SATURDAY 16 MARCH 2019

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m00036m7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (m00036kh)
A Tale of Love and Darkness

Episode 5

Israeli writer and intellectual Amos Oz died on the 28th December 2018, leaving a huge legacy of fiction, essays and articles as well as the masterpiece A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS.

The bestselling memoir explores the author’s difficult childhood in Mandatory Palestine. In this final extract, Oz recalls the traumatic event which led him to leave his family and join the kibbutz where he would spend the next 30 years.

Read by David Fleeshman
Written by Amos Oz
Translated by Nicholas de Lange
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Producer Eilidh McCreadie


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m00036m9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m00036mc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m00036mf)
The latest shipping forecast


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m00036mh)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m00036mk)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.


SAT 05:45 iPM (m00036mm)
From Crime to Coffee

iPM listener, Aiden, shows us round the business he set up in a prison, roasting and packaging coffee at Feltham Young Offenders Institute, South West London. He wants to give the young men working with him experience and skills they can use when they're released, and the prison governor tells iPM it's schemes like this that help cut re-offending rates.

Also - Jonathan Dimbleby reads our Your News bulletin.

iPM is the programme that starts with your story - email iPM@bbc.co.uk

Presented by Luke Jones. Produced by Cat Farnsworth.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0003cfw)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m00035zy)
Series 41

A Creative Soldier

Clare Balding walks across Dartmoor with a former soldier whose retirement has taken him in a surprising direction.

Andy Salmon is a former soldier who now runs creative events which he hopes will inspire peace and reconciliation. As the former Commandant General of the Royal Marines, Andy has much experience to draw upon. He spent 36 years in the Marines and served in many global conflicts.

It might sound unlikely, but the ‘Journey Through Conflict’ events he now stages are a mixture of art, music and storytelling during which he and other former soldiers share their wartime experiences.

In this edition of Ramblings, he takes Clare Balding for a challenging walk across a section of Dartmoor – which is a significant training location for the Royal Marines - on the way, they discuss what led him into such an unusual retirement.

If you are reading this on the Ramblings webpage, you can scroll down to the 'related links' section to find more information about Andy's project.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0003cfy)
Next Generation

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0003cg0)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (m0003cg2)
News headlines and sport.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0003cg4)
Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world.


SAT 10:30 James Veitch's Contractual Obligation (m0003cg6)
A Young Adults Novel

Comedian James Veitch juggles his Radio 4 challenge series with other problems, but he may have found a solution.

In episode two James attempts to solve his money troubles by setting himself the task of writing a successful Young Adults Novel.

While discovering what makes a publishing phenomenon and how the genre has adapted to the online world, James' ambition for multi-part movie deal clashes with his Producer's time concerns.

James Veitch's TED Talk - "This is what happens when you reply to spam email" - was a massive hit.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0003cg8)
Steve Richards reviews the political week.
The editor is Peter Mulligan.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0003cgb)
A Different Yemen

The BBC's Paul Adams returns to the country he roamed 35 years ago - and it's much changed. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there's plenty of grief to go around, and it's important to show your emotions at funerals - so much so that one entrepreneur is setting up an agency for paid mourners to cry on demand, and give the deceased a proper send-off. Olivia Acland met him and one of the hopeful applicants for the job.

The ash cloud following the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 showed that Iceland's volcanoes have the power to disrupt the entire world's air traffic - as well as to put Icelanders' lives and communities at risk. Andy Jones saw how the village of Vik is making contingency plans in case its own volcano, Katla - already well overdue to blow - causes even more disturbance.

In South Africa, Lindsay Johns explores the fault lines between Cape Town's long-established Coloured (mixed-race) community and the increasing number of immigrants from other African countries.

And Jane Wakefield reveals what the 'death' of a robot hitch-hiker, whose journeys through Canada and the USA came to an abrupt end at human hands, reveals about the complicated relationship between man and machine.

Photo: Paul Adams in Yemen (c) BBC


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0003cgd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0003cgg)
Investment ISAs

Paul Lewis presents the latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (m00036ln)
Series 54

Episode 4

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches

Alongside our look at a packed week in Westminster, we are joined by Darren Harriott (who gives us a guide to Online Terminology), Ivo Graham (who goes to the match) and Jess Robinson (who has definitely forgotten something).

Cast Member: Luke Kempner

Written by the cast with additional material from Liam Beirne, Sarah Morgan, Catherine Brinkworth and Aidan Fitzmaurice.

Production Co-Ordinator: Sarah Sharpe
Producer: Adnan Ahmed

BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0003cgj)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (m0003cgl)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m00036lv)
Therese Coffey MP, Iain Dale, Layla Moran MP, Andy McDonald MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from the University of Cumbria's Stanwix Theatre in Carlisle Environment Minister Therese Coffey, the political broadcaster and commentator Iain Dale, the Liberal Democrat's Education Spokesperson Layla Moran MP, and the Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald MP.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0003cgn)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (m0003cgq)
China Towns

Episode 9

Inspired by the novels of Arnold Bennett, an epic tale of money, passion and defiance set in the Staffordshire potteries. Dramatised for radio by Lin Coghlan and Shaun McKenna

Ephraim Tellwright’s single-minded pursuit of business has tragic consequences for those who get in his way. It’s the 19th Century and the Industrial Revolution is at full throttle. Only the ruthless thrive in this uncompromising world.

Ephraim Tellwright . . . Neil Dudgeon
Anna . . . Kate O’Flynn
Henry Mynors . . . Joseph Kloska
Beatrice . . . Isabella Inchbald
Will Price . . . Joseph Ayre
Agnes . . . Amy-Jayne Leigh
Edwin . . . Cameron Percival
Hilda . . . Lucy Doyle
George . . . Oliver Zetterstrom
Aunty Hamps . . . Carolyn Pickles
Dr Heve . . . Tony Turner
Reverend Banks . . . Michael Bertenshaw
The Bank Teller . . . Sam Dale

Incidental music arranged by Colin Guthrie and performed by Colin Guthrie, Peter Ringrose and Ian Conningham.

Produced and directed by Gemma Jenkins.


SAT 15:30 Moving Pictures (m00035tr)
The Adoration of the Kings by Jan Gossaert

Cathy FitzGerald invites you to discover new details in old masterpieces, using your phone, tablet or computer.

Each thirty-minute episode of Moving Pictures is devoted to a single artwork - and you're invited to look as well as listen, by following a link (below) to a high-resolution image made by Google Arts & Culture. Zoom in and you can see the pores of the canvas, the sweep of individual brushstrokes, the shimmer of pointillist dots.

Episode two takes us to the ruins of a building on a cold, clear winter's day. That's the setting for Jan Gossaert's Flemish masterpiece The Adoration of the Kings from the collection of The National Gallery, London. The picture shows the three kings giving their gifts - Caspar kneels on the ground, Melchior stands behind him with his retinue and Balthazar is on the left. Above, the sky is full of angels, with fluttering, sunset-coloured wings and, in the far, far background, there are joyful shepherds and their sheep.

Get up close to this jewel-bright masterpiece and see how Gossaert recreates the king's sumptuous costumes and crowns in oil paint. Discover the mysterious character, so cleverly concealed by the artist, he was over-looked for years - the hidden angel.

Interviewees: Susan Foister, Paula Nuttall, Lorne Campbell and Leslie Primo.

Producer and Presenter: Cathy FitzGerald

A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4

Jan Gossaert, The Adoration of the Kings (c) The National Gallery, London. Bought with a special grant and contributions from the Art Fund, Lord Glenconner, Lord Iveagh and Alfred de Rothschild, 1911


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0003cgs)
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor:Jane Thurlow


SAT 17:00 PM (m0003cgv)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (m000360n)
Internships

For many graduates an internship has become the default route to full-time, paid employment. But getting a good placement is competitive and in some cases poorly paid or unpaid. What does this mean for social mobility and diversity in the workplace? Evan Davis and guests discuss the pros and cons of internships.

GUESTS

Sarah Churchman, UK Head of Inclusion, Diversity and Wellbeing, PwC
Amalia Illgner , Freelance journalist and a former intern
Oliver Sidwell, Co-founder, Rate My Placement


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0003cgy)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0003ch0)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003ch2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0003ch4)
Alex Kingston, Michael Ball, Francis Rossi, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, Laville, Arthur Smith, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Arthur Smith are joined by Michael Ball, Alex Kingston, Jocelyn Jee Esien and Francis Rossi for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali and Laville.

Producer: Sukey Firth


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0003ch6)
Sir Tim Berners-Lee

The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, is celebrating 30 years of his creation. He's also issued a warning that the Web could plunge towards a "dysfunctional future". Mark Coles looks at the life of the pioneering computer scientist.

Producer: Phoebe Keane


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (m0003ch8)
MK Gallery, Benjamin, Northern Ballet's Victoria, Sadie Jones, Memes and Selfies on BBC4

Simon Amstell directs his first cinema release - Benjamin. The title character is a thinly-disguised version of himself with nervous lack of self-esteem who is directing a film about himself. It's all very meta but is it marvellous?
Milton Keynes has just reopened its art gallery. Much enlarged and architecturally improved, the first exhibition there is The Lie Of The Land, charting how the British landscape was transformed by changes in free time and leisure
The bicentenary of Queen Victoria's birth has seen lots of artistic projects to mark the moment. Norther Ballet has commissioned a work by choreographer Cathy Marston which looks at the Queen's life through her relationship with her youngest daughter.
Sadie Jones won the Costa First Novel award for her book The Outcast and her latest The Snakes is set in contemporary London and Burgundy.
BBC4 marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web with programmes including Me My Selfie and I presented by Ryan Gander and How To Go Viral: The Art of the Meme With Richard Clay

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Ellen E Jones, Jen Harvie and Toby Lichtig . The producer is Oliver Jones

PodcastExtra recommendations

Jen: Carolee Schneemann and Katherine Araniello
Ellen: The Dropout podcast
Toby: Max Cooper and Country by Michael Hughes
Tom: James Mays' BBC documentary on Hornby Trains


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0003chb)
Polling Badly

From the sounds of protest songs to clashes on the streets, the so-called Poll Tax is widely regarded as one of the big political missteps of the 20th century.

Formally known as the Community Charge, the tax was one of Margaret Thatcher’s flagship policies - and one which contributed to her downfall as Prime Minister.

Now, 30 years on since the introduction of the tax in Scotland, Margaret Thatcher's successor John Major has warned that Universal Credit could cause the same sort of problems for Theresa May's Government.

But is that really the case?

Sarah Smith talks to:
Lord William Waldegrave, an architect of the policy, who believes it had an "intellectual beauty" but was ultimately flawed
Labour politicians Lord David Blunkett and Dame Margaret Hodge who fiercely campaigned against it
Lord Michael Heseltine who brought down the policy and Margaret Thatcher with it.

