SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2024

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m001w8wj)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 Fire Weather by John Vaillant (m001w8px)
Episode 5

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, Alberta, the hub of Canada’s oil industry, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs and drove 90,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon.

Through the story of this apocalyptic conflagration, John Vaillant explores the past and the future of our ever-hotter, more flammable world.

For hundreds of millennia, fire has been a partner in our evolution, shaping culture and civilization. Yet in our age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in ways never before witnessed by human beings.

John Vaillant delves into the intertwined histories of the oil industry and climate science, the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern wildfires, and the lives forever changed by these disasters.

Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

Abridged by Polly Coles
Read by Kerry Shale
Produced by Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001w8ws)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001w8x5)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001w8xd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m001w8xp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001w8xw)
Giving

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishvapani Blomfield


SAT 05:45 The Banksy Story (m001p1ry)
7. A Nightmare on Oxford St

James Peak isn't an art critic, or even a journalist. He's a Banksy super-fan, and in this series he, and his soundman Duncan, get closer than close to Banksy's secret world - telling the story of the graffiti kid who made spraying walls into high art, the household name who is completely anonymous, the cultural phenomenon who bites the hand that feeds him.

James persuades a member of Banksy's secret team – someone who worked closely with the artist when they were starting to cut through – to talk about the experience. The story that results is a rollercoaster ride.

In this episode, a nightmare exhibition on Oxford Street sees Steph in big trouble with the big man.

Written, Produced and Presented by James Peak
Sound & Commentary: Duncan Crowe.
Voices: Keith Wickham & Harriet Carmichael
Music: Alcatraz Swim Team & Lilium
Series Mixing: Neil Churchill
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
With special thanks to Hadrian Briggs, Pete Chinn, Patrick Nguyen, John Higgs and Steph Warren.

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m001wgzp)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m001w7l0)
We in Front!

A joyful hike up Castle Hill near Huddersfield with We In Front, an inspirational group of walkers.

Leading the way is Errol Hamlet who, having retired, felt bored, unhealthy and wanted a new challenge. He spotted a neighbour out walking during the pandemic and decided to join her. Then, one by one, more people joined until they eventually had a decent sized group. Most are senior citizens from the local West Indian community and they can often be heard singing as they disappear into the countryside surrounding Huddersfield.

As they walk Clare hears about Carriacou, the Caribbean island where nine of the walkers spent at least some of their childhood. Apparently everyone on that island knows someone in Huddersfield... the two places are closely linked. There's also an unexpected conversation about the niche hobby of bottle-top collecting...

The group started today's walk at grid reference SE155152 from where they followed a circuitous route up to Castle Hill.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m001wgzt)
17/02/24 Farming Today This Week: N.I.'s new minister for agriculture; Farm support in England; Paper work; Green investment.

The return of the Northern Ireland Assembly means there's a new man in charge at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, or DAERA. We speak to Andrew Muir about his priorities.

After leaving the EU, the four nations of the UK have decided on different payment systems for farmers. In England the Environmental Land Management Scheme, or ELMS, has several parts to it. The Sustainable Farming Incentive or SFI is part of that. It pays farmers for doing environmental work, like planting hedges or improving soils. Some English farmers felt there was little ‘incentive’ to join it, because payments were too low. However in January that changed. 50 new things farmers could do to attract money were added to the scheme and some payments were increased. We discuss what those were with the Farming Minister Mark Spencer.

All week we've been looking at the business side of running a farm. Farmers have long argued that they deal with far too much paperwork. One company set up to help them with form filling says it’s been inundated with requests and believes many farmers feel burdened and isolated by the sheer amount of red tape.

Diversification is often key to a successful farm business. According to DEFRA, 69% of farm businesses were engaged in some kind of diversification in 2022-23. We visit a small upland farm in the Lake District to find out how diversification has worked for them.

In the Scottish Highlands vast tracts of land and whole estates are being bought as ‘green investments’. Tree planting and rewilding are used to offset carbon. A report for the Scottish Government has tried to quantify the impact of this on rural communities.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


SAT 06:57 Weather (m001wgzy)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m001wh02)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m001wh06)
Marianna Spring, James Timpson, Callum Scott Howells, Adam Hills

Today - our guests inhabit very different worlds...

One exists in kindness, James Timpson, the businessman and philanthropist - whose new book The Happy Index - puts happiness at the top of his business plans.

Marianna Spring on the other hand, spends much of her life in a world filled with nastiness and trolls, and asks Why Do You Hate Me? in her new podcast.

And Callum Scott Howells inhabits and interprets other people’s lives for our pleasure, currently starring in A View from the Bridge on the stage and The Way on the small screen.

Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of Antipodean comedian, TV presenter and para-standing tennis player Adam Hills.

Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m001wh0b)
History of Bollywood

In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Sunny Singh and broadcaster Poppy Jay to learn all about the history of Indian cinema, colloquially known as Bollywood. Filmmaking technology arrived in India in 1896, only six months after the Lumiere brothers debuted their invention in Paris. Nowadays, over 700 films are released in India every year, and it is the most popular cinema in the world, reaching over a billion more viewers a year than Hollywood. From the first Indian film in 1913, through the arrival of 'talkies' and colour in the 1930s, to its incredible success today, this episode explores the vibrant history of Bollywood, and the way it has reflected and shaped modern Indian society and politics.

Research by: Madeleine Bracey
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Caitlin Hobbs
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001wh0j)
Series 43

Nottingham

Jay Rayner and his rabble of food experts are in Nottingham to kick off a new season of The Kitchen Cabinet. Joining Jay are food writers Melissa Thompson, Tim Hayward and Sumayya Usmani, and materials expert Dr Zoe Laughlin.

The panellists answer a variety of culinary questions, including their most loved toastie recipes, and their top tips for cooking with quinoa. They also debate the best sausage to eat with HP sauce, and how to spice up a wiener schnitzel.

And Jay chats to Bramley apple expert Roger Merriweather about the apple’s historical links to Nottingham.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 Labour’s Scottish Challenge (m001w0xx)
Political correspondent Nick Eardley finds out if the Labour Party are about to make a major comeback in Scotland.

We begin with what went wrong for the once all-conquering Labour Party north of the border. How the independence debate alienated the party from some of its voters - and saw it nearly wiped out at the 2015 general election. But after a decade in the wilderness, is Scotland at a major turning point? The SNP has lost its popular leader in Nicola Sturgeon and the campaign for independence has faltered. Are the SNP's troubles opening a door for Labour? Is Labour in Scotland back?

With contributions from current Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, and the SNP leader Humza Yousaf. We also hear the thoughts of former Labour leaders Kezia Dugdale and Jim Murphy. Nick talks to former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, and John McDonnell MP, who held the post of shadow chancellor in Jeremy Corbyn's cabinet. The SNP’s Mhairi Black MP and Labour’s former Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander remember going head-to-head in the Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat in 2015 which marked Mhairi Black’s ascendancy and Douglas Alexander’s dramatic fall. With the former declaring she won’t be standing for re-election, and the latter about to stand again, are the tables about to be turned?

In this election year, the result north of the border will be a significant factor and could be key to whether Keir Starmer reaches Downing Street.

Presenter: Nick Eardley
Producer: Carol Purcell
Researchers: May Robson and Lucy Small
Executive Producers: Peter McManus and Elizabeth Clark
Mixed by Kris McConnachie
A BBC Scotland Production

Audio Credits:
Clip of Kate Forbes - Scotland's Next First Minister: The Leader's Debate, STV 7 March 2023


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m001wh0t)
Reporting Gaza

Kate Adie presents stories from Israel and Gaza, Guyana, Finland and the USA.

International media have been campaigning to gain access to Gaza in the months since the Israeli bombardment began - with only occasional access granted, which is closely supervised by the Israeli military. More often, news organisations have relied on Palestinian journalists already living and working in Gaza, who
continue to operate under dangerous conditions. Jeremy Bowen reflects on the difficulties of telling the story of the Israel-Gaza war.

After Guyana discovered it had substantial oil reserves almost ten years ago, its economy was quickly transformed and it's now the world's fastest growing economy. But its neighbour, Venezuela, recently contested Guyana's claim to oil-rich Essequibo region, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana's territory, reviving a centuries-old territorial dispute. Michelle Jana Chan went to see how the country had changed.

Alexander Stubb was elected as Finland's president in polls last weekend, heralding a more hawkish approach to Russia. Finland acceded to NATO last year, and has a strategic role to play given its long border with its giant neighbour. Emilia Jansson reflects on what sort of President, Mr Stubb will be - and on what the presidential campaign revealed about Finnish attitudes.

And in the US, the decor of the Oval Office in the White House is always closely watched when there's a change of President. Donald Trump's military flags were replaced with busts of influential figures from America's past, ranging from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Rosa Parks. Nick Bryant reports on what the contents of the President's bookshelf might reveal.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production coordinator: Katie Morrison


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m001wh1k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m001wh03)
Probate Delays and Pension Charges

When someone dies and leaves a property in their own name, or has significant savings or investments, the executors must apply for probate - a legal document which gives them the right to deal with the dead person's estate and distribute their assets. The Ministry of Justice says probate should be granted within 16 weeks, but some bereaved families have been facing delays of nearly a year. Why is that?

A new report shared exclusively with Money Box suggests many of us know very little about the charges being taken out of our pensions. People's Partnership carried out a survey which found that out of a thousand people who'd transferred their pension in the past two years without getting advice beforehand - 72% didn’t know exactly what the fees for their old pensions were, or what they were being charged for their new one. What should you look out for?

And for the first time the percentage people in England who're married or in a civil partnership has fallen below 50 percent. If you live with someone and share your money - what do you need to know?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner
Researcher: Sandra Hardial
Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 17th February 2024)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m001w8sf)
Series 113

Episode 7

Andy Zaltzman quizzes the news. Providing all the answers are Zoe Lyons, Andrew Maxwell, Rachel Parris, and Danny Finkelstein.

In this week of Lent and Love, Andy and the panel address Labour's difficult relationship with itself, Trump's flirtations with Putin, and giving up on the idea of home ownership.

Written by Andy Zaltzman

With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Ben Clover, and Jade Gebbie

Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m001wh17)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News and Weather (m001wh1h)
The latest national and international news and weather reports from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m001w8t8)
Mark Littlewood, Alison McGovern MP, Esther McVey MP, Sonia Sodha

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Hope Valley College in the Peak District with the Director of Popular Conservatism Mark Littlewood, Shadow Employment Minister Alison McGovern MP, Cabinet Office Minister Esther McVey MP and Observer columnist and chief leader writer Sonia Sodha.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
Lead broadcast engineer: Phil Booth


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m001wh1x)
Call Any Answers? to have your say on the big issues in the news this week


SAT 14:45 The Banksy Story (m001p1t7)
8. Brushed under the Carpet

James Peak isn't an art critic, or even a journalist. He's a Banksy super-fan, and in this series he, and his soundman Duncan, get closer than close to Banksy's secret world - telling the story of the graffiti kid who made spraying walls into high art, the household name who is completely anonymous, the cultural phenomenon who bites the hand that feeds him.

James persuades a member of Banksy's secret team – someone who worked closely with the artist when they were starting to cut through – to talk about the experience. The story that results is a rollercoaster ride.

In this episode, Banksy returns to Bristol Museum in triumph, while Steph is accused of forgery.

Written, Produced and Presented by James Peak
Sound & Commentary: Duncan Crowe.
Voices: Keith Wickham & Harriet Carmichael
Music: Alcatraz Swim Team & Lilium
Series Mixing: Neil Churchill
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
With special thanks to Hadrian Briggs, Pete Chinn, Patrick Nguyen, John Higgs and Steph Warren.

