing times. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it’s surprising what you hear when you listen.