How do they look back on the policy and how it was implemented?

Sarah also talks to campaigners and policy-makers about whether lessons have been learnt from the Poll Tax, or if Universal Credit is falling victim to the same mistakes.

Producer: Ellie Clifford
Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Drama (b09779qj)
Rebus: Fleshmarket Close

Episode 1

1 / 2. In Ian Rankin's crime thriller, the teenage sister of a rape victim goes missing, two skeletons are found in the cellar of a pub in Edinburgh's Old Town, and an illegal immigrant is murdered on a city housing estate. Rebus and Clarke investigate. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.

DI Rebus…………….Ron Donachie
DS Clarke……………Gayanne Potter
DS Reynolds…………Robbie Jack
Storey………..………Damian Lynch
DI Young……………Chris Reilly
Mangold……………..Grant O’Rourke
Caro …….…………. Karen Bartke
Cruikshank………......Simon Donaldson
Alice Jardine……….. Molly Innes
John Jardine…………..Jimmy Chisholm
Mo Dirwan…………..Susheel Kumar
Curt…………….…….Kenny Blyth
Kate………………….Laura Lovemore

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


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (m0003chd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (m00035q7)
Moral Panics

The rise in the number of fatal stabbings in recent months has generated big headlines and heated political debate. Teenage knife crime is high on the national agenda. There is broad agreement that something has to change but not as much agreement about what that is. Should there be more police officers on the streets? more surrender bins? more use of stop and search? more weapons sweeps? tougher sentences? Do we need a knife crime ‘tsar’ to co-ordinate it all? What about the role of schools and youth clubs? But before we start writing policy prescriptions, let’s ask a more basic question: are we seeing a long-overdue response to a desperate and tragic situation, or a nation in the grip of full-blown moral panic? The phrase ‘moral panic’ - which was popularised by sociologist Stanley Cohen in his 1972 book about mods and rockers - is nearly always used pejoratively to denote an over-the-top expression of public anxiety about the lowering of moral standards. Yet it could be argued that a moral panic is like a whistling kettle - it’s a warning that things have come to the boil. Perhaps we shouldn’t speak of moral panics but of moral calls to action – opportunities to get money spent and policies reformed on important issues that are usually below the national radar. Or perhaps such societal soul-searchings are just spasms of empathy, emotional outbursts that take no account of long-term trends, get in the way of clear-eyed policy-making and divert resources from duller but worthier causes. Are moral panics good for society?

Producer: Dan Tierney


SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz (m000357s)
Programme 11, 2019

(11/12)
Tom Sutcliffe hosts as Stuart Maconie and Adele Geras of the North of England take on Elizabeth-Jane Burnett and Stephen Maddock of the Midlands. Both teams have so far won 2 and lost 1 this season, and today's winners could stand a real chance of taking the overall series title.

Among Tom's teasers today he will be inviting them to ponder how the far north of Scotland, a pear-shaped Caribbean island and a city in California might be linked, musically, to New Jersey? Tom will also be revealing the solution to the question he left unanswered at the end of last week's quiz.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (m000363q)
Richard Scott

Roger McGough is joined by Richard Scott (whose debut poetry collection Soho was shortlisted for the 2018 TS Eliot Prize), who shares a selection of his favourite poems from the Poetry Please archive of listeners' requests. His choices include poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, Jane Yeh, Mary Ruefle, Denise Riley, Daljit Nagra and Mark Doty.

Richard Scott was born in London in 1981. His poems have appeared widely in magazines and anthologies including Poetry Review, Poetry London, PN Review, Swimmers and The Poetry of Sex (Penguin). He has been a winner of the Wasafiri New Writing Prize, a Jerwood/Arvon Poetry Mentee and a member of the Aldeburgh 8. His pamphlet 'Wound' (Rialto) won the Michael Marks Poetry Award 2016 and his poem 'crocodile' won the 2017 Poetry London Competition. Soho (Faber & Faber) is his first book.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.



SUNDAY 17 MARCH 2019

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0003chg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Short Works (m00036l8)
Exit Number 8

Today is the day that Lucy should finally win. But what is Lucy running from and why must she return to Exit Number 8?

A short story exploring the complexities of OCD, written and read by Katie Sherrard, with support from Ellie Heydon and performing arts academy, City Academy. Produced in Bristol by Becky Ripley.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0003chj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0003chl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0003chn)
The latest shipping forecast


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0003chq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0003chs)
Bells on Sunday from the Cathedral Church of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Andrew, Rochester in Kent

Time now for Bells on Sunday comes from the Cathedral Church of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Andrew, Rochester in Kent. The first bells were probably in the original Saxon cathedral founded by St. Augustine in 604. A.D. After various alterations over the years, the tower was rebuilt for the 1300th anniversary in 1904 to include eight bells. In 1921 the Dean and Chapter commissioned Gillett and Johnston of Croydon to recast the existing eight bells and to add two more to bring the number of bells to ten. We hear them ringing ‘Stedman Caters’.


SUN 05:45 Lent Talks (m00035qc)
The Uncertainty of Thomas

Psychotherapist Dr Mark Vernon argues that Doubting Thomas has much to teach us about the value of uncertainty in our lives, even though it is something we might instinctively try to avoid. "It’s not about proof, but what the experience itself can bring about."

Producer: Dan Tierney


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (m0003cpt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (m0003cpy)
The Moon

Michael Symmons Roberts takes a trip to the moon and explores its enduring poetic appeal.

Michael was only six years old when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, but has grown up with the common belief that this “giant leap” seemed to usher in an age of expanded horizons and also a fascination with its constant use (or overuse?) as an image in poetry and music over the centuries.

Why we can’t leave it alone?

He suggests an answer: “it’s not just a remote lozenge in the sky. It’s long been a part of our mythology of the moon that it has a bearing on our lives here, that what it does affects what we do.”

Using the poetry of Larkin, Frost and Alice Oswald and the music of Schubert, Chopin and Frank Sinatra, Michael encourages us not to see the moon as a tired old cliché but rather to reclaim it.

“Whenever someone produces, as they do every now and again, lists of words or images that poets shouldn’t use any more, because they are too cliched, or too tired, then perhaps the best response is not to impose a moratorium, but to remake those symbols or images, to reclaim them in new contexts and to look at them in different lights.”

Presenter: Michael Symmons Roberts
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 The Living World (m0003cq2)
A Visit to Shetland (Bobby Tulloch)

In the 50 years of Living World has traveled across almost every corner of the British Isles, sometimes it is a contributor rather than the wildlife which attracts attention. In this Living World from 1974 Derek Jones headed up to Shetland to meet the late Bobby Tulloch, who was then working for the RSPB. When the Living World visited the arrival of the Shetland Oil industry was just in its planning stage and so this unique archive programme provides a glimpse back to those days. Bobby Tulloch himself rose to fame a few years before Derek arrived as the finder of a snowy owl nest of Fetlar, the first ever substantiated record in Britain. In this programme Bobby takes Derek to the snowy owl site, along the way exploring some of the other wildlife in this 'Land of the Simmer Dim'

In the decades since this episode was first broadcast, Shetland's wildlife has changed and adapted. Today there is a museum containing Bobby Tulloch's archive, The Old Haa Museum and Visitor Centre on the island of Yell. Wildlife presenter Lindsey Chapman revisit this Living World and gently update the story for today's audience.

Producer Andrew Dawes


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0003cq6)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0003cqb)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0003cqg)
Witch markings, New Zealand mosque attacks, Religion in China

Experts at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire previously thought the hundreds of markings that covered the walls of caves there were Victorian-era graffiti. They are now thought to be Britain's largest collection of 'witch markings' made by people in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries to protect them from the dark forces of the underworld our reporter Harry Farley went along. This week the head of China’s state-sanctioned Protestant Church claimed that Western forces are trying to use Christianity to “subvert” the Chinese government and the governor of Xinjiang province told this year’s National People’s Congress that the ‘re-education camps’ for Muslim Uighurs are reducing terrorism. To discuss the current state of religion in China, Edward Stourton will be talking to Maria Jaschok and Edmond Tang. In response to the New Zealand Muslim Attacks, Samayya Afzal, Community Engagement Manager for the Muslim Council of Great Britain talks to Edward about Islamophobia in the UK and how the MCB are calling on the government to re-open the Places of Worship Security Fund run by the Home Office.

Producers
Carmel Lonergan
Helen Lee

Editor
Amanda Hancox

Photo Credit: Creswell Heritage Trust


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0003cn0)
Red Nose Day

Bill Nighy makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Red Nose Day.

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 ‘Red Nose Day 2019’.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Red Nose Day 2019'.

Registered Charity Number in England and Wales (326568) and Scotland (SC039730)

Photo credit: Caitlin Cronenberg


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0003cqj)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0003cql)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m0003cqn)
Invitation to Service

Bishop Harold Miller is the preacher live from Down Cathedral in Northern Ireland as Radio 4's worship services continue their journey through Lent. In an increasingly divided society the bible calls individuals, churches and communities to build bridges between loneliness and belonging - this week, through the invitation to Service.
Readings: Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-9; John 19: 28-30.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me
I heard the voice of Jesus say
Be thou my vision
Christ be our light
O Christ the same, through all our story’s pages
The service is led by the Dean Henry Hull. The Director of Music is Michael McCracken and the organist, Stephen Hamill.
Producer: Bert Tosh. A link to resources for individuals and groups can be downloaded from the Sunday Worship web pages.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m00036lx)
So Many Kinds of Britons: Who Knew?

Zia Haider Rahman on why Brexit has made him feel closer to Britain.

He says the referendum has revealed deeper schisms in British society than the lines between native and immigrant.

"The sociological explanation", he argues, "might be that by confronting everyone with the variety and complexity of native British identities, Brexit has created space for other British identities".

Producer: Adele Armstrong


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0003cqq)
Gillian Clarke and the Grey Heron

For Welsh poet and playwright Gillian Clarke she has had two close encounters with a grey heron, including the one in her garden reminding her of a Bishop wearing vestments.

You can hear more from Gillian in the Tweet of the Week Omnibus available on BBC Sounds

Producer : Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0003cqs)
News with Paddy O'Connell including a briefing on the latest Brexit developments and a look ahead to the EU leaders' summit. A renowned composer and pianist talks of his fears after badly injuring his hand in an accident and we look at the renewed interest in board games. Reviewing the news coverage: Labour Peer Margaret Prosser and journalists Andrew Pierce and Rachel Johnson.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0003cqv)
Writer ….. Naylah Ahmed
Director ….. Marina Caldarone
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe

David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Daisy Badger
Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ….. Buffy Davis
Helen Archer.... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Phoebe Aldridge ..... Lucy Morris
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Rex Fairbrother .... Nick Barber
Clarrie Grundy .... Heather Bell
Will Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Mia Grundy ..... Molly Pipe
Emma Grundy .... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Adam Macy .... Andrew Wincott
Kate Madikane .... Perdita Avery
Elizabeth Pargetter .... Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter .... Katie Redford
Hannah Riley .... Helen Longworth
Peggy Wooley .... June Spencer
Natasha .... Mali Harries
Lee .... Ryan Early
Russ ..... Andonis James Anthony


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m0003cqx)
Marlon James, writer

Marlon James is a writer who won the Man Booker Prize in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings, a novel which centres on an attempt to assassinate Bob Marley. Marlon was the first Jamaican to win the Prize.