An Essential Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 15:00 Hardy's Women (m000sxgb)
The Hand of Ethelberta

During 2021 on Radio 4, Hardy’s Women takes a fresh look at the novels of Thomas Hardy, through the eyes of some of his female protagonists

The Hand of Ethelberta

Adapted By Katherine Jakeways.

All of London Society is in pursuit of Ethelberta's hand, but the infamous poet is not exactly the lady they think she is. Her claim to distinction is one of brains rather than blood. Her sister is her maid, her brother her butler, and she has just a year left before the whole family are left homeless and penniless. She must find a rich husband before the truth gets out. As her many ridiculous suitors pursue her half way across France, a farce is inevitable.

CAST

Ethelberta - Rebecca Humphries
Picotee - Abra Thomspon
Christopher Julian - Alfred Enoch
Lord Mountclere - Adrian Scarborough
Neigh - Simon Armstrong
Ladywell - Lee Mengo
Chickerel & Mountclere's brother - Michal Bertenshaw
Aunt Charlotte & Mrs Petherwin - Heather Craney
Menlove & Faith - Catriona McFarlane
Joe - Tom Forrister

Harp - Alis Huws
Piano - Branwen Munn

Directed by John Norton
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m001wh27)
Lorraine Kelly, Paralympian Lauren Rowles, Chief Constable Sarah Crew

Lorraine Kelly CBE has been described as the queen of morning television. Now after a lifetime of wanting to, she has written her first novel, The Island Swimmer, a story of family secrets, island communities and overcoming fear. Lorraine joins Anita Rani to discuss her novel, her life and her 40-year career.

It’s been almost 40 years since most UK coal miners went on strike over pit closures and proposed redundancies. It was one of the most divisive conflicts of a generation – but what role did women play? And how did it change things for them? Nuala McGovern is joined by two women who were there at the time – Lisa McKenzie and Heather Wood – to share their experiences.

Violence and abuse against shop workers rose to 1,300 incidents a day last year. That’s according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium. Nuala hears from Michele Whitehead, a workplace rep for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, on what it’s like for her.

Four years ago, Avon and Somerset Police offered Channel 4 unprecedented access to its Counter Corruption Unit, the people who police the police. Emma Barnett speaks to their Chief Constable, the first woman to hold the post, about why she made the decision to let the cameras in, and the consequences of doing so.

Lauren Rowles is a two-time Paralympic Gold, World and European champion rower, who was on the Woman’s Hour Power List of Women in Sport. This summer she’s hoping to break a record at the Paris Paralympics – she tells Nuala about that, and her work away from sport advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those struggling with their mental health.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Lottie Garton


SAT 17:00 PM (m001wh2l)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m001wh32)
The Emma Runswick One

The Deputy Chair of the British Medical Association Council talks to Nick Robinson ahead of the latest round of junior doctor strikes.

She defends the pay demands set out by doctors, tells the story of a life of activism, and opens up about the horrors of working in Covid wards at the height of the pandemic.

Producer: Daniel Kraemer


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001wh3g)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m001wh3w)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001wh48)
Hundreds arrested in Russia after showing support for Alexei Navalny


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m001wh07)
Sylvester McCoy, Peter Lord, Lucy Porter, Nancy Medina, Diane Birch, Gardna, Jayde Adams, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Jayde Adams are joined by Sylvester McCoy, Peter Lord, Lucy Porter and Nancy Medina for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Diane Birch and Gardna, recorded at Beacon Hall, Bristol.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m001wgyy)
James Timpson

Timpson - best known for its key cutting and shoe repair services - has become a household name, with over 1000 stores on town high streets and in local supermarkets. But its current CEO, James Timpson, is probably better known for his pioneering work on prison employment.

After being impressed by a prisoner in 2002, and offering him a job on release, James Timpson has worked to develop employment schemes for ex-offenders and campaigns for prison reform. Now, ten percent of the Timpson workforce is made up of ex-offenders.

He has recently published a new book on his unusual approach to business: 'The Happy Index: Lessons in Upside-Down Management'.

With a passion for dance music and old cars, who is this businessman turned philanthropist?

Presenter: Timandra Harkness
Producers: Ellie House and Diane Richardson
Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Editors: Richard Vadon and Matt Willis


SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m001wh4w)
Series 29

Egyptian Mummies

Brian Cox and Robin Ince peel back the layers to explore mummification and the science of Ancient Egypt. They are joined by comedians Russel Kane, Lucy Porter and bio-medical Egyptologists Rosalie David and Lidija McKnight from the University of Manchester, as they learn about the scientific techniques that are helping to uncover the lives of Ancient Egyptians, including that of a woman who died running away from an axe murderer. They find out that much of modern western medicine was built on the Ancient Egyptians sophisticated pharmacology, though they should probably avoid the treatment for migraines which involves being slapped in the head by a fish.

Producer: Melanie Brown
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m001wh58)
Barry Humphries: Gloriously Uncut

Barry Humphries was a satirist, comedian, actor, social commentator, author, landscape painter, bibliophile and most well-known for his creation Dame Edna Everage. He died in 2023 on April 22nd, and numerous people paid tribute in the days that followed.

In this Archive on 4, Rob Brydon takes a fresh look at the Barry Humphries he admired since childhood to then becoming his friend. Alongside interviews with those who knew and understood him best, Rob delves deep to unpick his more complicated side - the satirist with a compulsion to point out the absurd or pompous, no matter how raw or uncomfortable it was.

According to drama critic John Lahr, Humphries was all contradictions and we learn about the sometimes fine line between himself and the characters he portrayed, including the epitome of vulgarity, Sir Les Patterson. Could Humphries' theatrical creations have been used as a tool to ridicule and tease the rest of the world to conceal his true self? “I still see myself as a Dadaist, even when I try to be respectable. I like to cause deep offence as it pleases me, it means I’m alive,” said Humphries.

Like Shakespeare created The Fool, Barry Humphries used his characters to say the unsayable. He admitted to being an outsider, not quite fitting into society, and early on would stage surreal performance art in the street, with members of the public unsure what was going on. Were the audience in on the joke or having fun poked at them? The paradox of the Dandy is that he wants to rebel against society, and at the same time be accepted by it.

Humphries was rebellious and beloved by the people that he disdained. When asked how he might feel without Edna and Les in his life, he said that they were "cathartic and God knows what might happen to me if they didn’t exist".

Presenter: Rob Brydon
Producers: Hayley Redmond, David Prest
An HR Presents and Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Drama on 4 (m0002ymy)
China Towns

Episode 5

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

Love and desire come to the Five Towns. Tellwright discovers life still has the capacity to surprise and Hilda Lessways chooses adventure over security. 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
Darius Clayhanger . . . Tim McInnerny
Edwin . . . Cameron Percival
Hilda Lessways . . . Lucy Doyle
George Cannon . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Sarah Gailey . . . Clare Corbett
Florrie . . . Helen Monks
Ruth . . . Rebekah Staton
Ingpen . . . Don Gilet
Janet . . . Saffron Coomber
Titus Price . . . Michael Bertenshaw
Mr Boutwood . . . Tony Turner
Station Guard . . . Sam Dale

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

Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow


SAT 22:00 News (m001wh5m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Add to Playlist (m001w8sy)
Anna Lapwood and Benjamin Appl go on a European dance adventure

Organist Anna Lapwood MBE and Bavarian baritone Benjamin Appl join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye on a trans-continental journey as they explore the music of dance in different cultures, from the beer tents in Munich to Transylvania.

Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus by The Bavarian Oompah Band
‘Burlesque Overture’ Suite in B-flat Major by Georg Philipp Telemann
Fast Dance + Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók
Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille by Jacques Dutronc
Moondance by Van Morrison

Other music in this episode:

Jumpin' at the Woodside by Count Basie and Duke Ellington
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
Sakura Sakura by Tadaaki Misago and the Tokyo Cuban Boys


SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (m001w6y0)
Series 37

Semi-final 1, 2024

(10/13)
Counterpoint's 37th season reaches the semi-final stage, with three competitors who've won their respective heats playing off for a place in the 2024 Final. Paul Gambaccini puts the questions on all aspects and genres of music.

The semi-finalists will also have to choose a special subject on which to choose their own individual questions, from a list of which they've had no prior warning. Will they go for Mozart or Northern Soul? Could a round on folk music tempt them more than one on the Bee Gees?

The competitors are:
Paddy Baker from Brighton
James Bingham from County Wicklow
Graham Jones from Milton Keynes.

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Offstage: Inside The X Factor (p0h6fk6k)
4. Fame

The X factor finalists become famous overnight; even popping out to the shops becomes an ordeal. They’re a target for a hungry press and publicity machine; how does that affect them and the staff tasked with looking after them? And how did stories make it to the journalists?
Join Chi Chi Izundu as she looks back on the world of The X Factor, where contestants perform in front of celebrity judges to realise their dream of becoming household names. It’s a world of glamour and excitement, but also of hard truths, hard words and hard work.
Offstage: Inside The X Factor captures the emotion, the excitement and the drama of the show and features some of the captivating characters that led to its enduring success. But it also looks beyond the glitz and glamour revealing how contestants and staff felt, the toll it took on some of them, and what they say happened behind the scenes. 

Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu
Producers: Rob Brown, Jo Adnitt, Lucy Burns, Joe Kent
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Archive:
Youtube/jedwardtv (2011)
Youtube/thehollywoodfix (2020)
America’s Got Talent (2009, Fremantle USA/Syco/NBC)
Youtube/OnDemandEntertainment (2009)

SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2024

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m001wh62)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Romance Is Dead: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Romantic Comedy (m001w743)
Boy meets girl, boy meets boy, obstacles arise, hilarity ensues and finally after some suspense…romance endures.

That formula for one of the staples of cinema, the rom com, has made films such as When Harry Met Sally, Four Weddings and A Funeral and You've Got Mail; Hollywood classics.

There have been many arguments about what the first Rom Com was, but the consensus appears to be that it all started back in 1924 with one silent movie in particular Girl Shy starring Harold Lloyd.

This movie, along with another classic called Sherlock Jnr starring Buster Keaton were the precursors to the ones we know, love and can’t help but continue to quote today. Back then they were silent movies and dialogue was captured by sign cards, it was a lot harder to say, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

William Shakespeare and Jane Austen have given writers plenty of inspiration for romantic comedy but is it still happily ever after? We celebrate meet cute, screen chemistry, representation, and cinema versus TV. Romance is Dead explores the highs, lows and joys of Rom Coms with a reminder of some of the greats and why we so often watch on repeat.

Corin Throsby talks to some Rom Com experts who wear their hearts on their sleeve – writer Scott Meslow, Hollywood screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen, Tim Bevan, joint CEO of Working Title Films which has produced some of our most loved Rom Coms and Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia, the writers of BAFTA nominated hit Rye Lane.

Curl up, tune in and enjoy.