He was born in Kingston in 1970 and grew up in suburbia. His mother worked as a detective, and his father was lawyer, leading to a family joke that his mum locked criminals up and his dad got them out. As a self-confessed geek, Marlon did not enjoy his time at school, and even pretended that he was not related to his older brother, a fellow pupil, because he thought his lack of cool would embarrass his sibling.

After studying English at the University of the West Indies, he worked in advertising as a copywriter. His first novel was rejected 78 times, and he thought he had destroyed every copy of it, until he met novelist Kaylie Jones at a writing workshop and she insisted on seeing it. She showed it to her publisher and his career was launched. The book, John Crow's Devil, was published in 2005. His fourth novel, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the first of a fantasy trilogy, was published earlier this year.

Marlon lives in the United States, where he teaches Creative Writing at Macalester College in Minnesota.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0003cqz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m0003588)
Series 83

Episode 6

Paul Merton, Jenny Eclair, Fern Britton and Gyles Brandreth join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Produced by Matt Stronge

A BBC Studios Production


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0003cr1)
Delicious and Endangered: The Story of Bluefin Tuna

Dan Saladino travels from Brixham to Tokyo in search of Bluefin tuna.
In recent months there have been more sightings of the endangered fish in British waters but does that mean we can eat them?

The Bluefin is the rarest, most valuable and at risk of the seven tuna species found around the world. Found in three main stocks around the world, in the Pacific, Southern and Atlantic Oceans, some populations of the fish have declined by more than 97 per cent.

The vast majority of these large, fast and magnificent predators end up being auctioned in Japan where they are prized by sushi chefs. Dan looks at the past, present and possible future of our relationship with the Bluefin Tuna, hearing how its numbers fell into decline in the latter half of the twentieth century and why there are hopes for its recovery in years to come. He travels to Tokyo to witness the tuna auctions at which some single fish have fetched prices as high as £2.5 million and finds out what led to its appeal in Asia. Chef Mitch Tonks describes his own experience of Bluefin, both as a fish he's watched hunting along the UK's southern coast and as a food he's eaten in Japanese sushi bars.

Professor or Marine Conservation Callum Roberts explains how we should react to the increased sightings in the Atlantic, and a police investigator describes how criminal networks are also targeting the Bluefin trade.

Presenter: Dan Saladino


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0003cr3)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0003cr5)
Global news and analysis; presented by Mark Mardell


SUN 13:30 The Invention of... (m0003cr7)
Britain

So Many Different Little Corners

Back in the deep, dark depths of winter, we met a Scottish photographer on the top of a Glasgow multi-storey car park. "The English think I am a nationalist," he tells Misha Glenny, "but you can be British and wave the saltire, the Saint Andrew's Cross." Which suggests the word British is still alive and kicking, despite the tendency to think we are about to fragment.

In this final episode, the programme travels to Scotland, Wales and Ireland to discover what binds us, and what divides us. Recording on location in a mid-Wales snowstorm and a Dublin rugby match, the presenter teases out the mystery of what Britain was historically, particularly in the days of empire. It also asks why the republic of Ireland decided to break loose. With contributions from Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert of Document Scotland, Fiona Watson, Murray Pittock, Tom Devine, Mike Parker, Fintan O'Toole, playwright Rosemary Jenkinson, and historian Patrick Geoghegan, currently on attachment to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Presenter Misha Glenny is a Sony award winning reporter and the author of McMafia.
Miles Warde is series producer of the How to Invent a Country podcast which has now travelled to Germany, Spain, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands and the USA.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m00036l6)
Stoke-on-Trent

Eric Robson and his panel are in Stoke-on-Trent. Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Chris Beardshaw answer the audience's questions.

This week, the panellists discuss veg growing in frost pockets, growing lavender from seed, and planting onions to ensure a good crop.

They also suggest low-growing evergreen shrubs, advise on making Willow arches, and nominate plants for a hot, dry indoor space.

Away from the questions, Matt Biggs visits RHS Lindley Library to find out about their upcoming Centre for Horticultural Science and Learning.

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (m0003cr9)
Stepping Out Of The Box

Falling out of trees, hiding in boxes and how our sense of identity is rooted in place, community and the attitudes of others. Fi Glover presents three conversations in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Julia Johnson


SUN 15:00 Drama (m0003crc)
China Towns

Episode 10

Inspired by the novels of Arnold Bennett, an epic tale of money, passion and daring to dream set in the Staffordshire potteries. Dramatised for radio by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan.

Unhappily married and bored of being a Councillor’s wife, Hilda decides to play with fire.

Ephraim Tellwright . . . Neil Dudgeon
Edwin . . . Cameron Percival
Hilda . . . Lucy Doyle
Anna . . . Kate O’Flynn
Constance . . . Bryony Hannah
Sophia . . . Alexandra Constantinidi
Amy . . . Jane Slavin
Janet . . . Saffron Coomber
George Cannon . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Ingpen . . . Don Gilet
Gervais . . . Michael Bertenshaw
The Porter . . . Christopher Harper

Produced and directed by Gemma Jenkins.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0003cn2)
Max Porter, Folk resurgence in literature, Angie Thomas on Hip Hop

Max Porter discusses his new novel Lanny, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Grief is the Thing with Feathers.

Max and writer Zoe Gilbert, whose novel Folk is a series of linked folk tales set on a fictional island, reflect on why myths are enjoying a literary resurgence.

Best-selling YA author Angie Thomas talks about her love of hip hop and how it inspired her to write.

And Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha discusses her short story collection Apple and Knife.


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (m0003crf)
Salena Godden

Salena Godden talks to Roger McGough about her favourite poetry, with a selection including Dorothy Parker, Joelle Taylor and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Producer Sally Heaven.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m00035w8)
The Crypto Factor – The Winners and Losers in Virtual Investment

You can't take money with you when you die.... or can you?

In this episode of File on 4 the stranger than fiction story that's the latest cryptocurrency scandal to leave tens of thousands of people out of pocket. The news about QuadrigaCX broke almost to the day that crypto-currencies celebrated a decade in existence. On this anniversary, we investigate the current state of the market and uncover how these sometimes tragic events have unfolded both here in the UK and across the world. With the UK government and other countries now considering attempting to regulate the market, we ask if these scandals could have been prevented and could now be avoided in the future.

Reporter: Paul Connolly
Producer: Kate West
Editor: Gail Champion

Photo credit: Reuters.


SUN 17:40 Profile (m0003ch6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0003crh)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0003crk)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003crm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0003crp)
John Waite

This week John Waite picks his highlights of BBC radio.
A star is born - due to popular demand from Pick of the Week listeners we reprise the Radio 4 continuity announcer who slipped into song. How a legend was ruined - what the big screen has done to England’s most iconic rebel Robin Hood. And why Hollywood’s top agent bought 500 new shirts a year but still had to dress down his client Count Basie.
We also hear old folk songs, cartoon opera, and Dumfries' favourite poet.

Producer: Dave James
Production support: Helen Surtees


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0003crr)
Leonard makes his presence felt and Pat has a tricky subject to raise.


SUN 19:15 Where's the F in News (m000360t)
Series 2

Episode 2

An energetic, intelligent female-anchored show with a female panel - using the events, trends and talking points they think should really be top of the news agenda in a series of fresh and funny challenges.

Host Jo Bunting is joined by a panel of women including comedians Katie Mulgrew and Eleanor Tiernan, along with broadcasters Eve Pollard and Anneka Rice.

Jo is a producer and writer of topical comedy and satire, with credits including Have I Got News For You, the Great British Bake Off spin off show An Extra Slice with Jo Brand, and the successful topical chat show That Sunday Night Show presented by Adrian Chiles on ITV. Jo was a guest interviewer on Loose Ends for several years and a panellist on Loose Women.

An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 Blood, Sweat and Tears (b05r6zy3)
The Blood-Spotted Tissue

Scottish author Denise Mina writes the first episode in a new series of specially commissioned short stories by three of Britain's top crime writers. "A Blood Spotted Tissue" is a murder-mystery about a student found to have ‘flesh in her drains’.

These stories were recorded in front of an audience in the MCT theatre, Alleyn's School, Dulwich and were and introduced by Mark Billingham.

Read by Sharon Small

Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m00036ld)
Reinventing Local Radio

Roger Bolton on the future for radio listening using smart speakers and the reinvention of BBC local radio, and audience comment on whether or not Michael Jackson's music should be played on the BBC.

The BBC has recently launched plans to find a new generation of local radio presenters in an effort to turn around declining audiences. Feedback reporter Rob Crossan has travelled to BBC Radio Leeds to see how the plans are working out in practice.

The conversation over whether Michael Jackson's music should be played on the BBC rumbles on. This week, Feedback listeners weigh in.

Smart speakers are now included in the list of items used to measure inflation in the UK. With their increased popularity, what does the BBC hope to develop for the new technology? Roger goes to the heart of the BBC's research and development programme, the Blue Room, to find out what's in the pipeline.

And listeners give their thoughts on The Absence of Normal - a new series of comedy plays by anarchic comedian Alexei Sayle.

Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m00036lb)
Professor Mike Oliver, Jacques Loussier, Professor Richard Lacey, The Reverend Ruth Scott

Pictured: Jacques Loussier

Matthew Bannister on

Mike Oliver, who was paralysed from the neck down after diving into a swimming pool as a teenager. He became the UK's first Professor of Disability Studies and transformed the debate about disabled people's rights.

Jacques Loussier, the French pianist and composer best known for his jazz arrangements of the works of J.S. Bach.

Professor Richard Lacey, the microbiologist who warned of the dangers to humans of mad cow disease.

The Reverend Ruth Scott, the Anglican vicar known for her appearances on Radio 2's Pause for Thought and Radio 4's Thought for the Day.

Interviewed guest: Colin Barnes
Interviewed guest: Peter White
Interviewed guest: Alyn Shipton
Interviewed guest: Dr John Heritage
Interviewed guest: The Reverend Chris Scott
Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from:


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0003cgg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0003cn0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (m000358s)
Will humans survive the century?

What is the chance of the human race surviving the 21st century? There are many dangers – climate change for example, or nuclear war, or a pandemic, or planet Earth being hit by a giant asteroid.

Around the world a number of research centres have sprung up to investigate and mitigate what’s called existential risk. How precarious is our civilisation and can we all play a part in preventing global catastrophe?

Contributors

Anders Sandberg, Future of Humanity Institute.
Phil Torres, Future of Life Institute.
Karin Kuhlemann, University College London.
Simon Beard, Centre for Existential Risk.
Lalitha Sundaram, Centre for Existential Risk.
Seth Baum, Global Catastrophic Risk Institute.

Film clip: Armageddon, Touchstone Pictures (1998), Directed by Michael Bay.

Presented (cheerily) by David Edmonds.
Producer: Diane Richardson


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0003crw)
Preview of the week's politics with politicians, pundits and experts.


SUN 23:00 The TED Interview (p06y244r)
Mellody Hobson

Founded in 1984 in the USA, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. The first TED Talks were first posted online in 2006 and since then TED Talks have had many millions of views.

In The TED Interview hosted by Chris Anderson – audiences can immerse themselves more deeply in some of the most compelling ideas heard on the TED stage.

Mellody Hobson challenges us to be color brave.
TED’s Chris Anderson talks to Mellody Hobson. Talking about race can be difficult. But Mellody Hobson argues that we need to do it anyway - boldly and often. Mellody is the president of Ariel Investments, a firm that manages more than 13 billion dollars. And throughout her career and in her personal life, she's experienced just how corrosive it can be when people choose to be "color blind." In this candid conversation, she shares her vision of a more harmonious, diverse America - and the difficult truths we need to swallow (and discuss) to get there.

A TED original podcast.


SUN 23:45 Four Thought (b0910l70)
The Power of Singing Together

Natalie Maddix, founder of the House Gospel Choir, explains why she believes in the power of singing together. She gets the audience at WOMAD to join in to prove her point.

"Singing really has this healing property. There is a truth inside of us that maybe we're not ready to face and sometimes it's not until we sing together that we even become aware of our feelings."

Recorded in front of a live audience at the WOMAD world music and arts festival in Wiltshire.

Producer: Richard Knight.



MONDAY 18 MARCH 2019

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0003cry)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m00035p8)
Spectacular Cities

Spectacular urbanisation: The world’s tallest building is in Dubai and the 2022 World Cup in soccer will be played in fabulous Qatar facilities. But what role do the sensational cities of the Arabian Peninsula play in urban development across the Earth? Laurie Taylor talks to Harvey Molotch, Professor of Sociology at New York University and to Davide Ponzini , Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Also, Natalie Koch, Associate Professor of Geography at Syracuse University, asks why autocrats in resource rich nations build spectacular new capital cities.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0003chs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0003cs0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0003cs2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0003cs4)
The latest shipping forecast


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0003cs6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0003cs8)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0003csb)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


MON 05:56 Weather (m0003csd)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04hkylk)
King Eider

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Miranda Krestovnikoff presents the Arctic specialist the king eider duck. Relatives of the larger common eider found around the British coast, king eiders breed around the Arctic and sub-Arctic coasts of the northern hemisphere. As true marine ducks they can dive to depths of 25 metres on occasion, to feed on molluscs and marine crustaceans. The drake King Eider has colourful markings; having a black and white body with a reddish bill, surmounted by an orange-yellow shield. His cheeks are pale mint-green and his crown and nape are lavender-grey. He uses his bill pattern and head colours in a highly ritualised display to woo his mate, fluffing up his chest and issuing an amorous coo-ing call.


MON 06:00 Today (m0003cth)
News and current affairs programme, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0003ctk)
Understanding China

The Chinese journalist and activist Xinran tells the story of China since the start of the 20th century through four generations of one family. She tells Andrew Marr how the family lived through enormous social upheaval, and reveals how traditional values started to unravel with the tide of modernity.

The academic Roel Sterckx looks back beyond the last century to ancient Chinese philosophers and thinkers. He argues that in order to understand modern China we need to understand its past. The practice of power, government and social harmony has a long tradition.

It is seventy years since Mao founded the People’s Republic of China and Julia Lovell re-evaluates Mao's philosophy both at home and abroad. For decades Maoism has been dismissed in the West as an outdated historical and political phenomenon, and yet his ideas remain central to China’s Communist government - and continue to influence people around the world.

Not only Chinese ideas have spread throughout the globe: the latest play from director David K S Tse is based on the lives of Chinese people who moved to the UK. From Shore to Shore is staged in Chinese takeaways around the country and blends English, Mandarin and Cantonese, to tell the story of three journeys to find a home.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (m0003ctm)
'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms

Episode 1

Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.

For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.

‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.

In Episode 1, the author keeps seeing the name of Collingwood Ingram associated with the preservation of ancient cherries, and wants to find out more about this fascinating man.

Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0003ctp)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003ctr)
A Passage to India

Episode 6

Tanika Gupta's imaginative and bold adaptation of E.M. Forster's masterful novel.

As Aziz ponders over Fielding's reflections, that there is something in India that doesn't suit English ladies, Adela wonders why the doctor has not yet organised the promised expedition to the mysterious Marabar caves.

Mrs Moore ..... Penelope Wilton
Adela ..... Ellie Kendrick
Dr Aziz ..... Shubham Saraf
Fielding ..... Jonathan Firth
Ronny Heaslop ..... Christopher Harper
Ralph Moore ..... Joseph Ayre
Professor Godbole ..... Thusitha Jayasundera
Mr Das ..... Nicholas Khan
Mahmoud Ali ..... Ashley Kumar
Mr Turton ..... Tony Turner
Mrs Turton ..... Joanna Monro
Major Callendar ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Mrs Callendar ..... Susan Jameson
Mr McBryde ..... Sam Dale
Anthony/Amritrao ..... Ronny Jhutti
With Don Gilet, Franchi Webb and Sarah Ovens

Produced and Directed by Tracey Neale


MON 11:00 Spain's Lost Generations (m0003ctt)
Franco’s Disappeared

Lucas Laursen joins families searching for loved ones who disappeared during the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship.

At a rare repatriation of the remains of 22 men and women missing since the war 80 years ago, he meets 3 generations of the De Llerra family who get together to bury a father, grandfather and great grandfather. Francisco De Llerra Díaz was a farmer shot by Franco’s army and buried in a mass grave in Guadalajara.

Spain has had a democratic constitution since 1978, but Spanish officials were only willing to open De Llerra’s grave after an Argentinian judge applied the principle of universal jurisdiction to the search of another family in 2016. This international court order classed the systematic and widespread killing of Franco’s victims as a crime against humanity.

Lucas attends a demonstration in Madrid demanding more state action to help victims find missing family members and meets Emilia Silva whose grandfather was the first victim of the Franco repression to be identified by DNA, and who founded the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory which has a list of nearly 115,000 missing people.

Lucas explores the limitations of Spain’s transition to democracy and the extent to which the Amnesty Agreement of 1975 – also known as the Pact of Forgetting or Pact of Silence – hides open wounds of the war and subsequent dictatorship in plain sight.

Alongside persistent families and the renowned former judge Balthazar Garzon, he learns about proposed updates to the 2007 Law of Historical Memory - although, with elections called during the recording of the programme, the law and historical memory in Spain face an uncertain future.

Producer Anna Scott-Brown
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4


MON 11:30 Alexei Sayle's The Absence of Normal (m0003ctx)
The Last Woman Killed In The War

Episode 4: The Last Woman Killed in the War

Alexei Sayle’s The Absence of Normal is a series of dark comic plays narrated by Alexei Sayle and adapted for radio from his original short stories.

In 1960s Liverpool, Mary’s parents whisk her away from their working class community to hide her illegitimate pregnancy. Returning 40 years later to confront them, she discovers that attitudes have shifted somewhat.

Starring:

Adi Alfa
Katy Carmichael
Shaun Mason
Jan Ravens
Paislie Reid

Written and narrated by Alexei Sayle. Adapted for Radio by Graham Duff.

Produced by Joe Nunnery

A BBC Studios Production


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0003ctz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 A Terrible Country (m0003cv1)
Episode 6

In the summer of 2008 as the global financial crisis erupts, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother - a woman who survived the dark days of communism and witnessed Russia's violent capitalist transformation, during she lost her beloved dacha.

She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can't always remember who he is.

Andrei learns to navigate Putin's Moscow, still the city of his birth but with more expensive cars and coffee. He looks after his elderly but surprisingly sharp grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails from, and eventually some friends - including a beautiful young activist named Yulia.

In Episode 6, Andrei's luck is on the up, as he finds a wifi signal - and possibly a girlfriend.

Capturing with a miniaturist's brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, and desire, A Terrible Country is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, and the difficulty - or impossibility - of actually changing one's life.

Written by Keith Gessen
Read by Trevor White
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:18 You and Yours (m0003cv3)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


MON 12:57 Weather (m0003cv5)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (m0003cv7)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


MON 13:45 Oliver Burkeman: Why Are We So Angry? (m0000qky)
Episode 1

In the developed world we live in a blessed epoch where life has never been better. Infant mortality has been all but abolished, education is open to all, we have access to technology that would have been seen as the stuff of science fiction little more than a decade ago. We are safer and wealthier than at any time in human history. So why are we so damn angry about everything?

To understand anger we need to start with what it does to us physiologically, specifically how anger makes us act and think - or more accurately not think.

Oliver discovers why anger gave humans an evolutionary edge, developing beyond a basic animalist aggression to become what evolutionary psychologist Aaron Sell calls ‘a mind control device’ that gets us better treatment. He explores how nature, as well as the development of our cultural and philosophical attitudes of anger has lead us to the kind of anger we all feel today - and asks if we can take control of it?


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0003crr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Tumanbay (m0003cvc)
Series 3

Hostage of Fortune

After his failed bid for power, Cadali (Matthew Marsh) flees across the desert with his son, Selim (Farshid Rokey) while Fatima, set on revenge for her murdered son, sends spymaster Gregor (Rufus Wright) to bring Cadali back.

Meanwhile, the prophet boy Frog (Finn Elliot) has returned to the city and to the girl he loves, Matilla (Humera Syed) believing he has changed her fate.

Cast:
Fatima........Tara Fitzgerald
Gregor........Rufus Wright
Manel........Aiysha Hart
Cadali........Matthew Marsh
Grand Master, Amalric........ Anton Lesser
Bavand........Peter Polycarpou
Selim........Farshid Rokey
Heaven........Olivia Popica
General Qulan........Christopher Fulford
Frog........Finn Elliot
Matilla........Humera Syed
Sisco........Raad Rawi
Nurse........Annabelle Dowler
Undertakers........Vivek Madan and Nadir Khan

Tumanbay is created by John Scott Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.