Presenter: Corin Throsby
Producer: Belinda Naylor

Romance is Dead – Film Credits

When Harry Met Sally directed by Rob Reiner
Castle Rock Entertainment

It Happened One Night directed by Frank Capra
Columbia Pictures

You’ve Got Mail directed by Nora Ephron
Warner Brothers

Two Weeks Notice directed by Marc Lawrence
Castle Rock Entertainment

Notting Hill directed by Roger Michell
Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Working Title Films

Bros directed by Nicholas Stoller
Universal Pictures

Holidate directed by John Whitesell
Wonderland Sound and Vision

Four Weddings and a Funeral directed by Mike Newell
Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Channel Four Films/Working Title Films

Pride and Prejudice directed by Joe Wright
Universal Pictures/Studio Canal/Working Title Films,

Some Like it Hot directed by Billy Wilder
Ashton Productions/The Mirisch Corporation

Rye Lane directed by Raine Allen Miller
BBC Films/DJ Films/BFI


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001wh69)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001wh6n)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001wh70)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m001wh7g)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m001wh0s)
All Saints church in Steep Hampshire

Bells on Sunday comes from All Saints church in Steep Hampshire. The tower houses a ring of six bells, five of which were cast by the Robert Catlin foundry of Holborn in London in 1745. The Tenor bell weighs six hundredweight and is tuned to the note of B flat. We hear them ringing Grandsire Doubles


SUN 05:45 Profile (m001wgyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m001wgx6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01q7gg9)
Never the Same

Almost imperceptibly, the choices we make in life and the experiences we live through can lead us to look back at our younger selves and ask 'was I ever that person?'.
The Canadian broadcaster Chris Brookes considers how - or whether - our identities change with time, just as the cellular structure of our bodies is renewed every few years.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m001wgx8)
Regenerating Lives and Land

The Apricot Centre in Devon is a farm which combines wellbeing and therapy with regenerative farming practices. Farmer Marina Brown O’Connell and her psychotherapist husband Mark O’Connell brought their livelihoods together to create a farm that not only helps regenerate the land, but regenerates lives too. Having adopted their children and brought them up on their farm, the pair saw first-hand how beneficial being in nature can be, and how the simple act of digging your hands into the soil can help you feel connected.

They’ve recently opened the farm up to asylum seekers, offering a space to farm the land, pick vegetables and cook together, creating a community and helping overcome trauma. They’ve also started training the next generation of regenerative farmers, as a means to pass on the land and skills they’ve accumulated over the years.

Presented by Sarah Swadling
Produced by Caitlin Hobbs


SUN 06:57 Weather (m001wgxb)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m001wgxd)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m001wgxg)
Israel Gaza conflict; Rochdale Labour; Rave in the nave

Israeli troops are set to advance into the Gazan city of Rafah, defying international pleas to reconsider. Some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering there.
The UK House of Bishops is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict. The Sunday programme spoke to Bishop of Worchester Dr John Inge.

Sir Keir Starmer has defended his handling of the antisemitism row in his party as a Muslim candidate is withdrawn from the race in Rochdale.
William Crawley speaks to Marc Levy - the chief executive of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Mohammed Shafiq, National Executive Committee member of PCS Union and Chief Executive and founding member of the Ramadhan Foundation which is one of the UK's leading Muslim youth organisations.

Church buildings have opened their doors and held public events for centuries; Choral Evensong, Classical concerts and in more recent times, Lego building and Crazy Golf. But this year, many cathedrals across the country are taking it a step further and hosting 80s, 90s and 00s themed ‘Silent Discos’. Canterbury Cathedral recently hosted two sold-out nights with an attendance of 3,000 people at £25 per ticket. But not everyone agrees. Some critics have questioned whether this is an ‘appropriate’ use of sacred space, and a petition campaigning against the events has amassed over two thousand signatures. So what is an ‘appropriate’ use of a sacred space?
William Crawley speaks to the Dean of St Albans, Jo Kelly-Moore.

Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim and Linda Walker
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m001wgxj)
International Nepal Fellowship

Paralympic athlete Anne Wafula Strike makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of International Nepal Fellowship

To Give:
- UK Freephone 0800 404 8144
-You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- 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 ‘International Nepal Fellowship’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘International Nepal Fellowship’.
Please note that Freephone and online donations for this charity close at 23.59 on the Saturday after the Appeal is first broadcast. However the Freepost option can be used at any time.

Charity number: 1047178


SUN 07:57 Weather (m001wgxl)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m001wgxn)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the Sunday papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m001wgxq)
Live from the Memorial Chapel of the University of Glasgow. Introduced by the Chaplain, Rev Dr Carolyn Kelly; led by Professor Alison Phipps, the University's UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and Arts, and member of the Iona Community.

On the first Sunday of Lent, Alison reflects on penitence and repentance, and images of water and ashes. In our troubled times ‘we need companions on the journey … we need messengers of love.’

With the Chapel Choir directed by Katy Lavinia Cooper; Organist: Kevin Bowyer

Readings: Psalm 25: 1-10
Mark 1: 9-15
Music: Like Noah's Weary Dove
Father, hear the prayer we offer
I Hunger and Thirst (Kevin Siegfried)
Don't tell me of a faith that fears (John L Bell & Graham Maule)
Will Your Anchor Hold in the Storms of Life


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m001w8tk)
Down the Rabbit Hole

Rebecca Stott says the idea of 'going down a rabbit hole' is often characterised as a bad thing - here, she makes the case for what's to be gained.

"These days we invariably use the phrase 'down the rabbit hole' to describe a negative experience...where people get lost, then become overwhelmed, ensnare themselves in conspiracy theories and can't get back out," she says.

"But I don't believe rabbit holes are bad in themselves. If we avoid them altogether we lose the chance to experience their joy and excitement."

She recalls her own experience of discovery - and tells the story of how Charles Darwin once spent eight years distracted by barnacles.

Producer: Sheila Cook
Sound: Peter Bosher
Production coordinator: Liam Morrey
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b0952pgw)
David Rothenberg on the Mocking Bird

David Rothenberg grew up in Connecticut at a time when mockingbirds moved north filling the air with a kaleidoscope of calls, as he explains for Tweet of the Day.

Producer Tim Dee.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m001wgxs)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m001wgxv)
Writer: Sarah McDonald Hughes
Director: Pip Swallow

David Archer… Timothy Bentinck
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer …. Buffy Davis
Pip Archer…. Daisy Badger
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Tony Archer …. David Troughton
Lilian Bellamy …. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns …. James Cartwright
Alice Carter …. Hollie Chapman
Susan Carter …. Charlotte Martin
Harry Chilcott …. Jack Ashton
Clarrie Grundy …. Heather Bell
Alistair Lloyd …. Michael Lumsden
Adam Macy …. Andrew Wincott
Paul Mack …. Joshua Riley
Denise Metcalf …. Clare Perkins
Fallon Rogers …. Joanna Van Kampen
Norris …. Bharti Patel


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m001wgxx)
Clive Oppenheimer, volcanologist

Clive Oppenheimer is a volcanologist, filmmaker and Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge. His research has taken him on expeditions across the world, from Antarctica, where he discovered the camp of Captain Scott’s attempt to reach the South Pole, to Ethiopia where he was held at gunpoint by rebels.

Clive was born in London, and fell in love with rocks and the stories they tell on visits to what is now the Natural History Museum. His mother survived the Blitz in London and his father escaped persecution by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s. On a gap year trip to Indonesia, Clive saw his first volcanoes and realised both their natural power and their significance in human lives. He studied at the University of Cambridge, and completed a PhD at the Open University.

He has taken part in and led expeditions to volcanoes all over the world, including Indonesia, Italy and Ethiopia. He is one of few Westerners to have worked in North Korea, where he was invited by the government to study volcanic activity at the culturally significant Mount Baekdu.

He has also made three documentaries with filmmaker Werner Herzog about volcanoes and their scientific, cultural and spiritual significance.

DISC ONE: Blue Rondo a la Turk - Dave Brubeck Quartet
DISC TWO: Love Hangover - Diana Ross
DISC THREE: Autobahn - Kraftwerk
DISC FOUR: Lava - The B-52's
DISC FIVE: Debaser - Pixies
DISC SIX: Turangalîla-symphonie, Part VI Jardin du sommeil d’amour. Composed by Olivier Messiaen and performed by the Orchestre de l’Opéra Bastille, cond Myung-Whun Chung, with Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot)
DISC SEVEN: T’zeta - Bezawork Asfew
DISC EIGHT: Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God - The Sixteen and Harry Christophers

BOOK CHOICE: The Vivisector by Patrick White
LUXURY ITEM: A seismometer
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Debaser – Pixies

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producers Sarah Taylor and Tim Bano


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m001wgxz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m001w70v)
Series 92

6. A Cat Called Hell

Sue Perkins challenges guests Tony Hawks, Eleanor Tiernan, Heidi Regan and Paul Merton to speak for 60 seconds without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

The long-running Radio 4 panel game is back for a new series with subjects this week ranging from Graverobbing to Making Friends On The Internet.

Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Producer: Rajiv Karia
An EcoAudio certified production.

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m001wgy1)
A Bitter Taste?

Appetite suppressant, glucose control and inflammation antidote... The scientific research around the power of bitter foods may sound far-fetched. But new studies are continuing to add to our knowledge of what this food group, disliked by many, can do for our health. To find out more, Leyla Kazim speaks to Italian taste scientist and self-confessed ‘bitter enthusiast’, Gabriella Morini, who has been studying this area since the eighties.

Can, and should, we learn to love bitter? Leyla spends a morning cooking with chef and MasterChef finalist Alexina Anatole, whose new book Bitter is on a mission to help us do just that. After cooking with bitter greens, Leyla tracks their journey from plate back to field. While salad might seem an unseasonal thing to be eating in winter, British soils and temperature are actually well suited to growing a huge variety of winter salads, notable for their fresh taste as well as their resilience. She meets a specialist mixed leaf salad grower and hears how choosing these varieties could help reduce our reliance on Spanish salad, where climate change is making winter growing increasingly erratic.

In many ways, understanding the power of bitter foods is regaining knowledge that was used by our ancestors; while bitter herbs and leaves are still used in traditional medicine in Indigenous cultures across the world. Leyla speaks to food historian Dr Neil Buttery to retrace some of the history of bitter flavours. Finally, calling in on nutritionist Dr Lucy Williamson, Leyla hears tips on how to apply our more modern day understanding of bitter to everyday meals and lifestyles.

From old folklore to new scientific research, and from cooking to growing, Leyla discovers how there is plenty more to bitter flavours than might well meet the eye, or the taste bud.

Presented by Leyla Kazim.
Produced by Nina Pullman for BBC Audio in Bristol.


SUN 12:57 Weather (m001wgy4)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m001wgy8)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world


SUN 13:30 The Ely Estate (m001v2x2)
BBC presenter Jason Mohammad grew up in Ely, a large housing estate on the outskirts of Cardiff. It's an area that has a reputation. Jason became aware of that from a young age because of the way people from elsewhere in the city would react when he told them where he was from.
When Jason was 17 the 1991 Ely riot happened. It was a defining moment for many people’s perception of the area. One headline described it as the ‘Estate of Despair.’ But Jason did not recognise this portrayal of the estate he loved.
Last May there was another Ely riot, and a violent snapshot was again displayed to the outside world.
This is a programme about Ely since the riot. What is day-to-day life like there? How does it feel to live somewhere that some people attach a stigma to? And how does the reality of Ely compare to the perception?
Produced by Paul Martin for BBC Audio Wales.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m001w8rb)
Wensleydale

How do you grow celeriac? Is white vinegar and water good for cleaning greenhouses? How hardy is my Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Grandiflora' and where’s the best place to plant it?

Kathy Clugston and an eager panel of gardening experts are in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire to put an end to the audience's gardening grievances. On the panel this week are garden designer Matthew Wilson, houseplant expert Anne Swithinbank, and curator of RHS Bridgewater Marcus Chilton-Jones.

Later, Matt Biggs travels to Dungeness to meet with head gardener Johnny Bruce, who gives him a tour of late director Derek Jarmon's magnificent garden.

Senior Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001wgyd)
Siddhartha

The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha.