Original Music by Sacha Puttnam

Sound Design by Eloise Whitmore
Sound Recording by Joe Richardson
Additional Music by Jon Ouin

Produced by Emma Hearn, Nadir Khan and John Scott Dryden
Written by Mike Walker and Directed by John Scott Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz (m0003cvf)
Programme 12, 2019

(12/12)
Tom Sutcliffe is in the chair as Northern Ireland take on the South of England in the final clash of the 2019 series. As usual they'll be required to dredge their memory banks for forgotten details of geography, politics, sport, high and low culture, in answering the cryptic questions. This week all of the questions in the show are devised by Round Britain Quiz listeners, and they include such convoluted gems as:

Which energetic prankster drummer, former UN diplomat and Mighty comic character might fear drowning in a dystopian author's favourite watering-hole?

Only after today's result will Tom be able to announce who has won the greatest number of victories in the 2019 series, and thus earned the title of Round Britain Quiz champions.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m0003cr1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 Pursuit of Beauty (m00013qh)
Hurricane Bells

Artist Peter Shenai explores the sounds of climate change. Over the last year, Radio 4 has followed the processes as he has struggled to create an aural experience out of scientific date from Hurricane Katrina.

Working with climate scientists at Imperial College London, Peter investigates how raw weather data might be rendered in 3D for casting. With atmospheric physicist Carlo Corsaro, he homes in on Hurricane Katrina, the giant storm that devastated New Orleans in 2005, reproducing the cone shapes of the hurricane in a series of bells.

In doing so, he draws on the symbolic relationship between bells and climate catastrophe - drawing on the iconography of bells as alarm warnings, as markers of remembrance, sadness or joy, or as alerts to bring us together in community.

Despite setbacks, five bells - each intimately linked to a specific moment in Katrina’s development - are then taken to New Orleans and a number of people who lived through the storm are asked to ring each one. We hear from New Orleanians from all walks of life as they ring these uniquely resonant bells and reflect on what they mean for a city still recovering from a disastrous brush with the first hints of how widespread climate change could eventually affect the world.

Peter Shenai is creating a new kind of art, viscerally bringing climate disruption into human understanding.

Producers: Matthew Teller and Adam Fowler
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4


MON 16:30 The Digital Human (m0003cvj)
Series 16

Wisdom

What is happening to us, now that we have access to all the world’s knowledge at our fingertips? If the headlines are to be believed, we are swimming upstream through relentless waves of alternative facts, drowning in an ocean of misinformation. And the internet? It’s the culprit.

But here’s the thing: we are enthralled by what we think is online wisdom - the words of the sage, and the learned. Unfortunately, as we’ve discovered through a lot of mishaps, a lot of the information that’s out there isn’t particularly wise. Aleks Krotoski looks to traditional sources of wisdom to give us advice on what we should do with our library of knowledge.


MON 17:00 PM (m0003cvl)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003cvn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0003cvq)
Series 83

Episode 7

Paul Merton, Josie Lawrence, Lee Mack and Zoe Lyons join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Produced by Matt Stronge.

A BBC Studios Production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0003cvs)
Helen bends the truth and Russ is not impressed.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0003cvv)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003ctr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 The Brexit Prime Minister (m0003cvx)
Episode 2

The political commentator Steve Richards talks to key insiders about the prime minister's decisions, leadership and diplomacy through the turbulent years since the EU referendum. What does Theresa May think about Brexit? How did she arrive at key decisions? What do those decisions tell us about her personality and style of leadership? How did she run Downing Street and what were her relations with the rest of government, Whitehall, parliament and the EU?

The second part takes up the story from Autumn 2017, following the progress of the prime minister's Brexit negotiations and focusing in particular on the vexed issue of the Irish border.

We look back on the run-up to the unveiling of the prime minister's detailed proposals at Chequers in July 2018 and the dramas which followed.

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan


MON 20:30 Analysis (m0003cvz)
Are we heading for a mass extinction?

Will human actions result in the demise of huge numbers of other species - in a mass die-off, comparable to the end of the era of the dinosaurs? Neal Razzell assesses the evidence that species are dying off at a rapid rate, and looks at some of the surprising things we might do to slow or reverse this process.
Producers: Beth Sagar-Fenton and Josephine Casserley


MON 21:00 No Triumph, No Tragedy (m0003cw1)
Guy Disney was on his second tour of Afghanistan and serving as Captain with the Light Dragoons in Helmand Province when he was caught in an ambush which changed his life. During a 10-day period which claimed the lives of 11 British servicemen, Disney’s vehicle was out on patrol when it was hit from the side by a rocket-propelled grenade.

He tells Peter that his life was saved by the quick action of those with him, who put a tourniquet on his leg to stop the bleeding. He was airlifted to a field hospital, where he had his first operation – just 24 hours later he was flown back to the UK for further surgery.

In the immediate aftermath he was intent on recovery and determined to get used to life with a prosthetic leg as quickly as possible. His initial hopes centred on being able to return to Afghanistan: “I think I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to go at things as if nothing had changed.

“I remember saying to a consultant I want to re-join the guys and I remember starting to train, putting on a back pack and walking for miles. My leg was raw, I physically exhausted - it was odd feeling and it made me realise that wasn’t going to happen.”

Instead Guy turned back to horse racing, which he’d always loved: “The racing for me is a complete drug, I'm absolutely addicted to it - going over an obstacle at thirty miles an hour on half a tonne of animal is the most astonishing feeling in the world. Going on a horse over a fence, that's where the real point of elation is.”

But when he applied for his jockey’s licence in 2010 he was turned down by the British Horseracing Authority: “They had concerns that I’d get the prosthetic stuck or if my foot slipped out of the iron I wouldn’t be able to get it back in as I couldn’t feel it. It was a shock as I hadn’t thought up to that point that the injury was going to change my life.”

He vented his frustration by signing up for Prince Harry’s Walking With The Wounded trek to the North Pole. It marked the start of Guy’s long lasting commitment to help injured ex-servicemen and during the preparations he met David Carey, a doctor training to be a barrister, who offered to help challenge the BHA decision.

After months of work and with the help of Toe Stoppers, stirrup irons where the foot is prevented from slipping forward, they eventually managed to overturn the BHA decision and he was free to race again. In 2017 he won the Royal Artillery Gold Cup at Sandown Park and he had further wins at Aintree a year later:

“I always get quite nervous before the racing and then the moment you're sat on the horse you're set into the race you can't change anything, you get down to the start and what will be will be. It’s a feeling of complete contentment.”

Alongside the racing Guy is committed to several charities and worked with disadvantaged youngsters in Nottingham through the Royal Foundation. The role included building relationships that could help engage them and build up skills and training.

As a trustee at Walking with the Wounded he has been asked to help oversee a project in Zambia and is training rangers who encounter many dangers. “There are some key areas I've got funded to trial through the Royal Foundation and Walking With The Wounded, where we take teams of servicemen and women to help.

“Stopping medical bleeds is a big priority and we can teach them how to use a tourniquet. The moment something happens out there you have sixty seconds if you want to stop arterial bleed. Giving them the skills can help save many lives.”


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m0003ctk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0003cw7)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 A Terrible Country (m0003cv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


MON 23:00 The Walk: Across the Water (m0003cwc)
Calais

Calais and Dover are two ports just 21 miles apart. Over the centuries they’ve been bombed, invaded, besieged and passed through by millions of people who’ve barely given them a second thought. But writer Cole Moreton has taken time to walk across both towns to speak to people to find out what it’s like to live in places which can feel like they’re on the edge, but are also at the centre of the biggest story of our times – Brexit.

Cole wants to know what life is like beyond the headlines in these towns that are often half-forgotten but that have a front seat view of history. This surprising series asks the question: what are the people like, what do they have in common, and what keeps them apart beside the sea?

In this first episode Cole meets the Deputy Mayor of Calais responsible for clearing the Jungle camp, and a Frenchwoman who fell in love with a migrant and helped him escape by boat.

Presenter: Cole Moreton
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0003cwh)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



TUESDAY 19 MARCH 2019

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0003cwm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (m0003ctm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0003cwq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0003cwv)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0003cwz)
The latest shipping forecast


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0003cx3)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0003cx7)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0003cx9)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b01sbyzk)
Guillemot

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. David Attenborough presents the Guillemot. Guillemots breed on cliff ledges and the chick is encouraged to make its first flight at the pointing of fledging by being encouraged to jump by its mother or father calling from the sea below.


TUE 06:00 Today (m0003cy5)
News and current affairs programme, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0003cy9)
Corinne le Quere on the global carbon cycle

Throughout the history of planet Earth, the element carbon has cycled between the atmosphere, the oceans and the biosphere. This natural cycle has maintained the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and has allowed life to exist for billions of years. Corinne le Quere is a climate scientist who keeps track of where the carbon comes from and where it goes – all on a truly global scale.

Corinne le Quere is the founder of the Global Carbon Budget, which each year reports on where carbon dioxide is being emitted and where it is being absorbed around the world. More specifically, she studies the relationship between the carbon cycle and the earth’s climate, and how it is changing.

Corinne is Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia. After a degree in physics in her native Canada she became aware of the importance of how carbon moves around the planet and the way it controls the Earth’s climate. This took her to studying meteorology and oceanography and in particular a fascination with the role of the huge Southern Ocean in trapping and holding onto carbon.

She talks to Jim al-Khalil about modelling how carbon moves around the earth and how she communicates the latest research to the public.


TUE 09:30 One to One (m0003cyf)
Mourning – traditions in Judaism

Euella Jackson meets Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis to hear about the structured approach to mourning offered in Judaism which aims to guide the mourners through their loss and ease them back into the world beyond grief. Having a Jamaican heritage, and a tradition of mourning called Nine Nights, Euella is keen to find out what we can learn from other cultures and faiths to help us through the grieving process. Producer Sarah Blunt


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (m0003cyk)
'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms

Episode 2

Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.

For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.

‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.

In Episode 2, Collingwood Ingram puts aside his previous passion for ornithology and turns his interest wholeheartedly to the study of cherry trees.

Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0003cyn)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003cyq)
A Passage to India

Episode 7

Professor Godbole and Mr Fielding may have missed the train but all seems under control and Aziz leads the ladies into the intriguing Marabar caves bursting with pride and relief.


TUE 11:00 Don't Log Off (m0003cys)
Series 9

Life In Motion

Alan Dein hears compelling personal stories from people around the globe about the things which unite them.

In Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the North of England and beyond, Alan connects with people online who are on the move, exploring what ‘motion’ means to different people through individual and collective experiences.

This includes a unique insight into marriage behind the wheel from a husband and wife trucking duo as they travel across Europe and reflections from a Saudi woman about how her life has changed since the female driving ban was lifted in June last year.

Producer: Hannah Dean


TUE 11:30 Moving Pictures (m0003cyv)
Kimono

Cathy FitzGerald invites you to discover new details in old masterpieces, using your phone, tablet or computer.