Hermann Hesse was an established writer by the time he wrote Siddhartha and didn’t live to see its lionisation by the 60s counterculture. But even in his own time Hesse’s writing appealed to young people, particularly young men, in a way that he found irritating. John looks at why this book so appealed to younger generations, especially to the one that emerged in the 60s and at how Hesse’s own background actually had parallels to their experiences.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series.

From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone.

Contributors:
Nicolas Jackson, Director and Producer of Radio 4’s dramatisation of Siddhartha
Mick Brown, Journalist, writer and author of The Nirvana Express

Readings by Matthew Gravelle

Credits:
Siddhartha CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. Translated by Hilda Rosner
Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Sound by Sean Kerwin
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m001wgyj)
Siddhartha

Ancient India. Siddhartha, the son of a high caste Brahmin, is handsome, brilliant and well-loved. But unhappy. Setting out on a quest for spiritual wholeness and enlightenment with his loyal friend Govinda, he encounters the ascetic Samanas, a wise ferryman, a beautiful courtesan, a wealthy merchant, and the Buddha himself.

Armed with the ability to think, to wait and to fast, he tastes riches, lust and power, but still he is not satisfied. The connection to all things, a oneness in everything, eludes him. Until finally, he comes to a river.

Adapted from Hermann Hesse’s classic novel by Hattie Naylor, from the translation by Hilda Rosner

Cast:
Siddhartha..... Jaz Singh Deol
Kamala ..... Amrita Acharia
Govinda …..Sid Sagar
Vasudeva ….. Rehan Sheikh
Father..… Kriss Dosanjh
Mother .…. Sudha Bhuchar
Boy ..... Adrian Paul Jeyasingham
Girl ..... Sophie Khan Levy

Other voices played by the cast

Production Manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans
Executive Producer ..... Sara Davies

Sound Design ..... Adam Woodhams
Mix ..... Steve Bond

Director and Producer ..... Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m001wgyp)
Sheila Heti

Sheila Heti on her new experimental book, Alphabetical Diaries – made up of sentences taken from 10 years of her journals, re-ordered from A to Z.

Plus new literature reflecting the negative impact of the housing crisis and the built environment in which we live. Chris talks to Holly Pester about her book, Lodgers, and to Keiran Goddard about his new work, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning.

Presenter: Chris Power
Producer: Emma Wallace

Book List – Sunday 18 February and Thursday 22 February

Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti
Motherhood by Sheila Heti
The Lodgers by Holly Pester
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Keiran Goddard


SUN 16:30 The Poetry Detective (m001wgyt)
Talisman Poems

Writer Vanessa Kisuule returns with a new series of The Poetry Detective, a radio show about how poetry sits in people's everyday lives. Each week, Vanessa speaks to people about a poem that is deeply meaningful to them. She finds out why the poem matters, and then unfolds the backstory of the poem itself - who wrote it, what was the context it came out of and how does it work on us?

In the first episode of the new series we talk to people who carry poems with them in physical form. Including Karen Walker, who wears a ring inscribed with a line of poetry that came into her life exactly when she needed it most - "three days after she died, Diane di Prima saved my life". And Kevin Koontz, who tells us about the faded newspaper clipping of a poem that his adoptive mother carried in her wallet for 50 years. Can our Poetry Detective find out anything about the author?

Produced in Bristol by Mair Bosworth & Alice McKee for BBC Audio


SUN 17:00 Today (m001w759)
The Today Debate: Is justice delayed justice denied?

The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we have in the morning.

Amid a significant backlog in crown courts in England and Wales and related problems in the system in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Today presenter Mishal Husain asks if justice delayed is justice denied?

Joining Mishal on the Today debate panel in the BBC's Radio Theatre are Claire Waxman, the Independent Victims' Commissioner for London; Charlie Taylor; His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales; Joanna Hardy-Susskind, a barrister at Red Lion Chambers; Lord Falconer, Labour Peer and former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Sir Max Hill, who was the director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales until October last year.


SUN 17:40 Profile (m001wgyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m001wgz2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m001wgz7)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001wgzf)
The World Health Organisation says the biggest hospital in southern Gaza is no longer working


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m001wgzk)
Alex Lathbridge

This week CrowdScience presenter Alex Lathbridge is broadening his horizons. He's discovering the health benefits of the daytime rave, joining a walking group in Huddersfield and celebrating Ivory Coast’s win at AFCON. And he's hoping to broaden your horizons too, with music from the Asian Network, conversation from 1Xtra and a romance scam on a global scale.

Presenter: Alex Lathbridge
Producer: Jessica Treen
Production Coordinator: Lydia Depledge-Miller


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m001wgzq)
As Ed frets over how they are going to get the tree surgery business off the ground, Emma stuns him with her initiative, having worked out a plan to graze on the ten acres of land they crave. Ed's sceptical about trying Miles Titchener, but Emma has already found a number and called him directly - and Miles is thinking about it. Next step is to meet.

At the Bull, David and Jolene chuckle over Tony’s ‘larky’ behaviour last Friday. They agree that things seem brighter since the dog attack – and David’s little disagreement with Lilian is all sorted too. Jolene admits she's concerned about Fallon, who has been quiet and is probably worried herself about Harrison who’s having a problem at work.

Vince sidles up to Jolene at the Bull and unnerves her by insisting he's making progress tracking down the scumbags who attacked Kenton. He has a name - Markie - and is on the way to sniffing out a couple of other thugs. Jolene plays down her worry, trying to steer Vince away from his detective work, insisting things have gone quiet now. But Vince is determined.

Later, David casually asks Jolene whether Vince has been bothering her, but she says it’s fine. But when Vince pushes things, jumpy Jolene finally snaps, and Vince realises that she has had a visit from this guy Markie. Jolene just wants to stay quiet and Markie will leave her alone, but Vince reckons that won't happen. He says she should go to the police – or Harrison. She’ll need to do something, sooner rather than later.


SUN 19:15 Unspeakable (m001wgzv)
Ever had an emotion or sensation on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't find the word? Finally, here's the show for you.

Stand-up Phil Wang and lexicographer and etymologist Susie Dent challenge guests to dream up new words for universal, shared concepts and experiences which have always lacked names. Until now!

We've got our best people on the case. Linguists? Anthropologists? Nope. Comedians!

Phil Wang and Susie Dent welcome guests putting forward a new word suggestion, hilariously picking apart each other's pitches. Unspeakable is a celebration of language and shared experiences and it's a cure for that relatable moment when we're lost for words.

Hosts: Phil Wang and Susie Dent
Guests: Stephen Fry, Laura Smyth and Maisie Adam
Created by Joe Varley
Writer: Matt Crosby
Recorded by Jerry Peal
Programme Associate: Andy Brown
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producers: Joe Varley and Akash Lockmun

A Brown Bred production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 19:45 The Song Thief by Colin Carberry (m001wgzz)
Episode 2

An eerie tale of forgotten songs and vengeful spirits by Belfast author Colin Carberry (‘Good Vibrations.’) As read by Aoibhéann McCann ('Blue Lights.')

‘The Song Thief’ follows Harry Probyn on his journey across Ireland to find Aislinn Byrne, the woman who started his song-writing career. After recording her sing years before in Ireland, Harry stole her song ‘Bluebell Wood’. He shared it with the world and made his fortune. Now penniless and on the run from the violent Shanks family, Harry must return to Ireland and find a new hit song.

Song-collectors – hobbyists who collect sound recordings, usually of music, but sometimes poetry, readings, historical speeches, and ambient noises – are responsible for most of what we now know as traditional folk music that has been preserved down the years. However the practice has a darker legacy and is littered with examples of artists being exploited by unscrupulous recordists. While the ‘Folk Revival’ of the 1960s saw many artists from the traditional music communities become famous, most of them were men. Women artists were silenced at a time when men’s voices were encouraged to sing loudest.

Featuring traditional folk music from the BBC Archives recorded on location in Ireland and America in the 1950s.

Author
Colin Carberry is a writer of screenplays and fiction from Belfast. With Glenn Patterson he co-wrote the film ‘Good Vibrations’ for which the pair were nominated for Outstanding Debut at the 2014 BAFTA Film awards. ‘Good Vibrations’ has since been adapted into a stage musical. A frequent contributor of new fiction to BBC Radio 4’s Short Works series, he is currently working on a collection of short stories and developing a number of projects for film, television and theatre.

Reader: Aoibhéann McCann
Writer: Colin Carberry
Music: Gerard O'Kane
Music: Patrick O'Kane
Music: John Doherty
Music: Seamus Ennis
Producer: Michael Shannon
Editor: Andy Martin

A BBC Northern Ireland production.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (m001w86h)
Debt, students, shark and chips

What is the government’s fiscal rule on the national debt? Are international students stealing places from the UK’s young people? How much social housing is really being built? Do 90% of chip shops sell shark and chips?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Nathan Gower
Producers: Debbie Richford, Olga Smirnova and Perisha Kudhail
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Janet Staples
Sound mix: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Charlotte McDonald


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m001w8rq)
Steve Wright, Baroness Flather, Alan Mills, Angela Peberdy

Matthew Bannister on

The much-loved Radio 1 and 2 DJ Steve Wright. We have a tribute from his former colleague Simon Mayo.

Baroness Flather, who was the first Asian woman to sit in the House of Lords.

Alan Mills, the Wimbledon tennis referee who had to deal with tantrums on court.

Angela Peberdy, the train announcer known as “the golden voice of British Rail”.

Producer: Ed Prendeville

Archive Used
The Six o’clock News, BBC 1, 25/06/1985; Network East: Big Talk, Asia 2 BBC 2, 14/11/1998; Daily Politics, BBC2, 17/01/2012; Three Bridges - Platform 4 for the Victoria train - 27/01/1989; Lewisham - Platform 4 for the Bexleheath line service to Dartford - 26/07/1990; Angela Peberdy On London Plus, 27/11/1986; Newsnight, BBC Two, 17/06/1983; BBC Breakfast Time, BBC 1, 19/06/1986; Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs Extra, BBC Radio 2, 08/02/24; Steve Writght in the Afternoon, BBC Radio 2, 09/03/2010; Steve Wright in the Afternoon, BBC Radio 2, 22/02/2008; Steve Wright in the Afternoon, BBC Radio 2, 28/09/22; Steve Wright in the Afternoon, BBC Radio 2, 27/09/22; Steve Wright, BBC Radio 1, 10/01/94; Steve Wright, BBC Radio 1, 24/12/93; Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2, 29/09/22; Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2, 25/09/22; Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2, 14/09/22; Steve Wright - Sunday Love Songs, BBC Radio 1, 04/02/2010; Steve Wright in the Afternoon, BBC Radio 2, 29/09/2022; Steve Wright, BBC Radio 1, 01/01/1988


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m001wh03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m001wgxj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Loose Ends (m001wh07)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m001wh0d)
Ben Wright's guests are the Conservative MP Vicky Ford; Shadow Health Minister Karin Smyth; and Sam Freedman from the Institute for Government think tank. They discuss the war in Gaza, the impact of recent by-elections on domestic politics, and funding for universities. Hugo Gye - political editor of the "i" newspaper brings his insights and analysis. And the programme also includes a wide-ranging interview with the former Tory party chairman, Lord Patten.


SUN 23:00 Moral Maze (m001w8cr)
The morality of marriage

It’s Valentine’s Day, when we celebrate romantic love, and is there anything more romantic than getting married? It’s the way all those old films end, after all the “will they, won’t they”, the couple finally tie the knot, the titles roll and we all enjoy the warm certainty that they’re sorted for life. What’s not to love about marriage? A lifelong commitment to care for each other... a solemn promise rooted in love… perhaps the foundation for starting a family. But for many, marriage is losing its gloss. The latest government figures suggest that the proportion of adults in England and Wales who are married has, for the first time, fallen below 50%.

The rise of pre-nuptial agreements signals a change in levels of confidence about marriage. Is forever still forever? If it probably isn’t – then let’s just plan ahead for when it all goes wrong.

We live much longer than in the past, so “til death us do part” is likely to be a very long time indeed. Perhaps it’s now unreasonable to expect a lifelong commitment. Short of that, are human beings even built for monogamy? If love dies in a marriage, should that be the end, or is marital commitment broader than that? There is some evidence that outcomes for children are better if parents are married, and some people see it as a fundamental building block of society. But is there a moral value to marriage? Is it a striving for what is finest about being human, the highest realisation of not just romantic love, but of that important social unit – the couple? Or just an old fashioned idea, rooted in outdated traditions, all wrapped up in a sentimental rose tinted fantasy?

Presenter: Michael Buerk
Producers: Jonathan Hallewell and Peter Everett
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser
Editor: Tim Pemberton

MONDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2024

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m001wh0l)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m001w89l)
Anonymity - Self-creation

Anonymity and self creation: Laurie Taylor talks to Thomas DeGloma, Associate Professor of Sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, about hidden identities and how and why we use anonymity, for good or ill. He explores a wide range of historical and contemporary cases, from the Ku Klux Klan to 'Dr H' the psychiatrist who disguised his identity in a meeting which changed his profession's regressive attitudes towards homosexuality. In recent years, anonymity has featured widely in the political and social landscape: from the pseudonymous artist, Banksy, to Hackers Anonymous and QAnon. What is anonymity, and why, under various circumstances, do individuals act anonymously? How do individuals use it, and, in some situations, how is it imposed on them?

Also, Tara Isabella Burton, Visiting Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, on the crafting of public personae, from Beau Brummell to the Kardashians. She finds the trend for personal branding, amongst ordinary people as well as celebrities, originated with the idea that we could shape our own destiny, once the power of the church had waned. What are the connections between the Renaissance genius and the Regency dandy, the Hollywood 'IT' girl and Reality TV star? Might there be social costs to seeing self-determination as the fundamental element of human life?

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m001wh0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001wh0z)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001wh15)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001wh1d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m001wh1s)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001wh23)
Breathing

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishvapani Blomfield


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m001wh2f)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


MON 05:56 Weather (m001wh2w)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b091stsb)
Clare Jones on the Little Egret

Clare Jones recalls the inspiration of seeing a little egret and how a small event can change an entire outlook on life in this Tweet of the Day.

Producer Tom Bonnett.


MON 06:00 Today (m001wj8m)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m001wj91)
Arts: changing the world?

The journalist and broadcaster Ellen E. Jones explores the immense potential of film to challenge the status quo in her book, Screen Deep: How Film And TV Can Solve Racism And Save The World. She explores different genres from superheroes and westerns to horror and arthouse. And she argues that such a popular art form - either shared in the cinema, or beamed direct into your home – revels in the diversity of its story-telling.

The Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari has chosen to draw from her own personal experience in her debut feature, Shayda (open in cinemas across the UK & Ireland on Friday 8th March 2024). Set in a women’s shelter, the film explores what it means for an Iranian woman to divorce her husband and fight for a new life for herself and her child.

But what about other art forms and the stories they tell? The Royal Academy’s latest exhibition – Entangled Pasts: Art, Colonialism and Change (until 28th April) – places work from the 18th century alongside contemporary work to explore how art, both old and new, is entangled with and reflected by Britain’s colonial past. Hew Locke will be showing his major work, Armada, which consists of a giant flotilla of model boats.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder (m001wj9b)
Episode 1 - The Move to London

Read by Simon Russell Beale. Historian and MP Chris Bryant’s book takes us to the early 19th Century, when despite great political and social change and reform, British attitudes to homosexuality were more antagonistic than ever, and in 1835 two consenting adults, James Pratt and John Smith, became the last men in Britain to be hanged for sodomy. They were working class men whose poverty and lack of privacy led directly to their discovery and arrest and, despite a desperate campaign to save them, resulted in one of the great legal injustices of the time.

Simon Russell Beale is a multi-award winning actor - he has received two BAFTAs, three Olivier Awards and a Tony Award - and was knighted for his services to drama.

Read by ..... Simon Russell Beale
Abridged by .... Julian Wilkinson
Produced by .... Allegra McIlroy


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001wj9q)
Aisling Bea, Profile of Yulia Navalnaya, Carmen Smith, Wellness v stoicism

The comedy and acting star Aisling Bea grew up in County Kildare in Ireland and in 2011 became the first woman for 20 years to win the prestigious stand-up competition So You Think You’re Funny? Her Bafta-winning sitcom This Way Up firmly established her as a presence to be reckoned with on our TV screens- last year she played the lead in the film based on Take That’s music, Greatest Days, and she regularly pops up on US TV and movies. She joins Emma Barnett to discuss her latest show, Alice and Jack, which has just begun on Channel 4.

Following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, we look at the role of his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and whether she might become the new face of the opposition. Yulia is due to speak with European foreign ministers in Brussels today. To discuss, Emma is joined by the Spectator's Russia correspondent, Owen Matthews, who was Bureau Chief for Newsweek in Moscow for more than a decade, and Sarah Rainsford, BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent who was expelled from Russia after many years, and is now based in Warsaw.

Carmen Smith is 27 and set to become the youngest peer in the House of Lords. Carmen will replace Plaid Cymru’s only member of the Lords,  Dafydd Wigley (the Rt, Hon Lord Wigley) who is retiring aged 80, and was a previously leader of Plaid.  Carmen will be known as Baroness Smith of Llanfaes, the village where she grew up. She joins Emma to talk about the challenges ahead, the reaction to her selection and why she wants to join a body she believes should be abolished.

Can Ancient Greek theories revolutionise our modern day lives? Australian author Brigid Delaney seems to think so. She talks to Emma about swapping wellness for stoicism, alongside classicist Professor Edith Hall.

Presenter: Emma Barnett
Produced by: Louise Corley
Studio engineer: Steve Greenwood


MON 11:00 The Gatekeepers (m001wjb1)
3. Are You Not Engaged?

The tech pioneers were right: all this connectivity and sharing is creating a new age of freedom and democracy. A global consciousness.

Arab Spring, Barack Obama – both fuelled by social media - make the possibilities feel limitless.

But, just as the dream to connect everyone is being realised - at the height of technological optimism - everything starts to fall apart.

Producer: Caitlin Smith
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Mix: Gav Murchie
Composer: Jeremy Warmsley
Story Consultant: Kirsty Williams
Executive Producer: Peter McManus + Heather Kane-Darling
Research: Rachael Fulton, Elizabeth Ann Duffy and Juliet Conway
Commissioned by Dan Clarke

Archive: C-NET Jan 2007; The Obama White House Archive, April 2011; C-Span, December 2008; C-Span 1996.

New episodes released on Mondays. If you’re in the UK, listen to the latest episodes of The Gatekeepers, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3Ui661u


MON 11:30 The Bottom Line (m001w7ny)
Navigating the Say-Do Gap

It’s easy for people to say they want to buy a particular product, perhaps in the name of sustainability. But how often do individuals actually follow through with these well-meaning intentions? Academics regularly observe a difference between what consumers say they want to do and what they actually do.
The gap can cause problems for businesses when they're trying to figure out how to serve their customers. Evan Davis is joined by a panel of business leaders to discuss how they bridge this divide.

Guests:
Andreas Chatzidakis, professor of marketing in the centre for research into sustainability, Royal Holloway, University of London
Jake Pickering, senior manager for agriculture, Waitrose
Marsha Smith, deputy CEO, IKEA UK
Toby Clark, vice president of insights, Mintel

Production team:
Producers: Simon Tulett, and Nick Holland
Researcher: Paige Neal-Holder
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Hal Haines
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge

The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University.


MON 12:00 News Summary (m001wjbc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m001wjbq)
Food Halls; Boilers; Driving Theory Tests

Over the past decade we have seen many food halls open in our towns and cities, and they’ve proved to be incredibly popular with their offering of multiple traders all under one roof. However are the cracks starting to appear after several popular Greater Manchester based halls closed down.
We’ll be joined by the Su Lee, owner of Dim Sum Su, who was trading from one of the food halls that closed down, and also Richard Johnson who is the founder of the British Street Food Awards.

As we are coming out of winter you might be thinking that your old boiler might need replacing. Well there are government grants on offer of up to £7,500 if you want to put a heat pump in, 30,000 people have applied for those grants so far. But even with the grants, heat pumps can be expensive, they're not suitable for every home and it may be that the price of a gas boiler is about to come down a bit. We’ll hear from one listener that is considering changing, and also the trade group Energy and Utilities Alliance will explain what peoples options are.

And finally, 1.3 million people took their driving theory test in 2023, only 45% passed it first time. We’ll hear from two learner drivers about the challenge of passing, and motoring journalist Maria McCarthy will be on hand to explain how these tests have got a lot harder since being introduced in 1996.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Dave James


MON 12:57 Weather (m001wjc1)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m001wjc9)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


MON 13:45 Blood Matters (m001r7kq)
The wonder drug

During the 1970s and 80s thousands of people in the UK who were suffering from haemophilia received a revolutionary treatment to stop them from bleeding. The new blood product, known as Factor VIII, was imported from the US and could be administered much more conveniently than previous NHS treatments.

“It was a miracle,” recalls Andy Evans who was started on Factor VIII in 1981, at the age of three. But no one told Andy’s parents, or the families of other children with haemophilia, that the US product carried a potentially deadly health risk.

Later this year, the Infected Blood Inquiry, set up by the then Prime Minister Theresa May to look at the circumstances that led to thousands of NHS patients being given contaminated blood and blood products, will release its final report.

In this first episode of Blood Matters, the broadcaster and writer Blanche Girouard hears from two men, both haemophiliacs, whose lives were dramatically changed by Factor VIII.

Producer: Mike Lanchin
Researcher: Ewan Newbigging-Lister
Editor: Kristine Pommert
A CTVC production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:00 The Archers (m001wgzq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Limelight (m001wjck)
Sabine

Sabine - Episode 1

When Sabine’s body is found beneath the cliffs in an apparent suicide, her sister Elly is convinced she was murdered. Elly's hunt for the killer takes her deep into the secret life her sister kept hidden.

Elly has gone to Brighton to pack up her sister’s university room and wait for the results of the post-mortem. But things aren’t quite adding up, and Elly soon starts to unearth the secrets that Sabine was keeping from her.

Sabine is a new five-part murder mystery by Mark Healy.

CAST
Elly ..... Sorcha Groundsell
Sabine ..... Freya Mavor
Mia ..... Aisling Loftus
Gabe ..... Tommy Sim’aan
Daniel ..... Ivanno Jeremiah
Sullivan ..... John Lightbody
Poppy ..... Juliana Lisk
Elly’s Mum ..... Jessica Turner

Written by Mark Healy
Directed by Anne Isger
Sound by Keith Graham, Ali Craig and Pete Ringrose
Production Co-ordination by Gaelan Davis-Connolly

Sabine is a BBC Audio Production for Radio 4


MON 14:45 The Chronicles of Burke Street (m000wyx9)
The Chronicles of Burke Street

1: BoyBoy's Story

We kick off a new short story series by the award-winning author of 'Love After Love', Ingrid Persaud.

Set on an everyday street in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 'The Chronicles of Burke Street' follows the lives and loves of its unusual residents. Burke Street might seem like an ordinary street, but behind its closed doors lurk secrets, superstitions and barely concealed lies.