Each thirty-minute episode of Moving Pictures is devoted to a single artwork - and you're invited to look as well as listen, by following a link (below) to a high-resolution image made by Google Arts & Culture. Zoom in and you can see the pores of the canvas, the sweep of individual brushstrokes - or in this case, the pull and pucker of every stitch.

In the last programme of the series, we pay a visit to Japan's floating world. The collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum contains a very unusual uchikake, or outer kimono, which features embroidered scenes from a kabuki play. The design includes stunning golden shishi (mythical lions), vibrant peonies and characterful figures with glass eyes and actual hair, taken from an animal.

But the robe is something of a mystery. Was it made for an actor? Or a courtesan, perhaps? Either way, it belongs to the floating world - a fantasy land of ritualised pleasure and entertainment which had a much darker, seedier side.

Interviewees: Anna Jackson, Andrew Gerstle, Paul Griffith and Lesley Downer.

Producer and Presenter: Cathy FitzGerald

A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4

Kimono (c) The Victoria & Albert Museum, London.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0003cyy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 A Terrible Country (m0003cz2)
Episode 7

In the summer of 2008 as the global financial crisis erupts, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother - a woman who survived the dark days of communism and witnessed Russia's violent capitalist transformation, during she lost her beloved dacha.

She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can't always remember who he is.

Andrei learns to navigate Putin's Moscow, still the city of his birth but with more expensive cars and coffee. He looks after his elderly but surprisingly sharp grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails from, and eventually some friends - including a beautiful young activist named Yulia.

In Episode 7, the October Group is mobilised to take action. Andrei is unsure whose side he should be on.

Capturing with a miniaturist's brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, and desire, A Terrible Country is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, and the difficulty - or impossibility - of actually changing one's life.

Written by Keith Gessen
Read by Trevor White
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m0003cz6)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0003czc)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0003czk)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


TUE 13:45 Oliver Burkeman: Why Are We So Angry? (m0000sw6)
Episode 2

It’s possible that we are more angry now than ever, but it’s also possible that we just perceive higher levels of rage because we are all plugged into an environment that can turn a profit on our outrage. In the digital age media outlets have to keep our attention to make money, and the best way to do that? Get us angry.

But how is this constant rage stream affecting us? Oliver explores how the infrastructure of the digital age has been built to keep anger on a rolling boil, why our brains can’t help but be drawn to the things that outrage us most, and if it’s possible to redesign our the lucrative attention economy to tone down the anger, or if we’ve reached the point of no return where the rage we vent behind the screen is now spilling over into how we see one another in the real world.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0003cvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b08g4lks)
The Wells Way

Martyn Wade's play brings H.G. Wells and George Gissing together with some lovely comic moments. Each man would quite like to be like the other. Wells is weary of space and time travel and Gissing has no money. A surprising but long lasting friendship develops at a time when both writers are at a crisis point in their lives.

H.G. Wells ..... Julian Rhind-Tutt
George Gissing ..... Joseph Millson
Jane Wells ..... Jade Matthew
Gabrielle ..... Louiza Patikas

Writer.....Martyn Wade
Producer and Director.....Tracey Neale

Through friendship with George Gissing, H.G. Wells begins to confront his doubts and difficulties and discovers a new direction for his writing, and an unconventional approach to married life. Wells's career - thanks to his run of futuristic novels - is successful and making him lots of money. By contrast, Gissing's depictions of poverty, depression and failure have failed to bring him financial rewards. But Wells is at crisis point. Confused and uncertain. Weary of space and time travel. Dissatisfied with his marriage and this is his second attempt at marital bliss. The friendship with Gissing throws Wells into turmoil. It's time for him to take stock and be honest with himself. As the friendship develops so each writer begins to reveal more. Gissing sets Wells on a new literary path and he begins work on writing about real life (particularly his own) in Love and Mr Lewisham. Wells tells Gissing he should relieve the gloom of his next novel with a little humour and a few rays of sunshine - but Gissing won't oblige. Is Gissing being completely honest with Wells or holding something back? Gissing has found a new love and his work does begin to change direction too but an air of melancholy still hovers around him. Why?


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (m0003czy)
Series 18

Between the Lines

Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about translation, interpretation and ideas that resonate in the gap between words - from the connection between one man and his translator, through Benjamin Clementine's interpretation of Satie, to the work of an interpreter.

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


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (m0003d03)
Clean Air for Kids

Clean air - the fightback: Tom Heap investigates the problems caused by air pollution, and asks how it affects children's health. He visits schools in Manchester and London and finds out about new initiatives which hope to try to reduce pollution around school sites.

Produced by Emma Campbell


TUE 16:00 Law in Action (m0003cp2)
Can I stay, please?

In our latest look behind the scenes of courts large and small, we visit an immigration tribunal in central London. Joshua Rozenberg meets applicants who want to stay in Britain and judges who need an encyclopaedic knowledge of world affairs to decide whether they can remain.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m0003d07)
Ayesha Hazarika and Martin Rowson

Harriett Gilbert talks favourite books with the comedian and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika and the cartoonist-author Martin Rowson. Ayesha chooses a novel from Italy: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Martin picks Let's Kill Uncle by Rohan O'Grady, and Harriett's choice is In The Skin of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje.

Producer: Eliza Lomas


TUE 17:00 PM (m0003d0c)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003d0f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 My Teenage Diary (b07gfjhm)
Series 7

Sara Pascoe

Comedian Sara Pascoe joins Rufus Hound and reads from her teenage diaries. She works at the Millennium Dome, gets a new boyfriend, starts university and takes her dog along for company. What could possibly go wrong?

Producer: Harriet Jaine
Executive Producer: Aled Evans
My Teenage Diary is a Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0003d0h)
There's a change in the air for Jill, and Alice stands firm


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0003d0k)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003cyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0003d0m)
The Crossing

In the autumn of 2016 the authorities in France closed down a large migrant camp in Calais known as The Jungle.

At its height more than 9,000 people from around the world lived in the camp while attempting to make it across to the UK, often hiding in the back of lorries or packed into small boats. It was hoped the camp's closure would stem the number of people risking their lives to try to get to Britain. But more than two years on has it worked?

Over Christmas the Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared the number of migrants attempting to cross in boats a 'major incident' and since then more than 100 people have been picked up in 2019.

File in 4 investigates the British gangs making thousands of pounds and risking migrants' lives smuggling them across the Channel and reports on the attempts to break up their networks.

In France, concerted efforts have been made to stop another large camp being established in Calais and File on 4 asks whether the policy is succeeding in deterring migrants from travelling to the French coast, or whether it is simply driving people to take ever greater risks?

Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Ben Robinson
Editor: Gail Champion

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0003d0p)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m0003d0r)
Dr Mark Porter goes on a weekly quest to demystify the health issues that perplex us.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m0003cy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0003d0t)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 A Terrible Country (m0003cz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


TUE 23:00 Date Night (m0003d0w)
Episode 3

Semi-improvised comedy show written and performed by Marc Wootton with Catherine Tate, Monica Dolan, Katherine Parkinson, Hammed Animashaun, Ellie White and Jamie Demetriou. Together they portray a series of couples all embracing the modern phenomenon of date night.

DATE NIGHT, noun: A pre-arranged occasion when a couple who have been together for a long time commit to a regular night out in order to keep their relationship alive.

The series follows a collection of couples who are desperately trying to keep their relationship functioning by creating a weekly date night intervention. For some, the relationship is already broken, for others it's their pre-emptive strike in the hope of new-found longevity. More often than not, the stakes are high, involving children, careers and homes.

Date Night is written and created by Marc Wootton whose previous credits include High & Dry (Ch4), La La Land (Showtime), Shirley Ghostman (BBC) and My New Best Friend (Ch4).

Cast:
Rob/Barry/Terry/Patrick/Fiona ….. Marc Wootton
Gary ….. Jamie Demetriou
Rita ….. Ellie White
Terri ….. Catherine Tate
Carol ….. Monica Dolan
Jamali ….. Hammed Animashaun
Narrator ...... Fi Glover

Sound Designers: David Chilton and Lucinda Mason Brown
Assistant Producer: James Peak
Producer: Anna Madley

A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0003d0y)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH 2019

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0003d10)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (m0003cyk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0003d12)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0003d14)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0003d16)
The latest shipping forecast


WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0003d18)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0003d1b)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0003d1g)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09ly60c)
Kathy Hinde on the Pink-footed Goose

Audio-visual artist Kathy Hinde enjoys the sounds of a flock of Pink-footed Geese as they take to the air.
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: Tom Mckibbin.


WED 06:00 Today (m0003d6n)
News and current affairs programme, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Only Artists (m0003d6q)
Series 7

20/03/2019

Only Artists brings two artists together to talk freely about their creative work.


WED 09:30 Hotspot (b0bh2b8v)
Bingo

Brighton has the most internet searches for the word lonely. Plymouth is top for debt problems. Aldershot has the most Buddhists. Jenny Kleeman explores locations at the extremes of UK society, uncovering the stories behind a revealing statistic.

The Office for National Statistics gathers data on everything - the economy, employment, even our wellbeing. We have more data available than ever before, including from search engines, and increasingly the government and big businesses are making crucial judgments based on these statistics. But these numbers can't tell us everything. In this series, Jenny explores the true stories behind the figures.

Episode 2: Bingo
Jenny visits Mecca Forge in Glasgow, the biggest hall in a city that's the hot spot for bingo. She shadows its manager, Paul McGlinchey, who is trying to introduce the game to a younger audience. But is it enough to keep bingo thriving here?

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (m0003d6s)
'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms

Episode 3

Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.

For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.

In Episode 3, Ingram travels to Japan with a warning that some native varieties of cherry might be lost if action is not taken soon.

Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0003d6v)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (m0003d6x)
A Passage to India

Episode 8

The reverberations of the shocking arrest echo around Chandrapore.


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (m0003d6z)
Alanah and Shannon: When Enough is Enough

Capturing the nation in conversation in partnership with the British Library.


WED 11:00 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


WED 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (m0003d75)
Star Trap

Episode 3

by Jeremy Front
Based on the novel by Simon Brett.

When there's yet another accident involving a member of the cast of Winnie The Musical, Charles is determined to find out what's going on.

Charles Paris ..... Bill Nighy
Frances ..... Suzanne Burden
Maurice ..... Jon Glover
Chris Watt/Winston ..... Nigel Lindsay
Nina Lamb ..... Clare Corbett
Kay/Clemmie ..... Carolyn Pickles
Ged ..... Ronny Jhutti
Mark ..... Christopher Harper
Abbie ..... Sarah Ovens
Director ..... Mary Peate
Producer ..... Sally Avens


WED 12:00 News Summary (m0003d79)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 A Terrible Country (m0003d7f)
Episode 8

In the summer of 2008 as the global financial crisis erupts, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother - a woman who survived the dark days of communism and witnessed Russia's violent capitalist transformation, during she lost her beloved dacha.