Today, in 'BoyBoy's Story', after the death of his mother, a young man is convinced that he's being haunted by a strange spirit ...

Writer: Ingrid Persaud is the winner of the 2018 BBC National Short Story Award, and her novel Love After Love won the 2020 Costa First Novel Award.
Reader: Damian Lynch
Producer: Justine Willett


MON 15:00 Counterpoint (m001wjd5)
Series 37

Semi-final 2, 2024

(11/13)
The second semi-final in the 37th season of Counterpoint comes from the BBC's Salford studios, with another three heat winners from recent weeks playing off for a place in the Final.

Taking part today are
Steve Draper from Liverpool;
Annie Hodkinson from Kingswinford in the West Midlands;
Caroline Mckay from Frodsham in Cheshire.

As well as showing their musical general knowledge, they'll have to opt for a special musical topic on which to answer individual questions, with no warning of the categories they'll be offered. How will they fare on the music of the Carpenters? Might they prefer to answer on Puccini? And what if their favourite is taken by a rival before they get their chance?

Assistant Producer: Stephen Garner
Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m001wgy1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m001wh4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Saturday]


MON 16:30 The Artificial Human (m001wjf2)
Should I let my kids use AI for their homework?

Every day, we read something new about Artificial Intelligence - it'll take our jobs, it'll take over the world, it knows more about us than we do ourselves, but how much of that is hype, and how much is, or will be reality?

In a new series, Aleks Krotoski (The Digital Human, Radio 4) and Kevin Fong (13 Minutes to the Moon, BBC World Service) set out to 'solve' AI. Or at the very least, to answer our questions on all things artificial intelligence-related. These are the questions that really matter to us - is AI smarter than me? Could AI make me money? Will AI save my life or make me its slave?

In this first episode Aleks and Kevin are stepping away from the grand questions to explore something a lot closer to home. Should I let my kids use AI for their homework?

Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong
Producer: Victoria McArthur
Researchers: Emily Esson and Juliet Conway


MON 17:00 PM (m001wjfq)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001wjg3)
In a video message, Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia, says she'll continue his work and that she believes Vladimir Putin is behind her husband's death.


MON 18:30 One Person Found This Helpful (m001wjgj)
Series 1

1. My Sphinx Has No Nose

Frank & guests Simon Evans, Jessica Fostekew, Amy Gledhill and Ahir Shah find out what you think about mead, Poirot and a stinky brontosaurus.

This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad & the baffling.

Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own... and more... So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you!

Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche

Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simons Evans with the producer David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


MON 19:00 The Archers (m001wjdx)
Emma and Ed are meeting Miles today, and Will volunteers to advise on negotiations. At the site, Ed goes off with Miles, leaving Emma to mock Will and the ostentatious hazel thumb stick he’s brought for appearances. Ed returns alone and Emma fears the worst, but chipper Ed says the deal is agreed! Miles was impressed by their pitch. Over a celebratory coffee and cake with Will, Ed and Emma reflect - Miles was virtually on board from Emma’s first phone call to him. But they still need to get through an interview with the bank on Friday. Emma’s also over the moon about how well her course assignment went – she wrote about a poem that she feels could be all about Grange Farm, and Ed would like her to read it to him later. Natasha gleans the info about them grazing on Miles’s land, and doesn’t hold back in criticising Miles. But Emma insists they will be alright.

Vince doesn’t let on to Elizabeth about his recent conversations with Jolene, as Elizabeth decides to have a chat with Jolene to offer support. Jolene says she’s alright – just day to day concerns and worrying about Kenton – playing down her serious worry. Remembering how Jolene helped her during her depression, Elizabeth encourages Jolene to accept help and talk to someone, volunteering herself.

Vince lies to Elizabeth about leaving his phone on the bar. He speaks to Jolene again, explaining he didn’t put Elizabeth up to talking to her. Jolene reassures Vince that after her chat with Elizabeth she has decided to talk to Harrison tomorrow - and tell him everything.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m001wjhc)
Sir Peter Blake, David Harewood, John Logan

Sir Peter Blake is famous for his Pop Art paintings, collages and album covers – and not just Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But the artist, now 91, has throughout his career made three dimensional works. For the first time in two decades there is an exhibition devoted to these. Samira Ahmed meets the artist in the gallery on the eve of the opening of Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters.

Actor David Harewood is appointed the new President of RADA – the Royal Academy for the Dramatic Arts. He shares with Front Row his vision for one of the world’s leading theatre schools.

John Logan’s new play Double Feature explores the director-actor relationship through two of the most tempestuous relationships in cinema history. Samira talks with the Oscar-nominated Gladiator writer about how Alfred Hitchcock made Tippi Hedren’s life on the set of 1964 thriller Marnie a living hell, while Vincent Price and Michael Reeves could barely hide their hatred for each other during the making of the 1968 horror film Witchfinder General. The play opens tonight at the London’s Hampstead Theatre.

Presenter Samira Ahmed
Producer: Julian May


MON 20:00 Investigating Russia's War Crimes (m001wjhp)
Two years ago, Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine. Millions of people were driven from their homes, and towns like Mariupol, Bucha and Irpin saw unimaginable suffering. Two days after the invasion, the Lemkin Centre was launched in Poland to try and document war crimes that Ukrainians had seen.

Named after Raphael Lemkin, the Polish Jew who invented the concept of genocide, many workers at the Lemkin centre are survivors of war crimes themselves, like Kateryna Sukhomlynova, the last ambulance driver in Mariupol. They travel around Poland and Ukraine, doing the careful, painstaking work of interviewing witnesses and victims of crimes to later assist prosecutors and historians.

Listening to people describe the worst moments of their life can take its toll on mental health and even re-traumatise the interviewers, while any tribunals seem remote and tied to the course of the war. Investigating and documenting potential war crimes is draining, and it doesn’t come with any guarantee of prosecution, let alone real consequences for perpetrators. However, the refugee workers are determined to do whatever is in their power to create a lasting record of their experiences.

With extensive interviews over a course of two years with the women and men doing some of the most difficult work off the battlefield, James Jackson follows them on the long and difficult road to justice.

Producer and Presenter: James Jackson
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


MON 20:30 Analysis (m001wjj0)
How to Dismantle a Democracy

Democracies do not die in military coups. They are dismantled slowly, by libel laws, through tax audits, and procedure. Democracies are dismantled by bureaucrats and judges, not by soldiers and heavy-handed policing. It has always been thus, from ancient Rome to present-day Tunisia. The program outlines the tricks of the trade that imperceptibly kill democracies – and how examples in Mexico, Turkey, India and Poland illustrate that the autocratic playbook is nearly always the same.

Presenter: Matt Qvortrup
Producer: Bob Howard
Editor: Clare Fordham


MON 21:00 Young Again (m001w710)
7. Peter Capaldi

Kirsty Young talks to the actor Peter Capaldi about what he’s learned from his life so far. Celebrated for iconic TV roles as Doctor Who and as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick Of It, Capaldi’s 40-year career also includes an Oscar in 1995 for work behind the camera. He reflects on his journey from a Glasgow tenement block, how he owes his career to a lot of luck and why early failures have made him a better actor.

If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them? In Young Again Kirsty takes her guests back to the pivotal moments in their lives. Reflecting on what they wish they’d known at the time, and what they’ve learned along the way, she discovers the honest – and surprising – advice they’d give their younger selves.

Producer: Laura Northedge
Content Editor: Richard Hooper
Executive Editor: Alice Feinstein
Senior Technical Producer: Duncan Hannant
Presenter: Kirsty Young

A BBC Audio Production


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m001wj91)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m001wjjh)
Western countries consider new sanctions after Navalny death

As Alexei Navalny's widow vowed to continue her husband's fight, western countries are considering new sanctions against Russia. What measures - if any - could make a difference, following the Russian opposition leader's sudden death? We speak to Finland's foreign minister and the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Also on the programme:

The latest on the escalating war of words between the business secretary and the former chair of the Post Office.

And the surprise appearance that brought some viewers to tears: we discuss perceptions of the life-changing Parkinson's disease - after Michael J Fox stole the show at last night's Baftas.


MON 22:45 What You Can See from Here by Mariana Leky (m001wjjt)
Episode 1

On a beautiful spring day, a small village in Western Germany wakes up to an omen - Selma has dreamed of an okapi. Someone is about to die. But who?

As the residents of the village begin acting strangely (despite protestations that they are not superstitious), Selma's granddaughter Luise looks on as the imminent threat brings long carried secrets to the surface. And when death comes, it comes in a way none of them could have predicted.

A story about the absurdity of life and death, a bittersweet portrait of village life and the wider world that beckons beyond, What You Can See from Here is a story about the way loss and love shape not just a person, but a community.

The international bestseller which sold over 600,000 copies in Germany.

Read by Niamh Cusack

Written by Mariana Leky
Translated by Tess Lewis
Abridged by Joseph Bedell

Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Lent Talks (m001wjk6)
Friendship

The Venerable Dr Rachel Mann, Anglican priest, poet, & writer:

‘There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves.’ Jane Austen’s words might be taken as a summary of a relationship most highly prized by contemporary society: Friendship. Yet, Austen gives them to one of her flightiest characters, reminding us that it is also a readily misused and exploited relationship. Jesus himself presents friendship as a defining picture of love, suggesting that ‘greater love has no one than to lay down their life for their friends’. Drawing on the writings of Austen, Aristotle and others, this Lent talk interrogates modern pictures of friendship and suggests that behind them lies a richer, more demanding and uncomfortable vision of friendship, illuminated by the Christian story.

Producer: Carmel Lonergan
Editor: Tim Pemberton


MON 23:15 The Kids Are Alt Right? (m001vcdq)
What's Going On?

In major countries across Western Europe, the radical right is making an impact at the ballot box.
From the success of the PVV in the Dutch General Election, to progress for Marine le Pen's National Rally in France, commentators have described a populist surge ahead of European Parliament elections in June.
But what's less well covered is the fact that in some major countries in Europe, radical right parties attract the young more than they attract the old.
This can be a surprising revelation, as it's a popular notion that young people arrive at the ballot box somehow automatically left wing.
And there's a similar belief that as we age, we inevitably become increasingly right wing.
But Professor James Tilley is on hand to reveal that the relationship between age and how we vote is not this straightforward.
Across five episodes he'll investigate how young people become attached to particular political parties, how ageing affects our political views - and how the choices made by political parties play out among the young and the old.

Presented by Professor James Tilley.
Produced by Kevin Core.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001wjkm)
Sean Curran reports as MPs question the government on the economy.

TUESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2024

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m001wjkv)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder (m001wj9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m001wjl1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m001wjl7)
World Service

BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m001wjlj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m001wjlp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m001wjlt)
Challenges

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishvapani Blomfield


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m001wjly)
20/02/24 Farmer Protests; Prime Minister's funding announcement; Red Tractor; Next generation and family farms.

The First Minister of Wales says it shouldn't be up to farmers to decide how subsidy money is spent. Mark Drakeford was responding to the ongoing farmer protests in Wales over the Sustainable Farm Scheme. It will see direct subsidy payments phased out and farmers will have to plant 10% of their land with trees while putting a further 10% into wildlife habitats to qualify. We also speak to English farmers protesting at Dover.

The government is giving a £220 million funding package to English farmers. The Prime Minister is to make the official announcement at the National Farmers Union Conference. The money will be targeted at grants for technology and productivity schemes. He will also highlight fairness in the supply chain, with new rules for the dairy, pig and egg sectors and the announcement of a review of the poultry sector. Also the 'Farm to Fork Summit' is to become an annual event. The Liberal Democrat's have dismissed the move as a 'cynical pre election giveaway' which won't win back farmers.