She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can't always remember who he is.

Andrei learns to navigate Putin's Moscow, still the city of his birth but with more expensive cars and coffee. He looks after his elderly but surprisingly sharp grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails from, and eventually some friends - including a beautiful young activist named Yulia.

In Episode 8, Andrei's brother, Dima, calls him about selling the apartments.

Capturing with a miniaturist's brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, and desire, A Terrible Country is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, and the difficulty - or impossibility - of actually changing one's life.

Written by Keith Gessen
Read by Trevor White
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


WED 12:18 Four Seasons (m0003d7k)
Spring

To mark the coming of spring, Radio 4 brings you poems throughout the day. Pippa Haywood reads Siegrfried Sassoon's Another Spring


WED 12:20 You and Yours (m0003d7p)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


WED 12:57 Weather (m0003d7t)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (m0003d7y)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


WED 13:43 Four Seasons (m0003d82)
Spring poetry: Adjoa Andoh

Adjoa Andoh reads In Time of Silver Rain by Langston Hughes to continue Radio 4's day of poetry marking the spring equinox.


WED 13:45 Oliver Burkeman: Why Are We So Angry? (m0000yjs)
Despite how it can be misdirected anger has long been known as the 'moral emotion' the one most likely to urge us into action in redressing some injustice or offence. But is this belief justified, or self-deluded excuse to indulge in a little payback?

Oliver explores why anger is sometimes necessary for the betterment of society, how anger can be channelled for good or evil, and he meets with meets with Martin Boyce, a veteran of the Stonewall Riots, to learn how an eruption of repressed rage can be transformed from destruction into pride.


WED 14:00 The Archers (m0003d0h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b09w0g06)
The Ferryhill Philosophers

Minority Rights and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Joe's friend Jemal fights to stay in Ferryhill after his family's secret is revealed and neighbours turn against him.

Joe and Hermione work to mediate between some of the village community's prejudices against a way of life for Jemal and his family. Can Jemal win the villagers' hearts with his story?

Once again, ex-miner Joe Snowball and Durham philosophy lecturer Hermione Pink argue, console and confide in one another over the thinking behind one of life's big dilemmas.

Written by Michael Chaplin
Directed by Marilyn Imrie

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:00 Money Box (m0003d8b)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.


WED 15:30 Inside Health (m0003d0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Four Seasons (m0003d8g)
Spring: The Year's Awakening, by Thomas Hardy.

Paul McGann reads The Year's Awakening by Thomas Hardy as part of Radio 4's day of poetry celebrating the coming of Spring


WED 16:03 Thinking Allowed (m0003d8l)
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (m0003d8q)
A topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 17:00 PM (m0003d8v)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


WED 17:58 Four Seasons (m0003d8z)
Spring: Coming, by Philip Larkin

Today is the vernal equinox and all day Radio 4 is bringing you poetry to celebrate the coming of spring. Anton Lesser reads Coming by Philip Larkin.

Producer: Maggie Ayre


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003d93)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction (b09czrbc)
Why Are Some More Susceptible Than Others?

Mae Martin is kicking the habit.

Award-winning stand-up and Edinburgh comedy award nominee 2017 Mae Martin presents a brand new series for Radio 4.

Mae's exploring how we as a society think about addiction, and on a personal level, trying to understand who she is now she's no longer addicted to anything. Through the lens of her own experience, Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction follows Mae chronologically through a lifetime of obsessive behaviour and addiction with all her characteristic wit and levity.

Episode 2 - Why are some people more susceptible to addiction than others? And what can we do about it?
Sober, un-obsessed, and single for the first time in her life, Mae is asking: Who am I when I'm NOT addicted? And what's next? Mae looks at how society views addiction and recovery, and what connections we can make between identifying why people feel the need to self-soothe, and helping them on the road to recovery in a compassionate way.

Written by and starring Mae Martin
With Dr Gabor Mate

Producer Alexandra Smith
Production Coordinator Beverley Tagg

A BBC Studios Production.


WED 19:00 The Archers (m0003cmw)
Jolene receives an unexpected offer and Peggy attempts a ceasefire.


WED 19:15 Front Row (m0003d97)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003d6x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m0003d9d)
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Michael Portillo, Mona Siddiqui, Matthew Taylor and Tim Stanley.


WED 20:45 Lent Talks (m0003d9l)
The Uncertainty of Peter

"Presenting a photoshopped view of ourselves on Social Media is far closer to Peter’s lies than we might think." Psychologist Dr Sandi Mann, explores the parallels between Peter’s denial of Jesus and the lies we tell each other every day.

Producer: Dan Tierney


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (m0003d03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Only Artists (m0003d6q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0003d9q)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


WED 22:45 A Terrible Country (m0003d7f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


WED 23:00 Bunk Bed (m0003d9v)
Series 6

Episode 1

Everyone craves a place where their mind and body are not applied to a particular task. The nearest faraway place. Somewhere for drifting and lighting upon strange thoughts which don't have to be shooed into context, but which can be followed like balloons escaping onto the air.

Late at night, in the dark and in a bunk bed, your tired mind can wander.

This is the nearest faraway place for Patrick Marber and Peter Curran. Here they endeavour to get the heart of things in an entertainingly vague and indirect way. This is not the place for typical male banter.

From under the bed clothes, they play each other music and old bits of BBC Archive. Life, death, work and family are their slightly warped conversational currency.

Produced by Peter Curran
A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:15 Tom Parry's Fancy Dressed Life (b08mqtgg)
Series 1

Max

Episode 2: Max. It's the annual Parry family party and, as if you needed reminding, it's Fancy Dress. Tom is rather pleased with his typically obscure nay gloriously inaccessible choice of costume but some unhelpfully nightmarish flashbacks to his university days threaten to spoil his enjoyment of the day.

Tom Parry is an award winning comedian, writer and actor whose credits include Miranda, Phone Shop and Drunk History among many others. As a stand up, he most recently gained critical acclaim and an Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nomination for his debut hour 'Yellow T-Shirt'. For more than a decade he has been part of the multi-award winning sketch team Pappy's. Together they have performed 6 sell out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, completed 4 national tours, gigged all over the world, and created, written and starred in the sitcom 'Badults' for BBC3.

Cast: Tom Parry, Ben Clarke, Celeste Dring, Gareth Pierce
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0003db1)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.


WED 23:55 Four Seasons (m0003db5)
Spring poetry

A collection of poems celebrating the coming of Spring rounds off this day of Four Seasons poetry read by Siobhan Redmond, Simon Russell Beale, Juliet Stevenson and Paul McGann

Producer: Maggie Ayre



THURSDAY 21 MARCH 2019

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0003dbc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (m0003d6s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0003dbk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0003dbs)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0003dbz)
The latest shipping forecast


THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0003dc5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0003dcc)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0003dck)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09r7vd0)
Penny Anderson on the Garden Warbler

Ecologist Penny Anderson learns how to differentiate between the songs of Blackcap and Garden Warbler when to her delight she hears a Garden Warbler singing in the scrub patch in her garden.
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: James Hanlon.


THU 06:00 Today (m0003cl9)
News and current affairs programme, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0003clk)
Gerard Manley Hopkins

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and works of Hopkins (1844-89), a Jesuit priest who at times burned his poems and at others insisted they should not be published. His friend Robert Bridges preserved them and, once printed in 1919, they were celebrated for their inventiveness and Hopkins was seen as a major poet, perhaps the greatest of the Victorian age.

With

Catherine Phillips

Jane Wright

and

Martin Dubois

Producer: Simon Tillotson


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (m0003cpn)
'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms

Episode 4

Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.

For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.

‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.

In Episode 4, cherries become the peaceful symbol for Japan, a nation with less peaceful intentions than this beautiful flower might suggest.

Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0003clt)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003cly)
A Passage to India

Episode 9

As they close ranks, the English remain stiff and upper lipped. Mrs Moore and Adela continue to be plagued by the haunting echo from the Marabar caves and muddle and mystery still looms over Chandrapore.


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m0003cm2)
Correspondents around the world tell their stories and examine news developments in their region.


THU 11:30 Sea Border (m0003cm6)
Author Jan Carson mixes strange and otherworldly experiences with ordinary, everyday life. Hailing from rural County Antrim, her voice is almost a blend of Northern Irish and Scottish accents and Jan says her writing comes from the in-between. But liminal spaces can be full of longing and the tides are shifting from place to place. Are you here or there? Arrived or leaving? It can sometimes be hard to tell which side you're on.

In our uncertain times, Jan brings us stories from the short stretch of the Irish Sea between Scotland and her Northern Irish home. As ownership shifts with the rumbling tide, who's to say which is Scottish and which should be told in a Northern voice? Here becomes there and everything's muddy and it can be a dangerous thing to cross a dividing sea.

Producer: Conor Garrett


THU 12:00 News Summary (m0003dj6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 A Terrible Country (m0003cmg)
Episode 9

In the summer of 2008 as the global financial crisis erupts, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother - a woman who survived the dark days of communism and witnessed Russia's violent capitalist transformation, during she lost her beloved dacha.

She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can't always remember who he is.

Andrei learns to navigate Putin's Moscow, still the city of his birth but with more expensive cars and coffee. He looks after his elderly but surprisingly sharp grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails from, and eventually some friends - including a beautiful young activist named Yulia.

In Episode 9, a warm Moscow summer seems perfect, but the economy is in crisis. Russia slides into turmoil.

Capturing with a miniaturist's brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, and desire, A Terrible Country is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, and the difficulty - or impossibility - of actually changing one's life.

Written by Keith Gessen
Read by Trevor White
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


THU 12:18 You and Yours (m0003cml)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


THU 12:57 Weather (m0003cmp)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (m0003cmr)
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 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0003cmt)
The Nick Boles One

Nick Robinson talks to the Conservative backbench MP, Nick Boles.

This is an edited version of an interview recently recorded for the podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson. The full podcast episodes are available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04z203l/episodes/downloads .


THU 14:00 The Archers (m0003cmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b08jf0f1)
Give Dotty a Chance

Give Dotty a Chance by Martyn Hesford.
It is 1989 and the Welsh singer Dorothy Squires is living a penniless existence in a caravan. She thinks her glittering career that took her to Hollywood has been forgotten. But then two fans turn up to try persuade her to put her glad rags on and revive her career. But can she still do it?

Director/Producer Gary Brown.