An independent review into the Red Tractor scheme says that while it is sound and has not breached its own rules, there has been a failure of communication. This is the first of two reviews of the scheme and looks at the organisation's governance. A further report into Red Tractor's future will be published later. We speak to Red Tractor chair Christine Tacon.

Farming's next generation is something we're looking at all this week, from the challenges they face to their hopes for the future. The Duncan family run three successful farms close to Loch Lomond. Three of the family's four children now work in the farm operation, and plan to make it their home and livelihood long-term.

Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thvvc)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

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

John Aitchison presents the lesser spotted woodpecker. Lesser spotted woodpeckers are the smallest of our three woodpeckers and about the size of a house sparrow. They have horizontal white stripes across their backs, hence their old name of 'barred woodpecker'. The lesser spotted woodpecker is one of our most elusive birds. For most of the year it's relatively silent but in late February and March, males begin to stake out their territories in old woods and orchards by calling loudly and drumming softly.


TUE 06:00 Today (m001wj8z)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Things Fell Apart (p0h24kbq)
S2. Ep 7: You’ll Own Nothing and You’ll Be Happy

How a young man with a novel idea for affordable accommodation, and an Oxford man with a plan for bus lanes, and a Danish woman writing a thought experiment about car rentals, unwittingly became hate figures for conspiracy theorists.

Written and presented by Jon Ronson
Produced by Sarah Shebbeare
Original music by Phil Channell


TUE 09:30 The Miners' Strike: Return Journey (m001wj9p)
South Wales

Still seen as one of the most bitter and divisive industrial disputes in the UK, the year long miners' strike, that began in March 1984, dominated the news for 12 months. It’s been described as “a site of contested memories,” and it continues to evoke strong feelings in those who lived through the strike and had direct experience of it.

Chris Jackson, in his very first job as a young radio reporter in South Wales, found himself covering the dispute that scarred a generation and more. Now, 40 years after the start of the strike, he’s meeting people from different sides of the difficult and controversial industrial dispute, and together they return to a place that holds some very personal memories.

In this episode, Chris returns to South Wales to meet Ann Jones, whose husband John worked at Tower Colliery in the Welsh Valleys and was on strike for the full year. Ann’s life took a turn during the strike, taking her all over the country, speaking at large rallies and public meetings to raise money for the families of the striking miners and raise awareness of the issues they were facing. She became an organiser, supporter, protestor and was a regular on the picket lines, along with many other women.

Presenter: Chris Jackson
Producer: Jo Dwyer
Executive Producer: Rosamund Jones
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:45 James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder (m001wjb0)
Episode 2 - An Assignation

Read by Simon Russell Beale. Historian and MP Chris Bryant’s book takes us to the early 19th Century, when despite great political and social change and reform, British attitudes to homosexuality were more antagonistic than ever, and in 1835 two consenting adults, James Pratt and John Smith, became the last men in Britain to be hanged for sodomy. They were working class men whose poverty and lack of privacy led directly to their discovery and arrest and, despite a desperate campaign to save them, resulted in one of the great legal injustices of the time.

Simon Russell Beale is a multi-award winning actor - he has received two BAFTAs, three Olivier Awards and a Tony Award - and was knighted for his services to drama.

Read by ..... Simon Russell Beale
Abridged by .... Julian Wilkinson
Produced by .... Allegra McIlroy


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m001wjbb)
Tracey Crouch MP, Marina Litvinenko, Author Kiley Reid

Former government minister Tracey Crouch has joined the list of MPs who’ve said they won’t be standing at the next general election. She won the former Labour seat of Chatham and Aylesford in 2010 and has turned it into a healthy majority of more than 18,000 for the Conservatives. A self confessed 'sports nut', in 2015 she attained her dream job as sports minister and oversaw the government’s football governance review. In 2018 she resigned in protest at the government’s 'unjustifiable' refusal to speed up plans to curb controversial fixed odds betting terminals. Four years ago as the pandemic hit, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and following treatment went on to raise £153,000 for cancer charities. She joins Emma Barnett to talk about her decision to leave politics and her plans for the future.

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who was announced dead in a Russian prison last week, has directly accused the Kremlin of poisoning and killing him and has vowed to continue his fight to change Russia. Someone who has been following this story intently is Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander Litvinenko, who exposed corruption in Russia and died in a London hospital in 2006 after ingesting tea which contained radioactive polonium. The European Court of Human Rights found Russia was responsible for the killing of Mr Litvinenko in 2021. Marina joins Emma.

Can you have a true friendship or relationship if one of you has more money than the other? Novelist Kiley Reid dominated bestseller lists with her debut, Such A Fun Age, which skewered white liberal guilt. Her new book, Come And Get It, returns to themes of race, class, and above all money. Set on a campus in southern America, it follows students and academics whose behaviour is shaped by money. Kiley joins Emma in studio.

Women get more gain from exercise than men. That's the suggestion of a new study of 400,000 people. 140 minutes of moderate exercise a week reduced women's risk of premature death from any cause by 18% compared with being inactive. Men needed 300 minutes of exercise for a similar gain. Joining Emma to discuss is Baz Moffat, former Team GB rower and co-founder of The Well, an organisation that works to challenge the status quo for women in health, fitness and sport.


TUE 11:00 Young Again (m001wjbn)
8. Melinda French Gates

Kirsty Young talks to philanthropist Melinda French Gates about what she’s learned from her life so far. A computer scientist by training, she dated her boss and became one half of one of the world’s most famous power couples. But as she travelled a road paved with gold, French Gates describes the tough lessons she learned along the way, the danger of untrustworthy acquaintances and how she had to dig deep to not lose herself in the maelstrom of extreme wealth and influence.

If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them? In Young Again Kirsty takes her guests back to the pivotal moments in their lives. Reflecting on what they wish they’d known at the time, and what they’ve learned along the way, she discovers the honest – and surprising – advice they’d give their younger selves.

Producer: Laura Northedge
Content Editor: Richard Hooper
Executive Editor: Alice Feinstein
Senior Technical Producer: Duncan Hannant
Presenter: Kirsty Young

A BBC Audio Production


TUE 11:30 Music Manifestos (m001wjbz)
Music has always been more than entertainment or something beautiful to the ear. It has a political life too, an art form capable of changing the world as well as enchanting it. Just as political activists and thinkers wrote manifestos in the modern era, so did artists and musicians. The music manifesto is where music, art and politics meet, sometimes pushing music to its limits - and beyond.

The early 20th century saw an explosion of artists’ manifestos linked to the great avant-garde movements like Futurism, Surrealism and Dada. Music followed suit. Luigi Russolo wrote The Art Of Noise (1913), a Futurist music manifesto, making the case for vast, industrial soundscapes and the noise of the metropolis becoming the music of the modern era: ‘…a revolution of music paralleled by the increasing proliferation of machinery...air and gas inside metallic pipes, the rumblings of engines breathing with animal spirits, the rising and falling of pistons, the roar of railway stations and foundries, power plants and subways!’

Music manifestos pushed the boundaries of what music could – and should – be, drawing it away from established ideas of melody, pitch, harmony and tone and incorporating non-orchestral sound and mechanical and electronic instruments. Above all, music manifestos insisted music should be a force of change in our social and political life, not a rarefied art floating above it.

The Fluxus manifesto for music emerged from the art movements of the 1960s, building on the work of American composer John Cage, whose own manifesto, The Future of Music: Credo (1937), pioneered the use of electronic instruments. British composer Cornelius Cardew’s manifesto for Scratch Music (1969) tapped into the counter-culture, radicalising the idea of the orchestra itself. These were fully improvised public performances, making the orchestra a place of inclusion for musicians and non-musicians alike. In the US, jazz sax player Ornette Coleman announced The Shape of Jazz to Come – and wrote a manifesto for a new musical system he named ‘Harmolodics’ (‘the players express their opinions free of the leader…in harmolodics the melody is not the lead’) democratising jazz.

There have been modern music manifestos too. In pop music, ZTT records were inspired by the Futurists and signed The Art of Noise, named after Russolo’s 1913 music manifesto. Pauline Oliveros’ manifesto for Quantum Listening (1999) revolutionises how we listen to music and the world surrounding us. More recently, musicologist Daniel Chua’s manifesto, ‘An Intergalactic Music Theory of Everything’ (2021), launches the music manifesto into outer space - music must be at the centre of future communications with extra-terrestrial life.

Hearing from musicians, critics and writers across classical music, jazz, electronic and pop, this feature explores the music manifesto as a political as well as artistic intervention - in turns explosive, brave and unhinged - and in each case, a push for freedom, a musical call-to arms. How do the radical visions of tomorrow ignite our music today?

Contributors include: music writer Paul Morley, New Yorker critic and author Alex Ross, singer and broadcaster Catherine Bott, electronic musicologist Adam Harper, jazz critic and author Kevin Le Gendre, composer Howard Skempton, Director for the Centre of Deep Listening Stephanie Loveless and astro-musicologist Daniel Chua.

Readings by Elliot Levy and Candace Allen

Produced by Simon Hollis

A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m001wjcb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m001wjcm)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


TUE 12:57 Weather (m001wjcx)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m001wjdg)
Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment.


TUE 13:45 Blood Matters (m001r81d)
The wonder drug is poisoned

In the 1970s and 80s, doctors in the UK began treating patients who were suffering from haemophilia with a new blood product, which could be administered more conveniently than previous treatments.

The new Factor VIII product was imported from the US and required the pooled blood plasma of a very large group of blood donors. But that meant that any infectious disease that a single donor carried, could immediately contaminate the whole batch.

In the second episode of her series, the broadcaster and writer Blanche Girouard speaks to a former pupil at the Lord Mayor Treloar School in Alton, Hampshire, where boys with haemophilia were regularly treated with American Factor VIII. More than 120 boys became infected with HIV and hepatitis through contaminated batches of the blood product - more than 70 have since died.

Producer: Mike Lanchin
Researcher: Ewan Newbigging-Lister
Editor: Kristine Pommert
Archive from ITV Archives
A CTVC production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m001wjdx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m001wjvq)
A Small Stubborn Town

A gripping dramatisation of true events where the people of Voznesensk in Ukraine defended their town against the might of the Russian army.

In March 2022, as Russians rolled across the Ukrainian border, the locals of Vozesensk were faced with a terrifying choice. This small farming town had one thing the Russian army desperately needed – a river crossing. With the Ukrainian army fighting elsewhere, the civilians who live there needed to decide whether to defend their town against the advancing Russian army – or let them pass toward Odesa.

This small bridge, and the actions of the people of Voznesensk, would change the course of the war.

Andrew Harding, BBC foreign correspondent and writer, was there in the aftermath of the battle, conducting extensive interviews that form the basis of his book, which is now dramatised by Jonathan Myerson.

All the characters and events depicted here are very real. A cast of Ukrainian and Russian actors play the ordinary people of Voznesensk who are caught up in this extraordinary situation.

A Small Stubborn Town
By Andrew Harding, dramatised by Jonathan Myerson

Yevhenii ..... Greg Kolpakchi
Andrii ..... Ed Ashe
Natasha ..... Helga Ronen
Svetlana ..... Kate Anstey
Ghost ..... Dennis Good
Formosa ..... Ivan Ivashkin
Valentin ..... Ivantiy Novak
Zhenia ..... Oleksandr Yatsenko

Sound design by Alisdair McGregor
Produced & Directed by Boz Temple-Morris

A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m001wh0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand (m001w2b9)
Series 3: Exercise

S3. Ep 3 - Ultra Processed Exercise

Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken investigate the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity.

Is modern exercise a wellness cult? Or is it a vital cure for a world that’s struggling with ill health and stuck on the sofa? Most of us might like to get a bit fitter, but how easy is it to actually start exercising and give up sedentary habits?

In this series Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken examine exercise and how best to do it. How much should we be doing? How does it help our bodies? And how does our surrounding environment stand in the way of us getting fitter? Chris is challenged to examine his scepticism towards exercise. Similarly, Xand is asked to look at his new-found exercise evangelism and see what he is really running from.

Recently Xand has discovered the joys of physical activity. He’s running, cycling, heading to the gym and playing ping pong like never before. It’s been a real transformation and a way to keep on top of things after years of unhealthy living.

His twin brother Chris, on the other hand, is really feeling the aches and pains of middle age. With a busy job and a young family, he has precious little spare time for exercise. After a very active period in his 20s and 30s, Chris is now embracing his ‘Dad bod’ and sliding into a creaky middle age. Xand wants to help him turn things around. Can he do it?

In Episode 3 - Ultra Processed Exercise - the twins meet Danielle Friedman, author of ‘Let's Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World’. She explains how the fitness industry evolved since the 1950s and how it targets women. Meanwhile, Chris takes a trip to his local gym to start getting into shape for his upcoming half marathon. He also chats with David Colquhoun (Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at University College London) about their shared suspicion towards exercise and the social pressure to be fit.

Presented by Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Sound Design: Dan King
Series Editor: Jo Rowntree
A Van Tulleken Brothers and Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m001wjf9)
How to Think Like an Anthropologist, with Gillian Tett

"If you want to hide something in the 21st century world, you don't need to create a James Bond style plot. Just cover it in acronyms".

Gillian Tett is a columnist at the Financial Times, but she initially trained as a cultural anthropologist, studying marriage rituals in Tajikistan.

She joins Michael Rosen to discuss how the study of language has been vital to her work, who continues to see the world through the lens of an anthropologist. The pair talk about the etymology of words like 'company', 'office', and 'bank', why we should all speak more like the Dutch, how Brits in the workplace are more similar to the Japanese, and why it would be useful for all of us to think more like an anthropologist.

Gillian Tett is the author of Fool's Gold, The Silo Effect, and Antho-Vision.

Producer: Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio Bristol.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m001whhd)
Anjana Vasan and Anne-Marie Imafidon

BESSIE SMITH by Jackie Kay (Faber) chosen by Anjana Vasan
EDGE OF HERE by Kelechi Okafor (Trapeze) chosen by Anne-Marie Imafidon
THE WIDOW COUDERC by Georges Simenon (Penguin) chosen by Harriett Gilbert

Star of 'Black Mirror', 'We Are Lady Parts' and 'Wicked Little Letters' Anjana Vasan chooses Jackie Kay's affectionate and personal biography of Blues legend, Bessie Smith.

Founder of Stemettes and author of 'She's In CTRL' Anne-Marie Imafidon picks Kelechi Okafor's science-fiction debut, which looks at the relationship between technology and society in the near-future.

Presenter Harriett Gilbert opts for Georges Simenon's tale of a couple in rural France where it's not exactly clear who's using whom.

Producer: Toby Field, for BBC Audio Bristol


TUE 17:00 PM (m001wjfn)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m001wjg2)
UN says it's transferred more than 30 patients from Nasser hospital, after Israeli raid. Indefinite hospital order given to killer of 3 people in Nottingham is to be reviewed.


TUE 18:30 ReincarNathan (m000kx29)
Series 2

Eel

Nathan Blakely was a popstar. But he was useless, died, and was reincarnated. The comedy about Nathan’s adventures in the afterlife returns for a second series with Daniel Rigby and Diane Morgan, and guest-starring Romesh Ranganathan.

In the second episode, Nathan is brought back to life as an eel in a river in Norfolk. He’s desperate to join the cool adolescent eels as they migrate across the Atlantic to spawn in the Caribbean. But it’s too much too soon for Nathan. Will he ever learn to do the right thing and make it back to human again?

Cast:
Diane Morgan - Jenny
Daniel Rigby - Nathan
Tom Craine – Yellow Eel
Hugh Dennis – Nathan’s Dad
Henry Paker – Bouncer, Smuggler
Freya Parker – Vortex, Neil, Smuggler, Nathan’s Mum
Romesh Ranganathan - Jameel

Writers: Tom Craine and Henry Paker
Music composed by Phil Lepherd

Producer: Harriet Jaine
Studio Production: Jerry Peal

A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m001whbn)
Tony shares with Vince and Natasha what a nice time in Paris Helen and the boys had. He also checks Vince’s opinion of the refreshed Tea Room. Vince is positive – it’s the second best tea room in Borsetshire. Natasha is put out and Vince mentions a tea room in Brampton Green that has a better atmosphere, with sheepskin wall hangings making the place feel relaxing and welcoming, also deadening the noise. Vince suggests cowhide for the tea room and Tony’s keen, thinking of the Bridge Farm Anguses going for slaughter tomorrow. Vince can give him the hides, to be taken for tanning in Borchester.

Jolene seems brighter and tells Elizabeth she has decided to talk to someone as advised. Elizabeth is invited to join Jolene in town as she goes shopping and they discuss Freddie doing well at the abattoir. Jolene ignores her phone, but reveals that it’s Harrison, who she admits may or may not be her new confidante. Jolene’s sorry for being touchy sometimes, and Elizabeth politely makes her excuses, leaving Jolene to continue her shopping, and praising her for taking action.

Jolene suddenly finds herself with unwanted company, as Markie introduces himself. He remembers Jolene from back in the day, menacingly telling her he still follows her on social media. Jolene makes to leave but he says sit down. He also references Elizabeth, and is here to remind Jolene that she has a nice little village boozer. She should keep it that way and not talk to anyone, for her friends’ and family’s sake as well.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m001wjgh)
Rhiannon Giddens, Peter Sarsgaard, Casting Directors

Rhiannon Giddens, the musician, composer and former lead singer of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, performs live with her band. She talks about her work in uncovering the real history of the banjo and writing her first solo album of original material.

Peter Sarsgaard discusses playing a man with early onset dementia in Memory, a performance that won him the Best Actor Award at last year’s Venice Film Festival.

What is the role of a casting director? As the BBC launches Bring the Drama, a new programme giving untrained amateurs a chance to get into acting, casting director and judge Kelly Valentine and theatre casting director Nadine Rennie discuss the art of discovering new talent.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Paula McGrath


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m001wjgx)
When Abortion is a Crime

The case of Carla Foster made headlines last year after the mother-of-three was initially sentenced to two years in prison for taking abortion pills after the legal cut-off. Since then, several other women have appeared in English courts accused of having illegal abortions, with increasing numbers of women under police investigation.

Reporter Divya Talwar hears from women who have been investigated on suspicion of procuring illegal abortions, meets one woman who was prosecuted and sentenced, and hears from a journalist who believes the law is proportionate. File on 4 reveals that in some cases, women who have experienced pregnancy loss and premature deliveries are also being investigated on suspicion of having illegal abortions.

There have been growing calls from campaigners and MPs to scrap the Victorian law that criminalises abortion in England and Wales and replace with medical regulation instead - as is the case in Northern Ireland. While some say the law doesn’t need to be changed, others believe urgent reform is required so women involved are treated with compassion instead of being punished.

Reporter: Divya Talwar
Producers: Anna Meisel and Eleanor Layhe
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Clare Fordham and Carl Johnston

Image Credit: MartinPrescott\Getty


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m001wjh8)
Mixmups

Mixmups is a new children's TV show that aims to integrate disability into everyday adventures and children's play. The show was created by Rebecca Atkinson, who has duel sensory loss, when she realised the lack of representation in children's toys. She took her Mixmups characters to Mackinnon & Saunders, who are the studio behind some iconic kids TV shows, such as: Postman Pat, Bob the Builder and Fantastic Mr. Fox. The show follows four characters, one is visually impaired and one is a wheel chair user, as they go on adventures fuelled by their imaginations.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (m001whbs)
Eating to improve memory, and a new play about mental health services

Does what we eat have an impact on our mood and memory? And should we be thinking about brain health when we make diet choices? Claudia Hammond speaks to Dr Ellen Smith from Northumbria University about the latest food supplement taking TikTok by storm; Lion's Mane mushrooms. We are used to foods being promoted for their physical health benefits, but this one is being claimed to reduce brain fog, improve memory and fend off Alzheimer's disease. Claudia asks what the science says and discusses with studio guest Dr Sarah King from the University of Sussex whether and what we should be eating to boost our cognition.

And Claudia's off to see a new play; This Might Not Be It is currently on at the Bush Theatre, London. It tells the story of two administrators in an NHS mental health clinic and addresses the challenge of staying optimistic in a system that is struggling. Claudia is accompanied by mental health campaigner James Downs, and speaks to the writer of the play, Sophia Chetin-Leuner. Studio guest Sarah King discusses why drama is so powerful in helping us connect with people's stories.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Lorna Stewart
Production Coordinator: Siobhan Maguire
Studio Manager: Tim Heffer
Editor: Holly Squire


TUE 21:30 Things Fell Apart (p0h24kbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m001wjhl)
Borders watchdog sacked over leaks

The Home Office has sacked the chief inspector of borders and immigration in a row over leaks to newspapers. We speak to a former chief immigration officer.

Also on the programme:

The United States has used the word ceasefire in a UN resolution about the war in Gaza. We ask a former Israeli ambassador to Washington what difference that will make.

The murky tale of the Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine and who's now been found dead in Spain.

And a boozer's guide to "drunkonyms": a study has found more than 500 synonyms for the word "drunk" in the English language. We speak to the German linguist who tracked them down.


TUE 22:45 What You Can See from Here by Mariana Leky (m001wjhz)
Episode 2

On a beautiful spring day, a small village in Western Germany wakes up to an omen - Selma has dreamed of an okapi. Someone is about to die. But who?

As the residents of the village begin acting strangely (despite protestations that they are not superstitious), Selma's granddaughter Luise looks on as the imminent threat brings long carried secrets to the surface. And when death comes, it comes in a way none of them could have predicted.

A story about the absurdity of life and death, a bittersweet portrait of village life and the wider world that beckons beyond, What You Can See from Here is a story about the way loss and love shape not just a person, but a community.

The international bestseller which sold over 600,000 copies in Germany.

Read by Niamh Cusack

Written by Mariana Leky
Translated by Tess Lewis
Abridged by Joseph Bedell

Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:00 Icklewick FM (m001wjj9)
5. The Leak

A town in crisis! Rubbish fills the streets as the bin men continue to strike for fair pay and rumour has it that the rats are engaged in an unholy alliance with the badgers. As The Mayor is seemingly unable to pick up his phone, Chris and Amy put some Hard Questions to his inexperienced assistant, Nicola Trickle.

When a cache of anonymously leaked documents arrives in the IcklewickFM inbox, it lays bare a conspiracy that shakes the town to its core. In sport, Stanley Power finally has some good news to share!

Buckle up because The Mayor’s identity is finally revealed…

Created and written by Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill with additional material from the cast.

Starring:

Lucy Beaumont
Tom Burgess
Tai Campbell
Phil Ellis
Colin Hoult
Nimisha Odedra
Nicola Redman
Mark Silcox
Shivani Thussu
And a very special secret celebrity guest…

Sound Design and Music by Jack Lewis Evans.
The Line Producer is Laura Shaw.

Produced by Benjamin Sutton.

Icklewick FM is A Daddy’s SuperYacht Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m001wjjm)
Alicia McCarthy reports on the latest immigration row in Parliament - and MPs investigate racism in cricket and online safety for children.