THU 15:00 Ramblings (m0003cmy)
Series 41

Walking a Poem on The Malverns

Clare Balding is taking a poem for a walk on today’s Ramblings. Joining her is Jean Atkin, the newly appointed Troubadour of the Malvern Hills. Jean takes Clare, stanza by stanza, to each of the locations featured in one of her poems. Joining them is Peter Sutton who has translated into modern English the famous mediaeval poem ‘Piers Plowman’ which starts with the poet asleep on the Malvern Hills. Also walking is David Armitage who works for the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; he discusses the similarities he sees between the Malverns and some African landscapes, and shows Clare a field packed with the most extraordinary amount of ant hills.

The Troubadour of the Hills is a project devised by the Ledbury Poetry Festival and the Malvern Hills AONB. If you're reading this on the Radio 4 website, please scroll down for some photos from the walk and some related links which you can follow to find out more.

Producer: Karen Gregor


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0003cn0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (m0003cn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m0003cn5)
Ralph Fiennes, Patricia Clarkson

With Antonia Quirke

Ralph Fiennes discusses The White Crow, his drama about Rudolf Nureyev's defection to the West.

Patricia Clarkson discusses her role as a cop in philosophical crime drama Out Of Blue


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0003cn9)
Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.


THU 17:00 PM (m0003cnf)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003cnk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 The Wilsons Save the World (m0003cnp)
Series 2

Live Forever

Spurred on by the notoriously anti-environment neighbour ‘BMW Paul’ and his apparent saintly u-turn on plastics and waste, Mike lays down a no-plastic challenge to the family which is taken up with competitive relish. Meanwhile Max’s Mum Pauline pays another visit and dishes out a heap of straight-talking common sense in her own inimitable way. It turns out that the purpose of her visit is to drop another bombshell which sends Max reeling and forces her to confront a number of difficult issues head on.

Mike…Marcus Brigstocke
Max…Kerry Godliman
Cat..Mia Jenkins
Lola…India Brown
Pauline...Liza Tarbuck
BMW Paul…Mike Wozniak
Writers…Marcus Brigstocke and Sarah Morgan
Producer...Julia McKenzie
A BBC Studios Production


THU 19:00 The Archers (m0003cnt)
Helen's lies catch up with her and David wants answers


THU 19:15 Front Row (m0003cny)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003cly)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 Law in Action (m0003cp2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]


THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m0003cp5)
Evan Davis chairs a round table discussion providing insight into business from the people at the top.


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m0003cn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (m0003clk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0003cpc)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


THU 22:45 A Terrible Country (m0003cmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


THU 23:00 Where's the F in News (m0003cpg)
Series 2

Episode 3

An energetic, intelligent female-anchored show with a female panel - using the events, trends and talking points they think should really be top of the news agenda in a series of fresh and funny challenges.

Host Jo Bunting is joined by a panel of women including comedian Jo Brand.

Jo Bunting is a producer and writer of topical comedy and satire, with credits including Have I Got News For You, the Great British Bake Off spin off show An Extra Slice with Jo Brand, and the successful topical chat show That Sunday Night Show presented by Adrian Chiles on ITV. Jo was a guest interviewer on Loose Ends for several years and a panellist on Loose Women.

An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0003cpj)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



FRIDAY 22 MARCH 2019

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0003cpl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (m0003cpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0003cps)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0003cpx)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0003cq1)
The latest shipping forecast


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0003cq5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0003cq9)
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Leader of the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0003cqf)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09rz2hf)
David Rothenberg on the Robin

David Rothenberg on the jazz artist of the bird world - the humble robin. David explains what the song of the robin has in common with experimental free form jazz, not dissimilar to the sound of saxophonist Eric Dolphy who spent a long time listening to birds.

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
Photograph: Christine Sweet.


FRI 06:00 Today (m0003d74)
News and current affairs programme, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0003cqx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (m0003d78)
'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms

Episode 5

Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he fell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.

For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.

‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.

In Episode 5, 'Cherry' Ingram continues to study cherries until his death at 100 years old. His lasting legacy can be seen in the flowering cherries of Japan and the British Isles today.

Written and translated by Naoko Abe
Read by Hattie Morahan
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0003d7d)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003d7j)
A Passage to India

Episode 10

The trial over. A victory won. Fielding now has to arrange a safe passage back to England. The echo from the mysterious caves may have faded away and a ghost lost along the way but a legend is about to emerge.


FRI 11:00 The University Time Bomb (m0003d7n)
Universities in England are steeling themselves for a big hit on their finances. A recent ruling on how the government records student loans is set to add £12 billion to the deficit - and a wholesale rethink of how we finance over 18s education is needed to help balance the books.

In this two-part series, the BBC's Education Editor, Branwen Jeffreys, investigates what this will mean for the future of Higher and Further Education in England.

Have we reached "peak university"? Are caps on student numbers inevitable? And could any tightening of the purse strings mean some colleges and universities will go bust?

Presenter: Branwen Jeffreys
Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 11:30 What Does the K Stand For? (b08dnwrr)
Series 3

Let's Talk About Sex

Travel back in time to the 1980's for this sitcom about comedian Stephen K Amos's teenage years growing up gay, funny and black in South London. This week Stephen plucks up the courage to reveal a secret.

Written by Jonathan Harvey with Stephen K Amos.
Starring Ellen Thomas, Laurie Kynaston, Stephen K Amos, Bola Okun, Emerald Crankson, Karen Bartke and David Sterne.
Produced by Paul Sheehan.
Production Coordinator Beverly Tagg.
A BBC Studios Production.


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0003d7s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 A Terrible Country (m0003d7x)
Episode 10

In the summer of 2008 as the global financial crisis erupts, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother - a woman who survived the dark days of communism and witnessed Russia's violent capitalist transformation, during she lost her beloved dacha.

She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can't always remember who he is.

Andrei learns to navigate Putin's Moscow, still the city of his birth but with more expensive cars and coffee. He looks after his elderly but surprisingly sharp grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails from, and eventually some friends - including a beautiful young activist named Yulia.

In Episode 10, Andrei's brief incarceration might have had some unexpected benefits for his career, but this is by no means a good outcome for his relationship with the October Group.

Capturing with a miniaturist's brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, and desire, A Terrible Country is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, and the difficulty - or impossibility - of actually changing one's life.

Written by Keith Gessen
Read by Trevor White
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m0003d81)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


FRI 12:57 Weather (m0003d85)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (m0003d89)
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 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m0003d8f)
The Diane Abbott One

Nick Robinson talks to Labour's shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott.

This is an edited version of an interview recently recorded for the podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson. The full podcast episodes are available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04z203l/episodes/downloads .


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0003cnt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (m0003d8k)
Our Liam of Lourdes

Liam is an atheist, a disciple of Dawkins and an out and proud gay man. He's also in crisis, and he really doesn't want to be in Lourdes. What good can the healing waters possibly hold for him?

Liam ..... Joseph Ayre
Toby ..... Paul Ready
Noah ..... Ross K Foad
Maureen ..... Susan Jameson
Dan ..... Christopher Harper
Waiter ..... Pierre Elliott
Worker ..... Sarah Ovens
Redcap ..... Franchi Webb

Writer ..... Alex Oates
Director ..... Jessica Dromgoole
Producers ..... Jessica Dromgoole & Sally Avens


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0003d8p)
Gower Peninsula

Eric Robson and his panel pay a visit to the Gower Peninsula. Christine Walkden, Bob Flowerdew and Anne Swithinbank answer this week's questions from the audience.

Produced by Laurence Bassett
Assistant Producer: Hester Cant

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 15:45 From Fact to Fiction (m0003d8t)
AL Kennedy writes a short story in response to this week's news.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0003d8y)
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 (m0003d92)
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (m0003d96)
Patrick and Dominic: The Child Genius

Capturing the nation in conversation in partnership with the British Library.


FRI 17:00 PM (m0003d9b)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0003d9j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (m0003d9p)
Series 54

Episode 5

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches

Featuring Andy Zaltzman, Vikki Stone, Geoff Norcott and Emma Sidi.

Producer: Adnan Ahmed

BBC Studios Production


FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0003d9t)
Contemporary drama in a rural setting.

Writer ….. Naylah Ahmed
Director ….. Rosemary Watts
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe

Jill Archer .... Patricia Greene
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Daisy Badger
Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ….. Buffy Davis
Pat Archer .... Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer.... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Toby Fairbrother .... Rhys Bevan
Alan Franks .... John Telfer
Eddie Grundy .... Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy .... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Alistair Lloyd ..... Michael Lumsden
Kate Madikane .... Perdita Avery
Elizabeth Pargetter .... Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter .... Katie Redford
Johnny Philips .... Tom Gibbons
Peggy Wooley .... June Spencer
Natasha .... Mali Harries
Russ ..... Andonis James Anthony
Leonard Berry .... Paul Copley


FRI 19:15 Front Row (m0003d9y)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0003d7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0003db2)
Ian Blackford MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from St Peter's School in Bournemouth with a panel including the leader of the Scottish National Party at Westminster Ian Blackford MP.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0003db7)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.


FRI 21:00 Archive on 4 (b090v482)
Grayson Perry: En Garde

Grayson Perry goes backwards in the archive in search of the moment the avant-garde died.

It's a century since Marcel Duchamp submitted his artwork called Fountain to an exhibition staged by the Society of Independent Artists in New York. Fountain was a urinal -- not a painting of a urinal or a sculpture, just a urinal, bought from a Manhattan hardware store and signed R.Mutt.

The Society of Independent Artists rejected Duchamp's provocation and the original object was lost.

Nowadays Duchamp's urinal is canonised as the fountainhead of conceptual art and the high water (closet) mark of the avant garde. Replicas of the Fountain grace museums around the world - emblems of the avant-garde spirit of experimentation and confrontation.

Somewhere in the intervening years though, something changed - contemporary art lost its ability to shock and critique. We're still hopelessly drawn to the idea of art that's 'cutting edge', 'ground-breaking', 'revolutionary'. But is that possible at this point -- haven't we seen it all before?

Maybe the death knell was sounded when the Saatchi Gallery opened on the South Bank? Or with the advent of protest and radical chic in the 1960s? Maybe it was when the CIA funded the abstract expressionists? Or when the post-war art market began to reign supreme? Or when the Museum of Modern Art opened its doors in 1927?

Or maybe it was all a matter of style the very moment Duchamp's Fountain was conceived?

Featuring Brian Eno, Kenneth Goldsmith, Nnenna Okore, Cornelia Parker, and Sarah Thornton.

Producer: Martin Williams.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0003dbf)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


FRI 22:45 A Terrible Country (m0003d7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


FRI 23:00 Woman's Hour (m0003dbm)
Late Night Woman's Hour

Lauren Laverne and guests partake of a few nocturnal frank and funny conversations.


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0003dbv)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (m0003dc1)
Lynsey and Graham: Live your life, be happy

Capturing the nation in conversation in partnership with the British Library.